Hikkikomori Log (Utaite Short Stories)

Mafumafu - Geniuses (Oneshot fic)

The clock at the bottom of the screen read 3 AM. A whole 4 hours ago, his work session had begun, yet the empty Cubase file said otherwise. 

Testing. Delete. Testing. Delete. 

Melody after melody, line after line, nothing seemed to stick. Inspiration was low, but the urge to work was there. Mafumafu stared at his screen in defeat, strumming his guitar endlessly to no avail. 

"Maybe I should just call it a night.." He sighed, giving up for the day.

As he lifted himself from his chair, he pulled his exhausted body away from his work space, opening the door to the room to leave the stuffy soundproof studio. In the darkness of his apartment, Mafumafu's feeling of defeat enveloped him, but was soon overtaken when he felt the presence of two fuzzy friends snuggle up to his legs.

"Ah.. Iroha-chan.. Potato..." he greeted to the tiny felines energetically bouncing around him.

His exhaustion melted away as he bent down to pet the soft cats. 

"I couldn't get anything done today..." he mumbled disappointingly to his cats, not that they could understand. 

He sat on the floor and let himself be surrounded by fuzzy heaven, as the two cats proceeded to crawl up and around their owner. He envied their carefree personalities, to be so damn cute and do as they pleased. He thought about writing another Super Nuko song, but quickly dismissed it when he remembered his creativity block predicament.

Iroha and Potato stared up at the man, not quite understanding why their owner was feeling down. They pondered while rolling around aimlessly to and fro, before coming to what may have been a realization. Their ears perked up, as they met each others' eyes in a sense of feline-unity. 

Taking off with a dash, they ran to the only thing that could possibly be responsible, sprinting into the soundproof studio and up onto the table. They pounced upon the keyboard, hissing at the computer as if to say "attack!!"

Mafumafu ran after the cats, confused as to why they felt the need to attack his computer. "Iroha-chan??? Potato???" He cried out in confusion.

Pulling the two cats off of his work space, he held the two cats with confusion until they calmed down. He placed them on the floor and ushered them out the door to avoid future troubles. They mewled back at him begrudgingly. He'll remember to keep that door closed, next time.

Before leaving the room, he took one last glance at the still-on monitor. Walking towards it, he realized the Cubase project was still open, but now with an array of messy midi strewn around the file, all thanks to the feline attack. He raised his eyebrow, and out of sheer curiosity, wondered what the mess could possibly sound like.

He hit play.

"Wow.." 

He smiled.

"Iroha-chan.. Potato-chan..."

He let out a small laugh.

"It sounds horrible."

It was a total mess, as expected.

He chuckled at his cats' creation. It wasn't like he expected anything amazing from the 8 paws attacking, but it sure gave him a good laugh. He played the file again, listening to the dissonant notes ringing out at him before pausing.

It was a mess... but there were some notes in there that stuck out to him. 

He thought 

"Iroha... Potato..." he chuckled.

"You guys are geniuses."