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It's a quiet day in the empty sekai, much to Mizuki's surprise.
Granted, it's 2 pm on a weekend. For any normal person, it's a prime time to be awake. But for Nightcord members? She's willing to bet Kanade and Ena are sound asleep at the moment. Not to forget Mafuyu, though she's likely awake but preoccupied with the hangout she was invited to— or should Mizuki say dragged to, given how reluctant Mafuyu sounded last night (or was it confusion?)— by Shizuku and the others. Though that is to say, it was likely Airi who insisted on the impromptu trip out.
Either way, that leaves all the human members of Nightcord unavailable. Nothing too strange. What is curious though, is the lack of Miku and the other virtual singers. No matter the time, there's almost always someone lingering around the sekai. Perhaps they're resting, then? Though for now, the space truly lives up to its name without them. Empty.
Well~ It's not like it matters all too much. Mizuki came here to take a break from video editing. She's been caught in an inspiration funk, and everything is starting to look bad no matter how she adjusts the graphs or colours, so she probably is in need of a break. Probably.
It also may just have to do with how much she misses Yuuki this week. Her sis has been super-duper busy, and they haven't been texting as much lately. Which is totally silly for her brain to get so worked up over! Even if they're not face to face, they're still as close as ever! A little distance and a few texts missed don't change that. And she knows Yuuki told her to give her a call if she really misses her, but it's fine, really! Once sis gets the proper chance to sit down and text her about her happenings, Mizuki will be bright as day!
Besides, a little bit of peace and quiet won't hurt her! Might as well take a stroll around the desolate landscape for once— not often does Mizuki have the chance to take her time and explore, anyway.
She walks for a while, passing familiar landmarks as she goes, humming the tune of their newer songs under her breath. Every step provides her a beat to follow, and it becomes a game of following the rhythm she's set up, or vice versa, with her speeding her footfalls to the beat of a song. It's pretty fun— and rather easy to get carried away doing this. So carried away, it seems, that her feet take her to a new area of the sekai. Or at least she believes so. Most of the place looks the same to the untrained eye, but the Nightcord members know their way around! Probably. All of them have gotten lost at least, like, once. So she's not entirely certain, but she's pretty sure she's never passed this way before.
The thought solidifies when she comes across a body of water in pink hue. They definitely haven't been here before. The material under her shoes resemble something akin to sand or gravel, unlike the typical concrete of the sekai, crunching under the soles of her shoes. Peering at the water that she now realizes stretches out further than she initially thought, its water ebbs and flows. A beach, then. Not bad at all. But that does make her wonder; just how far does the empty sekai stretch out?
From what she can see, the water's shallow, light casting distinct patterns on the floor of the shore. Quite pretty, really. It's mesmerizing to watch the way the water moves, caught in a bit of a trance. Oh, she bets Ena would love to draw this place! It would make amazing inspiration for a new MV, wouldn't it? I mean, Mizuki is no illustrator, but she knows a good composition when she sees one. The way the steel frames extend out of the water and frame the view, the different texture and shapes of the surroundings, the pink drawing your eye with that pop of colour… Ena would definitely dig this!
Though before the thought can fully embed itself in her mind, a shining glint catches her eye, coming from the water. A trick of light, perhaps? She wills herself to tear her eyes way from the spot just off shore, but her eyes keep returning to that same spot. Just seeing things, she tries to reason with her self, trying and failing to avoid that fateful patch of water with her eyes.
But the more she looks, the more she realizes it's not just the water's reflection. Something is glittering from under the water, and she finds herself intrigued at the sight.
Mizuki carefully slips off her shoes, grateful that she wasn't wearing socks today, and steps into the water. With the ripples it caused, it makes her lose sight of the shimmery object, but her eyes quickly fix onto it once more. It's gold in colour, no larger than a small pebble. She crouches down for a better look. It's a… brooch?
