It was difficult to see what was going on inside the dining room, but Nyxia’s superb hearing could pick up on a few things. She could hear her mother conversing with a servant, followed by some prepared laughter and her stabbing some salad onto her fork. It was not long before she could pick up on her father’s footsteps, and the much heavier footsteps of the stranger.

”Hisui! Our guest would like some curry bread. Heat it up for him please, as well as the saki.” He chuckled, obviously amused at the basic palette of the stranger. ”I appreciate you being so discreet about this matter. I don’t want anyone to know we’ve been robbed.”

”I can see that.”

”Even with those shades on?” The stranger did not dignify Mister Tsukishima’s bad joke with a laugh. And if her father’s groan was anything to go by, he didn’t dignify it with any sort of reaction. ”Let’s sit here.” They were close to the windows, far away from Misus Tsukishima’s chattering or anyone else in the room. ”So you finally found something out?”

”Finally?” The irritation was evident in the stranger’s voice. ”Mister Tsukishima, you must understand that I am not one of your servants. I’m a freelancer, and when you initially requested my help I was working for other people. You are very out of the way for me, and I thought we understood it would be some time before I could arrive.”

”I also paid you a lot of money.”

”All of my clients pay me a lot of money. And I think you’re about to get your money’s worth.”

Nyxia could feel the smile spreading across Mister Tsukishima’s lips. ”Yes. You implied that the serial numbers for the yen banknotes were useful.”

”It was.” The stranger’s seat creaked when he leaned back in it. ”The stolen money was gradually deposited in a bank account belonging to ‘Strong Arms,’ which is a construction supply company. At first I thought this was an attempt to ‘wash’ the yen, but the quantities were too small and inconsistent. Building materials are very expensive in Japan, and it would not be hard to wash significantly more money using Strong Arms. I considered the possibility that funds were simply used to buy building supplies.”

”Well that’s not very helpful.” Tsukishima groaned. ”There must be lots of construction going on. Strong Arms is in the city, isn’t it?”

”True, but that’s not where the money was stolen from. While there is lots of construction in the city, Hibusa town only has its flower shop. Apparently the flower shop burned down months ago when the funds were initially stolen. Shortly afterwards, they began a gradual reconstruction effort.”

”The Takahashi…” He practically growled the name. ”The gods dealt them a bad hand, as they did with my family. They don’t have a ton of money, but their daughter, Misoka, is a real gem. If my daughter was even a quarter as focused as she was…”

”It explained everything, from the timing of the robbery to when funds started to get transferred to Strong Arms. While preserving your confidentiality, I informed the owners that I was investigating a robbery and that I thought they were going to show up here. They agreed to let me check the bank notes once a customer had paid. I didn’t even have to wait a day before Mister Takahashi showed up. He paid for the goods and left, I requested to look at the yen notes, and the serial numbers matched.”

”Ho ho! And then you came here?”

”Not quite. You were adamant that you wanted your money back as soon as possible, so I stopped by their home in Hibusa town. I told them that I believed that they had money that didn’t belong to them. They were disappointed, but very forthcoming about it. I didn’t even have to prove to them that I had the serial numbers on the notes they were spending. They claimed that they found the money and had no idea where it came from and offered to give it to me. I’m a little surprised how easily they offered it up. But I figured it would be better if you or someone you deeply trust recovered the funds. We hadn’t discussed it, and I didn’t feel it was my place to recover them without consulting you.”

”Well that’s very good news. I’ll get in contact with them shortly. It’s unfortunate that I’m going to have to also tell them I’m pressing charges against them.”

”It’s too early to do that. We have no proof that they stole anything. They were up front about finding the stolen money and couldn’t have committed the crime themselves. Misoka was preparing for a charity bake off with several friends the night of the crime. Mister Takahashi would have been at work and with the family car, and Missus Takahashi would have still been recovering. Even if she had a bike, this is a very long distance to travel with a lame leg. Then there’s getting past your security… More than likely this was an inside job.”

”Couldn’t they have hired someone, or forbid, bribed one of my servants?”

”It could also be someone working out of spite, or a genuine interest in the Takahashi’s well being. They are something of local celebrities, as you’ve already alluded to with Misoka.”

”Either way, I’m pleased we’ll have our money back. How much will it cost to find out who caused the crime?”

”Let’s discuss that later. I don’t talk price on an empty stomach.”

Nyxia’s focus broke when she heard something knock against the side of the column she was hiding behind.

A familiar face…



Rei allowed Nyxia to acknowledge her presence before speaking. “It’s a good day to be outside, Nyxia. But I think I saw your dinner maid heading towards your room.” She pushed herself away from the wall. “See you tonight.”

As Nyxia continued to listen to the conversation between her father and the mysterious visitor, she found herself growing more concerned with each new word spoken. They knew who she’d given the money to and were planning to get it back. Not only that, but it was very likely her father would be taking legal action against the flower shop owner and their family. Everything she had worked for was falling apart, and the worst part was, in hindsight, it almost inevitably would end this way. After all, her father was stubborn, unrelenting, and had incredibly vast resources. Of course he would seek answers and ultimately find them, especially when Nyxia, blinded by rage and righteous indignation like she so often was, had simply brute forced her way into the safe and stolen the money without giving the possible repercussions a second thought. She was thinking now, though, her mind racing with possible solutions to this mounting problem. While the Neon Tempest still doubted anything would actually lead them back to her (even if the mystery man was claiming the robbery to be an inside job), she was still incredibly concerned for the flower shop owner and the fate of their reconstruction efforts. Everything she had done was intended to help them, and now they seemed to be in an even worse situation than before…

Damn it! Of fucking course that greedy piece of shit had to go and trace the money! Fuck… Couldn’t he just let them keep it? I mean, he certainly likes their daughter well enough, shitty bastard…

A moment later, Nyxia’s embittered ruminations came to a crashing halt when she heard, and then saw, that Rei, of all people, was suddenly standing next to her, having appeared seemingly from out of nowhere, as was often the case with the enigmatic girl. “Y-You?!” the Neon Tempest gasped in shocked annoyance, before the greenette’s words finally registered. “Shit…” she hissed, her body tensing in preparation of rushing back to her room. “Yeah…” Nyxia muttered as she passed the club president, before leaping back onto the roof. “See ya tonight.”

Creepy bitch…

---

”I wouldn’t say you look terrible. Honestly, you look more like you’ve been pulling all nighters for a test. It’s normal. ‘Don’t think people are used to seeing you not at 100%” Roche shrugged apologetically for poking at what seemed a tetchy subject, especially when she knew full well the circumstances around it.

Confusing though they still remained to her, what with Ashbringer knowing Misoka so well….

Her lips quirked upwards, a soft smirk on an oft harsh face. The blonde wasn’t one to roll over and replied with a light jab of her own, verbal though it was. ”If I didn’t eat, I wouldn’t make it far past the starting line. Need some fuel to burn, you know. Just swing by after classes and I will show you how to warm up and cool down properly. It feels a bit tedious at first but long term it’ll cut down on a lot of muscle aches.”

Roche’s gaze turned to Shuuko and her brow wrinkled quizzically, confused why the girl was acting so….stiff. At least outside of her transformed state that always spoke in flowery and ostentatious fashion. ”You doing alright? You seem a little tense, or is this just you being h’angry?”

”Ah… I apologise, Takahashi-san,” Ember made Shuuko’s body bow a little bit further than necessary, then lingered there for a moment to show her genuine effort. ”I suppose I could have worded that better.. I meant to say that you looked frazzled yourself and with myself being a prominent member of the Detention Club, I figured I should inquire if something troubles you.”

Looking to Roche, Ember flashed a smile, however,, it would look a little off to the Rulekeeper. Something that Sylvia’s smile held was absent in the schemer’s, a feeling that would probably intensify when Ember spoke up again.

”Hananami-san. I also think a meal would be a good idea. How about I invite the two of you? To return a favour owed, and of course, in the spirit of an apology.” Ember made the offer freely, wondering if her hyperbole had indeed been a mistake or if she had unknowingly channeled her frustration at how Sylvia handled herself the last time she took part in the Detention Club and unleashed it on Misoka.

”You don’t need to apologize!” She reassured Shuuko. The dark spots under her eyelids got bigger when she forced a smile. Though when Roche addressed Shuuko, Misoka also turned to look at her. ”I thought the same thing. I didn’t want to pry though. I don’t really know you as well as your friends, but it seems like even Roche notices that something is amiss.” She folded her arms. ”Do you not wish to discuss it in public? Or with me? I can leave if you’d rather confide in Roche.”

The Track Captain found herself blinking as the other girls were….stiff. Something was uncanny about the both of them, though it struck her strongest from Shuuko. She certainly hadn’t been that….rehearsed, in their time cooking together. True, Roche had been a hot mess too at times as well, so perhaps Shuuko was good at putting on a public persona?

That didn’t explain much why she was doing it now with her and Misoka. Misoka was also picking up on the girl’s strangeness and seemed open to excusing herself. Thinking this might be some Detention Club business she nodded along and gently set her hand against Shuuko’s upper arm.

