Momo was excited. It was the first day of school. That wasn't why she was excited though. She was finally headed away from school towards the actual reason for her excitement. Her first dance class. She'd finally get to learn to move like her older sister and she'd kick some doing it. Not that she knew the word '' at her young age, or that she'd be kicking any.

The studio was intimidating to little Momo, not that it deterred her in the slightest. While her parents spoke with the instructor, Momo immediately dashed off to explore. She'd seen videos of her sister in a place like this, except Hana's didn't have these fancy bars in the back. But that wasn't the most important thing on her mind. What was important was the giant mirror in the front of the room. She ran her way through the storm of other children to the front, finally face to face with herself. She knew how the mirror in the bathroom at home worked, but she wasn't sure if it worked the same way with big mirrors. She had learned that big things work differently than small things in school that day. She brought her favorite giant pencil from home, only to have it taken away by the teacher. Apparently small pencils are better than big pencils.

Experimentally she waved to herself with her left hand. Raised her right arm all the way up, then lowered it. Closed her right eye and balanced on her left leg. This mirror was working just like the one at home. Just wait until she told her teacher that big things work the same as small things. She saw a phone in the mirror and turned around to find her parents recording her, her father muffling his amusement while her mother was no doubt zooming in. Momo stuck her tongue out and ran off to the furthest corner, her parent's laughter behind her.

She found shelter from the view of the camera. That shelter took on the form of another little girl holding her mother's hand.

"What are you up to there?"

Momo looked up to see a woman not unlike her mother smiling down at her. She stepped out next to the little girl and waved to them both.

"I was hiding from my mom. She likes recording me doing silly things, but she never watches the videos. Thank you for letting me hide behind you."

"Aren't you polite! You're welcome dear." The woman gently tugged her daughter to the front. "This is Mina. She’s five years old. What's your name?"

Momo smiled and waved at the little girl again, not getting a wave back but a blink.

"Hi Mina! I'm Hirai Momo and I’m… uh…” Momo stopped to count on her fingers, for some reason needing to count them all, twice, before answering. “I’m six! Do you wanna be friends?" Momo was jumping up and down with excitement.

"Okay."

Mina's mother looked down in surprise at the meek voice before breaking into a huge smile. Mina let go of her mother's hand and let Momo drag her to the front of the room as class started. Mrs. Myoui stared in amazement for a moment before heading to the parents' seating, finding who she presumed to be Mr. and Mrs. Hirai who were, in fact, watching the video.

---

They became known as 'those kids' among the instructors, in a good way. Their skill was the center of admiration and their parents were the subject of many, sometimes inappropriate, questions.

What do you feed your kids?

What time do they go to sleep?

Are you pumping them full of steroids?

That last one came from a rather irate parent who just couldn't believe how well Momo and Mina were doing. And she wasn't the only one. The instructors were amazed by the progress the two made, seemingly pushing each other to the absolute limit of what they could do - both physically and in terms of technical skill. They had put Mina and Momo on opposite sides of the room, not to punish them but to let the other students follow along more easily and, in theory, learn more. The others did learn, but not in the way the instructors had expected.

---

"Okay kids, you're going to put your left leg out to the side and angle your foot like this. Heel out." The instructor modelled the move and waited for the class to do the same.

"Minari! Your left foot is weird." Momo's voice echoed through the practice room.

Mina looked at the offending foot in the mirror, compared it to Momo's and the instructor's, and moved her heel ever so slightly back. The group of kids behind her peered around each other, adjusting their own feet accordingly.

"Thank you, Momo. Good catch! Now at the same time that leg goes out, your arms will come up on the right side like this." There was a low murmur in the class as the kids figured out how to position their limbs. Eventually they all went silent and settled down, only for a quiet voice to cut through.

"Momo." Mina's voice was soft and level. Momo looked over and Mina didn't say anything, just wiggled her arms slightly. Momo looked at her own, compared it to Mina's and the instructor's, and ever so slightly shifted the angle her elbows were rotated at. She nodded to herself and looked forward. The other students behind her followed suit.

