Work Text:
“I can not believe you somehow convinced my mom to let you come.” Ena kicks Mizuki’s leg.
They laugh as they playfully kick her back. “Oh, don’t be like that Enanan!”
“Leave poor Mizuki alone, Ena.” Her mother scolds from the driver's seat. “Shinei, tell Ena not to kick her friend.”
Her father grunts in the passenger’s seat.
Ena rolls her eyes. Her dad hasn’t been in the best of moods ever since her mom forced him to accept his family’s invitation for a reunion. Even though they’re divorced, her mom came over quite a bit to cook and take care of both Ena and Akito.
She supposed her mom must’ve been missing her dad’s side of the family; she remembers going to a family reunion when Akito was still a toddler, and her mother got along amazingly with everyone there. Come to think of it… Ena hasn’t seen any of her extended family for a while now.
“Hey…” Mizuki nudged her, keeping their voice low. “If you really are uncomfortable with me going to your family reunion, I can make an excuse to leave and take the train home.”
Ena sighs, she can’t leave Mizuki to walk home in the dark. Her mom will probably make them stay late and Ena will end up sleeping in the bedroom of a cousin she barely knows. “No… Whatever. You can stay. My mom’s probably gonna make us stay overnight, so…”
“Aww, was Ena worried about me? How sweet!” They place their head on her shoulder, making Ena’s face flush. They aren’t dating. Ena wants them to be but Mizuki–
Mizuki said they didn’t know. That they needed to think.
Ena said that she’d stay friends with them regardless, but right now… it stung a little. But she’ll push it down regardless. Even if Mizuki isn’t interested in her, Ena really does want to stay their friend.
Akito groans on the other side of Mizuki.
“And why are you so grumpy, Otouto-kun?” They snort, elbowing his arm.
“He’s mad that Toya was busy with strawberry picking and couldn’t come with us today.” Ena shrugs. “He wanted to go with him, but mom forced him to come.”
“I did not force him.” Kinuye gives her daughter a warning glance through the mirror. “All I said was it would be a shame if he didn't come because we haven’t seen these relatives in ten years.”
Ena gives Mizuki a 'told you so' look as they whisper, "Ten years?! Geez, that's so long! Enanan, you haven't seen these people since you were six?!"
She shrugs. "Dad doesn't really get along with my aunt and the rest of them are pretty busy, or so I'm told."
Akito leans in too to join the whisper-fest. "And with ma and pa's divorce being pretty messy, things have been tense."
"Why the fuck do you keep talking like that?" Ena scrunches her nose.
“Like what?”
“Like… that.”
Akito looks confused as Mizuki giggles. The car stops in front of a nice suburban house near Miyamasuzaka’s jurisdiction, on the other side of Shibuya. There are quite a few cars in the driveway and even two parked on the side of the street.
“We’re here!” Their mother already looks excited. “Akito, can you help me with the gifts?”
“Sure, ma.” He sighs, getting out of the car to help her. Ena doesn’t want to be stuck in the car with her dad so she gets up to help too.
She can hear her mom talking as she hands Akito the crate of oranges. “We haven’t been over to Saori’s new house yet… I hear her daughter is on the road to being an idol.”
“Like Airi-san?”
“Yeah, like Airi-chan.” Her mom smiles as Ena slams the car door. “Ena, has Airi-chan mentioned any new idols in the area?”
“Umm,” Ena closes her eyes. No, Airi hasn’t mentioned any up and coming idols lately. The one she can really think of was Minori… but she’s been on the idol game for quite a while. They recently made it big though, right? “I don’t think so, mom.”
“Oh really?” Kinuye looks to the front of the house, squinting her eyes in thought. She hands Ena a heavy wrapped box with a kid’s scooter inside. Ena remembers her mom coming home one day with gifts for her cousins and younger members of their family.
“Oi.” Akito shifts the crate of oranges to balance them on one hip as he knocks on the passenger seat window where their father was still sitting. “Old man, time to go in. Why are you still in the car?”
Shinei sighs, getting out of the car with much reluctance. Mizuki gets out of the car too, looking a bit intimidated by the neighborhood. Out of everyone in Nightcord, only Mafuyu lives in a house so Ena guessed that they don’t really walk around in fancy, higher middle class neighborhoods like this one.