”If you don’t mind, I think some privacy might be best. I’ll catch up with you later, Misoka. Don’t forget to come by, okay?” Roche’s expression had dimmed, concern clear as she tried to guide Shuuko out of the cafeteria, naturally leading her to the familiar school exterior where they could have some peace and quiet from the students.

Misoka groaned. ”Take care.” Was all she said before walking off.

”For one who is supposed to adhere to the rules, you sure worry much, Hananami-san.” Ember’s words got the usually composed honor student to look over her shoulder, but she thought better of saying anything and continued on her way. Ember followed Roche without any resistance, seeing no reason to take the offered out. It did seem like Misoka harbored a little resentment as well, so it would serve her well to be more careful in the future. She could have chosen her words better. Speaking of which, she wondered if Sylvia wished to talk with Roche?

”I’m all right, Ember. Please don’t shorten your time for my sake.” The protector sounded like she wanted to say anything but that, almost vibrating in their shared mental space and the schemer sighed before she stepped down from the driver’s seat and almost shoved Sylvia into it. As she did, Shuuko stumbled from the way her gait changed and she almost ended up face-first on the floor in an almost picture-by-picture recreation of the first time Roche met with Sylvia.

”Ah!” The protector almost squeaked as she found her balance again. ”Please slow down a little, Roche?” she asked, tone and cadence now much more familiar to the rulekeeper’s ears.

They’d come some distance from the general hum of students congregating for their meals, eager to join together with their friends without the teacher’s lessons getting in between them.

Roche might have been doing the same if something hadn’t set her off. Shuuko’s engagement with Misoka was already stilted and uncanny, but her suspicions took firm root hearing her use Roche’s family name.

Grammatically correct, but so very, very distant. Not once had she spoken to her like that as they cooked, or even as they fought like Magical Girls. That she even did so when absent of prying ears or well-intentioned Misoka had Roche’s brow furrow with worry.

”What is going on?” It was impossible to keep the words from sounding like an accusation, especially when Shuuko was acting completely normal the moment she stumbled upon herself. ”What is going on? This isn’t normal for you…”

”Eh?” Sylvia’s eyes widened as she raised her hands, palms facing Roche. ”But everything’s… all right?” Blatantly false, but she could not just tell her friend that she was having trouble with one of the club members now, could she? Especially when the reasoning was as silly as hers, despite Ember’s and Hotaru’s relentless insistence that she could talk about it with her fellow detention club members.

”What the- Of course everything isn’t alright. You just pulled a 180 so hard you left tire marks on the cafeteria floor.” Roche was genuinely gobsmacked by Shuuko’s reaction and found herself staring in bewilderment at her friend. That was acting like herself now didn’t excuse how bizarre she was just a minute ago, and judging by the haste of her denial she knew it as well.

”Look, just talk to me here. You’ve seen my DVD collection, so you have more than enough dirt on me if it’s a trust issue here.” The Track Captain said, offering an olive branch and trying to relieve some of the stress. Having found that openness and vulnerability- Paradoxical thought it was given their Dark natures- Was the best method when getting her comrades to open up, she opted for a softer approach now that Shuuko’s guard was up.

Of course it did not work. There were few things Sylvia considered herself worse at than lying. What is more, she attempted to lie to her very first friend, the one whom she shared so much time with. How could she even have contemplated that? But on the other hand, how else could she protect her comrades? She pursed her lips, clenching her teeth. The impossible choice ground away at her moment by moment.

”You don’t have much choice I’m afraid, Sylvi. I’m sorry that I made us stand out. Do you want me to take over again?”

”That wouldn’t help shit! Sylvia knows what she’s doing, Ember.”

”I know you’re worried, ‘Ru, but-”

”Worried my ass! You’re the one who screwed up this time, Ember, and you can’t fix it. Just shu-”

Sylvia stepped away from the argument that was starting to become all-too-familiar. She wobbled as she tried to find her footing against the surfacing emotions it stirred, but her actions helped about as much as trying to resist a tidal wave. It merely washed over her before sweeping her away, then drowned her in the cold depths filled with ice.

”What… what do you do, Roche,” the words were hesitant. Fragile. The protector spoke barely above a whisper. ”No, never mind. I’m… I’m really excited about the next movie night!” As if. As if! But how in the world could she burden Roche with her troubles?

There was a glimmer from behind the curtain of deceit. A tentative finger uncurling towards Roche, but quick as a viper it withdrew and Shuuko deflected the matter. Poorly.

Roche could see that the subject was more fraught then even she’d first assumed as her friend was shaking like a leaf, swaying enough she was liable to fall over. That and the girl’s shaken words had Roche step forward and reciprocate Shuuko’s own attempts at comforting her as her arms wound around the swaying figure.

”You don’t need to lie to me. It’s really not your strong suit.” Roche’s hand rose, cradling the back of Shuuko’s head to her shoulder as she tried to still the girl’s nerves. Granted, the closeness of them was liable to set her own alight and see her be reduced to a bundle of misfiring nerves given time, but her focus was sharp enough upon Shuuko she could look past the compromising position.

”Please…Just be honest with me. Tell me what’s the matter.”

Shuuko’s body went stiff as Roche hugged her, spine shooting ramrod straight instead of embracing the comfort it should have brought. Stiff as a skeleton and still as a corpse, the protector could take little solace in the embrace at first. She did not know if she deserved to take solace in it, because what did she do to earn the privilege? No, she was a troublemaker. A devil child. Someone who cleft a family apart with her mere existence. Even her mother died because of her.

Sylvia opened her mouth. Roche could probably feel it as close as she was. But no sound came out.

Try as she might, Roche felt her stomach tighten with discomfort as Shuuko remained stiff and unbending in her grasp. There was no comfort or solace taken in the embrace, and when she released Shuuko’s head and looked her in the eye, Roche flinched at the expression of pained terror writ across Shuuko.

”I’m not going to judge you. You already know I’m a mess……” The Track Captain sighed, her arms loosening their hold but not ready to fall away. Her own confidence was shaken but had yet to shatter. ”The other day I was with Nyxia, and I told her I plotted to kill a man. I would have done it too, if he hadn’t died before I could do it myself.”

”I’m the last person who deserves happiness here. Even less than Rei, but you still cooked for me. With me.” There was moisture beading up in the corner of her eyes as she clung to Shuuko, so close their noses brushed against one another.

”Say something. Anything.”

”I’m the daughter of a filthy whore.” She spoke barely above a whisper, yet the words struck like a gavel. While not the issue itself… that is where it started, had it not? Grandfather. Grandmother. They could not have done what they did if it was not for her mother. Then she would not have to protect everyone. Then she would not have to keep all of this in. Yes. It was all her fault.

”Sylvi?”

”Don’t say that! Mom deserves better!"

”But it’s true!”

”Sylvi, those are not your words and you know it.”

She just said them, so how could they not be hers? Ember was wrong this time.

That Shuuko did finally answer her was just a candle’s flicker of relief before the weight of what she said struck Roche full force. Few words were said and barely a whisper at that, yet it was plain to see Shuuko had met her confession with one of her own, and it explained a great deal while rousing even more questions.

Roche’s issues stemmed from the shattering of her family unit. Shuuko was shattered by her family. And it was plain to hear all that anger and disgust was directed just as much inwards as towards her mother, for the voices were correct.

Those were words no child would say of their mother.

Her arms redoubled their efforts and gripped Shuuko, nearly pulling her off her feet as Roche enveloped her tightly. ”Shuuko, tell me honestly. Is someone hurting you? At home, I mean. I can help you. I WILL help you, because no matter what happened with your mom, none of that should reflect on you. Your mom could be Prime Minister and it wouldn’t change a thing about the girl who held me as I cried. The girl who watched a cheesy movie beside me, and didn’t run when I….When I….”

Roche knew it wasn’t the time to get worked up about that in particular, huffing out a breath as she let Shuuko’s feet touch the ground but didn’t loosen her grip at all. ”You are fantastic, and kind, and I am so glad you are in my life, regardless of what any idiot says.”

There was still no response. If it were not for Shuuko’s breathing, her words or the tears budding in the corner of her eyes, it would have been impossible to tell if she were still alive. Like a statue, she stood awkwardly within Roche’s hug as one memory surfaced after another, chasing across her mindscape as though they were butterflies with blades for wings. That would have been bad enough on its own, but the wings of these insects had a message engraved in them: It was all her fault.

”I’ll make you filthy, too.” Sylvia continued to speak in a whisper. ”You’ll also be a bad girl. You don’t want to be a bad girl, do you?”

”Sylvi! Please!” Ember’s desperate call for the protector to stop her barrage of words and reflect on herself merely echoed in their shared space, for Sylvia was no longer close to them. Hotaru could not reach her either, no matter how much she tried to embrace the protector’s mental self. They could no do anything despite their best efforts, helpless against the past that surfaced ugly word by ugly word.

”She wanted to die. She couldn’t bear her shame. That’s why she died.” From the outside, it had to be surreal. A stiff Shuuko standing within an embrace, saying words that sounded like they were not meant for her lips, but had nevertheless been burned into her. ”I’m… sorry, Roche. I don’t want you to become a filthy, bad girl. Please let me go.” Sylvia smiled, but it did not look like one.

