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“Kanade… what in the world are you doing?”
The girl in question looked up. Her eyes were glazed red, and her head was slightly tilted to the side, occasionally nodding off with every other word that spilled from her barely shifting cracked lips.
“I’m recharging.”
“With that small packet in your hand?”
“Mm.”
Kanade resumed the stance she held before being interrupted by Ena. Lifting her hands to her nose, she dipped her head, enveloping her nose between the jagged seams of the packet. Now that Ena had taken a seat next to Kanade and had a better view of what her friend was holding, it looked like a packet of seasoning that could be commonly found in your typical cup of instant noodles.
Or to be more precise, in Kanade’s favorite brand of instant noodles.
“You’re sniffing seasoning powder…” Ena trailed off with a raised eyebrow. She couldn’t believe the sight before her.
“Mm.”
Kanade did not elaborate. Her attention returned to the packet nestled in her hands, and she inhaled deeply, much to Ena’s bewilderment. A contented sigh escaped through her gritted teeth, and she sat still in silence, with her nose still buried in the sachet for a good minute before deeply breathing in its powdery contents again. This bizarre line of events looped for a good while, during which Ena had the same, single question screaming repeatedly in her mind:
What… what in the world was Kanade doing!?
Even so, Ena couldn’t tear her eyes away. She continued to watch in a befuddled silence; it must’ve felt like an eternity before Kanade finally pulled away from the seasoning packet for the last time, much to Ena’s relief.
But that moment was short-lived, as Kanade came to a halt, her hands frozen in mid-air. Maybe she’d changed her mind and wanted to dive back into the seasoning packet, Ena dumbly thought, but Kanade suddenly turned toward her with shimmering eyes that held the air of someone having concocted a brilliant idea. But before Ena could say anything, an outstretched hand was abruptly pushed in her face. She blinked, drawing her face back slightly to see the open sachet loosely pinched between Kanade’s thumb and index finger.
“You look tired too.”
Ena blinked again, trying to ignore the faint blush that she could feel heating up her cheeks. She hadn’t expected Kanade to spot the mild eyebags she’d regretfully noticed in the mirror while adjusting her hair early this morning. As she made a mental note to get more sleep following tonight’s inevitable ordeal over some much-needed inspiration for her next planned illustration, the sachet lowered, revealing an oddly chipper Kanade, who had now started to wave it around like she was in a dreamy trance.
“You should try it too, Ena. It’ll restore your energy,” she murmured, oblivious to the powder spilling from its tilted packaging, which was dotting her shorts and thighs with white.
Ena couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable warmth grow over her chest as she watched Kanade behaving like this, which was the polar opposite of her usual stoic, solemn personality. She thought Kanade looked cute in her absentmindedness. It was almost as if Ena was catching a glimpse of Kanade’s tendencies, were she ten years younger. Did that mean child Kanade was also addicted to cup ramen? Surely not, but…
What if…
Ena shook her head, hurriedly moving toward Kanade with an outstretched hand to accept the sachet from her, only because she wanted to stop Kanade from seasoning herself even more than she already did. That’s what she told herself, at least.
Otherwise, that’d make her a snack –
Ena let out an exasperated groan. She was just tired, that was all. Nothing more. She properly redirected her focus back to Kanade this time, who was now staring down at her legs, only now comprehending what she’d done. She blankly looked back up at Ena, like a lost kitten, which only served to induce a swirl of emotion around her traitorous heart.
Swiping any remaining ridiculous notions aside, Ena muttered, “Oh Kanade… you’ve got it all over your shorts. Here, let me get it.” Her free hand glided toward Kanade’s legs to dust away the seasoning, but Kanade shied away as soon as her fingers made contact with her supple skin.
She looked up to meet Kanade’s gaze, surprised, only to be assaulted by a pair of imploring eyes. A downcast, pleading expression that Ena was certain was a precious rarity, that ought to be handled as such.
“Are you not going to try sniffing it…?”
Ena found herself at a loss for words. On one hand, sniffing seasoning powder from cup ramen sounded ludicrous and unsafe, but…
How could she turn down those eyes?! And Ena hadn’t noticed before, but the tip of Kanade’s nose was coated with white as well. For a split second, Ena had a mind to lean in and lick her nose clean, but she stopped herself yet again. She hesitantly picked up the packaging, and slowly brought it closer to her face.
Sighing, she mimicked what Kanade did, and dipped her nose into the sachet.
And everything changed from then.
Almost instantaneously, she felt as though her senses were heightened. It was an unfamiliar feeling; everything felt new, as if she’d teleported to another realm, discovering its intricacies with her five senses for the very first time.
“Does… feel… good?”
Ena could feel Kanade’s dim voice echoing softly along the walls of her head, and she tried her best to reply, but it was as if invisible strings had been attached to the muscles in her cheeks, softly melting them towards the ground.
An unintelligible blurb of words poured out from her mouth, but Ena didn’t care. She’d given up any semblance of self-control, allowing her consciousness to lose itself in this seemingly timeless moment. Nothing else mattered anymore. It was just Ena, alone with this little sachet of holy powder of wonders now.
It felt strangely pleasant. All she could think about was wanting more.
She needed more.
Like Kanade did before, Ena sat in silence, bringing the packet to her nostrils every so often to take a long drag. And with each sniff she took, it replenished and magnified whatever she was feeling in the moment. Happiness. Hunger. The desire to draw. Exhaustion. She needed to use the toilet. Defiance. A rekindling of newfound strength, conjured from nothingness, freeing her from her inhibitions.
It went on and on, faster and faster, like a bullet train that had lost its brakes.
How much time had passed, Ena hadn’t the slightest clue. It must’ve been a while though, because a concerned voice finally broke out from her side.
“….okay? Your eyes… rolled up… scary.”
Ena’s vision refocused after much effort, pivoting on a blurry face of what she mindlessly assumed to be Kanade’s. A look of concern was etched on her weary features. At least, that was what it looked like to the groggy girl. But a single thought had drowned out everything else, and it was because of this thought that Ena was wholly convinced that she was now a convert to The Powder.
She shut her eyes, allowing herself to sink into the world’s softest imaginary pillow.
She could visualize it now, so vividly.
“I see profoundness in the mundane… I can draw now.”