Yuetchi's Other Writing

“Careful...just keep looping it around like that.”

Kanade and Mafuyu were in the bathroom, the nervous wolfdog gently wrapping bandage around the extended arm of the rabbit in front of her. After a solid several minutes Mafuyu had to spend cleaning the bite marks and the few scratches as well, Kanade was so insistent about doing something to help clean up the mess she made that Mafuyu settled on instructing her on how to dress her arm for now. She could worry about individual bandages later, but she...really didn’t have time or energy for that right now, if she could just be honest.

Just a little while ago, she had spent thirty minutes just trying to get control over what could really just amount to a really aggressive and childish temper tantrum, albeit thrown by a grown person who still sometimes found she couldn’t help but end up reacting that way when specific circumstances pushed the wrong buttons. Of course—Kanade felt awful about it after. Awful enough that another fifteen minutes was spent talking her down from a self-loathing panic attack. Kanade was a handful to live with, sure, but she wasn’t usually this bad. Mafuyu swears.

“Ow—”

“Sorry! Sorry.”

“It’s...fine. Relax, Kanade. Here, I’ll hold that in place. You just need to put a little bit of that cloth tape where my finger is.”

“O-okay.” Simple enough process. Before long, Mafuyu is looking over Kanade’s work, nodding to affirm that it looked fine. It was barely wrapped firmly enough, but it wasn’t going to stay on that long anyway. If anything, that was just to give Kanade something to put her focus on long enough to calm her down some more.

The rabbit sighed, looking up for a moment, and then back at Kanade, only to find that the dog was staring at her. Not like she had something on her mind, but more like she was waiting for something. It really didn’t take much for Mafuyu to pick up on the fact that apparently dog girls have particular stares for particular things. Such as waiting to be told something.

“...no. No, I’m not going to call you a good girl Kanade.”

Kanade’s ears twitched, and she almost looked kind of...disappointed. The rabbit just huffs, raising an eyebrow at her. “You just spent half an hour chewing on the arm you just dressed. I’m not doing that.”

She looks even more disappointed. Is she being serious right now? Is this really a conversation they’re having? Mafuyu doesn’t really know how to respond to the girl’s pouting. Is this what age-regressing is supposed to be? Do dogs do that?

If nothing else, even Mafuyu can recognize an entirely-too-natural set of puppy dog eyes being used on her. Something she could usually handle just fine, but on Kanade it...actually, that really bothered her.

With her ears laid back, Kanade sighed a little bit, seemingly giving up. “I mean...I guess you’re right though. Sorry.” Mafuyu’s expression flinches with subtle change. The young woman isn’t sure she likes that response either. Exhaling, she stepped forward and raised a hand to the top of Kanade’s head, right between her ears. They perked up in surprise as Mafuyu pet her head gently.

“Good girl.”

There it is. The puppy dog eyes are gone in an instant, her big sad eyes becoming...well, big happy eyes, actually. Her tail wagged a mile a minute behind her, but Mafuyu is pretty sure that if she pointed that out Kanade would just embarrass herself.

“Can you go find the cleaning supplies for the floor?”

“Sure!” Hurrying out of the bathroom, Kanade left Mafuyu alone to raise a hand to her face, sighing into it quietly with her eyes shut. She can’t believe she just fell for puppy dog eyes. They’re...dangerously effective when coming from Kanade, it turns out.

You can’t save anyone.

She can’t tell who’s voice it is anymore that rings in the back of her mind. Is it her dad’s? Is it her mom’s? Maybe it’s Mafuyu’s. It could be Mizuki, or Ena, but those two...well, they were still here to tell her otherwise. To give her empty encouragement where they hoped it mattered.

She can’t stand having to constantly look into their pitying eyes. Her front door has been locked for almost a week now. It was still maybe two more days until Mochizuki’s next visit to clean and cook.

Kanade hasn’t logged into Nightcord in several weeks, but in that same amount of time, Mizuki and Ena had been spotty as well. No one was comfortable. No one knew what to do. When Kanade looked at her computer, it felt like she was suffocating. Like someone stuck her head under the water and wouldn’t let her back up. When she looked at the synthesizers by the wall, it felt like her fingers were being bent backwards one by one. When she looked at the scattered papers on the floor, it felt like her pen had been jabbed into an eye socket.

She felt like putting herself through each and every one of those things.

