["Memory is no different from the deep sea. Never gaze at the sea surface on a starless night."]
[The crystal chandelier's light flowed through the dance floor, dyeing the ground into a honey-colored lake. Black Swan stepped on the ripples of light and approached gracefully. Her purple veil floated gently with her steps, like the last wisp of sunset glow unwilling to disperse in the twilight.]
["Waiting for someone?"]
[Her voice was like silk soaked in moonlight, very soft and warm.]
[Acheron raised her head, seeming somewhat dazed as she looked at her, and gently shook her head.]
["Then…" Black Swan's fingertips brushed past her own lips as she extended a hand to her. "Would you like to dance with me?"]
[Acheron was silent for a moment, then finally reached out and lightly placed her hand in her palm.]
[…]
[The music changed at just the right moment. The violin's melody wound around their toes like sugar threads.]
[Two tall figures had already formed a perfect composition in the center of the dance floor. Black Swan's right hand interlocked with hers. She spun lightly and separated. Like a wisp of purple smoke, she circled behind Acheron. Her hands slithered upward like snakes.]
["I have watched her for a long time. Tonight is the first invitation. A 'Galaxy Ranger,' as mysterious as the rumors say. Somewhat noble…"]
[The gloved fingertips brushed across Acheron's wrist, then her sleeve, pausing subtly at the elbow joint as if waiting for the rhythm of the music. When her palm finally rested on her shoulder, she gave a light pat. Not only did it draw back Acheron's gaze, but it also glued the entire ballroom's attention onto their overlapping figures.]
["And somewhat wooden."]
——
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.
"Ohhh—"
In the rental house, Kobayashi, Tohru, and Kanna couldn't help but widen their eyes.
"Kobayashi Kobayashi! Let's dance that too!" Tohru jumped onto the sofa. Her golden vertical pupils stared tightly at Black Swan and Miss Acheron dancing gracefully in the sky screen. Her face was full of envy and anticipation. "If we dance that together, it will definitely look good too!"
"T-Tohru… don't joke around." Kobayashi frantically adjusted her glasses. "The reason they look good isn't just the dance moves. Their looks and figures are impeccable. And look at me…"
Years of programmer office worker life had left Kobayashi almost numb. She had never exercised her figure. Her only hobby was drinking beer and discussing maids after work. Her kind of boring, ordinary office worker life was probably a hundred thousand miles away from Penacony's glamour.
Dancing in sexy and beautiful clothes…
Kobayashi lowered her head.
…A certain prominent area was as flat as a plain.
"Let's forget it, Tohru."
"We can't just forget it!" Tohru buried her head deeper. Her big tail thumped against the sofa. She looked up with a blush on her face. "In my heart, Kobayashi is the most perfect! Dancing Kobayashi is definitely the cutest of all!"
Kobayashi smiled gratefully: "Thank you, Tohru, but—"
"Lady Tohru, Lady Tohru." Kanna suddenly tugged at Tohru's maid skirt. She opened her watery blue eyes and said seriously: "I can dance with Lady Tohru too!" As she spoke, she stood on tiptoe and spun in a circle. The cat pattern on her white socks spun along with her.
"Ara~" Tohru squatted down and poked Kanna's chubby little face. "You have to wait until Kanna grows to…" Her finger moved to her own dragon horn. "…this height~"
——
["But in the night hunt, [Hunt] is not the only hunter."]
[Black Swan's fingertips suddenly brushed across Acheron's side face, like a sharp feather, traveling along her jawline—an incredibly intimate action, like two wisterias intertwining under the moonlight. But Acheron quickly twisted away, once again creating some distance between them.]
[Black Swan's fingertips suddenly tightened. With a neat sliding step, she pulled Acheron into her embrace. The purple veil drew a smooth arc in the air, like a curtain falling across the night sky. The moment Acheron lost her balance, her lower back was steadily caught in Black Swan's arm—that black-gloved hand rested firmly on her spine with an irresistible force.]
["At this distance, you are even more charming than you appear."]
[Black Swan hooked her arm and lightly pulled the leaning-back Acheron upright. Their movements unfolded like overlapping wings, rippling with soft light under the dance floor lamps.]
["She also came for the Watchmaker's legacy. Without a doubt, in this game, everyone will lie."]
[In the gap of the next spin, Black Swan suddenly leaned down. Her fingertips deftly lifted Acheron's sleeve, revealing her well-defined wrist. She lowered her head as if to kiss it. Her lips almost touched Acheron's skin—]
[—But unfortunately, she missed at the last moment.]
[Acheron's wrist slipped away like a swimming fish. Her fingertips traced across Black Swan's jaw in passing. Her expression remained calm, with not even the slightest ripple in her eyes.]
——
Honkai Impact 3rd.
In the lounge of St. Freya Academy, Kiana's voice was so loud it nearly shattered the glass: "She she she—she actually dared to kiss Mei's hand!!"
Mei sighed helplessly: "Kiana, that's just my counterpart. Also, that's not my hand."
"That still doesn't make it okay!" Kiana paced back and forth in the lounge like an angry cat. "What's with this Black Swan? I noticed it from earlier—this woman's hands have been restless from the start, touching Mei all over! Are they very familiar? They've only just met!"
"Tsk tsk…" Bronya glanced at Kiana and pouted: "Kiana, do you know what you look like right now? Like a puffed-up pufferfish? Your cheeks are all puffed up~"
"W-Where?!" Kiana's face instantly turned bright red. "I just can't stand this Black Swan! She has no sense of boundaries at all! Who goes around kissing other people's hands like that, right?! Mei?"
The purple-haired girl beside her didn't speak. Kiana turned around and saw her still staring intently at the seemingly intimate yet distant actions of the two in the sky screen.
"—Mei, say something!"
"Ah, oh…" Mei finally reacted. She coughed lightly, her ear tips slightly red: "Y-Yes… it's very lacking in boundaries."
——
["In this game, everyone will lie, but memory will not."]
[The chandelier light continued to spin. Black Swan suddenly felt the force at her fingertips being countered—Acheron's palm had somehow flipped upward at some point, steadily supporting her wrist.]
[Black Swan raised an eyebrow, but in the next second she was pulled into a dominant spin.]
[Breath intertwined with breath.]
[Acheron's right hand had somehow already wrapped firmly around her left shoulder. The force was neither light nor heavy, yet carried an unyielding firmness, pulling the two of them into a dangerously close distance.]
["Getting better, isn't it?"]