Student 32: Sunset Shimmer

by Show Stopper

Arc 16 Chapter ?(1)

Believe it or not, there was a time when I lived every day as the center of attention.

My mother is a hairdresser. For as long as I can remember, I’ve admired her work. The ways she can shape hair into pieces of art. Like most kids, I hated getting my hair cut. But it wasn’t because it was boring or because I was scared of the scissors. I just wanted my hair to be as long as possible so Mother could do more with it. My earliest memories are of Mother styling my hair while I sat entranced in front of a mirror.

When I started school, everyone looked at me. I thought that I was exceptionally beautiful. Looking at pictures of myself back then, I was definitely adorable. Cute. Everyone complimented me and said how pretty I was. A few boys even said they liked me. Heh. Little kids are like that, I guess. Able to say what they think without hesitation or embarrassment. It doesn’t take long to grow out of that. Those first couple of years of school, everyone knew who I was and that I was the cutest girl in my grade.

We lived in a small apartment at the time. Apparently, it wasn’t up to code. My parents were out on a date, and my older brother was watching me. It was during the summer, a really hot one. We didn’t notice anything was wrong until the alarms started going off. By that point, the building was ablaze. I don’t remember much about that day, but my brother and I got separated. Something fell on me and knocked me out. They tell me that it was a bit of burning ceiling. Thankfully, they found me and pulled me out before the fire could do me in. But I was in surgery for a while as they removed splinters from my back. They say I was lucky to make it out without a shattered spine.

Instead, I made it out with a scar.

My hair was a mess of uneven char. Mother did her best, but there was only so much of it that she could save. It took a long time for it to grow back to what anyone would call a normal length. By then, there was a new prettiest girl in my year. She had beautiful, long hair like I used to have. And she didn’t have a giant, ugly scar on her back. A lot of the boys wanted to hear about the fire, but I didn’t like remembering it. I tried to talk with people about other things, but they would always come back to the fire. I finally decided to just stay quiet until they forgot about it.

Eventually, they kind of just forgot about me.

Years went by. I entered middle school. I still didn’t draw attention to myself; there were always so many pretty people around me, you know? It’s not like I had anything that could compete for their attention anymore. Well, nothing positive, at least. It took a long time before I was comfortable enough to let other people see my scar. I never tried growing my hair back out, either. What was the point? By the end of primary school, having long, pretty hair wasn’t the only thing that made a girl pretty or popular, and I didn’t have the body or personality or confidence that my classmates had. I was a wallflower, the background character in other people’s stories. And I was fine with that. After all, most people are background characters. Only a few people really shine.

So it’s really no wonder that when Nichi-chan called us out to the World Tree Plaza to rip into us, the best (and worst) that she could come up with was my unremarkability. I was a little relieved that she didn’t mention my scar, but I understand now; she’d never talk bad about someone being hurt in a fire after what happened to her. Anyway, it surprised me when she pulled me aside after that to apologize. I’m pretty sure one of the other girls put her up to it. Still, I’m glad she did. Rather, I’m glad of what came after that. Somehow or another, Nichi-chan and I became friends. She loves my music, even if I’m not sure I’m as good as she says I am. She’s helped me a lot in class, and it turns out I’m actually pretty smart if someone helps me understand things. She called me cute. It’d been years since anyone outside my family did that. I owe a lot to her.

Still, nothing could have prepared me for what happened that day.

*****

“I’m in love with you, Izumi Ako.”

The World Tree was doing something, probably glowing again, but I was too distracted to notice. My heart was suddenly racing, blood rushing to my face. All I could think about was the person in front of me, and how much I wanted to be near her. How much I wanted to see her smile. How scared I was for her to think poorly of me. How much I cared about her, saw how wonderful she was, and wanted her to see it too.

But… it was strange. The feelings were distant. Muted. Like they were calling out while wrapped up in velvet. Far more clear were my own feelings: confusion, surprise, and with embarrassment starting to set in, along with the flutterings of something that I wouldn’t notice for a while, and wouldn’t be able to name for a while after. Nichi-chan had just confessed to me. To ME! Izumi Ako, the plain, uninteresting, totally average wallflower. Hikaru Nichibotsu, one of the most bombastic and attention-grabbing girls in the school, had just said she was in love with, of all people, me.

And, hadn’t she just said something about confessions being a really bad thing right here and right now?

“Nichibotsu!”

