Work Text:
Kanade is struggling, and struggling bad. The last song of Niigo was almost done, just some small details and arrangements that Mafuyu would take care of, perhaps a few loose melodies that came to her mind would be added. The line distribution, the illustrations, the editing. With practically one day left before the upload, a virus hit her computer.
It was entirely her fault. Kanade knows that she's kind of naive, but she thought she was better at detecting digital scams and viruses, since she spends her days in front of a screen. She was wrong. All it took was clicking on the wrong page that promised her a free way to watch that film that Ichika's girlfriend, Saki, recommended the other day.
Kanade lost days of progress, now she's trying to make up for it by working hours and hours without stopping.
The lost song isn't the only problem. She was able to recreate a good part of it from memory and her "dazzling musical talent" (as Ena and Mizuki called it), but of course it doesn't sound the same, and that means Mafuyu would have to modify the lyrics and make new arrangements, Ena would have to adjust her illustrations, and Mizuki would have to edit the video from scratch. The latter and the former are the least affected, as they already have a draft of their work, so to speak, and only need to modify it. Ena and Kanade, on the other hand, look like zombies these days.
Kanade knows how much Ena hates falling behind, especially in her art. She knows she's already busy, with her art classes and attending school, which is why she felt terrible making her work more than usual because of her own mistake. Kanade apologized repeatedly to Ena, and also in general when she explained the situation to Nightcord.
She hates herself even more every time she sees Ena with dark circles under her eyes and skipping meals, focused on making up for lost time, even if it is hypocritical coming from her. The day before, she apologised to everyone at least four different times, until Mafuyu refused to let her continue.
Of course, none of them are mad at her. Mizuki brought her old friend, Kamishiro-san, and in a moment her computer was working normally again. She can't thank him enough, but she can't waste time thinking of an elaborate way to show her gratitude either. The best she can do is keep composing, because she has to fix what she has done.
Ena, for her part, is worried about Kanade. It's no secret to any of them that the white-haired girl has a tendency to blame herself excessively, even more so when it comes to making others struggle. It was a challenge to get Kanade used to Mizuki drying her hair. She now forces herself to work overtime, and although she probably doesn't realise it, she gets a little defensive every time one of them tries to help. She has said "I'll be fine, leave me alone" and "this is my problem" multiple times now.
Ena's heart hurts a little more every time she sees her girlfriend in this state. She doesn't want Kanade to lose herself in overwork, so she decided that her illustrations will have to match Kanade's dedication, no matter how much it costs her. She has to show Kanade that her efforts are not in vain, and perhaps her art can inspire and help her in some way.
The new version of the song evoked a different feeling in Ena, so her drawing about it would also be different, meaning she couldn't rely on her previous painting. No problem. It's not the first time she's spent sleepless nights. Although Mizuki won't stop pointing out her growing dark circles and Mafuyu keeps telling her to at least leave her tablet for a couple of hours before going to school, there's no reason to worry. She's taking perfect care of herself.
It's half past eleven, Kanade notices. It won't be long before 25:00. That's good, she has to ask Mafuyu something about the lyrics and correct an effect with Mizuki that she said she would add. However, there is one note in the song that she can't make sound the way she wants, no matter what she does, and it's starting to frustrate her. Something is missing, something she can't remember. She hates her poor memory when things like this happen.
She is embarrassingly trying different alternatives without a clear goal, waiting for a moment of revelation to come to her, then suddenly she hears everything around her stop working. Her screen does not turn off, but an advertisement appears in the corner of it.
Spare battery in use.
Kanade takes off her headphones and rolls in her chair to check that, indeed, she can't see anything beyond her half-open bedroom door. The power went off without announcement, which is weird, but the first thing she needs to do is save all her work. The same won't happen again.
A scream is heard probably by everyone in the neighborhood. Ena in the another room stares at the turned off laptop in shock. She saved all her work already, thankfully, it's just that she was in such a roll! What is she gonna do with all this inspiration now?
Someone calls to her room, by the knock she can tell how it is. "Ena? Can I come in?"
Ena sighs. "Just do it, Mizuki. Don't act like you ever ask."
