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Ena couldn't believe what she was doing. How did her brain decide that agreeing to basically two weeks of Mizuki calling her a hedgehog was a good idea?
The answer was Kanade. Everyone, especially Mafuyu, knew how weak she was to their girlfriend's puppy dog eyes. Ena hated how easy she was to read.
Ena let out another sigh, looking at the avatar customisation items left on her desk.
"Seriously… how did she manage to find this?" she hissed, adding the items to her inventory. She quickly opened her menu, seeing the damage this was going to do to her very nicely curated image.
At first, it seemed like they were just a few extra leather pads along her body. Ena smiled, that would be easy to match to one of the many costumes she had bought in game.
'Hah, Yuki didn't even try—' Ena's thoughts were swiftly cut off the moment she realised the other feature to her new accessories.
Because, true to her hedgehog nickname, there were now brown holographic spines poking out of all the pads.
"You are dead to me Yuki." She hissed. 'How the hell did she even find this?' Her hand gently touched one of the spines, which just phased through her; At least they weren't physically there.
There was a knock on her door, followed by a voice, "Enanan? Can I come in?"
Ena smiled, at least Kanade was here. "Sure thing."
Watching the door open, Ena did not expect Kanade to have somehow gotten a more embarrassing cosmetic.
Following how Mizuki always referred to Kanade - a 'sopping wet puppy' - Kanade had a pair of floppy dog ears on her head, a fluffy tail trailing behind her.
"I see you've worn yours too." She commented, immediately trying to poke one of her spines.
"You can't actually feel them, thankfully." Ena mumbled. "How's yours?"
"Fine I guess?" She replied, dog ears lifting up slightly.
Ena stared blankly at her girlfriend's other ears. "Can you- can you control them?"
"I think so." Kanade replied, her ears slightly perking up.
"I thought the plan was just to get basic accessories?" Ena asked. "I know hedgehog ones aren't all that common so I'd understand if she had to find some workaround. But I've seen so many dog cosmetics, why this one?"
"Oh, Yuki liked this a lot. Said something about how the ears and tails react to the wearer's emotions made it more appealing." Kanade explained.
The greed of that fucking woman—
Ena had to remind herself that she too was dating said woman.
===
Her birthday had been going amazingly.
First, she had woken up to her parents cooking breakfast, her lunch packed into an adorably cute container. Back in middle school, Mizuki had reassured them that she could handle her meals herself; her way of alleviating them of a burden after she started skipping school frequently.
That, combined with a surprise call from Yuuki, practically left Mizuki in tears.
The festivities didn't end there. At lunch, An had dragged her up to the rooftop, where the rest of her friends in Kamiyama had prepared a surprise party. Rui, An, Toya, Nene, Tsukasa, even Akito and somehow Emu, were all there. The combined "happy birthday" was enough to cause tears to begin cascading out.
Sadly, Ena wasn't there. Though it was unlikely that she'd agree given how early she would have to wake up, which for Ena, was an almost impossible task. Plus, the rest of Nightcord had already wished her happy birthday when the clock struck midnight (And they probably had something else planned for her if past birthdays were anything to go off of).
Now she was on the way home, her hands filled with goodie bags courtesy of Emu and Tsukasa. While most of her energy had been drained from the party, she managed to preserve some of it for a later, much calmer activity.
'Knowing Enanan, she'll take forever to log on. And Mafuyu's probably got club or something so she won't be early. And if neither of them are there, neither would Kanade.' She thought to herself, a smile quickly forming on her face. 'That means that I can surprise them before they can surprise me.'
When she got to her room, Mizuki wasted no time in putting her gifts to one side — she'll properly sort those later. Right now, she has her priorities.
She pulled out her headset from her drawer and put it on, her heart already racing with anticipation as the familiar beep rang out. Instantly, her vision was flooded with white before the familiar scenery of Nightcord's in-game home filled in.
"Let's see what the three of you have planned~" Mizuki giggled, scanning the living room for any poorly hidden surprise boxes.
"Sorry, you're not going to find anything." Mizuki froze in place upon hearing Ena's voice.
Mizuki whipped around, finding the rest of Nightcord standing there, seemingly waiting for her to log in.
"When- how- WHAT?" Words could not properly describe the shock she was experiencing.
"We had a feeling you'd try to have a peek at what we were planning." Mafuyu explained, "so we figured we'd one up you by doing everything before you got the chance to come online."
Mizuki faked a sniff, "you guys know me so well…"
"So do you want to find out what we got or…?"
She immediately gave them the best pleading eyes she could muster, "please?"
Mafuyu and Kanade opened their inventories while Ena just huffed and looked to the side. For a moment, Mizuki was confused. Then she realised the new animal features they had.
"Oh my god we're matching!" Mizuki wasted no time in hugging the closest person — that being Ena. Her own cat tail - a cosmetic she'd gotten and worn since they released Kitty - wagging excitedly.
"Hey! Just so you know, I'm taking these off the moment it hits midnight!" Ena protested.
Mizuki gave her a fake pout before looking over at Kanade and Mafuyu, who had dog and rabbit related accessories respectively. "I can't believe you managed to find all this."
"For me and K, it was quite easy. Though I did spend extra time looking for one for K that matches the exact description of the type of dog you said she'd be." Mafuyu explained.
"Wait didn't you say—"
"Enanan's on the other hand was much more difficult, so I resorted to body armour that was able to project spikes." She continued.
Mizuki raised an eyebrow at that comment, "really? I remember checking the marketplace a while back and finding a few hedgehog accessories. But maybe they sold out."
"You what?"
"Like I remember a hedgehog cap, and some sleeves too. I think there even was one that summoned a little hedgehog partner. Though I dunno if that last one really counts…"
Ena shot a glare at Mafuyu. "So you got this just to mess with me?"
"I was merely making yours more accurate."
"Right, right. The same reason as to why K's ears and tail can move based on her feelings. Not even Amia's fucking cat ears have that function!" Ena turned back to face Mizuki, "and why were you even looking at the marketplace for shit like that?"
"Why not? Thought it might make a good gift for your birthday~" She teased in response, only somehow making Ena's face redder.
"I hate both of you."
"You love us."
"Yeah Enanan~" Mizuki sang, "or should I say my dear hedgehog~"
"Shut up!"
In the background, Kanade giggled at her girlfriends' antics. She reached over to gently touch Mizuki's wrist. "Happy birthday Amia."