Nichi-chan turned to frown at Takahata-sensei as he approached, and woah! Those muted emotions were very different now, and a little overwhelming. I turned to see Takahata-sensei walking towards us, frowning. On the surface, I felt the usual respect and - I’ll admit it - a little bit of attraction. Not nearly as much as Kagurazaka-san, but it’s hard to deny that Takahata-sensei looks handsome. But beneath that were much more powerful emotions. Respect was still there, but it was of a different flavor, harder and more familiar. But there was just as much contempt; I felt that he should be doing more. I was disappointed in him for not living up to his full potential. Awed by his power. A little jealous of him. Most of all, I hated - absolutely hated - how he reminded me of someone.

“Takamichi.” Nichi-chan never used surnames or honorifics. “How goes the patrol?”

“It was going well,” Takahata-sensei said, a very slight reprimand in his voice - I’d heard him use it on Kagurazaka-san and the Class Rep enough to recognize it. “Until now, that is. I assume you know the significance of what you’ve done?”

Nichi-chan rolled her eyes at him. She’s probably one of the few students in the school with enough guts to do that. But I guess that makes sense, considering she isn’t actually a human middle-schooler. “Of course I do. I’m the one who lectured Wildfire about it, remember? But this sort of power isn’t dangerous if used correctly. I’m not asking for reciprocation, or even an answer. I just wanted to make sure - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that Ako knows how I feel.” She gestured to me, her cheeks coloring slightly. “From the way she’s blushing and the fact she hasn’t gone all doe-eyed on me, I’d say it worked.”

Oh, right. My blush. The embarrassment had finally dominated my other emotions as I fully registered that I’d just been confessed to. And Takahata-sensei saw it! Oh, kill me now!

Takahata-sensei stared at me for a moment - a really uncomfortable moment - before turning back to Nichi-chan. “Still, I will have to report this to the principal.”

Nichi-chan shrugged. “Do what you need to. But don’t you have more important things to be worrying about? Like Chao?” She pointed behind him. “Or that couple that’s walking towards the plaza? That guy looks pretty determined, and that girl looks like she’s expecting something.”

Takahata-sensei looked over his shoulder and sighed, giving me and Nichi-chan one last look. “We’ll discuss this later, Nichibotsu.” With that, he turned and walked away.

Nichi-chan grabbed my hand and started leading me away from the plaza. She quickly brought me to a deserted ally and came to a stop, sighing. “Sorry about that,” she said, leaning against a wall. “Just be glad it was Takamichi. Someone less professional would insist on lecturing me for an hour while you watched.”

“I-it’s fine.” I certainly wasn’t up to getting a lecture right now. “I was just a little, well…”

“Shocked?” Nichi-chan asked. “Surprised? Overwhelmed?” She smirked at me. “Embarrassed?” I felt my face heating up again, but I was gratified to see that her cheeks were pink as well. “Well, those are the usual reactions to a confession. Still, the Japanese language is terrible when it comes to expressing affection. Far too few words for things like ‘love’. I had to make sure the real message got across.” She looked away, her cheeks turning from pink to red. “It, um, looks like it worked.”

I looked away as well and nodded. Those feelings were back, the ones that made my heart tighten and soar at the same time. “Um, yeah. I-it did. I feel…” I thought I might pass out from all of the blood rushing to my head; there was no way I could say what sorts of things I was feeling!

“You don’t have to say it!” Apparently, Nichi-chan was almost as embarrassed as I was. Maybe even a little more. “In fact, please don’t! If I have to hear all of these cringy things I’m feeling put into words, I swear I’ll melt right through the pavement and bury myself alive.” The feeling was mutual. “I just… I just wanted to make sure you knew exactly what I was saying. And that I meant it.” She took a deep breath and looked up, her face still red. “No offense, but you aren’t very good at taking compliments at face value.”

“Y-yeah,” I admitted. “I guess.” To be honest, if it hadn’t been for whatever was going on, I probably would have dismissed her confession as teasing. Or maybe making fun of me, or me mishearing what she’d said. Anything but what was filling the space beneath my heart right now. Gah! I needed to change the subject. “I, um, was surprised by how much you respected Takahata-sensei. You usually seem to dislike him.”

Nichi-chan sighed and smiled, some of the red leaving her face; I guess she was happy to talk about something else too. “That’s new, honestly. Just since the tournament. Seeing how he used his power was- wait!” She sprang off the wall and grabbed my shoulders. “How did you know about that?!”

