Chapter Text
The next day was awfully bright and sunny. It was like the day before was only a gloomy portrait, and all the paints that made up the image were washed and scratched away, revealing an overly saturated undercoat.
Speaking of washed away portraits, she was able to recover her canvas and easel with relative ease. Just as she suspected, no one had any interest in stealing her supplies. Seeing as the town had come back to life, Ena didn’t find any point in trying to paint anything, instead spending her time hauling her easel and canvas back to her house.
Or, to be more precise, Mafuyu was hauling everything back to her house. A large dog (Maybe a wolf. Ena couldn’t tell the difference) tugged a wagon that Ena hooked to a harness. To Ena’s surprise, Mafuyu didn’t seem all that upset by the task, barely offering a complaint when she suggested the idea. In fact, she seemed a little despondent, saying even less than she usually did. Maybe Ena should have made sure she was okay before turning her into a dog and making her complete her errands.
Obviously, a canine of her stature was bound to attract attention, especially now that the town was bustling. Mafuyu was either too out of it to notice or was so used to everyone staring that it didn’t faze her. But Ena felt all those gazes. It was a little intimidating, but at the same time, it wasn’t a terrible feeling to have people look at her in awe.
Some kids stopped the games they were playing to gawk and vocalize their amazement. She thought for a moment that she might be able to get used to this kind of attention. There was the childlike curiosity and wonder for such an uncommon sight, not a hint of malice as they looked at Ena.
Then, she heard the other things people had to say about her. People who were more mature and lived in the world long enough to hold only hatred and resentment in their hearts for people who were different from them.
“Is that the witch?”
“I heard she poisoned that little boy who fell ill last night.”
“The poor creature. She must have cast a spell on it to make it obey her.”
Ena quickened her pace, tapping Mafuyu’s back to get her attention to speed up. It wasn’t much further, so the extra strain wouldn’t affect her too much.
Once they reached her house, Ena quickly unhooked the harness from the wagon and unbuckled the straps to free Mafuyu. Mafuyu always insisted she didn’t mind, but her discomfort was so obvious when she was confined in something for too long, whether that be a collar, a cage, or a harness. Yes, she pissed Ena off to no end and needed someone to knock her down a peg or two from time-to-time, but she didn’t want the girl to feel miserable, especially when she was doing Ena a favor.
Mafuyu sat politely, watching as Ena unloaded each item from the wagon and dragged it back into her house. Once Ena was done bringing everything inside, she looked around to see if anyone was in sight, but like most days, no one was very interested in soliciting in such a run-down area. She snapped her fingers, revealing a listless Mafuyu sitting in the dirt while leaning against the wall of her house.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
The cloudiness in Mafuyu’s eyes cleared up a bit when she realized she was being talked to.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry.” She dusted herself off as she stood up. On a normal day, she would fret more about her clothes getting dirty.
Ena sighed, helping brush the dirt off her trousers. “Obviously there’s something wrong. You’ve been acting weird since we first met up today.”
Mafuyu stood still, hanging her head while Ena got the last bit of dirt off of her. She muttered a soft “Thank you” before lifting her head back up. “It’s not really a big deal…” It definitely was. “...but I got home a little past my curfew last night.”
Oh. An instinctual rage built up; one she had to make sure she didn’t accidentally release upon Mafuyu. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stayed at the shop for that long.”
“No, it was my fault for falling asleep. I—”
“Shut up.” Mafuyu snapped her jaw shut, not daring to make a sound. Ena regretted sounding so demanding. “S-Sorry. Just… don’t blame yourself for that, okay? Did she do something to you?”
Mafuyu seemed hesitant to respond, either from Ena’s previous outburst or because she didn’t want to answer.
“No,” she finally settled with. “Not… really.”
Ena sighed. Somehow, Mafuyu was easier to understand when she was an animal. At least then she seemed more comfortable in her own skin.
“Here. I know what’ll cheer you up.”
Mafuyu tilted her head curiously, and it was so, so easy for Ena to picture her as the cat Mizuki found so endearing. It made the transformation spell that much easier.
When the smoke cleared away, Ena grinned and picked Mafuyu up, setting her friend on her shoulder. “We’re gonna go see Mizuki.”
