As The Night Sky Bursts Into Color

"To get to share this slice of my life with you all..."

**As The Night Sky Bursts Into Color** is the 5-star focus card of the *Along the Deep Blue Horizon's Crest* event. It is centered around Asmodeus Aledaria from third-generation group CherryCrush.

The card art features Spiridon Kojima (PARΛDOX), Selene Florentino (Dream Hour), Kazumi Kwon (Viltarin), Mamiko Aledaria (Dream Hour), and Manami Maehara (OYASUMI).

The card story features Spiridon Kojima (PARΛDOX), Mamiko Aledaria (Dream Hour), Manami Maehara (OYASUMI), Aubrey Díor (Bubble!POP), Hiyeira Relainne (Bubble!POP), Selene Florentino (Dream Hour), and Kazumi Kwon (Viltarin).

## Card Story

[ Asmodeus Card Story - As the Night Sky Bursts Into Color: START ]

The small ringing of a bell accompanied their entrance.

“This place is so cute! Look at all the souvenirs!” Asmo ran around the gift shop with frantic excitement like a dog running to the guests of a party, checking out every item while his partner followed with a smile. He laughed, holding up a small otter plushie dressed like a sailor. “Haha, look at this!”

Spirit mirrored his energy, “That’s adorable, but,” he stared at the price tag, “It’s kind of pricey, isn’t it?”

Asmo stared blankly at the stuffed toy, wanting to buy his boyfriend a souvenir. “I’m buying it for you anyway,” he spoke through giggles, continuing to travel down the aisles before coming to an abrupt stop. An airy gasp escaped at the sight of something he absolutely wanted. “They’re perfect.”

Before him, suspended from a clothing hanger, was a comfortable night outfit that looked nearly identical to a sailor suit. The top was a soft white blouse, cropped just as Asmodeus liked wearing his outfits. The collar and shorts were just as soft, colored a dark blue, and topping off the outfit was a sailor cap, hued that same blue with a golden crown ironed to the front. It was the best souvenir he could have gotten. Beside it dangled a similar night outfit, completely dark blue with white stripes decorated throughout. It was much more akin to a Japanese naval-themed school uniform, but it still sat right at home here on the cruise ship.

Asmo swiftly grabbed both sets of pajamas, holding them out to his boyfriend, who was struggling to keep up, with a sing-songy tone. “Look, Spiridon! And they’ve got them in our sizes, too.”

Spirit gave him a curious look before shaking his head and declining, “You’re already buying me this otter, I can’t have you spending all of your money on souvenirs.” It was clear that Spirit was interested, but didn’t plan to allow his boyfriend to use up too much of his money. “I don’t think I can just let you waste all your money like that.”

“Oh, come on, babe,” the brunette whined. “I want to buy them, so it’s not ‘wasting.’ I just want us to remember this weekend. Matching pajamas and a stuffed otter is just… me expressing my love, you know? And besides, it’s not like I’m going to spend ALL of my money on this.”

He stared at Spirit pleadingly, who let out a sigh in reply. Asmo didn’t really need his boyfriend’s permission, but he still wanted to ensure that he was completely okay with the purchase.

“If you really want to, my light, then you can, but I just wanted to make sure that you’re being careful with your money. You spend so much on me… your family… your friends… everyone. The only time I see you buying something for yourself is–” Spirit stopped himself there, holding back a laugh. The boy beside him took a moment to think about what he meant before playfully shushing him as if they were in a library.

“Hey! No one needs to know about how much I’ve spent on physical copies of Eighteen-Carat Heart… and online episodes… and merchandise… and that signed copy of Volume 6.” They shared a laugh before walking to check-out.

…

As they walked down the hall and the sky outside continued to darken, Asmo and Spirit stopped by the door of Asmo and his mother’s suite.

“Hey, Asmo?” Spirit tapped his partner’s arm, adjusting the bag around his own shoulder in which he had securely stowed away the newly-bought otter plushie and night outfit into.

Asmo, who leaned lightly against the door of the suite like it was a makeshift pillow, teased through lighthearted laughter, “Hmm? Does my Moon have something to say before the cruise comes to an end?”

Spirit grinned back, “Thank you. For all of this. For… bringing me on the cruise. For letting me meet all of your school friends. I really needed this, Asmo.”

Beaming, he simply gave Spirit a light peck on the cheek in return. “Of course. I’ll take any opportunity I can to hang out with my amazing boyfriend, especially in person.” Though subtle, Spirit noticed Asmo’s face growing ever so slightly solemn.

“Something wrong, honey?”

He exhaled, frustrated with himself. “It’s just that I invited my pen pal onto the cruise too, but I haven’t seen them at all. I should’ve asked my mom if we could have given them more than one ticket. At least then they wouldn’t have to go around the cruise all alone.”

Spirit listened carefully about his contrition, beginning to come up with some advice but only managing to say, “Don’t beat yourself about it. You’ll always have loads of opportunities to meet with your pen pal in person. If all you can hope for is that they were able to enjoy the cruise as much as you did, then hold onto that hope and wish the best for them rather than worrying about the worst.”

