The format's a little bit different from my usual ones. Something's wrong with my aff account and I don't know what that is.

I was actually waiting for a few more hours before updating. 
But screw that, yay! A surprise update for my birthday? Haha.
And I’m still stuDYING like crazy if you’re asking me.

______________________________________________________

[ 24 ]

Tzuyu didn’t know when or how it all started.

One could say that it was rather fate leading her to the exact perfect place right at the perfect time whenever that that someone would be badly needing someone else’s help, and it also seems like it was fate asking her to play that part – to be Myoui Mina’s own black knight.

She’s confused. Just how can you call all those very moments a mere ‘coincidence’ when she always would show up to everywhere Mina’s facing trouble? She wasn’t intending to, swear to God, but still she always do. That very concept still puzzles her.

An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force.

It was simple Physics 101. Law of Inertia. She could’ve just ignored it, all those ‘coincidences’ and it would’ve mean nothing to her. In act, if she did, it could’ve played an advantage to her too considering the fact that that high mighty Myoui Mina always annoys her for going against most of her well-calculated decisions. It was her decision – whether to help or not to help the annoying penguin, the external force that could affect whatever’s in motion between the two of them (either to continue their hate relationship or to finally stop their childish nonsense). But still, she did. She did help her EVERYTIME. 

It became an unspoken rule of the two. Mina – getting into trouble and her – playing hero. She doesn’t even know why she always does, it also amazes her - how she really couldn’t manage to feel anything in her heart for everyone else, so she doesn’t really care if whatever happens to someone (for ’s sake everybody knew she’s the infamous Ice Princess). But then, for the first time in her life, there was someone who triggered something within her. Something that she couldn’t understand.

She hates the way she hears her sob.

She would always feel that foreign slight tinge in her heart, and the next thing she knew is that she was already there, comforting a crying mess that in normal instances, she would’ve love to mess with.

(Flashback)

“Okay, everyone, gather up!” Jeongyeon clapped her hands and every student council members instantly gathered. “Time for the awarding of the winners of the hill-climb challenge.”

From afar, Tzuyu just watched silently as she lazily dangles her one leg on the branch of a tree. “Still the same boring and annoying camp, I see. Better get out of here before they notice I’m missing.”

The hill-climb challenge they went through earlier was really an easy challenge, well for Tzuyu at least. Jeongyeon, as the camp activities director, was very predictable. Tzuyu have already figured out the pattern of the whole camping plan, way even before the schedules were distributed to them – including every little tricks Jeongyeon has up to her sleeves. So to save time, she chose the easiest and safest route suitable for her own team. They could’ve finished it within just thirty minutes too, if her teammate isn’t someone named Minatozaki Sana (she still love it though, she had her best time teasing the clumsy squirrel).

Wandering around, she found herself trailing the track that was considered to be the most difficult route from the challenge. She wanted to know up to how much extent the organizers meant by ‘difficult’. But to her dismay, boring was the least to say. There were nothing much exciting about that path, honestly.

*sob*sniff*

Tzuyu stopped.

*sob*sob*sniff*

Did she just heard someone crying?

*sob*sob*sniff*

Tzuyu felt weird for she swear her heart was tugging. So instead of ignoring, she went towards the source of the sound. Slowly. Carefully. She threaded between the bushes until-

“Kyaaah!” With a full swing, something had hit her back. 

“Urgh…” Tzuyu groaned as she try to get up and ignore the excruciating pain coming from her possible injured body part. When she faced to figure out whose crazy enough to do something like that, there she was. Staring at the person top listed as one of the many people that annoyed her most – the high mighty Myoui Mina. THE Mina who toppled over her plans. THE Mina who’s also annoyed at her as much as she did to her. The same Mina, who’s now sweating bullets and slowly turning pale white as soon as she realized what or who she just hit. 

“ARE YOU ING CRAZY?! DO YOU REALLY WANTED TO KILL ME THAT BAD?”

“T-Tzuyu?” Mina gulped. “W-what are you doing here?” Though concern was evident in her voice, the frightened Japanese girl stepped back. 

Tzuyu wanted to scream but pain instantly shot from her injured back as soon as she stepped forward. Crouching, she gave the Japanese girl a glare. “HELP ME HERE SO I CAN GET UP AND LEAD THE WAY!”

After some exchange of ‘I’m sorrys’ and ‘Shut ups’ between the two, they managed to walk a few hundred meters away from their former spot. Tzuyu was sure that it will only take them a few more hundred meters to reach the camp. But they, especially her, needs to rest too. 

They conversed. Well, most of it consists of her dissing Mina. But she discovered something else too. Something that shocked her. Mina’s probably hiding an unwanted past, a very much sensitive topic to open up with her, and it was when she realized that both of them - they had a lot of similarities with each other.