Mafuyu didn’t react at all, but she got comfortable on Ena’s shoulder, holding onto the fabric of Ena’s blouse with her claws—only enough to snag—and curled her tail around the back of Ena’s neck. Maybe she knew this trip wasn’t entirely for her and more for Ena’s own self-interest.
The truth was, Ena had been looking forward to seeing Mizuki again all day. It wasn’t often someone was willing to keep her company, and better yet, offered to meet with her again without secretive looks of disgust or disingenuous words of affirmation meant to trick her into doing their bidding. At least, she hoped that wasn’t the case. She liked to think she was a bit of an expert at recognizing hidden intent after hanging around Mafuyu for so long.
So, for that reason, and that reason alone, there was an extra pep in her step, ignoring any strange looks she received along the way.
Mafuyu’s tail whipped anxiously, tickling Ena’s neck. It seemed even she couldn’t handle the overwhelming crowd of people they were navigating through. It wasn’t often the two of them went through the shopping district at the busiest time of the day, and if the sounds and smells were too much for Ena, she could only imagine how uncomfortable it was for Mafuyu’s heightened senses.
Ena gave her chin a few reassuring scratches while she pushed past someone carrying crates full of fresh produce. The crowd had gotten a lot more dense as time went on, forcing her to make physical contact with more people than she would have liked to. The more she got bumped into and shoved, the more she wanted to turn around and stay home for the rest of the day. The only reason she hadn’t already was because she was so close. It would only make things worse to give up now.
Luckily, Mizuki’s shop was in sight, and her mood immediately uprighted itself. So much so that she almost entirely disregarded the discomfort and humidity of being in such a populated place. Her pace quickened. Mafuyu’s claws pricked her skin in warning.
She ignored whatever Mafuyu was trying to tell her, because her destination was just a few strides away. Just a few more shoves and a little more discomfort and—
Right as she stepped in front of the door, it collided with her nose, sending her reeling back into the crowd. She couldn’t see the reactions, but she heard the confused murmurs, meaning more people than she would have liked witnessed the humiliating display.
“Ah! I’m so sorry!” came a frantic voice that Ena didn’t have the care to try to recognize at the moment.
“Shit…” she mumbled, holding her hand over her nose.
Someone’s hand pressed against her back, ushering her inside Mizuki’s store to escape the sardine-packed audience she accidentally gathered.
The bell above the door rang as if warding off all the sounds and chaos, giving Ena a moment to catch her breath.
“I didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?” asked the person behind her, and now that her senses weren’t overwhelmed, she was able to pinpoint it as Mizuki’s voice.
Oh. How embarrassing.
She walked in front of Ena, trying to get a read on her injury, but more than anything, Ena didn’t want Mizuki to see her disfigured face, especially if her nose was broken.
“It’s fine,” she said, muffled by her hand. “I’ll just deal with it later.”
“Aw, don’t be like that, Ena.” Mizuki looked around at the two customers browsing her shop. “It’s not like I’m super busy today or anything. I can take a look at it and see if we need to go to a medic.”
“No!”
Ena didn’t mean to raise her voice and startle Mizuki and the two customers, but she absolutely could not let a medic see her. What if they found out about her weird abilities and burned her on a pyre? She wanted nothing to do with that.
“Okay, okay, no medics,” said Mizuki, like she somehow understood Ena’s reasoning. “Just… Take a seat behind my counter and I’ll see what I can do after I finish helping these last few customers. Okay?”
Ena nodded, walking past the counter and plopping herself in Mizuki’s chair. Her nose was still sore, her pride was in shambles. How did everything go so wrong so fast?
Her attention caught on something shifting around under the counter. The sound was reminiscent of rats scavenging through the trash. When she looked down, she realized it was a different kind of vermin.
“Are you seriously studying right now?”
Mafuyu lifted her head from the book she managed to flip through with her small paws, staring blankly at Ena.
“I brought you here to calm you down, not for you to get some extra study time.”
Mafuyu completely disregarded her words, pawing through a few more pages, then finally stopped on one to scan through the contents.
“Can you listen to anything I say?” Ena leaned over to grab Mafuyu away from the book, only to notice her tapping against a specific part of the text. Was she trying to tell her something?
