Chapter Text
It has been a month since Mafuyu ran away from her manipulative mother, sheltering with Kanade and gaining a sense of comfort. The weight of guilt hung over her, knowing Kanade was accepting and genuinely taking care of her when she was lost and had nowhere else to turn.
Does she really have no one else to go to?
Or maybe Kanade simply found her first?
Either way, what else in her power could she do? She had no choice.
Her former home.. If she could even call it that. She doesn't even know what a home feels like. That place never gave her a feeling of safety, not even a pinch of it. It was more like a cage, and she is a bird captured inside.
A place where she couldn’t even speak, move, or even breathe.. as if she needed approval to do that.
"Hngh..." Mafuyu’s breathing becomes unstable, her hand clutching her chest.
Kanade, who was once focused on her monitor, immediately rushed to her side, her face obviously etched with concern. "Mafuyu? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine... It's just..." Mafuyu’s voice wavered, and she looked away, here eyes darkening as memories of her sufferings flooded back into her.
Her once vibrant purple eyes with blue gradients were now faded, like the light had been drained from them. The heaviness of everything she had experienced seemed too much to bear, and the memories—those echoes of her mother—clasped her with insufferable force.
"You should rest, Mafuyu." Kanade’s gentle voice rang to her ear, urging her to relax.
But Mafuyu was unresponsive. Her mind was somewhere else, lost in her own thought, her gaze unfocused, like staring into the void. Kanade observed her, unsure how to reach her.
"Mafuyu, do you—"
"I want to see Miku." Mafuyu interrupted unexpectedly, her voice sounds empty, as if no one was talking.
Kanade hesitated for a moment. "Okay... then let’s go together—"
"I will go alone." Mafuyu’s voice was unyielding this time, but her eyes were distant, almost like she wasn’t truly seeing Kanade.
Kanade stared at her quietly for a moment, her worry escalating, but she didn’t push. Mafuyu was already shouldering more than she could bear, and Kanade wanted her to finally feel at ease.
"I'm sorry, Kanade..." Mafuyu mumbled, guilt noticeably creeping into her voice
Kanade gave her a soft smile, shaking her head, assuring Mafuyu. "It's fine, Mafuyu. If you’re ready, you can meet Miku now."
Mafuyu nodded. Her heart was still heavy but also filled with determination.
After tapping the song "Composing the Future" Mafuyu found herself suddenly transported to a different world—her Sekai. A placed that seemed to describe an extension of her own emotion, a reflection of her inner turbulend and unsettled longing.
This sekai was empty, a void and vast landscape, its end was nowhere to be seen as if it was expanding boundlessly. Obscured in a muted, everlasting twilight. The wind felt chilly. The sky above was a pale, washed-out gray. It was Mafuyu’s world—crafted from the fragments of her fright, her desires, and her heavy yet true heart.
Surrounded by the coldness, Mafuyu's attention was easily drawn to one of the dark pyramids. Behind it, sleeping peacefully under the dim light, was Miku. Her figure was tranquil, the only sign of life in this otherwise lifeless place. Mafuyu felt a mixture of longing and relief deluging her chest.
Without any thought, Mafuyu rushed to Miku's side, and her footsteps could be heard softly hitting the cold ground. She carefully sat beside Miku, not wanting to wake her up, finding solace in the presence of the virtual singer, even though the place felt so empty and disconnected. For a moment, she simply stayed beside Miku, the peacefulness of it withstand to the turmoil with her.
As the stillness of the Sekai covered them, Mafuyu felt a sudden wave of drowsiness. Her eyelids fluttered, and before she knew it, she let herself fall into a slumber, and for a first time in a long while, she was as though her burdens had been carried away somehow.
Mafuyu slowly woke up, her eyes fluttering open as drowsiness still clung onto her. She took her gaze on the left, but the sight of Miku was gone. Instead, she felt an unexpected warmth—a navy blue blazer draped over her, one she was sure didn't belong to her. It was from a known public school she didn't attend to.
"Awake now?" A familiar voice broke her drowsiness. Mafuyu turned her head to the right, slightly looking up. Her gaze landed on Ena. The brunette girl was sitting beside her, with her sketchpad placed on her knees, engrossed in her drawings. After a moment, Ena halted, glancing at Mafuyu with a teasing frown. "Geez, you know my peaceful days are the times when you’re deeply sleeping." She said, her tone mixed with an obvious annoyance before she returned her attention on sketching again.
