Work Text:
It had been a tough day for everyone, yet the other members of Niigo couldn't understand the strain on Mafuyu's heart. No matter how much they sympathised, none of them could truly ever understand what was going through her head—and that pissed Kanade off.
The fact that she didn't understand didn't bother her, because she knew that she, Mafuyu, Mizuki, and Ena were all different people with different lives, and their struggles were all different, even if they had all experienced the pain of wanting to disappear. She accepted that she couldn't know every single thing that went through Mafuyu's head, because it was unrealistic, and it was up to Mafuyu to share and understand how she felt.
No, the thing that bothered Kanade was Mafuyu's mother and how wrong her thinking and parenting were.
Kanade knew that she was lucky to have grown up with such kind and loving parents. Parents who had encouraged her to follow her dreams. Parents who had told her that she was loved and showed it in their actions and words. Mafuyu...didn't have that. She had been unfairly denied the basic need for parental affection. Kanade would never say it aloud, but Mafuyu's mother was a hellish, cruel, evil woman for not loving Mafuyu like a mother should, and for that, she didn't deserve to have such a kindhearted and talented daughter. She didn't deserve anything.
When Mafuyu had appeared outside, it had taken all of Kanade's self-control to not break down. In the limited light provided by nearby houses and streetlights, Mafuyu's eyes were barely visible from the shadow cast by her fringe, making her expression almost impossible to read from afar. When Kanade got closer, though, she noticed the tears that were streaming down her face, and when Mafuyu spoke, her voice shook as she recounted her mother's deeds, barely managing to choke out, 'I wonder if everything...is my fault.' Hearing her say that brought forth a wave of amalgamated emotions within Kanade's chest: anger, guilt, despair, worry, shock. Despite her own feelings, she managed to hold it all back and whisper, 'It's okay.'
Her first priority was to get Mafuyu inside. Her school uniform was soaked through and stuck to her skin, and she was shivering uncontrollably in Kanade's arms.
'Let's go inside,' Kanade said softly, 'so you don't fall ill. Are you okay with that?'
Mafuyu nodded, her breath catching in her throat, and she asked, 'Can I stay the night? I don't want...I don't want to go home.'
'Of course. There's a spare room—it needs a bit of cleaning, but you can use it for as long as you need.'
'Thank you.' Mafuyu pliantly let Kanade bring her inside, the only sounds coming from her being the occasional sob or hiccough. She didn't say a word as Kanade, holding onto her hand with a gentleness that hid her fear, led her upstairs, stopping outside the bathroom.
'I'll bring you some pyjamas,' Kanade said. 'Feel free to have a bath or a shower to warm up.'
Once again, Mafuyu nodded in acknowledgement, her hand falling from Kanade's grasp as she mindlessly walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. In mere minutes, the sound of the shower running filled the house, providing Kanade with an opportunity to let her feelings through for a mere moment.
As soon as she entered the spare room that had been collecting dust for many years, Kanade's back hit the door, her fists clenching as she bit her tongue until the raw, metallic tang that accompanied blood overwhelmed her taste buds.
'Why would she...why would she say that to her own daughter?' She couldn't stop the words from leaving her lips, even though there was no one to listen. Perhaps that's why she said them in the first place. 'Mafuyu did nothing to deserve that. None of this is her fault. She just wanted her mother to love her. How heartless can a mother be to deny her daughter that?'
The carousel of blame started in her skull, bringing forth a series of 'maybe's that, to anyone else, were ludicrous. But to Kanade's mind, the thoughts were merely fuel for the fire of self-hatred. Maybe Kanade could have done something. Maybe she could have stopped this. Maybe, maybe, maybe—!
Her fists pressed themselves against her forehead, and she whispered, 'Calm down, Kanade,' to herself before adding, 'Stay calm. You have to stay calm for Mafuyu. She doesn't need to hear you say that—she doesn't need you to be like this. She needs you to be there for her.'
One deep breath.
Two deep breaths.
Three deep breaths.
Continue. You can do this, Kanade.
Removing her fists from her forehead, she glanced around the room and noticed what a state it was in. It would need some serious cleaning; it was too much for Kanade to do alone, even with Mafuyu's help. She would have to call Honami in the morning and ask for her opinion, or maybe ask if she could give them both a hand. For now, Mafuyu would have to sleep in Kanade's room. She couldn't sleep in a room filled with dust after being in the rain for so long.
