Work Text:
Kanade can't understand how some people can exist.
How can someone fail as a parent so badly? There was no warmth to Mafuyu's mom's words. Only a sheet of ice wrapping around her, choking her, trying to bury her. Compared to her own parents...
It's eye opening, if she's honest. Explains why Mafuyu is like...Mafuyu.
Look she's not good with words, that's Mafuyu's job.
She still cannot fucking believe her mother. What kind of parent can be like that?
Kanade really wants to yell at that woman, for all she did to hurt Mafuyu.
Damn Kaito really did have an effect on her. Or maybe it's just that Mafuyu's mom sucks so bad that Kanade is out of niceness.
Well at least she won't see her for a while now.
1. Mafumom
No.
Nope.
She's not doing this.
She leaves the store as soon as the woman walks in, before she is seen.
Can't go against the law, crime means jail, can't compose music in jail.
Well actually maybe...
No.
1. Mizuki (and whatever bullshit they got going on, who knows, certainly not Kanade)
It turns out that leaving the store from a door you didn't come in from has some issues. Especially if said door is the backdoor that people aren't really supposed to go through. And also if you're a composer with issues who never leaves their house and has no idea where anything is and also has no social skills to ask someone.
Basically, as all of the above, Kanade was fucked. The door opened to a dark corridor. Always a good sign. She continues walking, as one does, through a dark corridor, who knows how much far from civilization.
She's lost now, no way of going back, no way to return to her room, which is safe and nice and good for composing music. She can't compose anymore. "I'm sorry I won't be able to save you Mafuyu" she thinks. The corridor stretches on and on and she doesn't know how much more she can take of this endless torture.
So it's been less than 5 minutes since she went through the door. She sees a light far far away in the distance ( half a minutes walk away). She also hears some noises. Human noises, probably. She doesn't know, it's been decades ( five minutes) since she last heard those.
She walks towards the noise. Hmm, one of those voices sounds familiar. One of those voices also sounds very distressed.
Obviously, those two voices are the same because why not. At this point the universe is just testing Kanade. Of course she'd bump into her pink haired groupmate in some weird corridor in a shopping mall.
Not that she's unhappy to see them. Normally she'd be ecstatic to see Mizuki, and not just because they are someone with social skills who can help, but also because they are her friend for whom she cares for a lot. No the problem is that they are in what Kanade (and most sensible other people) would describe as an unwell state.
Pink eyes glossed with unshed tears. Their usual cheerful expression replaced with a frown, with their lips squeezed tight, as if trying stop themselves from talking. Or just making a noise. Their whole body seems tense and stiff, as if frozen in place, except for their hands. Their hands are shaking. They're hunched over, seeming smaller than Kanade ever thought possible for Mizuki.
Overall, it's not a pretty picture. Kanade does not like it one bit. And she especially doesn't like how there's a small group surrounding them, saying words that Kanade can't exactly understand thanks to her ear plugs.
She doesn't need to understand the words to figure out what's going. Well actually she's a bit confused because the way Mizuki's reacting makes it seem like they aren't confused at this happening and so it's happened before and why did Mizuki not tell them about this-
Questions later. Now she has a group of people to deal with.
Now, Kanade doesn't like groups of people. Especially if those people are being mean to her friend. But, if she has to interact with them for the sake of her friend, well.
She may not know people but she does know music and she does know sounds.
Mizuki's not having a great day. They went to their job, which is all good, they love their job. However, they weren't expecting to see their school friends there.
Friends being a very generous term. One might think of them as bullies instead. Mizuki does not like to think about them. Unfortunately, they chose to work in a semi popular clothing shop. Honestly it's a miracle they didn't see her sooner.
Thinking about it, they probably did. Because if they didn't, it's a very big coincidence that they chose to confront Mizuki on the one day that their supervisor wasn't there to keep an eye on them. And they day Mizuki was set to work at the back of the store, out of sight of any other employees and customers. Honestly Mizuki disliked working at the back storeroom for many reasons but this would become an addition to those reasons.
Is it not enough how you torture me at school too, they wanted to scream. Is it not good enough for you if I wake up wishing I didn't?
Is it not enough that I dread going to school so much that I sometimes can't eat breakfast because I might throw up?
