Foxglove
A few days passed ever since Niigo was reformed and Mizuki started dating Ena and nothing so far had been an issue. If anything had actually changed, it was the fact that Mizuki and Ena were being rather open about their relationship. Not like it bothered Kanade and Mafuyu considering their own relationship. So they agreed that both couples could be open about their relationships as long as it didn’t interfere with their work.
“Btw, Ena…isn’t tomorrow the day you go back to your art class? Shouldn’t you go sleep?” Sensing the guilt in Mizuki’s voice, Ena is quick to answer.
“Don’t worry about it. If anything, staying up working will help me get better with my drawings”
The following day, Ena sets off to her art class. On her eay there, she stumbles upon her friend Futaba, who seemed to be waiting for her.
“Ena! You’re back!” Her friend quickly approaches her. “When i heard you were taking some time off so suddenly i got worried…you ok?”
“I’m fine, better than ever actually” It had been a very long time since Ena was this confident, which made Futaba particularly happy.
And so, the two of them enter the workshop and wait for the assignment.
“The theme this time shall be: Something or someone precious to you” Upon hearing Yukihira announce the theme, Ena’s hands started moving on their own. Every other time, she would take some time to think what she actually wanted to draw, but now, she didn’t even need to think about it, for the second her teacher said to write someone precious, Mizuku immediately came to her mind and so, she drew.
“Ok, time’s up” After some time, the art teacher made everyone stop and started checking the paintings one by one until he reached Ena’s. “Is this yours, Shinonome?”
“Yes” The young artist answered with a confidence that was unlike her, surprising Yukihira.
“Hmm…it’s good. But there is something i am curious about. Did you use a real person as a model? Also, the style feels way different from what you usually do, which makes me wonder…just who is this person who can make you change so much?”
Ena just stays quiet for a few seconds before smirking “Who could it be indeed”
Futaba glances at her and notices the smallest blush on Ena’s face, which she decides to question the second they leave the workshop.
“Umm…Ena-chan?” The young girl looks at Ena filled with curiosity. “About what you said just now….”
“Hmm?” Ena knew exactly what she was referring to, but she knew Futaba. She knew that she would not inquire further if pushed away…or so she thought, however, things weren’t going to be that easy.
“Why exactly did you…” Before Ena can stop her, Futaba stops herself as she notices a certain someone just leaning on the wall. “Wait…Ena look!…she is so pretty! Think she is waiting for her boyfriend or something?” Futaba asks Ena, who stares speechless.
“Mizuki!? Why are you here!?” Upon hearing Ena raise her voice, Futaba jumps surprised and Mizuki lifts her head.
“Ena!?” Mizuki looks shocked for a second before glancing at the girl next to her girlfriend. “Who’s this?” Ena could feel a hint of fear in her voice, so she quickly introduced Futaba to Mizuki to calm her down.
“Remember the friend from Art class i mentioned before? This is her”
“Hello umm…” Futaba stops mid sentence, leading Ena to properly introduce Mizuki.
“Right. Futaba, this is Mizuki, she is a member of my musical circle”
“A pleasure, Futaba!” As friendly as ever, but Ena was now capable of seeing right through that friendly persona. She knew that Mizuki wasn’t really as friendly with others as she seems, but why would she bother breaking the illusion when Futaba was clearly enjoying talking with Mizuki.
“Say, Mizuki…are you meeting up with Rui today?” Futaba gave Ena a side glance.
“Yeah! It’s been a while since we’ve last gone out together since we’ve both have had our issues…but today both he and i finally managed to make some time!” Mizuki sounded so happy, almost like what happened back then had never happened.
“Well, sorry for not being able to make space for you before, Mizuki” Rui suddenly shows up from…actually, where did he come from?
“Rui!” Mizuki is quick to cling to him. “Come on, come on! Seeya Ena” The two of them immediately left, leaving a laughing Ena behind.
“Those two always move at their own pace… But i’m glad” Ena gave a soft smile.
“She seems like a fun person to be around! Her boyfriend is handsome too!” Just like that, Mizuki’s cheerful personality had scored her another admirer, but there was something else that caught Ena’s attention.
“You mean Rui? He is not her boyfriend anymore. He told me that they stopped dating when he graduated from Junior High. Right now, they are simply friends who just so happen to be a former couple, and both he and Mizuki seem perfectly happy with that” A lie, Ena knew that, if given the oportunity, those two would probably want to get back together, but she was not about to tell Futaba that.
