---

It wasn't as if the Detention Club was made of money. If it was, that scratch had yet to trickle down any further than Rei, at any rate. So it was that not every one of Shuuko's mostly-disposable bodies could have a fully featured smartphone. Actually, money didn't seem like it would be the only issue. It sounded like a total logistical nightmare. If they all had one, though, did Shuuko hold some kind of world record? In any case, only the real one had a smart phone, probably. Did she actually keep it on her when she went on a mission, though? Seemed like it would be an easy way to know which one to target, if a light girl who was so inclined had her number, in more ways than one. Medusa's Mirror was always together when fighting, so Kiyo never needed to call during one, so she didn't really know. Maybe she should ask these kinds of questions. Did the other clones have burner phones? If not, maybe they should. All Kiyo really knew was that if she needed to call Shuuko right the fuck now, she should probably call the number she'd saved from the Detention Club's group chat and hope to get lucky. Just wing it, girl! What could possibly go wrong?

”No no, nothing like that." Sink Queen “reassured” Nyxia when she asked about fighting other Miseria. Moments afterwards, Earthshaker showed up to announce that they weren’t looking for more Miseria to fight, but that she would take more information about the giga miseria. ”I don’t think either of you gets it. I’m not really in the business of helping others. I told you about them for my own amusement, that’s all. But since you two are so polite, how’s this?" She pointed at the sky. ”Once the sun goes down? They get much stronger. So avoid doing that until you get stronger." Sink Queen continued to walk inland until she disappeared from sight.

”Let us go?” Morganite laughed. ”Wuda kicked ur butt if ya kept hurtin’ da hostages on yer ‘sacred ground’. Am just glad yer dun bein’ kinky.”

Pearl had started utilizing her magic to mend the beach goers. She didn’t answer Earthshaker, but it was after she said she didn’t want to fight that she began working on the pedestrians. One by one, they were consumed in a blinding light, only to wake up and stumble to their feet. ”Let’s get the hostages out of here.”

It didn’t take a lot of effort to guide everyone off of the beach. Many of them were delirious, but several of the beach goers had never fallen unconscious, and were happy to guide their friends and family off the beach as fast as possible, as it was no longer safe.

What had once been a fun event with hundreds of people was now an empty wasteland. The beach was naught but cratered sand, and the peer had been obliterated during the pirate miseria invasion. Broken timbers reached out of the ocean like souls drowning in the river Styx, and the dutchmen’s crash site had irreversibly damaged the beach.The bedrock had been cracked wide open and dumped much of the sand back into the ocean. The Hibusa girls had certainly left their mark here.



It all worked out in the end, huh?

Of course Oros always wanted to come to the beach, but any time she tried to get the group to do something that she wanted to do it tended to blow up in her face, or get shot down instantly. Despite early difficulties, it all sort of worked out in the end. They had gotten stronger, and they even encountered Shatterscape! She wondered why she had been hanging around. Was she backup in case Acid Drop failed in her duties? That sounded more insane that what just happened, and Oros was having a hard enough time believing her eyes.

She stood upright and held Acid drop like an infant. Her arms extended under her armpits. Well, if Nyxia was going to keep having fun, Earthshaker was probably going to entertain her, and it seemed like Shatterscape was going to respect Earthshaker’s authority. That meant that Endless Ecstasy should be having fun too. And what was more Tsubomi-esque than a nap on a hot day?

She found a spot on the beach that hadn’t been cratered and rolled out two towels. She places Tsubomi on one and sat on the other, propping up her tendrils like a parasol. She spotted a clothes catalog in the sand and picked it up. Oros flipped through the pages in a blur, but immediately slowed down when she got to a page with a woman modeling in her underwear.

She drew her cellphone and powered it up to check the time, and was also greeted with Kate’s fake smile in a wedding dress. She sighed before her eyes drifted onto her slumbering partner. She quickly snapped a picture of Tsubomi and went to change her wallpaper. With a few quick swipes, it had been switched over. But Oros wasn’t quite done yet. She scrolled over to Kate’s photo and with two quick swipes, deleted the image off of her phone. A smile crossed her face as she put her phone away and returned to perusing undergarments.

“Night, huh?” Nyxia mused as she watched Sink Queen depart. She’d definitely have to look into that, albeit only after substantially increasing her power. Yes, as much as the Neon Tempest hated to admit it, the squid girl was correct in her assessment of her and her fellow club members’ current level of strength. The recently vanquished Giga Miseria had been a challenging opponent, and one she wasn’t entirely certain she could have bested alone, no matter how dearly she might have wished to believe otherwise. Thus, continued training was most assuredly in order, although she was somewhat unsure of how exactly to go about it. Giga Miseria seemed to provide the greatest power increase, but if her current capabilities only allowed her to hunt them during the day, she would need to come up with a reliable way to lure them out. Perhaps she and Roche would be able to brainstorm some ideas, but that potential conversation would have to wait. As she’d told Sink Queen, she wasn’t really in the mood to socialize with others, although as it transpired, Shatterscape seemed intent on forcing her to do just that…

“My baby and I feed on Miseria,” Nyxia replied, giving the metal-handed maiden an annoyed glare, as if she was addressing a complete moron who’d just asked her something utterly idiotic like “what’s an airport?”. “I couldn’t give a fuck about these two dipshits,” the Neon Tempest added, gesturing to the pair of light girls. “Fighting them isn’t gonna make me any stronger,” she explained as she turned to depart for the mangled remnants of the pier, leaving Shatterscape and her pretentious commentary behind. “Or keep anyone else from sharing my brother’s fate…”

---

Bright lights invaded Kiyo's eyes. It was an unwelcome interruption to what had previously been an uneventful but peaceful dream: she'd been speeding on her motorcycle down a mostly empty and straight road, feeling the wind in her hair, and one of Shuuko's many bodies against her back in an embrace. She'd been gazing up at one of the very few things she liked to look at—the night sky—with one of the very few people she liked to be with, doing one of the very few things she liked to do. It was, perhaps, the closest thing to heaven that someone like Evil Eye could experience.

So, what the fuck was this shit? Kiyo thought she could hear singing. Figures in white robes stood over her. "It's nice to see you're awake, young miss. What's your name?" one asked. To hell with this! This wasn't a confession booth. What was it, an operating table? You think I'll just let you pluck my eyes out and toss me like a stray cat right through the pearly gates? Fuck you. You created this. It's your fault the balance is all off. You can count me out.

Mother nature was deceptive and vicious. Things that were beautiful were often dangerous, but one place in all of creation where Kiyo could find honesty was in the night sky. There, there was more darkness than light, just as in life, where kind and good people were few, far apart, and always out of reach or too dim to be of any use on this earth. They did, however, have many orbiters—usually a few too many.

Kiyo supposed the angel sought her real name. She imagined giving it to him, only to receive some scalding remark about her Kurai Majokko title in return. Wouldn't it be hilarious to just skip all the pretentiousness? "Evil Eye," she managed with a smirk. Speaking was still difficult, it seemed. "Hm? Sorry, could you repeat that?"

The singing gave way to the familiar buzzing of incandescent bulbs. The figures began to come into focus. This was, in fact, a hospital, and Kiyo was very much not dead yet. "Uh. Ybille Ai," she decided, noticing that Shuuko wasn't around. That was unusual—not that Kiyo made a habit of getting hospitalized, but she figured the priestess would sooner nurse her partner to health by herself than entrust her to some doctor. Maybe there was some kind of emergency? "Ybille Ai. Alright, Ai-san," he remarked, deadpan. "Please remain calm. You are safe and expected to make a full recovery. You suffered a concussion, and your right ankle is broken along with several ribs, but considering the circumstances I'd say your survival was a miracle. The paramedics found you over a hundred meters away from your bike. It was totaled. Would you like me to call your parents?"

Kiyo was stunned, but not by the man's lacking bedside manner. She had been riding her bike, hadn't she? That's right. She was trying to solve the mystery of why the Miseria in Hibusa Town were so weak. She had an initial hypothesis: that her magical power itself also relied upon the same "tragic energy" that the Miseria fed upon, and so her presence, or constant surveillance of Hibusa Town might have been the cause. The best way to test it was to travel to another place by herself, with no summoned minions constantly watching everything. Fortunately, not only was her hypothesis false, but she'd developed a much better hypothesis that seemed to have been correct. Not that she'd had any intention of returning to Hibusa Town, of course—the entire premise of her "mission" was just an excuse to get away from that doomed place. Even if about half of the Detention Club were redeemable agents, anyone with functioning eyes could see that they were held back by a leader that didn't seem capable of feeling any kind of urgency. She'd forgotten where she was driving when a streak of bright burning metal started chasing her like some kind of missile, but it turned out to be a magical girl. She'd grabbed Kiyo, and then... blank.

"Uhm. Don't have any parents," she lied. Was it a lie? Not like it mattered. "My roomie will pick me up. She's a good girl." She thought about using her magic to convince the doctor that she didn't need a ride, but why the rush? She didn't exactly have anywhere to be at the moment.

Ring Ring~

...

Ring Ring~

...

Maybe Shuuko was in a battle. Seemed like she'd have to leave a message.

Beep.

"Hey, Shuuko. I know I'm late calling. Actually... I'm in the hospital, so come pick me up. It's not that bad but I crashed my bike and I, uh, don't feel like walking."

"Alright, Ai-san. I'm going to prescribe some painkillers for you, so please wait here." Kiyo considered telling him not to bother, since she could just transform as soon as she hit the restroom and the pain would go away, but what the hell? She'd still owed money on that totaled bike—unlike the "disposable" bikes which she stole for one-off missions, she actually owned and took care of that one. This meant that she was now broke, and pills were free money. Just as he'd turned to leave, though, she remembered something. "By the way, doc, where are we?" she asked. The doctor looked a little surprised. No, he looked a little tired. Come to think of it, he'd forgotten to introduce himself, too. "Ah, of course. My apologies. This is..."

---

You've got to be fucking kidding me, of all places!

Fuck, fuck, fuck!!

"S-Sorry, Shuuko, I gotta go. Call me back, ok?"

Click.

Furious, she squeezed bunches of her bed sheet for stress relief as she considered leaving without those pills. To think she'd been so flippantly considering using her magic just moments before. Any one of these nurses, any one of her fellow patients could be—no, was probably a magical girl. People being a little too eager to gaze into Kiyo's eyes was not exactly an unfamiliar phenomenon, but now she found herself averting her eyes from everyone, so she wouldn't be found out. She wondered if it made her look even more suspicious. Finally, the doctor had returned with the pills and what was left of Kiyo's belongings: her cell phone, which mercifully was locked but had a cracked screen, and the very ragged-looking remains of her bike jacket. It was in rough shape, but it seemed that whatever magical girl had caught her saw fit to make sure she didn't hit the pavement, at least. Well, she definitely wasn't going to stick around to meet her, at any rate.

Kiyo walked uncomfortably fast with her single crutch. Who else could she call? Did she actually have any reliable, non-magical girl contacts in Hibusa Town? Even Rei wouldn't dare come here, probably. Even if she would, it'd mean getting back in with the Detention Club, and that was no good. The same was true of the Rule Keeper. She wasn't particularly close to anyone else besides Shuuko. She would probably freak out, but it was better than calling nobody... probably. She'd just have to rely on her. It was with this thought that Kiyo slipped into the hospital's elevator. She didn't have time for something like learning how to navigate stairs like this right now.

"Hey miss! You're not from here, are you?"

With a jolt, Kiyo turned her eyes towards the shorter girl, with much more innocent eyes than hers.

"Sorry! I didn't recognize your uniform, so I got curious! Are you a tourist? Do you do modeling? Is it cosplay?" Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"...Y-yeah. I was visiting. That was the plan," Kiyo lied.

"Aw, do you have to go? You should come back sometime. It's great here! This place is so great, it's like a fairytale... Well, you don't seem like the kind of girl who believes in magic."

"Well, uh... I survived my bike crash, so that's one miracle. Do you think asking God for a second miracle would be too greedy?"

"Oh, of course not! I pray you have a speedy recovery!" The girl waved way too enthusiastically for Kiyo's comfort as she left the elevator. She almost missed the fact that this was the ground floor.

At last, the lobby. ...The hell it is! 'At last' nothing! Where do I go from here?! she thought furiously as she hastily walked outside. It was bright—so, so bright. It had to be broad daylight, but she couldn't see a thing. All she could do was keep moving, hoping her crutch would entitle her to a wide berth from the crowd. Privately, she wondered if her inability to see anything without shielding her eyes made her stick out. How she hated this accursed brightness.

"Stop right there!! Don't move!!"

Kiyo froze. Surely, this was the end of her life. Or was it? She only knew that Kurai Majokko who entered the City of Light never left. Was it death that awaited her, or worse—some kind of exorcism? The latter was probably unlikely, but if Kiyo was anything approximately in the ball park of "former mad scientist of the Detention Club," she was unlikely to participate in any self-reflection on this level of projection.

So, that was it. "Evil Eye" would die here.

"You almost fell right down the stairs into the subway! Here, take my hand."

Another smiling girl full of kindness. This one was a bit taller than Kiyo.

"You look like you're in pain. Are you alright? Can you manage?"

Between the pain and the brightness, Kiyo was indeed holding back tears. To cry would be to release her magic. To cry here would be the end. She didn't fear death—no, what Kiyo feared was losing sight of the Truth. To return to the light would be to become "blind" once more. "I'll do it myself. The doctor said I'd never walk properly again if I don't do it myself, so..." She lied again.

"...Oh! I'm sorry, I just thought... Please be careful, okay?"

"Heh. Right." Kiyo scowled quietly as she turned her attention from another waving lunatic to the infernal stairs. To accept kindness from a light girl would be to allow her magic power to increase; in the first place, it was a manner of "kindness" that was indistinguishable from exploitation. Evil Eye would not entertain such false ideals. Setting that aside, accepting kindness from others would slow her descent into deeper darkness—she'd never allow such a thing to stall her scientific progress.

Well, that was just her own personal hypothesis. It stood to reason that if light girls gained in strength from practicing virtues, dark girls could gain in strength from rejecting them. More important to the task at hand... Looks like that station is closest to the city limits. She regarded the man who stood in her way from afar with calculating eyes. If she used even an iota of her magic's usual strength, she could easily convince him to let her board without a pass. She imagined doing so. She also imagined at least half a dozen pairs of eyes locking onto her immediately. So, that was out—but there was always a way.

Like other girls, Kiyo had once been part of this thing called a "polite society." In Japan, where everyone was just oh so well behaved, who would ever do such a thing? No one, of course. That's why it was completely unguarded. Good. I hate crawling around like a snake. 'Protagonists' should be on their knees hiding from me, not the other way around, she thought irritably.

Kiyo popped a pill, waited for her moment, then pulled the fire alarm.

Predictably, panic ensued. Also predictably, no less than eight girls found opportunities to transform and begin looking for the fire—Kiyo wouldn't look at them directly, but now she could see the board. A few of the magical girls watched over the civilians as they escaped. One took an interest in Kiyo. "Come on! You can do it! Just a little farther! ...Woah!" The girl invisibly shoved a man who was fleeing the same restroom corridor from behind, preventing Kiyo from being trampled. Kiyo forced her eyes away from the girl like she was a camera on set. In theory, being in close proximity to multiple light girls was a constant in this place. It wasn't like their transformations changed the situation. In practice, seeing them all made Kiyo's skin crawl.

"She's scared. Poor thing. Can't we just carry her out?"

"Well, of course she's scared! She can barely walk and there's a fire!"

"Hey guys," another magical girl yawned. "There's no fire. We checked, liiike... everywhere. So... Let's just go to school like this. I don't wanna be late again..."

"Really? Someone made a mistake?"

"Looks like it. I mean, I really don't care what happened since there's no fire, sooo... yeah. I'm leaving."

"But..."

"Come on. If we keep her waiting, she'll just skip school altogether."

"Yeah, but..."

Kiyo didn't look at them, but she could feel the last girl's eyes on her. Just go. Like your friend said, you don't really care, so. Beat it! Finally, she looked up, and Kiyo was all alone in the subway—except for one of the watchmen, who was facing the other way and talking to someone upstairs, out of sight. Kiyo lifted her crutch up off the ground and took off running towards the empty train. Despite the help from the painkillers, running quickly gave way to speed-walking, which became shuffling, and then limping. Back to the crutch, then. At least now she was on the train.

She would probably be spotted when the surveillance footage was reviewed a day later, but by then, she'd be out of town. For now, if anyone asked, she was just a tired, injured girl on the back of the train that no one saw, who accidentally knocked herself out with medicine and slept through a fire alarm on the luckiest day possible to make that mistake. Pity tended to override probing questions.

Actually, she was pretty tired... a nap couldn't hurt too badly...



But sleep would not come easy for Kiyo. Not because of the railway noise, or how every shadow presented a place for someone to hide. Even the eerie feeling that came from being in a liminal space would give her little trouble. It was the other thing. The faint blue light that painted the shadows, the familiar buzz of an electric fly trap, all letting her know that she wasn't alone on this train.

It revealed itself slowly. A ball as white as porcelain inched past her seat. It was so white it reminded her of the hospital walls, only it was arcing with electricity. As it continued to come into view, Kiyo could see that was only the end of the contraption. It had blue and red cable that connected further down the body of the machine, only to vanish under body panels that were just as white as the dynamo on the end. But it wasn't just a contraption. A gloved hand was holding it, and as the hand's owner stepped into view Kiyo could see it was a girl. One with a white and black jacket and hair that could only be stylized by an electronic discharge. Her thick black gloves made her look like a mad scientist, but the pouches all over her outfit also made her look like a soldier. The lightning girl turned her blue eyes on Kiyo. Then she smiled and lowered her weapon.

"Sup?"

It was at this moment that Kiyo knew: no matter how perfect (self-proclaimed) her plans were laid out, they were always subject to Murphy's Law. Between the magical girl who attacked(?) her on the road, the paramedics, the doctors and nurses, and many other civilians, the chances that none of them had been a magical girl and also caught a glimpse of the tattoo at the base of her neck was near zero. Indeed, she should have seized her moment and left the hospital without a care for anything or anyone. Those pills had cost her a valuable chance to raise the odds that she wasn't followed.

On the other side of that same coin, the chances that this was a random encounter were also not zero, so there was nothing to be gained from giving herself up immediately. Lazily, Kiyo looked around, for nothing and no one in particular, hoping she looked at least somewhat convincingly confused. She waited just a little bit long, but not too long waiting for the magical girl to decide that Kiyo couldn't see her. "Last stop?" she wondered aloud, channeling her best Tsubomi impression. Even in this situation—no, especially in this situation, she could not help but ask a question with a double meaning.

The longer this light girl stood by Kiyo's side, the more it started to smell like ozone. Her smile grew as electricity arced between the points in her hair. It was as if she relished the silence.

"Is that how you answer sup?" She slid into an adjacent seat on the opposite side of the train. She placed her contraption in her lap and flexed her fingers. "I don't like to plan for the future. I'm looking for something, and my next stop could be soon or an hour from now. But... I think I'll know it when I see it. I usually do." She nodded to herself. "Do you know where you're headed?" Did that have a double meaning, or was it just an innocent question?

Kiyo flicked her eyes towards the electric girl briefly. Kiyo's red eyes were slightly magnetic, but then again, weren't most foreigner girls like that? They warranted a second look because they were uncommon. "You knew I could see you," she observed. "Am I that obvious, or are you just really good?" She allowed the question to settle a bit as she pondered the light girl's musings.

"I'm just a little observant." She looked ahead and folded her hands behind her head. She couldn't lean back too far, the giant tesla coil sticking out of her backpack obstructed her. "You're in a lot of pain, clearly. There was a hospital that wasn't too far away. If you were worried about your injury, which you should be, then you would have gone there. But maybe you didn't know about the hospital, or were too panicked to remember where it was." Without looking, she pointed at Kiyo's phone. "But you do have a phone. You could call someone if you really needed help. But you've chosen not to. So, you're probably a magical girl." She looked back and smiled. "Of course, I didn't know for sure until you answered back."

Kiyo listened to the girl with the science motif offer her thesis, and watched her point to the correct pocket at a cell phone she was sure the girl hadn't physically seen Kiyo holding at any point. She can detect pain and emotional states by reading the electrical signals. For someone packing so much firepower, that's pretty sophisticated. Kiyo smiled, her interest piqued. "Your conclusion is correct, but the premise was wrong. The doctor already did all he could. If I'm going to be in pain anyway, I might as well keep on living. I'd rather do that than stagnate in a hospital bed and eat protein bars."

She gave her prior question some more thought. She chose her words more carefully than she normally would when forced to entertain a stranger. Perhaps the possibility that they were engaged in some kind of verbal game of cat and mouse intrigued her. "Where I'm headed? Just a little further down the tunnel. Maybe there's light at the end of it. Maybe there isn't. I'll know when I get there." Her smile grew wider. She didn't mean for her comment to mirror the other girl's, but it did. "I always used to scout ahead before going to new places... but my friends called me 'boring,' so I stopped doing that." What was this, a confession booth? Why was she talking about her days as a light girl with a stranger? "Maybe I'll get off when I feel like walking again," she added, much less seriously.



"That might be a bit." She stood back up and reached for a hand brace. With all her gear, it was probably a lot more comfortable to stand up. "If we're going to keep talking, I'm Boleite. Bodacious Boleite if you're part of the team. But you're not, and if I'm honest, it's a little cringe. I thought Badass Boleite would be cool, but everyone thought that was too vulgar." She sighed. "You're forgiven if you don't want to share your own name though. This is an awkward situation we've found ourselves in, isn't it?"

Boleite talked on, and Kiyo listened. It occurred to her that this girl could probably fry her like a mosquito if she really wanted to. There really wasn't any reason not to, either, other than their mutual amusement. Unless... "You're playing hooky too, aren't you?" The question came suddenly like a syringe before the alcohol was allowed to dry. "I won't tell anyone. But before that... what, exactly, is cringe? Not being gay? You can count me out. Call yourself a badass if you really want to. Who cares what anyone else thinks?"

Boleite looked like she was going to tell Kiyo what cringe was, but her rapid fire response didn't allow her much room to speak. The girl only shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "I'm part of a magical girl team, so our names do need to mesh for cohesion. And honestly..." She lifted her weapon up in the air and pumped her bicep. "It's a lot cooler if you just show people you're a bad ass. Cringe is just something that gives people second hand embarrassment. Like when dark magical girls get into waxing philosophical about the night or go on about how unfair and wrong the world is." Kiyo looked ready to tell Boleite that she knew what cringe is, but then she had to call her out like that. Her mild annoyance manifested itself as a raised brow.

"As for playing hooky? Not exactly." She rolled her eyes. "I mean, I guess I'm not at school right now. But that can get cleared up with a phone call. Though I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I just left after such a strange event." She pointed at the doors leading out with her weapon. "I mean, a fire alarm gets pulled. There's no fire, so that's a good thing. But it does make me wonder who did it, and why." Her hair was stiff, but it seemed to spring when she swung her head side to side. "It couldn't have been any of the light girls. They were all pretty eager to return to school, and it wasn't like they had any motive." For some reason, Kiyo thought it odd that in the City of Light, specifying "light girls" would be necessary. Everyone knew there weren't any dark magical girls in the City of Light. At least, there weren't supposed to be. "Maybe some brat did it and escaped without me noticing, but I don't think that's very interesting." The smile left her face while she stared into Kiyo's eyes. "Why did you do it?"

Kiyo jolted.

---

Hey, Ai-chan. Next time, just tell me what's going on, alright?

W-What do you mean? It wasn't me, I swear!

Ai-chan... You know you're a terrible liar, right?

Huh?! H-How can you tell..?

It's your eyes! They're so big and round. Everyone can tell what you're thinking.

...Also, you just told me.

Guh..!

---

Piin-pon.

No, it had been the train that jolted. At some point, it had started moving. Had they really been talking for that long? Had the conductor returned, or was it Boleite's doing? She could kill her in the tunnel and blame the entire incident on a malfunction. The third rail would be blamed for the smoldering corpse. Or, perhaps she'd just paralyze her and cause the train to run away and crash, if she wanted to make a clever quip about her "last stop." She could take the credit for noticing a problem with the train and pulling the fire alarm to save everyone. For the moment, though, the train remained motionless, almost as though it refused to move until Boleite had received an answer to her query.