”And please don’t be a bad girl. Good girls don’t talk about family matters.”

Were Roche’s words not reaching Shuuko? No, they had, but they’d hit upon something terrible. Enough that the girl could completely wall herself off, acting as stilted as a computer offering rote responses drilled into her by monsters worse than any Miseria. It tapped upon a fury Roche had long buried, an obsessive hatred that brought her to the brink of being yet another girl Rei made vanish.

Someone did this to her. Put these ideas in her head. They violated her for nothing more then being born. A volcano had erupted inside her and as close as they were Shuuko would hear the grinding of her teeth as it was Roche’s time to be stricken into rigor mortis. It was truly everything she could do not to transform and demand to know where her tormentors lived. Her mind screamed to enact the justice the world would never provide them on its own, and her body was a bow drawn painfully taut as adrenaline surged.

But it was her pitted, scarred heart that kept her leashed to the moment. It kept her from turning away from Shuuko to indulge the allure of rampant violence. Because the instant she let Shuuko go, she’d be feeding into every warped delusion that bound her.

All that energy burned her something fiercely, sloshing like the contents of a washing machine till Roche did what she always did; Charge forward and take the pressure upon herself.

It wasn’t the first time their lips had met, and it was rougher than she would have liked. As much a need to silence Shuuko’s words as it was an exorcism of the feelings inside her, a denial of every wretched label Shuuko had put upon herself now conveyed by the mashing of lips and arms pulled painfully tight.

It should have been intrusive. It should have been foul, a violation of everything that was right and yet, it refused to be so. Something had intruded upon Shuuko’s body, of course, but it felt like a soft, clumsy pillow instead of a wooden spoon or the foul things Sylvia remembered all too well. Her own lips tingled from the feeling, the shock jolting her out of her state and-

”Kiss her back, you idiot!” Hotaru’s voice cut into the protector’s thoughts, but it only made Sylvia feel like a deer in headlights. She did not know what happened, her thoughts running a mile a minute, her heart speeding up, blood slowly flowing back into her face and… and why? Unable to hold her tears back any longer, the image of the protector crumbled as she buried her face into Roche’s chest when the rulekeeper released her lips. Silent sobs wracked Sylvia as she cried, something deep within coming undone. Something painful beyond words.

”It’s all right, Sylvia. We’re here for you.”

”Damn straight!”

She could barely hear them due to the din of her tears, falling and falling without end. Why did she even cry? She did not know. All she knew is that she needed to cry and so she did, almost suffocating herself against Roche’s skin. Any attempt she made to speak ended up in a hitching gasp, but that too, was almost silent, especially compared to the mess she was making.

It would have been generous to call what they shared a kiss. Roche was wild energy, pressing against a girl who couldn’t respond. So much harder to do when it wasn’t an accident borne from a moment when both had let down their guard.

Roche pulled away, her expression wrought with conflict as she witnessed Shuuko break down into tears. She’d made a choice, and it might still prove to be the wrong one, but as the girl broke down into tears and buried her face into Roche’s chest, she couldn’t deny it had silenced the poisonous words of another.

Her back struck a wall as the balance shifted, and she found she was now holding Shuuko up rather then holding her close to her person. A change that saw her chin resting over her head while she hesitantly rubbed circles into the weeping girl’s back. Inside herself a knot had come undone, though the gravity of its unravelling was undercut by the weight of Shuuko’s revelations, and Suki ousting her from the closet upon their vacation.

Yet admitting her affection towards Shuuko was a relief all the same.

”You aren’t alone. I’m here for you, no matter what you say or do. Because I want to be here with you, Shuuko.” Roche said, startling herself by how dry her own throat was as she forced out that words she felt the girl needed to hear.

No thoughts existed in Sylvia’s head as she cried her heart out while also trying to stay as silent as humanly possible. The only real noise she made was when she took a breath, the image of a crying dark girl becoming a surreal painting: tears falling, shoulders shaking, but nothing for the ears. It almost felt as though she wanted to keep it hidden, no matter how absurd the thought of that would be to anyone who watched her break down.

Time seemed to have lost all of its meaning, the molasses of grief only broken by the occasional voice, though the protector could not tell if they came from the inside of her head or the outside. Her burden lightened an iota for every minute she spent like this, but how long she did it for when the world started to return to her senses, she had no idea. Her throat felt raw. Her eyes felt puffed up. If Roche looked down, she could only see a mess of clothes and a face that looked worse than if Sylvia had gone through a warzone.

The protector opened her mouth to speak. She made a mess of sounds that were mostly unrecognisable, save for one word.

”... dirty…” Had she any strength left in her limbs, she would have stepped away from her fellow dark magical girl. But as it was, maybe fortune smiled upon her as she felt she could not stand on her two feet, strength having left her as though it had not been there in the first place.

”You aren’t dirty. Not in the least.” The Track Captain couldn’t relish in her own relief when she looked upon Shuuko’s face and saw the cost of exercising even a fraction of her grief upon Roche’s windbreaker.

Two things were clear; Shuuko needed more time to recover, and they couldn’t linger outside the building forever.

Concentrating on her crest, Roche transformed into Earthshaker, unintentionally leaving Shuuko nestled up against a great deal more of her bare skin than before as she scooped the girl up into a bridal carry. Stepping sidewards to ensure there were no windows directly above her, the Rule Keeper bounded upwards to the roof of the school. Naturally such a place was forbidden to students, with a high fence ringing the roof to make it even harder for jumpers to take a leap off the building.

Getting onto the roof, however, was child’s play for a Magical Girl. Up there, no one would stumble upon them or eavesdrop, and Earthshaker settled down with her back to the fence as cradled Shuuko in her arms.

“You take all the time you need, but I’m not letting you go home to those….those animals. You can stay with me, or we can find you a place, but no one is going to call you dirty again.” This was Roche in her element, decisive and commanding as she curled protectively around the weeping girl.

Sylvia let out a yelp as she got lifted, clinging onto Roche for dear life. She may have done stunts which were death-defying or deadly as a magical girl, but she was not in control of what happened to her this time, so it felt more dangerous. Not to mention it risked one of Shuuko’s bodies. The tiny amount of magic inside the Khir would not be able to save it if it fell from this height.

Already reeling from her experiences, she stared at her companion like a deer in headlights before she shook her head. It came across more of a slow look from one side to another because of how little strength she felt she had left, legs feeling like they had been made out of jelly. Or putty.

”No… already left… dirty girl…” She could only whisper that, sniffing in an attempt to clear her nose. Her head felt so clouded she could not even reach for a tissue.

Roche could take some succor in knowing she wasn’t going to be run out of town by Rei after doing some unspeakable things to Shuuko’s family. That she was on her own was a blessing and a curse, for while the poison wasn’t dripping into her ear, it pooled enough to fester on its own inside.

”You aren’t dirty, and even if you were, I’m filthier, so it would all balance out. Now, just use this and get it out of your system.” Earthshaker gripped the hem of her cloak and held it up for Shuuko to take hold of.

Gross it may be, it was hard to deny magically formed clothes weren’t incredibly sterile, and it wasn’t like they’d stain for long either.

Though looking down and seeing the girl was hardly in a state to help herself. the Rule Keeper instead began to gently blot of her cheeks and brush along her nose, trying to clean some of her excess.

”You are very pretty, and if I have to tell you that till you believe it, I will.”

With a slight shake of her head, Sylvia batted away both the metaphorical hand that reached out for her as well as the scarf. She had already soiled her friend with her tears, soaking clothes to the bone, ruining whatever outfit she had worn. She did not need to ruin the situation even more. She did not even realise that Roche had transformed and as such, the cloak would clean itself by the time she transformed again, so lost she was within her own head.

”Thank you. But please don’t lie to me.” Having found a tissue at last, she dabbed at her face. It did little to help, irritating the now-sensitive corners of her eye instead. ”I know what I am. I… I think I’m happy you don’t think so, but it doesn’t make it true.” A small smile appeared on her face as she spoke, truly looking as though someone had saved her. But there was also sorrow, no, a piece of knowledge in that smile that presumed her views to be true.

”Why do you think that, Sylvi? Ember’s voice projected warmth in their mental space.

”Do you really care, Ember? Sylvia’s rebuke felt colder than ice. ”I’m just a bad girl. Nobody really cares about what a bad girl thinks. Especially not you two.”

The hope had been that seclusion and privacy would give Shuuko an opportunity to open in peace. That Roche could break through the shell of self loathing.

Instead it had calcified, and the once flowing dam had turned into a perverse resolve as Shuuko dug in her feet. It was a perverse display of Shatterscape’s own unwavering resolve, yet another reminder Magical Girls were more than just their powers. A shame that it was working against them.

”Calling me a liar? You know I’m usually more defensive of my reputation but I’ll let it slide given the circumstances..”” Roche exhaled gustily, letting her offered cloak settle over them as she rested her hands upon Shuuko’s back.