The cocktail of emotions beneath my heart had shifted, concern surging to the front, as well as a bit of fear. “I, er, when you were talking with Takahata-sensei, I stopped feeling what, um, you feel for me, and started feeling something else. A lot of respect, but also… anger? Or maybe disappointment? It’s a little hard to put into words.” I hesitated. “And… maybe some hate?”

Nichi-chan wasn’t blushing anymore. Her sigh was full of frustration this time. “Great. General empathy. Or, I guess since you weren’t feeling his emotions, targeted but non-specific empathy. You can feel everything I’m feeling. Not just for you, but for everyone.” She let go of my shoulders and took a step back, looking back towards the plaza. That mix of anger and respect came back. “I think ‘contempt’ is the word you’re looking for. He’s got a lot of power, but he wastes his time here teaching middle-schoolers when he could be off making a difference in the world. Those with power are duty-bound to use it for the good of…” She trailed off with another sigh. Nichi-chan sighs a lot, each one a little different; I almost think sometimes she could communicate entirely in sighs and everyone would still understand her. “Sorry, you don’t need to hear that lecture. And you don’t need to worry about that hate, either. I don’t actually hate him. It’s just… he reminds me of someone. And I really don’t like thinking about her.”

Oh! Wow! And I’d thought that her feelings towards Takahata-sensei were strong. This set. This set was powerful enough to overwhelm my own emotions.

Thankfully, Nichi-chan realized quickly what was happening and stopped thinking about whoever it had been before I could really start to understand what I was feeling. “Sorry,” she said again. “You really don’t need to get caught up in that emotional mess. Thank Tenko for my mental training, or this would be torture for you.”

“Y-yeah.” I have to admit, I was curious to know just who she felt that powerfully about. “So… what now?”

Nichi-chan shrugged. She does that a lot, too. “Now? Now we go back to enjoying the festival.” She took my hand in both of hers. “I was telling the truth when I said that I don’t need an answer. After everything that just happened with Wildfire, you aren’t exactly in the best headspace to be thinking about romance. I just wanted you to know. You can give me your answer when you’re ready, even if it takes weeks or months; I can wait.”

And there those warm, fluttery feelings were again. My face heated up as I nodded.

“Although,” a smirk grew across Nichi-chan’s face, and I blushed harder as I felt a heavy sort of confidence and drive join the other emotions, “I’m not saying I won’t try to influence your answer.”

I didn’t need to feel her determination to blush at that.

*****

The date - and neither Sunset nor Ako could deny that it was now officially a date - continued from there. Sunset tried to keep herself from thinking about how she felt about Ako too much, a difficult feat with the object of her affections standing right beside her. It provided them both with plenty of motivation to find more activities and events to involve themselves in.

First up was the Mahorafest Chess Tournament, organized by Mahora Chess. The club members weren’t participating in the relatively small tournament, but they were watching the matches and occasionally providing commentary. Ako lost fairly quickly in her bracket, which she’d been expecting. Sunset, on the other hand, had approached this tournament with all the confidence and focus that she’d put into the Martial Arts Tournament. Ako didn’t know enough of chess to really appreciate the high level that Sunset and her later opponents were playing at, but she was awed by the emotions that circled around Sunset’s heart, like fish in a tranquil pool. Confidence mixed with caution, all with an undercurrent of healthy respect. There was some aggressiveness there as well, providing Ako with more context than most when the commentators talked about Sunset taking the initiative and going on the attack. In the end, Sunset lost her semi-final match. Ako was surprised to see that, true to her earlier word, Sunset wasn’t upset by her defeat. She shook her opponent’s hand, offering genuine congratulations on a match well-fought.

Up next was a small, freestyle dance competition. Ako had actually chosen this one as sort of a prank. She’d figured that Sunset - despite her powerful grace and precise movements - wouldn’t have the first clue of how to dance on two legs. She’d been entirely correct; Sunset was a horrible dancer! Still, Ako could feel that Sunset was having a blast, even as she made a complete fool of herself. Ako wasn’t the best dancer herself, but hanging out with the class cheerleaders had let her pick up on the basics. They were eliminated early, but neither one of them minded. Sunset all but laughed herself off the stage and even complimented Ako on a prank well-executed when she explained why she’d chosen the event. When asked how she’d managed to have so much fun, Sunset simply shrugged. “I was never a fantastic dancer even back in my quadrupedal days, and I hated the formal events that forced me to dance. The best times I’ve ever had dancing were all half-drunk in some bar or another with my soldier buddies. For me, dancing is just for fun, even if I’m technically in a competition.”