Ena took her by the scruff with her free hand and set her on top of the counter, bringing her book up right after.
“What did you want to show me?” she asked.
Mafuyu quickly found her place, patting her paw against the same section as before. It was a mess of words too advanced for Ena, but the one word Mafuyu was specifically indicating to was “broken”.
“Broken?” Ena read aloud, to which Mafuyu looked up at her, patting the tip of her tail against the countertop. “You’re asking about my nose?”
The cat nodded in a movement that was a little too human to be considered normal.
“I think it’s…” Ena finally removed her hand, and on it, to her horror, was blood. “Shit, shit shit.” She quickly covered it back up. “Dammit. What am I supposed to do now?”
If this permanently disfigured her face, she wouldn’t know what to do. Appearances were everything if someone wanted to run any sort of business. And with how few customers she already got with her paintings, this broken nose might have cost her any future clients.
Tears welled in her eyes. Maybe it was yet another sign to give up on her dreams and stick to a job she could actually be good at. Just like everyone always told her to.
A frustrated grunt left Mafuyu as she sat closer to Ena and reached up. At first, Ena was too distracted by the cute action, but she quickly reminded herself of who the cat was and complied with Mafuyu’s request by bringing her face closer to the counter. As stupid as it may have looked, Mafuyu might have been the second best thing to a medic at the moment, no matter what form she was in.
“Does it look bad?” she asked, removing her hand from her nose.
Mafuyu rested her paw underneath Ena’s eye and slowly shifted it to the bridge of her nose. She winced at the dull pain from the small pressure, but it didn’t hurt enough for her to pull away.
Those piercing eyes analyzed her, obviously using much more brain power than a normal cat would. That just meant they had to hurry this up before any onlookers had the chance to realize something strange was afoot.
Mafuyu backed away, scanning her book once again before placing her paws on two separate words.
“‘Not,’” read Ena. “‘Broken.’” Mafuyu nodded. “Not broken. Okay, good.”
That took care of that worry, at the very least. But that didn’t mean she was in the clear. “How long will it take for whatever swelling or bruising to go away?”
Mafuyu’s expression shifted slightly, but as always, she couldn’t make out the meaning behind it.
Bells rang, interrupting their conversation.
“You lovely ladies have a wonderful day,” said Mizuki, holding the door for the two customers. Once they were gone, she sighed and turned the open sign to closed.
“I’m really sorry about that, Ena.” Mizuki turned to her, making her way behind the counter to take a look at the injury herself. “I should have been more careful.”
Mizuki’s face grew awfully close to hers, inspecting the horrible state her nose was in. Her heart hammered in her chest, unused to attention like this from anyone.
“U-Uh. It’s fine. It’s not broken or anything.” She turned herself away, feeling her face flush with heat. This whole situation was way too embarrassing.
Mizuki hummed in thought. “Here, come to the back with me. I can fix you right up.” She pushed back the curtain, hesitating for a moment before stepping inside.
Ena followed, understanding why she paused only after entering. Other than the mannequins and desks full of cloth and thread, a small bed sat in the corner of the room next to a desk with a half-eaten meal resting on top. There were three mirrors, two of which were turned toward the wall and one with a cloth draped over it.
This wasn’t just the back of the shop. It was…
“Welcome to my humble abode,” said Mizuki, arms opened in a welcoming gesture. “Take a seat on my bed and I’ll get right to ya.”
Ena did as they said, watching as Mafuyu followed her and rested at her feet. “You live here?”
“Of course. It’s hard to afford a shop and a home in this economy.” She rustled through a drawer. “So I decided to have them both in one place. Oh! I’d rather you not mention that to anyone, though.” She turned around with a cloth in hand. “Wouldn’t want too many people to know I spend so much time here. Makes me easy to track.”
“Y-Yeah. I get that.” Ena’s eyes wandered, examining the outfits she was working on. Her cloak was hung up on a line, dry and clean from the paint that stained it yesterday.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you so early in the day. Didn’t take you to be bold enough to brave the shopping district on a noon weekend.”
“I… It slipped my mind that the weekend would be this busy.”
Mizuki dipped the cloth into a bucket of water and held it up to Ena’s nose, waiting for her consent. After a curt nod, Mizuki dabbed it gently above her upper lip, cleaning away the blood.