That’s all that’s left for her to do, really. She’s done everything else she was allowed to try instead. She tried to be normal. Her mother died. She tried to help her dad. He collapsed and lost his memory. She tried to save a girl she cared about. That girl had been found dead in her bedroom just last month. Overdosed on medicine she had managed to find while her mother was out running errands and her father was at work, when she had excused herself from class, snuck away from the campus entirely, and gone back home. It had finally become too much. No one had gotten through to her enough in time. She was backed into a corner she felt convinced there was no getting out of aside from her original plan. Except, disappearing wasn’t so easy now that she had friends who so vigilantly watched over her. That wanted otherwise for her.

But...when someone was really, truly backed into a corner, maybe it really did feel like there was no other choice. No other way you were really going to find some kind of happiness.

Kanade didn’t particularly blame her. It wasn’t as if she’s never felt that way herself. Though whenever she’d considered the same end, she always considered it in ways that were slower and more painful. Like that was the only way she should leave this world. Suffering and alone, feeling every minute of misery and agony until her last breath. Sufficient punishment for the wrongs.

She at least hoped that Mafuyu’s weren’t that agonizing. She didn’t deserve to feel all of that. She didn’t deserve the corner she was stuck in, either.

When they had first heard, Ena and Mizuki cried. Of course they did. It hurt. It made Ena angry. It brought anguish and grief. A dear friend was gone—someone that they all tried to reach for and couldn’t.

Kanade hadn’t said anything. She didn’t cry, either. Something in her wanted to. Desperately, she wanted to. She remembered crying as a child when it had finally settled that her mother was gone forever. She had even cried a little when her dad was in the hospital, even if it was partly out of rage directed at herself. But what was left in that little machine heart running in her chest now? She felt…

Empty.

Maybe she saw it coming. Even if she promised to save Mafuyu, what could she really do? She couldn’t even help herself, so she wasn’t sure why she was so convinced that she could do anything for someone else. This so called atonement she tried to carry out for everything she had broken so far was never going to work. Everything she touched with so much as her presence ended up broken or gone, and that was never going to change.

Now, she can’t even try and save Mafuyu. That chance had come and gone. She was too slow. Too naive and stupid to do what she needed to do. She couldn’t give Mafuyu what she needed. She gave the girl empty promises, and then stood by until she died.

A month came and went. The computer was unplugged, and the phone battery had been dead for about a day now. The doors and windows were locked, curtains drawn until all sense of anyone being in this house were simply...gone. There were occasions when knocks on the door startled Kanade, but after neglecting to answer them in any way, eventually they would go away.

She’s certain that if she waited long enough though, someone would find their way in one way or another. There was still someone in the house, after all. Ena and Mizuki would grow more and more alarmed, maybe unable to wait around idly any longer once Miku admitted to them that she couldn’t seem to find her way to Kanade’s computer or her phone.

The sound of paper fills the bathroom, old music sheets and scrapped scores filling the bottom of the bathtub in front of Kanade as she had opened her arms, letting what all she gathered fall. It felt alien to her, to see the floor of the work room so clean of trash and paper. Most of her usual mess had been cleaned up and properly put away. The boxes of unopened noodles sat neatly on the table in the kitchen as well as the electric kettle and disposable packs of chopsticks. The bed was made. Her usual tools were cleaned up, picked up, and put back. Her jacket was neatly hung over the back of the office chair.

The messiest thing in this house was her.

It seems appropriate. She felt like a part of it that shouldn’t be here. Disconnected from its existence, like something that wanted to belong here, but ultimately didn’t. She climbed over the edge of the tub and sat inside of it, the papers underneath her moving and crumpling in response. Slowly, she laid down onto her side, eyes only seeing porcelain white and the messy, scribbled music notes of the numerous failures underneath her. It was like one, messy timeline of her decline. What were probably once pretty drawn notes on scraps of paper—ideas flowing from a young, carefree mind—devolved into hastily written letters and angry notes over scribbled out music bars and sections of paper with so many of them that they had almost turn under the force of the pencil.

And then...there’s her.

The culmination. The end result. The little monster, only capable of harm and quiet destruction. The one only ever allowed to watch while the things and the people she tries to touch dissolve at her fingertips. The wannabe savior tangled in red string. She used to think that maybe that string would lead her somewhere. Maybe it would show her a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe it would be another person. Someone likeminded that would understand her. That she could help and would somehow help her. Or maybe it would show her the reason why she was here in the first place.