Kiyo met Boleite's eyes lazily. I'd have to be pretty dull to fall for this same trick again to the same girl in the same conversation. She was quite certain there were no eyes on her when she pulled the alarm. Then again, if this girl could detect electrical signals, she could probably detect bodies. But, could she detect them through walls while untransformed? It was a gamble. Lying was always a gamble, while a little honesty sometimes went a long way—but in a context where Boleite could turn her into a pile of black goo with no consequences... "...Is that the dramatic twist? I did it? That's a little lame, don't you think? Maybe someone was just scared and needed an adult, and pulling a switch was easier than speaking up. I once knew a shy girl who would do that kinda thing." She rocked her neck, cracking it. It hurt a little. "I won't lie, though, it was convenient for me. My train pass was obliterated along with my wallet when I crashed my bike. When it rains, it pours."

"And sometimes, it thunders." Boleite added with a chuckle. "I don't know. I really don't know. I think it could be interesting." She leaned forward, if only because the train was turning. Kiyo leaned back in her seat as Boleite leaned forward. "Like, we know you're a magical girl, right?" She chuckled. "You don't like hospitals because you don't want to be forced to eat protein bars, and you think I should call myself whatever I like because I shouldn't care about what other people think of me. Those seem like interesting traits for someone who stopped scouting because their friends called them boring."

Piin-pon.

Two more stops. Was Kiyo's gaslighting really effective at all, or was Boleite outright telling her that she was showing mercy just now?

She raised an eyebrow. "Do you still have those friends? Probably not. You would have waited in a safe place so that they could come and get you. Actually, you missed your chance to get those light girls to help you. But you hid from them. You didn't want them to find you. I can't think of many reasons why you'd try to keep such a low profile. I mean, magical girls are more or less invisible, and stronger than their normal selves. So the only reason why you'd insist on staying like that despite injury is if you were hiding from them." She let go of the hanger. Her feet were locked to the metal floor of the train. "You're right, you pulling the alarm as a prank is kinda boring. But if you were a dark magical girl trying to flee? With light girls like myself creeping around every corner? That would be pretty badass."

Piin-pon.

One more stop. The train squeaked and thumped along. For some strange reason, Kiyo thought the noise profile of the train was very similar to that of "domestic violence next door."

Kiyo looked visibly uncomfortable. "I tried joining a couple of magical girl troupes. They were suffocating, so I ditched. I'd rather be under the radar, but that seems impossible in this place, so I didn't plan on staying long." She seemed to be pointedly ignoring Boleite's comment on dark magical girls, until she suddenly spoke up again. "I like to travel a lot. Magical girls working together seems to be the norm here more than anywhere else. Seems something like a dark magical girl existing here would be unlikely." She'd probably been thinking of a way to change the subject.

Instead, she asked the kind of question that would probably scandalize an innocent light girl.

"What would you do if a junior of yours were to start turning dark? Like, is there a protocol for that? Can they be pulled back from the precipice, or is it like an event horizon?" she mused. It was not the sort of question a magical girl of light would ask so casually. She spoke of it as though it were something to be studied, rather than feared.

"I don't know. It's never come up."

Kiyo looked a little disappointed—but there was also a strange kind of respect, too.

"Ah, right. You did say you don't like to plan for the future."

A moment passed in stone cold silence. The conversation had stopped, but it took an uncomfortable amount of time for the train to follow suit.

Piin-pon.

With some difficulty, Kiyo stood up and forced a smile through the pain. "I hope you find what you're looking for at your next stop, Badass Boleite. But, if you find me instead, call me Kiyo. It's a fake name, but it's one of very few things that belongs to me, so I don't give it out to just anyone."

"Like the folk character?" Boleite inquired.

If I were a snake, I would have bit you, was what Kiyo decided was the clever answer, but she wouldn't offer it.

When Boleite realized her query would go unanswered, she shrugged her shoulders. "Well thanks! If I happen to see you again I'll be sure to remember it." She saluted Kiyo as the dark magical girl stumbled her way towards the exit. "May you finish your daring escape!"

Kiyo let out a good-natured scoff. Light girls. Always have to get the last word in... Slowly, she made her way off the train and out of the subway without incident, but not without struggle. If going down stairs was precarious, going up stairs was going to be exhausting. Then, there would be that wretched brightness again.

Wait...

There's... a wheelchair-accessible ramp here! Was there one at the other stop?

There was.

With the sun in her eyes, she must have not seen it. Kiyo pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. Of course. It doesn't take a scientist to think that a girl with a crutch going down stairs would look a little odd if there was a ramp. Looks like I got that second miracle after all.

Slowly, but surely, Kiyo made her way to the less-populated outskirts of the City of Light. As romantic as it would be to walk off into the sunset, though, no one could argue that going any further like this wouldn't look a little odd. In the end, I still need a ride, huh. It was then that Kiyo realized something. I don't need my wallet to get a ride. I just need my phone! Quickly, she shuffled towards a gas station parking lot and set to work mooching the wifi. Ugh. Card declined. Great... ...Shuuko wouldn't mind, right? It's an actual emergency this time. But, her memory was foggy. At the best of times, she could remember something like a credit card number just fine, even if she only saw it a few times, but right now, she was tired, recovering from a concussion, and probably a little drugged out.

"Hey, cutie. Need a ride?"

A stranger was looking over Kiyo's shoulder at her broken phone screen, watching her predicament unfold. So, even in the City of Light, there are guys like this, she mused. "Yeah, but... it's a long way out of town..." she replied innocently.

"Hey, don't sweat. I'll take care of it."

It was a manner of "kindness" that was indistinguishable from exploitation.

But, in this case, there was no dishonesty, only honest selfishness.

They both understood the rules of engagement here.

...

Well, maybe he didn't, but that was his problem.

"Where we headed, sweet cheeks?" he asked, preening his absurd hair as he met Kiyo's eyes in the rear view mirror. For a little while, he simply admired them, content to listen to the sound of the engine as he took his catch onto a long and empty lane of the nearest highway out.

There was plenty of traffic going in to the City of Light in the evening, but going out would be a breeze... if not for the pair of invisible magical girls currently following them. Kiyo reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling as she massaged it. He could no longer see or hear anything but what Evil Eye wanted him to see.

---

Evil Eye gave only the briefest of glances to the transformed girls who appeared in the mirror as she locked the doors.

The hapless guy, however, sat transfixed. He saw demons. Horrible, screeching, long-nailed demons, that's what those girls were.

Instinctively, he screamed and floored the gas pedal—an appropriate reaction to being pursued by bloodthirsty women, and one which Evil Eye was counting on.

"W-What the fuck are those things?!" he cried out over the roar of the car's rapidly accelerating engine.

Evil Eye regarded the pursuing magical girls with some ill-timed scientific curiosity.

"It's a surprisingly philosophical question. I'm not really sure, myself, but some kind of cosmic horror is probably involved. Just look at me, and they won't hurt you. If you look at me, and don't look at them, they won't be able to touch you... if you look at them, though, we're both gonna die," she added nonchalantly. Unsure of what else he could possibly do in this surreal and horrifying situation, he obeyed, locking his eyes on Evil Eye's.

"I-I smell sulfur! They're really demons?!" he replied as he fell into deeper delusion.

"Stop the car!!" one magical girl shouted through the window as she roller-bladed alongside it, but Evil Eye ignored her pleas.

"Yeah. They'll torment you in all kinds of little ways and convince you that it's your fault. Then they'll wait until you get used to having them around, and stab you in the back. Just look at me," she insisted, as she moved her hand to retrieve a small screwdriver from her bike jacket pocket.

"What are you doing?! Stop!!" the girl pleaded through the passenger window, trying the handle in vain. The car was going so fast, she didn't know what she could do without causing the car to swerve or the driver to panic. She wasn't strong enough to slow the car down to a stop. Her partner was, but she wasn't fast enough to get in front!

Evil Eye jerked her head to the side to look the girl in the eyes as she whipped out the screwdriver from her bike jacket, pointing it at the guy's neck. Those unnaturally wide-open eyes that seemed to lock hers in place like magnets were filled with a kind of evil scarcely seen even among dark magical girls. That crazed glance was the last thing she saw before the sights and sounds of the road faded away into a scene of a funeral. All of her magical girl friends were there, blaming her for someone's death in "the car crash." All of this could have been avoided if she'd not tried to play the hero. It was a scene straight out of a nightmare, and though she only saw it for a few seconds before she snapped back to reality, she found that she had untransformed, and stopped her pursuit entirely. Her friend looked on in horror as she simply stood there, helpless in the middle of the highway in a daze.



"NO!!" her partner cried, leaping to her rescue and snatching her out of the way of the oncoming truck, shielding her body as they both tumbled into a ditch. Thank the stars, she'd managed to fall back to her position just in time. "Are you alright?! What did she do to you?! ...Say something, please..!"

Her friend said nothing. Her eyes, like the dark girl's eyes, were open wide. She looked scared, confused, and sad, all at once. She let out a whimper and sobbed into her hands. Her partner could do nothing but hold her and put her own smoldering fury on the back burner.

Evil Eye turned her attention back to her captive audience. He'd long since stopped making any kind of noise. So long as Evil Eye kept looking back to the mirror, this singular moment of terror would last an eternity for the helpless boy with no resistance to magic. Something else grabbed her attention, though: a police blockade. "Looks like this is your last stop," she remarked blithely.

A moment of indecision passed.

"...Slow down a little, or you're going to die." She wasn't sure why she said it. This wasn't Hibusa Town, and there was no Rule Keeper to prevent her from using any tragedy she wanted to further her own ends. Perhaps even she couldn't help but be a little grateful to Boleite for letting her go. "If you're gonna force me to accept kindness from you, I'm going to get even... but I'm not going to spit on your shoe. It's beneath me."

Evil Eye unbuckled her seat belt, and positioned her crutch in front of her head. An adrenaline-fueled moment stretched out in time. One moment, she was in the car—the next, she was flying through the air, eyes shut tight, holding her breath so as not to inhale the glass. The last time she'd flown through the air while escaping, it had been her hometown, her ex, and the friend who belittled and betrayed her.

...It hurts.

Blackened tears fell like mascara down Evil Eye's cheeks. They expanded, defying conservation of mass. Then, they morphed into a great black dog, which hit the ground running. Evil Eye wrapped her arms around its neck and held on for dear life. She felt the wind in her hair under the night sky. There was an embrace, but this one was cold as ice. For how long she did that, and how long she dreamed of it, she didn't know. One moment, she was listening to the sounds of the sirens fade into the distance. The next, she was laying on some grass somewhere.

The pair of pursuing magical girls arrived at the scene of the crash. The roller-blading girl saw the boy being carried off on a stretcher, moaning in agony as the dark magical girl's spell seemed to be starting to wear off. Unable to believe her own eyes, she rushed to the driver-side door of the smashed sports car. "...It's buckled," she remarked as she held the remains of the cut seat belt the boy had been extracted from. "It wasn't before. I saw it."

Her friend came up behind her and observed the scene. She whistled. "Another too-cool-for-a-seat-belt headass, huh? He wised up in time. Saved him." She watched her friend obsess over the detail for some reason. Suddenly, she got the urge to hug her again. "Glad you're okay."

"R-Right. Thanks. You saved my life!"

"Bout time you figured that out. Let's go home. That girl is long gone by now."

"Yeah," she agreed soberly.

He was definitely in a trance. She buckled his seat belt. Why would a dark girl do that?

Her partner would likely scoff at such a theory. So, she kept it to herself.

The news would report that an unidentified injured girl with a crutch had pulled a fire alarm in the subway, likely to get away from someone who had been stalking her. In the end, though, she had gotten into a stranger's car, and was never seen again, though the young man was caught in a high speed chase and brought to justice. There had been a warrant put out for his arrest in nearby Hibusa Town for failing to appear in court. To top it off, he had been facing sexual harassment charges. Abduction charges were dropped on account of a lack of evidence, and his sentence would be reduced on account of temporary insanity, but the women of Japan would never have to deal with him again, as he distanced himself from society—especially women.

The story would become something of an unsolved mystery. It sent shockwaves through the media, but was quickly forgotten about, except on obscure internet forums. Only a few magical girls knew that the abducted girl had been a Kurai Majokko, but even with the benefit of hindsight, they couldn't know if she had instigated whatever transpired in that car, or if the girl had been defending herself from a creep when their arrival had caused the confrontation to escalate. They didn't even know if she was alive or not. One magical girl's personal hypothesis was that she had made it out alright in the end.

Meanwhile, the culprit was looking up at a familiar face.

"...Interesting," she said, as everything faded to black.

...I can't be bothered with that nasty attitude of yours.

You want to drag me back into your court full of jesters?

That's fine.

Keep playing at being 'queen.'

I'll keep being your 'vizier.'

Just don't be surprised when that complacent attitude plays out exactly like the fairy tales.

When I surpass you, will you say it's "interesting" then?

Or will you try to pass it off as being your plan from the start?

...

Ah, shit.

I can hear my phone ringing.

Don't worry, Shuuko.

It'll be alright.

I'll tell you everything.

The story of how I, a stray cat, narrowly escaped the pearly gates.

...

I might leave out the part where my life was spared by a fellow scientist, though.

That part's kinda cringe.

Just as every night had its dawn, every vacation had its end. Be it relaxation on the beach or recreational activities at sea, there would come a time when all had to return home. Tensions were much lower on the trip back, and everyone rode inside the van this time. That included a familiar face they had encountered by pure happenstance.

Upon returning to Hibusa town, Oros hopped out of the van and approached Nyxia before she could escape return home. "Hi, Nixie!” She waved like they hadn’t just been riding in the same vehicle together.

“Hello?” Nyxia deadpanned, already inwardly cringing at the thought of what the perverted pinkette might wish to speak with her about.

Oros waddled her way up to her before bowing forward enough that their eyes were level. "Remember how earlier I asked you if you wanted to come to the theater with me? You didn’t seem too interested in going.” She laughed, then snorted. "Well, I found someone else to go with! So unless you changed your mind, you don’t have to come with me. Not that you had to before, but you know what I mean.”

“So, you managed to find someone who actually enjoys being violated, huh?” the Neon Tempest sneered. “Good for you. Anyways, if that’s all, I have other places to be,” she added, turning to depart.

"Take care!” Oros watched Nyxia depart for a few seconds before turning away. She reached back into the van, pulled Tsubomi out, and started walking towards her home.

---

Oros had seen Tsubomi’s home a few times, but she never went inside. Not because Tsubomi had forbid her or anything. She just didn’t have the best reputation as a student, and she knew she had family around occasionally. It was also annoying to be transformed if there were potential targets nearby. If her uncle walked into Tsubomi’s room and he was a UILF, well, could she really be expected to not try to kiss him? She hadn’t seen a lot of uncles in real life, but in the shows she watched they were always depicted as being really charismatic. They were probably second place under light magical girls. Totally S tier.

All suburban homes had at least two stories, and the girl of any house always had their bedroom towards the back so that teenage boyfriends (or girlfriends) could sneak inside unnoticed. So Oros was not surprised to see that there was a bedroom located in the back corner of the house. Could it have been her uncle or another family member? Maybe! But she didn’t plan on sticking around too long. The few times Tsubomi got like this, she was usually left at the club room. But a weekend was coming up and she didn’t feel like explaining anything to Rei.

Oros laid Tsubomi on top of the bed. She was unsure if she should tuck her in, but she might overheat since she was still dressed. Unless… No, there was no reason to do that.

Oros was about to turn around to leave when she looked over her shoulder at Tsubomi. She approached her and prodded her shoulder.

Magic was weird. Not only did Tsubomi's transformation turn itself off when she hit the sand, but once she was in the van, her little internal world shifted. Gone were the waves of sand, replaced with clouds that she and her unwanted companion now lay upon. Fortunately, these didn't hinder breathing the way the sand had, making Tsubomi much more comfortable.

The two sat in what to observers might seem like a companionable silence, though the reality would have been betrayed by their positioning, with Acid Drop sitting on Tsubomi's back. Though she couldn't see it, Tsubomi had the nagging (and correct) feeling that Acid Drop was on her phone. She did not know what, if anything, that was supposed to represent, nor if it had an analogue to the real world around her unconscious body.

Though the ride was peaceful for the duo, Tsubomi couldn't manage to fall asleep in this space the way she had wanted, and so was aware of the passing moments. She tried to count the seconds but couldn't bring to bear any interest to fuel it, and so she allowed her mind to stay empty. Eventually Acid Drop stood and turned around to face her human self.

"Weeeeeelp, it's been fun, but it's time to go, now." She began to wind back her leg, and after a short moment, swung it into Tsubomi's shoulder as hard as she could, right where her partner had just touched on her real self.

"Wake up."

Tsubomi's eyes slowly pried themselves open at Oros' contact. After a moment, as if they were confirming they were open, they blinked and lazily drifted towards the partner of their owner.

Oros also blinked, but was wide awake and had a smile painted on her face. "Are you okay?”

"Think so. Tired."

"Yea, I’m going to leave so that you can sleep.” Oros kneeled beside the bed and folded her arms under her chin. "I’m sorry I got mad at you the other day. You’re still the best partner I could ask for.”

Tsubomi went to try nodding her head, but only succeeded in dipping her chin somewhat and returning it to its starting position. "Emotions. Kind of suck. Right?" She paused. Something felt strange, but she couldn't pin down what it was, nor could she truly describe it if she had been asked to. She wasn't even sure where it came from, or where it was that felt so odd.

"Maybe I. Should try. Think more." The apathetic girl had to admit to herself that her usual blasé attitude towards people's emotions often led to trouble down the line. While not knowing what other people were feeling might be a fine excuse for most people, for her it didn't fly, given her magic's method of manifesting. If she could act well enough when there was magic in her veins as Acid Drop, surely she could do a little more of it more often...

Besides, even from the most selfish of the viewpoints that she could consider, it might be good training too. Though this thought was fleeting, quick to be replaced by another, which itself was quickly followed by an additional thought. 'Why isn't the whole club training?' was almost instantly replaced with 'I could have died in that fight.'

"Thanks for. Bringing back." Tsubomi's eyes drifted to look at the ceiling. "Better. Next time."

"We’ll both be better next time, and not just because we figured out how to get stronger!” Or at least, they had discovered a way to get stronger. They would have plenty of time to work out the specifics later. "I uh, I have tickets to the kabuki theater. It’s not for a few days, but if you wanted to bask in some emotions. I have plenty of tickets.”

Tsubomi tried again to nod, but couldn't bring herself to do so. She was, however, able to look back at Oros. This was a good chance to start the advice she'd given herself a moment ago; to try to avoid potential conflicts. Besides, Suki was cool. Tsubomi was as close as someone with her 'condition' could be with her, so why not? "Okay. Good idea."

"Would you like anything before I go?”

It took a bit of effort but Tsubomi was able to smile slightly, perhaps creepily, but at least she managed. "Be safe."

Oros’s eyes twinkled as she fixed her face with a smile of her own. "Will do!” She chirped, right before turning around and diving out the window. A tree branch snapped as she tumbled to the ground and presumably sped off.

---

After the event at the beach, everyone seemed just a bit more hopeful for the future. That wasn’t a word dark magical girls used often, but it held true here. The Hibusa girls wanted to get stronger, more so with the looming threat of Ashbringer hanging over them. She was strong by herself, but what were the rest of her “friends” going to look like?

But that didn’t matter now. One had to live too. Roache was all ready for her second run with Misoka. All she had to do was arrive.

And arrive she did, clad in the school jogging clothes. Not because she wanted to carry school pride everywhere she went, but simply because the windbreaker and shorts were perfectly balanced for a good run, and then the cool down afterwards. Normally Roche would have come to the spot well in advance and already been stretching as she waited for Misoka. Instead she’d found herself sleeping in, barely raising herself after slapping the snooze prompt on her phone’s alarm.

Refreshing herself with a cook, light breakfast, Roche paused, staring in the mirror, marvelling at how none of the damage from their beach encounter carried over to her normal form. Then with a smirk she bounded out the door, locking it behind and leaving a cold, lifeless home behind for a walk with a classmate.

Misoka was exactly the kind of person her fellow Detention Club members would hate, but none of them were volunteering for a morning run. Roche was only a minute late as she came to the meeting point, the morning air crisp and her smile a timid, hopeful thing.

The “running course” the two had picked out was a simple path that ran through the neighborhood. Roughly twenty houses in one direction before going down the back path and starting the entire thing over again. They would not have to cross traffic, nor did anyone in the area drive cars. It was the sort of track that was great for casual conversations, provided the runners weren’t pushing themselves too hard.

But on her way there, Roche’s cell phone rang. She didn’t need to look at caller ID to know it was from Misoka

”Hello Miss Hananami.” There was a long sigh on the other end of the phone. ”I have to apologize, I wanted to call you earlier, but before I knew it, it was already today and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

Roche’s expression curdled as she answered the phone, but she didn’t let it reach her voice as she raised it to her ear. She had certainly had others call out on her jogs after experiencing one, but those tended to be club dropouts thinking it would have been an easy club to join.

”Good Morning. Did something come up on your end?” Roche asked, tentatively clinging to the hope Misoka hadn’t bitten off more then she could chew.

”Yes, in a word.” Roche could feel Misoka’s smile grow as she spoke. ”You know how my mother’s flower shop burned down? Well, we were toying with the idea of rebuilding it but didn’t have the means to do so. Then out of the blue my mother received a large sum of money. We thought it had to be counterfeit at first, but we checked it thoroughly and even used it to start buying building materials.” She laughed. ”But um, as good as this is for us, we still need to make sure that money goes as far as it can. So I’m going to help with the construction. And, well…” Her voice became somber again. ”I think I’m going to get my morning workout getting the shop back together, at least for a while. I hate to cancel plans last second, but these are very special circumstances.”

Roche worried her lip, head turning about to confirm she was still alone in the early morning. She’d already swallowed the gut reaction of bitterness at finding her plans scrapped, because as far as excuses went, Misoka’s was rather compelling. It didn’t take long for her to connect the dots and see who would have had both reason and means to make such a donation.

After the silence on her end began to stretch to impropriety she responded with forced cheer. ”You’ll be getting plenty of exercise there. Just don’t forget to lift with your legs. But seriously, I’m happy for you, and the offer’s still open when you’ve got the store finished.”

”Once the flower shop is open, I’ll probably be helping run it. But we’ll see what happens. I may be able to find time to go running. Thank you for being so understanding.” Her tone became more demure as she went on. ”Um, that hurdle you were having a problem with. Is it still bothering you?”

”I….I think you got me past it. Or at least I found an avenue for it, but I guess I was a little less prepared for the ones that came after.” The answer was vague, but a bit of warmth was still in voice as Roche’s head tilted back, taking in the cloudy, morning sky. ”But I know it’s just a matter of time and perspective now. So thanks, Misoka.”

”You’re welcome. Have a good day!”

As soon as the call concluded, Roche noticed a woman with long, vibrant red hair up ahead. She was stretching like she was going to go for a run, but wasn’t really dressed for it. It wasn’t as if a dress shirt and skirt was impossible to run in, they were just a bit nice to be sweating into. The brass buttons on her skirt had been polished to a shine, and the ribbon below her throat was even on both sides. The red head, strangely enough, was standing exactly where Roche had planned on meeting with Misoka. She folded her arms behind her back and looked at Roche with a smirk.

Roche tucked away the phone and lowered her gaze with every intention to have her jog even if it would be alone. The familiar burn of lactic acid and the beating of her heart was just the distraction she’d need to push past the sheer absence of friends. It certainly wouldn’t have been nice to mention to Misoka her advice had left her firmly pushed out of the closet and rejected in the same breadth.

Then Roche was blinking, stricken by the unusual site of a woman stretching like she fully planned to jog in such atypical clothes. But more than that, and certainly more then the legs that seemed to go for miles, was that she was looking right at Roche and was waiting for her with an almost teasing expression.

”I’m sorry, but do I know you?” The tanned girl asked, approaching with the fearlessness of a Dark Magical Girl, more confused than wary by the stranger.

”Yes.” She looked around, only for effect, before looking back at Roche. ”Given how popular you are in school I’d have thought you’d always have someone with you. You head the track team. You’re even Rei’s right hand girl at the detention club. Surely an underling would be willing to get ‘private instruction’ from you on a cool morning?”

Was the woman attempting to flatter or insult Roche? She’d succeeded in unsettling Roche as her expression tightened, her focus flicking from a face she didn’t recognize and a main of hair that was nagging at her recollection.