"Momo." Mina wiggled her arms once more. Momo shifted the angle again, looking questioningly at Mina. Mina shook her head. Momo adjusted the angle a third time, getting a nod from Mina this time.

The kids behind them were left scratching their heads as they asked each other what was different between Momo's original position, second position, third position, and Mina's position. Even the instructor was subtly shifting her own elbows, looking questioningly between Momo and Mina.

"Ehh... thank you too, Mina. Good job."

---

Mina and Momo were in the Myoui’s living room, looking at a flyer their parents had gotten from the studio.

National Juniors Competition.

"Do we count as juniors?"

It says ages 12 to 18.

Does that include us?

Did you just forget your age?

"Kind of. How old are we again?"

You’re fourteen and I’m thirteen, Momo.

“Do you wanna enter then?”

Yes.

"Let's get started! Bye Okaa-san! Bye Otou-san! I'll bring Minari back in a few hours!"

Mina's parents waved and watched through the window as the pair started their trek to the dance studio, Momo throwing out ideas with grand gestures while Mina simply nodded or shook her head.

To anyone else it would have looked like Momo roped Mina into doing whatever she wanted, merely staging a conversation complete with pauses where the vocal responses should have been. But both their parents knew better at this point. Momo had completely figured out how to understand Mina's subtle different silences while Mina had learned how to get Momo to do what she was told, feats the Hirai's and Myoui's respectively were begging the other child to teach them. Years of being dance partners and spending long hours together did that.

While the two were separated during elementary school and middle school, they now attended the same performing arts high school. Now around each other practically every waking moment, they rubbed off on each other. Mina's participation grade went up dramatically and Momo's grades... well they went up. Momo had actually started to read silently during the silent reading periods and Mina contributed to group discussions without being forced to. They were positive influences on each other.

Mostly.

---

"Pssst! Mina!"

Momo peered through Mina's bedroom window, trying to find the lump that was Mina on her bed. She had neglected bringing a flashlight and the fact that her nose was barely above the window sill didn't help, even with the boost she had. Momo hopped off the box she was using and moved it closer, feeling and remembering that she had her phone in her jacket. After a short scramble to get back up, she pressed her face against the window and switched her phone's light on.

"You awake? Minari~~AHHHH!"

Momo came face to face with a sleepy looking Mina whose face was also pressed against the glass, now illuminated by Momo’s phone. Mina flinched at the bright light and swung the window open.

"Momo?" Mina was rubbing her eyes and mumbling. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick you up!" Momo frowned. They had talked about this yesterday. "We said we'd work on our competition set today."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." Mina yawned. "I'll be out in a minute."

"When you're done come out this way! It's faster!" Momo's voice drifted through the window, registering, just barely, in Mina's mind. She nodded and got changed.

---

They had made it a mile down the road when Mina finally stopped yawning and suddenly turned to Momo.

"Momo?"

"Yes?"

"What time is it?"

"One. Why?"

"Why are we out at one?"

"To practice." Momo replied, looking confused. Why else would they be out?

"..."

"Is something wrong?" Momo turned to look at her best friend.

"Our parents are going to be mad."

"But they said it was okay that we go practice today." Momo's eyes couldn't have looked more innocent.

"They meant at a normal time, Momo. They don't know that we're out right now and they're going to be mad when they find out we've been out since one." Mina wasn't angry, just patiently explaining like she always did. She paused for a second before continuing to walk, linking arms with Momo.

The pair continued forward. Momo was silent, busy working through the problem in her head, while Mina kept quiet, knowing Momo was coming up with something.

They arrived all the way to the studio when Momo spoke up.

"We can just tell them we left at six instead of one."

Mina turned and looked at Momo, shoulder to shoulder, their arms still linked. It would be the first lie they ever told their parents. She nodded and they went inside, eager to get out of the chill and start.