Is it not enough that I miss quizzes and exams because I'm so scared you might find me when no one else is there?
But they kept their mouth shut. Best to get it over with, they had learnt. Don't fight back and you won't get hurt as much.
They could see them, hear them approach. They kept working as they laughed and mocked. Mizuki could feel their cheeks burning in embarrassment but they kept hoping they would leave soon.
They didn't. They seemed even more encouraged by the lack of response. They got closer and louder and Mizuki couldn't tune them out anymore. The taunts of "fake, poser, not a real girl" were there, as always.
One would think you'd get used to it, after so much. Mizuki shouldn't let this bother them. But it does.
It happens fast. One of the girls, most likely their ringleader, closes the small distance left to shove them. It's very weak, probably meant to just get their attention. But to Mizuki, who's not used to physical touch from years of isolation, that touch is like poison. It feels awful, especially since the intent behind was to hurt them. They recoil as if they've been burned.
The group stops for a second, shocked. Then a grin spreads across the ringleaders face. "What the hell was that? Why are you flinching? I'm the one who touched a mutant monster. You're aware of how much of a disgusting creature you are? What a waste of space and money? Honestly! You're such a pervert for trying to seem like a girl, we all know you're just a boy trying to take a peek at the girls! You should just die, no one wants you!"
Breathing is suddenly very hard for Mizuki. She keeps talking but her words are getting blurred and Mizuki can't really make sense of them except for how loud they are and how everyone in the group keeps laughing at them and agreeing with the girl and-
Nope. Not true what she said isn't true you know this Mizuki, calm down.
But they see her like that and so does the whole world and what if niigo learns and they too-
And they'll be-
They'll be alone.
Their breath comes out in short gasps and they're about to collapse when they hear a familiar voice.
Through their blurry eyes they see white silver hair. And it can't be. But it is, because she ignores all the others and walks closer and Mizuki can recognize her face and-
What if she heard
What if she knows and she agrees with them and she'll tell the others and they'll be alone again they can't-
"Hey" her soft voice cuts their fast train of thought. At least that's what they're assuming is said because the world isn't back to normal at all and it's all too much and too loud-
And her voice speaks again and Mizuki can't understand but she doesn't seem to be mad. And then soft things are over her ears and the world goes silent. Kanade smiles at them and turns back to the group.
Mizuki is a coward. Because as soon as the world goes silent and the attention is off them, they close their eyes and wish to disappear. A good friend would help their friends. But Mizuki can't move and breathing is still hard and the world barely feels real.
They don't know how much time passes before they open their eyes again. The view is a bit surprising. The group is running away, clutching their ears. Some look like they have blood on their ears? Kanade is just standing there, watching in... content it seems like.
Mizuki never thought Kanade could be scary. She finally turns towards them and her face softens.
Probably doesn't hate them then. Mizuki still kind of (very much) can't breathe. Kanade slowly brings their hand closer to their face. Mizuki, thankfully, doesn't flinch. Kanade presses a button on the side of the headphones and then a button on her phone.
Mizuki hears a breathing noise. Then holding. Then exhaling. It's one of those panic attack stopping breath syncs, they realize. They try to breathe in sync and it's easier than before because they are gone and Kanade is here.
And Kanade is safe. And warm.
They can feel themselves slowly calm down and the panic disappear. Kanade gestures to the headphones, and they slowly reach to take them off and immediately hand them back to her. She hesitates, before taking them and putting them around her neck. She reaches up to her ears to take off earplugs. She then asks Mizuki a question with a complicated answer.
"Are you okay with being touched right now?" And mizuki doesn't know what to say because they don't want it but also they want it so much, if it's from Kanade they want it a lot. And they don't know what to say because aren't they acting like how the girl from earlier said, taking advantage of their friend?
They ignore the rational part of their brain that tells them that this has nothing to do with what the girl implied and the girl is just a dumb bigot.
They don't know what to say but Kanade's looking at them with expecting eyes and they can't say no to Kanade when the answer is not no. But they also don't trust their voice so they nod.
Kanade immediately pulls them in for a hug. Words cannot describe how good it feels. It feels so warm and comforting. Mizuki is suddenly aware of how touch starved they are. They are also aware that this hug has lasted for a while and they should probably pull away. But they don't want to.