Instead, it tangled around her fingers and limbs. It turned and it turned and it turned until became a mess that had no beginning and end. It spun itself around her neck, and it never snapped anywhere except at the ends that were once connected to other people. It disconnected from her mother, it snipped itself away from her dad, and her connection to Mafuyu had finally severed as well.

Surely, there were still threads that led to her other friends somewhere. Honami...Ena...Mizuki...Ichika...anyone.

Lazily reaching into her jacket’s pocket, her fingers grasp what’s within, pulling a box cutter into her line of sight.

Those threads don’t need to be there anymore. They didn’t need to be hurt by her too. It’s better like this—if she’s left alone. She studies her arm. The faint, healed lines that scatter over it taunt her endlessly. They’re reminders of what she put herself through when she was first alone in this house.

They really did look line lines of red string, from this angle. Maybe they really did lead to other rays of light.

Pushing the blade out slightly, she pressed it to the inner side of her forearm, just halfway up. She always thought...if she could just cut away this awful, tangled thread, it would be much easier. Not for herself. For everyone else. Maybe it would hurt at first, but...in the end, she wasn’t supposed to be here. She was never meant to be here. Not like this. Maybe that was why she continued to destroy everything around her.

It stings, when the blade cuts. She can see a line of blood slowly falling from where she left it embedded in her arm, hand still as she simply...stared. What kind of irrational feeling made her not want to continue? Was it some kind of useless fear? Was it a silly hope that maybe there was something she wasn’t seeing? Hasn’t she spent long enough trying to delude herself like that? Someone else was dead, now. Someone who could have done so much more, if only someone other than Kanade had found her.

Please. Just leave her be. Let her have this.

Her trembling hand tensed, trying to force itself to stop shaking so much. In one sudden, final chance, she pushed her hand down, forcing the blade to continue its path down her arm. The arc stops at her wrist, where the blade had finally slipped back out and the box cutter clattered against paper and porcelain, her hand open and free to start shaking again. Her entire body was trembling. She groaned, pain flaring all along her arm. She felt sick to her stomach, but there wasn’t anything in there to throw up. Just...the uncomfortable sensation of stomach acid.

Gasping, she opened her eyes and watched through a half-lidded gaze as blood freed itself past the long cut she’d forced herself to make across the healed scars from before. Just like that. She cut the tangled string like she was always supposed to.

Kanade Yoisaki no longer had to be a name anyone needed to think about or worry about. It didn’t need to have a spot in someone else’s life. She didn’t need to have some kind of purpose alongside such bright, promising people. Someday...someday they would pick themselves back up. They’d find their footing again and move forward, finding their own purposes and meanings and forging their own bonds. They would do things she could never, ever do.

Her arm felt cold. The papers underneath her felt warm and wet, stained a dark, violent kind of red. It really would have been a shame if she had done this anywhere else. Left some kind of inconvenient mess that other people would have to clean just to make this house look...normal, again.

It really was better without her in it. The world already looked so, so much better. Brighter. It felt so much less suffocating.

That’s right. So...in the end, the most selfish thing she could ever want, truly was the answer she should have sought in the first place. If only she had.

To think...Mafuyu would get so close to a human. After spending so long the way she was, Mizuki wouldn’t have expected anyone to make Mafuyu actually care so quickly. Unintentionally even, given her impression of Kanade so far. Properly getting to know her on the occasions Mizuki actually did drop by the composer’s home really made it clear why Mafuyu would be so drawn to her. Obvious problems aside, Kanade Yoisaki was a rare breed. While her desire to help was capable of unhealth levels of devotion, she had one regardless, and did all she could to reach out and make someone feel like they matter.

Even a conversation with the human often left Mizuki feeling like some kind of weight had been rmeoved from her shoulders as gingerly as possible. Mafuyu certainly did find herself a rare keeper. Not that they were in a relationship, it seemed. Kanade reeled too much around the way she saw herself and a passive desire to die to pursue the idea of having a romance with anyone. Mafuyu still hardly know how to define her own feelings when it came to other people. Together, they were quite the messy pair…

Mafuyu admitted she’d slept with the human on a few occasions. She definitely had some kind of attachment to the girl, even if she couldn’t define it. Neither of them seemed to have any issues with where they stood with each other for now. Some kind of...casual friendship with benefits, maybe. No, it was a little bit more than that, but it still lacked the understanding needed for any sort of consideration into commitment.

“If you’re so interested in her, you can pursue her if you want to.”

“Eh?” Mizuki had been surprised to hear the other vampire say that so casually. Mafuyu never looked away from her phone as she spoke to Mizuki, her thumb slowly scrolling down an article she was skimming over.

