25:00
Mizuki wipes a soul tear from her eye and shuts off her phone. “I have to do it tonight.” She mumbles. “An already knows, who's next..”
Mizuki gets up and stretches slightly before finally getting up and sitting herself down at her desk. “Today has been the worst day of my life, I need them.”
*~*
“Only one hour left until closing time, thank God..” Mizuki exhales, letting out a hint of relief that she didn’t know she had. She lazily tapped her pen against the counter, counting each time the pen hit the surface. She got onto about 34 before she lost count and instead started to do it idly.
Late night shifts were boring, especially on weekdays. Everyone has already gone home for the day after work and/or school, and they’re all preparing for the next day. So after around 4-6pm each day that Mizuki has work, it’s basically like a ghost-town.
It was even worse that she was alone, usually she would have her boss to speak to, but she had to go home for some emergency. Honestly, for Mizuki, the day had been some form of blur.
She thought those blurry days had long gone, but she must’ve assumed wrong.
She looked up at the clock again. It hadn’t even passed ten minutes since she last looked at the clock yet. This time, she decided to go against employee policy and scroll through her phone, looking for any new updates on her fashion blogs or any new comments on Niigo’s latest song.
A faint voice began to get closer and closer to her earshot however, along with many giggles that followed in the background. Mizuki looked up at her phone and immediately recognised the four girls in front of her.
“Heya..girl..” The girl in front seemed to trail off. She gave a look of disgust yet amusement over to Mizuki and then began to walk around all the clothing racks.
Mizuki’s hands began to shake. Why were they shaking? She hid her hands below the desk and cleared her throat. “H-Hey Hana..” She replies, her tone shying away from the positive, customer friendly one she’s meant to use.
Why was she acting so..off? Hana no longer bothers her, she hasn’t since..
“Oh, you work in a female clothing store.” Hana states, glancing all over the little room. Her friends giggle.
MIzuki looks up rapidly, her stomach dropping. “What do you mean? I-I’ve been working here for like a year.” Her voice picks up an anxious tone quickly, and she inwardly curses at herself for that.
“Yeah, but..”
“Why would you work at a female clothing store if you’re not actually a girl..?”
MIzuki’s heart races. “W-What are you on about, Hana?” Accompanying her sentence was a short giggle, followed by a forced smile. Her demeanour had completely changed from mere seconds ago, only making everything more entertaining for Hana.
Hana laughed, a vile air coming from it whilst she approached the counter. “Do not play dumb; we know that you’re a freak.” The sentence left a freezing atmosphere.
“You’re not like us, you never will be, so stop acting like you are.”
Her words were sharp and cold, piercing Mizuki’s chest every time another word was said.
MIzuki felt tears burn and blur her pupils, causing physical pain when being held back. She took a deep - yet extremely shaky - breath and looked Hana in the eye.
“I-I’m not..a freak.” She muttered, voice breaking.
Hana didn’t care to reply to MIzuki. Instead, she turned around to face the door. “Do us a favour and fuck off. By tomorrow, no one will dare to even look at someone as messed up as you.” She spat. “In fact, I think I saw some of our peers on the way here..”
Mizuki could barely breathe. “Hana please, don’t–” Her sentence was cut off. She couldn’t breathe. She physically couldn’t breathe. Why was this happening to her again?
The other girl simply scoffed and walked out, knocking a few accessories onto the floor whilst leaving.
It must've been an hour since they left, and the pink haired girl had only just begun to gain her breath back. She stared down at the counter and noticed a pool of tears that had actually started to fall off the counters and pile onto the floor next to her feet. As she stared at her trembling hands, she noticed all the mascara and blush that had flushed off her face.
Mizuki quickly rushed to the back of the store where the washroom was located. She locked the door (despite being the only worker there) and turned the tap on, letting the cold water splash on her tear-stained face. A small sense of relief washed over her, but that was short lived when she looked up at herself in the mirror.
Then it hit her that by tomorrow, everyone at school will know who she really is.
