Hey, can I go with you? Your beauty number two
Hey can I go with you, when the rendezvous is over,
when it's over
- Ladytron

Naoto stormed into the school hallway, makeup smeared on her cheeks, her gray eyes hot with rage and frustration. The warm light of the early evening shone through the windows and doorways, casting long shadows that played sharply against the cool tile floor. She approached one of the glass panes and gazed toward the school field that neighbored the buildings, sniffing quietly.

A culture festival beauty pageant was one thing, but a swimsuit contest was a bit much for her.

She moved her hand away from her hip for a moment to feel the loose, dark-blue locks that draped across her forehead. In her haste she had forgotten her hat in the dressing room and she wanted it badly.

I refuse to show myself there again until this ordeal is over.

Naoto remained standing there pensively, still upset. Whether she was acting childish or not, for the moment, she didn't care. All she could focus on was how insulted she was. How dare he, she thought. How dare Hanamura have the gall to write my name on that list. I never did anything to deserve this humiliation.

There's simply no possible way for me to allow myself to be submitted like this, merely for the sake of...teenage boys and their hormones.

She shifted her legs slightly where she stood, frowning. What felt like hours to her were mere seconds before she heard the slow creaking of a door behind her at another end of the hall. Startled, she quickly wiped her eyes with the back of a sleeve as her head spun around to see if anyone was there.

"Psst, hey! You okay?"

Naoto's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the voice coming from the doorway. The figure that emerged through it was dashing, feminine, strangely recognizable. She watched with surprise as a girl tiptoed toward her, her light brown hair glowing astonishingly in the early light of the moon and a look of near-misplaced concern on her face.

"Naoto Shirogane, right?" Readjusting to her usual composure, Naoto cleared her throat. "...Yes, that would be me."

The girl's mouth curled into a half-smile as she extended her hand. "I'm Ebihara. Ai." Naoto observed the soft outstretched hand and its manicured nails for a second, before meeting it with her own and shaking it in a European fashion. Ai glanced out the window distractedly before looking back, noticing a questioned expression marked on Naoto's face. "Didn't mean to come out of nowhere on ya. I've seen you around."

As what usually happened when she didn't know how else to react, the tomboy assumed the role of an interrogator. "...Why are you here?"

Ai leaned coolly against the windowpane as she looked at the young detective; her expression coy, her reply quite forward. "Saw you on stage for the first part. Apparently now you're nowhere to be found..." Naoto looked away, her brow furrowed. "...which I think is pretty disappointing," Ai finished.

Naoto didn't quite know how to take this statement, so she chose to ignore it.

"...And what is it that you want?" was her next question.

Ai, still leaning, faced the opposite wall this time and paused. Her eyes were closed.

"I was standing next to the dressing rooms. I heard everything."

Naoto stared at her, suddenly feeling very exposed. She remembered the makeup still coming halfway off her face and attempted to wipe it off. "Well, I...uh..." she stammered.

Ai chuckled softly. "Oh come on. You don't have to be embarrassed. Besides, the way you were yelling, I'd be surprised if I was the only one who heard."

The redness that had left Naoto's face moments earlier came flooding back. "Err...well, I didn't--"

"And I gotta admit, even though we only just met, that seemed pretty unlike you."

Yes, even though we have only just met, Naoto thought to herself. Who was this girl, anyhow? Naoto wondered if it was possible for her to come off any more boldly.

"But still, whatever it was all really about, it must be understandable. You sounded pretty upset." Ai swept her hair back over her shoulder and smiled wryly. "Of course, the way everybody else was so busy drooling all over the other chicks on stage, I didn't think anyone was about to go and try to find you. Or help you, for that matter."

"..."

Naoto could only watch the ground silently. Ai then sighed and said, "It's disgusting, anyway."

Surprised, the tomboy looked up to see the pretty girl's hazel eyes catch the moonlight, gazing out the window. "...Disgusting?" Naoto asked. Ai nodded. "Well yeah," she said matter-of-factly. "I mean honestly, a school beauty pageant? And then a swimsuit competition? What, are we trying to give wet dreams to every boy in school?" Naoto had to crack a small smile at this one. She would never say it aloud, but she thought of Kanji.

