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Running.
Sharp turns around buildings.
Checking over her shoulder.
It took her a few moments to understand and remember why she was actually running. Distant calls to her were audible, yet distant, and each of them felt like they strangled her heart.
"Mizuki!"
Ena was following her trail as she made her way around different streets in her attempt to evade her. She hated that she was doing this. She didn't want to treat Ena like some sort of threat. She just didn't want her to know about who she really was. Not yet.
Earlier that day, she saw Ena talking to someone outside Kamiyama. Could it have been them? Why would Mizuki's classmates be talking to Ena? Did they see us hanging out and talking? Decided it would be fun to try and ruin their friendship they had solely because of how they saw her, and not how she saw herself, or how she wanted to be seen.
Maybe that did happen.
There was a reason she was paranoid about running into Ena the whole day. She loved being able to see her, but this made seeing her more terrifying than she wanted it to be. She hated that so much.
She couldn't run forever, not just because she was only so athletic, but she couldn't just hide from Ena, she had to face her eventually. She couldn't bear the thought of not seeing her again. But she also couldn't bear the idea of her seeing who she really was. She needed more time, but her time was almost out.
She didn't want to know how long she had been running. but it was still mid-day and was definitely visible in the open, but definitely long enough to see some unfamiliar buildings. Maybe it'll be easier to hide here if Ena wasn't familiar with this place either, but she shouldn't take any chances.
And she shouldn't have even thought of that after seeing Ena's face of concern and frustration getting worriedly closer. Somehow she was catching up, but something else shocked and confused Mizuki even more.
There seemed to be an abandoned three story building right here in an often busy street in Shibuya. There were lots of buildings that seemed a little disheveled or dirty from their walls, but this one looked absolutely devastated. Broken windows, withered paint, revealing the bare concrete foundation with clear chunks missing. This place had clearly aged a lot, and there was no chance it was being used anymore.
She just hoped that Ena wouldn't care enough to check here.
There was a small side alley that led to a few buildings' back entrances, and she hoped one would lead to this one. She had to think quickly though so she wouldn't be spotted by Ena or any passersby, but the streets were pretty quiet, so she was pretty confident she wouldn't be noticed. She noticed a reachable ladder to a fire escape on the side, and climbed to the third floor and entered.
It was unnervingly quiet. Even though there was a somewhat lack of people outside, and that she was on the third floor, the silence was very uncomfortable. She made her way through a large room that had a bare wood floor, completely blank off-white wallpaper sprawled on each and every side, and some small furnishing and items along the walls, like filling cabinets, folding chairs, and a loose grey door that looked eerily similar. The windows on this floor were surprisingly intact, yet stained and greyed out, becoming almost completely opaque, yet just translucent enough to let some light in and illuminate the place. She didn't need to worry about how the room looked though, she just went around a wall and sat down, where she hoped she could just wait out until Ena would probably just give up looking for her, as she probably wouldn't be as desperate to go into an abandoned building just to loo-
—
"Mizuki?"
Ena had been looking for Mizuki all day. She tried asking to meet up, but she just gave excuses about being busy with work or having planned shopping with someone, but she knew her well enough that she was actively avoiding her for some reason, or maybe she was being paranoid and worried about her. But she doubted that considering the fact some of Mizuki's classmates decided to bother her about something.
Earlier that day, Ena was passing by Kamiyama to ask Akito about something because she knew it was easier to ask him something in person and would be less likely for him to reject her request. If she didn't know any better, she knew he would be avoiding her too.
On her way there though, she noticed two students who kept glancing at her and seemingly following her.
Great, these better not be some of Akito’s classmates or teammates or whatever.
Later, she thinks back and wishes it was.
She turned to approach them, giving them the chance to ask,
"Hey, aren't you Shinonome? You're the one that's always hanging with Akiyama, right?"
Being skeptical about their attitude though, she wanted to know what they wanted.
"What's it to you?"
The following conversation the two shared with Ena not only surprised her, it made her so disgusted by them that she was shocked by how well she managed to stay so calm and composed during the conversation.
After she's able to talk to Mizuki, oh, those two are going to get a piece of her mind.
She couldn't find Akito, but she didn't really care too much because now her priority was looking for Mizuki. She could have sworn she had seen her around the time of the conversation. She hoped she wasn’t seen talking to those two jerks though
Ena later found herself wandering through Shibuya, passing by places she was almost confident Mizuki would have been. Was she really trying to avoid her this much? Considering what she knew now, why Mizuki had been so secretive, it all made sense. Now she understood how afraid she probably was, and that only made her more worried, and she wasn't going to stop looking for her.
She checked her phone, and the only response she got back was,
sorry, still gotta pick up some stuff at the mall, then gonna be busy with some school stuff at home :P don't worry about me too much though! ^^
13:26
First, Mizuki NEVER does her schoolwork at home, let alone at school that much either.