Eventually Kanade pulls away first and Mizuki mourns the loss of warmth. Normally the smaller girl is cold but they guess whatever they did made them warm up. That, or their panic made them especially cold. Considering they're still shaking, that is probably true.
As Mizuki's lost in deep thought, Kanade reaches up to their face. Mizuki once again, doesn't flinch at the touch, and that's probably a blessing from god and they probably used all their life's worth of luck right now. Then again god is probably hatsune miku and they kinda see her everyday in an empty alternate universe whatever soo.
Kanade wipes at their cheeks, wiping away tears that Mizuki wasn't even aware of. Huh. They're still crying. Or maybe they just started. Who knows.
With all the panic gone and tears shed, they suddenly feel very exhausted. They turn to Kanade to talk.
Oh shit their job. They rush back inside the storeroom, followed by Kanade. Well, thankfully(?) no one is there, and they sigh, relieved. They try to explain to Kanade but they can't form words.
Kanade just looks at them questioningly. They close their eyes with a sigh and lean on the wall. They're tired. They feel arms around them again, and they melt into the embrace, fully aware of who it is. They stay there for what feels like an eternity until they get reminded that they have to be working right now.
"Hey Kanade?" thankfully they could speak now, albeit it's a deep low voice. They sound like someone who just woke up.
"Hmm?"
"I have a few more hours to work..." they stop because they don't know what to say. Go without me? They don't want her to leave. Wait for me? Kinda rude to ask of her, she was probably busy. Thankfully they don't have to continue because the other girl makes an indignant squeak.
"Work? Mizuki are you sure that's a good idea right now?" she asks, in her usual soft tone. And to be honest, that probably means that Mizuki looks about as bad as they feel.
"Do you have a manager or something?"
"My supervisor isn't here today. There's another employee I think?"
"Tell them you feel sick and ask to go home?"
Mizuki does not think that will work. They must look even shittier than they thought, because the employee, who is a woman seemingly middle aged, takes on look at them and immediately tells them to go home and rest. That's one problem solved then.
They let Kanade lead them after that, after showing her to the store entrance of course. They're not sure where she's taking them and they're pretty sure she doesn't know either and is hoping for the best. Eventually they find themselves in a cafe, at a table, across the white haired girl.
They talk and it's comfortable. Kanade does ask them about what happened, but upon seeing their expression, doesn't force the question when Mizuki quickly changes the topic. They feel better after talking, and after their fries and noodles, because of course Kanade managed to find somewhere that sells both.
They don't talk anymore about what happened earlier but Mizuki feels better than they have in a long time, and is pretty sure those kids won't bother them at work anymore.
They can just ditch school, it'll be fine.
Here, at this table, a pretty girl laughs across from them, because of them and that is good enough to keep living.
2. Ena (and her issues with her dad which mayyybe pass the point of issues and become child abuse)
Kanade is tired when she comes home. I mean, can you blame her? One day she's learning that her friend's mom is probably the worst person alive, the next day she gets lost trying to hide from said worst person alive and stumbles into other bad people who are hurting another friend. At least that's what she thinks happened since Mizuki refuses to say a single word about it. At least they're okay. Kanade doesn't want to think about what would have happened if she wasn't there.
Deep down she knows. They would have stayed there until they were left alone, then had their panic attack/breakdown alone and then went back to working with a fake smile.
Kanade loves and cares for her friends very much, however they're kinda dumb about handling their feelings.(She pointedly ignores how she also doesn't handle her feelings and doesn't ask for help or open up. She's fine. She'll be fine if her songs can save people. If she can save people.)
Speaking of her friends and feelings, it's almost time for nightcord. She should probably skip, she hasn't really slept last night and today has been tiring. On the other hand...
Composing.
So she puts on her headphones, gets more paper for her sheet music and logs on. She's the first there. Pretty normal.
She starts on her new song but soon stops to a notification sound. It's from Mafuyu, informing them that she can't come due to her mother. In the past Kanade would have understood it, staying up late is bad for your child's health. But now all she feels is rage, towards the adult who is choosing to have her way over her child's happiness. How can someone be so selfish?
She quickly types back an okay to Mafuyu, but she is beaten by the ever faster Mizuki who replies with a bunch of emojis Kanade can't decipher. Oh well. At least they're fine.