It seemed practically impossible for Ai to feel awkward, talking about anything. She went on. "And I think -- no offense or anything -- but I think that any girl who really had anything to show off or impress a guy with, wouldn't resort to signing up for some slutty contest. A real girl with any self-respect and with any good looks wouldn't let herself drop down to that level."

"You mean a girl such as yourself."

The girls subconsciously became aware of how empty the hallways seemed as the light of the day faded. It was just the two of them.

Ai's face broke into a characteristically sly grin. "Maybe. But that's something I would have owned up to months ago, not now. I wouldn't have meant it like that now."

They both paused for a moment, staring out into the darkening Inaba sky. It had suddenly become overcast within the past few minutes, as a soft drizzle licked the surface of the windowpane. "But I was kind of...I don't know, I guess excited that a girl like you would sign up for a contest like that. Your style's so much different than any of those other sluts. Especially the 'idol', that Rise Kujikawa. I don't know who she thinks she is anyway," Ai scoffed. She then leaned toward Naoto, her hand cradling the back of her own neck flirtatiously. "But with you, I was impressed. What made you decide to do it, anyway?"

Naoto suddenly remembered how to defend herself. "Well, actually, that isn't entirely accurate. I didn't have the chance to decide anything at all; I was submitted into this contest involuntarily."

Ai cocked her head, slightly confused. Naoto sighed. Was she really about to explain herself to this confident girl, this girl she had only just met? Before she could speak, Ai reminded her, "And don't be shy about it, either."

---

"Come on, let's go to the mall."

Naoto's eyes widened as she stood there, one hand on her hip, the other on the bill of her cap. "The mall?" Ai nodded. The cool autumn breeze swept over them as they stood nearby each other on the Samegawa Floodplain, looking over the quiet town of Inaba. A late-morning fog enveloped the region, but by now it had become more mild, while still insulating the town just enough to keep the cold air tolerable. Ai turned to Naoto and summoned her with a motioning of her hand. Once they stood beside each other, the brunette leaned sideways so that the their ears were barely touching. Squinting with one eye, she pointed out into the distance. "See that house over there?"

Blushing slightly, Naoto nodded. "It's big," she murmured.

After pausing for a second, Ai wandered away from her, distractedly. "Yeah, that's my house." Naoto turned to see Ai walking toward the bench on which she had left her purse. "Hey. Wanna know what I always used to keep in here?"

Naoto's feet remained planted, crossing her arms with mild interest. "What would that have been?"

"No matter what..." Swinging the bag over her shoulder, Ai moved back toward Naoto. "No matter what, I would never leave home without taking my compact with me."

Unused to feminine beauty product and tool terminology, Naoto concluded after a moment that by a compact, she meant one of those small mirrors used to apply makeup.

Ai turned back, facing Inaba. "You said you usually come here to hang out, right?"

Naoto gazed across the floodplain. "Often. I usually find myself lain with many things to think about and consider, and I suppose the atmosphere of the Samegawa is...soothing, one could say. Calm, and peaceful."

"Mmm," Ai said. "Well, the first person who ever took me here was Souji Seta. Before that, I didn't even know this place existed. I guess I was just too busy getting caught up in all the little things in Inaba, including myself. And I'm only telling you this because I know you know him," she added, glancing at her new comrade beside her. "He's such a great guy. He talked about you sometimes."

Naoto looked startled. "He talked about...me?"

Ai nodded, before sighing girlishly. "Before I met Souji-kun, I thought that the most important thing I could do was look...pretty for people," she continued, a little more slowly. Naoto stiffened, becoming aware of the personal magnitude of the things Ai was telling her. "...I thought that unless I looked absolutely stunning all the time, I would never find, like...love, or even friendship, or anything like that at all. That my looks were all that I had going for me."

"..."

"I used to ditch class all the time, too. Kind of because school was a bore, but I guess mostly because I thought that looking up to date was more important. Instead of going to school, I would take a bus from the central shopping district to the city and just...hang out at the mall. I'd hang out at the mall and buy stuff. And most of the time I didn't need anything."