Kanade gathered up some spare pyjamas that she thought would suit Mafuyu's style, holding them carefully so as not to ruin the way they had been folded and laying them on the floor in front of the bathroom door in the exact same way.
She knocked on the door and called out, 'Mafuyu? I've got some pyjamas for you. I've left them out here.'
'Thank you.'
'I'm going to tell Mizuki and Ena that you're safe, so I'll be in my room. Message me if you need anything else, okay?'
'I will.' It was hard to tell if Mafuyu was still crying or not. 'Thank you, Kanade.'
'It's okay. You're my friend; I wasn't going to leave you on your own like that.'
Mafuyu didn't say anything in response, so Kanade took that as her cue to leave and return to her bedroom, taking a seat at her desk. Hooking her headphones over her ears, she logged into Nightcord and sent a message into the chat.
k :
is anyone there
Almost instantly, Mizuki and Ena came online.
amia :
yup ! we're here !
enanan :
is everything okay?
k :
im not sure
mafuyu is here
enanan :
can we go on VC?
k:
sure
'Kanade?' Ena's voice was the first to appear through the Nightcord voice chat. 'What's going on? Is Mafuyu okay?'
'I don't think she's okay, but she's safe. She appeared outside a few minutes ago...she was crying.'
'What happened?' Mizuki asked.
'She told her mother her true feelings, but she didn't listen. She made Mafuyu think that everything is her fault.'
'Her mother made her think what?!' Ena demanded. 'That's so—how is that woman so sick and twisted? How is any of what she's done Mafuyu's fault? God, I'm so pissed!'
'I think we should kill her,' Mizuki piped up. 'What she did nearly killed Mafuyu, right? I think we should return the favour.'
'Mizuki! We are not killing anyone.'
'Relax, I was just joking! Seriously, though, it's good that Mafuyu finally stood up to her and got out of there. It was really getting bad...'
Kanade nodded in agreement even though the others couldn't see her, and she said, 'Me too. I don't know what else was said, and I don't want to pry and upset her.'
'Me neither,' Ena said, still sounding annoyed. 'I think we should wait until she's ready and continue to support her in the meantime. It can't be easy for her. Where is she now?'
'In the shower. She's staying with me until she decides otherwise.'
'Honestly?' Mizuki began, 'I think that's the best place for her. She needs somewhere where she can be herself and not have to worry about that old hag breathing down her neck all the time.'
Mizuki's clear and honest disdain for Mafuyu's mother made Kanade chuckle lightly, and, through her own laughter, Ena added, 'She can finally breathe easily.'
'Who can breathe easily?' A fourth voice made itself known in Kanade's headphones, and, based on the way Mizuki and Ena reacted, in theirs, too. It wasn't Mafuyu...but it was all too familiar.
'KAITO joins the call!' Mizuki exclaimed, a pang of shock echoing in her words. 'Is Miku with you?'
'No.'
'You're on your own?'
'Obviously. How is Mafuyu?'
'She's as well as she can be,' Kanade answered. 'Thank you for your help today, KAITO.'
'Hmph. It had to be done, sooner or later. She would have died if she had continued living like that—'
'We're aware,' Ena snapped.
'—however,' KAITO continued just as sharply, 'it appears that the timing of everything was fine as it was. You all did well.'
Mizuki let out a gasp and asked, 'Did KAITO just...praise us? I'll have to tell Luka about this—ooh, and MEIKO! And maybe Rin and Len, too. Hey, Ena, Kanade, do you wanna make this a yearly celebration?'
'Quit it,' KAITO said before Ena or Kanade could reply. 'If you want praise, go somewhere else. For how long it's taken you all to make some kind of progress, you don't deserve more praise than that.'
'Did you know this would happen?' Ena questioned. 'Ever since you appeared, you've been pushing and pushing for Mafuyu to stand up to her mother. What if she wasn't ready?'
'She had to be ready,' KAITO answered. 'Being coddled all the time would have done nothing except make everything worse.'
'It's not an easy situation, though,' Kanade said. She glanced at her bedroom door, lowered her voice, and continued with, 'Her mother is abusive, and Mafuyu grew up thinking that it was normal. Accepting that alone can't have been simple, but actively standing up for herself must have been so hard.'
'Yet she managed, did she not?'
Ena scoffed. 'Barely—she's a wreck!'