An, Tsukasa, Toya, Akito–
Ena.
A gasp escaped her mouth, followed by repeated words of denial. Ena is going to find out, rather that be from her brother or from Hana herself, and then she’ll tell the rest of Niigo, and they’ll be ruined
Her hands began to shake again. She took this as her que to go home and go to sleep. She left the washroom stall and headed upstairs where she grabbed her coat and bag, and she swiftly locked everything up before making her way home.
The first ten minutes was an incomprehensible walk. Everything felt blurry and unreal, she couldn’t even remember walking away from the store in the first place.
As she walked down an alleyway, she noticed two people stood by a cafe. It seemed like they had just shut it, so Mizuki didn’t think anything of it at first. In fact, she didn’t even know if that’s what was actually going on
As the girl approached the end of the alley, the two figures that were standing by the closed shop slowly became more recognisable.
“Mizuki..” She heard a voice call out, the tone laced with sympathy. The mentioned girl quickly looked up to see a familiar face and a familiar friend.
Her eyes widened. “A-An.” Her words were cold and weak.
An knew. She knew. Within an hour Hana had already told one of her closest friends. Mizuki felt as if she was going to vomit.
“Mizuki, I..we know.”
She gagged yet quickly covered her mouth. The girl beside An, Kohane, began to rummage through her bag for something, presumably for the other to vomit into.
Mizuki stopped her and stepped back. “No. It’s fine.” She said between breaths. Since when did her breathing speed up again?
An tried to grab her hand, but Mizuki flinched away. She took a few more steps back and felt as if she was about to pass out. Through her piercing headache and her beating heart, she heard the black haired girl mention the name Hana, and then some words along the lines of weird and freak.
She couldn’t stay any longer, she had to get home.
She doesn’t remember the rest of the journey, instead the next thing she remembers is sitting silently in front of her computer. “It’s 22:00.” She mutters. And instead of logging on, she shut off her computer and escapes to her bed. She needs some time alone for a minute. Then..she has to.
*~*
Mizuki finishes typing in her password and notices straight away that she’s been mentioned in chat numerous times.
Yuki: Amia? Is everything OK?
Yuki: @Amia ?
K: Maybe she’s sick
Yuki: Maybe. Didn’t she say she had work a little later tonight? And plus, it’s not even 2500 yet. We’re all early for once
Enanan: @Amia
Enanan: amiaaaaaa
Enanan: oi answer!!!
K: She’s probably just sick I wouldn’t bother her again
Yuki: I would say that you could ask her at school, but u usually don’t see each other and if she’s sick she will definitely not go into school
Enanan: yeah. Idk. anyway ready to hop into voice chat?
K: I’m sure Mizuki’s ok
K: I’ll be there in a moment I need the bathroom
After that, the chat from the previous night was just saying goodnight to each other. However, one more message caught her eye.
Mizuki shakily exhaled. She rereads the messages over and over again.
“They’re so nice.” She mumbles, her voice barely registering in her own ears. “This is it. This is the last time–” Her sentence is abruptly stopped by a lump in her throat. She looks around for a water bottle and takes a few sips before placing it back down, clearing her throat.
She can’t say it, but she knows that this will be the last time they’ll ever talk to her again.
She scrolls down the channels and stops at the voice chat. All three of them are there already, however they must’ve only joined recently as all of their mics are unmuted.
Mizuki takes a shaky breath in and joins the chat however leaves her mic muted at first.
“So neither of you got a private message from her at all?” Kanade asked, followed by two simultaneous ‘no’s’. Ena sighed. “No, and I’m getting even more worried. God, why can’t she just message us?” Her voice fronted with frustration, but behind that front everyone else could sense the worry.
Mizuki smiles sadly.
Mafuyu lets out a slight giggle, however it’s not fully sincere. “I think this is Ena’s way of telling us she’s not angry at all.” Kanade answers with a scoff and Ena gasps.
