Chapter Text
It had been.. about two weeks since the.. incident.
Her secret, that she had kept for two whole years, was spilled to one of the closest friends she'd ever had. Right as she was about to tell her.
"What do I even do now.." Mizuki deadpanned, after finishing her fourth anime since the festival. It had been alright, its sole purpose to distract herself anyway, the crushing reality of her situation threatening to seep in each second she allowed her mind to quiet.
She sighed. In the absence of something interesting to do, Mizuki's eyes drifted back to her laptop, and then to a photo frame on her desk of.. four particular people.
The four members of Nightcord at 25:00: Kanade, Mafuyu, Ena and Mizuki, now split apart.
Mizuki laughed bitterly. "I should really throw this away.."
She walked to her desk and picked up the frame, but as she moved to the bin, Mizuki.. hesitated. She stared at the photo, shaking slightly in her hand.
"A-ah..."
Mizuki's eyes traced every line of the photo. It was a happy one, taken by one of the waiters at their favourite diner. Everyone was smiling (excluding Mafuyu, but she seemed content), and Mizuki herself was waving happily towards the camera.
"I..." She sighed shakily. "I'll... get rid of this later...." She tore her gaze away from the frame, her eyes threatening tears, and slid it under her bed. It would stay there for now.
Mizuki sat down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.
"Haha.. I really messed up this time, didn't I?" she mumbled to nobody in particular. "Maybe if I had told her sooner.."
...
"...No. There was no escaping this. It was a wonder she took that long to find out anyway..."
...
"Ena will be okay. Her and Airi are together now anyway, so it's not like she needs me."
...
"Kanade and Mafuyu have each other too. They'll all be fine without me."
...
Mizuki's heart felt empty.
"Ahh.."
"I want to disappear.."
~🎀🎹~
"Ah... supplementary classes are today.." Mizuki stared at the report card that had arrived a few days ago, mentioning that she would need to come in this week and the next to make up for the days she missed. Otherwise, Mizuki could get held back, which would only cause more concern for her parents.
"Haha.. I guess I did miss quite a few days.." Her thoughts drifted back to the mindless days she'd spent distracting herself.
"...I really don't want to go, but my family is already so worried.."
Mizuki set the report card down on her bed, and stumbled towards her mirror. She unclipped her favourite ribbon from the rim, where she put it every night before she went to bed, and affixed it to her hair. It was a little too tight, digging into her scalp, but Mizuki welcomed the pain today. It kept her grounded.
~🎀🎹~
Mizuki eventually found herself in Scramble Crossing, the orange morning glow enveloping the hundreds, if not thousands of people making their way to school or work.
It wasn't that far from Kamiyama anymore. Mizuki took a deep breath, attempting to steel her nerves even though she already felt dizzy. She trudged forwards, walking with the crowd. She tried to ignore her quickening breath as she walked, people bumping into her occasionally.
The crossing felt much longer than normal. She wasn't walking particularly slow either - she was still keeping up with the crowd, but... even her heartbeat felt like it had stopped.
Through that, Mizuki's thoughts began to drift astray.
Wouldn't An and Toya ask questions?
Mizuki's breath caught.
Th-they would...
But.. she'd just say she wasn't ready to talk yet. They'd accept that, hopefully...
What if they were talking to Ena about where she was?
N-No, they... wouldn't...
Mizuki's hands started shaking. Her footsteps turned sluggish.
"Wait... please..."
What if Ena was waiting for her?
Mizuki gagged and fell to her knees, people continuing to walk around her. She tried to push herself up, but her limbs were quickly losing their strength.
“Wow, is this... really it? Pathetic..." she mumbled to herself, her vision starting to blur.
Mizuki's arms gave out, leaving her balled up on the pavement.
"I'll just have to.. give up on school.. on my family... on everyone..." She coughed, her breath coming in short gasps. "Y-yeah... it's okay to give up now, right?"
Mizuki's gaze shifted to the sky, occasionally visible through the gaps of the passing crowd. The clouds seemed to pity her, watching from so far above.
"I-I can't anymore. I have to..." Details turning to mush; tears forced themselves out of her eyes. "I-I'm sorry, sis..'"