They immediately latch onto Ena’s arm, taking a few of the gift bags. “Ena… does your extended family really live here?”
“My mom says my Aunt Saori does.” Ena looks around too. The neighborhood was certainly nicer than most, even though the apartment her family lives in was also pretty nice, it wasn’t as nice as this. “I haven’t seen her in years so…”
“Ohh, so it’s like that, huh?”
Kinuye is already walking towards the door so Ena needs to speed walk to catch up to her. One glance back tells her that her father is dragging his feet behind them.
The woman who answers the door must be Saori, she looks too much like Ena and Shinei to not be. Her eyes are also brown like theirs but her hair is more of a dark auburn than anything… Ena guesses she’s where Akito got his hair from.
“Kinuye?! Is that really you?!” Saori almost shrieks in surprise. “I haven’t seen you in ages, Shinei never told me you guys were coming! Come in, come in!”
Ena slips off her shoes once she’s inside, turning around just in time to see Saori kick her father’s ankles. Akito sees it too and they both share a glance.
“Asshole!” She hisses. “You haven’t been to these things in years and suddenly you show up unannounced?! I thought you died in your studio you goddamn recluse!”
Oh. Oh no.
Shinei grumbles at his sister. “Why are you always attacking me? Does it really matter if I tell you or not? You’re always complaining about leftovers anyway and Kinuye dragged us all here–”
“Oh so Kinuye was the one who convinced your sorry ass to come, eh?! Even though you two got divorced… Honestly, what would you even do without her?” Saori hits her younger brother's shoulder before turning to Ena, Akito and Mizuki, displaying a huge grin. “Ahh, you two must be Ena and Akito. You’ve grown so much! Do you even remember me at this point?”
Ena remembers a bit of her. She remembers her at the last family reunion, excitedly announcing that she and her husband were trying for another baby. They have a daughter, she remembers that much.
“I remember you, Aunt Saori.” She smiles politely, it wasn’t exactly a lie but it wasn’t the full truth either.
“Uhh…” Akito shuffles in place, looking down at his feet. He doesn’t seem to remember.
Saori laughs. “It’s okay if you don’t remember, Akito. You were always rambunctious as a kid, running around and knocking over furniture. Most of the time, you ended up falling asleep before the night was over.”
This caused Mizuki to snort. Ena has to admit, the image of Akito passing out right after dinner was a funny one.
“And you are…?” Saori looks at them questioningly.
“Oh!” Mizuki jolts, not expecting to be spoken to. “I’m Mizuki Akiyama, Ena’s friend. It’s very nice to meet you, Shinonome-san!”
“Shinonome-san?” Saori laughs. “Oh no dear. I don’t go by Shinonome anymore. But it’s very nice to have you here, Mizuki-chan! The more the merrier, as they say! Go in, go in! Most of the family is already at the table, you came just in time for dinner!”
“Ah-” Ena hands her the giant box. “My mom told me to give this to you and…”
She takes an orange gift bag from Mizuki. “...This one too.”
“Aw, thank you both! Kinuye was always so sweet, even way back in highschool.”
Way back in highschool? Ena didn’t know her parents knew each other that long. …Did her mother know her father first or her aunt?
Ah, it didn't really matter now. They got married, had Ena and Akito, got divorced and now they're here.
Once she walks into the dining room, she's greeted by an almost full table of brown hair with the occasional red flare. Aunts, uncles, cousins and more all greeted her, pinched her cheeks until they were red and sore then shoved a plate into her hands and one into Mizuki's, piling them up high with more food than Ena thinks she could finish in a week.
She ends up sitting at the kid’s end on the long table, even though she was sixteen. Now that she’s really looking, there aren’t a lot of kids in this family. Only her, Akito, some kid and–
“Mi- Minori-chan?”
Minori almost spits out her drink when she recognizes Ena, previously distracted by talking to her father. “Ena-chan!”
"No way, Minori Hanasato from MORE MORE JUMP?!" Mizuki tugs on Ena’s sleeve. “You’re related to Minori Hanasato from MORE MORE JUMP?!” They whisper.