“Don’t act like you guys aren’t worried too!” She says. “And plus, Akito came up to me like an hour ago, and tried to tell me something about her, but I think Tsukasa and Toya were rushing him out the door.”
“Shit,” Mizuki whispered. She had to unmute herself quickly.
“He was saying something like MIzuki was lying to us, and–”
“Heya! Did you guys miss me? Sorry I’m late, eheh! That’s not like me at all.” She tried her best to put on an optimistic voice, but it was easy to see that it wasn’t genuine.
All three gasped slightly at the same time. “Amia!” Ena was definitely the loudest out of all of them.
“Where were you? Are you okay?” Ena carried on, spewing out many more questions that the other three couldn’t even comprehend. Through the blurt of words, Kanade scoffs lightly. “Ena, calm down. I’m sure if you stop asking all these questions Mizuki can answer us.”
Ena huffed. “First you guys say I don’t express myself truly enough, now you tell me to shut up when I do.” She takes a moment to compose herself and then she spoke up again. “So, Mizuki…?
‘This is happening. I have to be ready.’
“Guys, I have to tell you all something.” Her tone was serious, and she could already tell that she had cut the atmosphere in half by saying a few simple words. Well, words that seemed simple on the surface that were actually some of the most heartbreaking ones to ever say out loud.
Mafuyu made a small sound of intrigue. “What’s up?”
Mizuki began to shake again, the anxiety drowning her body. She swallowed only to find that her mouth was dry. She took a deep breath.
“I–”
Before she could continue, a commotion occurred in Ena’s room. Her bedroom door was slammed open and the other three could hear the brown haired girl scream and nearly fall off her chair. Right after, they found out who it was that had nearly scared the life out of her.
“Eh? Akito, what the hell?!” Ena yelled. Her breathing was heavy. “You nearly killed me!”
Akito groans, yet he quickly changed his mood. “Did you hear?” He asks.
“No..?” Ena replies, confusion fused in her voice.
“You know that one girl? Never comes into school, got pink hair, fashionista or something? I dunno her name but it was when the School festival was going on, she was with Toya and I.”
She couldn’t breathe. She physically could not breathe. She couldn’t say a word. She couldn’t make any noise.
Ena looked at her computer screen. Kanade and Mafuyu stayed quiet, extremely confused yet concerned. But Akito didn’t even give her time to reply before he said it.
He told them.
He told them everything.
He told them about how Hana went to Mizuki’s store and Hana basically forced it out of Mizuki without Mizuki actually saying anything.
She quickly covered her mouth and sped out of her room, rushing into her bathroom to vomit. Whilst on her way there, it’s obvious by the many thumping sounds that she had knocked over and bumped into a numerous amount of things. But as of now, she didn’t care. She barely even knew.
After being silent for a few moments, Ena spoke. “What..just get out! There was no need to slam open my door and scare the shit out of me. Just go to bed, you have school tomorrow.” She groaned, getting up and pushing him out of her room.
He moaned about something, but Ena didn’t care. Instead she dragged him all the way to his own room and shut the door. Then, she retreated back to her room, making sure to lock the door in the process. But as soon as that door was shut, she felt a wave of realisation wash over her.
“Mizuki’s…” She trailed off, still bewildered by this new knowledge about one of her best friends. She swiftly made her way back to her computer and noticed that Kanade and Mafuyu had not said anything either. They were both in shock as well.
Ena placed her headset back on and cleared her throat. “So, um..”
No one said anything for around ten seconds, until they heard heavy breathing increasing in volume. “Mizuki,” Kanade called out.
Just like An.
The sympathy.
Mafuyu tried to say something, however she was quickly cut off.
“I-I’m sorry.”
After that, there was silence.
Mizuki had left.
~
“Alright, Shinonome, what’s going on? You’ve kept me longer than my club. I need to head home to feed my fish.” The boy sighed and leaned against the brick wall. “If you don’t say anything within the next two minutes I’m going home.”