Mizuki enters the room, holding her phone with the lantern on. Ena finds herself thinking the darkness around her make her look ethereal. "Don't be like that. I'm being polite."
The direct light hurts her eyes. "Mizuki! Turn that off!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry." She does as she's told. They both can't see anything but darkness now. "Uh..."
"Idiot, don't turn it off. Just don't point it at my face."
"You just said turn it off!"
"The power went off." Mafuyu suddenly speaks and reveals her presence. She's most likely at the door.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious. Why did none of you tell me they would cut the power tonight?"
"It wasn't on the news. We didn't know." Mizuki explains.
A soft light comes from hallway. It's Kanade with a candle in her hands. It makes sense, Ena thinks, she has always been the light in their dark nights.
She shakes hear head after thinking such cheesy nonsense.
"Hi, girls. Are you all okay?"
Mizuki smiles at her. "Yeah, we're okay. What about you, Kanade?"
"I was able to save my work. I prefer not to use the spare battery though. You never know when it's gonna run out."
Ena wants to say you can actually know that, the battery keeps you informed, but she knows Kanade would forget and keep working anyway, so why bother?
"I also saved my work. Still, this blackout out of nowhere is so annoying. Some people have things to do, at least they could inform us."
"If they didn't it probably means something broke. It's gonna last for a while." Mafuyu deduces.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Man, I was gonna make some snacks in the microwave right now. Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"I hope it's not that, I gotta finish what I was doing soon... I'll wait awake until it comes back." Kanade states.
"What?"
Ena agrees. "Yeah, me too. Blackouts usually don't last long, right? The last one I remember is from that time Miku disappeared. I'm sure it'll be over in a while."
Mizuki looks at them both with growing concern. Who knows how long will this last? They'll stay up until three in the morning if it means keep working on their projects? That's admirable and concerning at the same time.
To her brain arrives a brilliant plan then.
"I know what we'll do!"
"What?" Mafuyu asks.
"Let's play some games and if the blackout isn't over when we're done we'll go to sleep."
"Games? Why?"
"You prefer going to sleep, Ena?"
Ena rolls her eyes at Mafuyu. "I already said I won't, I'm hardworking, you know? But how can we play anything when there's barely light?"
"Well, since you two won't go to sleep because you're addicted to work, playing some games while we wait may help you release some stress, you know?"
Mizuki can tell Ena is not convinced, she looks at Mafuyu for support, who nods. "I don't mind."
"Me neither. I was just gonna use the spare battery to play some melodies in the piano anyway."
Ena meditates about it some more. "Yeah, drawing on paper without light may not be the best idea... okay, let's play."
"Yay! Go to the living. I'll be right there."
While her girlfriends go wait for her, Mizuki takes some lanterns she saw in random places around Kanade's house, like in the kitchen or under the bed. There are four in total, which is perfect because they're also four, so all of them can take a lantern in their hands!
"I won't stay all night with that." Ena answers to her idea.
"Just put them in the coffee table."
Kanade is the only one nice about it. "It may be uncomfortable to play the game with them."
Mizuki makes an annoyed face, she walks up to Kanade after leaving the lanterns on the table. "Thank for being so gentle, Kana. Not like the rest." She leaves a soft kiss in her forehead that makes the girl blush. She looks even cuter in dark light.
"Yeah, yeah, you know we're right. What are we playing anyway?"
"That, Ena, is a great question." Mizuki takes her school bag in the other side of the room, she shows it to the rest. "In here I have all kind of games we can play. Don't worry."
Mafuyu it's a little concerned by this. "Do you play and sleep in school all day?"
"Hehe, of course not. But I bring some games in case I go to the roof and Rui or the others are there. Anyway." She opens the bag, in a second a set of cards is on her hands. "Let's start with this."
The rest lean in to read what game is it. Kanade seems to doubt her choice. "Uh, I'm not very good at connecting dots. Are you sure?"
"It's okay! Charades is also about knowledge and culture, so it could be things you've heard from your friends."
"That was not the point of what she said."
Of course Ena won't let her fool Kanade.
"Come on, we're gonna laugh trying to guess whatever one of us imitates. For example, Ena could start spinning to symbolize a helicopter."
"Huh?"
"She'd get dizzy really fast." Mafuyu say.
