empty snow, pure white melodies.

marionette, released.

(contains minor spoilers of the event "imprisoned marionette.")

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soft tapping of footsteps appeared in the empty sekai once again, the deadeyed mafuyu appeared after the humming lone miku waiting for a company. the clock striked the twenty-fifth, no, even more this time but no one appeared.

mafuyu did not recall that kanade told anyone to cancel today's meeting, did she called it off without her knowing?

"miku?"

"yes?"

"where are the others?"

"one by one came to me, told me that they can't make it."

"...i see."

so they have been planning for other things tonight that they are unable to meet in the sekai, but that leaves mafuyu with an opportunity to spend a serene time with her. lately mafuyu has been eager to spend more time with miku than anyone else, something about the virtual entity fascinates the renowned lyricist of 25ji, but mafuyu cannot clearly put her fingers on whatever feelings she has at the moment.

"mafuyu?"

"yes?"

miku patted the vacant spot on her lap, igniting the unexpected curiosity within the purplette.

"what for?"

"you looked stressed, mafuyu. look at you, did something happened?"

mafuyu ignored the question and propping herself down on the whitehaired miku's lap, gazing up at the entity's heterochromatic combination of turquoise and magenta eyes of hers.

for a fleeting moment mafuyu felt like lost in a maze of an unknown space, and her hand instinctively reaching for miku's cheek.

"...mafuyu?"

her call brought mafuyu's senses back into reality, but showing no significant reaction other than a soft sigh.

"i wonder, if i looked into your eyes.. can i find what i was looking for?"

the whitehaired miku tilted her head, a small motion brimming with curiosity.

"i feel better around you. you're always here with me, waiting for me, helping me learn what it is to be myself."

"if mafuyu is happy, so do i. i served my purpose to help mafuyu."

"...then what if one day i finally figured what it is to be free? will you disappear?"

"...i don't know."

the uncertain answer tugs at mafuyu's heartstrings. but again, she cannot even describe why it caused so much sorrow in her.

"...but even if you are freed, i will never leave mafuyu's side. everyone.. is nice, but spending time with mafuyu is even better."

oh, that felt like a relief for mafuyu. did she felt a little bit of fear just then? she can only understand that she never wanted miku to disappear, not even the sekai. a place to escape from the binds of real life whenever she needs it. she who was once a marionette, is no longer a puppet. miku helped her released the 「strings」 of her, just like what she did to the doll that appeared in the sekai the other day.

her silent gratitude was conveyed through an action unanticipated even by miku, all of the sudden mafuyu held miku's hand and intertwined her fingers, bringing it close and planted a soft kiss on the back of it. miku's pale complexion matched well with her bewitching ashen white hair, which mysteriously mafuyu deemed it as charming.

"mafuyu?"

"...i'm just grateful to meet you."

"i see.. me too, i am grateful to meet mafuyu."

the adoration grows even stronger inside mafuyu, she even wished for the time to stop ticking for once so she can stay with her.

"thank you.. for releasing me from my strings."

mafuyu muttered, unknowingly curved a faint smile of gratitude, but even the slightest of curves will always be noticed by those pairs of mismatched eyes of miku's. the entity gazed down at mafuyu with a warm smile, fingers lacing onto mafuyu's hand to reply her gesture earlier along with a light squeeze.

"you are not a puppet anymore, mafuyu. mafuyu is mafuyu. one day, mafuyu will become whole again, and when that time comes let us keep things the same like now. i wanted to learn outside world through mafuyu, too."

how pleasant, mafuyu thought. something about their affectionate exchanges just warmed her stone cold heart that moment. the two of them held their longing gazes in silence and before they even know it their lips are connected, with miku intuitively leaning down to mafuyu to do her deeds. both of them silently wished that this ephemeral warmth will never leave them-- not anytime soon.