“We’re not...together, in any way that makes me want to reconsider. I do suppose I despise the idea of some human or another vampire I don’t know getting too interested, but...well, I know you.” Finally, her eyes glance away from the phone and at Mizuki instead. “You find her cute. I don’t blame you...she’s good at that.”

“You’re serious, huh?”

“I’m not going to keep her from anyone she might want to get closer to, either. That’s my only catch. I don’t mind what you do with her...but if she isn’t interested, then you can forget it.”

“Just who do you take me for?”

“Not the kind of person who would do what I’m warning you against.”

Mizuki huffed, raising an eyebrow at her junior vampire, before just...shrugging. “I’m flattered to know you consider me one of your exceptions, still.”

“Why wouldn’t I? Besides, you’re not exactly the most malicious monster walking the streets during the evening, you know. You’re...much more reasonable. More than me, even.”

Reasonable, huh? Mizuki wasn’t so sure about that, but she had dropped the conversation there, not willing to press a doubt that Mafuyu wasn’t going to listen to anyway. Pink eyes peer into room through a slightly cracked open door before her knuckles knock against the wood, letting her know she was there.

“Knock, knock. It’s Mizuki.”

“Oh! Um, come in.”

Gently, Mizuki pushed the door open, peering into the darkened room until she spotted Kanade herself, seated at her desk and reviewing lines of notes copied into a music-making program open on the monitor in front of her.

“A busy-body as usual huh?”

Kanade glanced at Mizuki, chuckling nervously and shaking her head. “Not too badly...just...thought I should work a little bit more on this song while I still had it on my mind.”

Strolling over, Mizuki leaned against the back of Kanade’s chair and peered at the screen, tilting her head. “She mentioned that you made music. You made a song for her, right?”

“Ah...once, yes…” Kanade sighed, looking the screen over. “I used to do it all the time, but...when things started getting worse, I guess I just...lost the cause, a little bit. But, I still do want to. Make music, I mean.”

“What do you have of this one so far, huh? Mind if I hear it?” As she asked, Mizuki reached over, gently pulling the wireless headphones from around Kanade’s neck. The composer was surprised for a moment, but then merely moved her cursor over to the play button, waiting until Mizuki had the headphones slipped around her own head.

“Hmm...ohh, Mafuyu wasn’t kidding, huh? She did talk about how she found your other tracks online, but hearing the real deal in person still feels different.”

Kanade rubbed her neck, blushing a little bit at the praise. She didn’t feel like she deserved that kind of encouragement, but she wasn’t going to fruitlessly argue the point.

“This is cool. All I did way back then was do things like make videos. It’s nice having something you want to make, though. I like making clothes and accessories myself, but once in a while I do still find myself thinking about making something for stuff I hear online. Maybe I’ll have to do something for you sometime too.”

“Oh you don’t...you don’t have to do that…”

“It’ll be because I want to, but duly noted and disregarded!” What a cheerful attitude...it’s a little tiring to hear when Kanade was so used to low-energy company and quiet atmospheres, but there was always something about Mizuki’s presence in general that seemed to offset it. A kind of...strange comfort. She’s known the pink vampire for a much shorter amount of time than even Mafuyu, but somehow Mizuki exuded an atmosphere that made her feel like she’s known her for years. Was that something special to her specifically, or was that just the way she was as a person? It made Kanade wonder.

Suddenly, Mizuki’s finger reaches down, tapping at the top of Kanade’s head. Leaning over, Mizuki placed the headphones on the desk and then smiled at Kanade. “What’s on your mind?”

“Uh...nothing important. But um...is there something that you wanted, Akiyama-san?”

“I toooold you, just Mizuki is fine. But, I suppose I just came by to drop in and see you.”

“That’s...that’s it?”

“What, can’t a girl wanna see someone else?” Walking around the chair, Mizuki gently pushed the headphones and even the keyboard aside a little bit before taking a seat right on the composer’s desk. She leaned forward and smirked, eyeing Kanade curiously. “Or is it just that you don’t think someone would come by solely to see you?”

“I mean…” Well. Yes. That’s exactly what Kanade thinks.

“Yeah all right fine, don’t actually answer that, girl.” Mizuki huffs, waving dismissively. “I mean it though. You were on my mind. So I told Mafuyu I was gonna come by here, and now here I am.”

