There was a moment of tense silence as Yuki seemed to war with herself, like she was on the verge of accepting Noel's sincerity but still struggling to let go of that anger and suspicion that had defined her for so long.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Yuki's features softened imperceptibly, her shoulders relaxing a tiny bit as she spoke in a voice just above a whisper: "...Maybe I underestimated you."

  Noel let out a small, quiet sigh of relief at those words, like she'd expected Yuki to blow up in her face instead.

  A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she replied with a simple but sincere, "Maybe you did."

  Yuki let out a scoff of annoyance, but it was more playful than heated this time. "Don't get cocky," she warned, though her eyes twinkled with something new: respect.

  Noel's smile widened slightly at that. "Not cocky. Just confident," she countered with her own hint of a smirk.

  Yuki rolled her eyes. "Cockiness, confidence…same difference," she replied, though her tone was less sharp now, like she was almost enjoying being challenged for once.

  Noel couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Yuki's retort. "No, there's a big difference. Cocky means you're just putting on a show. Confidence means you know you can actually back it up."

  Yuki raised an eyebrow at that. "And which one of them are you, then?" she asked, tone still sharp but with a hint of genuine curiosity now.

  Noel's smile widened into a full-blown grin at the question, like she'd been both anticipating it. "Confident," she replied, voice and eyes full of certainty.

  Yuki studied her for a moment longer, like she was trying to gauge just how serious Noel was about that. "Prove it then," she challenged, arms folded across her chest.

  Noel's grin widened even more as she met Yuki's challenging stare with one of her own. "Name your terms," she said boldly.

  Yuki's smirk turned into a full-on grin at Noel's challenging gesture, like she was already looking forward to watching her try. "Alright then. If you're so confident, how about this: I have a little test for you," she proposed.

  Noel met her gaze evenly, undaunted. "A test, huh? Alright. I'm game. What is it?" she asked, tone just as bold as before.

  Yuki's grin widened at Noel's response, clearly enjoying herself now. "Simple. I don't know if you've heard,but the Seven Deadly Sins are causing havoc here in Euphoria, and I've tracked down one of them: Pride. If you can defeat him, you win. But if you lose, then I win," she explained, folding her arms across her chest.

  Noel raised an eyebrow at the terms, intrigued. "I've heard, yes. And Pride? How fitting considering the current topic. So, what's the prize for winning, huh?"

  Yuki's smirk turned downright wicked at the question, like she'd been waiting for this exact opening.

  "If you win?" She shrugged, feigning nonchalance even as her eyes gleamed with mischief. "I'll tell you the rest of my story, no holding back."

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  A beat passed where Yuki let that hang in the air between them before adding:

  "...And maybe I won’t try to stab you next time we argue either."

  Noel barked out a laugh at that last part, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe Yuki was trying to negotiate fairness after basically offering blackmail material.

  But then Noel’s grin sharpened again as she leaned forward slightly and said: "Deal. But if I lose? What do you get from me?”

  Yuki’s grin turned feral at the question, like she'd been waiting for this exact moment.

  "If you lose?" She let out a low, taunting chuckle before leaning in slightly and saying: "You owe me one favor. No limits."

  A pause as Yuki let that sink in, her smirk widening when Noel didn’t immediately back down from it.

  Then, with deliberate casualness, Yuki added: "...And I expect you to actually mean it when you say 'yes' too."

  Noel blinked once before bursting into laughter again, shaking her head like she couldn't believe Yuki was serious.

  But after a beat of amusement fading into something more calculating? Noel met her gaze squarely and said:

  "Fine. But only if you swear not to be an asshole about whatever favor I end up doing."

  Yuki tilted her head as if considering…then shrugged carelessly while muttering under breath:

  “…No promises.”

  A smirk tugged at the corner of Noel's mouth in response to Yuki's response. "Oh really?" she drawled, folding her arms across her chest.

  Yuki met her look head-on, her own arms folded. "Yeah, really," she replied, eyes twinkling with mischief.

  Noel rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Great. Just what I needed, more attitude," she muttered.

  Yuki just grinned unrepentantly. "What can I say?" she said, tone playful. "Attitude is part of my charm."

  Juniper cut in: "Oi, what about us? You're kicking some Sin ass without ME?"

  "And me!" Chie added eagerly, while Alice remained quiet.

  Yuki blinked at them in mild surprise, but then nodded in approval. "You two are more than welcome to spectate," she said, voice somewhat more serious now.

  Chie pumped her fist in victory, while Juner grinned broadly. "Yeah! We got front-row seats to the action!”

  Yuki's smirk widened into a full-blown grin, pleased by the immediate backup from her friends.

  "Front-row seats, huh?" She shot Chie and Juniper an amused look before turning back to Noel with a raised brow. "You sure you wanna do this in front of them? Because I promise, I won't hold back just because we've got an audience."

  Noel scoffed but didn't hesitate for even a second:

  "Please. Like I'd let some Sin scare me off after that little confession session earlier."

  Juniper cackled loudly at that while Chie clapped excitedly like she was watching her favorite show.

  And Yuki? Her grin turned downright wicked.

  "Good to know we're all on the same page then," she said, voice dripping with satisfaction.

  Juniper rubbed her hands together gleefully as Chie bounced excitedly on her toes. "This is going to be so awesome! It's like watching your favorite anime but LIVE!”

  Yuki gave her friends a dry look, clearly unimpressed with their theatrics. "You two are insufferable," she muttered, though there was no real heat behind it.

  Chie gasped dramatically, clutching her chest as if wounded. "Rude! We're just here for moral support!"

  Juniper elbowed Chie lightly before adding: "Yeah, and maybe some front-row commentary." She shot Noel a sly grin. "No pressure, but you better make this entertaining."

  Noel rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

  Meanwhile, Kaori remained silent, still watching from where she stood close to Alice.

  Yuki let out an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why are you all like this?"

  Chie grinned unrepentantly while Juniper just shrugged, completely unbothered by Yuki’s annoyance.

  "Because it's fun," Chie chirped, bouncing on her toes again like an over-caffeinated squirrel.

  Juniper nodded in agreement before adding: "And someone has to keep things interesting around here."

  Noel snorted loudly at that comment, clearly amused despite herself.

  Meanwhile, Alice finally spoke up from where she stood quietly beside Kaori, voice small but firm: "...Shouldn't we be focusing on finding Pride instead?"

  A beat of silence followed as everyone turned to look at Alice with varying degrees of surprise (and a little guilt). Even Yuki paused mid-eye-roll to blink down at her friend.

  Then slowly…the entire group started nodding along awkwardly until Yuki cleared her throat and muttered:

  “…Fair point.”