It would be the first lie they ever told.

---

Weeks passed.

When she and Mina had first started choreographing their set, she promised herself that she’d stay focused. Focus would lead to good ideas and good ideas would lead to them winning. And she made good on that promise for well over a week. Then something happened.

She wasn’t sick. If she was sick her famous sneezes would have stopped any productivity. But it was definitely something out of the ordinary. Momo would find herself staring at Mina in the mirror instead of following along or contributing. Her face got hot and red whenever Mina got close to demonstrate an idea and it was like her brain turned to mush whenever it got a chance. It was terrible and she didn’t know why it was happening. Momo suffered through her mysterious ailment for the entirety of the second week until her curiosity, and partly her suffering, drove her to confide in her older sister.

Hana had been no help. Momo had gone through the trouble of listing out her symptoms – on paper too – and the only thing Hana had done was laugh and tell her she should talk to Mina about it. She had left Hana’s room sulking and her sister had thrown a question after her, a question she was still thinking about as she laid in bed.

At this age you don’t know what you’re feeling?

What did she mean ‘at this age’? It must be something everyone goes through then. Momo was well aware she was nowhere near as book smart as Mina, but she reasoned that lots of people weren’t either, so it had to do with something else. Maybe it had to do with *shudder* puberty. She didn’t even want to think about it. The talk had been enough for her. Momo tossed and turned, trying to think of what was happening. Then it hit her.

Her skin would turn red and she’d start sneezing whenever she was around dogs for too long. She'd also get a scratchy throat and her face would heat up whenever she ate salmon. And now her face would turn red and get hot around Mina. What did these three things have in common? She always touched them in one way or another. The logical conclusion? She was allergic to Mina. The only thing to do from here on out? Wear long sleeves and sweat pants.

Momo thought it was a good idea and leaped out of bed to rub it in Hana’s face. She figured it out on her own and didn’t need her stupid sister’s help after all. Waking her up at three in the morning would only be icing on the cake.

Or not.

Momo slowly climbed back into bed, wrestling with the new information Hana had just yelled at her.

You’re not allergic to a human being you idiot! You like her as more than a friend so just kiss her already!

---

Momo and Mina continued working on their competition piece, taking every moment they could to reserve a room for themselves so they could work without distractions. At least that was the idea. They stopped coming so early too. Mina had reminded Momo that they still needed sleep if they were going to do their best, so instead of coming at one they came at seven. Momo was in no state of mind to argue.

At first their parents had been against them even starting at seven, not knowing that three solid weeks had gone by of the duo starting close to midnight. But they could see how much it meant to them and eventually came around. The competition was in a week and they left their children to their own devices, only needing a statement of 'We're going to practice'. The Hirai's and Myoui's had full trust in their own children. They even trusted the other family's child, though the Hirai's trusted Mina much more than the Myoui's did Momo. After all they were only kids and rather than making a mess of themselves or getting into trouble, they were working hard towards a goal. The long hours away from home and the resulting worry from the adults faded away once Momo and Mina had showcased their completed piece. The only thing left was to see them win.

The trip to Tokyo was exciting for everyone. The Hirai's had never traveled much and Momo was constantly pointing out whatever caught her eye. Mostly giant billboards with food advertisements. The Myoui's on the other hand traveled a fair amount for business but were just as excited. Mina's joy and anticipation could visibly be seen on her face and body, and her parents loved to see it. They arrived in the afternoon and, with the competition the next day, Momo and Mina excused themselves to find a studio and practice, their parents texting them the address of the hotel and heading off to have an 'adults’ night out'.

The Tokyo practice room was much nicer than the one they were used to but that didn't matter, it had a mirror and speakers. That was more than enough. They got to work straight away, stretching and warming up before starting their rehearsal.

---

Momo retied her shoes and stood, bouncing to get a feel for the slightly tighter fit.