"So what? My physical health doesn't bother you."
"I would catch you if you fall. It wouldn't bother me though."
Ena's face softens. She may even be red. "Let's play."
"Okay, let's do rock, paper, scissors to choose who begins."
The four of them whisper the distinctive sentence of the game, then make a form with their hands. Mafuyu wins. One paper against three rocks.
Kanade smiles. "We all chose to same thing..."
"Most people choose rock first."
"Isn't that cheating?"
"She's just too smart for us. But you're a bad loser~"
"Shut up." She turns to Mafuyu. "And you, do well."
Mizuki gets the set of cards out of the box and hands them to Mafuyu, who stands up as she takes them. Mizuki takes her place in the couch. Mafuyu reads the first card, and proceeds to show her open palm to the others.
"Five letters."
"Yes." Mafuyu gets on her knees, she acts with a flat voice. "Woof."
They all look baffled, partly because her performance is so random, and partly because she looks strangely cute in her imitation of an animal. Ena has to bite her lip to avoid blurting how adorable she's being right now.
"A dog." Kanade guesses.
"Yes." Mafuyu gets up, then makes a cross with her fingers over her mouth. "Woof."
Well, if they were bewildered before, now their brains simply stopped working at all. The way Mafuyu barely moves or makes any faces doesn't help either.
Ena tries first. "The owner doesn't like their dog?"
Kanade follows. "Uh... the dog is dead?"
Mizuki takes a little longer, but finally comes up with something. "The dog is sick and doesn't know it but it's in a lot of pain so they're gonna put him down."
Her elaborated guess disconcert Ena. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Your guess was worse!"
"You're all wrong." Mafuyu states.
Kanade is the only one who isn't surprised by this. "What is it?"
"Pluto from Mickey Mouse."
The three of them look at her like she's grown a second head. As expected, Ena is the first one to complain. "What?! How?!"
"I acted like a dog. Then I made a reference to Goofy, another dog in the cartoon, and to the fact that he can't bark, just talk."
"Oh..." Kanade nods understanding her train of thought.
"How are we supposed to guess that from that little act? We can't read minds!"
"Yeah, Mafuyu, that was a bit bad." Mizuki says more diplomatically.
"Okay, I'll try again."
Mafuyu takes a another card from the game, this time she takes some seconds to think of how to act. She wants her girlfriends to have fun, after all. When she has made up her mind, she raises her right hand like she's holding a cup and pretends she has book on her left hand.
"The statue of Liberty." Ena ventures hopeful.
"No."
"New York?"
"Yes." Mafuyu concedes, making the artist grin.
"That's great, Ena! See? This game is fun–"
"That's not all."
"Huh?" Kanade, who looked relieved, is worried again.
"Watch."
Mafuyu starts trampling the ground aggressively, for a second they all think she saw a bug, then she acts like she's getting some kind of obstacle out her way with her hands. Finally, she lowers her arms at full speed, symbolising a strong blow to something in particular, and makes a sound similar to that of a karate man breaking a brick.
They're lost again. Mafuyu finds herself thinking their eyes look cute while trying to look for clues desperately.
"Jumanji?" Kanade whispers.
Mizuki looks at her. "Why?"
"Oh, at first you were killing a bug, right? Then you were struggling in the jungle."
"What about the last one?" Ena asks.
"Well... breaking the game?"
"It's not Jumanji."
Kanade is disappointed to hear that. "Ah."
Mizuki attempts to make things easier. "Uh, can we get a hint or something like that?"
"It's a character. I played a movie scene."
"The statue of Liberty."
"You already said that."
"Ugh!" Ena is about to lose it, she messes up her own hair scratching her head.
Kanade has an epiphany. "I know. Godzilla."
Mafuyu smiles for a bit. "Yes."
The other two take that as a personal attack. "What?!"
"Godzilla destroys New York in one of his movies. Mafuyu once told she saw it when she was little."
It shouldn't surprise Mafuyu the way Kanade remembers something she probably said months ago. The smaller one has always been good at recalling everything related to her girlfriends, no matter if it's a memory they share together or something they said in their sleep. They're truly lucky to have her, Mafuyu thinks.
"How would I know that? I didn't watch that movie!"