Ena took one last glance around the rooftop, confirming that no one else was in there. She then took a quick look at her phone. She had five minutes until her night classes begin. She has to make this quick, although she’s not even sure how to say it.
“Well?” The taller one coughed, trying to start her up quickly. “You said this was urgent. I really gotta feed my fish. They’ll kill me if I’m late for their dinner.”
She took a deep breath. “Rui..you know..Mizuki, don’t you?” She asked.
Rui’s entire attitude changed. He stood up straighter and visibly looked more invested. “Yeah, I know her. What’s going on?”
Ena could sense how much he cared for her just by his reaction. “You can’t tell anyone at school this. Not like they already all fucking know by now, but..”
By the end of her explanation, Rui looked both shocked and sympathetic. He noticed the almost heartbroken expression on Ena’s face and approached her carefully before embracing her, knowing that she needed comfort.
“I know we don’t really know each other, but I’m close to Mizuki and I know that you are too. If she doesn’t reach out to you or me in the next few days, I know who to call.” Rui stated, letting the girl stay embraced with him for as long as she needed to.
Ena shakily exhaled, tears brimming her eyes. “I..I really hope she’s okay. I’m r-really worried.” Her words were filled with dread and anxiety. No one had ever seen Ena like this before, especially not someone like Rui that she had basically just met.
The taller one smiled gently. “You really care about Mizuki, don’t you?” He asked. However, the question itself felt more like a statement.
Ena didn’t reply back, she simply nodded. Rui laughed gently.
Rui pulled away slowly. “I hate to ruin the moment, but you have about one minute to get to your night classes. You better hurry.” Ena’s eyes shot wide open and she quickly fixed her hair before rushing up to the rooftop door and swinging it open. She turned back around one last time to say her thanks, however it seemed like the purple haired student was already somehow on the phone with someone, so she just waved back instead and silently thanked Rui before rushing down to her first class.
Rui tapped his feet against the ground anxiously as he waited for a pick up. He sighed and was just about to hang up the phone until the dial clicked.
“Rui?”
“It..finally happened. Kiko, I need your help.”
~
She groaned as she pulled her head up from the dark yet warm pillow. Her eyes were pierced by the morning light outside and her ears were being terrorised by whoever was pounding on the door.
“It’s probably just Hana coming again. Whatever.” Mizuki mumbled, pressing her face into the pillow again whilst dragging the duvet over her body, appreciating the small amount of comfort it gave her emotionally and physically. She still felt sick, however with the amount of times she vomited last night, she’s pretty sure there’s nothing left in her stomach to be thrown up anymore.
The pounding continued, yet Mizuki had no reason to answer it. It’s not going to be anyone important, as they’ve probably unfriended her. Instead, the pink haired girl shut her eyes once more and tried to go back the warm embrace of sleep.
However, she couldn’t, as now her phone had started to ring. The pounding stopped for a moment, but now simultaneously the door was knocking and her phone was ringing at a loud volume.
Just as she was about to grab her phone, the call ended due to it being rung out. Mizuki sighed and went to put her phone down again until the screen lit up with a text.
Sis: Mizuki, it’s me.
Sis: I know what happened, please come down.
Mizuki’s eyes widened for a moment as she shot up out of bed. She slightly opened her curtains to find her sister right there, standing by her front door. However, she wasn’t quick enough when closing the curtains, as now her sister had seen her. But instead of yelling, Mizuki was given a sad yet loving smile.
Her eyes welled up once more, but instead she wiped her face once more, got up and slowly walked downstairs towards her door.
Once opened, Mizuki stared at her sister. She didn’t know what to say or how to put it into words.
“Kiko..”
Kiko rushed in and held Mizuki tightly, not saying a word. This time, the younger woman couldn’t help but begin to sob again, burying her face within Kiko’s shoulder and feeling that dark but warm feeling once again.