Mizuki has always liked magical girls, idols, anything cute and positive. Minori fit in almost all of those categories, so it really wasn’t surprising when they started posting Minori edits and fancams on their online accounts.
“I didn’t know!” Ena whispers back.
“You’re Shinei’s daughter, aren’t you?” Minori’s dad smiles at her from across the table. He’s currently removing the bell peppers from his son’s plate. “You look exactly like him!”
“Ehhh.” Ena shrinks into her seat. Mizuki places their hand on hers for support.
“No, she has Kinuye’s eyes and her looks too.” Saori elbows her husband. “Ena, Akito, Mizuki-chan. This is Toru Hanasato, my husband.”
She points to Minori, and then to the little boy. “That’s Minori, and this is my youngest, Ryota.”
Oh, so the idol that her mother was talking about was Minori. Her aunt Saori worked as a lawyer, right? And her uncle Toru is a pediatrician. Ena steals a glance at her younger brother, who was picking at his food uncomfortably.
There’s a gruff voice clearing his throat at the head of the table and Ena wants to melt into the floor at the sound.
“So, Shinei, you finally decided to join us in the reunion this year, hm?” Her grandfather, Goro Shinonome speaks up. He’s usually a stoic old man, it’s rare for him to talk and it’s even rarer for him to crack a smile. “Are you still doing your silly paintings?”
“Father.” Saori scolds from her seat near the end. Ena looks at her parents but they both are silent, keeping their heads down.
Goro waves his daughter off. “Ena, I haven’t seen you for a better part of ten years. What are you doing these days?”
“I– Um–” Ena freezes under the weight of all the eyes on her. “I– I do art.”
“Oh, like Shinei.” Her grandfather’s cousin, Akihiro, nods. “He must be very proud of you then.”
Ena needs to resist the urge to scoff. As if.
“Doodling is not a real job, Ena.” Her grandfather speaks up. “You shouldn’t follow in your father’s footsteps, following something creative will just lead you nowhere.”
“Father!” Saori raises her voice.
“My name is a respected one in the arts community.” Ena’s father hisses. “I have pop-up exhibits all over Shibuya, all over Japan!”
His father dismisses him with a glance. "And what's this I hear about Akito doing street music? Kinuye, are you really going to let your children stoop this low?"
"I'll let them do whatever they're passionate about." Ena's mother almost snaps her chopsticks in half, she's biting them so hard. "Akito is good at performing and singing, and Ena's art is very beautiful and creative."
"That's right!" Mizuki shoots from their seat, steam practically escaping through their ears. "I've seen firsthand how Ena's art evokes emotion in people, and Otou– I mean- Akito-kun's singing is fierce and powerful!"
"It's not just that either! They're both very kindhearted, under a layer of gruffness, and they always look out for others, especially when it comes to each other!"
"Ena's singing isn't bad either!" Ena's stomach drops when Mizuki mentions that Ena sings. She doesn't need to look at Akito's face to know that he must be crushed from the inside out. "And Akito's good at art too! He does street murals all over Vivid Street–"
"Mizuki!" Ena pulls them back into their seat, absolutely horrified.
"Akiyama!" Akito hisses at the same time, the same look of dread and fear is upon his face too, like Ena just found out something he didn't want her to know.
And well– she kind of did. Ena had no idea that Akito did art, he never showed an interest in it, even when their dad sat them both down after dinner and did some basic art lessons with them, he would look bored and ask to leave.
Either way, he had nowhere near as much practice as Ena did, and yet… He was out doing street murals and singing in his free time. Not to mention his part-time job and him actually waking up in the mornings to go to school.
Ah, Ena really was talentless. Compared to her younger brother, compared to everyone in this family, actually. She was the one who was drifting, chasing dreams that she could never reach.
She just prays that Mizuki would shut up as her grandfather scoffs again. "I see, his children are certainly… creative."
Akihiro’s older sister, Miwa, snorts. “Oh, leave Shinei alone, Goro. You’re only harsh on his kids because you were always second to Usa in everything.”
“Do not bring Usagi into this.”
