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The white front door opened to reveal the paved walkway that reached out to the road of the neighborhood. On it stood a well-dressed young woman with purple hair, slightly damp under her tiny folding umbrella. It was hardly surprising that she was wet, the rain was coming down hard.
“You look soaked. Please come in,” Kanade said to Mafuyu. She walked inside the house and stopped only a few feet past the door. It was apparent that she wasn’t used to going to other people’s houses. “I’ll get you a towel right away,” Kanade said while in a hurry to leave the room.
“I am always cold, the rain warms me up. No need for a towel.”
“......Okay then,” Kanade looked confused but she was also a bit relieved. Ms. Mochizuki hadn’t been over in a while because her school was having some upcoming exams, so Kanade didn’t quite know where the towels were anyways. “Please sit, I’ll make some tea.” Mafuyu examined the living room next to her for a while before selecting a spot on an old couch next to a fake potted plant. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Kanade was hand washing two cups to use, cups that she retrieved from the pile of dishes that had amassed in the sink recently. After putting too much effort into thoroughly scrubbing each one, the water was done heating and the tea was ready to be made. When she was just about to pour it though, she heard a knock on the door. Thinking back to last night, she knew immediately who it was.
A: “Everyone, have you checked MeTube recently?? The views on our recent song are insane!”
K: “Yeah… it’s almost twice what the last song got.”
E: “I’m glad it’s being properly appreciated, that thumbnail was a pain in the ass to draw.”
A: “Yeah but don’t forget who came up with the idea! Speaking of great ideas, maybe we should celebrate this?”
E: “Celebrate how?”
A: “You know, we can get together and eat something”
K: “That could be fun”
Y: “Yes.”
E: “You are all agreeing with them? We always get food!”
A: “We could go somewhere else then, like Kanade’s place!”
Everyone else: “...” “...” “...”
Y: “I would like to see Kanade’s home”
E: “Yeah I’m a bit curious too, if I’m being honest”
A: “Alright then it’s settled, see you all tomorrow!”
Kanade palmed her face while remembering what she had been dragged into. Why not just decline? She didn’t care too much if they came over, but it was still slightly inconveniencing. She lumbered over to the door and opened it. This time, Ena and Mizuki were there under an umbrella, each one carrying a bag. Kanade tilted her head, “You guys only brought one umbrella?”
“Yeah, I… lost mine! So I had Mizuki come pick me up,” Ena said while glancing off to the side. A cheesy grin was plastered to Mizuki's face. Interesting.
"Come in, I'm making tea." They both entered and made their way to the living room. Kanade fished two more cups out of the sink and spent another 5 minutes cleaning them. While she was adding more water to heat, she heard someone behind her. It was Mizuki, going through the food pantry. They stared blankly inside for a few long seconds, and then turned to Kanade with a smug look.
"...What is it?" Kanade asked.
"You really do only eat cup ramen, don't you, Kanade?"
"It's fast to make and it tastes good." Mizuki nodded and wandered away from the kitchen. After a small amount of slip-ups and a large amount of time, Kanade brought out the drinks. Surprisingly, Mafuyu was the first to speak up.
"I was not expecting your residence to be this orderly." She was probably being genuine, but while she spoke, her eyes landed on a pair of sweatpants hanging over the couch right next to her. Ena held back laughter by putting her hand over her mouth.
"Pfft, I hope those are yours, Kanade!" Mizuki joked. Even though the joke part was obvious, Mafuyu gave a serious response.
"They are. This is Kanade's smell." Ena and Mizuki made eye contact, and then turned back to Mafuyu. An awkward silence took over the room until Kanade stood up and walked over to Mafuyu.
"I'll take these back to my room now."