”You are awfully well informed, but you must not be that close to me or you’d have known better. You also didn’t give me a very informative answer there, so let me elaborate.” The Rule Keeper took a step closer, and it was taking a great deal of will power not to clutch at the emblem around her neck as she did so.

”Are you going to be menacing any more flower shops?”

She clicked her tongue. ”It’s a lot more fun when you don’t tip your hand right away. You could have played dumb and tried to turn the tables on me at an opportune time.” She shook her head. ”Oh well.” She placed her hands on her hips. ”As I said before, I only destroyed that one because you lot were in my way. Which may or may not be an issue in a year or so.”

”You’ll have to forgive me if I’ve made it a habit of spoiling your fun.” The attempt at levity was only surface deep and Roche was tensed like a spring to be facing Ashbringer in the flesh, and well before the girl’s self appointed deadline. She knew she’d gotten a lot stronger since then, but strong enough to face Ash on her own?

Roche was stubborn, not suicidal.

”But I’ll be reasonable, if only because if you tried this with Nyxia every Magical Girl in the city would be seeing the light show by now. You’ve been watching us. You’ve stalked us at school. I imagine you probably know where I live by now, let alone how you knew I’d be here.”

There was no outward reaction from Ashbringer, save a growing smile.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it through her nose, the track captain made an effort to look calm and not like she was ready to throw a punch at the sign of mechanical dragons appearing. ”Why are you here? If you just wanted to beat us down, you wouldn’t need to wait a full year, let alone spy on us.”

”I have my reasons.” Her smile had finally spread to her ears. ”But today I’m here for you. I really do find it baffling that you’re practically the head of two teams, conventionally attractive, and have the popular girl title. The only thing that would make it complete is if you were isakai’d here or you found a vampire boyfriend who sparkles in sunlight.” She moved a hand to her chin. ”Instead you have lazer girl, pervy girl, and ‘don’t really care’ girl that you coerced into going to the beach, but none of them want anything to do with you. Do you know why that is?”

Open hostility would have been more welcome than the bizarre compliments being thrown her way by a girl who looks like she’d be student body president in both high school and university. But given her own track record she knew she wasn’t being hit on and felt her hackles raised as Ashbringer offered a loaded question.

”Enlighten me.” Roche winced at how small her voice came out, but the damage was done as she waited with bated breath.

”...What?” She tried to suppress a laugh, and failed. ”Do you think a small part of me feels empathy for you? That I would bother helping you out? That my ‘self-imposed time limit’ is somehow for your benefit? I’d smack some sense into you if I didn’t think your head would roll off of your shoulders. It can’t be on right if you’re thinking like that. Unless the blood is all rushing somewhere else?” She wasn’t smiling anymore, though she didn’t seem especially perturbed either. ”Since you’re curious about me, and you’re boring, I’ll let you know what I’ve been up to. She paused, again, purely for effect. It’s not easy to make friends when you’re a dark magical girl. You lot are an outlier in that regard. But I was able to get my old buddy Sink Queen to sign up again. I fear the others will take more convincing.” She sighed. ”It’ll be great if I can get the old team back together. If you can keep getting stronger, I’m sure our fight will be interesting. That little spat near the flower shop will be nothing compared to what’s coming.” She turned to leave. ”Maybe I’ll even race you next time I drop by, provided you aren’t feeling so melodramatic.”

The tanned magical girl winced under Ashbringer’s ridicule. For being enemies she had an uncanny resemblance to Nyxia in that moment, but she could hardly digest that before the redhead dropped the bomb shell she’d likely come the entire way to drop.

”I guess we peaked her interest after all.” The revelation was certainly a bitter one, and it had Roche wondering if it was coincidence that brought Sink Queen into contact with them, or enemy action. What really were the odds of running into her familiar in a sunken ship miles off coast? Her palm brushed against the phone tucked back into a zippered pocket as distrust curdled in her gut. Ashbringer just knew too much, in too intimate a detail, to not have a close eye, or an inside source on them.

Her enemy turned away with her word said, but Roche stamped her foot down and called out to her regardless. ”Why are you doing this?! All this for an insult?”

”I think I’ve said enough.” She tipped her head back. ”But since this was a bust, maybe I’ll torch that flower shop again. That’ll teach them to try and build it back.” Her steps got quicker.

”Don’t you dare!” Roche snapped out, breaking into a jog to keep up with the woman. Perhaps she really was as petty as she seemed but Roche couldn’t let her try that, not after seeing how much damage that one act had caused the Detention Club and others. ”You’ve already got your fight. Just leave the civvies out of this, or I’ll do my damned best to ruin your morning at the very least!”

”Hah!” The woman spun on her heel to face Roache, but didn’t stop running. She was able to run backwards and stay ahead of the track captain. It didn’t seem like she needed to see where she was going either, as she always knew just when to step to avoid running into obstacles. She stepped to the left to avoid someone walking their dog, and then to the right to avoid a lamp post. ”And how do you plan on doing that? By nagging me to death?”

”I can damn well if I need to. But let’s be honest with ourselves, if I fight you now, you’ll beat me, and then you’ll have robbed yourself of this big, stupid fight you want.” Roche bit out, finding it a challenge when they were doing this while jogging among normal people. Couldn’t Ashbringer be the tiniest bit reasonable? Of course not. If she could have been they’d have never wound up in the situation to begin with.

”So just leave the flower shop alone!”

Before long, they had arrived at the ruins of the flower shop. Now nothing more than scorched earth and charred timber. Ashbringer stepped onto the blackened sidewalk and slowed down enough for Roche to close the distance. When she did, Ashbringer took hold of her waist and turned around.

Misoka was standing before them. Her cheeks were black with soot and there was a shovel in her hands.

”Miss Hananami? Regina?!” She looked between the two of them.

Roache’s focus was so tightly set upon catching up that when the backwards jogging Magical Girl came upon, Roche froze like a deer in the headlights. Perhaps it was for the best, as when she found herself embraced and turned, it really wouldn’t have been proper to explode with violence in front of Misoka of all people.

”Hello!” The girl named Regina pulled Roche closer. ”I happened to be in the area, talking to all the locals when I encountered my good friend Roche. She was telling me all about what happened to you and how you couldn’t run with her today. I could tell she really wanted to spend time with you, so I walked her over here.”

”But that call was only-” Misoka placed a hand on her chin and thought, which only smeared more soot on her face.

Before them was the flower shop, a soot-blackened Misoka staring curiously at the both of them. Yet what sent chills down her spine was the seeming familiarity with Ashbringer, or as Misoka insisted, ‘Regina’ Given her position, both literal and social, the track captain could only plaster on a strained grin and wave to the workaholic. ”What can we say? We jog quick, but it was hard to enjoy it knowing you were doing all this. Bumped into Regina here on the way. Got a spare shovel?”

Misoka sighed. ”You really don’t have to help… But here, I think there’s one around here.” Misoka immediately turned around and walked towards a pile of rubble. There was a wheelbarrow and other tools nearby, and perhaps a shovel was just out of sight. With Misoka occupied, Regina took her hand off of Roche.

While Misoka took the bait and went searching the Magical Girls were left with a moment of traded barbs.

”Who knew you were such a good samaritan?” She looped her thumbs in her waistband. ”But I just wanted to get some exercise in before heading back. Since I’m dressed too nice for this, I think I’ll let you clean up after me.” She patted Roche on the shoulder before turning away to leave. ”Take care, Misoka! It was nice to see you again!” The supposed Regina excusing herself with more finesse then Roche could have managed.

The do gooder rushed out from behind the pile of rubble with a spare shovel as Regina was leaving. ”You’re leaving already?”

”Yes, terribly sorry!” She said over her shoulder, but didn’t stop walking. ”I’ll send you a message later, but I’m running behind as-is!”

”Alright, well, take care!” She waved to Regina one last time.

”I look after my city, Regina.” Roace growled under her breath.

Misoka turning back to Roche. ”I hadn’t realized you and Regina were um… Friends?” She gave Roche a sideways glance, like a scientist waiting for an experiment to start.

Her erstwhile enemy was already walking away, and Roche’s composure settled once more with Misoka’s company and a sudden task set before her. While not how she’d have liked to have spent her day, Roche couldn’t deny some hard work was just what the doctor ordered to get past the encounter just then. The blonde’s words had her pause in consideration as she swung the shovel to her shoulder and strolled onto the property.

”It’s only the second time we’ve met, but it won’t be the last. I’m more surprised you know her. Does she go to our school?”

”...Oh!” Misoka chuckled. ”I’m sorry, I thought you two were close. No, she’s not from around here. I’m not even sure if she's of school age anymore. If she is, she’s tutored in the city of light.” She pushed her shovel into the rubble and began adding to the pile. ”She’s just a friend I made over summer vacation a few years ago. Really nice person. Very friendly. The sort who can talk you out of any funk you find yourself in. We strike up the occasional messenger chat, and she drops by here every few months.”

Roche had a sneaking suspicion that Regina wasn’t a day under college age but to find she was that frequent a visitor without the Club’s knowledge was unsettling. What reason did someone like Ashbringer have to hide when the city was a rich Miseria hunting ground?

It was worrying that someone Misoka considered a years old friend would then burn down her family business for an act of spite towards Nyxia, but maybe their first meeting was more engineered then they thought.

”If you don’t mind, shoot her my number. Who knows what will happen.” Roche said evenly before planting the shovel into rubble and getting to work. Given she was there, she’d work, but when they parted she had every intention of digging further into this matter.

”She’s not really a phone person, but I can get you her e-mail.” Misoka set down her shovel and started organizing everything she needed on her phone. Though while she was putting everything together, she stopped. ” Do you have any friends like that? Someone you can just tell anything to?”

Her spine stiffened as Misoka asked an innocent question, and she looked back with a brief lack of any warmth before fitting a false smirk in place. “If I had friends like that I’d be out jogging with them. I can hope for that to change…”

But hope wasn’t something a dark magical girl put any stock in.

Shatterscape understood the logic of the situation well. Perhaps a little too well given that two minds were as one, their observations adding together and yet… She almost sunk her claws into the light girls as they went by her to rescue the hostages. Her muscles tightened as the two passed by her, locking everything in place so her gauntlets would not turn one of them into a fine mist. But only because she was better than them. Only because she was a high priestess.

And of course, right after that, everyone went off to do their own thing. The light girls pretended to be saints who worked for the sake of others, while the Detention Club just sort of split off into various activities. This left her alone for a moment, allowing her to notice just how tightly she wound herself, just how close to snapping she was. The whole world felt as though it were on the blink of explosion; it only needed a spark to go off.

Which is exactly what surged from the abyss when Evil Eye messaged her. Having not seen her teammate for quite some time, Shatterscape’s eyes widened as she saw she was in the hospital. Even worse, the way she spoke felt like she was in danger. And heavily injured at the same time.

There was no question of what she needed to do.

Rattling off a string of goodbyes to those who wanted to listen, Shatterscape immediately reached out for her bodies, then set course straight back to Hibusa Town. She could not be sure that Evil Eye was even in that hospital, but she hoped that the other dark girl would have said if she did not. And if she was not? She would rip the entire city apart looking for her. She would go to the depths of Yomi for her, she would bargain with Izanami herself, she would…

The thoughts escalated into a fierce storm menacing all in its way. People found themselves inexplicably thwarted from their routes, injuries opening up on their bodies as Shatterscape brushed by them with her gauntlets. Panic spread in the city once more, but the dark magical girl cared little. For there was only one thing that mattered: Evil Eye was in danger. Everything else could go cry in the corner.

She dragged a driver out of a bus seat. Piled her bodies into the vehicle. Dispelled her weapons. Still wrapped her hands around the steering wheel so hard it almost warped. Then, she called on Ember’s knowledge to race through the distance between the two cities, bringing with her the storm of violence she ignited.

Even dark magical girls couldn’t escape book reports.

Normally Suki would find an excuse to skip such things, but her grades were falling kind of low, and it would be unfortunate if she couldn’t be part of the club because she dropped out. It didn’t help that the book in question was effectively a history lesson. History did not interest Suki. The past did not interest Suki. There was very little to gain by reading inaccurate accounts of what had already happened. If she was going to read about the past, then they could at least spice it up by adding something cool like vampires or magical princesses.

Suki didn’t have a computer at her shared home, so she was using the Detention club’s own computer to write her report. But she was still in the process of motivating herself, so not much actual writing had been done yet. She had watched several videos, made a few posts on social media platforms, and watched a virtual content creator talk about virtual content creators. Occasionally she would close a tab and stare at the word processor that held the entirety of her progress, which was getting the program open to a blank page. Her eyes started to glaze over when she thought about what it would take to hit that two-thousand word benchmark for a passing grade. Kiyo must have quite a bit of work piled up too, she reassured herself. She had missed quite a few classes, and couldn’t have had a great record with the school either. She wondered if she was making an effort to get caught up.

As if to answer Suki's pondering, there was a knock. Then, there was another. Then, another. It wasn't the door, but something out in the hall.

"Thanks, Shuuko. No, I got it. Thanks."

A familiar voice came muffled through the door—but also, it wasn't familiar. Kiyo was not a "please and thank you" kind of girl, nor was she accustomed to speaking softly. Soon, though, the door opened, and sure enough, it was Kiyo. "Oi, are you still playing games on that thing? Some of us take our education seriously, you kn—" Kiyo flicked on the light. "Oh." She blinked. Apparently, she had been expecting someone else. "Good day, Jaws." Suki just sat there, looking over her shoulder at the newly arrived. Kiyo stepped the rest of the way through the door, and it became apparent what the knocking sound was. Her foot was bound up in a cast, and she was walking with a cane, an overstuffed book bag likely full of overdue assignments hanging from her shoulder. She eagerly relieved herself of her burden, unceremoniously throwing it onto the nearest cheap folding table. It bent slightly on impact. She walked slowly closer to Suki, eyeing the blank word processor inquisitively. "Riveting stuff so far. I daresay the words are flying off the page. Wonder when they'll come back?" she remarked, deadpan. It was a typical "Kiyo comment," not to be taken too seriously.

"Probably once inspiration strikes.” Suki didn’t know where she stood with Evil Eye. It was almost like they were two characters in a show that finally had some screen time together, but there was no script and Suki and Kiyo were expected to improv. Once upon a time she had given Kiyo her own nickname, but that had been lost to time. All she could remember was “Eyeball,” which worked a lot better for Evil Eye than it did Kiyo. Her gaze returned to the empty screen. Suki had tried to start several times, but after watching a video or two it didn’t look right and she ended up deleting it. Now under Kiyo’s gaze, she couldn’t bring herself to type a single word. Just because Kiyo was in a good mood now didn’t mean it was going to stay that way. "I uh, wasn’t sure if you were coming back. But with Handy’s return, I guess it was just a matter of time, heh!”

"There were whispers that I wasn't coming back, huh? Interesting," Kiyo remarked, in a manner that instantly reminded herself of Rei and caused her lip to curl with a hint of annoyance. She turned her head back to look at her pile of work, beads of sweat creeping down her cheek. "...You can have the computer. I'm just going to read, for now." She slowly made her way over to the table, sat down and began flexing the hand that'd been holding the crutch and massaging it a little as she spoke. "In the end, I got what I wanted out of my ill-fated solo adventure, but at an unacceptable cost. It's a pyrrhic victory."

"I uh, I see.” Suki said, having absolutely no clarity to interpret Kiyo’s cryptic statement. She believed that Kiyo was a loose cannon, someone wholly unpredictable aside from their tendency towards chaos. It wouldn’t have surprised her if she left forever, nor was it surprising to see she had returned. Even Nyx, who confounded Suki, felt easier to understand than the mysterious, all-seeing, Kiyo.

She had prepared to type again, this time getting out a good sentence or two before noticing Kiyo’s reflection in the monitor. It was hard to stay focused with someone else in the room. In addition to Kiyo being unpredictable, she was kind of a hottie today. Not a full on super cutie, which was Suki’s favorite type. Hotties were generally aware of how attractive they were, and tended to flaunt it a bit. Cuties were more oblivious to their beauty, with super cuties being the very pinnacle of purity and beauty. Below the hotties were the baddies, who fully leaned into their feminine wiles and sported an air of danger and worldly awareness. Normally Suki would classify Kiyo as a baddie, but seeing her innocently read while dressed to the nines…

When was the last time she had seen her like this?

…

…

…

Suki was new to Hibusa Town, but she knew a few things about the place. First and foremost, she knew Penny would never bring her band of light girls to look for her here. That was why she had decided to come to this town to begin with, but that was because Hibusa town had an infamous dark magical girl team. Apparently their leader had been a real menace in the City of Light and decided to move her base of operations here. While they weren’t actively hunting Suki like Penny was, there was no guarantee that they would be friendly either.

After an unsuccessful night of dumpster diving, she decided to try going to the cafeteria to get something to eat. It shouldn’t be too hard to sneak in as a student. She didn’t have a uniform, but that hadn’t stopped her from getting served in other schools. A few students looked at her funny, but no one had confronted her yet. She avoided making eye contact with everyone while going to the counter as quickly as she could.

Just then, though, something red and black caught the corner of Suki's eye. Then, it caught her attention. An older girl who could've only been a senior was eating alone at a table by a window. Her black hair had that coveted sheen to it, like the feathers of a raven or the silky coat of a proud black cat. It reflected the light from the window just so, in that way where anyone who saw it would know that it would be just as soft and warm and—yes, taboo to touch. The inside of her hair was highlighted red, somewhat reminiscent of the hood of a cobra. It added notes of danger and a hint of defiance. Here was a girl who was above the dress code, but also demanded to be taken seriously. Above all, it ought to have warned not to get closer.

Most striking of all were her eyes. They were mesmerizing, in a way that, if she wasn't a magical girl, was magical nonetheless. They alone elevated her look from the level of an average hottie to a true foreign beauty—for though her hair was black, the eyes did not lie. Perhaps her mother was Japanese, and her father was a foreign businessman. Naturally, he would never be home, and this femme fatale look was born of rebelliousness. Was that why she kept others at arm's length? Was she a lonely soul, resigned to her fate to graduate without even a single friend?

She ate her boxed lunch of shrimp scampi and charcuterie with the practiced elegance of someone who knew she would be watched. Her delicate fingers brought a small, ladylike bite to her lips, which slightly parted, just so, and exhaled, blowing the steam from the freshly reheated shrimp. Then, suddenly, her eyes flicked in Suki's direction, and eye contact was established. They were curious, evaluating, piercing—but, they weren't hostile. She was inviting her, right? After all, she hadn't merely glanced—she was practically staring, now.

One of the cafeteria staff cleared his throat politely. Before she knew it, Suki was next in line.

But nothing he did could stop Suki from staring back at the girl a second longer. She rolled her eyes towards the man behind the counter, giving him a sideways glance. Like she had suspected, he was unconcerned with the dress code and just wanted to end his shift as soon as possible. She slid her money across the counter and he departed without a word. Her eyes returned to the girl she couldn’t quite classify.

Suki wasn’t totally oblivious. She knew she was ugly, and she wasn’t dressed to impress anyone. She had slept in her clothes for several days and didn’t have a chance to iron them. She had even turned her underwear inside out to get a few more days out of them, but girls like that usually had exotic taste so, maybe?

A tray was placed beside Suki. When she turned to look at it she could see a few bowls filled with vegetables and one with chunks of chicken, all boiled. There was also an orange slice and a carton of milk. It wasn’t nearly as appetizing as that girl’s bento box, but hunger was the best spice. She took her tray, nodded at her server, and turned to approach.

Only to trip up on the leg of a chair.

She fumbled, falling flat on her stomach. But she managed to hold her tray the entire way down. The only thing she lost was the orange wedge, which flipped over the edge of the tray and landed on the floor. Suki took the wedge, knocked as much of the dust off of it as she could, and shoved it in her mouth before standing up. She didn’t look back.

If this were a typical high school sitcom, there might have been much laughter as a result of Suki's fall. Most of the girls had muted reactions, and a few gasped in surprise, but only one was stifling a giggle. She had just returned her attention to her meal when Suki sat down across from her. This seemed to surprise her, for some reason.

Once she was at the girl’s table, Suki placed her tray across from her and slid into place. She reached inside her mouth and peeled the orange in her mouth before setting the skin off to the side of her tray. The fruit was swallowed without a bite, and without fuss.

"I like your hair.”

The girl made a sound like she'd suppressed a gag at the smell—but then, she laughed. "...Really? That's all I get? You like my hair?" Her emphasis suggested she found the notion absurd, but her tone of voice betrayed amusement. Then, she looked away, flipping her hair in front of the side of her face that Suki could see. "Well. It's not the first thing most people notice," she allowed, enigmatically.

Of course, Suki had thought. Her eyes were her most prominent feature, but they could never be Suki’s favorite part of anyone. Eyes were the one thing that, regardless of how intimate the relationship, were not good to touch.

The girl rested her cheek on her hand and peered at Suki over the tips of her fingers, giving her a side-eye. "You're not from Hibusa Town, are you? If you were, you should know that this is, like... the VIP table," she lied with a mischievous smile that Suki couldn't see but might have been able to hear. "So, what are you gonna do when the Boss and her Posse show up?" She spoke of the posse as though it had nothing to do with her, and both of them were doing something taboo together by sitting at this table.

Suki’s mouth and eyes popped open. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Penny hadn’t found her, but her brow began to rest when she realized this hottie couldn’t have been referring to Penny, if she even knew who she was. It was also unlikely that she was referring to the Detention Club, as it made little sense for a magical girl to reveal themselves. It all made Suki laugh, which exposed the mouthful of food hiding behind her yellowed teeth. With another quick swallow, she slouched in her seat. "I’m not scared of some boss and her pussy!” She pulled a carton of pocky out of her vest. But when she pushed the lid open with her thumb, it revealed rows of cigarettes instead of chocolate treats. "Why, should I be?” she said before sliding one into her mouth.

"PFFFT." The girl covered her mouth and laughed, a bit like a hyena. "Nope! That's exactly it! That's the right attitude! A self-proclaimed 'boss' who doesn't lift a finger to help her subordinates is the lowest of the low, right?! People like that should just go bury themselves already."

She grinned at Suki, like she was really having fun. Another girl saw the change in the mood and thought to try sitting at the table, too, but Suki's new "friend" glared at her right away. "What." "U-Um, I just thought—" "You thought, what?! Something like, 'if Kuroki-san will talk to her, she'll definitely talk to me?' Is that it?"

"Ah, no, I just... I, um..!" She picked her tray back up, hands shaking. It was obvious that Kuroki-san had hit the nail so hard on the head that she was speechless. "I-I'm sorry..!" she mewled as she scurried away, fighting back tears. Suki’s eyes followed the girl as she departed the table, even as she lit her cigarette. That one didn’t look too bad either, but she had to focus on what was in front of her. The stakes might have been higher than she initially suspected.

Kuroki-san turned to face Suki more directly. "Well, that's me. Name's Kuroki-san. Kuro if you're in a hurry or can't be arsed, like me."

"I’m Suki!” the delinquent blurted out a little too quickly.

Kuro packed up her bento, but she didn't get up to leave, nor did she seem to be in a hurry. "I'd ask what's with that smelly getup, but I think we both know what's going on here. So, were you planning on settling in Hibusa Town?" She kept looking at her bento, idly pushing it around with a finger as though it were a ouija planchette.

"Maybe.” Suki didn’t feel like she had to be quite so guarded in front of this girl. She had an air of danger about her, but there had to be a reason she was still talking to her. "Do you like it?”

"It's quiet here; mostly boring, aside from the unexplained disappearances and UAPs. So, it's a pretty interesting town, if you're the right sort." She suddenly looked up from her bento, eyes wide and smiling. "Are you an interesting person?"

"I can be, if I’m with the right sort.”

"Nice parry!" she said in English, grinning. "Yeah. Yeah. I really like your attitude. You said your name was Suki? That's pretty funny." She didn't explain why, though. "I'm not convinced you actually have the guts to back that tough girl persona, but it doesn't matter. You got spunk in spades, like an entire sorority's worth of poor life choices. I'm here for it."

"Oh?”

She seemed pleased, somehow, but it was hard to tell if she was being complimenting or insulting sometimes. "If we're gonna keep talking, it'd be better not to have all these innocent ears around. We should meet again on the school grounds after hours. That's when the fun begins. I'll let you in on some of the inside baseball of Hibusa Town." She rolled up a sleeve and checked her watch, something that seemed increasingly old-fashioned when everyone had a cell phone. "I'm just about out of time here. Smell ya later." She flashed that enigmatic smile again and stood up, like the matter was settled.