"...And then Souji-senpai changed that for you?" Naoto inquired gently. Ai's soft lips slanted simperingly. "Yeah, he did. He changed all that for me. He was such a sweet guy. Even when I was awful to him, he treated me like a lady, same as ever. And I know now he wasn't doing it to kiss my ass or even because he wanted me..." Her smile was almost pained. "...but because he really gave a damn about me, you know? And he taught me how to...well, be satisfied with myself." Her purse dropped from her shoulder to her hand, her other hand illustrating her speech. "I gave him my compact, because I didn't think I needed it anymore. I figured out that looking the greatest wasn't what was most important. What's most important is how I talk to people nowadays. Like I told him, I don't need my compact because I'd rather see my own reflection in the friends I'd make. That's how I really feel pretty." Her slender hands brushed Naoto's cheek and moved to her chin. "And see...even if you do hide under that hat, without makeup and everything...you're pretty damn gorgeous yourself, y'know?"

Naoto's cheeks turned slightly red. She looked at Ai, feeling her face where that manicured hand had just been. "Th-thank you."

"Uh-huh," Ai said. She turned around and started walking. Confused, Naoto shouted after her, "Where do you think you're going?"

Ai stopped. "So are we gonna go to the mall, or what?"

As she resumed her pace, Naoto put her hands in her pockets and followed.

---

"So it was Yosuke Hanamura that set you up for the pageant, huh?"

Shopping bags in hand, Ai sat cross-legged on a cushy bench, waiting outside the women's dressing room. They had been in the shop for less than ten minutes before she shoved Naoto in with an armful of clothes.

"Yes," Naoto exclaimed from the other side of the door, slightly muffled. "When he wanted to get the girls back for submitting the boys in the...'mock' beauty pageant," she said with distaste, "he assumed all of us girls were in on it, even though it was really only an idea that Chie-senpai could have come up with. But, at least now it's over."

Ai caught herself staring at the fluorescent lights hanging above her head. "Mhmm...hey, so do ya think any of that will work for you?" She heard the shuffling from the other side of the door stop. For a second, Naoto was quiet. "Well, um...it's a bit strange, but perhaps..."

Ai practically sprang to her feet when she saw Naoto sporting a simple light-blue skirt. Her toes were pointed inwardly and she scratched awkwardly at the bandanna tied around her neck. Seeing Ai's look of surprise, Naoto turned away, blushing. "Except I don't really think..."

"Hey!" Ai said suddenly, Naoto's gaze snapping back to her. Out of nowhere, the brunette produced a plastic suit bag.

"Put that in here. I'm getting it for you."

"...!" Naoto was shocked. "Oh, well, are you sure--?"

"Don't ask me stupid questions like that," Ai insisted, shoving another bundle of feminine wear into Naoto's arms. "Now try these on."

---

Side by side, together they strolled through the mall. By this point, Naoto had nearly recovered from the shock of seeing herself wearing a skirt, while Ai donned her blue detective's hat.

"I feel like such a man," she said, laughing. "What with this hat, and all these bags of stuff we got..." Despite the fact that her legs felt naked, Naoto had apparently gained back most of her confidence, even if she wasn't wearing any pants. "You know, Souji-kun always came here with me and carried my bags, back when he was my boyfriend. I made him do it, of course..." Ai stopped suddenly in her tracks and turned to Naoto.

"Hey. Do I look good in this hat?"

Caught off-guard by the question, Naoto felt the hair on her own hatless head for a second and smiled. "I would say so."

"Good." Ai smiled back, and sighed. "Screw boys, who needs 'em. Now I got you to tell me how I look."

They chuckled. Ai's face turned suddenly to a big sign in front of another clothing shop. "Oh my god...Hello Sayonara & Co. is having a three-hour sale! Quick!"

Subconsciously, the two were comforted by the idea that days like this wouldn't be so bad to get used to. As they sprinted through the shopping mall together, Naoto didn't know what felt more blissful: the sensation of having Ai unashamedly grab hold of her hand to run with her, or the fact that after they reached their destination, this strange new girl refused to let go of it.

Perhaps it isn't always just the opposites that attract, but the ones who find a bit of mystery in each other, too.