”How about this. You be open with me, and you’ll have your chance to prove me wrong. I’ll be open with you, and I’ll have a chance to prove you wrong. You up for it, Shuuko?”

Sylvia looked up at Roche. She did not respond, but the other dark girl could see a practical war unfolding behind the red eyes, its true nature hidden from mundane sight.

”Please take the offer, Sylvi. I know you’re very angry at us, but will you please listen to me?” Ember tried to approach the protector as she spoke. The latter backed up, putting the ever-present distance between the two of them back to where it belonged.

”Yeah, what do you have to lose? She’s just plain wrong! It’ll be a piece of cake to win.” Hotaru grinned, placing her hand on her hips.

”She’s just wasting her time and effort.” Sylvia crossed her arms. ”If I want to be a good friend, I have to stop her.”

”I think that sometimes, the best choice you can make is to let your friends do what might seem unwise in the moment. Maybe they will learn an important lesson from it, as experience is the best teacher.” Ember’s tone remained gentle as she tried to find a crack in Sylvia’s argument.

”Exactly. You know, just like when you learned how to cook for Roche.” Hotaru withdrew her hands from her hips, then pointed at Sylvia. ”Just bet something important to her on it and-”

”No.”

She echoed the word in real life too. ”No.” A simple denial that cut to the bone, leaving no chance for an in. ”Please don’t take bets you can’t win.”

Shuuko would easily be able to feel how hard Roche winced hearing the flat, biting rejection of her offer. It was turning out to be a bitter irony that the stolid Shatterscape was far more hostile than the acerbic Nyxia could be at matters of the heart.

Though their wounds were entirely different.

Her arms stiffened and she’d skipped a breath, her tongue working against the back of her teeth as she struggled to form a response that wasn’t glib or combative. A swallow, her throat dry and gulping air into a leaden chest.

”I won’t lose. No matter what you say, or what you do, I won’t turn away from you.” Roche mustered herself for those, ultimately setting her hands upon Shuuko’s shoulders and sitting up so they were face to face. ”I swear it to you as Rule Keeper, and as a Club Captain, and as your friend.”

”I won’t blink.”

”Do you really know what you’re talking about?” Sylvia sounded… worried? She still spoke quietly, so it was difficult to place. ”You’re… you’re just getting yourself dirty for a girl who’s got mud for blood. I… I don’t think I can let you do that. You’re… You treat me well. That’s enough for me.”

[color=red][i]”She does. She’s doing this because she cares about you, Sylvi-”[i][/color]

”Please let her speak for herself, Ember.” The protector’s interruption rung in their shared space as though it were a gallow. ”She’s important to me. I can’t let her work her fingers to the bone for nothing.”

”So please don’t suffer for my sake.”

”Of course I know what I’m talking about. The only person who gets to decide I’m suffering is me, and spending time with you is the furthest thing from that.”

Ever so slowly her lip curled upward, a grin of confidence upon Roche as she met a gaze that had gone from resolute in its self flagellation to conflicted. Shuuko’s grim resolve wasn’t unshakable, and Roche would take that opportunity and do what she did best; Run with it.

”So I’m going to look forward to more time spent cooking, watching movies, and doing anything else you’d like till you realize that someone else can see how good of a person you are. That I actually feel better just holding you like this right now.”

”Why?” She never really questioned Roche’s presence until now. The protector had just assumed the other girl took some sort of pity on her to keep hanging out, or maybe she tolerated her presence, but now it seemed like the Rulekeeper wanted more than that. Something that sounded as though it were beyond friendship. Or maybe she misread the situation completely and Roche was playing a cruel prank on her.

”No, you didn’t.” Ember smiled. ”I’ve been trying to tell you for a long time. That girl thinks the world of you, Sylvi.” But that was impossible. Sylvia only existed to curse others and to be the shield that took on everything that would harm them. Her reason for being born was so that Chiaki would no longer suffer anymore, so that the protector’s skin would be the one flayed instead of the golden child’s.

”I’m just a filthy girl,” she repeated as though it were a counterpoint, but she did not sound as sure as the first time.

”And I’m an orphan who lied, cheated, and stole to keep living in an empty home. I stalked a man for days before having the chance to kill him snatched from me.”

Roche exhaled, the words no less stressful than they’d been to confess to Norika, but repetition did rob some of the sting to her own heart. ”Rei can kill me with a touch. Kiyo and Tsubomi have no interest in touching anyone. Suki actively avoids me out of disgust and revulsion. Nyxia doesn’t like girls. Shuuko, you are the only person who wanted to come home with me since I became Dark Magical Girl.”

”You could be dripping from having crawled out of the sewers, and I’d still want to have you over again.”

There was no reasoning with Roche. No matter what Sylvia said, or how she spoke, the other girl seemed determined to stick by the protector’s side, to more than just tolerate a filthy existence beside her. It almost felt like she wanted to embrace it completely, professing dark secrets of her own. They were insignificant in comparison to Sylvia’s though, who was merely a useless, good-for-nothing sink of pain. So maybe she could not understand. Maybe she would never get it.

And so, she would have no choice but to protect Roche from the consequences from her own actions.

”Sylvi, please don’t tell me you’re about to stop spending time with this girl. If she wasn’t already on our side, she’d cross over thrice! Please take her feelings into account!”

But she was doing exactly that in her own way.

”You… You’re too kind.” Sylvia wiped her face. Colour had been returning to her for some time now, but it seemed that only now did she regain full control of Shuuko’s body. ”Please think of me when your kindness turns into pain.” She meant it, too. It was the least she could do. It would hurt her beyond belief. And yet there was no other choice.

It was dawning on Roche that neither of them would be budging on their stances, but neither was Shuuko trying so hard to force her away. Almost smugly certain of rightness, yes, but at least she was willing to assume Roche would come to agree with her rather then force the issue.

”We’ve got time for minds to change. Let’s just agree to disagree for today. Want to get something to eat?”Earthshaker said, helping Shuuko rise to her feet before offering her arm to the barely recovered girl. “Want me to carry you down, or should I go snag something from the cafeteria and bring it back?”

”Please wait.” Sylva closed the eyes of Shuuko’s body… or rather, one of the bodies as she focused on the web that was her and her comrades. She reached out to the next nearest Khir, then the body she currently possessed fell to the floor as though its strings had been cut. A couple of minutes later, a transformed Shuuko descended from the skies and untransformed, leaving a body behind along with a little magic. This way, nobody would see it, not to mention she could retrieve it with her Oss later.

”Sorry… if that was too much.” The protector smiled, weak and still a little shaken. ”I’d like to drink something first.” And a way to discourage Roche from following this path, a sentiment she kept to herself as she tried to put on a brave face and lead the two of them towards the cafeteria.

Not being a mind-reader, Kiyo wouldn’t know that Tsubomi was questioning her appearance. Similarly, Haruna wouldn’t know that Tsubomi intended to respond to her, with how long it took her to finish her mouthful of sandwich. Just as she was nearly ready to reply, Suki showed her dexterity by juggling her lunchbox like a cat with a freshly caught salmon. Tsubomi had just set down her food when her partner managed to land the proverbial fish, and the emotionless girl clapped twice at the show.

"Now nobody can read our thoughts.”

Tsubomi parsed these words just in time to see Suki lean on her hand, and she turned back to Haruna. Can you read my thoughts? If someone could, they’d have trouble understanding them with how slow they were. Can anyone read my thoughts?

Another thirty or so seconds passed with no answer. Satisfied, Tsubomi went back to eating while her eyes stayed looking in Haruna’s general direction. The transfer student waited for another few seconds, watching Tsubomi expectantly. Her consternation rose by the second, responding to both the conversation about mind reading and Tsubomi’s lack of doing much of anything.

”Um. . .” she began eloquently, pausing for another moment in the vain that Tsubomi was about to interrupt her - something that Tsubomi, of course, was essentially incapable of doing. ”Did you actually. . . hear me?” Her head tilted with confusion as she hesitated for yet another few seconds. Despite her helpful approach, an undercurrent of frustration had begun to move beneath the surface of Haruna’s feelings, though it was being squashed down almost as soon as it arose.

”I said I wanted to help you,” she said, speaking slower this time. Tsubomi could feel her anxiety jump up a bit as she worried about being offensive once again, not that the transfer student’s anxiety jumping was at all an unusual occurrence. ”Since you seemed like you weren’t doing very well. It’s probably weird for me to worry as a stranger, but, well, I like helping people.” Haruna gave a small sort of shrug. ”. . . If you want me to just leave you alone, though, you can just say so.” Tsubomi didn’t need magic to pick up on the note of dejection in her voice at that prospect.

This girl wanted to help her? Tsubomi nodded once. ”Okay.” There was a pause as she took a drink from her juice box at the same speed she ate at. The girl in front of her was being honest, at least as far as Tsubomi could tell, but… what did Tsubomi want help at? And…

Finished with her fifteen-second long sip, she asked what she believed to be the important question. ”How?”