"Oh~ I want to see the lair of the legendary K!" Mizuki said, standing up to follow. The other two followed as well, not knowing that there probably wouldn't be enough room for the four of them to stand. As soon as they went in, everyone except Kanade scrunched up their faces, probably smelling something gross. The scrunched faces didn't last for long, they soon turned into shock upon seeing the mess in the room. The only way you could see the floor was through a path to the computer, with a closet along the way. Besides the assorted musical equipment next to the computer, the rest of the room was completely occupied by random objects. Clothes, boxes, bed, blankets, a large keyboard stand, piles of papers, and others. They all looked like they were placed carefully by a tornado. Kanade felt a chill down her spine. Slowly, she turned her head around to see Mafuyu giving her the death stare.
"What is this."
A simple question, but it somehow felt like a threat against her life. Without any hesitation, Mafuyu's hands shot to the nearest pillow and threw it into a box. Mizuki started laughing, and then moved to help out… everyone came over for a celebration, but now they were cleaning her room. How did things come to this?
About 20 minutes in, it didn't feel like they were cleaning anymore. Everyone was chatting while they moved and sorted, even sometimes stopping to have fun. Mizuki tried to fit into a box, and Ena had some funny reactions to the sources of all the odors. After more cleaning was done, most of the floor was open. Almost everything was boxed or moved to a suitable room or closet. Mafuyu knelt down in a corner next to the last of the cleanup, taking much longer than usual to pack up the things that she was holding. Kanade knelt down next to her to see that she was looking over a collection of old photos. They were mostly pictures of her family, but some were of individual members. Alot of them were Kanade, middle school or younger. Mafuyu carefully looked over each one before she put them away. When she closed the box, she was still silent, but she turned to look Kanade in the eyes. Something felt different about her demeanor, even though there were no physical signs of it. It was as if they connected on a spiritual level for a brief moment, lasting until they were interrupted abruptly by the loud sound of plastic. Behind them, Mizuki was dumping out that bag they had walked in with earlier. The bag was full of random junk foods and snacks.
“Is this what you wasted your paycheck on?” Ena said while sighing.
“Yes, but didn’t you ask for these sweets, Ena? I just added on a few other things, like potato chips.” Ena sighed again and grabbed some candy. Kanade and Mafuyu walked over and sat down next to Mizuki and Ena, grabbing their favorite snacks out of the pile.
“So, what did you guys even want to do?” Ena asked.
“I have an idea, but I have to go to the bathroom first,” Mizuki said before departing out the bedroom door. They were basically the life of the party within the group, so their absence was a crippling blow. Lots of time passed without a word, everyone was silently eating snacks. Kanade probably wasn’t the only one who felt like Mizuki was taking a while to just be in the bathroom. Eventually they stumbled back into the room, plopped down onto the floor haphazardly next to Ena, and put their arm around her shoulder.
“Eh??” Ena cried in reaction to the very sudden and forward move. She turned towards Mizuki to continue, but was immediately interrupted by another move. Mizuki licked her cheek and whispered:
“Ena, I love you~”
Ena jumped back in shock and pushed Mizuki off of her.
“W-What are you doing?? Ugh, your breath smells like-” Ena stood up and took a step back. “What did you do? Why did you…”
“Come on, you have to join meee!” They exclaimed while attempting to drag Ena towards the door. She put up a bit of a fight, but eventually gave up. Kanade and Mafuyu stood up to follow them.
When they came out, Ena and Mizuki were in the kitchen. Mizuki took a few steps towards Mafuyu with a bottle in their hand.
“Mafuyu, you have to try this! It’ll help you find your true feelings!” Despite Mizuki spouting complete bullshit, Mafuyu seemed to take a little bit of interest. “It’ll make you feel better,” they continued while pushing it into her hands. That bottle was one of many that belonged to her dad, Kanade had forgotten they were in the house at all. He wasn’t a big drinker so they were probably full, too. After some more bickering, Mizuki somehow convinced Ena to have some, and then eventually Mafuyu. Kanade stood firm though; she felt the need to be responsible for everyone. As the effects took over her friends, they decided to go back to the bedroom where they were originally hanging out. Mizuki flopped onto the empty floor and grabbed a chip bag.
“Enaaaaa~”
“Enaaaaaaaaaaaa~”
Ena dropped to her knees next to them and grabbed a bag of candy.