This time Mizuki joins to Ena's rant. "Yeah, Mafuyu, that movie is from the 70's. I only watched the newer ones!"
"I didn't watch any. I don't like that guy."
"You don't watch Godzilla?"
Mafuyu cuts them off. "Kanade won, so it wasn't impossible."
"Because she's perfect and remembers all the shit we said. She can't be an example"
Kanade blushes. "Uh..."
"Too bad."
"The fuck you mean too bad?"
"Okay, maybe we should play something else." Mizuki intervenes.
Kanade nods. "Something that doesn't involve too much thinking please."
"Okay!" Mizuki goes to her school bag and puts the charades back in its box. She takes another set of cards. "Let's play would you rather?"
"That involves a lot of thinking."
"Well, if you are indecisive. Plus these shouldn't be too hard." She sits down and takes the first card. Mafuyu was right, as usual. "Oh."
Ena tries to read what's written in the card. "What does it say?"
"Eat your favorite food but tastes like shit or viceversa."
Kanade looks awkward. "Ah, that's... certainly a question."
"I can't taste anyway, so the first one."
"Well, can't I give mine to Mafuyu since she can't taste?"
"No, no. That's cheating."
Ena regrets saying yes to the games. "Ugh. I hate this already. The first one."
Mizukis chuckles. "Yeah, going for a trip to the hospital is not worth it, huh? I guess we're all going first–"
"The second one."
They all look at Kanade, waiting for her to elaborate. Ena looks specially disturbed.
"What?"
"What do you mean what? Ramen can't be worth the risk of eating shit!"
"I mean, I see her point." Mizuki whispers.
"It's still wrong."
"And your health is not that good already." Mafuyu reminds her.
"Well, but i don't wanna taste something bad."
Mizuki smiles at the little pout Kanade makes while she looks down. Ena also softens, she can't deny anything to those eyes. "We get it, but you gotta put taking care of yourself first."
Mafuyu stares at her. "You're one to talk."
"And you forget to eat once a week. I have to remind you all the time."
"Aren't you skipping meals these days too?"
Ena gets quieter at the straightforward question. "Eh? Well..."
"You should take care of yourself more."
Mizuki nods. "Yeah, what was the last time you ate three times a day? Or the last time Kanade ate something that wasn't noodles?"
Kanade realizes something. "Ah."
Mafuyu tiltles her head to the side. "What's wrong?"
"I haven't had lunch, or dinner."
They all stop talking. Kanade looks up ashamed, expecting to be scolded for her carelessness, but instead she sees Mizuki get up with a serious, focused face.
"Girls, you know what to do."
"Yes." Ena and Mafuyu answer.
"Wait–"
Kanade stands up to stop them from cooking or wasting their time. She ate some bread at some point in the afternoon, or maybe she thought of it?
As soon as she's on her feet, Mafuyu touches her shoulder. "What?"
"Sorry."
Mafuyu then carries her like she weights nothing in the bridal style. Being in her arms doesn't feel bad at all, but she can't make them cook for her. "Wait! This isn't necessary!"
Ena puts her hand in her hips. "There's no way you expect us to do nothing after saying that."
"I ate bread."
"That's not even close to enough. This way, Mafuyu!" Mizuki runs to the hallway, her excitement is contagious.
"I know where the kitchen is."
"Just play along!"
Kanade surrenders, because she knows how stubborn the three of them can be when it's about her. She feels her cheeks warm from having Mafuyu carrying her like this, the blush gets worse after she gently places her on one of the dining room chairs and fixes her messy hair.
Ena looks for something in the fridge that isn't too hard to make. "Wow, Honami is really feeding all of us. Look at all of this."
"Yeah, you wouldn't know since you're never the one who serves the food." Mizuki says behind her.
"You don't either, it's always Mafuyu."
"Close the fridge if you're gonna just banter." Mafuyu warns with a harsh voice.
"Sorry."
Ena eventually chooses a chicken salad, Kanade assumes it's because of the healthy ingredients.
"Okay, someone turn on the stove."
Mafuyu does it. Mizuki finishes the job with a pan and a little bit of water and puts the food on a plate at the end. She gives it to Kanade with a bright smile that makes her smile back.