"Do you wanna just go for a run-through?”

She was ready, more than ready in fact. She and Mina had been working so hard it wasn’t even a question of whether they knew their choreography or not. Now it was just up to the judges to decide if their creativity was more unique than the other competitors. Momo just wanted to get going, start moving. Anything to distract her from Mina. But apparently Mina had other plans.

“Let’s do our normal routine.”

The past few weeks had been hard to say the least. Momo had figured out that she wasn’t allergic, so at least she started contributing to their routine again, but now that she knew she liked Mina, it was the only thing on her mind.

“Aww come on! There’s no point in going through step by step anymore. We’re performing tomorrow!”

“That’s why we should stick to our usual plan.” Mina’s reply was short and to the point.

“Fiiiiiine.” Momo whined.

Mina walked over to the speaker controls, setting their track to loop and getting ready press play. Momo shuffled her feet a few more times, feeling the muscles flex from her toes up through her leg and into her stomach. As Mina turned around Momo planted her feet firmly and let her weight connect with the floor, anchoring herself. Mina’s voice drifted gently across the room.

Focus, Momo. It's just Mina.

“Ready?” Her body was turned towards Momo with her arm stretched back, finger hovering above the screen.

Momo nodded. Not like she could say no.

“Go!”

She pressed play and after a few moments of silence the speakers shook with deep bass. Mina sprinted over, her arm reaching out to tap Momo’s shoulder, before jumping back right away. Her hair flew forward as momentum caught up and the game began.

“You’re it!”

Momo pushed off her feet immediately, feeling the ground pushing back and propelling her forward to chase after Mina relentlessly. Focus, Momo. Focus.

---

“We’re gonna what?”

Momo looked up from her phone at Mina, eyebrows raised in amazement.

“We’re going to start practices by playing tag until the song is over.”

Uh.

“Why?” Momo questioned. Tinny explosions sounded off from her phone and her head snapped back down to the game she had been in the middle of. The screen faded to black with the words ‘game over’ filling the void with crimson lettering. Momo let out a whine at the sight, she had been working on that level for so long.

“To get you more focused. I’ll be the tagger first.” Mina reached down and took the phone from Momo’s lap, eliciting more whining.

“But I am more focused!” Momo replied. “You even said so!”

“You pay more attention in school now.” Mina admitted. “But you still get distracted a little more when we rehearse. We only have a couple weeks left.” She started walking towards the speaker controls.

“Do not.” Momo grumbled, glaring slightly at Mina’s back.

Mina simply pointed at the game over screen in her hand to prove her point as she locked the phone and pulled up their competition track on her own. Momo just huffed and hung her head, sulking in the middle of the room. Mina’s phone was put down on the console and her hand hovered over the play button.

“How about this Momoring?”

The black cloud of gloom over Momo’s head cleared as she raised her eyes to meet Mina’s.

“I’ll do…” she paused to think. “three things for you if I’m tagged at the end of the song.”

Momo narrowed her eyes at the proposed bet. Mina was probably up to something, would probably try to finesse her way out of the bet.

“Any three things?”

“Only if I’m it at the end of the song. If you tag me during the middle, I can still tag you back.”

“What if I told you to finish that level I just died on? It’s a really hard one.”

“Okay.” Momo was met with a shrug.

"What if I told you to do my math homework for me?"

"You do remember I'm in a higher level math class than you right?"

Momo hadn't remembered that.

“What if... I ask you to buy me ask much jokbal as you can afford? And you pay for the shipping from Korea.”

Momo finally got the reaction she was looking for from her best friend. Mina blanched at the thought, regretting giving Momo the gift from her parents’ business trip. But, seeing the older girl’s smug grin, she forced her face back to normal. She nodded, albeit reluctantly.

“Deal.”

Momo stood and bent her legs, planting her feet.

“Ready?”

A curt nod from Momo.