More specifically, a bow shaped brooch, each curve of the ribbon and knot defined. It looks awfully like one of the gifts Yuuki sent her way back then, not long after she had moved to Paris. It's a little fuzzy, but they're eerily similar.
Wait— it is one of the gifts her sis sent her back then! What's it doing here?!
Without much thinking, she reaches a hand into the water, and gosh, it's cold. The ripple's reflections make it a little hard to see and grasp the small item, and it takes a few tries before she manages to wrap her fingers around the metal object, but she manages to finally secure the brooch in her hands. Success!
yet strangely, the water around her starts to blur. That's not quite right. It's all fuzzy…?
She blinks, once, twice.
She's not crouching in water anymore.
Wait. Her shoes—!
…Nevermind. She's wearing them now, it seems. That, and she seems to be crouching on carpet now, brooch no longer in her grasp. Mizuki stands up straight, feeling a little disoriented. Where the hell is she now? It's not the first time the sekai has pulled this sort of thing, teleporting members into fragment sekais, but when she's trying to take a relaxed stroll? Seriously?!
But this isn't just any fragment sekai, it seems.
Mizuki's eyes fall to the familiar walls and furniture, a mannequin tucked into the corner. Her eyes widen.
This is her sisters old room, before she moved out.
That's— wow. It's been years since this room has looked this lived in, not that it's anyone's fault. Her sis was off to chase her dreams! Who could possibly blame her for such an amazing thing? But that also that means this room has been empty and collecting dust for a long, long while. (She exaggerates. It's only been a few years, tops.)
Though she can't deny how much she misses seeing Yuuki around these days, no matter how much they text. Perhaps that's why she got sent to this sekai, then? It's not the first time they've had the sekai change from their feelings. Given that they're built from their feelings, that's hardly a surprise, but she's never seen anything be replicated so faithfully.
In a gust of curiosity, she starts to poke around the room, opening drawers, closets. Those, much to her disappointment, are empty, but she isn't all too shocked about it. She herself barely remembers what sis kept in the wardrobe, apart from the clothing she designed for herself. It makes sense that the sekai would leave the space empty, unable to fill in the blanks.
After satisfying her urge to rummage around all the drawers, Mizuki peaks her head into the mirror of the vanity Yuuki once owned, pulling a few funny faces for no other reason than impulse. There are still a few make up items sitting atop the wooden surface, but it's more sparse than her memory shows. More blanks her memory has, then. Peculiar indeed. A particularly goofy face she makes has her cringing, eventually pulling her face away from the silver coated glass.
She ends up pacing for a bit, a little confused as to what she's supposed to be doing now.
This room holds many, many memories for her. One of them being the times her sis would let her watch the makings of a new design, Mizuki occasionally breaking the comfortable silence to ask for the function of a pattern, or what kind of stitch sis was using, or even just what fabrics she used. That, or she'd be rambling on about the newest episode of MiraMagi as Yuuki worked, even if her sister got the character names mixed up sometimes. Just having someone actually listen to her about what most would consider silly was more than enough for her younger self. Those were good times— some of the highlights of her childhood, especially when she reached middle school.
Without realizing, she's been running her hands back and forth over her folded elbows, a soothing motion. Mizuki's hands have always been unable to still whenever she's thinking.
Ah, man. The balls of her heels are starting to prickle. The woes of standing, her internal monologue bemoans. She's never enjoyed standing still since she was little, always fidgeting some how some way, even if it got her in trouble at times. This warm radiating pain is one of the main reasons why. It's terribly unpleasant, and if she doesn't at least shift her feet (that is to say, when did she even stop pacing?), she'll end up with a sore pair of feet tomorrow.
So she shuffles around, letting herself stretch for a bit before coming back to a still again. She should probably sit… and the bed looks very, very tempting right now, even with the chair in front of the vanity being right where it is. But no one would care all that much about where she sits thought, right?