Haruna paused for a moment, having evidently not expected this question going by the cues in her emotions and face. ”Um. . .” How did one politely say that another looked like the sort of person that needed help in general? The transfer student certainly didn’t know. ”Well, like I said, you seemed like you might be depressed, or. . . something, or feeling bad about yourself.” An idea struck her after a moment. ”Maybe I could start by just. . . being your friend? I don’t really know anyone around here yet, except for the landlady and a couple girls I met running errands.”

Another single nod. ”Okay.” Another few moments passed as Tsubomi stared at the transfer student. Then another thought occurred. She glanced, which is to say that her eyes drifted like a buoy on a river, towards Suki and Kiyo. Tsubomi considered Suki her friend. Did she consider… anyone else? The other Club members were the closest to it she could think of.

Blinking like a content cat, her eyes drifted back to Haruna. If she wanted to be friends, and everyone Tsubomi considered even close to one was in the Detention Club… ”Mm. You should join our club.” Another slow blink. ”Mmm…” The girl’s head tilted to the side. ”I don’t know if that’s okay with the leader, but the club is supposed to help people. It’d be a way to be friends and help people like you want to.” Satisfied that she had done the right thing, Tsubomi began to eat once more, starting to finish the second third of her sandwich as Haruna’s expression brightened, a surge of happiness accompanying it.

Kiyo also occupied herself with her food, acting as if the new girl wasn't even there. While in some circles it might be seen as rude, it was an improvement over the last time a stranger had approached her and Suki at a table. It also wasn't exactly one of those circles, either, so when her phone vibrated, she checked it out immediately. Her eyes flicked back in Haruna's direction to finally get a good look at her.

A babe?

You think so?

I guess I was half right, then.

Her lips curled in a playfully smug grin, the kind she usually had on when she said something that shouldn't be taken too seriously. In the meantime, though, she was pondering Suki's thoughts. She pondered and shrugged. Tsubomi was an interesting specimen, and Kiyo had her theories on the girl's unique strangeness, but even she had enough social awareness to know that Suki was probably not interested in all that techno-babble. She was just worried about her friend, or some approximation thereof, and nothing Kiyo could think to say was going to help much.

Kiyo was only giving Haruna and Tsubomi's conversation about a quarter of her attention, until the topic of her joining the Detention Club came up. This, she couldn't ignore. "Hey." She looked at Haruna with narrowed red eyes. A swell of emotion came forward, a confused blend of annoyance, distrust, and protectiveness. "I don't know if you're trying to do a high school debut or whatever, and I'm not really interested, but let me save you some time. You won't become popular at this school by hanging out at this table. Whatever you're really after, I'm sure you can find it elsewhere." Haruna’s expression fell as quickly as it had risen.

Kiyo's posture was defensive, arms crossed and cradling a cane propped against her shoulder. Though it appeared so on the outside, her strongest desire in the moment was not for Haruna to leave, but to protect the other girls from some other heartache she'd experienced before and was trying not to think about. It was making any details difficult to pick out for the erstwhile light girl.

”S-sorry,” she stammered in response to the unexpected hostility. Tsubomi’s passive acceptance had lulled her into a sense of complacency about her approach, one that Kiyo had quickly dismantled. ”I’m not really worried about popularity or anything, though. Honestly I’d rather people mostly left me alone.” A seemingly out of place pang of guilt came from Haruna in response to that, as if the girl were scolding herself. ”I just honestly wanted to be nice, since. . . well, especially going off what you said, you don’t really seem like a group of people that others bother being nice to.”

Kiyo scoffed. "That's true. Nobody does. That's..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened as a feeling of déjà vu came over her. "why I..." she continued, the wind well and truly gone from her sails. "I help oversee this club. Because some of the 'nice people' in this town aren't so nice," she explained in lieu of an apology. She tapped on the table with her finger impatiently, thinking. "Especially the schoolgirls. The popular ones are the worst," she said with a smile, finding her footing as she usually did, with a joke. "If you're really the type that likes to be left alone, then this is a good table to be at. Just don't be boring." She locked eyes with Haruna and tilted her head. "Are you a fun person?"

Something seemed to click into place on Haruna’s expression, her face lifting for an almost imperceptible moment as Kiyo explained herself. ”I don’t know if I’d call myself ‘fun,’ honestly. I’m kinda boring.” She gave a sort of self-depreciating shrug. ”I’ll also try whatever, though, if that’s what you mean.” Haruna paused for just a moment. ”Does that mean you’re going to let me in the club?” Her hopes soared again for the moment as she glanced at Tsubomi again. ”I don’t have a club yet this year, and if it’s supposed to be about helping people and stuff, that sounds perfect.”

Haruna's response left Kiyo with a feeling somewhere between wistful and nostalgic, but she broke eye contact with Haruna before it could show on her face. Did she want Haruna to join the club? The desire came and went, and came and went again. She seemed to have complicated feelings about it. "I don't know if I'd call our club a club about 'helping people,' but it's at least not boring. ...The meetings are boring though," she added regretfully. She tapped her finger a bit more. "It's like Tsubomi said. Gotta talk to the boss lady." Abruptly, she stood up and started packing away her leftovers. "I'll talk to Roche about it. See you around, girls."

Suki had been pretty quiet, only “occasionally” looking up from her phone while the others talked. She eyed Kiyo as she left the table, then back to Haruna once Kiyo departed.

"Well… Maybe some people aren’t ‘nice’ to us, but they aren’t all that bad either. The Detention club’s members are given a lot of slack by faculty and students alike.“ She slipped her phone into her pocket, still not bothering to remove the metal lunch box from her head. "That said, uh, isn’t offering to help random people kind of weird? I get that it makes you feel warm and fuzzy, but aren’t you opening yourself up to be taken advantage of?“

Haruna elected not to point out the girl contradicting what Kiyo had implied. ”I guess it's kinda weird, yeah.” She shrugged as she spoke, looking to the side a bit at nothing in particular. ”I'm just happy if other people are happy because of me.” Her eyes shifted upward as she thought about her next words. ”I don't really care if people take advantage sometimes, I suppose. I'd rather someone be crappy to me than miss helping someone who really needs it. I'll be okay, but that other person might not be.” Her gaze fell back to Tsubomi as she said this last.

Suki lifted an eyebrow. "You don’t say?“ There must have been something going on in Suki’s head, as all she afforded those around her was a long, steady, stare. "Whatever works for you I guess.“ She inhaled deeply before going back on her phone.

The apathetic girl’s eyes drifted back up from the last third of her sandwich and towards Haruna. After finishing chewing her current bite for a few moments, she spoke. ”What if you get permanently hurt though? If you…” Tsubomi paused for around seven seconds as her mind turned, trying to figure out what she meant to say. ”Pull someone out of danger but lose an arm. Is that okay? You can only do it twice. Is it okay for the future people you can’t pull out? Because you did twice?”

Haruna frowned. ”That question doesn’t really make sense, though.” She tilted her head a bit as she thought about it, one finger lazily drifting up to her chin. ”If they’re in so much danger that it’s better for me to lose an arm than to leave them where they are, isn’t it unfair to them if I don’t save them? I don’t know if anyone in the future will need me to give up an arm for them, but I can see the person right in front of me that does.” Something about the question bothered Haruna. It didn’t show much on her face, but it was easy for Tsubomi to pick up on the gust of consternation in her mind. ”Besides, even if I lost both arms, I’d find a way to keep saving people if I had to. I could get a cool prosthetic, or something.”

”What about your head, or your heart? Something you only have one of.”

”I don’t know.” The lanky girl shrugged in a way that made her look smaller, somehow. ”I guess I wouldn’t be able to do much helping if I died, but I don’t want to abandon someone else either if I can help them. So. . . I guess I just have to be good enough at it to not lose my head.”

Though nothing went through her mind, Tsubomi seemed to be lost in thought. A strange feeling, thinking hard about nothing. A full minute of this passed before she nodded twice. ”Good luck. If the boss is okay with you joining, everyone is weird enough to fit you in.”

"We’re not ‘weird,’ we’re just quirky!“ Suki said as she set the lunchbox on her head aside. "Though you don’t seem normal so that should be fine.“ Her eyes wandered between the two seats adjacent to her. The one Kiyo had been sitting in was empty, and Tsubomi was sitting to her right. "It doesn’t really matter though.“ She looked across the table at Haruna, then averted her eyes and pushed her fingers together. "We can still be friends and stuff even if you can’t join.“

”Am I really that weird?” Her tone didn't sound bothered, although the statements had still thrown her off. ”I thought I was mostly pretty normal.” The transfer student scratched at her head, laughing a little at herself in the process. ”I guess walking up to a stranger and asking if they need help with depression is pretty weird, yeah.” She was happy with what Suki had said, regardless of questions about Haruna's oddity, though the emotion was overshadowed by concern once more as she looked at Tsubomi once again. ”Um, while I'm being weird, do you guys like stuffed animals? A girl gave a bunch to me to give away so they could ‘see the town.’ She was weird too, I guess, but I kinda get it?” As she spoke, she pulled her backpack off her shoulders, unzipped it, and placed it on the table.