'Yet,' he repeated sternly, 'she managed. It's done, and she's safe. Now, she can focus on finding her true feelings without interference. Would you rather her still be in that house, being told what to do and what to think?'
Kanade, Ena, and Mizuki all murmured a version of 'no', staying silent for a moment as their minds imagined what that would be like. Would Mafuyu break? She was already at her limit. Maybe spending even another night in her mother's presence would undo all the hard work that had been done to help her regain her sense of self.
'Exactly. You may not like the way I do things, but it's better than sitting around and letting Mafuyu kill herself.'
Kanade's breath caught in her throat. 'We wouldn't have let that happen. We would've figured something out.'
'Kanade's right,' Mizuki said. 'Sure, we didn't do things your way, but our way would've given us the same results.'
'Are you sure about that?' KAITO asked. 'You were taking too long.'
'You don't know that.' Kanade's fingernails were digging into her palm again. 'We can't predict the future, and we couldn't have made those decisions for Mafuyu. If we were too pushy or too hard on her, and we ended up forcing her to make decisions she wasn't ready for...something might have gone wrong.'
'I don't think it would have. You said it yourself, Kanade: her mother is abusive. Sometimes, people in Mafuyu's position need a sharp push to see what's really going on. They need to hear the truth, whether they like it or not. To have their rose-tinted glasses smashed.' He sighed, somehow still managing to sound irritated with everyone and everything as he did it, before he said, 'For a group of teenagers, you did everything you could have done.'
'Is that why you stepped in?'
'Yes. You couldn't have done this part alone.'
'Why not?' Ena sounded highly offended at the implication that they all weren't enough to care for and help Mafuyu, as though the very suggestion had ignored how much time and energy they had willingly spent that day alone while searching for her. 'We're capable!'
'Did you not hear me? You're all still young. You can all help her in a way that we can't, but we can also help her in a way that you all can't. Accept that and move on.'
'Who said that we didn't accept that?'
'Your attitude did. Kanade?'
'Yes?'
'Look after that girl. I know how you feel about her, so I know you'll do your best.'
All of the blood in Kanade's body felt like it had suddenly started to boil, flushing her skin red as she stuttered out, 'What...do you mean?' while Mizuki cackled to herself, her voice slightly distant as her headphones fell onto her desk.
'You know exactly what I mean. I'm not blind.'
'I guess you were being pretty obvious, huh, K?' Ena asked teasingly. 'If KAITO noticed it, I'm shocked that Mafuyu hasn't.'
'Please don't tell her,' Kanade begged. 'I don't even know if she likes girls...let alone me. Now isn't the right time, anyway—she has more important things to deal with.'
'Have you seen the way she looks at you? Even Akito noticed at the summer festival a while back! If she doesn't like you back, I'll eat my own hand.’
Mizuki’s voice returned to normal for a moment while she said, ‘You got busted!’ before she returned to her fit of laughter.
‘Are you all done?’ KAITO asked.
'Yes,' Kanade replied quickly. 'I'll do my best to look after her.'
'Good.' And just like that, in typical KAITO style, he left.
Ena let out a deep sigh that evolved into a groan of despair. 'Geez, that was tough.'
'It was a bit, wasn't it?' Kanade said, feeling her own breath leave her lungs in a way that was heavier than usual. 'Maybe we should have a night off tonight. It's been a rough day.'
'You sure?'
'Yeah. Oh, Mizuki's gone offline.'
amia :
gotta go help my mum with something, so im logging off for a bit !!
usual time tonight?
'So she has,' Ena said. 'Hang on...' Typing faintly appeared in the background, and another message popped up before Kanade could finish typing hers.
enanan :
we're having the night off since its been so hectic today! you could've said bye before you left yknow >:(
amia :
AJKSDHASKJDHASJH im sorry im sorry T_T
dont be mad at meeeeeeee
k :
enanan isnt mad amia
i can hear her laughing
enanan :
>:( you snitch!!!
k:
:D
gotta go too
i think i just heard mafuyu come out of the bathroom
enanan:
alright! see you later, k, amia!
gonna have the best nap of my life i stg
amia :
bye byeee !!! save some of that nap energy for the rest of us !!!
'Kanade?' Mafuyu said, knocking twice on Kanade's bedroom door. 'I've finished. Thank you for the clothes.'