“M-Mafuyu? Why is…”

“It isn’t like she’s literally your caretaker or something. I can just come by if I want to. But vampires can get pretty nasty about possession, you know? I thought, well, if something like say, me biting on you a little were to happen, I better ask her if it’s cool, first.”

“H-huh?” There were so many things there just said that Kanade could question right away. Near the top of that list would be what on Earth Mafuyu is saying she’s okay with.

“Relax, I’m not about to ask you become dinner for two vampires. That’s kinda rough, and you’re pretty scrawny.”

“W-what are you getting at?”

“Aw, you really are the type that needs the direct treatment, huh? That’s cute. I mean...I know I probably pale in comparison to Mafuyu’s looks and wiles, but I like to think I have my own approachableness.” That’s not even a word. Still, Kanade suddenly seems to frown, leaning forward in her chair a little bit.

“Don’t say that! You’re—well…” She stopped herself, realizing how suddenly she had spoken out. Blushing bright red, she leaned back again, looking as though she wanted to melt right into her chair and fuse with it. Mizuki just tilted her head to the side a bit, a rather cat-like smile tugging at her lips.

“Hm? I’m what? Come on now, you can’t leave me hangin’ right there.”

“Well you’re...pretty. You have a very...magnetic personality, and you’re so pretty, t-to boot…” Kanade grimaced, glancing to the side to avoid Mizuki’s stare. “It’s all very...c-cute.”

Mizuki blinked, making a bit of a more...subtle face. Maybe not so subtle, given the tinge of pink to her cheeks. She didn’t really expect the meek girl to actually go and say things like that to her. Really? Mafuyu hadn’t said anything about how surprisingly charming this girl apparently could be.

“Ah…” Clearing her throat, Mizuki glanced to the side. “Really going for the throat, aren’t you? I don’t know what to say.”

“So-sorry.”

“Huh?” Looking back at the composer, Mizuki chuckled despite her lingering hint of embarrassment. “You go buttering me up, and then you say sorry for it? Come oooon. Commit, girl. Flirt with me a little more.”

“U-um—I’m…” She’s not flirting. She’s pretty sure she’s not! Is she? She doesn’t even know how to do that. Mizuki leans forward just a little bit, smiling as she watches the composer stumble over herself to figure out what to do. Poor thing. What an adorable reaction, though.

“You don’t actually have to. I mean...I’m a little indulgent sure—you caught me off guard with those comments. I don’t get to feel like that too often anymore. It’s nice. Though, if you wanna keep squirming in your chair, I won’t stop you. It’s a cute reaction.”

At that, Kanade just looked down at her lap, hands on the seat by either side of her as she breathed out in exasperation. Mizuki giggled, shaking her head. “Meet me in the middle, then. I wouldn’t mind a little snack.”

Kanade picked her head up at that, surprised. Maybe a little alarmed. Not in a way that looked like she was going to get out of here as quick as possible. She just...wholly didn’t expect it. Like a doe caught in headlights.

“Just a little nibble. I’m curious how you practically domesticated someone like Mafuyu, after all. Is there something special in there? Or is it just...you?”

Kanade blushed, frowning a little bit at the phrasing before exhaling, even more exasperated than before. “I-if you’re hungry, just say so…”

Mizuki blinked. After a few seconds, she broke into sudden laughter, once again caught off guard by the response she got. Seriously? “You’re in a weird place too, aren’t you? I don’t usually meet humans who sound so...willing to be a vampire’s evening meal.”

“W-well I mean...you need to eat just as much as I do, right? It’s not...that big of a deal.” Well, it is. For different reasons. Still…

“That’s pretty dangerous. You shouldn’t go offering your neck to every vampire you meet.”

“I don’t. It’s...it’s fine, if it’s Mafuyu...and well, you too. You’re important to her, and she seems to trust you. So...I will too.”

Mizuki nodded thoughtfully, glancing back to the desk and idly moving thingsa little further away from where she was sitting. “I see.” Mafuyu was much more of a softy than she let on, letting this girl become something important to her. Mizuki could understand why. Every word that came out of the composer’s mouth was like a softly spoken promise, even if she didn’t intend it to sound that way. It was comforting, hearing her speak. Mizuki felt she could sit here and listen to this girl talk about a sandwich she ate yesterday for lunch and feel strangely at ease just hearing her voice drone on.

Sliding off of the desk, Mizuki smiled and held out her hand close to Kanade. “Come here. If you want to, anyway.”