Reactively, Asmo gave Spirit a hug and the two of them held tight for a moment, bonding through the art of affection. They shared another kiss before Asmo reached for the door, comforted.

The two said their goodbyes as Asmo walked into the suite, being greeted by his mother. She seemed rather content with herself, typing away on her laptop at the suite’s desk. Asmo assumed that she was sending emails.

“Hey, Mom. Did she agree to work on the movie?”

His mother took a moment to continue typing, setting the laptop aside after hitting the Enter button. “Hi sweetie, and yes! It took a lot of convincing, but she finally decided that working with Four Quarters would ultimately elevate her career. That being said, I’m already back to work, so don’t mind me.”

With a nod, Asmo groaned tiredly as he threw himself on his bed, still held back by the idea that his pen pal was strolling around alone on the cruise. He couldn’t help but wish that they had at least exchanged phone numbers so that it would be easier for them to meet up. Asmo’s mother seemed concerned, but she still clicked and clacked away at her keyboard. Asmo spent a while on his phone before going to the bathroom to change into his newly bought sailor suit pajamas. They were incredibly cozy, a perfectly fitted cotton film of comfort that was worn.

As he walked back out, Asmo’s mother stared outside their window and laughed with delight, which alerted him. “Asmodeus, look!  There’s a fireworks show going on out.” She stayed in her chair and allowed a moment for her child to see what was happening.

Asmo’s eyes lit up, elated, as he ran out of the suite in his pajamas. Laughing, he yelled, “Thanks, Mom! I’m gonna go watch it with everyone else,” but by then he was already out of earshot.

…

By the time he made it to the deck, Asmo looked behind him and noticed that he ran too far ahead of everyone else. He had invited everyone else to watch the light show with him already, but he stared back as he saw everyone trying to catch up with him, arriving one by one to join him below the bursting black sky. First Aubrey, then Mamiko. Hiyeira and Spirit arrived together, followed by Selene, and finally Manami. A million oohs and ahhs filled the night to meet the exploding lights that splattered shimmering colors all over the vast blanket of stars. They all spoke over each other.

Mamiko tapped Asmo’s shoulder with a giggle. “What are you wearing? It’s on-brand, but I didn’t know you had a sailor suit.” Asmo laughed back, only now realizing that he left the suite in his new PJ’s. “Also… I’m proud. Of you and Spiridon, I mean.” With that, she walked away to join Manami without another word, leaving Asmo utterly confused and speechless.

Moving up to the railing of the boat, Asmo stood and decided to say something meaningful to all of his friends. “Hey, everyone. Since it’s the last day on the cruise, I just wanted to say… Thank you. All of you.  Thank you for… coming with me on this cruise and for taking some time to just enjoy this week with me and each other. I really hope everyone enjoyed hanging out with each other just as much as I did. Thanks to that actress lady for having us here, thanks to my mother for letting me bring some friends along, and thanks to Aubrey’s mom for organizing this whole cruise! And I’m… I’m just so happy that I get to share this slice of my life with you all. This week has been and will always be special to me, and that’s because of everyone who I got to enjoy it with. So thank you.”

As everyone cheered and clapped, Asmo got down from the railing and scanned the deck. He saw that Mamiko and Manami were laughing by the area they had come in from.

“Your brother is an interesting character,” spoke Manami, meekly willing to break the ice.

Mamiko nodded in agreement, chuckling. “He certainly is, isn’t he?”

Asmo laughed even if he wasn’t a part of the conversation. Turning back to the fireworks, staring with a sense of sentimentality, he overheard a conversation behind him.

Aubrey shouted out to her peers, “Ah! A pink one!” She sounded uncharacteristically excited.

“Wait, look! The explosions from that one exploded into even more,” laughed Spirit.

“Woah, look at the ocean surface,” Hiyeira pointed out. “The fireworks look great even in the reflection.”

Asmo closed his eyes and sighed before turning back behind him, finally noticing that Mamiko’s purple-haired friend was standing behind the boy that he had met just a few days, which was a complete shock. He approached the two of them, imploring with utter amazement.

“You know him?”

Selene replied, “Oh, him? Yeah, we know each other.”

“Oh, right. I don’t think you really invited me to listen to your speech or to watch the fireworks with all of you, but I saw two familiar faces and thought I would come by,” spoke the boy sitting on the deck.

Remembering the one thing he needed to do, Asmo finally exclaimed, “Wait, I never got your name! I’m so sorry, I just realized that we never actually introduced ourselves.”

The other simply waved his arm in response, feeling very comfortable in the moment. “Don’t worry about it. As for my name, it’s Kazumi.”

Asmo stared at Kazumi in shock, then suddenly bursted out in laughter. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I thought that I had been leaving you alone during the whole cruise! I’m Asmo, your pen pal! I had no idea the person I met for the first time here was actually the one person I thought I couldn’t find.”

“Wait, really?” Kazumi looked back with a similar shock. “Haha, what a way for us to meet in person for the first time.”

They laughed together as a powerful sense of togetherness erupted on the deck during the final night of the cruise.

[ Asmodeus Card Story - As the Night Sky Bursts Into Color: END ]