By the time that Mizuki had finished explaining the whole..ordeal, Kiko had just finished making their tea. She slides the cup over to her younger sister and watches as she shakily puts it to her mouth. Once she took a sip, she cleared her throat. “That’s all that happened. I haven’t spoken to the group since, either. I can’t.” She states, not looking at Kiko.
Kiko’s face is furrowed in anger. She sits beside Mizuki on the table and stares at her own mug. “Hana should just fucking die.” She blankly says. “She had no right to do that. God, if I was still under 18, I’d–”
“Kiko, please.” Mizuki cuts her off, sighing. “Calm down. It’s all happened now, I can’t change anything. “And before you say anything about Akito, I-I’m sure he was just shocked. I mean, I know him from school and he was nice then, so he must be..”
The other woman was looking at Mizuki with pity in her eyes. “Mizuki, you know that’s not always true. I know you want to believe it, and it may be true, but you can’t keep letting these people do this to you.” Kiko put her mug down and shuffled a little closer to her little sister. “I just..I don’t wanna see you in such a bad state again. You’re my little sister, and I love you too much to let you fall into that blurry pit again because you can be too hopeful.”
After noticing the tears in Mizuki’s eyes, Kiko pulled out a clean handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped the other’s face with it. Once she put the handkerchief on the desk, she pulled Mizuki in for another hug.
Mizuki sniffled. “I..I just don’t know what to do again. I can’t lose them, I can’t. I didn’t want to lose them. They’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Her voice was shaky and so were her breaths.
Kiko closed her eyes. “And I’m sure you mean the world to them too.” She answered, pulling away and staring into her younger sister's eyes.
A small smile appeared on Mizuki’s lips.
Knock, knock.
Kiko turned around to face the door and Mizuki leaned to the right, also looking at the front door. The elder turned around. “I’ll go and answer it. You should have a shower, or that makeup will become a permanent feature on your face.” She joked. Mizuki slightly smiles back and heads upstairs.
Unknowingly, Kiko opened the door.
“Mizuki, Oh! I’m so glad you’re–” The girl seemed to cut herself off once she truly looked at the woman in front of her; it was definitely not Mizuki.
“Ena?” Kiko looked at the girl and confirmed it was her. This was Miuzki’s best friend. Huh.
Immediately, Ena’s facial expression changed to that of someone extremely nervous and embarrassed. “I-I’m so sorry! You’re not Mizuki. You’re..u-um…” The brown haired girl cleared her throat, making it obvious that Kiko had to introduce herself.
“It’s okay. I’m Kiko, Mizuki’s sister.” She laughed slightly, amused by the younger’s anxiety. “You’re Ena, Mizuki’s best friend.”
Ena looked shocked. She stood still and sharp for a moment, unsure of how to process that information. Once she got over it however, she shook off all of her other feelings and became a lot more serious.
“I just came here to check if she was okay, after all that had happened..” She asked, sighing. “A-And I wanted to apologise to her. Well, my brother does, but he has no way of really contacting her, but anyway–” Goodness. The girl was clearly flustered a lot.
Kiko laughed a little again, cutting Ena off. “Calm down, Miss Shinonome.” She replied. “She’s in the shower. I told her to get in there before all the dried makeup on her face would end up stuck there forever.” They both giggled, however their enjoyment wasn’t fully in it. Kiko looked down for a moment.
She swallowed. “Mizuki is..she’s upset. I’m gonna be honest. She’s completely heartbroken and she really didn’t want to lose you or the other girls.” She steps out of the doorway and onto the porch, shutting it and inviting Ena to sit down next to her.
Ena puts her knees to her chest. “She doesn’t wanna lose us..?” Tears well up in her eyes. “I-I..I would never leave her.” Her shoulders begin to shake. Kiko places a hand on one and gently rubs it.
“I know. She just..” Kiko sighed. “She cares about you so much that she can’t stand to see you unhappy, even if she’s hurting too.” Ena noticed that Kiko was staring off into the distance. The hand on her shoulder eventually went away. “She’s always been like that.” She added on.