“Shut up...”
Meanwhile, Mafuyu just sat on Kanade’s bed, holding a hand up to her face that looked distraught. Kanade sat down next to her and asked, “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah… my head just feels weird.. I can’t look straight” because i can only look gay
"You can't look straight?" Kanade asked while carefully placing her hand on Mafuyu's shoulder for support. Mafuyu nodded faintly and then very slowly leaned over. She leaned until her head was fully resting on Kanade's shoulder. They peacefully watched Ena and Mizuki fool around. They were now trying to play a computer game that Kanade used to play occasionally. You have to build a track for a train that is in constant motion using the environment. Kanade didn't have to be over there watching them to see that they were failing miserably. Even so, they were laughing hysterically at it so all was well. After many attempts, they completed the first level. During the following uproar, Mafuyu scooted closer to Kanade, eventually pushing her to lay down, causing her body to tense up. Mafuyu didn't even stop at that, she was also basically clinging to Kanade's body. What do I even do in this situation? She wondered.
"Is this really okay?" She asked.
Mafuyu answered while she tightened her hold, "This is fine."
Kanade must have fallen asleep for a little while, because the next time she opened her eyes, it was much darker outside than it had been before. Mizuki and Ena were still on the computer, but this time it sounded like they were watching anime. Mizuki must have noticed Kanade stirring, because they called out to her.
"Oh, you woke up! You two fell asleep on us, so lame." Mafuyu seemed to wake up as well. Kanade slowly stood up and rubbed her eyes.
“What are you guys watching?”
“I’m watching Ena’s cute face!” Mizuki shouted without any hesitation, grabbing Ena in a big hug. Shockingly, Ena hugged back sweetly. This is an unprecedented moment the history of Mizuena shipping.. While they showed each other their affection, Mizuki’s head perked up.
“Kanade! You should have some fun!” at the same time, they slid that same bottle to the edge of the table. Admittedly, she was curious.. Maybe a little bit wouldn’t hurt.
A little…
Kanade yawned as she became conscious again on her bed. She had remembered being next to Mafuyu when she fell asleep last night, but she was no longer there. In fact, nobody was. Getting up, she slipped on a blue track suit jacket to cover her. For some reason, her head felt light. When she went into the living room, she spotted Mizuki and Ena fast asleep and closely cuddled up on the couch together. Many of the snacks that were previously in her room were now on the table. There was a blanket on one of the chairs in the room, so Kanade grabbed it and tossed it over them. Their faces looked so peaceful..
“Good morning.”
Kanade was a bit startled to hear a low voice from behind her. Mafuyu was standing in the kitchen. She wasn’t cooking anything though, only scrolling through something on her phone.
“Good morning,” she said. After more silence from Mafuyu, she went on. “Last night was pretty crazy..” This time, Mafuyu actually looked up at her, even smiling a little bit.
“Yes, I’m going to have to help you clean up the bathroom later. That looks good on you.”
What looks good? Kanade followed her eyes to.. her own head, realizing that her hair was now significantly shorter. It used to be hanging far off her shoulders, but now it just barely brushed them. A wave of panic washed over her, this change was so sudden..
“I can’t believe I did something so impulsive..”
“Oh, that’s what you regret?” Mafuyu asked. She had been on her phone before, and now there was audio coming from it. It sounded like one of their newest songs, Tricolor. Kanade walked over to see what it was. Oh… oh no…..
What she found was a video of her short-haired self taken on a mobile phone. It was a video of her standing on the living room table, singing along to the instrumental audio of the song. The singing was nowhere near studio quality, to say the least, and it was even complete with some poor hip-hop style dancing. To top it all off, it seemed she was watching this from a Picturegram page, N25’s Picturegram page. She could see the likes going up one by one, and there were plenty of comments to match. This was getting reception as good as their last song, but why? Why was this incredibly embarrassing video on there in the first place? Kanade grabbed the counter to stop her from falling over and cold sweat began to cover her head. Something told her that this was going to haunt her for a long time…
THE END