Work Text:
Ena's phone buzzed. Her pencil was about to land on the sketchbook when a 'ding' caught her attention. She already deleted her selfie account, turned off every notifications on her phone except Nightcord. It surely wasn't late right now since she just came back from her little shopping trip.
She took her phone and opened the app. 10 new messages were awaiting for her..
[Nightcord - 5:25 PM]
Amia🎀: GIRLS
GIRLS
GIRLS
GIRLS!!
Ena rolled her eyes at the spam. Dear god, please not another round of her shenanigans. She resisted the urge to smash her keyboard if anyone dared to spam her. However, it was Mizuki so she will take it.
enanan: shut up what is it
Amia🎀: i found a new game!!
enanan: no
Amia🎀: eehhh?? but i havent even say anything about it! enanan's being mean~ (｡ﾉω＼｡)
enanan: yea yea, the last time u dragged us to a game was a disaster! u told us it would be cute BUT NOPE my sould left my body at least 3 times at that stupid cute disguised horror game
Amia🎀: hehehe~! but it was so much fun seeing ur expression, even tho i could only hear ur screams at that time
Ena clicked the bar and found that all four of them were online. If she recalled correctly, Mafuyu just finished her curfew and she came back with Kanade. Kanade.. well it's probably her inconsistent sleeping schedule. Ena made a mental note to send some more vitamins to her house.
Ah, K is typing!
K: what kind of game
Amia🎀: im glad u asked~, ahem drum roll plss..
[Amia🎀 posted a gif of drumming]
She's so fucking annoying and adorable, Ena thought, unable to stop the corner from her lips raising up. It was during times like this where Mizuki knew how to light up the group's mood. Without her, us three might just be in one big gray blob..
Amia🎀: Paint Hide and Seek! ✨✨
Yuki: Paint?
Amia🎀: yup, paint! you hide somewhere in the map, use paint to blend in with the stuffs and hide! the seeker has a paint gun, if they shoot you, you're out! sounds great right?? :333
Paint Hide and Seek? Ena has heard of that before. It was trending on tiktok a while back. She never tried it before though. As surprising as this sounds, Mizuki actually has a great idea. If you told her that a minute ago, she would rip her hair out and call you crazy.
enanan: well ig its alright..
Amia🎀: tsundere at its finest~
Ena clenched her fist. I will beat her up one day, I swear I will!!
K: 👍
Yuki: ok
Amia🎀: victory~! 4/4! Come on, come on, you all, lobby's open <3
Ena clicked the invitation.
The game loaded almost instantly, throwing her into a colorful lobby filled with floating paint cans and small white characters.
“...What the hell am I looking at?”
A notification popped up.
[Amia🎀 has joined the lobby!]
Amia🎀: enananenananeanann you joined!!
Mizuki's avatar immediately ran circles around hers.
enanan: stop doing that
Amia🎀: doing what? :3
enanan: you're making me dizzy
Amia🎀: then close ur eyes!
enanan: that's not how dizziness works
A second avatar appeared beside them.
[Yuki has joined the lobby!]
Yuki's character stood completely still.
Yuki: how will it go?
Amia🎀: oh! easy!! we all get assigned a role. one person is the seeker, and everyone else hides!
K: What happens if the seeker finds us?
Amia🎀: they shoot you with paint!!
K: ok will it be tiring..?
Yuki: But you're just using your keyboard.
K: ah right..
Paint. Out of the four, she was the illustrator, THE artist right? Well, she doesn't mind putting her skills down for a game. It was her time to shine.
Ena lightly chuckled at the two of them. She would scold Mafuyu for being so blunt, but.. oh how she wished to pause the time right now. It was wonderful.
Another notification appeared.
[Game starting in 10 seconds.]
Ena's eyes widened.
“Wait, already?”
Amia🎀: good luck everyoneeee!!
enanan: why are you saying that like you're about to murder us
Amia🎀: because I might be ♡
9
K: im a little excited..
8
Yuki: me too.. i dont understand what this is, but my heart's beating faster.
Behind the screen, Kanade turned to Mafuyu to reach her hand, "Ready? It's not rare for us to play a game together like this. Maybe we should invite Miku too."
Mafuyu nodded, her chest felt warm, she held Kanade's hand back. It was cold, she wished to hold it forever.
7
enanan: easy for you to say
6
Amia🎀: ena-chan, if you get scared, you can always hide with me~
Ena rolled her eyes.
enanan: in your dreams
5
She watched Mizuki's avatar jump around the lobby.
For some reason, her stomach fluttered.
It was stupid.
It was just a game.
4
enanan: actually
Amia🎀: hm?
3
enanan: don't get eliminated too quickly, okay?
The typing bubble appeared.
Then disappeared.
Amia🎀: awwwwww
2
Amia🎀: are you worried about me, enanan? 💕
enanan: shut up
1..
GAME START!
The screen flashed white.
Ena's avatar spawned in the middle of a massive virtual city.
She immediately ran.
“Okay... where the hell am I supposed to hide?” She saw the other two running to the other direction, "That's Kanade and Mizuki.."
"Wait."