Kanade turned around, her mind momentarily blanking when she saw Mafuyu standing in the doorway of her room. The pyjamas that Kanade had picked were a simple shirt-and-trouser combo that suited Mafuyu perfectly (though they were a little big). Her hair was once again tied up, though not in its usual high ponytail—it was a little lower but still pushed over her shoulder.
She wasn't crying anymore, but her breathing wasn't the steadiest.
'Do they fit okay?' Kanade asked. 'I have some other pairs somewhere if you want another set.'
'No, these are fine. You've already done so much for me,' Mafuyu said, her voice trailing off. 'May I...ask one last thing?'
'Of course. What is it, Mafuyu?'
'Please can I have a hug?'
Kanade could never recall a moment when she had acted so instinctively as she wordlessly got to her feet, pulling Mafuyu into a tight and warm embrace that echoed the one from earlier, outside her house in the rain. She kept her breathing, and by extension, her pulse, slow and steady, providing a subtle anchor for Mafuyu to grasp onto as she tried not to let anymore tears fall.
'I'm sorry for burdening you like this,' Mafuyu whispered, her voice cracking from emotion. 'I...I thought Mum would listen to me.'
'It's okay,' Kanade said. 'You did your best, and that's all we can ask for. You were honest, and what your mother said to you wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong.'
'But it feels like I did.'
'I know it does.'
'Was KAITO right? About Mum trying to...kill my feelings?'
With a train of thought running at a thousand miles per hour, Kanade replied, 'I think so. I think she couldn't handle you being...you. She wanted a child with a very specific skillset and personality, and she was so blinded by trying to make you the child she wanted that she couldn't see how wonderful you are.'
'What did I do? Where did I go wrong?'
'You didn't do anything,' Kanade said in a voice that was soft, yet firm, like she was taking inspiration from KAITO in her tone while keeping her words her own. 'Some people just...aren't the parents their children need.' And that's putting it lightly. 'And that's not the child's fault. No one asks to be born.'
Mafuyu was quiet for a second, and Kanade thought that she had said something wrong. Then Mafuyu said, 'It hurts. I feel...sad, but also relieved, I think? I-I don't know. I don't know anymore. My chest feels so tight.'
'It must be difficult, but that's okay. When you feel better, maybe you could use some lyrics to help you understand what you're feeling?'
'Maybe. It usually helps.'
'Don't push yourself, though. Take your time.'
'I don't think I can do this alone.'
'You aren't alone,' Kanade reassured her. 'You have so many people here to support you. No matter what you need, there's someone who can help. If you want, we can go to the Sekai tomorrow and talk to the others?'
Mafuyu hummed her response, a quiet, 'Mhm.'
'Are you hungry?'
Another hummed response resembled, 'No, thank you.'
'That's okay.'
The conversation drifted away, but the hug continued. Mafuyu's grip around Kanade grew looser over time as her muscles relaxed, and her head rested on Kanade's shoulder like a pillow. Eventually, their breathing matched, with inhales and exhales in near sync as the hiccoughs that usually plagued people after they cried disappeared, allowing Mafuyu to breathe freely and easily.
Rain tapping against the windows became the only sound in the house, providing a gentle ambience to a heartfelt moment. Yes, the day had been one of urgency and stress and fear, but at that moment, it was like time had stopped.
Kanade noticed that Mafuyu hadn’t moved in a while, so she gently whispered her name, hoping that it would provoke some kind of reaction or acknowledgement. When it didn’t, Kanade stretched her neck to allow her to quickly glance at Mafuyu’s eyes.
Was she…asleep?
Her skin flushed as her posture became unnaturally stiff, suddenly petrified of rousing Mafuyu from her sleep.
Through her jumbled thoughts, Kanade realised that she couldn't stand there all night—she had to get Mafuyu onto a bed. If Kanade could, still with her arms wrapped around her, lower Mafuyu down onto Kanade's bed (which was thankfully just behind her), then maybe...
It probably would have been easier to gently wake Mafuyu up and let her crawl onto the bed herself, but it was too late for that as Kanade began to slowly—ever so slowly—shuffle towards the bed. Despite the dull ache in her arms from the sudden exertion, she managed to lower Mafuyu into a sitting position, her head still resting on Kanade's shoulder as she used her spare hand to clear the mattress of the music sheets she had tossed onto it many nights before.