“Wait, what? So that wasn’t her boyfriend? Judging by her reactions, i was sure it was. Does that mean she is single right now?” Too many questions. Ena started thinking about how it would probably be for the best to end this soon, else she risks saying something she shouldn’t.
“While it is true that she doesn’t have a boyfriend, she is not actually single, she has a girlfriend after all” She wasn’t lying. Sure, she is not saying the full truth either, but she wasn’t sure if Mizuki was ok with their relationship being revealed, so instead, Ena opted for the next best option: Being vague about her answers.
“Wow…love really comes in all shapes huh? …But why do i feel like i’ve seen her before?” Ena didn’t like where this was going. She knew Futaba paid close attention to her paintings, which is why she knew that Futaba would start asking questions if she were to meet Mizuki and, just like she expected, Futaba opened her mouth. “Wait, that’s the girl from your painting, isn’t it?”
“Of course you’d notice…yeah, Mizuki is the one i painted. When i heard the theme was something or someone precious, she was the first that popped to my mind” Ena was taking a rather melancholic tone, leading Futaba to the wrong conclusion.
“You sound sad…did something happen between you two? Unless…wait, could it be that you have an unrequited love for her!?”
“Sometimes, i hate how perceptive you can be….Yeah, i am in love with her and that’s that…How about we leave now? We can talk more about this some other day” Futaba just nods at Ena’s words.
The following day, Futaba managed to convince Ena to go out with her so she could hear about Ena’s stories with Mizuki.
“You know, Futaba….i didn’t really expect you to be into this kind of gossip” Ena tries to mess around, but her companion just sat there, eagerly waiting for Ena to talk.
After taking a deep breath, Ena realizes that her attempts to deflect Futaba’s curiosity were not going to work, so she just gives up and starts talking about her and Mizuki.
“You want to know exactly how i fell in love with her, right?” Futaba nods excited. For a second, Ena wondered how Mizuki did it to deflect everyone of her attempts to learn about her.
“We are a group of 4, but Mizuki is my partner. I do the illustrations and she takes them and turns them into an MV. That’s how we slowly grew closer. From partners to friends and then, the more i learned about her, the more i found myself falling for her” She was blushing quite a lot, which was quite surprising for Futaba, who just let out a giggle.
“You know, Ena? You turn into quite the maiden when talking about her” Ena couldn’t believe herself, but she couldn’t help but praise Mizuki.
However, as they were talking, An and Mizuki, who were just hanging out, spotted them and, upon seeing Ena’s embarrassed face, Mizuki started to get terrified, only being able to think of the worst possible scenarios once more. Seeing this, An decided to take action and, taking Mizuki with her, walked right up to the pair of friends.
“Ena! What the hell is going on here!?” Upon hearing her voice, Ena could immediately sense her hostility, and it wasn’t long before she figured out why that was.
“Wha-An!? And…Mizuki? What are you two doing here?”
“Don’t answer my question with a question! We were simply hanging out when we noticed you” She then gives a glance to Futaba, who was absolutely terrified of the situation. “So, what’s the deal here?”
Ena sighs before looking straight to An’s eyes “This isn’t what you think this is. Futaba was curious about my time with Mizuki and when i fell in love with her” Hearing her friend say this so casually throws Futaba into a panic.
“Wait Ena!? Are you sure it is ok to just say that!? She is her girlfriend, isn’t she?” After she says this, An is left with a confused expression.
“Wait…you haven’t told her?” An’s hostility is suddenly replaced with confusion.
“I wasn’t sure if she would be ok with it” And as she answers, she gives Mizuki a side glance followed by her girlfriend’s nod. “Ok…then Mizuki, can you come her for a second?” Mizuki looks at An, as if waiting for affirmation and, after a sigh and a pat on the back, she walks to Ena and clings to her while Ena gives her a quick peck on the cheek. “Let me reintroduce her. This is Mizuki Akiyama, also known as Amia, the video editor of our music circle, as well as my girlfriend”
An is then quick to approach Futaba “I’m sorry about that. Mizuki’s been through a lot so i tend to get a bit overprotective” Upon hearing such a sincere apology, Futaba decides to apologize as well. “Don’t worry about it. I should apologize too…for causing a misunderstanding”
The four then spend the rest of the day together and, as the sun sets, they part ways. “God, that was too hasty, even for me…” An thinks while walking home.