(end of flashback)

Things got a little better after that. They have lessened their time arguing with one another, and somehow managed to come up and agree with same student council decisions. They share some same secrets and some serious conversations. She now considers Mina as something beyond just an ‘acquaintance’, but maybe it was a little too much putting whatever’s between them as ‘friends’. 

(flashback)

“Hey.” Mina flinched as she felt something cold placed against her cheeks. 

“T-Tzuyu?” The Japanese girl sniffs, evident puffy eyes hinting that she was crying for more than an hour now. The tall girl was wearing a frown on her face, looking at her then at the empty cans around the rooftop and again, back at her. 

“I guess that what I’ve brought was no longer needed.” She raised the two more beer cans occupying her hand. “Mind if I sit here?”

Mina shook her head, slightly laughing. “No. Not at all.” She would be lying if she said that Tzuyu’s presence didn’t made her feel slightly okay.

“So, you do drink. The Myoui Mina drinks alcohol.” The tall girl smirks. “Maybe a lightweight at that.”
Mina’s eyes squinted. “Are you challenging me, Chou Tzuyu?” 

Tzuyu just shrugs. “Maybe. Maybe not. It’s not a really good headline for the campus paper if a sudden news of two council members, especially the President and Vice-President, caught drinking on the school grounds.”
Mina’s brows quirked up. “Is that why you’re here holding that beer cans?” 

“No, you fool.” Tzuyu answers as she flicked the slightly tipsy Japanese girl’s forehead. “Today, I’m letting you off the hook. I’m just here to accompany you.” She smiled as she pulled the older girl closer for a hug. “I’m here.” She cooed. “Let it out.”

And with that, Mina’s tears didn’t stop from falling. It didn’t stop until she was already on Tzuyu’s arms, snuggling closer towards the tall girl while sleeping. 

“Finally. I thought you would make it till dawn.” Tzuyu chuckled as she places her jacket around Mina’s sleeping figure. She fished out her phone from her pocket and sighed when she saw the time on the screen. “Sana would kill me. I forgot to text her of my whereabouts.”

After typing a short text for her cute squirrel, she found herself once again staring at the sleeping girl beside her. Their proximities are a little bit too close and she wasn’t sure if what she’s hearing was her own heart rapidly beating. “You really look like a penguin.”

Mina moved a little, startling Tzuyu in the process. She thought that the sleeping girl woke, but after looking at the older girl’s eyes firmly closed, she concluded that she was rather still sleeping. A few moments after, there was a sob. “Mom… No… Don’t leave me.”

Tzuyu wasn’t really good at comforting people, but she didn’t knew what hit her when she hug the crying girl closer and draw circles on her back. She even whispered at her humming the first song that came on her mind.

“Hamkkehan sigandeuri maeil bujokhae
Oneuldo aswiwo naeman sumgyeosseotjyo
Jogeum deo isseojwoyo malhago 
Sipeotjiman haji mothaetjyo…”

When the sobs died down, Tzuyu felt relieved. She then clutched on her chest, feeling that familiar tinge present on her heart whenever she hears the latter crying. She was looking at the Japanese girl’s now peaceful state. She heaves a sigh.

“Why do I feel such pain when I’m with you, Myoui Mina?”

(end of flashback)

“She must’ve been special.” 

“Huh?” Tzuyu’s daze perked up when the saleslady started talking to her. She was on her guise, a bucket hat to avoid commotion whenever she decides to go on secret shopping to let off some air. She’s a well-known personality, so she does that for security purposes. Maybe, the saleslady didn’t recognized her as the person who literally owns the mall. “Excuse me?”

“That someone you’re thinking just now. I’m guessing that she’s pretty special.” Tzuyu blinked a few times, still clueless as to what the saleslady is talking about. The other person, however, just chuckled. She watched her fumbling over the keys that was stuck on her skirt pocket and opening the glass sliding on the display as she pulled out the necklace Tzuyu was eyeing out. “This is one of the most expensive item on our collection. This is no ordinary necklace.”

“Is that so?” Tzuyu felt entertained. She wasn’t really planning on buying something on that jewelry store, but after she walked passed that necklace, she didn’t realized that she already staying there for more than an hour. That should’ve been the reason why the saleslady got her attention.

“Yes. You see this star-shaped pendant?” Tzuyu nodded. “This has the remains of the part of the comet called Hyakutake that hit the earth. That comet only comes around every after 70, 000 years, a rare beauty that transcends beyond human life span. It’s the reason why people started associating it with eternal love for a real eternal love exceeds anything, even beyond