Kanade hesitated a moment, not really sure what to do. Eventually, her hand raised, sliding itself into Mizuki’s grasp. Helped up out of her chair, Kanade was pulled and turned around, pushed gently into her desk instead. “Up you go.” Effortlessly, Mizuki’s hands find Kanade’s waist and grab her, lifting her from the floor for a moment. Kanade made a strangled, startled noise as she was hoisted up onto the desk in Mizuki’s place, made to sit right at the edge as Mizuki closed in enough to stop just between the composer’s knees, her hands resting on them.

“U-um—”

“Take the jacket off, hm? I’d hate to get blood on it.”

Color quickly found its way back to Kanade’s face. Nodding, she reluctantly shrugged the jacket off, keeping her movements minimal given she was sitting on her work desk, and extremely uninterested in knocking anything off of it.

“You have a preference for where I’m allowed to bite, or…?”

“Uh...n-no, not really.” She’s never thought about that before, and thinking about it now just made her think about how she really didn’t care where Mizuki took the blood from. She felt entirely too willing to accommodate.

“If you say so. But go ahead and push ‘n call for my attention, if you get a little uncomfortable, got it? I’m not above nibbling on a wrist instead.”

“O-okay.” She probably looked strange, always just...letting these vampires do this. Well...there’s only two of them. It’s not like there were enough different occurrences to really call her strange over it. She looked off to the side as Mizuki reached over and gently brushed a few locks of white hair behind Kanade’s ear.

“Mafuyu did a pretty good job on your haircut, you know.”

“Huh? Thanks…”

Every little thing made this girl’s heart hop around, didn’t it? How cute. Mizuki’s hand slipped to the other side of Kanade’s neck while the other hand’s fingers gently pulled the straps of Kanade’s shirt and undershirt a little bit more over her shoulder, to get them out of the way of any mess. With a short little hum, she ducked her head and opened her mouth, grazing the very tips of her fangs against the composer’s neck for a moment, like a little warning. Though, she had no doubt Kanade was already familiar with the process. She probably already knew that staying calm or at least still was more helpful than anything.

Fangs push into her skin quickly, getting the slightest flinch out of Kanade but not much more than just that. The composer tilted her head a little bit though, accommodating to make it easier on them both. Once Mizuki was certain the slight numbness was starting to set in, she let the wound bleed, letting her tongue draw over the dripping blood. Kanade’s hands flinched against the desk’s surface, fingers nervously twitching before Mizuki’s free hand drifted down, fingers brushing over the top of Kanade’s hand. It’s...strangely calming, to feel them there, for Kanade. It seemed like Mizuki had an idea that it would be too, considering the way her hand more firmly rests over Kanade’s, making sure the composer could stay aware of the contact.

Kanade’s blood was...pretty on par with what she expected. It’s nothing out of the ordinary—it definitely had room for improvement on taste, given the girl’s apparent health. It really in a way solidified for Mizuki that whatever kept Mafuyu here with her, it certainly had nothing to do with how fantastic her blood might be. It’s an amusing note to mentally take. Though, she could kind of understand it. Kanade’s heart was beating hard in that poor little chest of hers, even despite Mizuki’s efforts to keep her relaxed enough to keep her body’s blood flow from reacting badly to it. The subtle little noise on occasion she heard from the young woman was cute too...she really was kind of hard to resist on the charm factor. She was adorable, in a pathetic kind of way that was far more effective than it had any right to be.

She had told herself she was only taking a little bit from the woman. It was curiosity, after all. Maybe a little snack considering she was feeling a little peckish, but she wasn’t hungry enough to need more than what she’s had so far. She’s quick to clean up after herself, stopping the bleeding before catching a stray drip of blood making its way closer to her collarbone. She doesn’t need to go that far—but she wasn’t someone to pass up the opportunity to tease someone again. Mafuyu was hard to poke fun with—but Kanade? She seemed pretty weak-kneed, if Mizuki could be blunt about what she saw.

Picking up her head, Mizuki studied Kanade’s face as she licked her lips clear of blood, making sure the composer wasn’t looking worse for wear. She was just...predictably red in the face, only meeting Mizuki’s stare for a moment before looking elsewhere to get her bearings.

“You really are kind of a mess, Kanade. I wouldn’t pin you for the type of girl who could reign Mafuyu in.” Mizuki chuckled, her own hands lowering to the desk as she stayed, leaned close to the composer. With a small grimace, the girl did look back at her again and raised her hands. Mizuki flinched, not expecting her fingers to slide against the sides of her face like they did, fingertips brushing at the very edges of her ears.

