Work Text:
If anyone looked at Kanade during the day, they'd deem her as one of the least successful sirens in the entire ocean followed by pity for her situation. While not exactly false - she hadn't ever attracted a human with her voice - it wasn't true that her voice was incapable of attracting anyone. Her songs just coincidentally attracted a very oddly specific audience.
With the moon above her, Kanade began to sing. When she finished, there was a light applause. She smiled as she looked over, spotting a familiar trio.
"I see you made a new song." Mafuyu said. "What was the inspiration behind it this time?"
"The sunset?"
"Mmm… yeah no, you're lying." Ena huffed, crossing her arms. "Come on, it can't be bad."
Kanade just gave a sheepish smile. "It's really not that important!"
"Well… if you're going to keep a secret then I guess I have to get it out of you!" Mizuki smirked, walking over. Kanade turned away, prepared for Mizuki to crack some joke that she was bound to crack up at if they maintained eye contact. Instead, she felt someone tickling her sides.
"Mizuki!" She squealed, squirming in her arms. Somewhere in the background, she could make out the disappointed sigh of Ena.
The pink haired girl faked an evil laugh. "Hehe~ I'll only stop once you tell us the real inspiration!"
Kanade's brain promptly decided that diving into the water was the better option.
She stayed right below the water's surface. Deep enough such that Mizuki couldn't reach her from her spot on the rock, but close enough to still hear Ena lightly lecture a playfully unapologetic Mizuki. Though Kanade knew that if Mizuki was that intent on getting an answer out of her through tickles, she would've followed her into the water.
Kanade remained in that position until Mafuyu leaned over, signaling to her that she was safe from any more tickles. Kanade gave a thumbs up in return.
She swam over to the other end of the rocky formation, where it was easier to pull herself up onto land. Mafuyu was waiting for her.
"Welcome back." The purple haired girl said.
"I was barely gone."
"You wouldn't even have left if someone didn't think tickling was the best idea."
"Hey!" Mizuki immediately protested. "It was a fun idea! And I will stand by that until you can give me a cooler idea."
Ena looked away, sticking out her tongue in refusal. Kanade couldn't help but to giggle at the pair's antics.
There was a chilly feeling at her left hand, soon followed by the warmth of someone holding her hand — Mafuyu. The pair smiled at each other, both of their cheeks lightly tinted with blush.
"You know we'll wait patiently for your answer, even if they don't act like they will." She whispered reassuringly. Admittedly, the answer wasn't even that complicated, just embarrassing. But it was always nice to have their full support.
"This would be a nice scenery to draw." Ena said, lying down on her back to face the clear night sky. "I just don't know if I can capture all the colors properly."
Kanade looked up, seeing four stars shining faintly above her. She could put this into a song, using glass bottles to form the base melody of this hypothetical song.
"Come on, you always say that and your paintings always turn out beautiful." Mizuki said, scooting over to poke her on the cheek.
"I agree."
The brunette weakly laughed. "Thanks." She said as a hand traced the scars along her arm. Mizuki got even closer, bending down to plant a few kisses on the scars on her other arm. Kanade was always jealous that they, all being ghosts, could touch each other so easily, while making contact with her always required a lot of concentration.
Drip.
And usually came with drawbacks. In Mafuyu's (and Mizuki's) case, it was dripping water, a reminder of how she died.
"Sorry. It seems like I've hit the limit again." Mafuyu apologised, watching more water drip from her hand. Reluctantly, Kanade let go.
"It's fine, I enjoyed it while it lasted." Kanade reassured her.
The quartet continued to talk throughout the night until Mizuki, who had pulled Ena into her arms, let out a rather loud yawn.
Ena was the first to comment, "I thought you said you'd stay awake the whole time tonight?"
"Not my fault that that new design took super long to finish." She pouted, "and don't act like you weren't yawning just now too Enanan~ What happened to being a night owl and listening to Kanade the whole night?"
Mizuki quickly received an elbow to the stomach. "Ow! That hurt more than jumping off that cliff!" She said, swiftly earning another jab. Ena turned in her arms to face her.
"And what did we all tell you about making jokes about your death?" Mizuki sheepishly looked away, saying a hushed "to not make them".
Mafuyu sighed, walking over to the pair. She too laid down, adding her limbs to the mess that was Mizuki and Ena.
"Listen to Ena," She said, leaning over Mizuki's shoulder to kiss the brunette
"Mafuyu!" Mizuki exclaimed, feigning shock and betrayal at Mafuyu's actions.
Ena sighed and mumbled "karma" before looking over at Kanade. "Wanna join us for a bit?" She asked, "both me and Mizuki still have some time left."
"It's fine, you two can save it for kisses." Kanade replied, moving over to sit by Ena. "I'll just be here."
"Okay. If you say so."
She watched her three girlfriends peacefully enjoy each other's presence, still wishing she could cuddle them without limits. 'If we were all ghosts, we wouldn't have met.' She reminded herself.
Ena grunted next to her, eyebrows furrowing. Another nightmare; likely of her life before she became a ghost if her mumblings of "shut up" were anything to go by.
Kanade began to hum one of her many songs, choosing one that her father used to sing for her after a long day singing. Almost immediately, the brunette's expression softened, her muscles no longer tensed up. As she sang, the siren glanced over at Mizuki and Mafuyu, who also seemed to be asleep.
Kanade smiled, leaning over to plant a kiss on each of their foreheads. Even if they couldn't feel it, she hoped the lingering sensation would be enough.
With the three of them presumably asleep, Kanade figured it would be the best time to answer their first question.
"It was you three." She whispered, pretending to brush Ena's hair. There was no movement or response, a good sign that this silly, embarrassing, secret still remained a secret.
The sky was beginning to lighten, a sign that the night they called theirs would be over soon. Mafuyu, Ena and Mizuki would have to return to whatever spiritual realm they belonged to; an unfortunate downside of being ghosts.
'One last song.' she thought to herself as she began to hum a familiar tune; the same song that had led the three girls to her in the first place. The song that brought together three lonely souls and a siren who couldn't seem to attract a single human with her voice.
If she paid attention to any of the trio while singing, she would have heard a very soft "Thank you" from Mafuyu.