Kanamizu

It's been over two weeks since Mizuki's profile picture no longer lit up every night at 25:00. Something occurred at the Kamiyama festival, and Kanade had no idea on how she could fix the situation. Ena shut herself in, but continued working. Mafuyu, although she behaved as usual, was seen checking Amia's profile from time to time. Kanade wanted to help, but she didn't know how. Mizuki's trail seemed to have disappeared from all radars — there is no presence to be found neither at school nor on the street.

Kanade sighed once again, taking off her headphones. Not knowing Mizuki's situation, she couldn't write a melody, and that's exactly what she'd been trying to do ever since Mafuyu left for school this morning. Music notes didn't fit into a complete melody, something was constantly missing.

'Your efforts are missing!' an inner voice spoke up. 'Your actions will never be enough, and you know it.'

Kanade shook her head, closing her eyes. She knew it wasn't true. She tries her best, and it pays off. Her inner voice is wrong.

But sometimes it's still hard to believe. So with a quick movement of her hand, the girl played Untitled and got transported to her group's Sekai. Of course, technically it was still Mafuyu's Sekai, but it had already been the meeting place of the group for so many times that it was unofficially called the group's one.

It was easier to breathe in this world, despite the oppressive atmosphere and the absence of anything other than huge monochrome structures of incomprehensible shape. 

"Hi, Kanade. You're all by yourself", Miku came up to the girl. 'She's probably bored when we're not here.'

"Hi. Yeah, I decided to freshen up a little. The melodies got stuck on the way to me', Kanade smiled softly.

"Okay. If you'll need anything, ask me. Rin, Len and I are nearby", Virtual Singer nodded and turned around, preparing to leave.

"Wait, Miku… Mm-hmm... Have you seen Mizuki by any chance?"

"Mizuki? That child constantly comes here, but asks for solitude. But Mizuki is definitely is in here somewhere in Sekai." 

"Really?! Oh, I'm glad!" Kanade breathed out. "We're so worried, but we still can't find them. I'll... I'll try to look for Mizuki. Thank you."

Miku nodded again, smiling. ‘They're such good friends.’

Kanade went in random directions in hope that she'd stumble upon a familiar pink mop of hair. Upon some sobs. Upon the scream. At least something that would indicate Mizuki's presence.

She walked past bored Luka who was looking into the distance. Past Kaito, who was thinking hard about something, fidgeting with the ribbon in his hands. 'Probably took it from Miku.' Somewhere on the periphery Meiko looked like she was in the dumps. 'That's right, dump! Maybe I should look near the Sekai's lake?..'

Kanade jogged towards the lake, which had appeared relatively recently in the Sekai. The melody that was playing from its bottom grew louder with each step — but not so much as to cause discomfort to others. The water was calm, the shore was empty and clean. From time to time, the melody was mixed with another, sadder and more devastating one. It came from behind the structure… Wait, from where again?

The girl cautiously approached the source of the sound, peeking behind a black beam rising from the floor. The sound came, unexpectedly, from Mizuki: it seems that their own melody was calming them more successfully than the one that was playing from the lake. The song seems to have been written by niigo — the motifs were very similar.

Kanade froze, afraid to move. One wrong move and she'll scare the lost one away. 

After a while, the melody stopped. Suddenly there was a disturbing silence. And in a moment, a sob was heard. Amia's back shivered, and their hands covered their face, trying to hide the owner from the whole world.

Kanade could no longer just stand there, so she silently sat down next to Mizuki, folding her hands on her lap.

"Hey, Mizuki? Don't be scared, it's just me", the girl whispered, not trying to form eye contact.

"Kanade? Oh, I, uh..." hands began to rub tears off of their face, trying to keep a straight face in front of their friend. "Why did you come here?" 

"We just worry about you. You haven't been online for a long time, we can't reach you..." noticing that Mizuki was starting to feel uncomfortable, Kanade momentarily interrupted herself. "We don't blame you for that! Not at all! It's just... why? Why don't you log into nightcord anymore?"

"Didn't Ena tell you?" their eyes shutted immidiately: Amia wanted to hide again. Why does it hurt so much...

"No, she wanted it to stay between you two," the friends' eyes met again: stunned one with soothing one. "No matter what happened after the festival, we are always here for you. Please don't scare us like that anymore..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just… Sorry. Please forgive me", Mizuki seemed to be getting hysterical. Kanade jumped in her seat, instantly regretting her words. She should've been more careful, she should've... "I won't cause any more problems, just forgive me. I'm not… I'm..." 

"Mizuki, Mizuki, hey. I'm sorry too", the girl interrupted softly. "I chose some harsh words. We don't blame you. We care about you, that's why we're worried. Let us help, please. And everything will be the same again."

Mizuki peeked out from behind their palms, processing the situation. 

"I know... and I understand that everything'll be the same. But do I deserve such kindness? Kanade, isn't it my own desicion to run away all the time?" 

"Before that, you only managed to save your heart by running away. Let us take care of it now. I... we care about hanging out with you, working with you, being near you. Please, Mizuki. We care about you more than you think." 

They inhale. They exhale.

"Thanks, Kanade. I'm glad you told me all of this. It's just… I need a little more time. Just a little. Can I have it?" K nodded, smiling gently. "Just... can you not tell Ena and Mafuyu about our meeting just yet? I'd… I want to speak to them once I'm ready. I'm not really... You know?"

"Yeah, I get it. Thanks for telling me, Mizuki. We'll wait for you on nightcord every night," Kanade got up from the floor and waved. Taking out her phone to return to the real world, she nodded goodbye and disappeared, leaving Amia alone again.

But now they weren't completely lonely.

To the second chapter>>>