The next event saw the return of Ako’s blush: a dance class. She’d figured this to be part two of her prank. “Poor Nichi-chan, unable to dance. Let’s help you out with that.” Unfortunately, with her and Sunset partnered up and holding each other close, it was impossible for Sunset to keep Ako - and her feelings for her - out of her mind. Which meant they were also constantly on Ako’s mind.

Her prank had backfired on her.

Still, it had been fun teaching Sunset to dance properly, and learning a few new dances herself. That had taken them to early evening, around five o’ clock, when they decided to get dinner. The various sports clubs had decided to throw convention to the wind and - instead of holding exhibition matches - had created sports-themed restaurants to help them earn a little more for their budgets. Ako had put in a lot of extra hours getting the Soccer Club’s restaurant constructed and ready to run, so she’d been let off service duty. Yuna, however, hadn’t been able to commit quite as much time to festival prep and had had to take a single dinner shift. Ako - knowing how much Sunset liked to lear at her - had put in a special request in advance for Yuna to serve them.

“Ako! Nichi-chan!” Yuna approached their table in her basketball jersey, a ball under one arm and a notebook out and ready for their orders. I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“Ako’s idea,” Sunset said, eyeing Yuna up and down. “Whose idea was the uniforms?”

Yuna grinned and struck a pose. “Hey, it is a sports restaurant after all! And besides, this way we can save money! Do you two know what you want? I’d love to stick around and chat, but we’re really busy right now.”

Sunset gave the small menu a quick glance before nodding. “I’ll take the B-Ball ramen, whatever that is. Ako?”

“S-s-same.”

Sunset looked up at Ako, confused at her whispered stutter. Ako was looking down at her lap, her face flushed. She was breathing heavily, almost panting, and sweat was pouring down her forehead.

“Hey, are you okay, Ako?” Yuna frowned at her friend. “You look a little-”

“AKASHI! ORDER FOR TABLE SEVEN!”

Yuna gave Ako one last worried look before rushing off. Sunset’s gaze followed her, watching as the busty basketballer’s breasts bounced in her uniform. Damn. Every time-

Ako gasped, drawing Sunset’s attention. The girl really was panting now, her eyes glazed as she hunched over, resting on the table. Sunset was half-way out of her chair before she realized what had happened to her.

“Damnit!” Unsexy thoughts, Sunset! Unsexy thoughts! Colonel Cupcake covered in mud. Old Nag Cinnamon in the bath. Argh! They’re just ponies! They can't excite me, but they can't disgust me either! Um, that one mule-faced muscle-head from the prelims. In a tutu. Covered in slime. Chugging a bucket of bloody chum. Sunset’s libedo vanished quickly, and she focused again on her friend. “Ako! Are you alright?”

Ako was breathing normally now, her eyes focused again. Her face was a little green, but far better than the blazing red it had just been. “N-Nichi-chan? Wh-what in the world was that? And… why do I feel like throwing up now?”

Sunset sighed, settling back into her seat. “You’re okay. Thank Tenko you’re okay. That could have been…” She finally realized that their table was attracting a lot of stares and quickly shot a round of death glares around to get everyone to turn their attentions away. “I’m so sorry about that, Ako. That was for Yuna. A virgin like you had no way to be prepared for something like that.”

“V-v-vir-” Ako cut herself off with a shake of her head. “W-wait, so that was… was…”

“Lust.” Sunset closed her eyes and massaged the bridge of her nose. “Powerful, carnal, mature lust. The kind you only get when you have plenty of experience and know exactly what to expect from an encounter. I didn’t bring this up before, but I was pretty sexually active on the other side of the mirror. I’ve abstained over here, for obvious reasons, but that hasn’t stopped my desires.” Or my imagination.

Ako nodded, taking a few deep breaths and trying to fight down both her blush and her lingering nausea - Sunset’s lust-canceling disgust had been powerful. “So… you and Yuna…”

Sunset shrugged. “One of my more common fantasies, though a few others in the class feature pretty often as well.” She moaned and leaned forward, burying her face in her hands. “And now I’m discussing sexual fantasies with a middle-schooler. Just lock me up now.”