The last sight that reached Mizuki's vision was a figure crouched over her.
Then her vision darkened, and her consciousness slipped from her grasp.
~🎀🎹~
"Mizuki, are you awake? Are you okay?"
Who..?
"Mizuki, wake up."
Mizuki jolted awake, startled. She lifted her head from the uncomfortable surface it was previously on to see a purple-and-grey blob looming above her. "H-huh..?" Mizuki rubbed her eyes, wincing at the pain in her neck, and tried to decipher the sight. Her vision slowly cleared as her eyes adjusted to the light, and the blob began to take shape. Mizuki's eyes travelled up further as her eyes focused, and-
"M-Mafuyu?!"
Mizuki shot up from where she'd been sleeping - a bench, probably a few streets away from where she'd passed out - and attempted to scramble away from Mafuyu, only to collapse and fall off said bench onto the ground. Shaking and panicked, Mizuki stared up at Mafuyu once again, only noticing now the phone held out in her hand, and the figure poking out of it.
"Mizuki, are you alright!? You're hurt.."
"Ah.. MEIKO..." Mizuki glanced down at her palm, which she'd seemingly scraped upon falling. She hadn't even noticed it in her heightened state. "I-I'm okay..." She avoided MEIKO and Mafuyu's eyes, choosing to stare at the ground instead. What was going to happen now? Would they question her? Was Ena already coming? She couldn't deal with Ena right now... or ever. She couldn't go back.
Mizuki wished she could run, but she was clearly in no condition to do that at the moment. Her head was still spinning, and everything was far too bright. She would likely collapse again if she tried to stand.
"Mizuki. Hold out your hand."
Mizuki flinched, but slowly lifted her gaze to meet Mafuyu's, her purple eyes holding a kind of sincerity that she wasn't used to seeing. Mafuyu held a bandage in her hand, the other extended out towards Mizuki, while MEIKO watched quietly from the bench. Mizuki looked back at the ground, wishing she could just melt away into the pavement.
"I haven't called Ena." Mafuyu told Mizuki, kneeling next to her.
Mizuki's head snapped up, her entire body tensing.
Ena didn't know she'd been found.
She remained frozen for a second, mind racing.
..Okay... okay.
She couldn't run, but maybe she could convince them to let her go.
"Mafuyu, I-" Mizuki jumped upon realizing Mafuyu was touching her hand, wrapping the bandage around her palm. "I- um.."
"Mizuki, don't force yourself. Let's just... make sure you're okay, and then we can talk." Mizuki glanced down to see MEIKO had been relocated to Mafuyu's leg. As Mafuyu tightened the bandage (causing Mizuki to wince) and secured it with a safety pin, MEIKO stared intently up at Mizuki, her eyes full of concern.
Mizuki went silent.
She.. couldn't wait. Mafuyu had likely been here with Mizuki for a while before she woke up. If Mafuyu hadn't contacted Ena or Kanade in that time, they may come looking for her soon.
So... Mizuki had to do this now, or she may not get a chance.
"Mafuyu... MEIKO..." Both of their eyes were trained on her now.
Mizuki fidgeted with her skirt, painfully aware of how hard her heart was beating.
"I..."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm really, really sorry."
"but I can't ever go back to N25. I can't."
Mizuki's breath hitched, tears threatening to spill.
MEIKO tried to speak. "Mizuki-"
"-I know you, and Kanade, and Miku and Rin and the others want me back."
"And I know Ena would hunt me down to the ends of the earth if she had to. But."
"It would hurt too much. Going back, it would.. break me."
Mizuki's voice broke, tears now running down her face as she clenched her fists, bunching up her skirt.
"You all having to pretend like nothing happened. To dance around subjects because you're afraid to hurt me again."
"You're all too kind... for a person like me."
Mizuki finally met Mafuyu's eyes, a look of surprise and pain greeting her.
"So please, just... let me leave."
"Move on from me. Just like everyone else."
Mafuyu studied Mizuki - her face, her eyes, the clothes she was wearing - as if trying to memorize her one last time.
"Okay."
~🎀🎹~