“I just- I really want to talk to her.” Ena says, her voice breaking slightly. She had never gotten this emotional over a friend before. I guess Mizuki’s just one of her best friends.
Kiko finally looked back at Ena and smiled at her for a few moments, before it was clear an idea had popped into her head. “You can!” She replied, her body posture changing.
The brown haired girl raised an eyebrow, not changing her position. “How? You said it yourself, she’s heartbroken and probably doesn’t wanna see me. She probably thinks I hate her.”
Kiko nods. “What if we told her to meet at the diner, but we don’t say it’s to meet you? What if we said..”
“Rui!” They both answered simultaneously. Ena sat up.
“I’ll go up to Mizuki when she finishes her shower and say that Rui wants to meet her at the diner at 5pm. Will that give you enough time to get there with you and the rest of your group? I’m sure they’d want to talk to Mizuki too.” Kiko explains. “I’ll drop her off at around 17:00. Sounds good?” Ena follows as the other gets up. They both have some form of a smile on their face, one being more determined than the other. Ena nods, then pulls Kiko into a hug.
“Thank you for looking out for my best friend. You’re a great sister.” She mutters as she squeezes the embrace a bit tighter. Kiko’s smile grows more flustered than determined now, and she laughs whilst she pulls away. “I’m just doing my big sister job.” She jokes.
Ena thanks Kiko one last time and begins to walk down the front garden and back home.
“Let me know if you need extra time later!” Kiko shouts out one last time, earning a nod from Ena before she eventually leaves.
~
Ena sighs and looks at her phone clock. 15:55. “I’d better start getting ready. I need to leave a bit earlier to get Amia a little something.” She mutters to herself. “I’ll just message my parents when I’m going out, and I’ll quickly tell Akito before I leave too.”
The brown eyed girl stands up and looks out of her window, noticing the raindrops falling faster and faster each second. “Great, it’s raining. I’ll have to get a warm coat and I’m gonna have to steal Mom’s umbrella.” She sighed. Now, this is where she began to get ready.
Ena looks at herself in the mirror and nods, approving the outfit that she has on. She picks up her mothers umbrella and her purse, putting them both into her bag. She then grabs her phone and checks the time. 16:27. She quickly logs into Nightcord.
Enanan: u guys ready?
Yuki: Yea, i've just got off the bus to Kanade’s place. Im gonna walk here with her
Yuki: You’re getting her smth arent you?
Enanan: ya, but just something small like a keychain. I have enough time, i really don’t live far from the scramble crossing
K: Ok, the roads are slippy though, stay safe
Enanan: meet u all there! <3
Ena shuts off her phone and exits her room, however what she doesn’t expect is to see her brother, Akito. She eyed him for a few moments and noticed the strange stuff in his hands. Towels, a hairbrush and..yesterday's leftovers?
“Akito, why do you have food from yesterday with you? The reason why we have it is cause you didn’t like it.” Ena asks. Then she follows it up with another question. “And why all the towels, too?”
Akito didn’t roll his eyes in reply, instead he looked worryingly at his bedroom door. Ena raised a suspicious eyebrow. “It’s Toya.” He states. “His dad, he, um..y’know.” Akito swallowed. Ena’s eyes filled with sympathy. She looked through the crack in the door and noticed the other boy. He seemed to be on Akito’s bed, and from what Ena could see, it looked like he was crying.
“Jeez, I’ve never seen him upset before.” Ena responds, her eyebrows creased. Akito nods.
“Mom and Dad will flip out if they find out he’s here. I know they don’t know yet, but I need you to not say anything for a few days. Can you do that?” He asked. Ena could sense real anxiety in her brother’s tone.
She nods. “Of course. If you or Toya need anything like food or a blanket, come ask me.” She smiled at Akito, who returned in gratefully. He then changed the subject. “You meeting Mizuki?” He asks.
Ena gasps. “How-?! How did you know?!” She replied.