There inside were many soft, plush animals. They all had round edges and non-threatening facial expressions. Anything that could be dangerous looked too silly to be taken seriously. There was a jowly bulldog, a happy squid, a startled pufferfish, a tired lion, and many more. Pushing aside one plush revealed two more, and the bottom of the bag was never visible. Each one had a name stitched onto its paw, fin, or tentacle in an inconspicuous place.

Suki stood up so that she could look inside Haruna’s backpack. Without looking very far, she picked up “Lazy Larry” and looked straight into his eyes. "Hah!“ she pointed the Lion’s tired eyes at Tsubomi. "This one kind of looks like you!“

The girl only nodded once as her partner told her about the Lion’s resemblance. She didn’t have the interest to look at the others, but she reached out for Larry with her trademark slowness. ”I wonder if he’ll be friends with my other one.”

Once Tsubomi slowly, painfully removed the lion from Suki’s hands, she shoved her face into the backpack and began pushing things around. Her head was entirely inside the bag with her pigtails draping out the side. It was hard to believe she could see like that. Haruna blinked in startlement, not anticipating her backpack being invaded so.

"Oh I like this one!“ She pulled her head back and held up an octopus named Chad. It had a “serious” look on his face and was wearing sunglasses. "He looks really cool! Thank you very much!“

Haruna’s bemusement became a smile as she seemed to have genuinely brightened the dark girl’s day. ”I’m glad you like them. I’m sure the girl I got them from will be happy to hear that people like her friends.” She moved to sit down in a free seat across from Tsubomi and Suki, almost immediately falling into a slouch with her elbows on the table. Just as quickly, she stood halfway up. ”Oh, crap, I just realized. I never actually asked your names.”

"Oh! I’m Suki! And that’s Tsubomi!“ The delinquent decided to save her partner the trouble of saying her own name. "And your name?“ After thinking for a bit though, Suki realized she had heard her name. It was hard to recall the past few seconds with all the secret oogling and having Kiyo scare the shit out of her. "Wait, no! It’s Haruna! I remember it!“ And Suki was totally expected to hear her name too. Yes, there was no way that introduction was meant only for Tsubomi, and she didn’t come across as a total stalker for recalling it. She giggled nervously. "Well I’m going to go and put this guy away before-“ Suki’s eyes shot open. Her pigtails had gotten caught in the backpack zipper.

Haruna had started to sit down again, and was once more stuck in the liminal space between seated and standing. Her eyes followed the hair down to where it’d been trapped. ”Oh dear. . . um, just hold still for a second.” She made a placating, theoretically calming gesture at Suki. ”We can probably get you un-stuck if I hold the bag and you tug on your hair just right.”

”Be careful. Ripping out hair hurts.” Feeling the need to state the obvious, it seemed.

"...Thanks Tsubomi.“ Suki took a few steps back to release the tension on her hair. Then she grabbed a fist full of her stuck ponytail. "Okay, on three?“

”I was thinking something a little gentler than that, but, uh, sure?” The transfer student did her best to angle the zipper such that it would provide the least resistance to Suki’s exit, hurrying a bit as she anticipated the latter doing this faster than was advisable or necessary.

"Wait!“ Suki raised her other hand. She had the plush tucked under her arm. "There’s a gentler way? Because I feel like this is going to be painful.“

”Y-yeah, if we get your hair slack and pull toward the inside, we might be able to get it to come loose without ripping out a ton of your hair. Probably.” She glanced to the side. ”Still might have to rip a little though.”

The delinquent looked side to side. "...Does anyone have scissors?“

”Here, let me just-” Haruna released her grip on the bag to grab one of Suki’s pigtails with both hands. Before the other girl could protest, she was already holding the part close to Suki steady while she pulled at the rest of the length. She had to put a bit more force into it than she’d like, force which transmitted back to Suki despite Haruna’s best efforts, but with one last tug, she freed it from its metallic prison. Only a few torn black hairs were left behind, at least relative to cutting the whole piece free. ”See? Now hold still while I get the other one.”

Suki held her freed pigtail in her hands, eyeing the (mostly) intact strands. "Th-thank you.“ She closed her eyes and blushed. Haruna went for the second tail with a bit more finesse, though she wasn’t able to get it completely clean either.

”You should be a little more careful if you wanna wear your hair like that. I know the plushies are cute, but they probably aren’t worth me yanking hair out of your head.” She moved her hand to rub at her own hair, belatedly realized that she was still clutching a pigtail, then paused for a moment in consternation before releasing Suki. ”I hope you don’t mind me going and just touching your hair like that.”

The delinquent was hugging her octopus against her face while twisting her shoulders side to side. "N-no, I think it’s great that you can take charge like that. I’d have a lot less hair if I tried to free myself. It’s fine that you touched it. _{I hope it wasn’t too greasy.}“ She giggled. Her pitch sounded a little higher than normal. "Now that I’m free, I think I’ll put Chad away. But I do hope we get to talk again, even if it’s not as club mates.“ Suki proceeded to take tiny steps away from the table, not unlike a ballerina.

Haruna sat back down, hopefully for real this time, as she watched Suki skitter off. Her gaze lingered for a moment, watching the other girl retreat in a way that she would probably overinterpret if she saw. That girl definitely has ulterior motives. It took her a few more moments to realize she’d left her lunch behind in her hurry, which prompted a sigh. ”Do you mind if I run back and grab my food? It might be nice to finish eating over here.”

Tsubomi gave a thumbs up to Haruna as she finally finished her sandwich with her other hand. Now that it was gone, she began on the apple she’d brought. The interaction between her partner and the new girl was ripe for picking out feeling, but she chose not to touch it. She couldn’t help but think that Suki would be mad if she did.

Rei was not the sort of boss that did more than give a few vague instructions. There would be a hunt tonight, but when and where were left open. They only knew it would be a time and place of Rei’s choosing.

Though a certain many-eyed magical girl would pick up on her appearance quickly. A floating eye tracked the one-eyed girl as she nonchalantly strode through town. It was late. The lights in the homes were out, but the street lights continued to shine. Rumor had it that the lights warded away evil spirits. But all magical girls knew miseria were attracted to the light. They wanted to snuff it out with their own slimy fingers, regardless if it lingered in a light bulb or a soul.

Just like old times, Rei used some parkour to scale up a lamp post and stand on top of it. After last time, it had to be bravery or stupidity that compelled her to do so. She had nearly been shot by a light girl, but that hadn’t bothered her it seemed. It wouldn’t be long before everyone assembled.

While the rest of the Detention club poured out of the woodwork, the ground moved. Some of the magical girls may have felt like they were standing on a boat, or were slightly drunk. But the shaking became more violent over time. Objects fell off shelves, the elderly couldn’t stand, and anyone who was asleep was awakened with a start. Who knew how much fine china this quake would claim?

The buildings would be safe, as would most of the magical girls. Rei was able to keep her balance, but was swaying side to side like she was walking down a catwalk. The lamp, and many lights elsewhere in Hibusa town, went out. Rei smirked when she looked at the dark abyss below her. Even as the quake subsided, it didn’t come back on. Seemed people were going to be without power for the time being. The earthquake had to have hit much harder outside of town.

“What are you all waiting for? Go on and feast.”

Earthquakes weren’t uncommon in Japan, but Hibusa town hadn’t felt one for a few years. This was sure to have an effect on the miseria.

It was also sure to be interesting.



What an enjoyable day of school. Ever since her lunch break, Suki felt like she was walking on clouds. It was rare for her to feel as good in her own skin as she did when she was Oros the Joyful, but here we were. Even now in her bloody bridal gown, it felt like she was riding on the high she elt earlier today. It reminded her of the first time she met Kate, or Nyxia, or Homura, or Roche, or Kiyo, or Lada, or…

But did it really last this long with any of them? Haruna felt special, and not in the way Suki usually thought about special people. All of those other girls weren’t open minded enough to accept someone like herself. But Haruna was. It was naive as her partner pointed out, but wasn’t a willingness to make oneself vulnerable the essence of love? She was perfect. Suki knew that she could make an amazing girlfriend, and she wouldn’t even need to be Oros the Joyful to do it! Finally! A relationship!

But this wasn’t Suki’s first rodeo. She understood the situation was more complicated than it first looked. If Haruna was going to join the club, then it was only a matter of time before Roach greedily swept her up into her harem. That didn’t give Suki a lot of time to work with. There was another complication with Tsubomi’s involvement. It would be easy to just start dating Haruna and guide her away from the club, but that ran counter to Tsubomi’s desires. It was rare for her only true friend to want anything, so directly interfering with something like that was off the table. Why did Tsubomi want that anyway? Would it be weird to ask? Did she want a super cutie for a girlfriend? Even though thinking about Haruna set every part of Suki on fire, maybe such feelings could transcend Tsubomi’s numbed mind and make her feel something. That was a horrible thing to get in the way of. But did that mean that she could end up losing Tsubomi and Haruna both if things continued?

Huh.

Suki didn’t feel like she was walking on clouds any more.

But that was largely because the earthquake had caused Oros to stumble forward. As the rumbling subsided, Oros extended her hands and cartwheeled onto her feet before looking back at the others. Without the street lights, there was just the pale light of the moon to illuminate the way. It would be romantic if she didn’t feel so isolated. Then Rei called everyone to action.