Mizuki quickly joins the call. "Heya K," and "Hi Amia" is all they to each other before they shift to a comfortable silence to work in. It's not until her night snack alarm (that her group made her set one because of how much she forgot/neglected to eat in the day and would come close to passing out when she got up) rings at 2 am that she notices time has passed.
Time has passed, meaning Ena is late to their call. It's not normal of her to do that without messaging first.
Kanade wants to assume that she probably just fell asleep right after her night classes, but with the way her last few days have been, she's not too hopeful. She mentions this to Mizuki, who also voices the same worries. But they have no way of knowing, no way of checking up on Enanan.
Mizuki leaves to go check the sekai, and returns after an abnormally long absence. "She's not there" is the first thing they say. "And the singers all know what happened today". Kanade decides to take the lack of any more information as an end to the topic. "Okay" is all she says.
They continue working but it isn't even 10 minutes (2.40, Kanade guesses,) passed that Ena joins the voice chat.
"Hello" her voice sounds off. Kanade can't pinpoint why it sets off alarm bells, but when you've been talking to and singing with people for this long, you start to get an intuition. That's probably what this is yeah. Nothing else.
"Enanan, are you crying?" Mizuki is the faster asker once again.
"What of course not, do I sound like I'm crying" she replies, too quick and panicked to be true. Mizuki however, shuts up after that, hesitant to push further. Kanade pushes further.
"Were you crying before? Is everything okay?" and apparently those are the magical words, because one moment Ena just sounds off and the next moment she's bawling and sobbing.
"I- I don-I-know why-" she can't form the words with how much she's sobbing and hiccuping.
"Ena can you go into the sekai to meet us?" Kanade asks, because this problem probably can't be solved over voice. The other girls agreement raises her concerns. Ena agreeing to express emotions other than anger next to people is very abnormal and therefore very concerning. She texts Mizuki to head to sekai immediately while she gets a few things for Ena.
She's just grabbing a blanket from the living room in addition to the tissues she grabbed earlier, that she gets a text from Mizuki that says 'bring bandages' and isn't that nice, what an unconcerning thing to get about your mentally ill friend.
Without acknowledging how lack of sleep may be making her more sarcastic, she grabs her first aid kit (forced upon her by mafuyu and endorsed by honami) and heads off into sekai.
When she gets there, it's somehow not what she expects but also what she expected at the same time. That is to say Mizuki is hovering next to an Ena who is wrapped in a fluffy pink blanket that Kanade assumes is Mizuki's. Ena's not looking Mizuki in the eye, and Mizuki also seems to be avoiding getting too close to her. Ena is completely silent as Kanade approaches so she looks at Mizuki for help.
"I don't think she can handle touch right now" says Mizuki, not meeting her eyes. "And her hands..." Kanade drops the items on the ground.
Oh. Kanade doesn't like this. Whatever happened can't be good. But for fucks sake, shes gonna help her friends., She quickly takes Mizuki's hands and squeezes them, their eyes snap up to hers and their guilt seems to disappear. "I'll try to see if Mafuyu is still awake." they say. "We might need her, kind of an emergency."
If it requires a first aid kit, Mafuyu is probably the best person. But she isn't here, so Kanade supposes she'll have to try instead. She turns to Ena and picks up the blanket and tissues first.
"Ena?" she says in a kind voice. "What's wrong?"
Ena finally turns to meet her eyes. Brown eyes, meet blue, but the brown eyes are red from crying and the blue eyes shine with concern. Ena wraps her arms closer to herself, almost as if trying to disappear into nothing. Kanade understands, she really does, but if this is really an emergency, she needs to see her. Not just her head "Can you remove the blanket for a second?" she asks gently. Ena still flinches.
Kanade really wishes her friends had better parents sometimes.
Ena finally lets the blankets fall to the floor. Her hands... They look like she punched glass. There's... there's still some glass stuck there. Kanade feels like throwing up. But she can't. Mafuyu might be coming, she might not. Either way, she has to calm Ena down first.
"Five things you can see" she asks. They've probably all done this for one or two members of their group. They all know the drill. Of course, there aren't many things in the sekai, and the virtual singers are nowhere to be seen.
"You, Mizuki, gray, blanket, tissues" she answers.
Kanade hands her the box of tissues and the other blanket.