With that whirlwind of a discussion(?) concluding, Suki could only watch as the girl slipped away from the table. She was no closer to finding out what she really wanted, or even if she wanted to give it to her, but Suki knew one thing for certain: she was being used.

Yes, Suki was quite familiar with these types. Lada, another foreign beauty, was the same way, all mysterious and confounding until it was time to cut ties. How many times had Suki treated her kindly only to be denied something as simple as a relationship? It was all so rote to her. “Kuro-san” and her must have shared the exact same playbook. Of course Suki wasn’t interesting. Anyone who looked like that would stay as far away from a smoking, stinking, ugly girl like herself. She had only taken a single puff out of her cigarette before twisting it out on the corner of the “VIP” table and walking away.

The silver lining was that she was going to be here once the school closed, and that was something that Suki could probably do something with. She had all afternoon to prepare.

But first.

This school had to have a shower room somewhere. And if she was lucky, maybe there would be a change of clothes too. Even if it was just a track suit someone forgot to take home, that would work.

…

…

…

It would have been inconvenient if this were an American school: there would be an overworked janitor to keep an eye on the place to clean up and perform repairs—but part of a Japanese school’s job was to make sure its students became good and submissive adults. Everything was cleaned by the students themselves before they clocked out. It was rare for anyone to hang around after the last bell, which was perfect for causing a bit of mischief.

During the school’s operating hours, Suki had been exploring. She discovered where all the points of interest were, including the showers which would be vital to getting rid of the smell of day-old garbage. The presence of cameras also tipped her off that there might be a security monitor room, which Suki was standing in now.

She was wearing a t-shirt and gym shorts she had found while raiding the locker room earlier. They didn’t fit perfectly, but they would do until she could wash her old outfit. There were only a few monitors, but Suki could flip between multiple cameras with the press of a button. She knew her mark would be coming to school after hours, but knew little else. The girl hadn’t given a specific time or place, so she could show up anywhere. Moreover, Suki wasn’t sure how to trap someone so enigmatic. She had wanted to lead the hottie to a specific part of the school, but figuring out how was tricky. She didn’t seem like the kind of person that would follow a trail of clothes into a shower stall. Nor did she seem like the type that would have a sudden heroic spark when they spotted a trail of blood leading into the cafeteria kitchen. What did seem like it would be appealing to Kuro's sensibilities was a note trail. Beside her extinguished cigarette on the VIP table was a note. It made some vague references to a surprise while instructing her to move to a new location she was being ‘beckoned’ to. This was a cryptic way of instructing her to go to the becoming cat statue on the other side of the school, which held another note written in the same fashion. Surely an indirect trail like this would make such a person curious, if nothing else.

Suki watched the monitors for any trace of her mark. She had raided a snack dispensary for a bag of sweetened pecans and was munching on those while she waited. Part of her wasn’t sure if she’d even show up, but the school wasn’t a bad place to stay for the night. The gym mats were comfortable enough to sleep on, but she would need to find a blanket. Her clothes weren’t exactly warm sleepwear.



All was quiet in Hibusa High. Some might even quip that it was too quiet, in that cliche manner—but just before Suki could get bored, there was activity on the cafeteria monitor. Given the layout of the school, it seemed strange that there hadn't been any activity before that. Had she been hiding somewhere in the kitchen, off-camera?

"Where is that girl? I should have seen her by now. Have I lost my touch? Am I out of touch? Do I think too much?" she pondered aloud rhythmically, as if expecting an answer. She found a note, instead. "Hm. A surprise, she says. Now, what could that be?" Again, she aired her thoughts almost mockingly before turning to leave the cafeteria and enter the halls. "A cat statue. Is she saying she knows I like cats? Or could it be just a coincidence?" she pondered more quietly, more genuinely. Everything seemed to be working. Suki made a mental note that she liked cats and waited for her to get to the next note. Pretty soon it would be time to get into position.

The hottie walked down a predictable path to her destination, occasionally calling out for Suki. "Ooiii~ I'm taking time out of my super busy schedule to be here, you know?" she said with a smile on her lips. An obvious lie for her own amusement. Upon finding another note, she scowled in mild annoyance. "Search the school. Find her," she barked at... seemingly nobody. "Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, not in a million years. Where are you, my little mouse? ...Not here... Not there... Ah, there you are!" She turned to face the camera suddenly, waving at it. Her eyes looked abnormal, even in poor quality CCTV. It almost seemed like her eyes were filled with... no, they were filled with white noise. Now, the whole screen was filling up with white noise!

When the feed returned to normal, she had disappeared.



The door to the security room suddenly opened. It would be impossible for it to be Kuro, unless—

It wasn't Kuro. Instead, it was a disembodied eyeball, about the size of a softball, clinging to the door handle with its little tendrils. It blinked non-threateningly at Suki. It looked like a miseria, but there being a miseria at an empty school was more than a little odd. Besides that, it seemed to have some small spark of sentience. It lowered its eyelid, appearing mildly scandalized, as if it had only just returned from its bathroom break and wanted to ask Suki what she was doing in its chair.

Between everything, Suki didn’t have time to do much of anything but look at the newly arrived. She curled her lips over her teeth and sighed. "I should have known she was a baddie.” And probably a dark magical girl, maybe even the “boss” that she had been talking about earlier. But there were more immediate things to address, like the eyeball. If it was a miseria, Suki would have had little issue transforming on the spot, but it seemed like it was something else. Her mind raced for possibilities that ranged from the baddie having dominion over miseria to the floating eyeball being a part of her somehow. It probably wasn’t smart to transform just yet. The baddie believed she was a cat hunting a mouse, and Suki intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.

She casually walked up to the eye, cigarette clenched between her fingers. After she took a good hard inhale, she blew smoke all over it. Suki's diversion worked like a charm. The eyeball flinched and watered in the face of all that smoke. She took the opportunity to charge out of the room. Suki was about to dart down another hallway when she spotted another one of those eyes, and was pretty sure she could hear the other one creeping up behind her. She backtracked only far enough to run down to the first floor. At least she was dressed for all this running! When she turned around, though, she found not two eyeballs chasing her, but three. The eye she'd blown smoke into was crying black tears, and the tears were turning into more of the creatures. They didn't seem dangerous, but they were creepy and intent on following her. Suki was faster, though, much faster, easily outrunning their flight.

Most might have used this as an opportunity to flee the school, but not Suki. She still had her bull headed determination and was compelled to continue with her plan. If the eyeball things were smart, one of them was probably still stationed in the surveillance room, but there were still places in the school that didn’t have cameras, such as the locker rooms adjoining the showers and gym.

As soon as Suki got inside, she immediately ran to the locker that she had forced open earlier and stepped inside. This locker was where all of the notes would have led eventually, and the baddie would likely drop by if she was trying to find her “mouse.” Maybe she’d send more of those eyeballs, but it didn’t matter, because when they came to investigate the locker, they wouldn’t find Suki. She pricked her finger on her stomach tattoo, and shoved the bloody needle through the side of her head. Suki Oyama had vanished, and Oros the Joyful had taken her place.

And so she waited to start her counter attack. Her eyes peered out of the locker, wary of any sudden sounds or movements.

The eyeballs did make a strangely ethereal noise as they flew through the air—a bit like the sound of air softly whistling while being sucked through a partially blocked straw, or water coming through a shower head. Oros watched them dart around the locker room, searching. Seeing so many peeping eyes in the girls' locker room was a bit—

Before Oros could properly finish the thought, they all gathered together and headed out the door, having cleared the room but not having checked the lockers. In fairness, there were a lot of lockers, and a lot of other places Oros could be, but it seemed odd that neither the big bad nor any of the minions had found the final note leading them to this specific locker.

Something was off, however, and after just a few seconds, Oros would realize what it was: that shower-head-like sound, it was still there. A shower was running. There was even a trail of clothes: a school uniform with tasteful but brazenly dress-code-violating personal touches that looked awfully familiar.

If Oros stopped to think about it, she could reason that this was a blatant set piece in Kuro's version of their game of "cat and mouse." The girl seemed to relish the feeling that she was the one in control of this situation. Such confidence suggested that she might be a higher-ranking member of the "club," and since having any other members on standby to act as backup would take away from her power fantasy, she was probably acting alone. Yes, this was a deduction she had the ability to make—but the most important piece of information in Oros’s mind right now was that there was a chance, however small, that Kuro might not be fully clothed.

She needed to move quickly.

Oros threw the door to the locker open and hopped onto her blood skates, which took her straight into the showers. All dawdling would do was give Kuro more opportunities to spot her magical girl form and work out what her abilities might be. A speedy, reckless approach might be what it took to catch Kuro off guard, and who knew, maybe she hadn’t transformed yet. As Oros drew closer she wondered what her magical girl form might be like. She probably wasn’t in a wedding dress, but maybe she’d be rocking some gothic lolita fashion, or maybe some shadow cultist robe decorated like it was covered in eyes, and her chest would have two giant eyes located in the center because they kind of look like-

A cat. There was a note attached to the shower door with a little cat face sticking its comically long tongue out.

It's bad manners to enter the pool without a shower.

The pool: that's where she would be waiting. That meant swimsuits and a picturesque outdoor scene under the pale moonlight! The doors were already ajar, and Oros could hear the girl humming a tune. She was definitely there, and definitely waiting. She was wearing a red and black one-piece and didn't appear to be transformed yet, but she was certainly using magic. She was hovering above the pool, trailing her toes across the surface of the water. Like the floating eyeballs, she drifted through the air slowly like a balloon, her movements just as wandering and chaotic. She made random patterns on the water's surface and even threw in a twirl or two, like an ice skater, except instead of flowing freely, her hair was wet and glistening and stuck to her skin and—

Oros had already showered earlier, she was going in!

The air cracked when Oros accelerated. There were a lot of questions she could have had, but with even less blood running through her head than usual, she couldn’t really think about any of them. Her blood was flooding to other extremities, including her nose, which propelled her across the water. Though this sanguine discharge wasn’t healthy. As her blood ran low, her blood skates turned into a blood raft. More and more tendrils laid themselves side by side until Suki was coasting through the water on a boat made of her blood. Its tendrils acted as oars that rowed through the water. As she neared Kuro, Oros spread her arms for an embrace, her eyes wide and her mouth hung open like a drooling idiot.

Whatever Kuro expected the new girl in town to do, it certainly wasn't that. She looked up from the pool and towards Oros, frozen in, well, some kind of emotion. It all happened so fast and she wasn't even sure what she was looking at. She tried to avoid her, but her flight was too slow. She transformed, which increased her speed, but it was already too late. Oros was on top of her, the two of them were on a boat, and her head was hanging over the edge of the water while Oros had buried hers in the baddie's chest upon impact. Kuro's eyes were so wide open that shock and rage looked the same. "Whuh—get off!!" she shouted, an instant before she noticed the girl's nosebleed. Maybe it was a poor choice of words.

Her transformed body wore a kimono with a disjointed black and white checker pattern and an indistinct red floral accent. It was a bit more red than it would've been otherwise on account of Oros. Her long hair was starting to spread out in the water, reminiscent of an image of Medusa, and her eyes were glowing a deep crimson. Every nerve in Oros's body was surely screaming at her to get up, but she didn't. "I said, get... hah... get..." she panted, the feeling of uncontrollable rage subsiding from her eyes as Oros's geas took effect. "H-Hey. Are you alright? Here," she said, pulling a handkerchief from her cleavage and wiping Oros's face with it. "Um, will it be fine? Do you need a nurse?"

"Nope!” Oros said, her chin nestled exactly where she wanted. The handkerchief smeared the blood over her upper lip, only to run into the boat below them. "I haven’t felt this good in a long time!” This was victory, Oros had told herself. From a cat chasing a mouse to a damsel beneath a vampire. As horrifying as Kuro had appeared on approach, her eyes were hard to look away from. Her head felt a little foggy, but she had just run half the length of the school. She’d allow herself to feel a little off. She pulled her knees up by Kuro’s hips and sat up, admiring what she had caught. She took her finger and traced down the center of her victim’s face. Her blood soaked finger left no streaks as it slid down the bridge of her baddie's nose and bounced along her lips. "Unless you’re a nurse? I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to take care of me! You look great right now but I know you could rock a nurse outfit. If I can do it, you can do it too!” Oros drank up more of her victim's eyes. She leaned forward, hanging her head over Kuro’s face. "But for now, why don’t you check my temperature.” Normally Oros would close her eyes when she leaned in for a kiss, but not this time.

It had been Oros who approached, but it would be Kuro who pulled her in and held her close. "Yeah..." she breathed, eyes deep and full of a dark and inescapable yearning, like a pair of bright full moons dyed in red. "I wanted to take care of you. I wanted... to be..."

The cool onee-sama. That's who she was, Oros realized, as they locked lips. She was the older and more experienced magical girl, and she'd seen a girl who had obviously fallen to darkness recently, run away from home and come to Hibusa Town for safety. She'd seen a bit of herself when her covetous eyes first met Suki's, and she knew she had to have her. This meticulously planned evening had been an initiation—a baptism into the darkness, the True Sisterhood.

...

This feeling... I know what it is. I crave her warmth desperately, wish it to envelop me like a winter cloak fresh from the dryer, mere moments before I freeze to death—but, I can't understand it. No one can awaken this desire in me. I know it must be magic, and in the twinkling of an eye, when I let her go, this feeling will cease to exist, but I... don't want to.

Oros’s eyelids twitched when she heard the "baddie's" thoughts. Or at least, that was what she supposed they were. Nothing like this had happened when she kissed other girls, magical or otherwise. Perhaps like her geas, the girl's voice would vanish from her mind the moment she looked away, but that wasn’t something she was going to entertain.

She rolled off of Kuro and pulled her across her lap. Around her was moonlight reflecting off a calm pool in a liminal space, but there was nowhere else she’d rather look than in her girl’s eyes. Maybe she belonged to a dark magical girl team or had other masters prior to now, but in this moment, she was absolutely her girl, and perhaps Oros was hers as well. She hugged her tight and kissed her again. She sighed, like she had just downed the last swallow of her drink, but there was a lot of Kuro left to take in.

"We shouldn’t have waited so long to do this!” She stroked Kuro’s hair as she spoke. "You must have been watching me with those eyes for a while. You might be more perverted than I am.” Oros chuckled, but she was able to suppress the pig-like snort that normally would have followed Suki’s laughter.

Kuro's lips pursed slightly, like she was pouting. "Perv—no, I'm... Evil Eye, the Detention Club's Supervisor. I look after the younger girls. I also do most of the talent scouting and recruitment. ...Rei is lazy and makes me and Earthshaker do all the work. Earthshaker's the right hand girl, the cool and aloof type. I wanted to be like that too—a reliable older sister type, but somehow, I... miscalculated." Her lip quivered and she spoke softly. "You're—what? A blood witch? That's so cool. Why couldn't you just play along with my brilliant schemes and let me be the cool one? I had a ritual planned and everything. You're so mean."

Oros smiled. Despite the girl's words, she didn't seem that angry, though it was always hard for anyone under Oros's influence to be angry at her. Though it was also unusual for her victims to speak so frankly, especially after two kisses. Most girls would have fainted by now, and Kuro was less horny and fawning and more... frustrated and needy, like she craved attention. It seemed as if she really did have some kind of resistance to being charmed. Regardless, seeing Kuro like this did not remind her of a baddie, so she must have misjudged. Perhaps she was a hottie after all.

"Yup! I’m a blood witch. Oros the Joyful, or Oros if you can’t be bothered.” Her hand settled into the small of her back. "But you were cool! The way you looked in the camera and were all like ‘found you!’ before disappearing behind a veil of static was awesome!”

Oros the Joyful. Not Eros, but Oros, Kuro noted. She wondered how joyful she could really be, but she filed that thought away for now, because Oros said she was cool, and that what she did was awesome. A light blush graced her cheeks and a proud, catlike grin curled her lips just slightly, like she wanted to tell Oros that she could praise her some more.

Oros leaned in for another kiss, but added "If you had told me you needed a virgin sacrifice, I’d have been a lot more willing,” before closing the gap herself this time. She tipped Kuro all the way back, to the point where some may have wondered if Oros was going to drop her overboard, but she pulled her back upright before releasing her. The blood witch wobbled side to side as her cheeks flushed red. It was like she was drunk. "I’m actually an only child, so I wouldn’t mind having a sister. Do you prefer ‘Oneesan’ or ‘Aneki’?” She asked while lifting Kuro’s chin, lining her up for a fourth kiss. "Onee-sama. Anything else is no good," Kuro demanded childishly. "Say it just once, and I'll forgive you."

But Oros would not get the chance to say it that night. It had been happening slowly for a while now, but suddenly, their love boat lost structural integrity, and they both plunged into the pool. The water felt cold, if only because their bodies had felt so warm. The shock of the cold pulled Kuro out of whatever trance she'd been in, but Oros still had her eyes locked on Kuro's as she sank towards the bottom.

"Suki! Snap out of it!" Kuro dove down and grabbed Oros's face, forcing her eyes shut, but she'd lost all sense of time and urgency. Kuro wasn't a lifeguard, but that was going to change. She dragged Oros down to the bottom, using it as a means to spring off towards the edge. She pulled Oros with her and threw her out of the pool to safety. "Breathe, Suki!" she said, checking the girl's pulse.

She froze.

The girl was just fine. Of course she was. Magical girls didn't have to worry about drowning. She facepalmed. "Oi. Seriously, snap out of it. I'm not giving you mouth-to-mouth." She gently slapped Oros's cheek a few times. It took a little self-control to not slap her harder.

Oros blinked and opened her eyes again. Normally her blood magic could hold its shape well, but she was perhaps focusing a bit too hard on Kuro towards the end there. She still wasn’t sure what had come over her. Even while she had been “drowning” she didn’t have an ounce of self preservation in her body, though it was only now when she wasn’t looking into Kuro’s eyes that she started to realize it. Maybe she hadn’t “won” after all. While Oros tried to piece together what had happened, the shame of what had just happened was starting to seep into Kuro’s consciousness, as the mortified look on her face suggested.

"You... forget this ever happened, understand? Or I'll make sure you're expelled before your first day of school is over." She looked like she wanted to cry, but she didn't, at least not before she walked away. "That... desire is beneath me. I hate it. It makes me feel disgusting."

Oros sat up and looked in the girl’s direction as she stomped off. "B-but I’m not even enrolled here!” This was all very confusing to Oros, and she wasn’t about to let the person with all the answers walk away from her. She pushed herself to her feet and marched after her. Before she could turn the corner into the locker room, though, she heard voices, and immediately stood off to the side of the doorway. It sounded like Kuro was talking with someone.

"For someone so laser-focused on her ambitions, you sure have wandering eyes."

"Ugh, shut up. Your timing is atrocious, you know that?"

"The Mogall got all starry-eyed. I couldn't help but be curious who could bewitch the club's ice queen. Is she that interesting?"

"Why don't you go find out? You're too late to file a complaint, though. I already gave her my stamp of approval. She's your problem now, whether you like her or not."

"Any particular reason why I wouldn't?"

"Like I said, go find out. I'm done here."

"Evil Eye?"

"What."

"It's a good surprise. I think it's interesting. So, thanks."

"Whatever. It wasn't supposed to be a surprise for you."

"Sure. Thanks, anyway." Before Suki could think about backing away from the wall, Rei stepped out of the doorway and turned to look at her, like she had always known she was there. "Oros." She smiled. "You arrived in town yesterday."

So this one was well informed too. Though the more Suki thought about it, some magical girls would probably be aware of a new face showing up in a small town like this. Though more concerning was the aura this girl had. Kuro had one mystery, but Rei exuded nothing but confidence and power. Even untransformed, Suki felt like she was just barely a match for the person in front of her, if not her inferior. "Who are you?”

"You know who I am." A mostly true statement. This was the big boss. The boss that was a middle aged highschool student. Boss Baby, as Suki would come to eventually call her. She had heard about Schrade in her travels, and was now standing in front of the dark magical girl super boss. "But most call me Rei."

"Where did, uh, Evil Eye go?”

"She’s resting." Her smile grew a bit wider. "Bit of a handful, that one. Glad you were able to take her off my hands for a night."

"Heh!” Oros couldn’t help but let her chest swell. She wasn’t used to being appreciated, and if this was what awaited her in the cult she had been signed up for, she was all for it. "Do you think I could talk to her tomorrow?”

"You can meet everyone tomorrow. Right now I’d like you to meet Earthshaker. She’s going to be your future partner."

"P-partner!?” This only got better. Oros vaguely remembered Kuro dropping Earthshaker’s name, but couldn’t remember what was said about her.

"We work in small teams. She would be a good fit for someone new to Hibusa town. She knows a lot, and would be willing to show you the ropes." She waved her hand. "Earthshaker’s waiting for us by the ‘VIP’ table."

"Alright! Lead the way!”

"Oros?"

"Yes?”

"That girl says some interesting things, but most of the time, there's no deeper meaning behind it besides having fun, so don’t spend too much time thinking seriously about it. If you're ever in trouble, though, you can rely on her. She’s not a thoughtless person."

"Alright…” During the long walk back, Oros started to feel a little nervous. Did they know she extinguished her cigarette directly on their table?

---

During her reminiscing, she managed to type a few paragraphs of her report while occasionally looking at Kiyo. She still wasn't quite sure where she and Kiyo stood, after all this time had passed. Did she like Suki, or did she think she was gross? Was an "interesting person" just someone who could be a useful tool for the Detention Club, or was there really a hidden yearning for a feeling of sisterhood with the Detention Club girls?

Kiyo placed her open book down, looking a little annoyed. "Suki, you're staring."

"I know.”

"Do you need something?"

Suki blinked a few times. "Nah I was just… thinking… about things.” She started to turn her head away, but was still looking at Kiyo. "But I think I got it, Onee-sama.” She turned back to the monitor and continued typing.

"You—!" Kiyo turned her head away, the same way she did when Suki had complimented her hair. "I told you to forget about it."

After hitting a few more keystrokes, Suki looked over her shoulder. "Forget about what?” After blinking innocently, she raised a finger to the corner of her lip. "I can’t remember what I used to call you. There was always Eyeball, but…” She hummed as a word floated around her mind, just out of reach. "Was it sister? It must have been sister.” She resumed typing.

Kiyo sighed, composed herself, and stood up. Slowly, she made her way across the room to Suki. "If it's between that and Eyeball, I'd rather you call me Aneki. Don't call me 'Onee-sama' in front of the others. It's cringe." She placed her hand on Suki, petting her head like a proper older sister. "As promised, though, I'll forgive you. You are absolved of your sins, Sister." She had that catlike grin again. "But don't kiss the Supervisor again. That's a pink slip," she said, deadpan.

Suki hummed as the pats continued. Of course, Suki would absolutely still call her Eyeball. It would be weird to call her the same thing in and out of her magical girl form. Rainbow worked for Tsubomi because of her dull personality, but “Eyeball” didn’t have anything to do with Kiyo. Nor did Evil Eye seem particularly sisterly, though perhaps now was not the time to bring it up. She also wasn’t going to ask what a pink slip was. It sounded like a tag on one of those websites Suki liked to browse late at night, but given Kiyo’s intense expression that probably wasn’t what she was referring to. "Well, if you don’t look at me with those eyes, I’ll try to contain myself, heh!”

Kiyo's smile widened. "I'll make no such promise. Restrain yourself, or you'll get pulled into the abyss with me," she replied enigmatically, returning her attention to her books. Without looking back, Suki raised her eyebrows before finishing up her report. Last time they fell into the abyss together, Kiyo had pulled her out. Was it too much to expect her to do so again?

---

What did one do with this so-called… “free time?” If Sylvia dared to ask that question out loud, she knew she would be treated as though she were an alien, but honestly, she had no idea other than staring at the last page of a novel that Ember had read before she forced Sylvia to the forefront. The others refused to front as well, even though there was nothing she could do, except play shiritori with herself until she inevitably lost.

She tried to plead with Ember, but the woman walled her off “for her own good”. The phrase tasted like ash on Sylvia’s lips and she almost begged to be let back into the second line of her own mindspace. Hotaru too, seemed intent on giving her her own time, citing how much pain she had taken on recently. She could not fault them for their intentions but… seriously, what could she do?

Sylvia sighed.