"You got it, Boss Baby!”

Oros’s thoughts about Rei were sometimes conflicted, but it felt good to have her back. Rei was no super cutie, but she somehow managed to be really cool yet approachable. No one had worked harder to make her feel like she was part of the club, and boy did it feel good to see her at night again.

With a hop, Suki jumped onto her blood skates and zipped over to Acid Drop’s side. She scooped her partner up and placed her feet on top of hers. This time, she wasn’t going to be separated.

"We gotta do something impressive for Boss Baby! It’s gotta be interesting or something.” The miseria were starting to bubble out of the ground. Just regular old, shapeless miseria. Even with the heightened dread of an intensity V earthquake, it didn’t seem like this was enough to cause a metamorphosis in the miseria. "Oh I got an idea, I’ll give you a toss, and you can do a thing!” After this instruction, Suki whinged Acid Drop into the air. Suki twirled a bit, dicing up a few miseria and scattering their remains on some nearby buildings. She put on a giant, open mouthed smile as she turned to catch her partner.

---

Kiyo departed the ‘VIP table’ feeling vexed. It was the second time in as many days that someone had approached the Detention Club in some form, offering to "help" them. Perhaps she was beginning to understand why Rei was so angry. Being the center of attention in the Japanese magical girl world was a situation that threatened to become complicated, in a way that wasn't fun. Two factions of Kurai girls were about to fight each other, the Gems were threatening the Detention Club to stay put in this doomed town, and another light girl was offering to help the Detention Club. Would they really help the club take down Ashbringer in an alliance of convenience? Or did they plan to watch the fight from a distance and mop up the winning side in their weakened state? Would they help the weaker side eke out a victory for the sake of a quick power boost and then backstab them later? It felt like getting caught in a war drama, and there were few things Kiyo hated more than politics and self-important magical girls.

But before that, there was the simpler matter of addressing the new face. This was a difficult time to trust an outsider, but they did need all the help they could get. Kiyo found herself wanting a second opinion, which was a rare occurrence, and one that always left a bad taste in her mouth, as if her own superior intellect were somehow inadequate on its own. No, she reminded herself; what she needed now was some more perspectives, and the opinions of the other club girls were never anything if not fresh—and, as if on cue, two of them were coming in now, a pairing that had been unusual until just recently and was becoming more common: Roche and Shuuko.

Her gaze raised to meet them. Kiyo often looked lost in thought, but rarely did she appear genuinely troubled. Today seemed to be one of those rare occasions.

Roche’s offer was met with what anyone else would have called an epileptic fit. Roche would have been horrified with worry that Shuuko would bite off her tongue, but there was little in the way of seizing. Shuuko’s gasp was like a bag squeezed empty of air, a single wheeze before crumpling lifeless to the floor.

”You could at least have tried to fall into my arms.” The Rule Keeper said, the attempt was very much lame with discomfort, and it was only her assurance that this was an earnest attempt at forcing distance that kept her from acting on her worry. It stung to have Shuuko treat her in such a way, but she was still competitive enough not to fumble at such an overt display so soon after giving her word.

The odd pair came down from the room, Earthshaker casting her tribal aesthetic for the guise of a Track Captain once more, and they returned to the cafeteria. Its buzz seemed muted, and she was finding none of the sappy butterflies or radiant glow shows always spoke of after a confession of feelings. Much as with everything Dark Magical Girls did, there was a mess that would take sleepless nights and more anguish than one could bear before she’d make any sense of it.

Coming into the space felt odd. Like she’d missed something big going on. Eyes alight she found them locking upon Kiyo, the eye-themed Magical Girl already approaching. Giving Shuuko a nudge, she moved to meet Kiyo half way.

”You doing okay, Kiyo? You look like someone dropped something on your lap.”

"Do I?" Kiyo stopped chewing on her thumb nail just long enough to form a response. "I might have a stray cat in my lap, but nobody dropped it there. It came on its own." She grinned a little. Sometimes she referred to herself as a stray cat, but she also used it as a code word for a new magical girl in town. "I'm not sure if it's a stray, but anyway. I'm... undecided. Her positive attitude is a bit much, know what I mean?" Her eyes darted around at all the students as she chose her words with care.

Shuuko’s body lead the way in complete silence as Sylvia thought about the rulekeeper and herself. Contemplation was writ on her face, the expression only disappearing as she saw the mass of students unfolding before her and Ember switched out with the protector so the schemer would get her time back. An observant person could notice the subtle change in posture along with gait, no doubt, however, they would hopefully write it off as putting on a public facade. Whether or not Roche decided it was worth investigating though… well, Ember could do her best, but she was no actor.

Which presented a problem for the identity of Shuuko. The schemer had started with the best of intentions, yet now she found herself trapped in a web of her own making if they wanted to keep up the appearance of being one person. They had to walk fine lines to avoid rousing suspicion, something that both Hotaru and Sylvia were ill-suited for. Herself? She could toe it to a degree. She could borrow some of their mannerisms, but the truth would come out sooner or later. Or maybe they could just move cities again.

Smiling as a way to both greet Kiyo and an attempt to get rid of her thoughts, Shuuko’s body raised an eyebrow at the mention of stray cats and positivity.

”Kuroki-san, taking care of a cat is a major responsibility,” she spoke, choosing her words carefully. ”You have to feed them, care for them and play with them. Are you sure you can do that?” She sounded worried as she spoke, hiding her true questions behind the veiled metaphors Kiyo so liked to use. ”I mean, you say it might be a stray, but it might have an owner. It might only want to laze around in the sun, too, and that is no fun! Especially if its owner picks it up afterwards and you’re left only with bittersweet memories instead of a fuzzy friend.”

A tense exchange of code words was not what Roche was looking for with her lunch, but she wasn’t going to avert her eyes to a brewing mess. The allusions didn’t escape her notice, and neither did Shuuko turning back into the weirdly fluent automaton that now stood beside her.

There was pulling herself together, and there was not showing a single sign that a breakdown had even occurred. It was akin to standing next to a stranger, and it was only the severity of the topic at hand that kept Roche from taking Shuuko by the wrist and pulling away.

”I know some of us have allergies to cats, but with many strays we’ve seen around the city, I don’t think a bad kitten would just fall into our lap. Those ones are more dangerous than that.”

It didn’t strike her as something the girls from the City of Light would bother with after such overt displays. Subtlety was not their way.

”I think I’d need to see this cat before I decide either way.”

"Cats laze in the sun seeking warmth, but a lap is better, if she trusts the hand that feeds," Kiyo mused. As far as she was concerned, the light was but an illusion with no substance, and all magical girls who lived long enough would embrace the darkness inevitably. The sooner they accepted the Truth, the better off they were. If Haruna was not a magical girl, it would be better if she didn't join the club, but if she was one, she should bring her into the fold regardless of if she leaned on the darkness or clung to the light, especially since Haruna seemed like the type to put others... first. Kiyo blinked. She looked at Roche and nodded soberly in agreement of something left unspoken. A moment of silence passed.

"I can handle the responsibility. In fact, I've made up my mind. I will handle it," she decided. "Are you opposed, Shuuko? It would only be for a while."

Ember winced as she heard Kiyo’s proclamation.

”You know my stance on those idiots, Ember,” proclaimed the warrior as she spat into the distance. ”They better stay away from Sylvia, Chiaki, or you, or I’ll fuck up their spines. If they even have anything to fuck up.” She all but growled her words, already sharpening the claws on Shuuko’s gauntlet just in case she met a light girl. How Ember or Sylvia would be able to talk her down, the schemer had no idea and the protector seemed to have withdrawn from such matters ever since that encounter with Tsubomi.

”Unfortunately, I’m allergic to cats.” She let out a sigh. A light girl would be a major asset to the Detention Club, but now they would be forced to go without or walk on eggshells because she did not know if she could hold the warrior back by herself. ”If I’m anywhere in the same room, I’ll break out in hives.”

On one side Kiyo was determined to own the issue before them, and it seemed to Roche that conversing with them had only galvanized her to her course.
The benefits were great, and the presence of a light girl among them might even dissuade the invaders from being too aggressive when engaging them as they’re forced to confront their own flimsy, untested morals.

She held no illusions that Morganite would be anything less than a total bitch about it, however.

”I’ll take you at your word, Kiyo. Just be mindful of others with their allergies.” Roche’s expression colored with concern at Shuuko’s behavior, her words as flat a rejection as could be expected in the circumstances. ”I’ll be there to make sure no one has a reaction, okay, Shuuko?”

Kiyo bit her nail again. She expected opposition, though it was much less than she imagined it would be. "Sorry for being pushy. It's just that I've dealt with her type before, and I can do it again without complaints. It's only until our numbers even out again, Shuuko," she reminded her apologetically. Then a thought occurred to her. "Actually, why not pair up with Roche for a bit? You two seem to get along lately, and Nyxia still seems to hate all of our guts."

