antimuscarinic (ycfm)

Busy days in student council room is something usual for the member of Edel. Being the core of the musical acting department, the face to the students, the authorities and the outsiders as the five top students, Edel members shouldered a heavy burden in everyday basis. Praises and jealousy almost resounded to the halls, sometimes it couldn’t be differentiated, they must keep a good face and nothing else matters.

Nothing even matters.

Nothing.

.

“Ah, welcome.”

Tsuruhime Yachiyo mouthed to the figure whom entered the student council room. The pinkette put away the clothes that she’s working on. She remembered to hide her own secret notes back to her pocket before the certain blonde senior sees.

There’s no one else in the room except the two of them.

“Fumi-san, would you like some tea?”

“I can make it myself.” –is an answer Yachiyo had expected, and it flowed just right. Yachiyo just said her piece because she is a junior – any junior should respect the seniors, right? Hence, she done the lip service every time she saw Fumi.

The pinkette then would be back to whatever she’s doing while she watched the senior made her own tea.

That strong back concealed by long blonde tresses. The light draped to the blonde hair made it looked better, more ethereal. It was different kind of ‘strong’ that Yachiyo ever see from Ootori Michiru and Yukishiro Akira. Though, all of her seniors are remarkable, admirable—they are the true examples of stage girls who’ll strive for perfection every day, aiming for the best and continuously paved their paths of success.

Sometimes Yachiyo wondered if she really fits in to be there, while she does so because of her own work. ‘Frau Perle’ is the title that the board director granted for her.

Perle, ‘pearl’, one of the precious gems in the world. There are a lot of meanings behind a jewel, just like how people will define a flower. A natural Pearl is a made from an awful processing, as the clam should ‘suffer’—they needed an irritant, a parasite to trigger their defense mechanism, resulting in a ‘tear’ to form in layers of coating that could be called as pearl as we know.

The pearl might not be as colorful as other gems by the Edel members’ names, but Yachiyo always think that the name suited her somehow.

Pearl philosophy aside, back to the world of now where her eyes are set to the Frau Jade—who’s making her own tea.

Frau Jade. Jade. Jade is also having a muted kind of color. Jade should be polished to show its gleam – just like how Yumeoji Fumi becomes on the stage. Yachiyo is always awed of her dedication; she is not someone with natural talent like Akira or a tactical brain like Michiru, Yachiyo won’t deny that it is one quality that roped her in.

Fumi is also easy to tease, one of Yachiyo’s prime target after Mei Fan.

“—why are you looking at me like that? You occupied the long sofa for yourself.”

Her emerald green eyes narrowed, her lips curved up in displeased manner. One hand on her hips, Fumi emphasized her stance of dislike of how uncouth Yachiyo is. Be it a glare or whatever venom that Fumi put on, Yachiyo is used to it and will brush it off – this is not the uptight environment from their usual training hours, anyway.

“It can’t be helped~ I’m working on the costumes, you see~”

That being said, Yachiyo made a space for the senior to sit, away from the leftover fabrics that Yachiyo used for this costume making. Fumi would sigh, then she sit on the provided space, tea on hand.

“How about your student council work? Do you get a new report today?” she asked.

“Don’t worry. I’ve finished it yesterday. I’ll just edit stuffs when Michiru-senpai spotted any errors.”

“If you say so.”


.


Nothing even matters; being an Edel, you should bring out a good example – there must be /nothing/ that can shake you. There should be nothing personal played out away from the blinding stage lights.

Nothing even matters.

Not even an unspoken leave of a certain someone.

Just like a page from a book, once you torn it away, you’ll throw it to the trash bin and continued on writing on a newer page. Or maybe opted to throw the book away to forget and get a newer book instead.

If someone is unworthy of their position, that ‘someone’ will be replaced.


.

“Hey, Yachiyo. You’re spacing out again.”

