"Hey, watch where you're going dumbass!"
Envy turns to face the man as he does the same.
"...Fuck you staring at me for, creep?"
"Envy, come on. Let's just keep walking." Ina walks to his side as she speaks to him.
"..."
The delinquent looks over to Ina, then Iofi.
"Well, buddy? Not gonna go with your girls? She looks like a fuckin' kid, what are you? A fuckin' pedophile?!"
The delinquent's friends snicker and laugh as they watch on, when, without warning, Envy grabs the man by the hair and presses him to his knees.
"...I'll make you beg."
"... H-hey! Calm dow-!"
"Envy!"
Ina exclaims, prompting him to look at her.
"...?"
"We're in the middle of the city. No violence please."
"...Understood."
He lets go of the man as he hurries to stand up and leave with the rest of his buddies.
The three go back to walking peacefully, though Ina and Iofi are a little bothered by the commotion they've caused.
~~~~~
Finally back at HQ, the three discuss what to do next.
"Hmm, I'd like to get to painting right away..."
"Well, in that case. I can be of some assistance!" Iofi proudly puffs her chest and puts her hands on her waist.
"Hehe, I'm sure you can."
Ina turns to face Envy.
"...Would you like to come with as well?"
"...Yes."
Ina is surprised for a moment before lighting up like a bulb... Or is that just her forehead reflecting light? Whatever. The three walk to Ina's room and she sets everything up. Seats, canvas, tools.
Three canvases for three painters all using acrylics. And so, they all got to work.
~~~~~
"...Phew! I'm finished!" says Iofi as she puts down her tools.
"...Mmm... Me too. Envy?" Says Ina as she inspects her drawing before looking at him.
"..." He doesn't respond, instead he just keeps painting, too focused to hear them. The brushes float around, precisely moving across the white canvas to paint it in his vision. He dips the tools back into the water before going back to painting while the girls get off their seats to inspect.
...What they see is a drawing which depicts the hand of death, a lonely end. A boney arm that stretches out of the darkness surrounding a child, laying alone on concrete ground in an alley darker than dark in the midst of night. The only describable feeling is loneliness... A bitter end.
The girls stay silent as they watch. A little while later and Envy stands up, his creation finished. Floating his tools back into place, he turns to face the two standing to either side of him. Ina on the right, Iofi on the left.
"...What?"
"...Nothing, we were just... observing."
He looks over to Iofi.
"...Uh, yeah... Me too, but can I ask something?"
"...go ahead."
"...What's it meant to express?"
"...Relief."
"...R-relief...? It doesn't look like that..."
"Relief is... what you make of it. To me, death is relief. An escape. A means to an end. Is that enough?"
Iofi nods reluctantly, but Ina decides to press on.
"...I-is that... you?"
"...It could be anyone. This painting tells a story that describes a feeling... Loneliness. You never understand what a person feels... until you see the consequences of what they feel."
"...I think I get it... what's the name?" Iofi asks.
"...A perfect end."
"... o-oh... I-interesting... and how did you even paint it...? You can't see, right...?"
"...I imagine the painting visually... And I move the brushes precisely how I want the drawing to appear."
Iofi quickly snaps out of her confused and startled state after hearing him say that. Suddenly pouting instead.
"Hold on, isn't that unfair?! You can literally draw whatever you want! You may as well be a printer!"
"...does it matter?"
"...what's a printer?" He thinks to himself, but decides not to ask.
"...He talks a lot about death... first Calli... now this. A grudge against death..." Ina thinks to herself while she absentmindedly stares at what may as well be a masterpiece before snapping out of it.
"...Well... Um, let's see what Iofi made!" Ina nervously looks over to Iofi, who nods and walks over to her own canvas. The other two follow closely.
"Tada! I made a sunflower field with a couple walking beside it on a dirt path and a sunny sky and look at that, a nice mountain in the distance and..." She begins listing little details one after the other, rarely taking any breaths of fresh air to keep talking. She went on for so long that Ina had to stop her!
"Alright, Iofi. You can stop now. I think Envy got the full picture as well."
"...I stopped imagining half way through."
"...Okay, well... mine's last!"
Ina walks over to her own canvas, describing herself and the other girls in Holomyth happily walking alongside each other in the streets of a city. A content and happy smile stretching across each of their faces, though it's especially evident on Ina's face. After all, to her... these four are a lot more than just friends. They're a group of people that she's a part of, not a mass, but a group. A group of five girls who all have something in common... the fact that they're not normal. It makes them family in Ina's eyes. Even in the sea of people, they stand out like no other.
"...Heartfelt."
"Yeah, I can totally feel the emotion here! Especially on you, Ina! You look so happy!"
"Oh, um... Thanks, you two. It means a lot."
"Hehe, no problem!"
"..."
The three continued chatting for a little while before separating.
~~~~~
Envy is now walking back to the national park, hoping to get a good night's sleep and hopefully not meet Fauna and Mumei again.
YOU ARE READING
The Consequences Of Envy (Hololive Fanfiction)
Fanfiction...Once upon a time, there was a blind man, an anomaly who stepped out of a rift across worlds onto an open field of green... battered, burned and bruised, the man could only take a step before he fell to his knees. ...Once upon a time, there were f...