“You were that excited to see me?” she teased, grinning in such a natural way that Ena swore her heart fluttered.
“N-No.” Ena hated how her voice betrayed her. “No, I… I just…” Embarrassing. “I wanted to see if my cloak was done.”
The smile on Mizuki’s face thinned, and she cast a fleeting glance to the cloak hanging on the wall. “Sorry. I’ve been so swamped lately. I thought I’d be able to finish it by later today, but I really have to finish these projects by tomorrow, so I didn’t have time to fix it up.”
“That’s okay,” she quickly assured her, perhaps too quickly. “I only wanted to know the status of it. And… maybe the price, too.”
It wouldn’t be good if she didn’t have the money to afford it.
“Ah…” Mizuki’s easy smile returned. “It’s on the house.”
Ena blinked, then leaned away when they went to clean more blood from her nose. “What?”
“It’s just a little tear, and I can’t make you pay after I hit you in the face with my door.”
“But you need the money, don’t you?” Mizuki’s hand retracted, but she just kept talking. “So you can move out of here and have a home that isn’t in the back of your shop.”
She only realized she’d been raising her voice after sitting in the silence that followed. Mizuki stared at her, startled by her sudden change in attitude. That was a normal reaction to her outbursts. That was how everyone looked at her unnecessary passion.
It hadn’t even been a day and she already ruined everything.
To her surprise, Mizuki laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.” She soaked the cloth back in the water and wrung it out. “But your couple of coins wouldn’t do much to make a dent in that plan, anyway. So, it’s really not a big deal.”
Ena’s muscles were still tense, unused to conversations going well. Maybe it hadn’t. Maybe Mizuki was just being nice to adhere to a potential regular customer.
A weight fell in her lap, and when she looked down, Mafuyu was there, staring up at her, sitting readily as her little therapy cat. She was obnoxious and dense at times, but if nothing else, she was reliable.
Ena’s fingers passed through her fur, relaxing with every second. Logic began to return as Mizuki went to grab something else. It was strange. She never had much care for what others thought of her. Sure, praise was a rare delight that she would have liked to have more of, but she tried not to let any type of criticism get under her skin. Whether someone liked or hated her didn’t matter to her..
Except for Mizuki, apparently.
“Okay. So, I don’t have a ton of experience with busted noses, but since the bleeding stopped, I think everything should heal over time.” Mizuki put an adhesive bandage over the bridge of her nose, then smiled. “I’m no doctor, but it might take a few days before you’re at 100 percent, so take it easy.”
“I can take care of it. I know someone who’s pretty good with stuff like this.”
“The scholar friend?” she asked, squatting down as she scratched behind Mafuyu’s ears.
Ena huffed. “Yeah. The scholar friend.”
“Ooh. You should introduce me to her sometime.”
You already know her. “Sure. But she can be kind of annoying at times.” Ena ignored the claws digging into her trousers.
“Make it two annoying people and it’s a party.”
“She’s a different kind of annoying,” muttered Ena, realizing the implication behind her words only after she said it. “N-Not that you’re annoying.”
“Oh! I’m wounded! You really think I’m annoying…” Mizuki put her hands to her chest, staggering backwards like she received a fatal blow.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” said Ena irritably.
“Haha! I was just kidding.” She held her hand out. “Next time, let’s meet on better terms. How about in two days so it’s not so busy?”
Ena took her hand, standing to her feet once Mafuyu jumped from her lap. “Sure. And I’ll bring Yuki along again, too.”
“Yes! Sorry we didn’t get to talk too much, Yuki,” said Mizuki, raising the pitch of her voice as she addressed the cat. “I’ll give you way more pets next time. Alright?”
Mafuyu didn’t react negatively in any way, so Ena assumed she wasn’t opposed to it.
She scooped Mafuyu into her arms and gave Mizuki one last smile. “Two days,” Ena said, mostly to remind herself so she wouldn’t forget it.
Mizuki winked and held the door open for her. “Yep! Two days.”
Ena’s restless heart refused to slow down every time she thought about it. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever felt this excited about anything.
Breathe, she told herself, adjusting the mask on her face. If she didn’t calm down, she’d be too distracted to carry out her not-so-legal weekend side hustle.