After a few uncertain moments, Mizuki sits down onto the bed, and it's just as plush as she remembers. It takes her all the restraint she has not to lay down and nap right there, and technically, following the same line of thought as before, nothing's stopping her, no? So she sighs and flops onto her back, sinking into the cool sheets. Prime napping conditions if you asked her! So much so that she really does let herself relax into the comforter, uncaring for how silly she may look, sprawled so carelessly across the bed.
Sleep almost takes her, before a series of tentative footsteps stir her from her stupor.
"…Hi miss!"
The voice makes her jump into sitting position, positively startled by the presence of another person.
Or another child, to be clear. A very familiar child. One who wears pink hair, and loves cute things. A younger Mizuki, to be exact
The mini version of her waves timidly, appearing unannounced.
"Oh, um. Hi there," She stumbles the words out, shock still lingering as she blinks, once, twice. The feeling fades after a few passing seconds.
The really should surprise her as much as it shocked her initially, but— it's a fragment sekai. She's certainly seen stranger things. Mini-Mizu, as her mind decides to dub the younger manifestation of her, looks at her almost inquisitively for a moment, before saying, "You look a lot like big sis,"
That stuns Mizuki more than it should.
"Ah. I do, don't I?" She mumbles bashfully, running a hand nervously through her hair. Eventually, she slips off the scrunchie keeping her ponytail in place, letting the pink waves fall evenly against her shoulders. She sure has grown, hasn't she? Her hair's grown far longer than Yuuki's, now undoubtedly adorned with ribbons and other cute nick-knacks. Certainly a testament to her confidence developing over the years. Secrets that finally don't need to be hidden.
Mini-mizu seems to eye her curiously as she ruminates. "You know her?"
Ah. Right. It's not like the young girl knows that she's, well… from the future. Though she supposes that does depend on whatever Mini-Mizu might be, anyway. In lieu of saying anything, Mizuki gives a curt nod and eventually answers. "You could definitely say that."
A far too knowing squint is shot back at her, and Mizuki wonders for a moment if it was a mistake to lie. But the expression is gone in an instant, Mizi-mizu's eyebrows smoothening out, now looking rather calm. She looks to what seems to be an hourglass perched on the bedside table, pink sand steadily pouring down, down, down. …That wasn't there before. No matter though, the sekai always does strange things
Mizuki almost wonders if that's all there is for their conversation, but abruptly, the small voice cuts through the silence.
"I think I need to go soon." The small girl murmurs.
That makes Mizuki tilt her head in question. What?
She makes a glance to the hourglass, and it's small— It can't be more than 5 minutes, and already quite a bit of sand has made its way down. A minute has passed, perhaps?
"That's— well, that's alright," She blurts out, because what else is she supposed to say?
Mini-Mizu nods. "Can I sit next to you, miss?"
Mizuki bobs her head without much thought, patting the empty space next to her on the bed. "Of course!"
The young girl shuffles over and shimmies up onto the bed, the bed dipping slightly from the added weight. Five minutes. Now four, probably nearing three. Is there anything Mizuki wants to say to her younger self?
She's thought of this situation enough times, having discussing the topic with Rui, and the Nightcord members, too. It was an interesting exercise, she recalls that much, but now that she's actually in the situation, her mind pulls up blanks. Ugh! This is really, really annoying…
A thump against her side draws her out of her thoughts, a sudden warm weight plastered on her side. Did Mini-Mizu fall asleep?
"Do things get better?"
The question is so faint that Mizuki almost misses it. Do things…? Ah, so Mini-Mizu knows who she is, then. Sekai magic-ery or not, she has always been quite the perceptive child. Mizuki hums in thought before replying, gathering her words.
"They do. They definitely, definitely, do,"
Mini-Mizu makes an unintelligible noise.
"That's good."
"Mn, very," Mizuki agrees sagely, nodding more to herself than to the younger her.