Akito scoffed. “I heard you talking to yourself about it when I first brought Toya in. You talk to yourself kinda loudly.” He smirked. Ena groaned and rolled her eyes. She began to walk off from her younger brother before he stopped her.
“Hey, Ena?” She turned around.
“Thank you for not telling Mom and Dad.” He smiles genuinely at her. “Oh, and tell Mizuki I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t mean it.”
Ena smiles.
Twenty minutes later, she finally finds herself at the dinner. She sighed at the warmth of the place and began taking off her coat. She scans the are before she walks around, trying to find Mafuyu and Kanade. Once she spots the two, she walks over to them and sits down.
“Heya, Ena.” Mafuyu smiles. Ena smiles back, then Kanade. “What’d you get Mizuki?” She adds on, watching as the brown haired girl places the gift bag behind her normal purse as if she was trying to hide it.
Ena straightens up her hair and then finally relaxes. “It’s a surprise.” She answers “I just hope she’ll stick around long enough for us to talk to her.”
Kanade gives Ena a comforting smile. “Mizuki is reasonable to some degree, I’m sure she’ll at least hear us out.” Her words gave Ena some relaxation, however both Kanade and Mafuyu knew it wasn’t going to fully free up her nerves.
“How about we just chat for a little bit to take our minds off it? I’m sure we’ll be less anxious if we distract ourselves.” Mafuyu suggested. Kanade nodded in agreement, meanwhile Ena didn’t accept or object. Mafuyu saw this as a yes. “So, Ena, where’d you get your umbrella from? It’s lovely.”
Ena looked down at the soaked umbrella for a few seconds before she looked back up at her friend. “It’s my mom’s. I felt bad at first for stealing it off her, but after finding out what she might do because Toya’s here, I don’t think I do anymore.” She sighed.
Kanade tilted her head in confusion. “Toya? Why is he at your house?”
Ena fiddled around with the menu. “His dad gave up on him and kicked him out. I saw a glimpse of him and honestly..he looked heartbroken. I have never seen him upset before. Just this morning after my mom and dad left he was dragging Akito out of the door with Tsukasa and he couldn’t stop laughing.” She explained. “He must’ve come back to that from his dad. I couldn’t imagine that.”
Mafuyu sighed and looked away, clearly disheartened by the new information. Kanade placed a hand on her back.
“Crap, I’m so sorry Mafuyu.” Ena apologised profusely. The purple haired girl smiled at her, brushing it off. “Don’t worry, Ena. I hope Toya will be okay. I hope Akito saves him too.” She looked down at Kanade when finishing her sentence, obviously giving the shorter a hint.
They all smile.
“Okay, here is your table. Table 44 under the name ‘Kamishiro’.” A waiter says, causing the three girls to look at who's accompanying the waiter.
Mizuki.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes to take all your orders.” The worker smiled, then left. Leaving Mizuki to take in the situation. She stood there, unable to speak.
“Hi, Mizuki..” Ena greets her awkwardly. She too is struggling to communicate, and she can feel her face getting warm. Mafuyu notices. “Take a seat.” She says.
A few seconds later, Mizuki humanises herself and swallows nervously as she sits down. She still cannot say a word.
“Sorry, I’m here early. What would you guys like to have today?” The waiter pulls out his tablet. Kanade starts off, clearing the tiny silence. “I’ll have the ramen bowl please, any flavour is fine. And I’ll have some lemonade.” She says.
Mafuyu goes next. “I’ll have the burger please, no tomato though. For a drink, I would like some water please.”
“And for you Miss?” The waiter looks over at Ena and she begins to internally panic. What should she get? What would Mizuki get?
“French fries with barbeque sauce please. Just with some water.” She blurts out. Mizuki’s eyes pan over to Ena, clearly interested as Ena had just said her favourite food.
The waiter records the previous order and then turns to Mizuki. “And what about you Miss?” He asks. Mizuki looks up and stumbles across a few words before settling on an order. She takes a breath. “Can we have a shareable portion of those fries please? I’ll also have a water.” Her words were shaky yet clear. She shrunk back.
