Chapter 1
For as excited as Mizuki was about seeing her friends again, she was rather out of it all morning. It didn’t make sense, really; she was so much better, she knew that her friends truly accepted her, and after a long month of worrying and overthinking, everything was okay.
The bandage on her left arm, however, was a subtle reminder of the weeks behind her.
She had to tell someone, but that’s the problem. She couldn’t go to anyone in Niigo, she didn’t want to scare them away or make anyone worry about her.
An, or anyone in her circle? Out of the question, considering An wasn’t always the best at keeping her mouth shut around her bandmates. Sure, An kept Mizuki’s secret, but that was one thing. She wasn’t positive An could stay quiet about something like this.
Oh, not to mention how close she was with Akito; If Akito found out, then Ena would find out, and Mizuki did not want Ena finding out that she relapsed via her little brother. Plus, Mizuki just… preferred that he not know about that.
Mizuki decided Rui was probably the safest option. They both struggled with similar… habits, she could trust him. Of course she could.
Unenthused by the whole internal crisis, she peeled back the bandage on her wrist and sighed. Mizuki immediately regretted the timing of her sigh, though, because the wound was certainly infected, and the smell was arguably worse than the itching, swelling, and general pain. The smell made her gag a little bit, actually. There goes her entire appetite for the bext several hours…
If it wouldn’t be a total giveaway, Mizuki would go to the doctor and get the wound checked out, but she didn’t want anyone to find out just how bad her mental state had been recently.
“Could it be that she really has no idea?”
She didn’t want to relive it again.
Her brain made her relive it constantly, all day, everyday, she didn’t need to relive it for real.
Maybe she really should see a doctor about her arm, it looks worse than it did Saturday…
No. She had done worse in middle school, she’d live. Plus, if she went to a doctor, they’d give her antibiotics. Mizuki despises antibiotics, with every fiber in her fucked up body. She was already having a hard time eating, considering how much food she’d seen at that stupid festival. If whatever she tried to eat didn’t remind her of what happened, her brain would remind her just fine. Antibiotics would make it even harder for Mizuki to eat, not to mention the body aches and fatigue that make it impossible to get anything done…
Mizuki didn’t handle antibiotics well. She could cope. She re-wraps the bandage around her wrist, carefully pulls her sleeve back down over it, gives a quick mental prayer to any higher power that might listen, grabs her backpack and lunch, and finally leaves for school.
“Mizuki!! You’re back!!”
The blue haired girl shouted from the opposite end of the hallway Mizuki had just rounded the corner into.
It was 8:17 in the morning.
An Shiraishi was a morning person if the world had ever seen one.
Evidence #01: See above.
Evidence #02: An abandoning whatever she was doing and sprinting full speed down the hallway towards Mizuki, hugging her so tightly she was practically rearranging her ribs.
“An, I missed you too… but I can’t breathe…”
Mizuki sputtered, followed by a cough. An released her death grip on her, giving her a moment to breathe before asking any questions.
“Mizuki, you just disappeared—! What happened?? We were so worried!! Are you okay??”
This was pretty typical for An, she had a strong tendency to overthink things like this, especially if it’s someone she cares so deeply about.
“I’m okay now. Some… things…. happened with my friends, I got scared, and I ran off.”
Mizuki paused, hesitant.
“I told them everything. About middle school, about… you know.”
Her voice was softer, probably because she didn’t know for sure that nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the first time that sort of thing happened.
An’s expression immediately shifted to worry, slightly concerned.
“Some ex friends of mine found out I’m friends with Ena and started asking her weird questions. Like, if she was a guy, telling her I’m a guy… I totally isolated myself for a month after that, I’m sorry…”
Mizuki looked guilty as hell, to which An grabbed her shoulders, shaking some sense into her.
“Mizuki, don’t apologize. You had a normal response to a traumatic event.”
Mizuki blinked a couple times, staring back at An blankly for a moment.
“But… I barely told anyone anything, everyone was freaking out about me and it was my—“
“No. Nope. Nuh-uh.”
An pressed a finger over Mizuki’s lips, preventing her from saying anything else remotely self deprecating.
“Neither you nor Ena are at blame for this. No ifs, ands, or buts.”
As soon as An moved her finger and Mizuki could speak again, Mizuki immediately asked her the obvious question.
“How did you—? I didn’t get that far..?”
“Oh! The day before she spoke with you again, Ena showed up during normal school hours and looked everywhere for you. I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, but I heard her yelling at those guys during dismissal, and it wasn’t that hard to piece together what happened from there…”
An trailed off towards the end of her sentence, rocking back and forth on her heels. She glanced away, seemingly contemplating something before speaking again, her voice a bit softer— almost like she was thinking out loud.
“Y’know, you two…~”
An didn’t even have to finish her sentence, Mizuki knew exactly where she was going with this. That’s exactly why Mizuki smacked her in the arm, eliciting a giggle from the other girl.
“An, no—! I don’t even know if she’s— No!!”
Mizuki swung at An a couple more times before finally retreating, while An giggled the whole time. Mizuki avoided thinking too hard about her exact feelings towards Ena, and this was exactly why. She’d get all nervous and shit, and people would start asking questions.
Besides, Ena said it herself: They were friends.
Just friends.
Right?
An’s teasing persisted, even as she was being bombarded by Mizuki’s fists.
“Jeez, Mizuki… I’m just saying, it’s pretty obvious, with how you two look at each other…”
“An!”
Mizuki was blushing at this point, her tone petulant.
Just friends.
Mizuki Akiyama and Ena Shinonome are just friends.
Mizuki did not have a crush on Ena Shinonome.