Counting the seconds did not prove as entertaining as she hoped. She also messed up several times with it, so she had no idea how long she had been here. But maybe a walk could help her find something? Anything. Anything that counted as a form of entertainment or company, a thought which caused Ember in the back of her head to snicker.

Fine then. A walk without aim it was. Roaming the school hallways along with the track field as though she were a lost spirit of sorts, Sylvia spotted someone who still put herself to the grinder despite the late hour. She could not see her, but really, there was only one who could have been it: Roche. The Rulekeeper… really kept the harshest of rules for herself, did she not?

Sylvia sighed again, leisurely taking her steps, almost tiptoeing closer. What did she even say to Roche? How did she start a conversation? Ask anyone else in their head and they would know it - Sylvia would not. What if Roche rejected her outright? What if there was no hope? What if…

Ember interrupted the movement of Sylvia’s legs and the latter almost fell face-first against the dirt. Her legs screeched against the surface, no doubt attracting Roche’s attention as she balanced herself by cartwheeling her hands and likely looking absolutely ridiculous from the outside.

The track team had already dispersed for the evening, but for a Magical Girl, endurance was more a suggestion than a hard limit. Roche pushed no one harder than herself, and she’d be damned before anyone accused her of not leading by example. Not that such integrity made her company any more palatable to others.

Respected. Tolerated. But sought after? Unlikely. She only had one girl do that to her in recent memory and that was more someone seeking her for her expertise. An exchange she did admittedly enjoy a great deal, and she found looking forward to in the mornings they met. But in the evening hours between school and Detention Club activities, she expected nothing more than solitude and the sounds of her own heart beat.

So the Rule Keeper was reasonable distracted when the sound of screeching shoes had her turn and see Shatterscape in her normal form, flailing her arms like she’d been about to trip over her own feet. The tanned track star pivoted and approached, breathing steadily with a sheen of perspiration coating her skin. “Hey there. Did you need something? It seems a little early for Miseria.”

Naturally her mind went to business, thinking this was about their nightly activities.

Sylvia’s heart thumped against her chest, the beats practically audible in her ears. What did she say? What did she say?! Naturally, only silence greeted her as she tried to come up with something, the awkward silence stretching for what felt like two or three eternities. She must have looked even worse than just a second before, almost frozen in place with an expression that could have been cut from a horrified marble statue.

“I’m sorry!” she ended up resorting to something familiar as she immediately bowed, her hands clasped beside her body as she bent forward at an almost ninety-degree angle. Her head faced the ground even as the blood in her veins pounded away like a volatile mixture of napalm and arctic ice, lips pursed tight, eyes shut.

“Wait, what?!” Roche sputtered out, confusion turning to shock and second-hand embarrassment as Sylvia was prostrating herself before her for seemingly no reason. Her head whipped side to side, checking if anyone was watching before quickly closing the distance and raising the other magical girl by her shoulders.

“Sheesh, don’t go doing stuff like that without a reason. What are you even sorry for?” Roche questioned, keeping a firm grip on Sylvia lest she trip or attempt escalate matters into full blown Dogeza before her. At the very least it seemed clear this wasn’t about business as usual.

Sylvia twitched as soon as Roche touched her, but she did not resist. It would have been useless anyway. Roche was stronger in this form than Sylvia - she felt it in her bones even though her companion did her best to handle the situation gently - raising Sylvia upwards regardless of what she wished for, her expression on plain display: eyes wide, lips pale and slightly open, face lacking any colour one could think of.

But at least some blood seemed to be returning to her experession after Roche spoke.

“Ummm… err… Hello?” tried Sylvia as she screamed for help in her head.

“I’m so sorry, Slyvi,” answered Ember. “But if I helped, It wouldn’t be your time.”

“She’s right,” smiled Hotaru. “Go on! Enjoy yourself! Maybe race her around the track and see where that gets you. It’s better than just sitting around, isn’t it?” She patted Sylvia on the metaphorical back. “You can do it!”

Unfortunately, Roche responded before Sylvia could say anything back.
“Are you having a seizure?” The Rule Keeper hadn’t considered the medical backgrounds of most of the club, but Nyxia proved that being a Magical Girl didn’t remove any existing illnesses or conditions. She didn’t panic, but seeing the near lifeless expression on Sylvia’s face before she slowly returned to her senses had the tanned girl increasingly alarmed. “Hey, let’s get you on a bench. I’m not exactly sure you should be standing after that.”

That made no sense whatsoever. Shutting her mouth so that nothing strange could leave it for some time, Sylvia had to fight against showing the confusion she felt. Butterflies swarmed up from her stomach and throughout her whole body, making it feel as though everything she say would be wrong in some way or could be misinterpreted or it could turn into an argument or maybe Roche would slap her or maybe…

“No…?” she half-whispered, half-asked, almost choking the words out. “I… err… I… umm. I don’t have,” A pause. A breath. More butterflies. More uncertainties. “A seizure.”

“Oh….Oh!” Roche faltered in her steps, arms locked in place before pulling away like they’d been thrust onto a stove top and not noticed the flames till that very moment. Roche was often cavalier with others and bossy, but that didn’t render her immune to being mortified at being so wrong.

Her arms crossed across her chest and she looked away, a flash of vulnerability in her failure. Gaze looking out across the campus, she worried her lip before turning back to Sylvia with a ragged sigh. “Sorry, that was rash. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like-”

Her apology was stilted, and was then rudely interrupted by the rumble of her stomach. Embarrassment deepened and a faint rosy hue dusted her tanned cheeks as Roche tried to mask her discomfort with a weak laugh.

“Hey, do you wanna get something? We can talk while we eat.”

The butterflies continued their flight, their wings growing bladed edges as they danced across Sylvia’s body. She tried her best to keep her face neutral as Roche danced away from her, then, in another incomprehensible action, apologised to Sylvia about jumping to conclusions. But was it not her who was in the wrong here? She interrupted Roche in the first place by being an ugly, disobedient-

A growl like the roar of a lion, coming straight from the Rulekeeper’s stomach.

Slyvia did not even flinch as she heard it, her expression neutral.

“Okay. Being hungry… is not good.” It seemed that some of the butterflies wedged themselves under her tongue, between her teeth as the words came out haltingly. Awkwardly. Almost like they had immeasurable weight without having gravitas.

“Yes….it’s not.” The Rule Keeper felt she could be forgiven for not knowing where to go with that, but decided anywhere else was preferable to staying on school grounds a moment longer. She murmured an excuse before going to scoop up her gym bag from the grass along the track, a quick check confirming all her things were inside before waving Sylvia after her.

Fortunately High School’s were prime real estate for inexpensive eateries with high traffic, and Roche grinned seeing a KFC up ahead. Turning on the spot she offered Sylvia her bag, checking the street around them, and quickly transforming into Earth Shaker.

“Alright, you wait here and I’ll be back with a bucket of something warm.” Rubbing her palms together, she waited for another customer to open the door before slipping in behind them.

Sylvia followed as though she were a robot marching to Roche’s tune for the lack of any better options that came to mind. At least the butterflies inside her were quieting down as they walked, but they did nothing to improve the atmosphere. Such things were on her, a distant part of her consciousness reminded her, which meant she had to come up with a topic. Which meant she was back to thinking again.

Nodding to Roche instead of trusting herself with an answer, Sylvia took the opportunity for a break as her companion disappeared into the restaurant. Letting out a lungful of air, she centered herself and let the tension loosen from her body. She had not even realised she held it, but she felt immediately lighter and in a few seconds, she realised something she could talk about. Or try to. She was not as good at moving as Hotaru, but she could ask about the track team.

There was a topic now! Carefully keeping her expression neutral, she took the bucket that Roche returned with in silence, meaning to start the conversation after they had their fill and she had enough time to map out how their exchange could go. Firstly, she would have to be the one to speak up, apologising for her awkwardness. She could do tha-

The food tasted - at least to her sensibilities - like cold, mushed paper infused with sewage juice. She desperately tried to force it down so as not to offend her fellow dark girl, but it was a losing battle. The moment it touched her tongue, Sylvia coughed once - deliberately closing her mouth to avoid the worst - but the second cough had her spit it out and heave, doubling over in her seat as she tried to get her breathing under control.

Being invisible in Magical Girl form had often been an easy way to get free things, but it did come with the age old adage attached, ‘Beggars Can’t Be Choosers’. Roche had a great deal of experience lowering her expectations in these penny-pinching forays but it had slipped her mind that Sylvia might have had a developed pallet.

Biting into the chicken herself she didn’t even react to the cold, damp mess bereft of flavor. A steaming hot meal put in a container and left to sit for a terminally-late Pick-Up order was bound to be tepid but it would be the least noticed of all to go swiped off the counter.

Back in her untransformed state, Roche was startled from her chewing by Sylvia retching rather violently. Dropping her thigh to the sidewalk she rushed over, fretting with her hand patting at Sylvia’s back. “Shit, shit! Are you choking? Do you need something to drink?!”

Hastily setting down the bucket she rummaged into her bag, pulling out a squeeze bottle of water and giving it a shake to find she’d still left some water inside.

Struggling between breaths, all Sylvia could think of was that she would be exacting revenge on Hotaru and Ember for this, even if they did feel the very same cold, flavourless… disgusting… thing… that she did through their shared senses. The taste was momentary, but it remained with her for several extremely long seconds until her saviour arrived in the form of a water bottle.

Sylvia took a large gulp of it, washing her mouth of the taste as best she could before she lowered the bottle.

“I… umm. I’m sorry, I don’t think I can eat that,” she said with a halting, difficult cadence as she handed the bottle back to Roche, her gaze conspicuously directed towards the ground. “And uh… I’m sorry. I uhhh...” Wait a second. That was right. Chiaki knew how to cook. So did Ember. It would be not as easy as if they were the ones doing it, but Sylvia could borrow the knowledge. It might even be edible unlike the culinary affront she had just experienced!

“I want you to stop eating food like that!” Ooops. She had been too enthusiastic about finally finding something she could do. She did not mean for that to be so loud nor to sound so cheerful!

Roche had every intent of squirting the water into Sylvia’s open mouth but the girl was fast in her panic and took the bottle herself. Eyes wide, she watched as the fellow Dark Magical Girl guzzled its contents from a cap she’d been using earlier in her run. That certainly qualified as an indirect kiss, but Sylvia seemed too distracted to notice.

All too happy to stuff it back to the bottom of her bag, Roche took the sudden change of direction as the coughing girl blurted out her true feelings with aplomb. “Okay! Do you have any suggestions where you’d like to go?!”

Her voice was most certainly not squeaking, and she was very much not flustered by the eyes of strangers turning to them in passing as they very loudly coughed over a bucket of chicken now ignored at their feet.

Oh kami. She screwed up. She screwed up so bad. Sylvia could practically feel a searing blush slowly make its way to her face, roses slowly developing on her cheeks as she fantasized about going back in time by five seconds and strangling herself before she let that sentence out. This was why she wanted help from Ember! She was useless in social situations! She just humiliated Roche to the best of her ability without as much as thinking about it. But now she had no choice but to power through. Somehow.

“Ummm… errr… sorry.. Umm. Umm! Do you have… a kitchen?” she ended up asking after a brief pause, trying to force herself to look at Roche. Which was not happening. The butterflies were back in full force again, fluttering and laughing through her whole body any time she tried to meet the other girl’s eyes.

“Oh! That’s what you….Never mind.” Shaking herself Roche put an arm around Sylvia’s shoulder to help steady her, since the girl might have been under the weather with all her poor balance and hacking coughs.

“I do have a kitchen, but it’s not what you’d call well stocked. I can work a rice cooker but I don’t exactly have fresh veggies in the fridge.” Roche said, slowly leading them off in the direction of her place. She shot Sylvia worried looks, hoping she didn’t keel over or need her to transform and carry her off quickly.

The roses crept further up Sylvia’s cheeks as Roche reached out to her, the Rulekeeper’s fingers wrapping around her shoulder in a gesture that she had not felt… well, ever, if she was being honest with herself. She did not even find herself flinching away from the touch as she should have, because it felt… nice? Yes. It felt nice. She may not have known the other Dark Magical Girl for too long, but they have spent time together just… not like this. She did not know it could be nice like this.

She did not need the support. At all. But instead of informing Roche about it to save the other Dark Magical Girl the effort, Sylvia found herself leaning into the touch so she could feel more of it, starting to understand what Hotaru meant by missing out on hugs. But those would be too forward in this situation, would they not be? Even this gesture might be inappropriate if she thought about it too much.

Trying to distract herself, Sylvia went for her purse, pulling out a five-thousand yen note.

“I umm… I think this should help,” she said awkwardly. “I uhh… er. I am not… the best at it.” Swallow. Breathe. Try to think of how to phrase it. “But it would be better…?”

Roche outwardly projected calm as Sylvia handed her the note but internally she screamed out in despair as she had no idea what to even use it on. She’d been living off instant meals, one-step recipes, and petty theft for so long she didn’t have the foggiest idea what she’d be cooking.

No, she couldn’t just say that. Sylvia barely looked to be holding herself together, so Roche had to remain firmly grounded and support her. It was her responsibility to keep every member of the Club together, even in the most unconventional of situations.

“S-Since you’re paying, you can pick the recipe and we’ll do it together!” Roche blurted out with false confidence, passing the onus of responsibility for the shopping to Sylvia while still holding the veneer of being decisive.

“Teriyaki Chicken,” answered Sylvia almost instantly as for once, Ember helped her out with a recipe that was simple, relatively quick, did not have too many ingredients and had little preparation. Thus, she could not screw it up too badly, having never cooked before. It would likely taste similar to what she had just a few minutes prior due to how utterly useless she was - even if Ember tried to convince her otherwise.

“Err.. uhhh. If you’re… okay with that.”

“Sure, that sounds great!” Is what Roche said aloud, but she’d never cooked Teriyaki Chicken before. Was it complex? Did it take a lot of time? She might have descended into alarmed worrying if she didn’t think to pull out her phone and search for a recipe. To her relief it proved simple in its ingredients and not all that labor intensive.

She kept the recipe open in hand as they turned into a grocers and found her arm naturally slipping from Sylvia’s shoulder as they entered the more publicly packed place. “Here, you carry the basket while I grab the stuff. We’ll be in and out in no time.”

It was quick going from there. The shopping went by in a blitz and before Sylvia realised it, she stood in front of a stove, trying her best not to show just how nervous she was cooking for the first time. What if she left it on for too long? What if she left it on for too little? Tasting it was forbidden - she was cooking it for both of them so she did not want to contaminate it. It did look ready in a few minutes, but was it really?

In an inspired moment, she took a fork to check one of the meat slices for consistency and sure enough, it was. Letting out a sigh of relief, Sylvia moved the pan, toggled the heat, then she fetched the plates for the two of them, meticulously arranging the table without even noticing she did so. Not that there was much to arrange given how sparse Roche’s apartment proved itself to be, but even so, there were soon two tastefully measured servings of food on the track club star’s table.

“Er… umm… if it’s bad, you don’t have… have to eat it,” spoke Sylvia as she did her best to avoid Roche’s gaze. Try as she might, she knew there was no way she could have replicated how Ember did the dish with her years of experience. It was likely she burnt it to a crisp or messed something up but… No, she followed all the steps correctly, didn’t she? Surely, she could not mess up something this simple, could she?

Roche could scarcely remember the last time she ate at a dining table with another person. Even meals at School were more club affairs than anything else, and Roche stared down at the meal they’d prepared together with no small measure of wonder. She’d missed the warmth of it, the expectation of a home taken for granted in her youth, and with it’s absence she’d given up hope of feeling it again.

Unbidden, Roche chuckled softly, the noise soon lost as she blew on the chicken before taking it into her mouth. Sylvia’s cooking had been spot on and the moisture of the chicken had not been driven out of the bird. “You know, I think I under seasoned it, but it’s still a great meal. Can’t even recall the last time I had something like this. Thanks for this, Sylvia.”

The track captain looked across at her fellow Magical Girl, a stark and heartfelt appreciation writ across her face before her eyes widened in recollection. “Oh, we never did circle back to it. Wasn’t there something you wanted to talk about in the first place?”

Sylvia straight up stared at Roche as she took a chopstick to the kitchen, her whole body rigid. Worried butterflies with razor-sharp wings took flight from her stomach once more, gliding across her insides to make it seem as though every movement of Roche’s balanced her death or her survival. She almost leaned forward, her fingers whitening as the morsel made it closer and closer to the Rulekeeper’s lips, inevitably swallowing it and praising it.

The protector almost collapsed from relief on the spot. Thank goodness! It would have been a disaster if she complained about food, then managed to make something that tasted horrible, like that half-Miseria abomination Suki had made. Weirdly enough, the smile on Roche’s face even made Sylvia feel… warm? Like one of those aforementioned butterflies landed on her heart, then spread its wings to envelop it.

Then it flew away in panic when Roche mentioned the topic.

“Errr… umm… I uhh… I forgot?” she half-asked, half-professed as she lied, knowing there was nothing she wanted to talk about in the first place. She had simply wanted to find some way of spending her time, after all.

“You forgot?”

The oddness of that response could shine through even the bliss of a mouthful of teriyaki, but after she swallowed her masticated meat Roche only shook her head with soft mirth. “I suppose we’ve both gone off on a tangent. I’d planned to still be running awhile longer, yet here we are. Since we’re here, let’s just enjoy the food. Maybe watch a movie while we digest before heading out for our nightly hunt?”

No sense fussing over things when Roche was feeling comfortable, a glow to her features oft absent as she turned her focus to enthusiastically chomping on chicken.

Sylvia’s explanation was accepted without question. Perhaps she had grown used to Ember’s sharp eyes or her grandfather’s unreasonable standards, but Sylvia had, deep down, expected more pushback on her lie, so she stood by the table for a second or two before her mind caught up to the facts and she took her well-deserved seat. Like Roche, she carefully sampled her teriyaki chicken - not as good as Ember made it, yet not bad - before she dug in with a smile on her face to mirror Roche’s.

“Do you usually watch movies?” She asked, all but happy to talk about something that Roche wanted to, her own list of topics painfully blank.

“I like to have something playing. Movies. Music. Cable television. At least when I’m home.” Roche answered, her expression dimming just a little before perking up. “At least at home. I’m not one of those who listen to music while jogging. Usually I just work all night with you all then school all day.”

Roche kept a busy schedule, and between school and two clubs she left herself very little in the way of downtime. Just the way she normally liked it. Even her idea of a vacation involved cooking herself alive on the beach.

“Got a DVD collection if you want to root around in the media chest.”

Sylvia nodded as she finished her meal, then started to root around the media chest to see if there was anything that caught her eye and - what the hell were those eye-searingly bright magical girls doing here out of all places? Curious, she browsed the box to lift the very first one and read the title out loud.

“Futari… wa… Pretty… Cure…? Err… Are these… light magical girls… in anime?” she asked about as awkwardly as she handled the box. It was… not unreasonable for someone to have these, especially as they all used to be light girls themselves, but the cutesy designs did not match the mental image she had of Roche. Then again, Roche could have changed from her transformation, just as Shuuko had.

The tanned girl winced and turned away, considering the appeal of the floor as Sylvia held up the embarrassing anime. “Look, it still had good action. And it’s not like I watch it anymore…”

Her denial was weak and she hurriedly came over, plucking it from the other girl’s hands and setting it aside. Pointedly out of sight.“Just don’t mention it to Suki and the others. Okay? I don’t think they’d let me live it down.”

“Err… I won’t judge?” Sylvia half-asked, half-promised as she watched Roche walk off with one of the DVDs out of the many. She must have been quite the fan back when she fought on the side of the light, Sylvia thought, failing to notice how her left hand bunched up into a fist as she tried to look for something else in the box. She had not even heard of these titles, never mind saw them and her other selves were of no help either as she tried to decide on something.

“You’re… umm. You’re very… dedicated. Dedicated to the detention club.” Oh Kami, kill her now. How could she sound so awkward when she tried to make conversation?!

“Of course I am.” Roche finished tucking away the DVD and turned back, expression bewildered by Sylvia’s declaration. Flattered too, but Roche brushed past that without a care and joined her at the media chest. “Schrade gave me this role and I take it as seriously as I do everything else I do. There’s no point in not putting in the effort.”

She leaned over, her hair brushing against the other girl’s before she reached in and pulled out one. “You a fan of Kurosawa? I’ve always liked Rashomon. May have seen it too many times, but I can’t tire of it. Though if you want something lighter I’m sure I’ve got Godzilla Final Wars in here somewhere…”

“Ummm… I haven’t seen any of these,” Sylvia confessed. She did not flinch away from Roche even as the other girl invaded her personal space, not even when their hair and shoulders touched. “It’s all foreign to me.” Had she ever seen a movie? No, she had not. Not with her own eyes at least. Those occasions were usually reserved for Chiaki so they could make her at least a little happier. So that there was no burden on those small shoulders and…

Sylvia shook her head.

“Is… is there something that’s… slow? If you don’t mind, of course!” she asked, not knowing how else to word her request.

Roche considered Sylvia’s request, finding it rather odd, but then again so were most of the Magical Girls in general. Still she didn’t think a Kaiju movie was slow, so she dug deeper to the foreign films they had on hand. “I think I have….aha!”

Pulled free from the stacks of cases was one she proudly held up, brushing by Sylvia as she came upon the DVD player and set it inside. Before the television was a kotatsu table and Roche came back , draping the blanket over her lap before patting the space beside her for Sylvia to share. “Okay, this is a musical called The Sound of Music. It’s kinda old but that just means the film style is more measured. So we can just enjoy the dancing and singing.”

It sounded good. Nodding with a small smile as she thought back on how they enjoyed a romantic movie with Chiaki at the centre, Sylvia slid into the kotatsu. Would this be similar to what she was used to? Back then, she never watched the screen with her own eyes, so it felt distant. A little bit hollow. But now she was the one fronting, with the others in the background, remaining silent so as not to “impose” on her time.

“R-ready when you are,” Sylvia said in the end, glancing over to Roche.

Noticing Sylvia seemed a bit tense, her hand reached out under the blanket, squeezing the other Magical Girl’s own softly. “Relax, Sylvia. It’s just a movie. If you don’t find yourself liking it, we can always stop and pick something else.”

Reassurance given the hand settled against the floor between them while it’s mirrored twin clutched the remote and set the movie to play. With a belly full of fresh food and company that wasn’t strictly required for club based activities, the track captain was feeling an energy she hadn’t enjoyed in a long time. A soft smile was playing upon her lips as she cast her attention upon the screen, lulled into a state of peace by Julie Child’s performance.

Sylvia startled when Roche reached out to her, but once again, made no move to get the other girl out of her personal space. She did not even notice it too much, the touch barely a background noise to her as the movie started up. Like she had asked, it was a slow one and also a touching one, exactly what they usually went for with Chiaki. Now seeing it on her own was an entirely different beast altogether, the emotions much more vivid.

Maria caring for the children hit her straight in the chest. The Captain’s strict discipline along with his sometimes harsh words hit even further home, and soon, Sylvia felt what the actors felt and - quietly, under her breath, so as not to disturb Roche’s enjoyment - she hummed along to the musical numbers. Of course, she knew it was only fiction, a tale of make-believe on the screen but still… She swore she could have touched the actors some times.

The longer the movie went on, the more comfortable she became. Relaxing minute by minute, Sylvia did not even realise that she unconsciously closed the distance between them, ending up side-by-side with Roche when the movie finished, turning to the side with a measured smile on her face-

And going red as soon as she realised she had almost brushed her lips with Roche’s cheeks.

The movie had proven a good choice, shockingly so, as it was easy to see Sylvia was enthralled with it to a degree Roche found magical to watch. She stole glances throughout the performance, failing to grasp just how close they’d gotten as time flew by amidst pleasing tunes.

As the family made their flight upon the alps and the credits came to roll she turned to see Sylvia’s reaction at the same time she had as well. A near glance of the cheek turned to a meeting of lips, passing along one another before their noses met and Roche’s head snapped back, blushing clear and bright through her own tanned complexion.

“S-S-Sorry!”The track captain stammered, a hand shooting up to her own lips while the other disappeared into her lap under the covers. Her composure cracked while her thoughts betrayed her, circling back to one word. ‘Soft!’

Mt. Sylvia got buried beneath a swarm of riotous ladybugs as she realised what happened. Their lips had brushed. Their. Lips. Had. Brushed.