This time her father’s cousin, Osamu, shrugs. “She’s right, uncle. Even though mom’s gone, you’re still competing with her. You’re always easy on Saori and hard on Shinei because mom always compared them to me.”
“Is that Osamu Uehara the politician?” Mizuki whispers to her.
Goro grunts. “She was right, she was always right. At least you had the decency to name your daughter after your grandfather.”
A woman with red hair looks around nervously.
“I’m telling you uncle, Junko’s name has nothing to do with grandpa Jun.” Osamu rolls his eyes.
Jeez. She really is related to these people.
“Isn’t Akito named after Akihiro though?” Miwa pipes up again, pointing at her younger brother.
“He definitely is not.” Kinuye protests as Shinei puts down his chopsticks and starts rubbing his temples.
“Great auntie, the notion of that is ridiculous.” Junko finally speaks up. “It’s like saying little Ryota-kun was named after uncle Ryo.” Ryo raises his head and looks around wide eyed at the mention of his name.
“Well, was he?”
“He was not.” Toru shakes his head, watching his son chew his food instead of participating in the conversation. Ena follows her cousin's example and hurriedly starts chewing.
“Akito does kind of look like me.” Akihiro comments. His hair is mostly white, but there are a few streaks of ginger and auburn in there. “Say, Minori kind of sounds like Miwa, doesn’t it?”
Ena can hear Minori squeak from across the table.
“Oh, it kind of does!” Miwa giggles. Really, she was so carefree. “Was she named after me?”
“She definitely wasn’t.” Saori shakes her head.
"Oh, so no one was named after anyone?" Miwa’s attitude immediately drops. "Have you no respect for your elders?"
“I don’t think this is any place to fight.” Toru is trying to calm everybody down, but it’s already too far gone.
“Oh please, none of you named any of your children after your elders.” Shinei looks tired and pissed.
“Do not talk back to me!”
“Why don’t you kids go eat in the living room?” Toru slides his son off his seat and hands him his plate. “Minori, go take your cousins. The adults are just having a little conversation. You too, Junko.”
Some little conversation. Ena can see her mother take a wine bottle and pour it until her wine glass was full as the other members of her family start yelling. Junko immediately springs up and follows Minori out of the dining room almost too eagerly.
“Remember to be quiet!” Ryo shouts after them. “Arisu is still sleeping in her car seat!”
Ena follows her too, pulling Mizuki along after they linger at the table. “…Is your family always like this?”
Ena shrugs. Her family really was dysfunctional, even outside her immediate family members. She really wouldn’t blame them if they asked to be driven home right after dinner was over.
“Okaa-san and Otou-san are usually nice and calm, it’s only when Ojii-san is over when they get stressed.” Minori explains, abandoning her plate on the coffee table. “But it’s nice to see you again, Ena-chan! I didn’t know we were related!”
“Me neither! I never knew you were an older sister too!”
“You two know each other?” Mizuki asks.
“You have friends outside of Airi-san and your music circle?” Akito tilts his head.
“Shut up!” Ena delivers a kick to Akito’s shins, and he almost trips her in retaliation.
Junko giggles, hushing them when Arisu coos in her seat.
“Oh, is that…?” Ena crouches to take a better look at her. Arisu has freckles all over and orange hair, dressed in a green onesie as she grips a gray elephant stuffed animal. She yawns, looking at Ena with wide, green eyes.
“Arisu is uncle Ryo’s daughter, he’s rather protective of her.” Junko raises Arisu up and out of the car seat. “Good morning, Arisu-chan.”
Minori coos at their cousin too, until Ryota runs up to his sister, a soccer ball in hand.
"Nee-chan, Nee-chan, watch me!" Ryota said, starting to carefully juggle the ball like Ena had seen Akito do a few times. He's obviously inexperienced though, one wrong kick and the ball bounces off his foot and hits him in the face, sending him tumbling backwards.
“Oh- Ryota!” Minori helps her brother back up. “Are you alright?”
“I’m alright!”
Looking at Minori and Ryota… it made Ena's chest feel heavy. They seemed like the only pair of siblings in this family that actually got along with one another. When she and Akito were little… were they ever like that? When they were little…
Ena stayed inside drawing and making beaded bracelets with yarn and Akito stayed outside in the sun, running around and getting grass stains on his clothes. Nothing much has changed… they're still just Ena and Akito. They used to fight back then too.
