The Ramparts of Ice

“The after-party was supposed to be relaxing. After an entire day of the sports festival, everyone had been looking forward to sitting down, eating good food, and forgetting about how exhausted they were. Sano, however, had apparently decided that exhaustion was not an excuse to be quiet. Her bag was sitting beside her chair, covered in so many keychains that every time she moved, they jingled loudly against one another. Jingle. Jingle-jingle. JINGLE. "Sano," Miki said, glancing at the bag. "What?" "Your bag." "What about it?" "It's making more noise than you are." Sano gasped dramatically. "Impossible." Yota laughed from across the table. "You've been talking for twenty minutes." "That's called socializing." "You're yelling." "That's called enthusiastic socializing." Miki shook her head, smiling. Sano was like that. She could turn almost anything into a joke. Being younger than everyone else in the group didn't make her seem shy or out of place either. If anything, Sano acted like she had been friends with them forever. But there was one thing that could make her mood change almost instantly. Koyuki being uncomfortable. Sano noticed things other people sometimes missed. And right now, Koyuki was quieter than usual. Sano looked across the table. Momoka had been talking to Koyuki for a while, but something about the conversation didn't sit right with her. Koyuki's answers were short. Her shoulders were tense. And every few moments, Momoka's attention would drift toward Minato. Sano narrowed her eyes. She didn't like that. She leaned toward Miki. "What's her deal?" Miki glanced toward Momoka. "Sano..." "No, seriously." "I think she's trying to get closer to Minato." Sano blinked. Then she looked at Koyuki. Then Minato. Then Momoka. Her expression slowly became one of absolute disbelief. "Wait." Miki sighed. "Sano—" "She's using Koyuki to get closer to Minato?" Miki didn't answer. She didn't need to. Sano's eye twitched. "Oh, absolutely not." "Sano." "I'm calm." "You are never saying that when you're calm." "I'm being completely reasonable." Sano stood up. Miki immediately grabbed her sleeve. "Don't start anything." "I'm not!" Sano gently pulled herself free. "I'm just going to talk to her." She walked over to Momoka. Momoka looked up. "Can I help you?" Sano smiled. It was the sweetest smile she could possibly give. Which somehow made it worse. "Actually, yeah." She glanced at Koyuki. Then at Momoka. "Could you stop making Koyuki uncomfortable?" Momoka's expression changed. "I don't know what you're talking about." "Really?" Sano tilted her head. "Because I do." Momoka frowned. "You shouldn't involve yourself." "Oh, I absolutely should." Sano pointed toward Koyuki. "She's my friend." Koyuki looked surprised. Sano continued. "And if you're only being nice to her because you want to get closer to Minato..." She paused. "...that's messed up." The conversation around them had gone completely quiet. Everyone was listening now. Minato looked uncomfortable. Koyuki looked between the two girls. Momoka crossed her arms. "You don't know anything about me." Sano stared at her. "Maybe." Then she looked down at the bowl of soup in her hand. "And maybe I should've just stayed quiet." For one second, everyone thought she was going to walk away. Instead, Sano looked back at Momoka. "But I'm really bad at staying quiet." She lifted the bowl. Miki's eyes widened. "Sano." Sano looked at her. "I'm sorry." And then— Splash. The soup landed all over Momoka's clothes. Silence. Sano slowly lowered the empty bowl. Momoka stared at herself. Then at Sano. Then back at herself. Sano's expression was completely serious. "Now we're even." Minato looked horrified. "Sano!" "What?" "You can't just pour soup on people!" "I know." Yota was struggling not to laugh. Miki had both hands over her face. Koyuki was completely stunned. And Yuki? Yuki was staring at Sano like he couldn't decide whether to be shocked or impressed. Sano noticed.”