Kanade watched as Mafuyu began to curl in on herself, one hand tucking itself under the pillow and the other grasping the quilt that Kanade had pulled up. She looked...so small. So fragile. Like even the tiniest gust of wind would shatter her into a thousand glass pieces that would be blown across the earth by the breeze.
A small smile crept across Kanade's face as she tiptoed back towards her desk, drawing her curtains even further before pulling on her headphones once more. Maybe she could finish the demo she had been working on before Mafuyu woke up.
<><><>
Morning arrived far too soon, but, for once, Kanade didn't wish it away. Despite spending the entire night lost in her thoughts, blaming herself, thinking that, maybe, just maybe, she could have done something to prevent what had happened the day before, she was done feeling like complete shit.
She had things to do today.
Honami had responded to Kanade's hastily sent message, agreeing to help her clean the spare room for Mafuyu later on after band practice. She had explicitly said to not try and clean without the proper equipment—the dust would quickly get into their lungs and cause injury.
Kanade was fine with that because it gave her time to do things, and the first thing she wanted to do was make breakfast. Or at least, decide what she was going to make so that, once Mafuyu woke up, Kanade could at least offer her something to eat.
There was something that Kanade had been thinking of making, something from her childhood. The breakfast pancakes that her mother used to make on special occasions had been lingering in her mind, and she thought that maybe the lingering remains of her mother's love would appear in the pancakes. It was a somewhat childish wish, but it was enough.
Thanks to Honami's recent visit, the fridge was full and thankfully contained the ingredients Kanade's mother has listed in a recipe book that she had faithfully used until the very end. It wasn't a 'book' in the traditional sense; it was bound by a black folder, and the pages were sheets of paper slotted into plastic wallets. Regardless of its bindings, it had always been called her mother's 'recipe book', and it would always remain that way.
Holding the book in her hands and flicking through it for the right page, Kanade could almost feel her parents standing at either shoulder, her father suggesting something wild and fun and outrageous for breakfast instead of pancakes, and her mother lightly scolding him with a barely repressed giggle. It was...calming. Imagining them there, almost being able to feel them standing by her side, gave her that extra bit of reassurance and even some confidence.
Like every other page in the book, it was covered in pristine doodles—notes, tips, and tricks recorded by Kanade's mother, her handwriting filling Kanade's heart with a nostalgic warmth. She placed a jar on the book, which acted as an impromptu bookmark. Mafuyu could read through the recipe and others, if she preferred, when she was ready. Until then, Kanade waited and sat at the kitchen table with her laptop, one earbud in, and one out so she could still hear what was going on around her.
When Mafuyu eventually arrived downstairs, Kanade had become so immersed in fixing one particular part of her demo that she didn't notice until she heard Mafuyu say, 'Good morning, Kanade.'
'Ah, good morning, Mafuyu. Did you sleep okay?'
'I did, thank you.' She was wearing the clothes that Kanade had left out for her earlier in the morning: a pair of trousers, a black shirt, and a white cardigan. Her hair, although brushed, hadn't been tied up, leaving it to fall just above her waist and over her shoulders like a fluffy purple shawl. 'How long have you been awake?'
'A while.'
'You...didn't sleep last night, did you?'
It was slightly embarrassing that Mafuyu could read her that easily, so Kanade laughed quietly and asked, 'How did you know?'
'You have bags under your eyes,' Mafuyu said, her fingertips reaching up to gently pat the skin under her own eyes. 'I'm sorry for falling asleep like that. I...don't know why that happened.'
'It's okay, really.' Kanade smiled. 'You were exhausted—it's no wonder that you fell asleep so suddenly.' She didn't want to make any direct references to yesterday even existing, but she knew that she couldn't tiptoe around it forever. 'Do you feel better?'
Mafuyu thought for a moment, clearly unsure of how to put her feelings into words. 'I think,' she began slowly, 'I feel...better. My chest doesn't feel as heavy as yesterday. It still hurts, though. Just not as bad.'
'That's good. My housekeeper is coming later to help clean the spare room, so you can have your own room while you stay here.'
'Thank you. I hope that my staying here won't be a bother.'
'It won't. You get to be yourself here, and it's nice to be around you.'
'It is?' Mafuyu asked.
'Yeah.'
'I remember you saying that last time I was at your house. I...still don't understand why, but my chest goes warm when you say things like that.' Her eyes moved down to the table. 'It's nice being around you, too. Ever since I found you in Sekai that day, I've been scared that one day you won't be here. I don't feel that fear anymore.'