"How did you make this so fast?"
"The power of love~"
Ena corrects her. "The power of modern technology."
"Please eat as much as you can."
Mafuyu stares at her. Kanade loves her purple eyes and the way they reveal all those emotions that Mafuyu won't say out loud, like the genuine care and love she feels for her. However, it's a bit difficult to eat feeling her gaze over her.
Mizuki seems to realize this. "We should let Kana by herself, we look like bodyguards."
"I don't wanna leave. She looks cute when she eats." Ena states.
That makes her choke.
"Kanade?!"
The chicken slides down her throat the next second. Ena sighs with relief. "I'm sorry, I'll be careful when to say that next time."
"You do say things like that out of nowhere. The other day you told me how I'm like a princess with my hair down." Mizuki recalls while looking at Kanade drink some water.
"You told me you wouldn't tell them!"
Mizuki's eyes open with fear when she sees Ena walk up to her. She hides behind the lyricist. "Mafuyu! Protect me from her!"
"Ena, settle down."
"Why do you defend her?"
Mizuki gives Ena smug smile, still hidden. "Hehe, Fuyu is on my side."
"No, I'm not. You're both being childish."
"Eh?!"
Now Ena smiles at Mizuki in the same way. "Were you saying?"
Kanade giggles seeing the three girls she loves the most in the world together, just being themselves. Dinner tastes better when she can feel the love in every bite, even if they didn't actually cook the whole thing.
A knock on the door interrupts their incredibly relevant conversation. Ena frowns. "Who could it be at this hour?"
Mizuki gets awkward, which makes Ena even more suspicious. "Uh..."
"I'll go." Mafuyu dissapears in the hallway.
"I'll go too."
"No!" Mizuki stops her, then tries to come up with an excuse. She's not very good at lying sometimes, at least she looks endearing trying. "Don't you wanna keep watching our precious Kanade look like an angel while she eats?"
Kanade almost chokes again. She manages to swallow this time.
Ena naggers Mizuki. "See what you did?"
"I'm sorry, it wasn't on purpose!"
Mafuyu comes back, faster than expected. "It wasn't anyone important."
Another knock is heard.
"Ignore that."
"Ugh, I'll go this time."
"Wait, Ena!"
She doesn't listen. If they're hiding something from her, she's gonna find out. She opens the door to meet a visibly upset middle-aged man.
Seeing her doesn't improve his mood. "Who the hell are you?"
"What's wrong with you? You think you can talk to me like that because I'm young?"
"What's going on?" Kanade says behind her. Mizuki and Mafuyu are next to her.
The man sighs. "Oh, Yoisaki-san. Finally a known face."
"Good night, Kamisaki-san. Did something happen?"
"I'm sorry to bother you this late. We checked the cameras because of the blackout and found this footage from an hour ago."
They all gather together to see it. The video in the man's phone shows a girl with purple hair in the electrical room of the building, she's not facing the camera.
"Is that–?"
Ena's question is interrupted by the girl turning off a switch, causing all the lights to go out. She immediately activates the lantern on her phone and leaves the room unfazed. Her side profile reveals her identity. Mafuyu.
"How...?"
"I've seen this young lady in your house for a while and I don't have a problem with that, but if something like that happens again we'll have a talk. Some of us are working, this isn't a funny prank."
Ena doesn't understand what's happening, she a little bit mad herself, but she won't let a random guy treat her girlfriend like shit. "Don't you dare talk to Mafuyu like that. She's the smartest person I know, if she did it it was for a good reason."
Kamisaki laughs sarcastically "You sure about that?"
"You bet I am. You better treat her with respect or I'm gonna shove my fist up your–"
Mizuki intervenes, stepping in front of her. "Well, that's enough chat. Sorry about that, sir, it was my idea. Won't do it again. Bye!" She closes the door in his face.
The silence is as loud as the tension in the room, none of them know what to say. Mafuyu turns on the lights of the living room after a moment.
"Oh really?"
"We can explain." Mizuki starts.
"Can you? Cuz I'd love to hear why you two would do such a stupid thing without telling us, knowing how hard we're working."