Yachiyo blinked when Fumi is just there, a few inches in front of her face. The senior’s face scrunched—while, Yachiyo can admit that Fumi always have her brows knitted—as she looked at her face up close. Yachiyo couldn’t held back her yelp.

When Fumi touched her eyes with her index fingers, a soft caress right below her eyes, Yachiyo held her breath.

“Don’t tell me, are you pulling another all-nighter again?” Fumi’s scowling took Yachiyo back to reality.

Yachiyo pulled back a bit. She let out a small, forced laugh, “Aww, there’s no fooling you, huh, Senpai.”


.

If someone is unworthy of their position, that ‘someone’ will be replaced.

Like taking a worn-out batteries from a clock, for example.

Though, after that replacement occurred, there is no guarantee that the new parts will function well.

There could be said that the new parts is there to serve as the same part as the old one, right? Then, why the need to call it a ‘new part’ while it is exactly the same part? The same batteries from same manufacture?

There is no need to call it as a new part, correct?


.


Fumi groaned this time. Putting her tea aside, she took the unfinished costume away. “Sheesh. Put your work away and sleep for a bit!”

“But, Fumi-san~”

“What if Akira sees you like this? You’ll only be scolded if you nodded off during the afternoon practice. Just do what I say.”

Yachiyo smirked, she got something in mind about this situation. “Then, let me borrow your shoulder~”

“Eep! Ya—Yachiyo!”

In swift movement, Yachiyo seized the moment to cling on the blonde senior’s arms right away, snuggling close to make the surprised Fumi flushed even further. “Do you want me to take my break, yes? Then this would be my demand!”

Another groan, though with less press of irritation than the first. “Fine, whatever. Though, I’ll elbow you if someone comes in the room.”

“Aww, meanie~ have you forgotten about last night when we—“

“Yachiyo.”

“Yeah, yeah. I hear you. I’ll sleep now!” she pushed a closure to her tease with a wink. Yachiyo cackled.

“Geez. There’s no escaping you, huh.”

It is always fun to tease Yumeoji Fumi, away from the seriousness of their vocal or dance training session, away from the student council business, away from the name of ‘Edel’, away from her specialized task.

Just like this. Everything is alright.


.
.
.


“Yachiyo! There you are! I have been searching for y—“

A gesture of one index finger on the lips from the blonde refrained Liu Mei Fan from increasing her volume. The purple-haired girl stopped on her tracks and bowed, almost wordlessly, to bother a certain pink-haired girl’s slumber. Mei Fan approached the two, peering to Yachiyo’s way, as if checking whether she’s not falling for yet another prank.

“… Akira-san was searching for her in the school grounds. Can you tell her that when she woke up?” Mei Fan was half-whispering.

The blonde nodded.

“Then, I’ll be back to Akira-san – again, sorry to bother you and Yachiyo, Shiori.”

“It’s alright, Mei Fan-senpai.”

When Mei Fan closed the door of the student council room, Shiori let out a sigh she didn’t know how long she has been holding.

Shiori turned to the sleeping girl, noticing how she stirred a bit. The younger blonde opted to pat on the head, tried to give a reassurance until Yachiyo is stop stirring.

The said person who’s sleeping there, using her shoulder and arms as comfort, muttered the same name she always call out on her sleep.

The same name that’s not her name.
The name that has long lost from the roster of Edel members, but is not forgotten.

But then, Yumeoji Shiori has resolved to hold that name as well, just like the title of Frau Jade. Akira has praised of her way on acting out to live up the name. Yachiyo, ever disillusioned, embraced the idea.

Yumeoji Shiori has resolved to don the role as ‘Yumeoji Fumi’.

“I know you never looked at me, Senpai. Not even once from when we first met,”

Shiori told her own piece of monologue. A little. Trying to preserve herself before Yachiyo awakened to see Fumi again.

“But as long as you will look at my way as I acted out as my older sister, I don’t mind.”

[And just like that. Everything is alright.]