Half way through the flight to Tokio City, it became relatively quiet until-

"IT'S ABOUT GODDAMN TIME!" Niara yelled at the blonde girl. "LORD, I was getting SO FLIPPING TIRED of seeing you both being 'JUST FRIENDS'. JUST FRIENDS MY ASS!!"

"Congratulations on getting to go on that date, Eva!" Ami cheered.

"Niara's right though. It's about time Jin asked you out." Kazuya stated teasingly.

Eva would've been flustered if she didn't have a proper comeback. "And what about you, Kazu? Have you managed to get Miss Kawamura to change her name to Mrs. Aoshima?" The two blushed and turned away from each other, Niara laughing her head off behind them.

"Do you have to be so loud?" Kousuke sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He was napping until Niara started yelling.

"Of course I do!" The Russian said when she finally stopped laughing. "Jin finally asked Eva on a date!"

"He did?!" Ran, who was also woken up by Niara's shouting, is now on her feet with excitement. "Finally!"

"And I thought we were happy when they finally confessed. This is so much better!" Jessica joined in.

"What's going on?" Hugo came into the cockpit as all the girls began acting crazy.

"Jin asked Eva out on a date for Christmas." Kirito said in a bored tone.

"Shhhhhhh!!" The girls all shushed him.

Niara slapped his back and whispered aggressively. "You don't just tell an older brother that his little sister got asked out! Don't you read stereotypes?!"

"I don't."

"Well you still shouldn't tell him!"

"I'm okay with that, though...?" Hugo interjected.

"It's still a social norm not to! Especially between teenagers!"

"Honestly, I think every brother would get angrier if their sister went out with someone behind their backs, so I'm gonna thank Kirito for straight up telling it to my face."

"You're welcome."

"And besides," The blonde turned to the Russian girl. "Niara, since when do you follow stereotypes?"

"Since never, but I like to use it against people sometimes."

"... Right, okay. So, where are the other three?"

"Ban and Hiro are asking Jin to pay attention to their battle. Something about improving their tactics while doing combos." Eva replied.

"So he's not here to listen to you girls freaking out then."

"He left because he didn't want to listen to them freaking out."

"And you do?"

"... To a degree, yeah. I mean... They're freaking out in a supporting way, so I don't really mind."

Niara and Kirito became silent, knowing exactly what she meant. Mizel too, was staying still in his watch form, not needing to connect to her brain to understand. All the while, everyone else was oblivious to what the young blonde had gone through in school.

~~~~~

They arrived at the airport, where Takuya and Yagami were waiting for them. Reaching Tiny Orbit, they met with Prof. Yamano, Prof. Oozora, Gouda, Sendou, Olivia and Izayoi. They explained everything that had happened and, to her surprise, they agreed that Mizel could stay as long as Eva keeps an eye on him. To add to that surprise, Tiny Orbit had decided to hold a local demonstration on the 23rd, where Takuya expects many kids would come to meet those who brought LBXs back to them. Not to mention the party the night after.

One week left until the tournament and most of the girls spent the whole week shopping for outfits and treats. Eva and Niara are the only ones who didn't until the rest began dragging them by force. At one point, they got separated into two groups. Jessica and Ran are dedicated on getting something for Eva, while the rest are with Niara, who is a lot harder to handle than the former.

"Ugh... I can't believe this..." Niara muttered when she stepped out of the changing room. "Dresses are so weird..."

"Niara, you have to look good for the party." Olivia said, picking out another outfit for her to try.

"Easy for you to say. You wear skirts on a daily basis."

"It's not that bad." Asuka cut in. "You look great."

"... That's not going to get me to take my scarf off. Or my jacket for that matter."

"What would it take for you to take it off?" Ami asked.

"Let me not wear something as short as this and maybe I'll only keep my scarf."

"Deal."

"Yes!"

It took a while, but Niara finally settled for a dark blue dress. She just hoped Kirito wouldn't make fun of her. Knowing him, he'll never let her live it down.

That's when another idea popped into her head.

~~~~~

"Eva, I'm serious. You look so cute!" Jessica said, smiling brightly.

She had the younger blonde fit into a purple blouse and, to her dismay, a skirt.

"Can I please trade out the skirt?" She has asked the two for the third time.

"What's wrong with it? You look adorable!" Ran said excitedly.

"I mean, it's not like you two are gonna wear skirts at the party..."

"..."

"..."

Jessica nodded. "Alright, you have a point there. We'll still be the one to pick it though."

"Fine. As long as it's long enough to cover my knees."

"Deal." Ran went to a certain section and came back not ten minutes later. "This one's perfect!" In her hands was a pair of white leggings.

"That... Actually, I like that." Eva said with a nod.

"Try it on then!" And the older two pushed her back into the changing room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I described what Eva and Niara would be wearing as formal outfits sorta. What would the other characters wear?

Here's a peak!

Kirito (it doesn't really look like him, but I try):

Kousuke (Horns were added intentionally):

Kazuya:

Ami:

For the other OCs, you guys can just imagine what you want them to wear :)