Second, she WAS going to worry about her too much.
Just as Ena felt like she pretty much looked through the entire mall, she was confident she actually saw her this time. She dashed out the exit and scanned every pedestrian in the area until she saw her.
She didn't even look like she even bought anything from the store, and she almost looked as paranoid as Ena, looking in almost every other direction but not at her.
Ena approached Mizuki hoping to ask if she was alright,
"Mizuki?"
"Huh?!"
Mizuki twisted her body around instantly to see Ena just a few meters from her, and before Ena could do anything about it, Mizuki dashed in the opposite direction and was already running away.
Ena swore she faintly heard Mizuki say,
"I'm sorry."
"Wha- Mizuki!?"
Before she even realised, she was chasing after Mizuki, having no clear idea why she was running from her.
Ugh, why did she think this was going to be easy? Letting her be happy and resolving issues with someone she really liked a friend had to be difficult for some dang reason.
The chase lead on for a while, going through different streets that seemed to become less and less familiar as they went on.
She was surprised both her and Mizuki were both managing to hold up during this, despite clearly having not been entirely athletic either.
She wasn't going to give up this opportunity though, and even if she could just try talking to her another time, she didn't want to risk not being able to ever talk to her again, which seemed impossible. She still absolutely hated the thought of it though.
She wiped the tears forming in her eyes and kept running.
She thought she had been getting closer, until she had no sight of Mizuki anymore.
Did she manage to outrun her and get away? She couldn't believe she let this chance get away, she could've fixed everything if she just ran a bit faster. She was probably seen talking to Mizuki's classmates, and that's why she was so afraid of her. Maybe she shouldn't have even tried talking to them, and just left that conversation, then everything could've been fine. It was probably her fault that she was the person Mizuki was most terrified of right now.
It strangled her heart to think about that. She contemplated if she should still even try talking to Mizuki. If it was even worth trying to even approach her at all anymore.
Then she noticed it.
It was both very out of sight yet out of place. An abandoned building, here? The rest of the city was much cleaner, and the only abandoned place she knew of was the old school she went to with the rest of N25, but that was way outside the city. This building was sticking out in the middle of a bunch of other fully occupied and at least somewhat well-kempt buildings.
She had to be here. She wasn't going to give up until she checked here. Mizuki might've been desperate to hide here, but Ena was even more desperate to follow her in.
She followed a small side alley, where she saw a fire escape that she climbed up to the third floor. She thought that would logically be the easiest to hide in, considering the saw the third floor windows still intact somehow. She carefully creaked the door open, hoping some alarm wouldn't go off, which didn't happen thankfully.
Once she found herself inside, she softly called out,
—
"Mizuki?"
Oh.
She found her.
It was honestly pretty obvious to hide in the strange abandoned building probably neither of them had seen before. Now she didn't know what to do. Ena was already here, and there would be no chance of getting out in such a small place like this. And making an attempt to hide anywhere else would make noise which would easily give her location away. There was nothing she could do now but let it happen.
She was going to know, or already knew. She couldn't do anything else now. She didn't know what else to do. She didn't know what to do.
So she gave up. She let the tears flow, and started crying. She knew Ena would hear her but she didn't care. Her cries turned into sobs, and she simply curled up against the wall and sobbed.
—
She heard crying coming across the room when she called out Mizuki's name.
It then dawned on her that hearing sobs from who-knows-what in a dimly-lit abandoned building might be the most terrifying thing she's ever encountered, but then she remembered something worse, so she pushed on.
The sobbing sounded too familiar though, and she knew it meant Mizuki, and she was here.
She carefully and quietly made her way across the room and peered around the corner of the wall where she heard it, and there she was, slouched on the ground against the wall, with tears flowing down her cheeks.
Even in a moment like this, she still managed to find Mizuki so gorgeous beautiful pretty.
No.
Stop thinking about that.
Not the time.
She quietly called her name again, trying not to startle her.
"Mizuki?"
No response. She hadn't seen Mizuki in such a state before, and as frustrated she was with her running and hiding from her, her worry for her was stronger, and couldn't help but stay calm.
She gently laid her hand on her shoulder, and Mizuki slightly jolted in response and looked at Ena.
"Hey, it's okay! Just me, alright?"
“Just you." Mizuki mumbled to the side.
"What's going on? Why were you running from me?"
"You know why, don't you?"
Ena had no response. She knew why, and Mizuki knew that she knew now.
"You didn't have to follow me."
"You know I was worried right? You wouldn't think I'd be worried at all when you run away from me when I've been looking for you all day?"
Ena's frustration was starting to grow as their confrontation continued, and so did Mizuki's as she started to lift herself from the floor and raise her voice.
"I saw them talking to you! And I saw you talking to them. They probably told you everything. I don't know what to do but hope you don't hate me now!"