Mafuyu looks at Ena. Even though she has her arms crossed and sounds like she's mad, in her eyes there's less anger and more genuine confusion. She knows she's willing to hear them out, as always. Kanade seems to be even more lost. She'd let Mizuki explain if she wasn't horrible at it.
"See the thing is..."
"We were worried." Mafuyu admits.
Kanade still doesn't get it. "Worried?"
"You two have been overworking yourselves these two days. You haven't listened to us at all. Kanade even started to get as defensive as Ena when we would ask you to take a break. We were trying to get you to sleep."
Mizuki nods. "I know it was wrong to take the matter in our hands. I just can't see two people whom I love so much going through a hard time and look away."
"We want you to be okay." Mafuyu concludes.
Ena loses the severity in her eyes and body language. It's obvious that the gesture really touches her. Kanade, on the other hand, looks guilty.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were worrying this much. I'm sorry I got defensive too."
Mizuki smiles at her. "It's okay, Kanade. We know you were doing what you thought is the best for us, but the best for us is that we're all okay."
"Still... why would you suggest games then if you wanted us to sleep?"
"Well, you said you'd wait until the blackout passed, remember? I had to think of something to make you sleep soon and games usually tire you both."
"Then Kanade said she didn't eat and the priority changed." Mafuyu adds.
"And you... talked to each other about this?"
Mizuki nods proud. "I told Mafuyu that we had to do something about the situation and explained my plan to her. She was wary at first but she couldn't resist my puppy eyes."
"You begged until I said yes."
"Same thing."
"Why the whole building though?" Kanade aks.
"That way it'd be more believable. We couldn't get in Kanade's room to disconect her devices without being noticed too."
Ena takes a few moments to process the information. Two of her girlfriends got together, devised an elaborate plan, even got themselves into trouble, all to get them to rest. She herself was so concerned about Kanade's condition that she deliberately ignored her own health and how it would worry the others. That was a stupid thing to do, but it's not worth dwelling on now. She is lucky to have Mizuki, Mafuyu and Kanade in her life to take care of her when she can't take care of herself, and she owes it to them to get proper rest that night so that their effort and concern are not in vain.
Kanade smiles, the guilt dissipating from her chest as she looks at the three girls around her. It would be so easy for them to accept that Kanade working too hard is just part of who she is, so easy to pretend not to notice when she skips meals or doesn't go to sleep on time night after night. Yet they have never stopped making sure that Kanade develops healthy habits, no matter how much she avoids them. The love she feels for them right now, the same love that those three have repeatedly shown her over the years and with even more fervour that day, is enough to make her wonder what she has done to deserve such a warm and peaceful feeling.
Perhaps it doesn't matter if she deserves it, perhaps she should just enjoy it.
"Thanks." Kanade says eventually.
Mizuki is surprised. She was sure they were gonna get scolded for at least five minutes. "You're not mad?"
"Well, I am. But I'll thank you too. Taking care of us, even in your weird ways, is something I appreciate. We'll rest more from now on, right, Kanade?"
"Mhm. I'll go to sleep as soon as I finish the chicken salad you made. Thanks for that too."
"That was Honami." Mafuyu reminds her.
Ena sighs. "Just take the compliment."
"Alright." Mafuyu smiles. "I'm glad we could be of any help."
Mafuyu doesn't stop smiling even with the stares she gets from Niigo. Ena and Kanade smile too. Of course Mizuki has to take it to the other level.
"She smiled! Frame this moment!" Mizuki screams way too excited.
"I smile a lot lately." Her monotonous voice makes her sound contradictory.
"Still! It's such a nice view." Mizuki pulls one of cheeks affectionately. She can't help the euphoria she feels when Mafuyu smiles at them.
"Mizuki."
"Okay, I'll stop."
After Kanade ends her dinner with Niigo making her company, they all go to bed. They look like a dysfunctional sandwich, with Ena and Kanade at the middle. Mafuyu undoes Ena's braid and Mizuki caresses Kanade's hair while she sleeps on Ena's arm.
"You're not making me sleep faster like that." Ena whispers.
"You sound more sleepy though."
"Whatever."
Mafuyu is the last to fall asleep, naturally. The only difference this time is how the smile in her face remains in the morning, quite similar to the rest of them.