Her stomach tangled. A knot built up there, wrapping around the food she swallowed, sprawling deep inside her and dragging her down. At the same time, she felt something light, like a balloon or an eagle taking flight, making majestic circles, followed by a jolt travelling her whole being. Her hands bunched up, accidentally taking hold of Roche’s before she let go as though she had grabbed a rod of white-hot iron.

Thumping filled her ears. What was it? It came from her chest. Her heartbeat. It went a mile a minute. A shiver. She averted her eyes towards the floor.

“S-s-sorry,” she repeated back to Roche, dropping her shoulders as she felt the weight start to crawl up from her belly. [color=teal]“I… umm… er… I-I g-got way t-too close.”

Surprise colored her features as she found herself staring at their joined hands, Sylvia holding on with a strength that jolted Roche from her stupor before seeing Sylvia withdraw just as quickly.

“No!” The words came fast, her haste lending them force before logic could constrain her. “You don’t need to apologize. It….you…felt nice. I was just startled….”

“P-P-please don’t apologise! I-I’m responsible f-for that,” Sylvia responded immediately without thinking about it, even though using her brain would have served her a thousand times better. “I-I-I j-just g-got t-too comfortable! I-I-It’s m-my f-fault I g-got so close!”

“I-I said I liked it!” When pressed Roche fell back on instinct, acting boldly and running forward at her problem. Naturally that was not the most tactful, but it had her reaching out and clutching Sylvia’s wrist firmly.

“You did nothing wrong. Please don’t be upset.”

Sylvia froze in the spot, her hairs standing on end when Roche grabbed her. Much like a rabbit in front of an eagle, she all but turned into a lifeless salt statue. Even her breathing ceased for a second or two, her eyes widening to their extremes, then she jerked backwards and shielded her face with her free hand. Her shoulders dropped as she huddled for a moment, then when nothing followed save for an apology, she lowered her hand.

“S-sorry,” she apologised again. “I uhh… I-It’s okay. You startled me.” Except, if Roche had two working eyes, she could see that the colour rushed out of Sylvia’s face, a rather stark contrast to how embarrassed she had been just a moment before.

The sudden change in Sylvia’s manners was unusual, but it proved difficult to appreciate when the girl had suddenly jerked away in seeming fear of Roche. Hurt plunged like a blade between her ribs and the track captain released her hold on Sylvia, thinking she’d hurt the girl just like Suki always pretended would happen.

But after everything she’d gone through, and seeing the looks of disgust and rejection even the amorous Magical Girl of the Detention Club gave her, seeing such flagrant repulsion to Roche sickened her to her core. Feeling of fluttering emotion suddenly had leaden wings, sinking to the bottom of her gullet like a weight upon her neck. She hadn’t planned for anything to happen, it wasn’t even a thought in her mind, yet such a desperate and depraved soul such as Roche had all but leapt at the chance.

Coming out from under the kotatsu she curled her knees up beneath her chin, both arms wrapping tightly around them. Her mind was spiralling, negativity so palpable you’d think a Miseria was set to manifest around her.

A little puff of air escaped Sylvia’s lips when Roche let go. Tension she had not even known she had been holding in uncoiled from her and she closed her eyes to center herself, running through a series of all-too-familiar mental exercises. What seemed to be a comforting silence fell upon the room, so when she opened her eyes, she fully expected to see a somewhat confused or concerned comrade-in-arms waiting for her. Fate had other plans.

“R-r-roche?!” She scrambled towards her companion immediately. She seemed to be breathing, but why was she hugging her legs? Did Sylvia hurt Roche? “D-did I hurt you? Are you injured?” Did she drag her hand away too quickly? Could she have somehow sprained Roche’s wrist? What had she done, what had she done?! A cold, unfeeling rock slowly blossomed inside her chest, crawling up into her throat as she tried to figure it out.

Roche’s eyes widened like dinner plates as Sylvia came upon her, rousing her from funk in a whirlwind of worry. She’d thought Sylvia was taking a minute to word her rejection, or to simply muster the nerve to walk away without a word. Instead the girl had gone from stone-faced to fretful with concerning speed.

“I’m fine. I just thought you were…..repulsed by me.” Her voice had withdrawn, a tiny thing without power or bite, and while her eyes dimmed from the manic orbs they were she had not loosened from her tight ball either. “It’s okay. Everyone is. Suki. Nyxia. Every new girl we seem to meet just wants to kick our asses and burn down our homes.”

“Well, they're welcome to mine, because it’s just me here. Not even Schrade visited when she was around more often!”Her laugh was bitter, and her nails sank into the meat of her calves with an intense grip. “You’re the first person, and I go and make it all awkward…”

Roche’s reply struck right in the chest, causing the metaphorical rock to ring out like a gavel as Sylvia lost her words. Opening her mouth several times, she found that whatever she wanted to say would either come across as trite, unhelpful, ignorant or all three at once. Clumsy phrases repeated themselves in her head, more hollow than an empty cauldron or the feeling left behind by Roche’s words.

She sounded as though something important had been carved out of her. Surgically removed. Perhaps destroyed, cracked into pieces like Shatterscape herself, broken beneath a weight she did not even know she carried. Of course, Sylvia was not so observant as to recognise it, so most of the analysis came from Ember as she stepped forward to help her at last.

“I won’t put words in your mouth, Sylvi,” spoke Ember, “Trust me, you won’t learn without stumbling.” She flashed a sorrowful smile. “But do talk to her. Look her in the eyes. Tell her you’re also awkward. Tell her what you think. Touch her so she knows that she wasn’t the problem.”

Following the advice, Sylvia gently took hold of Roche’s shoulder and lowered her head to line up with Roche’s eyes.

“Umm… I’m… I’m also awkward. But… I don’t think that’s bad…?” That was terrible. She could not have put her foot into her mouth harder if she tried.

But for all that Sylvia was uncertain, hesitant, and entirely out of her element, her efforts bore fruit. The bite of her nails lessened as she met the other girl’s eyes. Not because she looked to her on her own, but because Sylvia came to her. Was touching her of her own volition.

It was a fragile thing, but the warmth even came through her windbreaker.

“Maybe. Maybe we’re both awkward.” Roche wasn’t smiling, but she wasn’t pulling away or shaking from hypertension. The terror was passing and slowly she let her legs splay outwards, stretching the nerves loose. “Shuuko, would you want to do this again?”
Even Roche didn’t quite know if she meant the meal, the movie, or the awkward contact.

“I think so. I… I liked cooking with you, Roche.” A small, awkward smile lit up Sylvia’s face as she responded to the Rulekeeper. “Would you like me to come over and help you again? Or just watch a movie?” She did not want to impose after all, and it seemed to her like the track team’s captain also enjoyed the meal with her. More importantly, though, something about preparing the meal put her at ease, so she wanted to repeat it. The movie was also enjoyable.

Roche’s head bobbed and her focus finally settled upon the present, grounding herself in the moment stretching out between them. It proved a near thing, but ultimately it was Sylvia’s words that pulled her through.

“I liked it…And maybe we can try your house too.” Roche’s head turned askance as she put the prospect out there, naturally coming to rest on the digital display of a clock and finding her eyes widen noticing the late hour. “Oh, we should probably head out if we want some Miseria for ourselves. Feel like hunting together?”

“Sure!” The smile became just a little bit less awkward when Sylvia responded. “I’ll just have to tell Kiyo.” She reached for her phone, not even noticing that she held her shoulders a little more firmly than before. Her chest did not feel nearly as heavy, nor was she trying to think of how to give her time to the others. No, instead a previously unknown feeling took root in the protector’s heart: She looked forward to the next time she got her turn.

---

Tsubomi's luck seemed to have packed up its things and hopped on the train that was Oros. Shortly after the tree branch, she heard the door to her room as well, though she couldn't manage to move her head to look. So she did the next best thing, the thing she was best at, trying to sleep. Deep down, she felt like she wanted to throw some of her trademark apathy towards whoever had just walked in, trying to make them ignore her completely and turn around, but she had neither the interest nor ability to do so presently. She couldn't even feel what she could only analogize to her "magic muscle" to try to use it. Much like her actual muscles, it was pushed past its comfortable limits and needed to rest.

"Tsubomi...? Are you awake?" The voice of her aunt, which meant that at least she was there in the room with her. No indication of her uncle, yet at least.

The apathetic girl lay still, not just because she had no choice but to, and tried to make sure that the older woman didn't start a conversation. After a few long moments, it seemed to work, the door closing and the room going completely silent.

---

The sun was too bright; from the moment it peeked over the horizon, its rays stabbed into the now-insomniac girl's closed eyes with the passion of her own aunt's knitting needles. The early birds were singing, their notes bashing into Tsubomi's ears like war-hammers on equally prepared for war drums, and to top it all off, there was still that annoying cicada who had been buzzing all night.

This was an entirely new experience for the girl, another to add to the growing list, and she was suffering more from this one than the others. Normally, when Tsubomi used up her Chūnibyō-ly-named "Full Burst" "technique," she would spend the next fifty or so hours in a minor coma. In fact, though she didn't remember it, the last time she had had trouble sleeping at all was before the start of her fall into the dark side of magical girls. This was something entirely new to her as an emotionless entity.

Worse still, she had managed to restore function to her muscles but not to her magic, meaning she'd have to survive an actual day or two as a mundane human, which did not bode well for her. Just because her body would move didn't mean it would move well.

Not bothering to change out of the day clothes she had slept in, Tsubomi began towards the door to her room, stopping halfway there from apprehension. She had the nagging suspicion that today was going to be worse than it would have otherwise, not even factoring in her lack of magic at the moment. As she stood there her eyes drifted around her room. Her bed with stained yellow sheets, not from lack of the adults in the house's efforts, lay in a messy bundle not dissimilar from the remains of a cocoon that was broken open while the caterpillar was still pupal soup. The stains from its decaying body even matched.

The bare wall next to the bed-frame came next, dusty but otherwise inoffensive. She didn't know why she was bothering to look around, but every second she did was a second she wasn't having to interact with someone. At the desk that she would presumably do her homework at was an alarm clock with a crack on its face. It wasn't broken, per se, as it was still ticking, but it was hard to read from this distance and almost entirely unused since its injury. Underneath the desk lay a similarly untouched MP3, plugged into the outlet that the desk nearly covered. It had been placed there a few months back when its owner had moved into the home, still playing the once beloved song it had been told to all that time ago, though no sound could escape it when its volume was set to zero.

Continuing, her neck twisting uncomfortably with how tense it had been all night, she passed over the unremarkable door and to the other side of the bedroom. There sat a large cat plush, its pink fur matted and unkempt. She couldn't help but notice the beautifully stitched and normally bright brown eyes looked faded, almost dead inside. She supposed that pets did tend to mirror their owners, after all. She followed the wall to its corner, where a previously comfortable but since deflated beanbag lay. If she continued her sweep, she knew she'd only pass by the still open window and return to her bed.

She did the closest thing to steeling herself as she could, taking the last few steps to the door. As quietly as possible, she opened it and began down the stairs.

---

Tsubomi slowly eased herself down to sit at the living room table, having already placed a meal in front of her. She didn't have enough time to even take a bite before her aunt and uncle walked in and sat down across from her.

"Tsubomi, I think it's time we had a talk." Her aunt began what could only be a headache of a conversation. If only she could use her magic, Tsubomi wouldn't have to deal with this, able to get the two adults to ignore her like usual.

"Look, it's not that we want to have this conversation, but we also can't let things continue like this without at least trying." Her aunt shot a glare at her husband as he spoke.

Clearing her throat, the woman continued. "So... What is it that you want to do in life?" A pause. It seemed that she actually expected a response from the apathetic girl! When none came, other than Tsubomi eating her food, she continued. "You worked so hard to get into high school before you moved here; your grades were top of the class until right before you left! What changed?"

"Are you okay with throwing all that work away? It's hard to get second chances, you should take advantage of what you've already done and continue it."

There was no response from the teen. She simply continued eating as if she were alone. The adults shared a worried look, taking a moment to consider how to proceed.

"Hibusa's school let you in because of the hard work you put in before, but if you keep not doing your schoolwork, you won't be able to continue at school. It's not a stretch to say that you're ruining your future like this."

Another stretch of silence was finally broken by the older woman. "Tsubomi, we're worried about you. Surely you have dreams you want to reach, right? Everyone does. If you tell us what they are, maybe we can help."

The highschooler finished her food and began to stand, leaving the dishes on the table. "I don't have any."

"People without any goals aren't living, they're just suffering a slow death. You should be better than that."

""Hey! Don't say that! That's going too far!"

But their words fell on deaf ears as they began to argue; Tsubomi simply stood and walked out the front door.

At her speed, it took a while for Tsubomi to get anywhere, but she continued down the streets until she was a few blocks away from home. Eventually, in front of her path was a dog chasing what seemed to be a bee. The loud buzzing and barking parted around the girl without even being processed. She simply continued forwards, ignoring the two. She was right next to them when the dog bit at the bug, forcing it to change course. Tsubomi closed her eyes as the insect flew towards her face, just to preserve them if it decided it wanted to die today. Then suddenly, she felt her balance shift and an instant of pain as her skull collided with the pavement.

---

Slowly opening her eyes, Tsubomi found herself leaning against an ivy covered wall in the strange space of what she could only assume was her mind. She didn't know what was going on, but did what felt natural, taking a long drag of a cigarette that found its way into her hand. After holding it in for a moment, she blew the smoke back out from her lungs, though she couldn't see it in the air in front of her.

"Hey now, you don't want to get cancer. 'sides, we both know you can't get anything from those anymore."

Tsubomi stood silent, took another breath of poison, and slid her back down the wall to a sitting position. If she was going to get another lecture, she could at least try to be more comfortable. A glance up showed Acid Drop leaning over the top of the wall, a set gardening shears in her left hand.

"What brings you here this time? Heartache? Or do you not get those either? You're pretty lucky."

Was that so?

"So... being magic-less sucks, huh?" The rainbow haired version of the girl hopped over the wall to stand in front of her mundane counterpart. "But then again, having magic also sucks, right? It ruined your life, ruined your family, and led to the ruin of your so-called 'friendship,' so I'd have to say it's all just a wash. Catch twenty-two, ya know?"

Tsubomi closed her eyes, listening to the shears above her head opening and closing as the ivy was trimmed.

"Hey, remember Maslow? Been a while since you heard that name, right? Right. I wonder how many steps up the side you are now. I'd say you were at stage two, but let's be honest, you're, like, on the ground nearby rather than actually having climbed at all. Do you even care if you die? You don't act like it, but after last time we talked, you sure were for a bit."

Again Tsubomi's hand brought the cancer stick to her mouth, and she closed her eyes as she breathed it in.

Snip

When her eyes reopened, the cigarette was no longer than the depth of her fingers. Looking down revealed the other half had fallen to the ground.

"Seriously, do I have to do everything for you? I pretend to care for you to keep any sort of relationship afloat," Acid Drop's shearing of the ivy became more aggressive, each line punctuated with a loud snip as she went about her speech. "I help you stay housed, making sure the family of yours that still sort of wants you continues to do so. I keep you alive when you pick fights." With a final snip, Acid Drop stopped and stood back to admire her work.

A few moments passed in silence, one-sided tension filling the air. Finally Acid Drop let her arms release their muscles, the shears dropping into Tsubomi's view. For her part, Tsubomi didn't move, nor did any thoughts enter her mind. She did as she always did and allowed the words of another to bounce off of her with no impact.

"Maybe I should help you a little more."

The mundane girl's eyes drifted upwards as the shears were brought just in front of them. The reflection of the ivy in their blades seemed to be in the carefully cultivated shape of a Mascot, its head's screen showing some sort of triangle on it, as if that part of the wall were actually a television under the pattern of the plant.

Just as she finished processing what she saw, her sight went black as her other self closed the shears.

---

Tsubomi tried to open her eyes, but found that they were like lead, perhaps if it were welded to her cheeks. There was a constant blip sounding nearby, but she couldn't recognize what it was coming from. Trying to move her left arm brought a dull pain, and seemed to be the cause of a voice.

"Oh, you're awake! You're Kana-san, right?" A pause from the person, bringing no response from Tsubomi. "You are awake, right? You had a bad fall, apparently a dog tripped you. You're lucky someone saw it, or you wouldn't have gotten here so soon! That could've done some real damage; untreated concussions are no joke!"

A concussion? Did that mean... she was in the hospital? Thoughts raced through her, only to stop suddenly as one hit the breaks on their collective train. Her thoughts were racing. Was she transformed and didn't realize it? Couldn't be, or the presumed doctor wouldn't be able to see her. There wasn't such a thing as magical boys, was there?

She must have been moving, because the man spoke again. "Hey, calm down, you're okay. We've just got to put you through some tests when you're ready. Right now you should just rest."

And so she decided to do just that.

---

In the end the doctor decided to have her stay overnight at the hospital, to keep an eye on her status and do a few extra tests the next day. As the day went on, Tsubomi seemed to lapse back to her normal state of slow thinking, though there was slight but somewhat noticable improvement compared to before her fall, like increasing a computer's RAM by 50 megabytes. The instant she was released from the hospital, she began the trip back home. As if written in a script for her life, the moment she walked in the front door she felt her magic return its use to her. She could sense her aunt's worry upon the door's closing. Using that to her advantage, she made sure to avoid her as she went upstairs.

Tsubomi sank into her chair, putting her forehead against her desk. She didn't understand any of what had happened in the past fifty or so hours, but it seemed that things turned out okay. As her head rolled onto its side she found herself looking towards her bed, and as her counterpart's words came unbidden to the forefront of her thoughts she acted. A barely read textbook still sat in the drawer it had been thrown in during the move. A birthday gift from her parents just after her fall into unregulated stoicism.

Ah yes, even if incorrect, Maslow was a classic.

---

Shatterscape thought she had left behind an orderly house. She had talked it through properly with Rei, explaining why she wanted to investigate the city near the coast and had everything figured out, cover story included. She had said her good byes with a heavy heart, but she thought she had the lead on something that could improve her body-shaping abilities. It seemed to have been worth it when she started out. Now, as she marched through the hospital, barely restraining herself from ripping doors off their hinges, it proved a worse than useless endeavour.

She should have gotten injured in Evil Eye’s stead!

Teeth grit, she leapt from door to door, hallway to hallway, leaving a whirlwind of people and objects in her wake. The sheer force of her approach turned the hospital upside-down, but she refused to care as she menaced everything in her way. Her gauntlets slammed nurses into walls. Her legs kicked doctors aside. She bent hospital beds that dared to interrupt her. She almost ripped doors off their hinges.

When Kiyo awoke to another hospital, it was in a cold sweat. The buzzing of the incandescent bulbs was as unsettling as ever, and caused her to remember her encounter on the train. Her injuries were the same, the beeping of the heart monitor was the same, and it was roughly the same time of day, the light from the window being just as unbearably bright.

She had to call a nurse. She had to know that waking up in the City of Light wasn't going to be a Groundhog Day hell she'd have to relive over and over until she'd lost her mind. When the nurse arrived, her first question was where she was, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she learned that she was, in fact, in Hibusa Town, and a girl named Rei had dropped her off. Once Kiyo had calmed down and had some water, she turned her attention to her phone. It had been turned off—maybe to save the battery? Or to keep the nurses from answering to a frantic Shatterscape, she thought.

As if on cue, Kiyo could hear something tearing through the hospital. Something powerful. A magical girl? She was about to transform and flee the scene when, suddenly, she heard a familiar voice echoing, calling out her name. “Evil Eye!” she shouted. “Evil Eye!” Another door. It creaked. The wood cracked. People were running. Shouting something. Trying to run away. Madness beget madness. And then... Shuuko's phone vibrated.

Shuuko

save me

room 404

Kiyo listened as the havoc in the hospital quieted down, then suddenly moved right above her.

304* she corrected, snickering.

A room’s floor ceased to be at the gentle insistence of Shatterscape’s gauntlets as she pierced through. Bricks and mortar pelted her like rain from the sheer force of the blow, but it was nothing because her friend needed help she was injured she was right here she was—eating bad hospital food. Kiyo had sent her a picture of it. Yes, this was the "emergency."

Shatterscape blanched. She paused mid-strike as she had been about to obliterate a wall to get to her goal quicker, then grit her teeth. She was going to have words with that damned girl; it was one thing to play harmless pranks, but quite another to threaten everyone with her life. Resolute as such, the self-titled high priestess marched through the hospital at a much more sedate pace before tearing off the door of Kiyo’s room for real, ready to give her a lecture.

Even Kiyo had to be a bit startled when the ceiling outside her room collapsed. Oh, fuck. Maybe I went a bit too far. Did Rei not even call Shuuko? Seriously?! Then, the door wasn't so much opened as removed. What Kiyo saw would have been more frightening than anything in the City of Light if she weren't so certain Shatterscape would never harm her. Even so, she lost the fight against her instinct to transform immediately upon seeing that furious face. She felt her broken bones snap into place. It wasn't painful, but it was certainly strange.

Hotaru stepped forward, instead. Shatterscape reeled as their relative unity broke for a moment, just enough for the girl to claim the body as her own and pilot it across the room in a blitz then into a hug as her Herculean Gauntlets disappeared into motes of gold light just before Hotaru could have vaporised Evil Eye. Instead, the other girl “merely” ended up on the receiving end of a bone-crushing hug. “You’re all right!”

Evil Eye felt her ribs get pushed right back out of place again. "Aitatatatai! Sh'ko!" she managed as air was forced out of her lungs. She returned the hug for just a moment before starting to tap out. When she could breathe again, she reached up and patted Shuuko on the head. "I'm alright, Shuuko. I thought you already knew," she lied. "So please, don't cry. You were right, I shouldn't have traveled alone. I fucked up. Me. It's not your fault, okay?"

Even the self-styled scientist Evil Eye would be lying if she said that she fully understood the nature of Shuuko. It seemed to her that the girl with the mirror, Shuuko, fittingly enough had two sides to her: the self-proclaimed "high priestess," a good-hearted girl who was a model student, would do anything to protect the people she cared about, and got easily infuriated by obstacles she couldn't overcome easily as a result of her own high self-standards. Then, there was the "bad Shuuko," who when coaxed out of whatever shell she resided in, eagerly joined Evil Eye in her schemes, and might have appreciated her joke from earlier. It wasn't a perfect theory. There were times like this when Evil Eye made a bad call and ended up hurting Shuuko's feelings. She wouldn't bother to apologize to the Shuuko who was hurt by her text; she would simply adapt to whichever Shuuko happened to take over at this moment. This was the Shuuko that needed to know that Kiyo was going to be fine, and she wasn't a failure just because a bad thing happened.

Hotaru looked at Kiyo with a wide, beaming smile despite whatever damage she may or may not have inflicted upon her companion, not to mention her surroundings. Even now, there were panicked shouts from people evacuating the building as the staff tried their best to organise way too may people. However, Hotaru cared not for such things—she only wished to talk with Kiyo after such a long time. The others were in disagreement for once, though.

As such, after a second or two of the hug, Evil Eye could feel Shatterscape shift again as she leaned away, now possessing the very same set of cold, calculating eyes that lay upon Evil Eye when the demonic-looking dark girl entered the room. ”Has the observer of the heavens,” spoke Shatterscape as she lifted her left hand to trace Evil Eye’s jaw towards the middle of her neck, ”Thought about what it means to defraud a humble high priestess with false astrology?”

Evil Eye smiled wickedly as Shatterscape's finger found its way under her chin. "These eyes see only what is true—but these lips? Well, they speak from the heart, and the heart is, as they say, deceitful above all things, and desperately sick." When Evil Eye was transformed, it was nearly impossible to trace even a hint of what she was feeling by looking at her eyes. Were they wide open because she was fearful? Delighted? Amused? Enraptured? "And I am so desperately sick, my dear high priestess, and knowing you still care is the only cure for what ails my troubled soul."

She turned her back to Shatterscape, still smiling. "Though perhaps, in this case, prevention was the best medicine after all? So I will make it up to you..." She tucked her hair away and lowered the back of her kimono, exposing her dark magical emblem. "Touch it, and you will know all that I have seen... or I suppose you may finally smite this evil doer, if it pleases you."

“It matters not what you show this priestess!” Shatterscape responded, reaching out for Evil Eye’s shoulders to turn the Dark Girl back towards herself, and at this, even Evil Eye's notoriously invincible smile faded. Shatterscape's voice broke its usual cadence, almost snapping at her companion. “It matters that you were injured beyond the pale and yet you play it as though it were a fool’s game. Astrology and the divine are interlinked as one—how can you treat one callously while you care for the other like a precious offering bowl?”