…
Ena was silent again. She didn't expect Mizuki to raise her voice so much, but she still sees the pain in her face as tears keep rolling down. Ena tried reaching for her shoulder again to reassure her.
"Mizuki... you don't really think that, do yo-"
Mizuki swings around and swats Ena's hand away, now nearly shouting.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO THINK NOW!!... I just wanna be able to tell-”
Just as Mizuki is about to finish, she steps on a loose floorboard which lowers and causes her to lose her balance.
She falls backwards towards one of the corners of the room where many of the furnishings are stored. As she falls, both Mizuki's and Ena's eyes are filled with fear, looking back at each other.
Ena tries reaching for her.
Mizuki hits her neck on the edge of one of the filing cabinets and falls to the ground.
"MIZUKI!"
Ena kneels to the ground where Mizuki is, covering her mouth with one hand and
reaching for Mizuki with the other. Mizuki pushes off the ground to look at Ena, with even more tears in her eyes now. She holds her throat and opens her mouth, but no sound leaves it.
Tears now start forming in Ena's eyes as Mizuki mouths to her,
"I'm so sorry."
...
And then they woke up.
—
In a cold sweat, they both jolt out of bed.
Their eyes darted to the surroundings of their rooms. Ena is covering her mouth while Mizuki is covering her throat, both teary eyed. They move their hands to their lap and get an understanding of the situation. Both look for each other only to see that neither of them were with the other at that moment.
As they become fully conscious from having just woken up at that moment, they quickly grab their phones. Ena is about to message Mizuki before she notices she already got a bunch of notifications from the N25 group chat.
@Amia
hey @enanan can we meet up today?
10:32
@K
oh @Amia did you want to meet today?
i dont think we planned to unless if this just about enanan
me and yuki had plans after her classes
10:35
@Yuki
@K After my classes are done I will make sure to restock on ramen and also find ingredients for the cake you wanted to make for Mochizuki.
10:40
@K
oh
you didnt need to share that here
thank you though
10:40
@Yuki
Okay.
10:40
@Amia
awwwww K that's sweet ^^
10:41
@K
it was also yuki's idea
10:41
@Amia
awwwww you too yuki?
10:42
@Yuki
I thought it would be a nice gesture for both Mochizuki and K.
10:45
@K
@Amia what were you planning on meeting with enanan for though?
10:46
@Amia
oh
nothing much, just hanging out! ^_^
10:46
@Enanan
@Amia yeah, I'd like to meet up
11:02
12:30
Amia waited outside the cafe where N25 usually held their in-person meeting. It seemed like today felt especially quieter and slower though, and there were much less people both outside and in the cafe today. Maybe the colder weather was getting too much for some people?
Waiting, she was feeling more anxious than she wanted to be. She didn't really know yet, did she? It was just a dream, but something told her that-
"Mizuki?"
Ena walked in, not feeling or looking any less anxious than Mizuki. She looked at Mizuki who jumped from her chair from the sight of Ena.
Just me, alright?
She gave a small wave, which was unusual compared to her usual energetic greetings, and this made her frown a little more. In turn, Mizuki frowned too.
"Hey, are you-"
"Is everything-”
Before they could interrupt again and embarrass each other more, Mizuki spoke first.
"No- stop, sorry I- I know you want to- you don't want me to- you don't like when I-"
You know why, don't you?
Ena couldn't exactly remember what she was told about Mizuki in her dream, but that didn't really matter now. She could tell she was having trouble getting her words out, and seeing how much her voice was breaking and the tears forming made her heart ache from just standing and watching her.
Ena knows the weather has been dropping, but she can’t help but notice Mizuki’s scarf, wrapping around and obscuring her neck.
I'm so sorry.
Before Mizuki could finish speaking, she is interrupted by Ena's hands clasping with hers.
"Huh?"
You know I was worried, right?
Ena seems just as confused and flustered as Mizuki, both staring and their hands holding the other’s hands.
Ena then tries composing herself and focuses on Mizuki’s face, which she notices. Ena swiftly moves her hands around Mizuki and embraces her into a hug and rests her head onto the other’s shoulder.
"You are so silly."
Ena said as she gave out a small chuckle as she also started tearing up. Mizuki's voice steadied as she sniffled and held Ena close.
“A hug.”
“I could tell you looked a little cold. You’re only able to seem so warm when you’re with me.”
Oh.
…
"Would you ever ha-"
"And no, I won't ever hate you. We're stuck with each other, and... I don't really wanna lose that."
"I don't either."
"Thanks."
"Thank you."
Mizuki knew Ena would have to know eventually, but right now, she was really happy she could at least appreciate that Ena was here for her, and she would hopefully stay with her, and she didn't hate that.
Ena hopes Mizuki is able to open up to her soon, but she was glad she could at least be here for her until she was ready. And as annoying as she could be sometimes, she still held an
important part in her life right now, and she didn't hate that.
Neither of them hated that they loved cared about someone who cared about them too.
<3