“Of course. I will be back in around twenty minutes.” The waiter smiles and walks off.
“So, Mizuki, how have you been?” Kanade asked, however the question felt forced due to the awkwardness, so there was no answer given.
Ena sighed in frustration causing the pink haired girl to look at her. “Okay, we have to talk, Mizuki.” She said. “Firstly, we’re sorry for lying to you, but if you knew that your sister was taking you to see us, you wouldn’t have gone.” She added on.
“And that’s not because you just didn’t wanna see us,” Mafuyu nods, so does Kanade. “It’s because you think we’re mad at you.”
Mizuki sits up a little bit in shock. She seems surprised.
“I know you think that we don’t like you anymore, and if you still believe that now when we’re sitting right beside you then that’s some bullshit.” Ena took a deep breath. “What happened the other night was nothing short of a shock. We knew something wasn’t right when you weren’t the first to log in, and when Akito was going to tell me something about you but couldn’t.”
Mizuki’s expression softens. She’s beginning to break. Ena furrowed her eyebrows.
“When Akito bursted into my room and told us that you were trans, I didn’t think of you as any different at all. All I thought of was how you had been keeping this from us for so long and I finally realised how bad it was affecting you.”
Her hands began to shake now. Ena quickly grabbed one of them and intertwined it with her own hand.
“And then I realised that you didn’t tell us because of how much you cared for us and how much you valued our opinions. From the day you met us, you have always taken all of our likes and dislikes into account. You always know how to help us and you always know when we need someone. Someone like you.”
Tears brimmed her eyes. Ena wiped them away with her thumb.
“Mizuki, you will never be someone old to us. To me. You are always someone that adapts to change and the fact that you think we’ll leave you or hate you because of someone old to you is stupid; because this ‘new’ you is who I’ve grown to love. No person in the world will change my opinion on you because no one else’s opinion matters to me but yours.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, now her entire body is shaking. Ena turns to the gift bag and pulls out a simple keychain. She places it in Mizuki’s spare hand and watches at the girl observes it.
The chain is a simple silver one, yet the patterns on it are similar to stuff that Mizuki takes a liking to. The accessory on the chain however was a locket. She carefully pulled it open and noticed a photo inside. It’s of all of them on their first outing.
“Mizuki, we will never drift apart. You will never make us drift apart. I know you won’t.”
Mafuyu and Kanade smile softly at Mizuki, however the girl cannot see through her blurry eyes. She clutches the keychain in her palm and begins to sob.
Ena smiles at her and hugs her tightly, letting Mizuki cry onto her shoulder. She places a hand on her back, gently rubbing it. Her cheeks lighten in a shade of pink, but she doesn’t feel embarrassed. Instead, she looks back down at Mizuki.
“You matter the most to me Mizuki, and I am so sorry for not realising that soon enough.” She says. “I’m just so glad you’re safe, and that you came.”
“I-I’m so sorry for making you wor–”
Ena cuts her off. “Oy, you haven’t got anything to apologise for!” She tried to act seriously mad, but instead a lighthearted giggle fell through.
Once Mizuki calms down, she lifts her head off of Ena’s shoulder and blinks a few times, however their hands are still intertwined. With her spare hand, Ena reaches for a wipe in her bag and hands it to Mizuki.
“D-Damn, I cried all my makeup off again, now I look so bad.” Mizuki laughed.
“You don’t look bad.” Kanade said. Ena agrees and gives the pink haired girl another wipe. “Yeah, you look nice with or without makeup.”
Mafuyu looks up. “Ooh, looks like our food is here.” She exclaims, smiling brightly. Mizuki looks concerned. “Rather they’re fast today, or I cried for twenty minutes..”
Ena giggled. “It doesn’t matter, you look better now. If anything, you look hungry. Let’s eat!”
As the other three began to eat their meals, Mizuki unclasped her palm and stared at the locket. She smiles.
“Thank you, guys, for not leaving.”