Kanade was taken aback. Despite everything that Mafuyu had been through, especially over the past few days, she had still been worried about her? A part of her couldn't believe that someone would spend their time worrying about her while they had other, more important things to think about. That part of Kanade believed that she wasn't worth it—that she would never be worth it until she could prove that she was. Yet Mafuyu's words challenged that notion, shaking it right to the core.
‘I’m glad that you enjoy being around me.’ Kanade managed to get her words out in one piece, her heart beating a thousand miles a minute. ‘Oh, before I forget, I got an old recipe out for breakfast…do you want pancakes?’
‘Sure. Do you want me to help?’
‘You can do; I don’t mind.’
Mafuyu got to her feet, hovering around Kanade while she went through the recipe. Whenever she read an ingredient from the list, Mafuyu went straight to the fridge or cupboard to search for it. They worked like a well-oiled machine, with very few words exchanged between them. The few words that were uttered were often incomplete sentences, with trailing questions that were often answered with an action—being handed an ingredient or having something done.
For a while, the only sound was of the pancakes cooking and then cutlery against the porcelain plates. The silence was as gentle and comfortable as the sunlight coming through the kitchen window.
Then Mafuyu asked a question that nearly made Kanade choke on her last mouthful.
'Hey, Kanade. Do you like girls?'
'Um—yes?' Her voice was stuttering and unsure, mainly due to the fact that she had no idea where this conversation was going.
'I see. Me too. A friend of mine from the Archery Club helped me learn what it feels like.'
'That's kind of them.'
'It was. She also helped me learn that I like you.'
If Kanade's life was a visual novel, the text box on the screen would have been filled with question marks and random letters. Conveying her emotions was impossible with words alone.
'I...like you too,' she said.
Mafuyu's eyes widened slightly, and she asked, 'You do?'
'I do,' Kanade said. 'I don't know when it started, but I realised it a few months ago.'
'I see. Did that not make things difficult? According to songs and what I've heard my classmates talking about, being around the person you like and not knowing if they like you back can be painful. Was that...true for you?'
Kanade shook her head. 'No. For me, I've always enjoyed being around you. Even if you never felt the same about me, I would have been happy staying as your friend and working on music with you.'
'Would you date me?'
'Only if you felt the same.'
'I do.' Was Mafuyu...blushing?! 'I started to want to date you when I learned that I liked you.'
'Then I'd be more than happy to go out with you.' Kanade couldn't contain her smile. Her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest like a ballerina, twirling around the kitchen in excited bliss. 'You know, I was talking about this with Ena and Mizuki last night.'
'You were?' Mafuyu asked. 'Did they know?'
'Yeah. They figured it out themselves—apparently I'm not very good at hiding it,' Kanade said with an embarrassed chuckle. 'Ena said that she would eat her hand if you didn't like me back.'
'I'm guessing she knew that I liked you?'
'She said that you did and kept wanting me to say something.'
'Why didn't you?'
Kanade shrugged softly. 'I didn't want to add more stress to your shoulders. With everything that was going on, I didn't want to be a burden.'
'I would have gone on a date with you regardless,' Mafuyu said. 'Mum wouldn't have approved, but...I want to be with you.'
'Was she...?' Kanade didn't need to finish the sentence for Mafuyu to understand what she was referring to.
'Yes.'
'I'm sorry. She can't hurt you here, so you can be yourself.'
Mafuyu nodded. She placed her cutlery down, getting to her feet. Before Kanade could ask what she was doing, Mafuyu walked around the table and wrapped her arms around Kanade's shoulders. She felt her heart stop beating for a moment when Mafuyu leaned down and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to the top of Kanade's head.
'I've wanted to do that for a while,' she murmured. 'Is that...okay?'
Kanade's voice came out in a whisper as she replied, 'It is.' Her hands reached up to cover Mafuyu's, holding them close so that Kanade could return the favour and kiss the back of Mafuyu's hand. 'There, now we're even.'
'Ah—cheeky.'
'Says you. You started it.' A song was writing itself in Kanade's ears, the phantom melody ringing through her ear canal like it was playing from her laptop speakers. 'Hey, do you want to write a song about this?'
'Yes. That would be nice. Give me a few more minutes, though...' Mafuyu's arms seemed to tighten around Kanade's frame. 'I don't want to let go.'
'Hehe, that's alright.'