12:54 am
after watching mafuyu enter kanade's house, mizuki snapped out of their thoughts and returned to reality. they realized that they had lost track of time and needed to get back home themselves.
they got on their bike and began pedaling, their mind still slightly fuzzy from the events of the evening. the journey back home felt longer now, as they couldn't help but think about mafuyu's smile and the fluttery feeling it had given them.
upon checking the time, mizuki's eyes widened in horror. it was already late, and they had a meeting on nightcord scheduled in just a few minutes. panic set in as they realized they needed to get home quickly, or they would miss the meeting.
they pedaled faster than ever, trying to cover the distance between them and their house as fast as possible.
mizuki's desperation and panic to get home in time for the nightcord meeting made them pedal even faster, but their rush led to a mishap. they hit a small bump on the road, causing them to lose control of the bike and crash. they fell to the ground, scraping their cheek in the process.
mizuki winced in pain, their cheek now stinging from the fall. they quickly got up, noticing the blood seeping from the wound.
ignoring the stinging pain on their cheek, mizuki quickly stood up and picked up the bike, still feeling the urgency to get home before they missed the nightcord meeting. they hopped back on the bike and started pedaling again, but this time at a slower, more careful pace.
kanade, who was sitting at her desk working on her laptop, looked up as she heard mafuyu's voice. she turned her chair around and smiled softly as she saw mafuyu enter the room.
"hey," kanade greeted warmly. "you're back."
kanade shifted in her chair to make room for mafuyu as she took a seat beside her. she continued working on her laptop, her fingers moving swiftly across the keyboard.
the room was silent for a few minutes as kanade focused on her work, but she would occasionally glance over at mafuyu, stealing glances of her.
kanade looked up from her laptop and glanced at the time on her phone, realizing that it was indeed 1am. she nodded in agreement with mafuyu's suggestion.
"it's 1 am, kanade. we should join nightcord."
"you're right," kanade said, her voice steady. "we should join nightcord now. they're probably waiting for us."
with a few taps on her screen, mafuyu opened nightcord and clicked on the call icon. after a few seconds, the call connected, and the familiar voices of the other member filled the room.
"hey, you guys are finally here!" ena's voice came through the speakers, a hint of annoyance in her tone. "i've been waiting for you two."
kanade, trying to diffuse any tension, asked calmly, "ena, when did you log on to nightcord today?"
ena paused for a moment, slightly taken aback by the unexpected question. "oh, uh, i guess i joined around 20-30 minutes ago," she replied, her voice laced with slight annoyance.
kanade tilted her head slightly, curiosity evident in her voice. "why did you join so early, ena?" she asked, looking at the screen where ena's virtual avatar was displayed.
ena huffed slightly, feeling a bit defensive. "well, i was just getting started on a new artwork and wanted some background noise, alright?" she explained, her fingers tapping on her tablet screen.
mafuyu, noticing the irritation in ena's voice, couldn't help but comment. "you seem grumpy, ena," she said quietly.
ena bristled at the remark, her irritation growing. "i'm not grumpy! i've just been stuck on this one part of my drawing and i'm frustrated," she retorted, her tone defensive.