“She still loves me, right?” asked the client before her, sobbing into a handkerchief.
Ena sighed, looking into her crystal ball and conjuring up some smoky colors to give it the illusion of something magical happening. Yes, she was a real witch who could perform a few spells, but the services she tended to give weren’t any better than con-men and the false mediums looking to rob vulnerable people for a bit of coin.
Seriously, what the hell was she supposed to do about a failed marriage that the person in front of her was responsible for? If he hadn’t cheated on his wife, he wouldn’t be a blubbering mess, dirtying up the tablecloth with his tears and snot.
“I’m sensing something,” said Ena, closing her eyes to sell the illusion of something actually happening. “Yes, there is anger and distrust. It will be a difficult path ahead of you.”
“But it’ll turn out okay?” he pleaded.
The answer was no. It didn’t take a witch to figure that out.
But honesty didn’t make her much money.
“In due time, yes,” she said. “Your marriage can be saved. That is, if you’re willing to change yourself.”
“Yes. Yes, I’ll do anything. Please!”
Pitiful. But that meant there was a chance for things to work out. Maybe she wouldn’t turn out to be as much of a liar as she knew she was.
Putting away the crystal ball, she leaned her elbows against the table and laced together her fingers. “Be truthful to your wife. Show her how much you love her, and do not stray from her again. That is the only way for you to find your way back to the path of happiness.”
“I see…” said the man. “But what if the devil tempts me again? What if I cannot resist the evil that threatens to consume me?”
Ena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Then you will lose your wife and yourself. I told you the path would be difficult.”
She waited patiently for her client to hand her the money and leave, keeping a smile on her face. It strained. She was tired and restless. Once the door shut behind the man, she leaned back in her seat, ragdolling as she sighed heavily.
Mizuki, she thought. All she wanted to do right now was go visit her again. It was the middle of the night—nothing was open except for a few taverns—but maybe Mizuki would still be awake. And Ena knew where she lived…
She slapped her cheeks at the mere thought. Ena might have been antisocial and stubborn, but she was not a creep.
“Auuughhh…” she groaned, slipping further down her chair until her upper back rested against the base.
From atop her table, two piercing eyes of an eerily purple horned owl stared at her unblinkingly, reminding her of who else was in the room with her.
She stared back defiantly, until she snapped her fingers, changing it from bird to human.
“You happy now?”
Mafuyu sat awkwardly on the table with one knee up and one leg dangling, regaining her bearings after the sudden transformation. “Why are you sulking?”
“I’m not sulking.”
“You are,” she said, sliding herself off the table. “Some of my classmates act the same way after difficult exams.”
“Well, I’m not any of your classmates.”
She was totally sulking. If her desire to see Mizuki wasn’t bothering her enough, she also had to live with the aftermath of her unconventional job. It already felt scummy scamming all those people, but it felt even worse when she looked at her earnings: five times more in one night than she’d earned from all her paintings combined.
But it had to be done. The truth of the matter was no one was interested in her artwork. They only cared when she had something to offer. This was the only way she could offer anything.
Ena removed the mask from her face, wincing as it brushed over her injured nose. Maybe it was a sign to stay far away from such a kind person like Mizuki. While she really wasn’t anything but a scammer, she was a witch. She might not have been any good at it, but the power she possessed could land her and whoever she was associated with into a lot of trouble. What would Mizuki think when she found out Ena was nothing but a heretic?
“Do you think I’m a bad person?” she said aloud, to the worst person to ask any questions to.
Mafuyu paused, hands hovering over the bottles of bubbly liquids that were supposed to resemble magic potions. “Bad?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said, Mafuyu,” she replied, irritably.
“I don’t know.”
An annoying, barely-thought-out response. Ena shouldn’t have expected any more.
“But I don’t mind being around you,” continued Mafuyu, much to Ena’s surprise. “I don’t know if it makes you a good person, but your presence makes me feel calmer, even if you aren’t always nice.”