Ako was having a very difficult time fighting down her blush, but she was relieved that it was only from her own embarrassment now. “I-it’s okay, Nichi-chan. Y-you didn’t mean to. A-and it’s not like the other girls and I haven’t ever, you know, um, talked about… this kind of… stuff.” Her face went completely red as she muttered “Evangeline-san is surprisingly well-informed.”

Sunset looked up at Ako with a glare. “Remind me to give that human-shaped leech a piece of my mind later.” She sighed and sat up. “Well, I guess you are all about the age to be thinking about that sort of thing. Still, it’s way too soon for you to be feeling anything like what I just forced on you.” She glared off to the side. “And I thought I was so clever, using the World Tree like that.”

Ako frowned as well, the space under her heart filling with self-loathing and reprimand. She wanted to speak up, to tell Sunset not to feel that way about herself, but it was still too awkward. They sat in silence for a while, each stewing in her own thoughts. Yuna eventually returned with their orders, shooting Ako a concerned look before returning to work. They ate in silence for a while.

“So.” Sunset looked up when Ako finally broke the silence. “You… like Yuna more than you like me?”

“...what?” Sunset blinked. “No seriously, what? Where the heck did that come from?”

Ako stared down at her ramen, stirring the noodles slowly with her chopsticks. “I mean, what you feel for me is pretty strong. But that just now… And come to think of it, even your feelings towards Takahata-sensei were stronger, not to mention whoever it is that he reminds you of. I guess what you feel for me is more like a little crush, huh? Should have figured, considering-”

“It’s not just a crush!” Sunset slammed her hands into the table, jumping to her feet and staring Ako down. “Let’s get one thing perfectly straight, Ako. I’m in love with you. I’m head-over heels for you. ‘A little crush’ is what I’ve been nursing for Honya for the last half year, and that dissolved into nothing once I started falling for you. Sure, I lust after Yuna. I mean, just look at her! But lust is completely different. Lust is carnal. Hungry. Primal. It evokes a living creature’s most powerful instinct: to reproduce. Of course it’s going to be overwhelming. As for Takamichi, that respect is born from deep-rooted shared experiences and a mutual level of raw power and skill. And that hate… well, hate is powerful by itself, but I cannot emphasize how much I hate thinking about who he reminds me of. Being in love, that emotion isn’t nearly as primal or raw as hate or lust, and it isn’t built on the same sort of solid foundation as respect. Those emotions might be more powerful, but they’re nowhere near as important.”

She reached out and took Ako’s hand. “Remember what you were feeling just a bit ago. Remember what it felt like, how your body and heart reacted. And now compare it to this.”

The space under Ako’s heart was once again filled with those fluttery, almost obsessive feelings as she looked into Sunset’s eyes. As she felt them, she thought back on the overwhelming lust from earlier. Those feelings had been a lot stronger, but now that Ako thought about it, they hadn’t felt entirely good. Compelling, yes. Maybe addictive if she could find a way to ride that high constantly. But she couldn’t say that she really liked how she’d felt. But this, this was better. Softer. Lighter. Purer.

And, now that she was really analyzing them, she did find sparks of that primal, insatiable lust mixed in as well.

Ako blushed again, but Sunset’s gaze drew her in. Her expression demanded an answer.

“So? Do you still think it’s just a crush?”

“...no.”

Relief blossomed across Sunset’s face and filled her emotions.

“Um…”

Ako and Sunset looked at Yuna, who was standing awkwardly beside their table. “What was that about what Nichi-chan feels for me?”

Sunset blinked and looked around, realizing that they were again the center of attention. “Well,” she muttered as Ako buried her face in her hands, “this is awkward.”

Comments

[Joe Toon]

... Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?

[Show Stopper]

11384409
That's sort of the problem, yeah.

[Pinklestia]

Well, Sunset gonna Sunset I guess.

[Dorath]

Good thing Sunset has about two-and-a-half years to figure out what she's going to do (if anything) when the portal re-opens.

[Jokker18]

Why jump from arc6 to arc16

[lord Martiya]

Sunset was a horrible dancer!

Better or worse than Twilight?

[lord Martiya]

11384860
Time travel?

[Show Stopper]

11388233
Better. A little. She at least tried to dance as a biped.

[FireAlphaWolf]

Sunset, I wouldn't describe this as "a little awkward"!