Mafuyu’s voice was raspy and quiet as she called the girl beside her. "Ena..."
"Hmm?" Ena hummed, not wavering her attention away to the sketchpad
"Where's Miku?" Mafuyu asked, looking around and still covered in the warmth of Ena’s blazer.
"She's with Rin and Len on the stairs." Ena replied. "I gave them my spare pencil and paper. Miku seemed intrigued when I got here, so I told her she could draw what she wanted and said I'd stay here and accompany you."
"I see..." Mafuyu muttered
Ena continued sketching. The silence between them began to expand.
...
...
...
"Gosh! Aren't you too quiet?!" Ena snapped, placing her things down with an exaggerated sigh. "At least say something!"
"But... don't you want me to be quiet?" Mafuyu asked, staring at Ena, confused. She could not really comprehend the artist.
Ena stared at her with disappointed gaze. "I was joking! I was joking!" Her annoyed voice echoed through the empty Sekai.
Ena sighed dramatically. Mafuyu didn't respond. Her expression remained blank.
"Here." Mafuyu handling the blazer to Ena. "Thank you..."
"Cover yourself again." Ena said, glancing away with still an annoyed tone but mixed with a hint of softness. "You're still cold, right? Next time, bring a blanket if you plan to sleep here. The ground’s freezing, you’ll catch a cold."
Mafuyu gazed at her for a moment. "Your sudden kindness towards me sometimes left me with unanswered questions." Mafuyu uttered with a low voice while fixing herself in covers of Ena's warm blazer.
"HAAAH!? What the hell is your mouth spewing about?" Ena shouted, her sharp voice enough to make Mafuyu’s right ear to go deaf.
Mafuyu stayed unfazed, staring back at Ena. "Why are you here?"
Ena flinched and looked away. Immediately placing her sketchpad on her knees, pretending to work. "Uh.. well, you know... art school stuff... I thought I could, uh, get some inspiration—"
"Liar." Mafuyu said firmly yet calmly.
"WHA—"
"Your voice went high-pitched." Mafuyu stated as she adjusted her posture, sitting straighter until she was slightly taller than Ena.
Ena turned to her with furrowed brows. "How do you even notice something like that?"
Mafuyu’s gaze shifted to the endless expanse of her Sekai. Her expression is indecipherable. "I notice everything about you."
Ena's brain was left confused by Mafuyu’s words. Her confusion quickly went away and was replaced with obvious flustered feelings, showing as her ears flushed red. She looked away, gripping her sketchpad tightly.
"F-fine, I'll tell you!" She stammered.
Mafuyu turned her dull eyes to Ena, as if she was asking her to continue.
It wasn't comforting nor intimidating.
Ena sighed and took a long moment before blurting out all the words in a single breath. "I called Kanade before school to get her opinion on my ideas for illustrations for our next song, and I might have mentioned you, and she told me you were resting here, so after my night classes, I came to check on you."
Mafuyu tilted her head slightly, focusing again on the emptiness around them. "I see... so it's past 9 PM now."
"Yeah." Ena replied, her voice quieter now. "You've been here for hours."
"I didn't notice." Mafuyu whispered.
Once again, silence fell between them.
...
...
"So, what happened? It's unusual for you to come here at this hour," Ena finally broke the silence.
"How do you know that?"
"Let's just say I notice everything about you too." Ena said in a calm voice.
Mafuyu didn't respond, but the atmosphere grew heavier between them. Ena could feel it.
"If you don't want to talk about it, just stay here until you're okay. I'll stay with you," Ena reassured Mafuyu.
"You don't need to do that. Stop worrying about me, Ena."
Ena finally snapped. "God! Asahina Mafuyu, just this once, let me care for you! Do you know how worried I was when you ran away? I tried to find you too—it wasn't just Kanade! I ran out of my house, still half-dressed in my uniform. I ran to your school, through the streets, everywhere I thought you might have gone too.... Please, just acknowledge my worries for you!"
Mafuyu stared at her, quietly shocked. A faint spark is now visible in her eyes. "You... were worried about me?"
Ena looked away, trying not to expose her embarrassment. "Everyone in Niigo was worried about you! Yeah, well fuck it. I'm part of Niigo, too." Ena said in a quiet tone.
Mafuyu was unresponsive.
"Sorry. I yelled," Ena said softly, still looking away.
After a long pause, Mafuyu spoke. "Nothing happened. I just... remembered my mom and everything I experienced back at home. I don't want to go through that again," she said while hugging her knees. Ena's blazer slipped off and fell to the floor.