The silence gave way as music pounded through the speakers and Mina bopped the top of Momo’s head, smiling and flying away from Momo’s reaches. Momo grinned and chased after her.

Mina stuck out her tongue and laughed as she backed away from Momo, her hair bouncing and catching the studio’s lights. The mole on her nose wrinkled as she laughed harder at Momo’s near wipeout. Momo laughed along with her, renewing her efforts to tag the graceful dancer. She could feel something as the game continued.

Her allergies were coming back. No, that wasn’t right. Remember what Hana said.

She liked Mina.

---

Momo had not been able to win so far. They had fun and she could catch Mina, just never at the end of the song. Mina had a way of avoiding Momo that she just couldn’t figure out, but this time Momo was certain she could win. Over the weeks of playing tag with Mina, she noticed a few things. One of them was coming into play now.

Mina never had to stop and look behind her, something Momo just didn’t understand at first. Then she realized that Mina knew the nooks and crannies of their practice room at home like the back of her hand. Mina always faced Momo when she ran away, back pedaling and pivoting gracefully while avoiding the walls. But this wasn’t their practice room. And Momo planned to capitalize on that.

“Mina watch out!” Momo feigned a glance at an imaginary object behind Mina’s legs.

It worked. Mina turned her head to look down behind her and her pace slowed enough that Momo could tag her. But while Mina had slowed down Momo had not, half expecting her trick not to work. The two collided roughly at full Momo sprinting speed and with Mina already leaning back from her attempts to evade Momo and the latter leaning forward to tag the former, they tipped over in an instant. Momo wrapped her arms around Mina as they fell, putting a hand behind her head hoping to cushion the blow. Mina had the air driven from her lungs as Momo flopped onto her chest and the combined weight of the two girls smashed onto Momo’s knuckles. Luckily nothing was broken, and it didn’t hurt too badly, just drawing blood from split skin. But that wasn’t important.

Momo found herself lying flat on top of Mina. Her right hand, and to a lesser extent her arm, was still underneath Mina while her left was on the opposite side of Mina’s body, reaching out to push against the floor. Their legs remained tangled as Momo lifted her upper body up as far as she could with her other arm still pinned. She hurriedly scanned Mina’s face to see if she was okay but lost focus after a few short seconds.

Mina was taking deep breaths, probably to replace the air she lost on the way down, and Momo just stared. Looked at the way Mina’s hair fanned out on the floor, her fingers still tangled in those black tresses. Looked at the delicate curve of Mina’s nose and the way her chin defined the shape of her face. Looked at the way Mina’s lips were parted ever so slightly as her breathing finally levelled out. Momo finally looked into Mina’s eyes, seeing the way Mina looked back at her. The same gaze reflected back.

“Are you okay?”

Mina didn’t answer, seemingly didn’t hear the question. She just laid there, her breathing slow, looking straight at Momo. Her arms were still wrapped around Momo’s waist.

“Mina? You okay?”

Instead of an answer she was met with another question.

“What’s the first thing you want me to do?”

“Eh?”

“The bet. You won.”

Momo paused. She hadn’t even realized that. Hana’s advice came back in her mind.

“First I want you to close your eyes.”

Mina gave her a look she couldn’t quite figure out but did as she was told.

“Second I want you to tell me if you’re not okay with this.”

“Okay with wha-”

“Third I want you to let me kiss you.” Momo stopped for a moment as Mina stilled. “Is that okay?”

Mina just nodded from where she was, her eyes still closed. Momo felt a slight tug on her waist and she could feel her heart leaping into . She let Mina tug her down closer but stopped a with only a centimeter between their lips. Her voice was smaller than it had ever been.

“And I’d really like it if you’d kiss me back.” It came out as nothing but a whisper, but Mina nodded again nonetheless, nodding her head even harder.

Momo leaned down, so close to Mina's lips when she stopped. 

Mina was crying.

A/N: The second half will come. At some point. Hopefully sooner rather than later ^_^