She looked at the bar, 3 hiders, 1 seekers. 180 seconds to paint and hide. Time was ticking.
"Mafuyu is the seeker.."
The thought of that send chills down Ena's spine. She imagined Mafuyu aiming the paint gun at her in real life. That same girl is going to be in her nightmare one day.
She had seen Mafuyu play games before.
She was terrifyingly good at them. Like, really good.
That amount of talent would probably cost half of Ena's lifetime.
Drawing is my thing! I can't lose to that girl.
Ena gritted her teeth, quickly shaking the thoughts away.
She looked around the virtual city. Buildings, alleyways, vending machines, dumpsters—there were countless places to hide, but somehow none of them looked safe enough.
“Three minutes…”
She glanced at the timer.
172 seconds.
“Okay. Think, Ena. Think.”
Her eyes darted around the map.
A vending machine.
Too obvious.
An alleyway.
Too narrow.
A rooftop—
“Wait.”
Ena looked up.
There was a giant billboard above one of the buildings. Its surface was covered in bright blue paint.
Her eyes lit up.
“That's it.”
She quickly switched to the paint menu and selected the same shade.
If she could blend into the billboard, Mafuyu would never find her.
At least, that was the plan.
She climbed onto the rooftop and positioned her avatar. She tried out different poses before finally settling into a resting one.
“Lock in.”
Ena cracked her knuckles.
It was time to enter her artist zone.
She painted her entire avatar the same shade of bright blue, then began adding small details to make the camouflage look more realistic. She grumbled under her breath whenever something didn't turn out the way she wanted.
“Ugh, no, no, no…”
Delete.
Redo.
“Why does that look so weird?”
Redo again.
She was so focused that she barely noticed the timer ticking down. Three minutes passed before she knew it.
[The seeker is out.]
“That fast?!” Ena yelped, quickly adding a few finishing touches before leaning back.
“Okay…”
She stared at her creation.
It was perfect.
Or at least, perfect enough.
She hoped.
---
Kanade had no idea what she was doing.
Painting is kind of hard…
She carefully painted herself the same color as a car wheel.
Choosing to hide inside the wheel was probably the worst decision she could have made.
She could barely draw the lines connecting to the center without making them look crooked.
And, unfortunately, she was getting distracted by the sound effects.
This would sound really good in my latest song…
She paused.
Maybe I should record that sound later.
[K has been eliminated.]
“Eh…?”
Paint splattered across her character from head to toe.
Kanade blinked.
She had been so focused on the sound effects that she hadn't even noticed Mafuyu approaching.
“Kanade.”
“Ah…”
Mafuyu stood beside her character. She glanced at Kanade behind the screen.
“That was awfully obvious.” She deadpanned.
Kanade sighed.
“I tried…”
She looked at her poorly painted wheel.
“I ended up getting distracted by the music. I also chose to hide in the first thing I saw…”
“…I see.”
Mafuyu looked at the paint-covered character for another second.
“You did look like a wheel.”
Kanade smiled faintly. “I'll take that as a compliment.”
---
What the—?! That was quick!!
Ena's eyes widened.
She glanced at the timer.
Mafuyu had five minutes to find the remaining two. Thirty seconds hadn't even passed, and Kanade was already eliminated. Mafuyu is scarier than she thought.
“Where's Mizuki, anyway?”
Ena moved her camera around, trying to spot that idiot.
Where would Mizuki hide?
Probably somewhere cute. Or somewhere that somehow cheated the system.
Three minutes passed.
Ena's confidence meter rose higher with every thirty seconds.
I might actually win this!
Every time Mafuyu passed nearby, Ena's heart skipped a beat. Oh shittings.
But Mafuyu never seemed to notice her. Ena allowed herself a small, smug smile.
I'm actually a genius.
Until..
Amia🎀: enanan~..
Ena raised an eyebrow at the message.
What does she want now?
She was about to reply when Mizuki suddenly climbed onto the rooftop.
Ena's eyes widened.
“What are you doing?!”
Mizuki's avatar didn't answer. Instead, she turned toward Ena.
Then,
A giant red arrow appeared on her character. Pointing directly at Ena's hiding spot.
Ena stared. “…What.”
Mizuki had deliberately painted the arrow onto her own body. “MIZUKI—”
Mafuyu was already nearby.
She looked up.
There was a brief silence.
Then a sigh.
BANG!
Paint splattered across both avatars. Ena's beautiful camouflage was ruined in an instant.
[enanan has been eliminated.]
[Amia🎀 has been eliminated.]
Ena stared at the screen.
Silence.
One second.
Two.
Three.
“…”
Then she slammed both hands onto her keyboard.
“WHAT THE FUCK?!”
enanan: MIZUKIIII!!!
Amia🎀: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
enanan: YOU FUCKING BETRAYED ME
Amia🎀: you looked so cute hiding there though!!
enanan: THAT DOESN'T EXCUSE ANYTHING!!
Amia🎀: worth it ♡
Ena's eye twitched.
She was going to kill her. She was absolutely going to kill her. Somehow, Mizuki's laughter through the voice chat only made it worse.
She loves her.