Now… they– they don't know better, but they know more. They know which lines to not cross and how to apologize without words. They now know how to be there for one another, without actually being there for one another. Akito sometimes removed Ena's electric hair products from her bathroom and in response, Ena sets out water bottles and snacks on his desk for when he comes home from practice.
Somehow, nothing has changed and yet everything has changed. But Ena and Akito are still mostly the same.
Ena… Ena hopes that they’ll be on better terms when they actually grow up and move out. Because god, she does not want to end up like the voices still arguing in the dining room.
Ena can see her brother sneak out of the room as Mizuki and Junko start talking to Minori about her idol career. Ryota rushed up the stairs, shouting that he needed to go to the bathroom. With a glance at Mizuki, Ena slips out too.
“Hey.” She finds him leaning against the front door, most likely texting Toya.
“...Hey.” Akito nods at her as she kicks aside shoes to stand next to him, looking straight ahead at the hallway leading to the basement and the kitchen. He shoves his phone back into his pocket.
"...You sing?" He asks after a minute.
Ena doesn't answer. "You do art?"
Her younger brother shrugs, scratching the back of his neck. "Just spray paint. I ain't no good at it though."
Ena nods slowly. "I'm not good at singing either. It's all heavily autotuned."
Akito sighs, looking up at the ceiling. "...Yeah, okay."
"Okay." Ena is quiet as she listens to Mizuki gush to Junko about some TV show Minori was on.
“Ena, do you ever…” Akito lets his hand flop down from his neck. “No… nevermind.”
“Do I ever think about how we really are the talentless, failures of the family?” Ena says for him. She looks down at her socks. She can count on one hand all the times she thought she was worth something. Even with Nightcord and her mom’s support… Ena can’t help but feel…
Worthless. Useless. Just another pretty face for the street with no value or talent in her skills. Even Akito’s singing, his dedication to practice with his group mates, his ability to seem nice and charming to strangers and his history with soccer, it all made him admirable. Worth something.
What did Ena have, other than violent outbursts of anger, and her never satisfied hunger to improve at art? No matter how hard she tried, she always seemed stationary, never letting her skills slip but never quite improving either.
Really, what was Ena Shinonome worth anyways?
“I don’t think you need to worry about that.” She continues. “If anything, I’ll be the one they rag on in family group chats.”
“Why would it be you?” Akito looks genuinely surprised.
Ena side eyes her brother. “How could it not be me? I’m the one who sleeps all day, I’m the one that goes to night school, has a horrible temper and has a hobby she isn’t any good at.”
“But to them, you’re pretty and you continue doing art even with so many people saying you should quit.” Ena raises her head in surprise at Akito’s words. “Perseverance… it’s a really admirable trait.”
Is that really how Akito sees her? Someone who’s brave and thick skinned, continuing forward because art is something she loves and enjoys doing.
“Don’t sell yourself short either.” She ruffles his hair. “Toya-kun tells me that you’ve endured a lot too.”
Akito goes red, making Ena smile. “Well, no matter how they see us, at least we’ll always have each other, right?”
He nods, but he doesn’t have a chance to respond. There's a commotion on the top of the stairs and suddenly a huge ball of white fur is barreling towards them. Ena yelps, Akito shoves her behind him, only to jump almost three feet in the air when he realizes the ball of fur is a dog.
“Samo-chan!” Minori pulls the dog off Akito. She then turns to shout up the stairs, “Ryota! Did you let Samo-chan out of my room?! You know mom and dad told us to keep him upstairs!”
“I just wanted to say hi but he just bolted out! I’m sorry, Nee-chan…” Ryota apologizes from in between the stair railings.
“No way, Samo-chan! From the MORE MORE JUMP channel!” Mizuki couches to ruffle Samo-chan’s fur, noticing Akito and Ena. “Oh, there you two are! I was starting to worry. What’s wrong, Otouto-kun? You look so pale!”
Ena snickers behind him, making Akito elbow her and shove her to the side. “Nothing’s wrong.” Akito clears his throat. “Hey Ryota, do you want me to show you how to juggle? I played soccer a few years back.”
