Chapter Text
The nonsense started on an otherwise unremarkable day.
Ena and Mizuki had spent a majority of their day on MV commissions. It was business as usual, including the small detour (usually penciled in towards the early afternoon, when Ena was grumpy because she didn’t eat breakfast again after sleeping in until 11:00 and got snippy with Mizuki due to her low blood sugar despite the fact that they had offered to make her pancakes just how she likes them—not forgetting that she knows for a fact that they only do that because they want to prey on her weakness, and she doesn’t appreciate that Mizuki —)
… Ahem.
It was a longstanding argument in their apartment, and one that wasn’t likely to be fully solved any time in the future. Simple solutions aside, they enjoyed the spats and even if tensions got a little too high on a given day, they would always gravitate back towards each other with quiet apologies after simmering down.
On That Day™ their bickering hadn’t even gotten that heated. Nothing more than a couple jabs that weren’t even that sharp and settled with a couple of eyerolls and a granola bar for Ena. The two had put a pause on their work in the early evening to get dinner together when there was a knock at their front door. Ena had answered, because Mizuki was elbow deep in some bread concoction they were trying out, and was momentarily stunned at the sight presented to her.
Mafuyu stood in front of her, face sour and hair cropped much, much shorter than it was when Ena last saw her. It was visibly choppy and there was one long strand on the right side of her head she had missed, and it was very clear that she had gone at it with scissors with heaps of passion, very little planning, and no mirror.
“I dropped out, told my mom to fuck off, and I would like to stay with you guys.” She said, her voice far too level and calm for the bomb she had just tossed into Ena’s hands.
This was followed up by what was clearly the sound of a bowl shattering on their kitchen floor, and now Ena had to not only wrangle with the fact that Mafuyu was currently pushing past her with a suitcase and a backpack but also the dough monster Mizuki created that had escaped. Barely a moment passed before Mizuki appeared before the two of them, hands still sticky but looking delighted.
“Holy shit. ”
Feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on, Ena simply closed the front door, surrendering to the inevitable.
They had gotten the full explanation after everything (and everyone) was cleaned up and Mizuki had retrieved their hair cutting supplies from the bathroom, perched behind Mafuyu and cleaning up her hair for her.
Long story short, the wire Mafuyu had been balancing on for the past 5 years finally snapped and she burned everything on her way down. They had all been waiting for this to happen, of course, and Ena had almost just accepted that Mafuyu would spend her life squeezing herself into a box that would never fit considering how long it had been.
Nightcord at 25:00 was still active, but after they had all graduated and became adults, their output dropped quite a bit. Turns out you had to make money to survive on your own, and while they monetized their songs, they didn’t make nearly enough of it to support four young adults. It was given that Kanade kept composing, and she had become pretty successful in the music industry. For Ena and Mizuki, their skills were complimentary so they continued working together on music videos, just for various different artists. They ended up partnering with a few different well-known Vocaloid producers, which just felt right for obvious reasons. Mafuyu had seamlessly transitioned into college and, up until now, had continued living at home.
Ena sighed after Mafuyu’s story came to a close. “Well, obviously you can stay here, but wouldn’t it be better to crash at Kanade’s place? Our couch is pretty comfortable, but at least there you’d have your own room.”
Mafuyu frowned a little, and stared at Ena from the corners of her eyes, not moving her head since Mizuki was still working on her hair. They exchanged glares for a few moments, before Ena broke off with another sigh. It was a stupid question. Mafuyu and Kanade had been dancing around each other for years, their relationship not fully platonic but also... Well. It was the two of them. It wasn’t like love was exactly either of their priorities, and neither of them were exactly well-versed in romance. It was annoyingly endearing at times to watch them stumble around each other, heavy on the annoying, but it was a fact of life at this point. The sky was blue, birds chirped, and her two best friends had been pining for each other for years without even really trying to hide it.
Some of the lyrics Mafuyu wrote for Kanade’s songs... Jesus. Ena felt her blood pressure rising just thinking about how obvious it was and how oblivious the two of them acted about it all. It had been real simple for her and Mizuki. Step one, track them down on the school roof. Step two, argue with them about how they are worthy of kindness and love. Step three, maybe cry a little (no one could prove it). Step four, drag them forward by the collar, attempted to kiss them dramatically, and instead bash your foreheads together.
Easy.
Ena waved the thoughts away and just shook her head at Mafuyu. “Never mind, forget I asked. It was a stupid question.”
Mizuki finished up with Mafuyu’s cut and proudly offered her a hand mirror to inspect the final product.
Mafuyu looked shocked at first and stared at herself in the mirror for a long time before slowly smiling, and damn if it wasn’t the happiest Ena had ever seen her look.