Maybe if it were someone else, she would have scoffed at that response and brushed it off, claiming that they were just trying to find a passive aggressive way to insult her. But, this was Mafuyu. Mafuyu, who was out of touch with how she felt about anything. Mafuyu, who didn’t even know what she liked or disliked. Mafuyu, who put up with Ena’s antics almost every day despite how busy she was. And as much as Ena hated it sometimes, she was brutally honest. Maybe not to the rest of the world, but certainly to Ena.
She managed to sit up properly and face one of the few friends she had. “Thanks,” she mumbled, forcing the word to leave her tongue. “I’m happy you feel better when you’re around me.”
Mafuyu simply nodded, keeping her hands busy by straightening out the decorative items on the shelves behind Ena. “It’s not just you. It’s Kanade too.”
“Shut up,” she laughed, playfully shoving Mafuyu. “You couldn’t even let me feel special for a second?”
Ena swore there was a ghost of a real smile nearly about to possess Mafuyu’s lips, but it was quickly interrupted by the halting of music and the uproar of applause on the other side of the door. Which meant…
“Speak of the devil.” Ena watched the entrance in anticipation, unsurprised when the bardess stormed through and hastily locked the door behind her after only a few minutes. She looked absolutely overwhelmed, chest heaving, eyes drooping, silvery locks tousled.
“It sounded like a large crowd tonight,” noted Mafuyu.
Kanade nodded, then plopped herself in the client seat at Ena’s table. “It was. I tried my best to interact with as many people as I could after the performance, but their praises turned out to be a bit overwhelming. Miss Mochizuki closed up early to help me out.”
“Wish I could’ve listened in, but my client had a lot to say today.” Ena sighed, eyeing the money the man just paid her, the usual guilt that came with the aftermath of her long nights finally settling in.
“You seem conflicted, Ena,” said Kanade, leaning in. “Are you okay?”
“It’s just… part of the job.”
Kanade didn’t seem satisfied with that answer, and maybe she wasn’t even talking about her illegal activities. Did she know that something else was bothering her? Were Ena’s emotions that obvious?
“Ena made a friend,” said Mafuyu.
Without thinking, Ena responded with a snap, reducing Mafuyu to a helpless little bunny who couldn’t mutter another word. “That’s enough out of you!”
Kanade’s brows raised in surprise, then she bent over and collected Mafuyu in her cupped hands. “A friend?” She held Mafuyu close to her body and passed her fingers along Mafuyu’s fur while her attention set on Ena.
It shouldn’t have been embarrassing. Kanade was the least judgmental person she’d ever known. Maybe it was because her only two current friends were sitting in the room with her right now. With her relatively solitary lifestyle, it wasn’t exactly normal for her to even consider ever having another one.
“Not really a friend,” Ena corrected, her voice tinny. “I just met her a night ago to get my cloak fixed up. There’s not much else to say about it.”
Ena’s heart thumped in her chest wildly. Why? Why did it feel like she was about to have a heart attack?
“But she must have made some kind of impression for Mafuyu to comment about it.” Kanade smiled gently, with a kindness that easily broke away at Ena’s weak resolve. She didn’t know why she tried to hide anything anyway.
“I… I guess we might be friends,” admitted Ena. “We haven’t done anything very friend-like together, but she’s nice, funny… pretty. I guess it makes sense for a seamstress running a business to be so charismastic.” Ena leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “But it’s more than that. She doesn’t look at me like I’m weird or make me feel useless. Other than you two, she’s the first person to ever make me feel like I’m welcome anywhere in this city.”
An unconscious smile formed on her face, remembering Mizuki’s cheeky grin and teasing laughter. Her long eyelashes that seemed to touch her cheekbones every time she blinked. The scent of flowers accompanying her every move.
“Maybe it really means nothing to her at all and it’s just great customer service, but still…” Ena breathed. “I want to see her again.”
She sat upright properly, only realizing the weight of the words that left her mouth when she was met with Kanade’s proud gaze and a set of unimpressed beady bunny eyes.
“She must be pretty special to get that kind of reaction out of you,” said Kanade. “It kind of reminds me of a song someone commissioned me for…” She trailed off, eyes widening in realization. “Oh.”
“‘Oh’?” Ena repeated. “What does that mean?”
“Ah, it’s just…” Kanade placed Mafuyu on the table and leaned forward, a serious expression crossing her face while she laced her fingers together. “Ena, are you in love?”