Winter Ballad (Mafuyu + Kanade fanfic)

Notes: Let me know if I should upload this to ao3, I just wanted to know people's opinion here before I do. Also I accept criticims but be nice please.

Suddenly, Kanade awoke, still in her chair and with her face covered in sweat. Before doing anything, she turned on her computer. The song she was working on last night faced her, everything saved on a file. Opening nightcord, she saw 3 new messages, but only one stood out:

Yuki  4:28 a.m.

Diner. Come at 1 pm.

It took a moment or so for Kanade to fully process it. She checked the time… 

10:41. She had time for a nap, a voice in her head quietly lulled her into letting her heavy eyelids fall-

No. Kanade had to resist the urge. She slowly got off from her seat and put on some spare clothes from the back of her small closet. Gathering her notebook and bag, she checked nightcord for new messages every few seconds. Nothing. Kanade started to get nervous. Was the message a desperate call for help? She mustn’t let Mafuyu down. For her father.

————————————

Mafuyu had been staring at the ceiling. As empty as it was, it offered some unexplainable comfort for her. She had been in her bed for who knows how long. If Kanade were here, she could tell Mafuyu how long she’d been rotting away in her bed. Well, it didn’t matter now. In a few hours, she’ll get to see her. Finally, Mafuyu got up and slid out her phone from her pillow case and assessed her room. Dust had been gathering on her desk, where her computer used to be. 

. . . 

After eating her breakfast (consisting of egg and toast) and going back to her room to prepare her bag, Mafuyu went back downstairs. She turned the doorknob of the front door softly, but froze immediately after hearing a familiar voice.

“Mafuyu, where are you going?”

Her mother’s voice. Turning back slowly and smiling softly, she replied, making sure not to stumble over her words:

“I’m off to study with my friends at the library.”

Silence hung over the room for what felt like an hour, until Mafuyu’s mom finally chuckled.

“You should’ve said earlier, Mafuyu! Remember, you need to study with classmates that are better than you. Of course, there aren’t many, right Mafuyu? But doing that instead of helping those weaker than you makes sure that you continue to improve.”

Mafuyu made no replies, instead finally opening the door and leaving the house. After closing the door behind her, she let out a deep sigh. 

————————————

Kanade arrived at the Diner, although a little later than expected, panting softly but taking precautions to make sure no one would notice. She noticed Mafuyu immediately; her purple hair and her empty stare were just some of her recognisable features, especially having met her before in real life. After noticing Kanade, Mafuyu’s expression immediately softened and she lightly gestured her to sit in front of her. The waitress, who’d been too nervous to approach Mafuyu before, came up to them and asked for their orders.

“I don’t drink much coffee, it would be nice to try an iced latte?” Kanade wondered aloud.

“I’ll have the same.”

When the waitress left their eyesight, Mafuyu took out a notebook from her bag.

“My exams are in 2 weeks. I’m sure you know what that means, K.”

Kanade did know. She opened the notebook to the first few pages. What faced her was what she assumed was Mafuyu’s schoolwork in neat handwriting. Turning forward towards the back, Kanade saw the lyrics for not only the song she was working on already, but personal projects including musical notations. The handwriting was much rougher but was still recognizable, not too far from the script at the beginning of the notebook. 

Was that it? Kanade thought. Whilst wondering whether to stand up, Mafuyu realized the other’s confusion.

“I told my mom that I’d be studying with my friends..”

Kanade looked as if she’d been freed from a trance. Their eyes met as both were calculating their next moves.

“You can come and help with the new song.”

Mafuyu thought about it for a bit. She smiled and nodded, approving of Kanade’s plan.

. . . 

Mafuyu and Kanade burst into the room chuckling by themselves, but their mood turned more serious after they realized why they came there in the first place. It was still early in the afternoon. There was still time.

Kanade turned on her computer and opened the file of the song she was working on. Whilst it wasn’t uncommon for her to get stuck in a rut, this time it felt like she had gotten into a deep ditch she made herself. Mafuyu stood beside Kanade, who was sitting by her desk, also unsure of the next course of action. 

Kanade switching to the Nightcord app slightly surprised Mafuyu. Amia and Enanan should definitely not be active at this time. After starting a new voice session, Mizuki and Ena both joined after a few minutes. 

Enanan: “Why are you up so early..?” 

K: “I invited Yuki over to help with a song. She’s not as much of a nightowl as us you know..”

Amia: “Eh?? Next thing you’ll know, you two will be having a sleepover~!”

Although Mizuki couldn’t see Kanade blushing, they just knew that she was embarrassed.

Enanan: “Hey! Why didn’t we get invited too??”

Amia: “We should have a sleepover without them instead, Enanan~”

Enanan: “Hmph. If you started a session just to have a laugh then you better count me out!”

Mafuyu leaned over to Kanade’s microphone 

K: “I think Kanade wanted some suggestions on her song.”

Then, Mafuyu sent the file in the groupchat. There was a few minutes of silence in the voice chat.

Amia: “You know full well that you guys are the song geniuses, not us. I bet you can figure this out on your own. But I’m free for a little chat too! Or you could invite me to your house too, K!”

Enanan: “Cut them some slack! K’s room is probably busy as it is, we’ll just make it worse!”

Amia: “We? Who said anything about you joining in too~?”

Mizuki and Ena’s argument drowned out all attempts to calm them down both. In the end, Kanade simply decided to disconnect from the voice session and let those two to figure it out for themselves.

Kanade and Mafuyu’s minds were left to wander about the next step.

“We can ask Miku.”

Kanade turned to Mafuyu, her eyebrows raised in a sort of protest. However, her expression quickly turned back to normal as she began to think that it was a reasonable suggestion. Kanade took her notebook in one hand, closed the file, then opened what used to be the unnamed song. Almost immediately, they were transported to Empty Sekai. 

Miku was playing cradles with a red hair bubble when the two arrived. Her expression remained unchanged as she stood up to meet them.

“Kanade. Mafuyu.”

“We came to ask you about this. Do you have an idea on how to fix this?” Kanade handed the notebook to Miku. 

Miku read through it, humming the notes to herself then thinking for a few minutes. 

“Kanade, there’s nothing wrong with it. You need to keep going.”

Perplexed, Kanade took the notebook back. Mafuyu remained a spectator in the scene, until she finally spoke up.

“I’d be best for me to go now. I wouldn’t want my parents to be worried sick about me.”

Kanade looked at the notebook in her hand, then Mafuyu’s. Turning to a random page of Mafuyu’s personal projects in what felt like an unconscious action, she combined their creations in a forbidden amalgamation, and began to sing.

Although Kanade didn’t think of herself as a particularly skilled singer, with a more quiet voice and a shorter pitch range, the creation echoed through the Sekai, with Miku’s expression finally changing slightly from her usual one.

And then, for the first time, Kanade saw Mafuyu’s genuine smile in real life. Kanade stopped singing after what felt like a short few seconds, turning to Mafuyu, who was ready to leave.

“Yuki.”

Mafuyu fully faced Kanade. Her smile had disappeared by that time.

“I’m always ready to save you.”

Mafuyu nodded, then left as quickly as she entered.