“Hm? A-ah, Kanade?”

Without a word, Kanade pulled Mizuki closer, leaning forward a little bit to meet her on the way before abruptly pushing her lips against the vampire’s. Surprise wasn’t enough of a word for Mizuki to use at the sudden, bold display of affection. Kanade’s fingers curl grasp at her subtly, the composer’s lips brushing firmly before demanding more still of Mizuki and brushing her tongue against the vampire’s lips, prompting Mizuki to rather impulsively part them, inviting the gesture.

Oh. Okay! They’re doing this now, apparently.

Her mouth still tastes like Kanade’s blood. It’s not exactly something that Kanade doesn’t notice herself, but...she’s admittedly gotten a little used to it, thanks to some of Mafuyu’s antics. Mizuki...doesn’t even really try to stop her. Maybe she was a little too quick to give in to Kanade’s interest in actually kissing her, but she wasn’t humble enough to go trying to say she wasn’t already kind of thinking about it anyway. Considering one of Mafuyu’s limitations on her permission was ‘only if Kanade was okay with it,’ she could appreciate how very, very clear the composer was making it at the moment that this was more than okay with her.

There’s a bit of a disgruntled groan in Mizuki’s throat as her hands slide away from the desk and instead slide around Kanade’s waist. “Mn...this is...kind of dangerous, you know…” Mizuki’s mutter pulls her away from Kanade’s insistent kiss, letting her instead tilt her head again and this time press her lips to the other side of Kanade’s neck. Odd remark to deliver while simultaneously not stopping herself from reciprocating with her own shows of affection.

“I—m-maybe...but it’s...i-it’s fine…” Kanade admits, looking off to the side with a brighter shade of red rushing to her face again. Mizuki caught it, giggling a little bit into the young woman’s neck before pulling her head back, almost sneering with a mischievous look in her gaze while she studied Kanade’s flustered face.

“Is it? I happen to think you’re too cute, Kanade...you’re playing with fire. I didn’t think you were that bold.”

She wasn’t used to being questioned about it, maybe. Or she just wasn’t used to making first moves. Regardless, the composer quickly lost the composure she acted with before, keeping her eyes averted as her ears burned hot from the spotlight Mizuki put on her impulsive actions.

She didn’t think she was either. What exactly these vampires were doing to her—she wasn’t sure she could say without embarrassing herself further.

“Don’t get all shy on me now. I don’t mind, and neither does Mafuyu, as long as it’s something that you want. You could probably ask both of us to coddle you like this at the same time and she’d jump in without a second thought. But don’t tell her I told you that.”

The idea puts a strange look on Kanade’s face. It’s some mixture of mortified embarrassment and shock, and it’s enough that Mizuki finds herself laughing at it a little bit, arms holding a little more firmly as she pulled the composer forward on the desk a bit more, closing more of the distance. Leaning her head forward, she carefully grazed her teeth against Kanade’s earlobe, biting down on it gently. Playfully, she stopped to nuzzle the side of her face against Kanade’s head, muttering quietly against the girl’s ear while she lingered so close to it.

“I guess I should keep that idea in mind then. You sure don’t seem opposed to it.”

“C-come on, quit…”

Mizuki chuckled. “Sorry. You want me to stop, though?” The question gets almost an immediate response. Kanade’s hands slide to the front of Mizuki’s shirt, fingers clinging gently as the reddened composer grimaced again, still not looking directly at her.

“N...d-don’t.”

Ohh, how adorable. Mizuki’s lips slid back to Kanade’s jaw line, following it with a slow, curious trail of kisses until she starts to drift lower, back to the neck. At least this time, she’s more interested in kisses than she is blood. Even the way she bites is careful not to puncture again, though it is firm enough to leave indents behind that make Kanade squirm a little bit where she sat. Mizuki’s wandering attention found its way back to Kanade’s lips though, indulging the composer in another kiss after a playful nip of Kanade’s lip gave away what she wanted to do a little more of. Picking up where they left off, Mizuki was more than happy to pull herself against Kanade and take full reigns of the kiss this time, sending the other woman reeling in the process.

Kanade’s fingers move to cling to the sides of Mizuki’s clothes, a whine in her voice as she followed the vampire’s lead, letting her do as she pleased. She felt herself shiver whenever Mizuki moved in close, as if at the moment there was no really satisfactory way for them to be any closer than they already were, even if the positioning what was a little bit awkward with Kanade still on the desk. It didn’t really deter Mizuki much. Shuddering into the kiss, the vampire leaned into her a little bit more, arm securing itself firmly behind Kanade’s back still as her body pushed slowly against the other woman’s.

