Chapter Text
“Mizuki! You’re here today?”
Mizuki Akiyama jumped in their seat, flinching but turning around promptly to hide their surprise. They were sitting on a bench quite solemnly, and in the morning autumn breeze they looked a whole lot deeper in thought than they were. An Shiraishi stood before them, blue-tinged hair draped down her shoulders and dangling right over the kid.
“Uh… yep.” At Mizuki’s flat response, An chuckled, taking Mizuki’s hand and leading them to stand up. “Yeah, felt like it today, but what’s this about?”
“Class! You can’t show up for once in your life and then go right back home!”
Mizuki bashfully walked along with her. “Right, right, you got me. Anything else?” An dragged them along, heading from the rooftop down to the hallway of their class. Mizuki swore they spotted a glimpse of someone familiar in the bustling crowds, but An responded before they could take it in.
“Yeah, actually. As of today, apparently-“ An looked around, hand above her eyes as if navigating through a desert - “there’s a new kid in our class! Don’t know anything about them, but I guess we’ll find out!” Mizuki’s eyes lit up briefly at the suggestion - to them, it was refreshing to have some kind of blank slate. Someone without preconceived notions of their past, present and assumed future, and an instinctual avoidance towards their entire being. They knew it was inevitable, however, that these opinions would be projected onto this new kid eventually.
Unless Mizuki (and maybe An) got to them first.
An paused as Mizuki gathered their feelings, but even that train of thought was interrupted by the school bell, resonating through every hall and plaguing every tired student mind. Luckily, the pair were slowly, but surely approaching their classroom, and the door was at their feet before they knew it.
The halls were crowded as always, and voices echoed from wall to wall, for better or for worse as to what they gossiped about. In Mizuki’s mind, it was a safe bet to assume that every little whisper was the newest dose of “Akiyama”, “They’re here today?!”, “What a freak”, and various other phrases that were all too familiar to be scraped out of the crowd.
This time, they found themself with an all new confidence that maybe, just maybe, nobody cared.
The doors were opened like floodgates, and as they tend to do, the members of the class came spilling in, extending their conversations inside and taking up as much space as possible rather than sitting in their designated seats. No sight of any unfamiliar faces.
Everything continued as it always did in the seconds following the start of the school day, at least to Mizuki’s knowledge. From what An had told them, the ‘vibe’ as An liked to put it had a subtle shift on the days when Mizuki turned up, but of course, they weren’t one to know. They adjusted the ribbon in their hair and sat down in their seat, setting up while surrounded by footsteps and chatter.
Finally, the hurricane dissipated, as the class’s teacher stepped foot into the room, causing an instant wave of feigned calmness. Everything was standard, everything was as it always was, everything was ‘a little bit off’, as An commented under her breath. The teacher seemed a little on edge, taking an occasional glance around the room while she straightened a stack of papers and sat down far before her students did.
…
…..
Is that..?
Footsteps pierced through the windows, holding an air that was far separated from the organised chaos of the earlier rush to class.
Is this the right room? I-
I have to be sure not to make a scene. Get to the work. Get through what I have to, act like how I have to.
Kanade takes a sharp breath in, echoed by a far softer, tranquilised breath out.
“I’m.. sorry..? I uh- wasn’t-“
An inexplicably gentle and breathy voice made the class only barely aware of a new figure in the room. Her statement was riddled with hesitation and she shivered as she anticipated the response to her unintelligible excuse. The class shuffled and chattered still, and though it was awaiting its eventual silence, it still fogged up the room. Silvery hair nearly tickled the floor, lighting up Mizuki’s eyes in perplexed intrigue.
“Don’t worry, Yoisaki. I know it’s your first day at an in-person school in..?”
“Years. Don’t remember how many.”
Yoisaki…?
As if on cue, the buzz resonating through the classroom faded into a harsh, choking, calm air.
Maybe everyone was still talking. Maybe it was just the ringing, the humming that resided in Mizuki’s mind, but whatever kind of droning silence had just knocked out whatever thought was left in their mind, it was powerful.
Her celestine eyes darted, unintentionally dodging Mizuki like an agile sparrow, landing quite certainly on the shockingly forgiving teacher.
Mizuki’s eyes, however, were a magnet towards hers.
They could’ve recognised it from anywhere, the gentleness like an approaching river of fog that enveloped the Empty Sekai and blanketed Mafuyu at her worst. It was subdued, intentionally, compressed around her body as she wore something that wasn’t casual for the first time in her life. Perhaps that was what felt different, a school uniform on the girl that seemed the most detached from ‘school’, ‘academics’, and formality out of anyone on Nightcord. Not in an awkward shut-in way – though, Kanade surely sported a chunk of that – but in a delicate way, someone whose life could be changed by seeing the view from the Kamiyama High rooftop.
For some godforsaken reason, Mizuki was overwhelmed by the need to be the reason for that, to hold that pale hand and guide it to a view right from the top, to be alone there and make the most of whatever this was,
Gazing at the pink, patterned bow along Kanade’s chest.
Living for the chances, an enticing way to get them to return to school again.
The humming in their ears disappeared, in a momentary explosion of clearness that brought them back to reality.
An’s glare fixated on Mizuki’s, concerned and a little curious, and they wondered how obvious it was that they zoned right out. It was. They were stuck in a dream and definitely could not help it.
Whatever spirit-mosquitoes that swatted away any hope Mizuki had at processing words were gone, but they clearly had some sentences to catch up on as Kanade’s glance caught theirs. She was now sitting two seats away, and it was clear that Kanade was going through a strangely similar crisis that Mizuki just did. Something about familiarity, the instant click that connected the face to ‘Amia’, and the ensuing panic.
Clearly Kanade was a little more prepared - she had seen Mizuki in-uniform, and probably considered being in their class as a possibility, but definitely not a chance so immediate.. however, Mizuki couldn’t put it behind her to completely forget about the chance overall.
Either way, they were both mesmerised, and definitely learned nothing that day.