"Four things you can feel?"
"Tissues, box, blanket, softer blanket."
Kanade nods. She hears a happy noise from the background that she assumes means Mafuyu was awake, which is good because let's be honest, even if she knew how to do first aid, she's too sleep deprived to do it properly. Also she doesn't know how.
"Three things you can hear?" she starts humming infinitely gray to help the girl.
"You, myself, footsteps." Kanade raises her head to see Mizuki approach and show her a thumbs up. She nods in response.
"Two things you can smell?" she asks. Ena responds quietly after a hesitation. "Blood. Only blood." and tears start flowing from her eyes after that.
Kanade and Mizuki can only watch helplessly as the petite girl's body is shook by her sobs.
"One things you can taste?" asks a new voice. Mafuyu approaches, carrying a plastic bag. The surprise is enough to distract Ena, who had mostly calmed down anyways.
"Blood again" she responds, this time without tears. Mafuyu nods in response and whispers something to Kanade and Mizuki. Then she reaches into her bag and pulls out a water bottle and plastic cup. "Rinse your mouth" she says to Ena, who must be very desperate because she follows the order without hesitation. After a few seconds she manages to spit water without any blood mixed into the cup. Then Mafuyu pulls out a small cheesecake and hands it to Mizuki who splits off a small piece for Ena.
Mafuyu then opens the first aid kit for tweezers, disinfectant and bandages. She nods to Kanade. "Ena, Mafuyu is gonna have to touch you. Is that okay?" Kanade asks towards Ena. After a small hesitation the brunette nods.
She flinches when Mafuyu first takes arm but doesn't pull away. Thankfully no arteries got cut, as Mafuyu explains so they don't need stitches.
They work very slowly, with Mafuyu cleaning off the blood and pulling out glass while Mizuki feeds her cheesecake and Kanade hums. Ena flinches everytime Mafuyu touches her but the other girl manages to keep going. Eventually she stops flinching and starts complaining.
Mafuyu decides it's time to disinfect the wounds when all the glass is out. Ena swears like a sailor throughout the process, stopping only to eat cheesecake. Kanade helps with the bandages, that much she knows how to do. Finally after she's done, Mafuyu pulls away and asks again.
"Two things you can smell?"
"Ugh. The disinfectant. Your perfume." She blushes as she says that.
"One thing you-"
"Cheesecake" Ena almost shouts. She looks guilty right after. "Sorry. I know you're helping it's just..I'm calm now. Thank you."
She holds out her arms for a hug and Mafuyu accepts, albeit with a look of surprise on her face. Kanade is also pulled into the hug, somehow. Probably because she's close.
Mizuki hovers in the background, looking unsure. Ena lifts her head to meet their eyes with an unspoken invite. They still hesitate, moving closer but not joining. Ena looks annoyedly at Mafuyu, who sighs and pulls Mizuki into the hug, eliciting a yelp from the other.
They stay in the hug for a bit more, before pulling apart.
Ena turns to Mafuyu. "Thank you. If we're taking you from your sleep, you can go."
Mafuyu looks confused at that. Actually, less confused and more hesitant. "Yeah" she replies eventually. "I need to sleep to do well in school."
The rest all share a look. "Do you want to go, Mafuyu?" they ask. "Because we'd love for you to stay."
She looks sad at that. "I have to go. Sorry." And she leaves before anyone else can speak. Ena bites her cheek to stop herself from saying something, but flinches in pain, remembering how it was already bleeding because she bit it too hard earlier that night.
Speaking of earlier that night...
Kanade and Mizuki look at her with curiosity and she sighs.
Ena has gotten home from school. Ena wants to draw for a bit before nightcord at 1 am. Those are the only things she remembers clearly. All the rest are blurry.
She remembers drawing on the kitchen table because her father wasn't going to be home.
She remembers her father coming home.
She remembers yelling. A lot of yelling. A lot of words spent just to tell her what she already knows, she'll never be enough.
She remembers arguing. Yelling back. It's her fault too. It is.
It isn't abuse. She isn't helpless. She isn't a victim. (She ignores how Mizuki tries to hug her at that and she flinches. They look concerned. She grabs their hands to prove she can. They shake)
She remembers her father finally getting tired of arguing pointlessly. Remembers him...