“Can you really?!” Ryota rushes down the stairs, taking Akito’s hand. “Can you teach me? Please, please!”
“Alright, no need to pull…” He says as Ryota leads him back to the living room.
Mizuki watches them, laughing a bit before turning back to her. “What were you two doing out here, Enanan?”
Ena shrugs, petting the top of Samo-chan’s head. “Just talking.”
…
Ena is right about one thing, their mother really does make them stay overnight. After her grandfather and his cousins left, the Shinonomes were left with the Hanasatos, and Saori and Kinuye were laughing late into the night.
Minori lets Ena and Mizuki sleep in her room, lending some clothes for them to sleep in. “Samo-chan will be sleeping with us tonight, are you two okay with that?”
“More than okay!” Mizuki is grinning even when they’re in the bathroom, brushing their teeth. “This is straight out of my dreams, Ena! Never would I think I’d be sleeping in Minori Hanasato’s house, in her room, in her clothes, with her dog!”
Ena rolls her eyes, keeping them trained on the sink’s drain. She saw the pink and orange coloured flag on Minori’s desk. If Mizuki wanted, they could totally charm Minori into falling for them, just like Ena has.
“Ena? Enanan!” Mizuki elbows her arm. “Your gums are going to start bleeding if you continue brushing!”
“Fuck off.” Ena spits, using tap water to gargle as Mizuki exits. When she comes out of the bathroom too, she’s surprised to see Mizuki still waiting for her.
“All done?” They say, taking Ena’s hand to walk back to Minori’s room.
Minori is sitting on her bed, reading a pretty old magazine; the guest futon is already out and made for them.
“Oh, I love that idol group too!” Mizuki sneaks a glance at the cover. “I was so sad when they disbanded!”
“Really?!” Minori excitedly pats the space next to her. Ena’s heart does a little twist that she has to scold it for when Mizuki plops down on the bed. “I wasn’t sure if anybody else remembered them!”
“Are you kidding me? I still follow their accounts, even though they disbanded, they still hangout from time to time!”
“No way!”
There’s a knock at the door, Minori shouts come in and Saori sticks her head in. “Girls, time to go to bed. You can talk more tomorrow.”
“Alright!” Minori slips the magazine under her bed. Mizuki bounces off the bed and into the futon with Ena, making her squawk. “Good night mom!”
“Good night, my little clover. Good night Ena, Mizuki-chan!” Saori blows her daughter a kiss then shuts the light and door.
It doesn’t take long for Minori to fall asleep, though, Ena thinks it’s because she and Mizuki stay up way too late most nights. Speaking of which…
“Oh shoot. I forgot to tell K and Yuki that we won’t be on tonight.” Ena rolls over for her phone, opening Nightcord. She shoots them a quick message, sighing when Kanade responds with a thumbs up. Mizuki rolls over too, hugging Ena from behind.
“He-hey!” Ena wants to wriggle but Mizuki’s breath on the back of her neck stops her. She stills instead, placing an unsure hand on Mizuki’s arm. “...I’m sorry you had to see my family arguing today. You should’ve spent it at your friend’s house like you were planning to.”
“Nah,” They say, snuggling closer. “I had fun today. Junko-san told me a lot about you.”
Ah. Ena sighs. Junko would be the one telling the embarrassing stories from Ena’s childhood. She was one of the only ones who ever cared.
“Hey, Ena… I still don’t have an answer for you.” Mizuki continues in a small voice. “I’m sorry.”
It made Ena’s heart sink, when it was previously in her throat. It’s not like it was unexpected, Mizuki typically needs a lot of time to think things like this over, but still… It was a little bit unfair to Ena, wasn’t it?
Whatever, she’ll get over it.
“That’s fine.” Ena finally relaxes in their hold, biting her tongue to not let her voice crack. Just shove it down, they’ll let her know when they’re ready. “Take your time. I’ll still be here, waiting regardless. I'll even wait forever, you know?”
Mizuki nods, holding Ena closer.
She doesn’t know how much waiting she can endure, really. But for Mizuki? Ena will push the limits, even when it’s beyond her abilities to do so.