”Is… is the concern this humble high priestess shows… so callously disregarded? Is the way she longs for the prediction of the heavens too obscure for one’s observant eyes? This humble high priestess wishes to know, for to invite harm on her well-known observer of the heavens is to invite her wrath. But said observer of heavens seems, to this humble priestess, to fail to observe such motions – for they are of the terrestrial sphere instead of the celestial one the observer longs for.”

The two girls locked eyes once more as chaos unfolded around them. The fire department had been called and were looking for a gas leak that might have explained the "explosion." Evil Eye's ears ignored their shouts, focused intently on every word of the high priestess, though it might not have appeared so. Her speech was esoteric, and would likely be dismissed as nonsense by about half of the Detention Club, but Evil Eye deciphered their meaning after only a few seconds. "Ah. That's why you're mad," she observed, with a tone that would have come across as insincere from anyone but Evil Eye. "It's not, 'even without the observer, the heavens remain,' but rather, 'without her interpreter, the high priestess will feel lost.' I see."

In simpler terms, Shatterscape was lonely, and also hurt that Kiyo didn't take better care of herself. "I have seen your heart, Shuuko, but it appears I have been away from the mirror for so long, I've lost sight of myself. Forgive me." Her smile returned, and she reached out to touch the girl's cheek.

”It is a fault as old as time.” Shatterscape nodded, her expression softening slightly, though her eyes were still as constants in the sky. ”Please make no mistake. This is the only thing this humble high priestess will ask of you: to not forsake the hand she extends towards the observer of the heavens.” She let out a long breath as she closed her eyes, the motion contrasting against her appearance. An Oni should not show trepidation as she speaks or contemplates the future. Making no move to remove the hand on her cheek, Shatterscape let the touch linger for several seconds, even as the fire brigade tried their damnedest to figure out what the hell happened here. They were searching the hospital room by room, much like her earlier, just less violently.

“You know, Evil Eye,” spoke Hotaru as Sylvia’s and Ember’s cooled heads let her retake the reins, ”You… Forget it. This won’t happen again, will it? Will you be more careful?” It sounded like a legitimate question even as from Evil Eye’s perspective, Shatterscape's speech and cadence changed at the drop of a hat.

"I wonder," Evil Eye replied enigmatically as she stroked Shuuko's face. "If I only had a mirror, Shuuko," she sighed sweetly. "Mirror, mirror... no longer on the wall, but accompanying this evil witch on the grandest journey of all. Ever vigilant, watching the all-watcher." Her smile widened. "You will keep those bright, sweet eyes on me, won't you? If you do, I'll be so very, very careful."

”And here I’d hoped you’d take the fool’s promise," replied Hotaru with an impish smile of her own as she leaned into Evil Eye’s hand, taking solace in the other magical girl’s presence. The only thing she refused to do was to close her eyes and more because of the commotion still going on in the background rather than the fact she was alone with her friend; caution always served well.

Finally, Evil Eye let go of her partner's face, and allowed a moment to pass in silence. "Well, I was going to beg you sweetly for something fried in oil and dyed in red number forty, but if it pleases you, I'll settle for something a little less exciting. A little more 'careful' —but I'm not eating that." Evil Eye picked up a cane that looked like it might've belonged to someone from Rei's inner circle, and gestured to a plate of gross hospital food that she had banished to the corner of the room to contemplate the weight of its creator's sins. Some yellowish objects cut into perfect squares appeared as if they could, at some point, have been considered something approximating a plate of macaroni and cheese. Rather than eating it, Kiyo had cut them up and assembled them into a pyramid shape as a monument to her displeasure. "Now you see, Shuuko, why I was so in dire need of rescue. It almost makes me miss Oros's cooking. Almost." She grinned. "I have no ride, so we're going wherever you want today. My treat. ...Ah, but I'm broke too. ...Shit." She clicked her tongue.

”I can’t see how hospital food’s something I have to save you from,” Hotaru continued as she walked towards what was left of the door. ”And if I’m choosing and paying tonight… it’s ramen time. Yours’ll be from hell, mine will be from heaven.” a light laugh escaped Hotaru’s lips as she reached a hand for Evil Eye to take. "Ramen?! I know I've been bad, but you could still spoil me just a little..." she pouted sarcastically as she floated up and out of her hospital bed. ”C’mon, it isn’t that far. And until then, please tell me what happened? You sounded...” A pause. Hotaru swallowed a fact she didn’t want to hear. ”… really bad. Are you sure you’re all right? I hope I didn’t squeeze you too hard.”

Flight wasn't something all magical girls had, but Evil Eye wasn't most magical girls. She wasn't particularly strong, and even her flying was more like that of a blimp than an airplane—faster than ground-based traffic speed limits in most places, but not by much. She didn't intend to fly, though; she just took Shuuko's hand and let the girl pull her along like a kite. "The crash happened while I was untransformed, so my real body is just fine. The cane makes me look like I have a little class, though, don't you think?" She lifted it up next to her head as if to tip an imaginary hat. Then, she looked up at the ceiling soberly. "...Several broken ribs and an ankle. Walking sucks, and it hurts when I breathe too deep, which happens when I walk. Got painkillers though. I'll make a full recovery, but it may take some time. It'll only be a problem when I have to be 'Kiyo.' Which... is most of the time. I get to use the nurse's office whenever I want, though, so it can't be all bad."

Hotaru frowned as she gently pulled Evil Eye along, indeed looking out for her companion as though she were a kite, or perhaps a precious helium balloon acquired after a day of fun in the theme park. She set a sedate pace even as the hospital around her also quieted down, her rampage having ceased along with its effects and therefore, investigative teams were trying to figure out what just happened here to cause so much havoc. She even saw a member of them meticulously trying to piece together what happened to one of the stretchers, so in a fit of mischief, Hotaru knocked it over.

”I’d be more than happy to escort you, Evil Eye~” she spoke, sing-song as she watched the freaked out man trying to comprehend how the stretcher could have flipped over by itself. ”That’s what the club is for, isn’t it? We help out those in need.” One could practically see the rainbow star fly from Hotaru’s wink as she led her companion out the door and towards the ramen place she had in mind. "Is that what it's for?" Evil Eye pondered idly, tapping her chin. Then she shrugged, as if she'd lost interest.

”But seriously, what happened? Your last fight wasn’t this bad.” Looking up at Evil Eye as she floated beside and slightly behind her, Hotaru let concern creep into her voice as well as her eyes.

"I was ambushed, or perhaps both of us were driving distracted and it was just an accident? It was a magical girl. Light or dark, I'm not sure. She grabbed me, and we both crashed. I blacked out and woke up in the hospital. Maybe she did, too, or maybe she took me there. I didn't stick around to find out the details."

There was a pause. Something seemed... missing, somehow. Evil Eye grinned conspiratorially. "Oh, I didn't wake up at this hospital. A different one, in the one place dark magical girls should never go to," she employed with dramatic flair. Then she paused, her smile vanishing. "You know, it was a disappointingly mundane hospital. They didn't even perform an exorcism or anything. Just gave me drugs and shooed me out the door, like gentlemen. If it were me, I'd have brought that girl to my secret laboratory and... that's if I had one, mind you. Project for another day—when I'm not broke." She smiled and continued the story, never getting back to the point about what she had in mind for her secret lab experiment.

That was how Evil Eye told stories: like a distracted driver, pointing out every other shop on the way to their destination. She'd build drama, only to go off on a rabbit trail about something mundane, like something funny she'd said to a girl on an elevator, but then casually drop a bombshell as if she were talking about the weather. It was as if she relished keeping a captive audience on their toes, and getting reactions. It was ineffective storytelling by any objective metric, especially when Evil Eye could just show Shuuko what happened—but the girls were having fun, so it didn't matter. By the end, she'd told Shuuko about everything, including a close encounter with a girl on a train who called herself badass something-or-other. Of course, in Evil Eye's version of events, she'd correctly deduced that the other girl was also up to no good, and so they'd formed an informal truce—a monstrously powerful opponent, thoroughly outfoxed by the brilliant Evil Eye, with nothing but the simple magic of words.

Hotaru grinned back at Evil Eye with a glint of mischief before she shut up and listened to her story. At first, she merely blinked in surprise while her companion regaled her with the tale of what happened in the City of Light, but the more she heard, the more she had to purse her lips to prevent herself from commenting on the story. Of course, Evil Eye likely embellished it to her, but more than the embellishment, Hotaru knew she was leaving things out. Important things. Ember also confirmed it, so it was as good as truth.

Something squeezed Hotatu's chest even as they walked side by side. A certain, slow kind of pain blossomed like a vine from deep inside, every exaggeration and dismissal of what happened a thorn on the all-encompassing plant. Even though it only advanced at the speed of molasses, it nevertheless advanced, ensnaring Hotaru’s form muscle by muscle while the tale weaved, so much that she almost reached for her heart at one point.

Near the end of the story, Evil Eye spoke as if she were tired, as though she were remembering how exhausted her escape had left her by the time Rei picked her up. Evil Eye had a complicated relationship with Rei, but the rest of the Detention Club—with the one possible exception of Earthshaker—didn't know much beyond that, and she wouldn't talk about it.

”You… You’re lucky to have escaped alive,” she spoke, but it did nothing to alleviate the pressure of the vines, nor the strange feeling in her chest. ”It’s… I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you. I’d have kicked the asses of those light girls!” No. Those were still not the words she needed to say to lift this feeling. What were they then? They did not come easy for certain.

"I'm aware of my good fortune, Shuuko. I'm aware." In a rare moment, Evil Eye closed her eyes. It was like a ritual of some kind, which meant she was about to cut the nonsense and say something serious. "Why do you think I suddenly hung up the phone without telling you where I was? Rei could have sent the whole Detention Club, but we would have all been defeated easily. Even a blind girl leading the blind like her could see that. No, I needed to escape on my own strength, vanishingly small though it may be—but make no mistake, I had no intention of sacrificing myself for anyone. I planned from the start to get out of there alive. The fact that I did is proof of my superior genius."

By the time Evil Eye was done telling her story, they'd arrived at Shuuko's destination. "I know I said I was broke, but we don't really have to pay, you know? We could just snipe what we want from the kitchen and go home." ”You’re right about not paying but… I like this place! It wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t pay for my meal,” she pointed straight at the ramen stand a couple of feet away.

It looked like it had seen far better days. Located in the middle of an alley that smelled half like death and half like junk, its neon sign seemed to have shorted out a long time ago. Its once sturdy wooden frame looked as though it were about to fall apart at the slightest poke and its chairs were half rotten, an impressive feat given their metal frames. The plastic seats in front were the only relatively intact thing, but even they were worn away by the ages. ”Now c’mon! Let’s get something in you, or you’ll wither away!

Evil Eye alighted on the ground, placing her weight on her good foot and her cane. After the girls ensured there were no eyes on them, the proud Evil Eye popped a pill and untransformed into Kiyo. She looked weak and tired, like she could indeed wither away, but there was also a kind of contented smile on her face. "Let's see it then, this special place with an unassuming appearance that you like so much."

Evil Eye's argument made too much sense, as the City of Light was filled to the brim with light magical girls. No dark girl could possibly survive there. Even two of them were too few to stand against what the city represented, however, Hotaru merely huffed that inconvenient fact away, waiting for her companion to change back into civilian form before she did, too. Even so, they were still out of place in this abandoned, run-down alleyway, but the warrior cared little for it as she yelled at the top of her lungs.

”Hey old man! Your favourite customer is back and she's brought company!” A flat, hollow sound escaped the ramen stand as she called out, almost as though someone had hit their head on a low ceiling. Low, threatening mutters followed along with a couple of steps as a man stuck his head out from between the curtains. He too, looked like he had seen better days, as his eyes looked like they went scuba diving at the bottom of the Marianna trench and dirt specked his face.

“Ah! Shuuko!” he greeted her, a smile making its way on his face. “Is it going to be the usual?”

”It is for me! My friend, though...” she said, indicating that Kiyo should speak up. ”Order whatever you want. This old man’s going to make it, isn’t that right?”

“Only within reason!” the chef responded with a fond smile on his face.

"I'll have whatever she's having, but don't make it too spicy," replied her partner with the cat's tongue. "If I start coughing, I might actually die," she joked as she shambled her way over to one of the seats. Also, if she cried, it would cause untold problems, but there was no need to say that. She observed the old man with an impenetrable gaze. He definitely sounded annoyed when Shuuko appeared, but he seemed nice enough. It would be fine, right?

“Two beef ramen bowls with extra eggs coming up,” noted the man as he ducked into his partition. Hotaru acknowledged him with an upbeat and louder than usual ‘yeah’ before she turned back towards Kiyo. "Oh shit, that sounds good right now," Kiyo whispered idly.

”How long until you recover? And how’s your bike doing?” she hadn’t seen it outside the hospital, so she feared the worst – but then again, maybe it would turn out for the best. It has been a while since they schemed to scurry away with something valuable and there was no way for them to afford a motorcycle of that quality. Not properly at least. But with some extra cleverness… Sylvia scoffed at the idea, but Ember grinned as she started going through the shops she knew.

Kiyo shrugged at Shuuko's question. "Who knows? Probably no more than about four months. Could be faster, 'cause, y'know. Young and made of fairy dust and all that." She kept her response vague in case the old man was eavesdropping. "The bike is trashed though. Maybe I'll invest in a wheelchair and you can push me around," she joked. Truthfully, there was probably a little merit to the lie she'd told to the girl who stopped her from falling down into the subway. The more she allowed her injuries to cause her to stagnate, the longer it would take to heal. Put another way, would remaining transformed as much as possible cause her healing to accelerate? Or was it the opposite? "This calls for an experiment," she declared suddenly. "On the fastest method to recovery." She steepled her fingers gleefully. Whenever she had opportunity to learn something new about magical girls, she'd suddenly get motivated like this.

”No.” Hotaru looked at Kiyo as though the latter had suggested growing seven heads between the two of them. ”You’re still trying to play that stupid game, aren’t you? Well, it isn’t working. I won’t see you hurt again, and I’m not going to see you do… whatever you want to. I’ll tie you up if I have to.” Her tone remained even, serious and tinged with just a little bit of anger.

”Your body isn't a game! I’d rather we do anything else.” Such as figuring out how to get another motorbike with the least amount of dark magical girl stuff they could get away with. That sounded much more acceptable than whatever Kiyo planned her experiment to be.

"Tie me up? Sure sounds like a game involving my body. What kind of game? Is it fun?" Kiyo inquired mischievously.

The old man announced his presence with a cough. "Beef ramen for two, extra eggs. Enjoy your, ah, evening, girls," he said uncertainly as he hobbled off.

"PFFFT." Kiyo covered her mouth as she broke into a snicker. "Puhaha, ha... ouu. Fuck, it hurts." She suppressed her laughter, eyes watering. She sniffed—but, she didn't cry. "Relax, alright? This one is elementary, and the whole De... science club benefits. We'll find out which is the fastest way for me to heal, and stick to doing that. I... thought you'd like that." She turned her attention to her food, slowly picking at it. Eating was probably not painless, either—or maybe she didn't actually have much of an appetite? "Unless this high priestess wants to nurse me back to health for as long as she can?" she accused playfully.

"You’re incorrigible.” Despite her exasperation, Hotaru could not help the smile pulling at her face, nor the slight, melodic lilt in her voice. "But it ain’t going to work. I know what you’re saying, but Kiyo, you’re…" and here, Hotaru went quiet as she shut her mouth. She did not even reach for her bowl of ramen as she looked her companion up and down. Teeth sunk into lips as the proper words failed to bubble to the surface for several seconds, which resulted in Ember embracing her inside the confines of their shared thoughts.

”You don’t have to rush, Hotaru. I’m sure you’ll be able to find the words you are looking for eventually. Even if you don’t, I will be here to help you all the way.

”It’s so frustrating!” Hotaru almost punched the ramen stand, only a hair’s restraint standing between her and ill-considered violence. ”I don’t even know what it is…!” On the outside, the silence dragged on.

Kiyo sighed. "You're not the only one who can't find the right words, Shuuko." She laid her chopsticks into the side of the bowl. "Scientific progress demands sacrifice. A grievous injury to my body and the loss of my bike may seem an unacceptable price, but it's less than what I paid to meet you and the other club girls. That's why, I won't weep over the sins that brought me this far. You shouldn't either. There may or may not be light at the end of the tunnel, but standing still or turning back halfway is a death sentence when there's a train coming." The train was, of course, Ashbringer, but Hotaru wouldn't realize that until much later that night, after giving it some deeper thought.

”Scientific progress my left buttcheek! We’re talking about you here, Kiyo!” The sentence burst out of Hotaru without warning, the words uncontrolled and free. ”You aren’t some… experiment or something! What the hell gave you that idea?” Squeeze. Something started to gather inside Hotaru’s body, feeling as if someone had put her in a vice, then started to apply pressure all over her skin. She did not like it. Neither did Sylvia or Ember.

”She shouldn’t put herself in danger!" Sylvia all but shouted at the top of her lungs inside their skull. ”It’s bad enough I couldn’t protect her properly, but now…"

”Yeah. She shouldn’t be thinking like that, girls. ‘Ru, could you please find out why she is trying to do… whatever she’s trying to do?

”And what the hell do you even want to do? Why do you think it’s so important to find this out? I can’t keep breaking your bones or something to see what happens.” Hotaru continued her outburst seamlessly despite the small pause, reaching out to Kiyo. She lay a hand on the other girl’s uninjured shoulder, resting it there as concern wavered in her eyes.

Kiyo winced. She looked like she was in pain, and a little annoyed. "Why? Should I tell you my ambitions when you seem so keen on getting in my way?" she asked pointedly. "Besides, my burdens are not some practical problem that can be solved by just telling someone. On the contrary, it's more like Roko's Basilisk." She seemed like she had more on her mind, but chose not to pursue the thought any further. "Forget it. In the short term, my goal was to find a way to solve our current problem, and I've succeeded. All that remains is to put proven theory into practice—and, next club meeting, I'll divulge my plans on how we can accomplish that. We will commence Operation Granfalloon together."

A long pause followed that declaration. Hotaru stared at her companion without touching her meal, drawing the moment out before she lifted her left hand to lay it on Kiyo’s shoulder. Considerable weight hid behind the touch: a lesson imparted or perhaps an experience won through sheer grit. Perseverance. The act of passing on knowledge between mother and daughter, a sacred ritual that could not be used for any other purpose.

She moved with the speed of lightning to apply one of her fabled Nuclear Forehead Flicks, pulling on some of her magical strength to convey her feelings on whatever Kiyo just said, then withdrew the arm before the other girl could exact any form of revenge. Kiyo's head flew back, but she just managed to stay in her chair. She closed her eyes, something she hardly ever did, while she reeled. "AHH!! What the hell, Shuuko?! If I wasn't all juiced up on pills, that would've really hurt!"

”I don’t understand a single word you’re saying. Roko’s Basilisk, problems you’ve already solved, Operation Granfalloon… What’s that supposed to mean? I know you aren’t one for directness, but come on!” Hotaru narrowed her eyes, neither her gaze, nor her face smiling at all. ”Give me something to work with or I’ll just get you a motorbike and call it a day.”

”She is not making sense to me either.” Ember shrugged in their shared mental space. ”And there’s no way I’m letting children get hurt again. Not if I can help it.” Sylvia nodded in support of the notion, her teeth grit.

”I swear, if she’s thinking of something stupid again…”

Kiyo sat quiet for a moment, waiting until she stopped seeing stars. Soon enough, though, she was giggling again, like nothing had happened. "Heh. 'Give me what I want, or I'll give you something you want and be done with it.' You're so demanding~" She smiled, but Shuuko was not. Seeing her so stubborn seemed to annoy her, but she also seemed to come to her senses and relent a little.

"Look, it's like this... While this high priestess is so focused on protecting my body, the observer of the heavens wishes to protect something... a bit more ethereal." She turned her attention back to her food. "You'll have to figure out what that is on your own. If I told you, you'd either tell me I'm stupid for worrying about it, or get dragged into my delusions. Hence, Roko's Basilisk. Once its eye hits you, your fate is sealed. It's an info hazard. You're better off not knowing. You knowing about it doesn't make my burden easier to carry; it just burdens you too." She hid her pouting face behind the excuse of having egg in her mouth. "No spoilers on Operation Granfalloon. We get stronger by making others do the work for us. That's the gist. Wittew Kwiyo-chwan won't even break a sweat. Happy now?" She averted her eyes toward the direction they'd come from, her voice a little sassy.

”This ‘high priestess’”, the thick mockery along with the quotation marks in Hotaru’s voice could only be missed by the deaf or the willingly ignorant, “can’t help unless you talk.” A sigh. Hotaru shook her shoulders as though she were trying to get the rain off herself. Like Kiyo, she turned towards her steaming ramen, reaching for the chopsticks and snapping them in half. She asked for another pair that she stabbed into her dish with the viciousness of a crocodile ripping her prey apart.

”Hotaru…” warned Sylvia with a gentle voice, but the other girl just ignored her, bulling through the problem.

”I get it if you can’t say it, but this isn’t funny. First you want me to start breaking your bones, and now you’re not even hinting at what you’re planning? And how do you plan on getting stronger without any effort on your part anyways? My strength doesn’t come from sitting at a ramen stand and not lifting my pretty ass, you know!” She slapped her butt for emphasis with a loud smack, leaving behind a red mark.

”You'll scare Kiyo, Hotaru. I'm sure she has her reasons for not explaining...”

”Then she can damn well explain those.”

Kiyo covered her mouth, trying to hold back a snicker that was sure to cause absolute agony. She wasn't looking at Shuuko, but she could hear the slap, and the mental image she conjured was even funnier than the real thing. "Shuuko, how the fuck did you get the idea that I want you to break my bones? My bones are already broken, I'm not breaking any more," she assured her softly, wheezing. ”You’re… not? Eyes wide, mouth opening, Hotaru looked as though she had just been told something revolutionary, idiotic, completely out of the left field or all three. "Did you miss something I said? Am I boring you?" Kiyo smiled as though it didn't matter. Again, though, she paused, her smile vanishing when Shuuko didn't return it.

She made that expression like she was in pain, again. "Do you think me so cruel, Shuuko? That I would have fun breaking myself just to see your reaction? Have I... wounded you so deeply that you don't trust me?" Tears of darkness welled up in Kiyo's eyes, but still, she did not allow herself to cry. "Ah... The price of my scientific progress just... went up. It was too high. It's completely unacceptable." She sniffed. "Shuuko, what I want to protect... feels far away, when you won't smile at me. Of course my well-being isn't a joke. I just wanted something that hurt you to be something you could laugh at, instead. I just want you to smile. Your worrying... hurts."

'If we can't even pretend to be happy, then what was it all for? Why put everything on the line?' That's what my heart is saying. Such a simple feeling, even a child could understand it. So, not having the right words is all a sham, I guess...

”But, Kiyo… argh! I’ve been such an asshole then!” This time, she let her chopsticks drop into her ramen before she clenched her fist. Then she gave herself a Nuclear Forehead Flick, leaving behind an angry red mark just about where she had given Kiyo one. ”Sorry… Really. It’s just… how else do you test for healing? That’s why I thought you were going to hurt yourself.” Meeting Kiyo’s eyes head on, Hotaru laid her hand on her fellow magical girl’s forehead, then tried to wipe away the hurt she had dealt just a moment prior. She let it linger as though it would undo what could not be undone, hoping that her palm was cool enough to give at least a bit of relief.

While Shuuko rubbed Kiyo's forehead, Kiyo looked around, ensuring there were no eavesdroppers. She did this with her Mogall as much as with her own eyes. "Transformation. I wondered if it had any positive effect on how quickly we could heal, or if our human bodies are essentially frozen in time while not in use. Since healing will take months, I can try spending most of my time in one body for a bit, then switch out until I figure out what's faster, or if it makes any difference. If there's no clear winner, then the best thing to do would just be to use my transformation as much as possible, since I won't be in pain. I'd hope for that result. I've got two-to-one odds, after all." She smiled a little.

”Uhh… well… err… This high priestess… also considers her observer of the heavens to be important. I wouldn’t get mad at you for getting hurt if I didn’t.” Stating the obvious, Hotaru turned back to her ramen with blitzing speed, as though she wanted to hide something. And come to think of it, just what had been the look in her eyes when she looked at Kiyo? There had been a soft quality to it, the normally inquisitive gaze of the high priestess far too kind.