“Mm...M-Mizuki…” Kanade struggled to mutter the name between Mizuki’s slower, more intense kisses. With a tilt of her head and another push into a kiss, Mizuki’s fingers curl into the back of Kanade’s shirt as she squirms. Her body tucked itself snugly between Kanade’s legs, her hips now pushing with a careful slowness against the composer’s body. It even makes the vampire herself shiver, enamored somewhere between getting to indulge in Kanade’s sweet kisses and being able to pick out all of the little tells in Kanade’s body language that told her to keep going.

It’s hard to ignore where this was taking her head, honestly. Kanade is much more into it than she anticipated, and the excitement was definitely getting to her. It was like a spark in the air. It made her want to dive more into Kanade’s kisses—maybe even leave another hickey or two somewhere. It made her want Kanade even closer, even when she had the composer about as close to her as she could get her. More than that, Kanade was close enough that there was no way the other woman would really be able to miss the obvious excitement in Mizuki’s body, whether it’s unexpected or not. The teasing little sways of Mizuki’s hips invited opportunities that were impossible to ignore.

Mizuki’s strong, pretty arms are firm behind her back, the vampire herself so close that all Kanade could smell from her aside from the metallic hints of her own blood was the sweet hint of cherries, and there’s a surprisingly firm presence in the rolls of Mizuki’s hips against her own that along with the teasing movements themselves, left Kanade’s head spinning and her legs feeling a little bit weak.

“Kanade…”

The composer gasped softly when Mizuki once again pulled away from the kisses. Leaving her to catch her breath softly, the vampire instead busied herself with her neck again, kissing and biting at her but still not really relenting with anything else she did. If anything, she just got more into it, body finding more of a rhythm to move itself to while Kanade’s legs loosely wrapped around her. The woman’s hands slide further around Mizuki’s back, fingers more tightly clinging to the back of her shirt as a pull forward of Mizuki’s body gets a shudder out of Kanade’s frame, and a shaky, quiet little whine out of her. Cute...irresistibly cute. This really is dangerous.

Mizuki...doesn’t really think about it any further. Suddenly a little too aware of what she was doing, her arms pull away, hands on Kanade’s knees as she takes a clumsy step back from the composer. Not...far enough to embarrass herself in her current state, but at least enough to get the physical distance she desperately needed to pull herself back together.

“I-I um…” She cleared her throat, looking off to the side and struggling to mutter out her apology. The moment of clarity doesn’t really do Kanade any favors either—especially not after making sounds like that. She’s not sure she’s ever had so much of her blood rush straight to her face like this, but she felt like she was burning. Mizuki’s hands slip away from her knees and Kanade pulls herself back more onto the desk, still trembling and pretty out of breath.

“S-sorry I...might’ve gotten a little carried away—”

“I-it’s fine.” Kanade’s answer is pretty prompt. Oh it was more than fine. Enough that if it had kept going well...she’s almost certain she had no intention of interrupting Mizuki. That thought alone is enough to make her crave the existence of spontaneous combustion, right now. Whatever Mizuki’s reasons for stopping herself short, Kanade wasn’t going to question it. Not just because she would rather die than bring that up, but...well, the woman probably had her own reasons. She wasn’t going to push it. Especially not when she couldn’t say for sure if she was actually all that ready to go that far in such a heat-of-the-moment kind of situation.

Mizuki glances at her again. Just briefly, but she is at least recovering a little bit of her usual attitude, still flustered in body language, but still reaching out to Kanade, resting her hand on top of the young woman’s head as she gave her a small, apologetic grin. “...you really are a sweet girl, actually. I kinda get it. I gotta say...I’m relieved you’re the one Mafuyu ran into. Bumps in the road lately or not.”

For a moment, Kanade look startled to hear it. Almost bashfully, she looks away and at her lap instead, fingers fidgeting over it. Still, Mizuki’s grin relaxed a little bit. She leaned in and pecked Kanade on the cheek, finally letting her hand slide free from Kanade’s head before stepping back.

“Sorry for getting out of hand. But...well, maybe when I’m a little more...mentally prepared, I can make up for it next time. Hm? If you want, that is.”

“M-Mizuki!”

“Heh—or maybe you’d rather I bring Mafuyu with me next time?”

“O-okay, g...oh my god--y-you can leave now!”