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The forest was quiet that morning, the kind of quiet that came with a nice cool weather and a few animals too sleepy to bother her.
Nene liked it that way. Peaceful, calm, not a soul to bother her except the occasional squirrel or bird that thought her window was an open invitation.
Not that she minded them too much. They didn’t yell about being world future stars at 8 in the morning.
She lived deep enough in the woods that people rarely wandered close. When they did, they were usually the confused type.
Lost travelers, young couples seeking blessings from a shrine, heck she swore she saw hermits the other day. Sometimes she got guests come over bringing stuff in exchange for something she had.
Those, she could still tolerate.
What she couldn’t tolerate was most annoyingly, townsfolk looking for the witch.
Usually they were people from the nearby kingdom, the forest was mostly untouched except for a few people living a bit spread out (which was also a reason having her neighbor in the forest be her childhood best friend and neighbor when she was still a kid was quite surprising.)
Most people lived in towns, the closest one to the forest being a good half-hour walk from the edge of the forest.
People are very dedicated when it comes to looking for quick solutions, because she often gets a few knocks on her door at late hours.
She wasn’t the witch. Never was, never will be.
She did not even dress like a witch.
Sure, she wore a mossy-green dress with a few lace details and flowers, with a belt holding a few trinkets she carried around. And sure, she had a matching wide-brimmed hat for when the sun was a bother—alongside a cloak for whenever she needed to go out.
… Scratch that—sure, she did look like a witch, but she was definitely not into alchemy and sorcery.
She was not the witch people look for.
She’d said that about a hundred times in her life and would probably say it hundreds more.
She could brew some tea that calmed headaches (thank you for the knowledge, Yoisaki-san.)
And maybe she had a familiar or two (not cats—they’re way too much work. Besides, she was basically a Disney princess with how many birds she’s familiar with),.
But actual witchcraft? No. Absolutely not.
That was her 2 idiot neighbors’ department she was not going anywhere too close to for the next few years of her life.
Rui, across the mossy path, with his strange inventions and endless yapping sessions about… whatever it was that he was obsessed with and hyperfixated on for that week.
“I had this new spell I thought of while walking with Tsukasa-kun this morning—”
“Rui, I want to go to bed…”
“Oh! If I add just a bit more—”
“RUI!”
“Huh?”
“I want to go to bed! Goodnight! Please talk to me at a different time, maybe tomorrow, when I’m somewhat functional again. And please for the love of Hatsune Miku—put up a sign saying you’re the witch!!”
And then there was Tsukasa, self-proclaimed “world future star!” who mostly helped Rui by shouting encouragements (or scoldings) often so loud that Nene could hear them through the goddamn trees and the walls of her home.
Seriously, how strong is that man’s vocal chords?
Anyway—
So when someone knocked on her door that morning, she was already sighing before she opened it.
And then she blinked.
Standing there was a girl, about her age, with short pink hair and eyes that practically sparkled. She wore a frilly outfit—and her smile was sunshine.
“Wonderhoy!” the girl chirped.
Nene froze. “…What.”
“Wonderhoy!” she repeated, as if that clarified anything.
“…What’s a wonderhoy?” Nene asked flatly.
“It’s like a greeting!” the girl said cheerfully.
Nene pinched the bridge of her nose. “Of course it is...”
The girl clasped her hands together, eyes glowing with determination. “I’m looking for love!”
Nene stared at her. There was a pause. A long one.
“Right,” she muttered finally, then sighed and gestured vaguely to the path behind her.
“The Witch is over that way. Across the street. The tall one’s Rui, he’s the real witch, though he doesn’t do love potions because of, quote, ‘consent and moral philosophy,’ end quote.” she explained.
The girl tried to say something but Nene lifted her hand in front, signaling to wait for her to finish her explanation. “And the loud one’s Tsukasa. He also can’t help with potions but he'll probably try to give you a motivational speech instead.” she continued.
The girl giggled, blushing slightly. “I know!” she said. “I was just there.”
Nene blinked. “…Then why are you here?”
The girl twirled a strand of her pink hair between her fingers. “Because they told me to go over here.”
Nene blinked. Then she slowly leaned slightly past her.
Sure enough, she saw them—Rui leaning against his fence with that smug lcat-like smirk, and Tsukasa beside him, waving at her enthusiastically before switching to giving her two thumbs up. Rui even had the nerve to yell “good luck!” across the road.
Nene’s face burned red.
Oh, she was going to kill them.
Slowly. Painfully. Preferably while Rui was mid-“fufu.”
Did she (platonically) love her childhood best friend? Of course.
Was she still going to brutally murder him for setting her up? Absolutely.
She turned back toward the girl, who looked up at her with big, expectant eyes.
“…You’re serious,” Nene muttered.
The girl nodded brightly. “Uh-huh! They said if I wanted to find real love, I should ask the girl in the house across the path!”
Nene felt her ears heat up at that.
“Of course they did,” she said under her breath. “Those absolute menaces…”
The girl tilted her head, smiling. “You’re funny.”
Nene froze again, caught completely off guard. “…I’m not trying to be.”
“But you are!” the girl giggled. “You’re kind of cute when you look annoyed.”
Nene opened her mouth to reply, but her words just… evaporated. Her brain fizzled out halfway between who even says that and wait she called me cute?
The girl took another small step forward, holding out her hand. “Otori Emu! What’s your name?”
“…Kusanagi Nene,” she managed, shaking Emu's hand.
“Then, nice to meet you, Nene-chan!”
Nene blinked. “…Nene-chan?”
Emu beamed. “You don’t mind, right?”
Her face went red again. “I—”
From across the road, a voice rang out—Tsukasa’s unmistakable yell of “WE BELIEVE IN YOU, NENE!” followed by Rui’s unmistakable laughter of “fufu”.
Nene shut the door just enough to hide her mortified expression and muttered darkly, “I’m going to murder them both.”
Emu giggled. “You’re really funny, Nene-chan!”
And somehow, Nene found she couldn’t quite bring herself to be mad anymore.
God bless her soul.