Kiyo stood up. "No, I'm the asshole, Shuuko. For you to think I would treat myself as less than a guinea pig, I must have done something to erode your faith in me. If not all at once, then in a hundred little ways, each one by itself not worth fighting over, but piling up all the same. ...I'm sorry." She leaned on Shuuko, a hand on her left shoulder and Kiyo's chin on her right. In her current state, it was probably the closest she could comfortably get to giving Shuuko a hug.

'Sorry?' When was the last time Kiyo apologized properly? She was always telling people "don't be mad" or "forgive me." "Thanks for the meal, Shuuko. It was good. But now, I want to rest. Would you please take me home?" So now, there was a 'please and thank you,' too? It was unlike her, but if it meant she was reflecting on her actions properly, maybe it didn't matter. After all, Kiyo was coming home, and their shared apartment hadn't felt like home in a while, not without Evil Eye's nefarious giggling coming from the other room late into the night.

”...Yeah. Still. Sorry again.” Hotaru carefully reached around Kiyo, pulling her closer with great care. Neither her grip, nor her pull were strong and if the other magical girl resisted just a little bit, she would stop. It was just that it felt nice to embrace Kiyo like this, the warmth slowly spreading through Hotaru’s body along with her faster-than-usual heartbeat. Maybe it was also stronger? She could hardly tell with the two of their bodies pressed so close together.

”I will take you home, sure.” A gentle squeeze. ”Did that hurt? I’m sorry, I’m not sure how… well… you know.” She shook her head before a grin took over it. Kiyo winced, but Shuuko was so close to her that there was no way for her to see it. "It doesn't hurt," she lied. The truth was that it didn't hurt enough for her to forsake the hand extended to her by the high priestess. The hug certainly didn't hurt as much as it did when Shuuko looked at her coldly and refused to smile. ”Anyways. It’s all water under the bridge, yes? I jumped to conclusions and you’re being a mad scientist like usual. Too bad you’re way too adorable.” Hotaru averted her eyes from Kiyo as she spoke, using her free hand to destroy whatever was left of her meal between two words, then slapping some cash onto the counter.

Ai-chan, are you unaware of how adorable you are? That's kinda dicey, y'know?

Adorable... Kiyo's free hand idly reached up to the bridge of her nose, to adjust a pair of glasses that hadn't been there since the day she became a magical girl—an ingrained nervous habit she still engaged in when she wasn't sure what to say or do. It barely concealed a light blush, until it subsided. Shuuko loosened their embrace a little, just so she could turn towards her companion and look her in the eyes with a shit-eating grin on her face. ”Princess carry?”

"I'm incorrigible?" she replied, her eyes absent as she checked their surroundings with Mogall. Confirming that the coast was clear, she transformed—not to make herself lighter or easier to carry, or because Shuuko might accidentally hurt her—but because Evil Eye was almost always smiling, so that stupid look on her face was just a bit more permissible. "Oh, fine," she consented, putting up just a little fuss with her words, but moving into position to be carried all the same. She looked up, but the night sky wasn't there. It was still the afternoon, but still, she wanted to sleep.

”I guess it’s good night, my princess.” One would think that a dark magical girl used to getting her way by the sweep of her gauntlets or the sheer, mauling power of the massive claws attached to it, would have trouble carrying an oh-so-fragile maiden without menacing her. They would be wrong, as Hotaru transformed—knowing that Evil Eye had already looked around—and immediately dismissed her Devil Arms before she gingerly took Kiyo into a princess carry. Her passenger felt only a slight jolt as she was lifted with great care, arms positioning themselves into a most comfortable place. Then Hotaru placed a kiss onto Kiyo’s forehead with the same, wide grin on her face. Evil Eye blinked.

And then, Shatterscape blasted off into the skies with a tremendous explosion beneath her feet. The ground shattered into thousands of pieces, all of which miraculously missed the ramen stand all the while presenting a mystery for the repair crews or investigators to solve later. She did not care. She merely propelled herself, channeling magic into her body as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, cutting through Hibusa Town. ”Much better than the taxi, right?” Riotous laughter followed that, more because of the feeling of pseudo-flight than the non-joke Hotaru made. ”You look like you're still thinking hard though...” She followed up as she glanced down at Evil Eye in her arms.

"I'm always thinking hard," Evil Eye replied dismissively as their eyes met.

If I used my magic right now, I could make you understand. Would that be immoral? Or is refusing to do so the cowardly choice?

I know that, as a source of warmth and comfort, I'm inadequate. I'm a pretty poor older sister.

But I can at least refrain from burdening you with life's tough questions, so you're not tempted by the abyss.

So, why do I still feel like I've lost something important..?

"All's well that ends well" was something people said a lot. Shuuko and Kiyo had run off to do their own thing for a bit, leaving the Detention Club short one undeniably effective team in Medusa's Mirror, but they were back now. Kiyo had got herself seriously injured, but she would make a full recovery in a few months. While she was gone, whether or not she was coming back had been up in the air—when asked if Kiyo was coming back, "probably" had been Rei's answer, and it didn't inspire much confidence. Shortly after bringing Kiyo back into the fold herself, they'd apparently had a talk, and when asked if Kiyo was staying for good this time, "yup" had been Rei's answer, so it seemed like those two had made up, or something.

Yet, something didn't sit right. Kiyo had made a comment to Roche a few days ago during the first club meeting since her return. You must have been struggling with the loss of your #1 bench warmer, huh? she'd quipped with that catlike "Kiyo grin." Sure, it was no secret to Roche that Kiyo made sure she didn't qualify for any important competitions. She was a terminally unmotivated girl, much like Tsubomi, unless it had to do with "science," whatever that meant. Most likely, it was just an excuse for only doing things that she found amusing. It was the same with her training. She seemed content to be the "weakest" member of the Detention Club. Getting her to spar with any of the other girls, especially Roche, was like pulling teeth. Getting her to actually try, rather than tap out immediately? Impossible difficulty.

What was particularly concerning was how Kiyo's comment could, and ostensibly should have been about the track and field club, but it could just as easily have been a sneaky comment about the Detention Club itself. If anyone who knew Kiyo were to ask themselves if she was the type to hide a snarky comment like that behind a double meaning and plausible deniability, the answer was categorically yes. To make things worse, the gap in strength between her and the other girls had only widened while she was away, trying to solve the mystery of why the miseria in Hibusa Town were so weak. She'd solved the mystery, but the other Detention Club girls had also solved it without her, rendering her solo adventure and resulting injuries moot. It would be normal for someone in Kiyo's situation, who derived her sense of belonging from her "scientific mind" to feel like her presence was unneeded, after all, and that just couldn't be allowed to stand. The club needed Kiyo, and Kiyo needed the club, whether she'd admit it or not. It was time for a pep talk, but the problem with trying to track down Kiyo was that Kiyo knew where everyone was and could easily avoid them, if she knew they were coming. Like waiting for a disgruntled cat to come out from underneath the dresser, it was a problem only patience could solve.

When Kiyo had begun evading Roche, it was picked up almost immediately. Not through any fault in the girl’s efforts, but because Roche had an overwhelming dearth of experience in dealing with evasive Magical Girls. The amount of effort Suki had put into it alone would have made Roche a master sleuth, but she wasn’t the first one she’d wrangled either.

What gave up the game for Kiyo was her policy of complete avoidance. If she wanted to miss Roche, then logic dictated the safest place was one Roche would either never think to search, or one she knew so thoroughly she’d consider it already cleared.

The other girls of the detention club wouldn’t consider that Roche would simply ask for the help of other clubs. While Roche was a workaholic there were still other clubs that went later than her, and being the Captain of the Track team did put her in nominal contact with the heads and captains of other groups. She’d never go so far as to say they were friends, hardly even acquaintances, but her reputation was enough that if she asked for a sighting of a particular girl on campus, her phone wouldn’t be silent for long. It was an association that was rather useless against Suki who enjoyed her Transformed state, but Kiyo fell into the net without realizing it.

The Rule Keeper's schedule was like clockwork, going through the same motions every day, and after confirming that she'd left, Evil Eye flew from her hiding place behind the nearby locker room building, took her position at the starting line, and untransformed. Indeed, she had come here to do more than just avoid Earthshaker. She took a breath, and her first step.


It was the flattest, most featureless terrain one could ever hope for, and it was only one lap—but for how much she was struggling, it may as well have been a mountain. "You promised yourself that if you ever returned, it would be a triumphant return. So, you have no one else but yourself to blame for this. No excuses. Compared to the burdens you used to carry, this is nothing!" she told herself. Foot, crutch. Foot, crutch. "There aren't even any light girls chasing you this time. No time limit, no Roche barking at you to move faster. You just have to keep walking."

A bit more than a third of a lap later, and her arm was really starting to feel it. Her legs were reliable when she could use both of them, but cultivating upper body strength wasn't very ladylike, so she really wasn't prepared for this. "Halfway there..." she lied. Temptation came to her, but she had left her bottle of pills in the locker room on purpose. Prescription dosage only, she'd told herself, as she tried to stretch out that single bottle of pills as long as she could to make it last. "This is LIGHT work!!" she declared to herself. "LIGHT FUCKING WORK, BABY!!" she shouted in English, increasing her pace. "YEEEEEAAAAAAHH BUDDYYYYYYY!!" she roared as her muscles burned.

Her newfound surge of motivation lasted for about 20 meters. Each step was taking over a full second of psyching herself up for it first. Her arm, in particular, was shaking, threatening imminent muscle failure. She wouldn't be able to go much longer like this, and even the delusional Evil Eye had to know it. Her goal had changed. "Halfway there," she told herself. "Just get... halfway..." she panted. At this rate, that would be a few more minutes. She wouldn't last that long. Her last few steps had already looked as if they could be her last.

Roche had taken a moment to confirm the text message with Kiyo’s location before transforming and bounding across the city. Cutting wind pulling at her cloak as she back tracked to the school, her arc taking her high enough to see a smudge upon the distant field before coming down for another leap.

As Roche’s feet came down upon grass surrounding the track she dispelled her transformed state after a cursory glance if any of her catspaws had remained, advancing at a sedate pace. It wasn’t as if Kiyo had done anything to enrage her beyond her usual smartass remarks, but it was clear to see the girl was putting herself through hell with her physical therapy.

”You know it feels good in the moment, but when you scream like that you’re expelling what little air you have left.” The Track Captain supplied, coming along sideward of Kiyo. Her expression was neutral, a curated mask as she suppressed the stern demesne she often wore when on the field. Even Roche could see Kiyo wasn’t here looking to be a track star. At least not with the crutches still in place. ”That’s half the reason physiotherapy includes the therapist. They can do the motivational shouting for you, Kiyo.”

Kiyo jolted, startled by Roche's sudden appearance, but she managed to keep her balance. She had eyes all over the city, but they were of little assistance if she was focused entirely on what was in front of her. After spending a few seconds averting her eyes from Roche, mortified that she had been caught shouting catchphrases she'd learned from fitness influencers, she seemed to decide that the best course of action was to press on like nothing happened. "You say it's 'motivational,' I call it 'condescending.' I don't need to be told 'good job' just for standing up and walking only a few meters by myself to the restroom, or 'let's stop for today' when I can keep going. If I let some idiot human who doesn't know anything tell me what I'm capable of, I'll never make any progress." She took another labored step. "I know you've been looking for me, with that look on your face like you've fried your brain thinking about something. So, what is it?"

”You remarked about a bench warmer for the team. I’d have taken it for black humor if you hadn’t gotten serious about dodging me. Granted, given your condition, it’s impressive you’ve pushed it this far.” The Track Captain reached into the pocket of her windbreaker, hoisting out a mini-water bottle and holding it to the struggling girl.

”I take my responsibilities seriously. It’s why I drive my team hard, and it’s why I have a stick up my ass in the detention club. Do I think anyone in our Track Team will go professional? Probably not, but I’ll give them every tool I can to make it happen if they want it. Same for Magical Girls. Hibusa Town is…Safe. But when we saw the Giga Miseria, we all could have died. One bad slip and we’d be giblets on the sands.”

A statement truer for Roche then most, and frankly Tsubomi was too apathetic to be haunted by any near death experience. Standing there with an offered bottle, Roche was unwavering in her gaze towards Kiyo. ”So Kiyo, you seem to be motivated for a benchwarmer…”

Kiyo opened the water bottle with her teeth, spat the cap out, and threw it back like it was a shot of alcohol. "See? You know exactly why I've been avoiding you. It's that attitude of yours." She lobbed the empty bottle back to Roche and turned her attention back to the track. "I just knew, after seeing me look so fucking pathetic, unable to even walk between classes without breaking a sweat, you'd have to say something, because it's your responsibility." She took another step. "Of course I'm motivated. Rei's left me with no choice. I thought maybe, if I took some time off, she'd realize that you can't do it all on your own, get off her lazy ass, pick up some slack for you... maybe even get back in touch with the rest of us and realize that we're fucking scared, because Hibusa Town is not safe, Roche. It just isn't." She took another unsteady and uncertain step.

”That’s…fair.” Roche caught the thrown bottle, letting her eyes drift downwards as she tasted the bite of Kiyo’s tongue. Time proved the great equalizer and those who’d already clashed with Ashbringer had time to process the threat. Kiyo, however, was finding herself under immense threat and at her physically most vulnerable point. Worse was the absence of their mercurial leader, and the clear failure of Roche to fill her shoes.

”I’m scared too. We’re discovering stronger Magical Girls…Stronger Miseria. You know I nearly died on that beach trip. If I hadn’t fallen just right I’d have been choked to death by pirates. No one would have even cared either.” A note of bitterness crept up her gorge, but it settled with a gusty breath and she drew alongside Kiyo, keeping pace with her hobbling steps. ”But no one is going to help us except each other. We don’t have the time to pray for Rei to sweep in like old times. Honestly she might not even be stronger then our enemies…”

”I can’t beat them alone. But I can break every bone I have trying to protect this Club and everyone in it. At least let me help you.”

Kiyo took a breath and sighed. "Helping each other sounds nice. Tell me, when are you gonna let someone help you for a change? I hate watching you turn everything and everyone into your 'responsibility.' More than anything, I hate it when people fuss over me. If that's what the Detention Club represents, then of course I'd want nothing to do with it." Regarding the invisible halfway mark of the track with fond eyes, like she were bidding a friend farewell, Kiyo abruptly abandoned her quest to drag her face across the finish line, and used the last of her strength to take an overhead swing at Roche with her crutch. It was slow enough that she would catch it. "Finally, we had some common ground. Then you had to throw self-loathing bullshit in there." She struggled in a tug-of-war with the crutch, attempting to break free while Roche just tried to prevent her from falling and hurting herself. "Really, you've got some nerve coming out here to give me a pep talk, when you're talking about yourself like that!" She growled as her strength waned and her body threatened to collapse into a heap on the ground.

"You know, I really thought this club would fall apart without me, if Rei didn't step up—but look at you! Joke's on me! Turns out you could handle it all on your own. Here you are, keeping the club together in my absence with shoestrings and duct tape!" Her voice cracked a bit. "Good job! No, really—I'm impressed." She narrowed her eyes in a mixture of anger and pain, and scoffed. "I mean, shit, I had some self-awareness that my unofficial third-in-command role wasn't really that important, but I guess my idea of us being some badass 'Supervisor and Enforcer' team was just a farce! You're the one who's the irreplaceable glue holding us together, and I'm just playing pretend over here—so tell me, why are you the one feeling sorry for yourself, huh?!"

The attack was impulsive and slow, easily caught in hand. Where difficulty paid its heavy head was the struggle not to let Kiyo’s thrashing send her to the ground as she poured out her vitriol like a lanced boil. It concluded the only way it could and Roche lunged forward, arms sliding under Kiyo’s hold to arrest her fall without harming her further. Coming down upon the rough track wasn’t the best of places to fall, but as they settled Roche didn’t expect to rise soon.

”You think I’m handling this? Kiyo, none of the others respect a fucking thing I say! The only reason they didn’t leave the beach vacation early was because I had to beg them!” Roche fury felt like flames licking her lips, but she let it go no further then that as she let Kiyo go entirely and leaned back.

”If Ash wasn’t gunning for us the rest….I don’t know, cut and run? Hold a drug filled orgy till the fire came down? I do not have a handle on this. We are being threatened by a team that is older, stronger, and seems to know just about everything we do. You’re damn right I’m doing everything I can to hold us together. The alternative is waiting to be slaughtered.”

Kiyo let out the rest of the air in her lungs with a heave as they both dropped to their knees. "Finally, we're getting somewhere." She cooled off, catching her breath. "You say you're struggling alone? That's all the more reason why you should be relying on me. You wasted a total of 38 hours trying to track me down when, even if it was a lie, all you had to do was text me 'Kiyo, can you come help me with this' and I'd have dropped whatever worthless homework or phone game had my attention and been by your side before you can blink. Maybe there isn't enough sweetness and light in my heart for you to call it 'care,' but I do have my pride! If it were me, I wouldn't watch some ass clown stomp on my underlings and let it slide like Rei! If someone hurts you, I'm getting even! So don't you dare go full depression club on me and act like you don't matter! You got that?!" Darkness was welling up in her eyes, so she closed them and looked away.

”You’re the one who ran off on their own and has been hospitalized. Why would I think you’d answer the phone if you’re actively avoiding me, either!?” Roche snapped testily now that Kiyo’s own passion was roused. "I left because I was at my wit's end! I take some club responsibilities from you, and you just add more to your own plate! Like a mother bird pushing its baby out of the nest, it was time for this 'club' idea to fly or die. Call it tough love if you want." Arrogance and hypocrisy roiled off the both of them. If Kiyo wasn’t already on crutches Roche may have lunged at her but instead she leaned back, hands splayed upon the harsh track as her head tilted back to take in the afternoon sky.

”You could have made an offer, Kiyo. I’ve been burned by just about everyone and I’m getting so. Damn. Tired.” A loud, gusty exhalation. Her chest deflated like a balloon and she looked down at Kiyo directly. ”Of asking for things I’ll never get. Of hoping for things I can’t ever even dream to have. My Powers are literally centered on taking beating after beating on my own. So, yeah, I’ll keep trying to shoulder this weight, but if you really wanna help? I’ll take what I can get, just as soon as you get off your pity party and finish that lap.”

Kiyo looked like she had several things to say the entire time Roche had been talking, but the demand that she finish the lap trumped it all. She looked at Roche like she had just asked her to grow another leg. How easily could someone ask for the impossible—but then, she seemed to understand. "I can't go any further on my own." She looked at the half-lap that remained as though it were some vast, unfathomable obstacle. "But since you volunteered to be my physical therapist, I guess I can keep pushing. I'm only going to do it if you keep talking, though." She turned her face and flipped her hair defiantly. "You got to see me act uncool and spell out all my feelings like some light girl, so tell me what's on your mind, or I'm packing it in for the day and throwing a literal pity party, just for you. A super embarrassing one, with an emo lava cake full of dark chocolate."

Surprisingly the member Roche spent the least time with clicked the easiest with her. Rising languidly to her feet she stood at Kiyo’s side, not offering anything more then her company for support. If she insisted on embarrassing truths, Roche was ready to oblige.

”Well I got pushed out of the closet and rejected all at once. I know, a lesbian Magical Girl isn’t a big surprise, but Nyxia wasn’t receptive. I’m having nightmares of being drowned to death. Oh, and we met a Magical Girl under the ocean and now she’s signed up with Ashbringer to spank us. Considering that she was the one who told us about Giga Miseria, I’m terrified by the gap in power between us, as well!” Roche was working herself into a good rant, lips widely splayed with a touch of rapturous mania.

Kiyo forced herself up, holding the crutch with both hands like a wounded warrior with a sword plunged into the earth. She grinned proudly, like she ought to be praised for getting up despite Roche not offering a hand. "Damn, Roche. Down bad for Nyxia? That's rough." She took a step, her short moment of rest having done some measure of good. "I'm what the boys call 'frigid,' so I can't really relate. But, as a practical problem, it seems like one that would sort itself out over time. Humans can't relate to the problems of magical girls. Magical girls, after a while, can't relate to human problems. It's only a matter of time before they get frustrated and try settling for what's within reach. But if it goes against their former nature, they might find out later that they're unhappy. I know you probably don't want to hear it, but even though rejection is hard, it might be for the better to have a little heartbreak now, rather than a hell of a lot later, if the girl you like suddenly meets someone that can remind her she's straight... or you wake up one day and realize that you're the one who's unhappy, because your partner thinks sex is boring." Kiyo spoke frankly, without making fun, making light or dancing around the topic. The last part carried a different kind of weight in particular, like she wasn't speculating or speaking theoretically.

”Sheesh, it’s not like I wanted to put her over a table and eat her!” Her groan was loud and vociferous, questioning how she had wound up being seen as the horny one when they’re team had Suki on it. ”But that girl has…issues. And I have issues. It wouldn’t have been bad to share them.”

It was a horrible foundation for any relationship, and she could see with the benefit of distance that it was entirely one sided. Given her revulsion of Oros’ antics she was likely straight as an arrow as well.

Kiyo shrugged, and took another step. "If you think of the moment you became a magical girl as a sort of rebirth, we're all pretty young and still figuring this out. Maybe one of the others will come around, or maybe they won't. But also, you've known Nyxia for how long?" She glanced at Roche as she prepared to take her next step. "I know you said you got pushed out of the closet, so it's not like it's your fault, but it sure doesn't help. Your takeaway seems to be that you're an undesirable partner, but, I think you're barking up the wrong tree, personally."

Roche’s head tilted in acknowledgment of Kiyo’s advice, feeling some added weight that seemed born of experience. ”But if we really can’t get past this shit ahead of us, I don’t want to have spent my past months alone and cold. Maybe I push you girls a bit too hard, but it beats the alternative.”

"...Yeah. Being alone and cold sucks." There was something in those particular words that Kiyo seemed to find relatable. She glanced at Roche with eyes that seemed sympathetic, conflicted, or both. "So... You said another Kurai girl just told you about Giga Miseria?" she asked, changing the subject. "That makes me feel a little better. Like figuring it out on my own wasn't completely pointless."

”If we hadn’t decided to swim off into the ocean looking for deep sea Miseria, we never would have learned anything. So nothing you did was meaningless. We just got lucky.” Roche said that, but in the back of her head she still had some doubts about that.

Reaching out her hand gently clapped Kiyo’s shoulder, mindful not to topple her. A small, commiserating smile stretched across her face as she pointed downwards.

”And you just finished your lap.”

"Huh? No, I only just started—" Kiyo began, but she looked down and found that she was, in fact, at the starting line. I thought it would take all night to get this far. I wasn't ready for it to be over yet. Nothing feels resolved. She looked between Roche's smile and the line on the ground, awkwardly, and looked away. "W-Well. Imagine that. I guess that means I win. You'll be leaning on me from now on, so look forward to more of these therapy sessions." She tried to make it sound like the matter was settled as she grinned proudly. "But you know, I'm not done walking yet?" she added quickly. "I still have to get back to the locker room to grab my pills?" She sounded like she was still unsure if she would make it that far.

”I’ve got nowhere to be. But fair warning, you’re giving yourself a shower. I’m no Suki.” Roche said with faux severity before letting the grin emerge once more as she directed them towards the lockers. There were far worse things then walking a club mate home.

Kiyo smiled patiently. "I didn't say you were. Nor do I think your desires are weird, or gross. I just can't relate." She took a few steps in silence. "There's no reason for you to be alone, though, is there? If we both get left out in the cold, we can at least be cold together." She said it as though she were teasing.

”Careful. Keep talking like that and you might turn back to the Light Girl side.” Shaking her head in mock dismay Roche released Kiyo’s shoulder to let her walk fully on her own power. It just so happened neither of them were walking alone.

"HAH!" Kiyo barked, wincing in pain. "My God. She found a sense of humor. Where did you dig that up—the same hole you dug me out of?" She smiled, wheezing as she tried and failed not to laugh. "Ouf. Enough comedy..." she said with some regret, catching her breath.

If your powers are based on being a punching bag for others, then...

...are mine based on helplessly watching as my pride and joy are destroyed?

Forget it. I won't let it happen.

I'm a bit scared to say it out loud, since you're so serious, and I'm so un-serious.

But, I think I'll try just a little bit harder from now on.

Whatever magic helped me finish that lap, I need you to give me some more of it.