Chapter Text
Takemi blinks dumbly at the odd doll.
Her face is hidden by a smiling comedy mask lined with cyan tears. Her black twintails drag along the floor, and her dress swishes around her legs. Her skin is pale, like it hasn’t seen the sun since it was born. In fact, she’s not a doll; her limbs have no visible joints.
This is a person.
“Just take off the mask.”
Takemi wakes up with a jolt. Where is he!? She’s sprawled on the floor, Mizuki over her. “Hey, you alright? You were just lying here.” Takemi tries to speak, but her breathing is too fast. She shrugs, already feeling spacy. She keeps surveying the room, half expecting her father to jump out from behind the door. But no such jumpscare comes. All she gains is that the time is 4:27AM.
Takemi looks up at Mizuki. She’s scared. She flinches suddenly after feeling Mizuki’s hand on her arm. Mizuki pulls away, looking concerned. Don’t hurt me don’t hurt me don’t hurt-
Mizuki hugs her, and despite her fighting, doesn’t let go. Eventually Takemi calms down. “I-I don’t feel safe on my own… please stay…?”
Mizuki nods. They don’t move the rest of the night.
School. Despite Mizuki’s lack of interest in going, Takemi still wants to go. Routine is a good thing.
She arrives at the gates of Kamiyama, and already things are falling apart. People asking where Mizuki is out of a sick perverted desire to gain knowledge they don’t need. At least Kamishiro and Shiraishi do it out of concern.
Speaking of Shiraishi, her posse is continuing to grow more antsy. Apparently there’s a new student; a transfer from Miyamasuzaka.
Class 2-C. Takemi’s class.
Probably someone who couldn’t handle the stress.
At least someone had an out.
Takemi situated herself in the corner, as usual. It’s been barely thirty minutes and she’s tired of people. Too many voices, too many sounds, colors, textures, scents. Someone’s shoe squeaks. Another guffaws loudly at someone’s joke. Someone drops a pencil. Too much too much too much too much-
A new face walks in. A girl with stark black hair and bright orange eyes. Takemi zeroes in on her.
“Ah, here you are! You are seated next to… Jinai-San, Maide-San! Would you like to introduce yourself?”
Maide-San. So that’s her name.
“Sure, Sensei!”
She sounds like honey.
“Good Morning, everyone! My name is Maide Misaki!”
Maide, written with the characters “舞” meaning to dance, and “出” meaning to exit. Misaki, written with the characters “望” meaning full moon, and “祥” meaning hope. And Takemi can’t take her eyes off of her.
WAIT, THEY’RE SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER!?
Takemi suffers the entire time. So much for being the lonely one; the new kid forced her out of her shell.
At least gym is up- wait, isn’t Misaki still in her class?
Damn it.
Takemi groans into her arms, which catches the attention of the other two people at the table. Kusanagi Nene and Kamishiro Rui. “Is something up, Mimi?”
Takemi peeks out of her arms. “The new girl… I can’t stop thinking about her…”
Rui chuckles. “A crush, perhaps?~”
Takemi glares at them. “Don’t you keep saying a crush is when you stay awake at night still thinking of them? I just met her today. So not a crush.”
Rui grins. “Not quite how that works.”
Takemi continues watching Misaki throughout gym. Why? Great question. There’s just something about her that makes her appealing.
Soon enough, it’s time to do a few laps around the track. Takemi is normally very good at this. She positions herself for an optimal start…
And pales and freezes when the gun goes off.
She’s back home. Her mother is collapsed on the floor. Her father is over her with a belt. Over mother. Over Takemi. He brings it down. Hard.
Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.
Alternating. Takemi. Mom. Takemi. Mom. The Sake in his hands never leaves. He’s just drunk. He’s not thinking straight. Doesn’t change the fact it hurts. It stings. It bleeds. Mom is unconscious. Takemi feels tired. He still doesn’t stop.
Takemi bolts. She has to leave. She has to escape. Too many voices too many bodies too many eyes the eyes staring gouging digging taking what they want-
Takemi is splashed in the face with water. She’s on the bench. A girl with lavender hair and a girl with split copper-orange hair are staring at her. Purple and Cyan eyes dig into green ones.
The Green-Eyed-Copper-Split girl speaks first. “You good? You just collapsed out there.”
So she never left start?
It takes Takemi a second to realize that her breathing is way too fast. She tries to slow it down, then force it down. “Y-yeah, I-I’m good…”
The girl sighs. “We’ve never spoken before this. Noritomo Aiko. You can call me Aiko. This is Kudai Umi.” She gestures to the purple girl, who hasn’t spoken a word.
Takemi weakly extends her hand. “J-Jinai Takemi… who brought me here…?”
Aiko tilts her head. “The new kid. Maide, if I recall correctly.” Takemi flushes at this. She was carried by Misaki?
The teacher, seeing Takemi is up and vocal, comes over to her, worry stretched across his face. “Jinai-San, you alright?” Takemi weakly nods. It hurts.
The teacher sighs. “I recommend you go home for today. I’ll call the office.” Takemi nods. She’s not fighting this.
“See ya, Takemi.” Aiko guides Umi away as Takemi gets up on shaky legs to go home.
That night, Takemi has thoughts of not only Misaki on her mind, but also Aiko and Umi.
So Rui was wrong. This isn’t one person, it’s three! Sure, she still can’t sleep, but that means it’s not a crush!
Also, Mizuki’s on call in the other room. Takemi had half a mind to walk in and ask why she’s talking with her Nightcord Kittens, a term she got from Nene, if only to embarrass her cousin for potentially disrupting her sleep.