Ena didn't reply right away. Instead, she stood up and picked her blazer off the floor, and sat in front of Mafuyu, wrapped it back around the purple girl's shoulders. "It's still cold, right?"
Then Ena sat down beside her again. "I can't promise those things will never happen to you again," she said, gazing at the pale, empty sky. "But why not try to focus on the good things right now? If you do, you can build yourself up and become stronger. Then, if those things happen again, it'll still hurt, but not as much. Because we'll be here for you. I'll be here for you, Mafuyu."
Ena looked at her and smiled, faint but genuine. "And hey, this whole running-away thing? Use it to your advantage. You can do whatever you want now, you know."
Mafuyu had been staring at Ena for a while. She unwrapped her knees and clutched Ena's blazer around her shoulders. "If you say I can do whatever I want... then..."
Mafuyu leaned towards Ena. Their lips were just inches apart. "Then can I do this, Ena?"
Ena froze as she felt Mafuyu’s mint-cool breath meeting her lips, her heart raced, and for a moment, she couldn’t speak.
She was shocked, but she couldn't bring herself to back away.
She nodded. Almost unconsciously.
The next thing she knew, Mafuyu was kissing her—tentatively yet passionately. The initial shocked Ena was feeling immediately replaced with warmth. It's contradicting Mafuyu’s cold lips. Both of their eyes were closed. They stayed like that for a moment. Being oblivious of virtual singers might see them.
When Mafuyu pulled away, both of them were flushed and shocked. They stared at each other for a second before quickly looking away. Mafuyu was avoiding gaze at Ena, but Ena glanced at Mafuyu and noticed her ears turning red.
"Uh... um..." Ena stammered, unable to find words.
"Sorry... I don't know what came over me," Mafuyu said nervously.
"No, it's fine. It was my fault. I told you to do whatever you wanted." Ena replied, her voice just as uneasy. She slowly turned to Mafuyu, who was still blushing furiously.
Time passed, and though both had calmed down, neither could start a conversation.
Ena finally stood up and grabbed her things.
"Well, it's probably 10 PM now, I'll get going, Mafuyu. See you later at Nightcord." She said, still avoiding Mafuyu's gaze.
As she turned to leave, Mafuyu abruptly stood up and hugged her from behind, resting her head on Ena's shoulder. "M-M-MAFUYU, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ena exclaimed, startled.
This drew the attention of the three Virtual Singers, who began approaching. "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER, RIN! STAY WHERE YOU ARE! DON'T LOOK!" she shouted as her face was burning red.
Mafuyu’s voice cut through the chaos, suddenly calming Ena. "Please... be like this to me every day. I feel so warm. I don't know what's happening... Ena.. Ena.." Mafuyu uttered with shaky breath, snuggling closer to Ena's shoulder.
Ena was hesitant before holding Mafuyu's hand, which was wrapped around her waist. After a moment, she pulled away and turned to face Mafuyu.
"What do you mean, Mafuyu?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. Unconsciously, her hand moved to Mafuyu's cheek.
"Can I always come to you like this when I feel like I can't take it anymore? Please, Ena... I need you," Mafuyu pleaded, her voice trembling.
Ena hesitated.
She knew where this was heading but couldn't bring herself to deny Mafuyu's request.
Or was she ignoring the reasons to refuse her?
She had never seen Mafuyu so vulnerable before.
What could go wrong? Ena thought. Maybe she could use this for her own benefit, too.
Leaning closer, Ena kissed Mafuyu. This time, Mafuyu quickly accepted it. It was brief but enough to reassure Mafuyu.
When it ended, Ena left for the real world. After she disappeared, Mafuyu fell to her knees, panting and flustered, her fingers brushing over her lips. She couldn't believe what had just happened.
The blazer on the floor caught Mafuyu’s attention. She picked it up, and the fabric was still warm from Ena's touch. She murmured softly. "Ena... She left this here..."
For a moment, Mafuyu simply stared at the artist's school blazer that she was holding close, her thoughts swirling around. It was just a small gesture, yet it left a lingering warmth—like a piece of Ena’s presence that stayed behind, even after she had gone.
Meanwhile, Ena reappeared in her room. Confused but flustered, she slammed her head against her bed. Her heart was still racing, and she buried her face into a pillow.
"Yuki... what the hell did you just do to me?" Ena screamed.