Still, despite the answer, Mini-Mizu seems a little down. It doesn't take much for her to piece together why. Well..! She knows she's far luckier than others, having the support she had at a young age, but that's still different to having someone truly understand you. That someone was Rui, at first, before everyone else came along, but even then, there was still a 'before' period when she hadn't met him yet. This must be the point of time Mini-Mizu is pulled from, then.
The whispers of other people still linger in her mind, countless voices telling her what she is and what she's supposed to be, even now. So she can't imagine how her younger self feels right now. Or she can, per se, but it's always going to be different to living it herself. And she knows for a fact that she never wants to relive those days again, so there's no saying how deep the pain runs for someone so young. (How deep the pain ran for her. It still hurts, some days, but now she has friends to go to, people who accept her. Something the younger version of her never got outside of family. The thought makes her miss Yuuki even more.)
Perhaps some more words are worth a shot, then.
"Look, this is gonna sound really random, but I think you know who I am, so I'll just— I know things probably look… bleak, right? I mean, I know that, and I know you know that, obviously—" Oh dear she is rambling, — "but you gotta look up, you know? I— I know it sucks. It sucks so bad,"
Tears start to well up in her eyes, old memories returning unbidden.
"No one should have to feel that much hurt, and I wish you— we didn't have to go through that. But we did, and I swear to you, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It gets better. We find friends to call home, people who don't care for our secrets, who care only for who we are. And I don't know how to prove it to you, but I promise, it's worth fighting for, and…" Terrifyingly enough, Mizuki has lost all the words she wants to use. How annoying. "Gosh, I— this is a terrible speech, sorry mini-me,"
Mizuki wipes her tears away hastily and looks down, sneaking a glance at Mini-Mizu's face. In the corner of her eye, the hourglass almost reaches its end, and honestly, Mizuki is unsure how to feel about knowing that the younger her will have to leave soon. Leave how, she's still not sure, not that it matters all that much. She worries her bottom lip between her teeth, Mini-Mizu's expression obscured by the shoulder length hair fallen from behind her ears.
To her surprise, though, the younger version of her tilts her head up with a smile across her face, tears welling up in her eyes. "I think it was a great speech. Thank you,"
Her voice wobbles with every syllable, and Mizuki's heart softens all the more.
"Mn. I'm glad it helped, even if just a little," She breathes out, softly nudging the warm weight on her side. That elicits a giggle from Mini-Mizu, and it makes her grin at her small victory. Small wins.
They sit in silence for a few beats, before her younger self scoots off the bed, facing Mizuki with a soft smile.
"…I'll be going now, I think. Bye-bye, Mizuki-chan! Remember to reach out to big sis, okay?"
She barely gets the chance to blink or reply, before the younger manifestation of herself vanishes. Not even the chance to say goodbye back?! No fair, sekai!
Mizuki huffs and flops back onto the fluffiness of the bed, suddenly feeling exhaustion creeping up her spine. What an afternoon, huh..? Who would've thought she would be venturing down memory lane and meeting the younger version of herself along the way. Not herself, that's for sure. She throws a glance towards the bedside table, where the hourglass was before, and that's gone, too. Figures as much, but it's still a little sad, in a way that's inexplicable to herself at the moment.
'Remember to reach out to big sis,' huh? Her eyes search the white ceiling, before eventually slipping shut.
A small nap won't hurt anyone.
–
Mizuki wakes in her room, mercifully laying on her bed. She half expected to wake up with a sore back slumped on top of her desk, so this is a very nice surprise. It takes a couple blinks to get the sleep out of her eyes, and with her eyes back in function, she squints at her desktop, trying to make out the time. It's still bright outside, so it hasn't been that long.
In fact, time has barely moved. It's 2:54 PM, meaning it's been less than an hour since… all that happened. Wow.
Her phone chimes somewhere on the bed, and sits up to rummage for it, eventually fishing it out from her pile of pillows.
It's a new message from her sister.
Hm. Maybe she should give sis a call.