She liked the drawing. She liked it. And he just tried to throw it out the window. She couldn't watch.
So she got in the middle. The painting meant to go out the window. Her father shoved it onto her instead. It was an accident.
She hit the window. She broke the window.
She remembers her dad paling and leaving for his workshop without further comment.
Then she came to nightcord.
The other two are speechless. "Ena," Kanade asks in a sickly sweet voice. "Where do you live?"
They show up at her house. Both of them. Ena doesn't know how the fuck they managed that at... 5 in the morning.
Her father is probably asleep.
That doesn't stop Kanade. Someone probably should, but that someone isn't Ena, whose hand still hurts, it isn't Mizuki who keeps staring at her hand as if she's going to die from it and it definitely isn't Akito who she's pretty sure didn't even come home. She's kinda happy he won't be included in this mess.
She faintly hears what sounds like the world's worst alarm from her father's workshop.
Considering her father's workshop is soundproof, Kanade is probably committing a crime.
They enter the workshop after the sound stops. They enter being Mizuki enters and stays as they are, and Ena doesn't go through the door.
They didn't know Kanade knew that many swears. By the end of it her father's begging for mercy from the awful sound. Which, there is none. So Kanade might have given her father permanent damage.
She looks at Mizuki. "He'll live" they say. Her hand hurts. She doesn't argue.
Kanade storms out of the workshop with a fierce expression. She heads for the door.
"Kanade?" Ena asks.
"Follow me" she replies. "We got one last thing to do."
They pass by Akito on the way out and he just stares at them in confusion. "Don't go in today" Ena feels the need to warn. He nods and walks away, back to where he came from.
3. Mafuyu (and her as*ho*e of a mother who is a f*cking b*tch b*stard whom we f*cking hate)
Alright well, Kanade thinks. Can't avoid this any further. I did the other two, might as well do this too.
So she walks up to Asahina house, with Ena and Mizuki hot on her heels(following from very far so that mafumom doesn't see them.)
She has second doubts, sure. This is probably not a good idea. She's very sleep deprived, eats instant ramen for food and barely drinks any water. She might collapse on the way, and if not, definitely on the way back. But also, Mafuyu's mom is a bitch.
She arrives at the doors. Fancy rich people house. Outside door for garden fence. She easily (by help of Mizuk) jumps over.
She's really gonna torture Mafuyu's parents at 5 am?
Yes.
She decided to sneak in instead. Mafuyu told them how. Easy to climb onto her balcony (especially it you're just being helped by Mizuki.) Mizuki and Ena go away to hide. This is fine, she can do this. She knocks on the door. Balcony door. There's no way Mafuyu is still awake.
Mafuyu opens the door, jaw dropping when she sees Kanade.
"Hi. I've come to yell at your mom"
It takes Kanade a while to explain everything, from the meetup to the right now. Mafuyu listens in shocked silence. Kanade is also silent after all is said and done. They sit in silence until Kanade decides to break it.
"Weren't you gonna sleep?" she asks.
Suddenly Mafuyu looks so much smaller and so much younger than normal. "I couldn't" she replies.
Kanade can see the fear in those eyes. She's so done with this shit. She gets up to go to Mafumom's room. She's stopped by a hand clinging to her sweat jacket.
"Please don't go there" begs a broken voice. "Don't leave me" Kanade listens.
As morning comes, Mafuyu's mother opens her child's room to find it empty, with a voice recorder connected to a large speaker.
As Kanade's voice plays, it becomes clear just how many swears one can learn. Except they are more creative constructs rather than swears.
"...you good for nothing hoe with no life of your own and hoping to live through you child. Get a fucking grip. You fucking monster, you asshole, all you do is hurt people. Your own child is almost dead, in more ways than one because of you. We all fucking hate you, I bet your husband only married you for the money and prestige, I bet that's why he's never home, to get away from you..." and the recording goes on and on. Ending with, a loud, ear hurting sound.
In a dark bedroom illuminated by the screens, a silver haired girl lays next to purple haired, who is forcing her to sleep. It's probably for the best. The last speech would have been better if it was written by Mafuyu and Kaito instead of Kanade, Mizuki and Ena.
She doesn't mind though. She thinks it was fine.
They're happy today, and tomorrow, who knows.