Shuuko’s body frowned. ”I don’t know if either is ideal. I enjoy spending time with you, Kuroki-san, and I would be hurt if you preferred a cat’s company to mine.” She knew that was likely not Kiyo’s intention, but Hotaru… well, hell hath no fury like a teenage girl scorned, apparently.

"Huh..? No, of course not," Kiyo replied, a bit bewildered.

”Bullshit! So she’s picking a light girl over me? That’s just such bullshit!”

”No, she isn’t, Hotaru. She is worried about something - probably about how our group performed against Ashbringer. And then there’s-

”Oh screw yourself with your fanciful explanations, Ember! She’s trying to blow us off! We won’t even be at half strength if we team up with Roche. Girl’s a good sport, but…”

”Is there a way to work out a compromise, Kuroki-san? Perhaps if you cleaned up well after the cat, I could still sleep over from time to time.” Ember grit her teeth as she tried to withstand Hotaru’s barrage. How could Sylvia ever hold this back? That girl had more strength than she realised.

"Our apartment is for two. She'll be an outdoor cat. And I won't bring any dandruff home, promise."

”I don’t believe now is a good time for a change in partnerships.” Roche intruded upon the tension festering between Kiyo and Shuuko. While far from an expert she could plainly see the fear of rejection was tearing up in the latter girl’s heart.

”You two are great together, and I want you both to be happy even if it involves a cat in our orbit. We can make this work without any dandruff getting between us.”

Roche’s hand slowly rose to clap Shuuko on the shoulder, only the faint widening of pupils betraying her reaction to the whipcord tension she felt upon the other girl’s frame. ”If you need some space to air out the apartment, mine is open to the both of you. But we need to come together or we…won’t afford rent.”

If only Ashbringer was as easy to fend off as a landlord..

Kiyo averted her eyes. "Right. I can't... afford rent on my own." Her gaze lowered. "It'd be nice if we could be flexible, but I guess that's hard when I'm broke. I'll keep that in mind." It wasn't as if she didn't know. In fact, she'd expected Shuuko to make a fuss about how dangerous it would be to leave her alone with a light girl. The fact that she didn't must mean that the other Shuuko was taking point right now. It was convenient in the moment to make her case heard, but it raised a lot of questions, like how Roche managed to interact with this side of Shuuko that Kiyo had rarely seen.

”I… believe that may be acceptable.” Shuuko’s body reached for Roche’s hand, lingering there for a second to acknowledge her intentions, then she lowered it before it could be misunderstood. ”If I can call you and come home to a clean house, then it is all good. I apologise if I caused any confusion.” Not that it was good enough for the warrior, of course.

”She’s got some real explainin’ to do when it’s my turn.”

”Umm… Hotaru? Why are you so angry? I know it’s a light girl, but…” Sylvia stepped forward again, daring to thread murky waters.

”I don’t know! And that pisses me off even more!” Hotaru smashed her fists together as she spoke, pulling and pushing against her own muscles as she struggled against something she could not name.

”I do hope it’s the only stray we are planning to adopt, though,” added Ember in an effort to alleviate the tension inside Shuuko’s body. ”Would it be all right if we discussed the matter at great length later and in private, Kuroki-san? I believe I may have missed something important and I can barely hear over the noise here.”

"Sure. Roche needs to meet her, and it's not like we'll get the paperwork filed before tonight anyway. But right now, I need a shower. My hair is wretched." It really wasn't, but it was an excuse to get away and gather her thoughts.

”See? This is why we’re a good club.”” The lack of privacy was putting a damper on her energy but her smile still conveyed her relief that the two hadn’t come to verbal blows.

”Nothing is going to get between us. Unless it’s another one of us, but that’s just a group hug.” Roche wondered how far she could stretch the metaphor, but she hoped Shuuko understood her. A light girl could always fall, and with that fall would go the greatest boundaries dividing them.

Kiyo made her excuses and Roche stepped aside, opening a way past while tilting her head to the lunch line. As late as they were there wasn’t much of a line to speak of. ”Enjoy the shower. We’ll talk more later. Still want to eat together, Shuuko?””

”Yeah. I would really appreciate that H- Roche,” Shuuko’s body sighed again, this time much more explosive. The rulekeeper could practically see the tension unwind as Hotaru quieted down, which in turn had Ember draw out her shoulders along with her spine. She looked in her element, as though her being in the school was natural, wearing a genuine smile on her face despite what happened not too long ago. ”Please allow me treat you to something for staining your clothes.”

Kiyo raised an eyebrow at Roche's display of sentimentality. Roche was acting weird, but Kiyo wasn't sure she disliked this side of her or not. Of all the pairings that could have a falling out, though, was she worried about her and Shuuko? Then again, they did have something like an argument before, and Shuuko had been acting weird since. She heard something curious about Shuuko staining Roche's clothes, but she'd already been excused and she wasn't that curious, given she'd just had her own strange accident with Suki. "Don't overthink it, you two. It's just a cat." Those two could never be anything more than casual friends, anyway, she decided as she took her leave. If those two were sharing a secret, it had to be something she already knew about.

---

Times like this made Haruna once again regret that she’d been unable to convince any other girls to follow her to Hibusa. One moment, she was eating a bit of curry she’d managed to prepare for herself (in a large batch, so she’d have leftovers for a few days) before her nightly patrol. In the next, the building was shaking, the power was out, and most importantly, miseria were seeping out of the ground left and right. Miseria which she was currently churning through in a back alley, her naginata flashing as she fended them off left and right. I was expecting them to be scarier, she thought, not for the first time since she’d gotten here. After piercing one last amorphous blob of negativity, the Daybreak flew into the air to repeat the process for. . . the fifth time? Sixth? She was already losing count.

Two dive-bombs into clearing the next area, she stopped in midair. This isn’t working. They’re too spread out. Going street by street just wasn’t going to work, not with the level of distress in the area - and that was without even mentioning the more rural area surrounding the town. “Don’t let me down,” she said under her breath, glancing at an emergency vehicle speeding past below. The light girl would have to trust first responders to take care of the fearful desires she heard all around; she had a different threat to handle.

There’s gotta be a way to do this better. She had armors better at handling crowds, but they wouldn’t address the core issue. Sighting a clump of miseria gathering around one of the few remaining streetlamps that functioned, an idea popped into her head. ”That’s it!” Hizuki said triumphantly. She fired a few lasers down to disperse the things, then set her sights on the center of town. ”Mode: THUNDER CRACK, engage!” A shimmering blue outline of a hexagon appeared in midair a few feet away, between her and her destination. The magical girl darted through it, and as she did so, armor coalesced around her in a flash.

The wings on her back slotted down into much broader, heavier wings of futuristic alloy as they folded out into a delta shape. Between them, on her back, two enormous jets appeared with a shimmer, then flared to life with a roar. A bulkier, more triangular visor fitted over her head, and her polearm grew to become something more adjacent to a jousting lance that jutted out ahead of what now resembled something similar to a twin-engine fighter jet with Hizuki in place of a cockpit. The extra power flung her across the city, letting out a sonic boom that somehow managed to leave the bystanders below unharmed and unbothered as she sped toward the middle of town.

“Mode: SKY FIRE, engage!” She shouted again as she neared her goal. The same blue gateway appeared again; flying through it removed her boosters and wings, and replaced them with a fan of stabilizing heatsinks attached to her back. Her lance shifted once again, into a large, futuristic cannon with an elaborate sight. A sci-fi lens fitted itself as an attachment to her helmet, slotting over in front of her right eye. She tilted backward and let herself fall to the ground, skidding to a halt as the weapon twice as long as she was tall began to glow with a golden light. “SKY FIRE: SOLFLARE, fire!” Her stabilizers anchored themselves to the ground as she turned her weapon skyward. Here’s hoping this isn’t a horrible mistake . . . !

A massive pillar of light, easily visible to any magical girl in town, erupted into the sky, piercing a hole through the clouds of the evening. Its brilliance almost seemed to turn night into day, briefly. It lasted for about three seconds, before Daybreak ceased, cutting power to her weapon and letting her extra armor disappear into motes of light. She’d need one of her Modes if this actually worked, doubly so if the Detention Club or their mysterious leader took this as an act of aggression, but for now she needed to let them recharge. Hopefully, the massive surge of magic, light, and positive energy would draw the miseria together around her, and away from the vulnerable people of the town.

As has been mentioned many times, Nyxia had never really cared for Rei, but on this particular night, she found herself despising the club’s enigmatic leader even more than usual. There the girl was, standing atop a light post like a total fucking chuuni, giving vague orders and trying to look as cool as possible. Hell, the one-eyed bitch wasn’t even transformed, as if announcing to all who cared to look her way that she didn’t need her mystical abilities in order to be a total badass. Nyxia found it incredibly grating at the best of times, and with the weight of the afternoon’s distressing revelations still pressing heavily upon her mind, it had become almost unbearable. Thankfully, the night had provided the Neon Tempest with no small number of distractions to help with taking her mind off such dark ruminations, if only for a few hours. There was the swarming Miseria, of course, the ever reliable punching bags whose slaughter never failed to bring her great joy, but there was also the night sky itself.

As she stood atop one of Hibusa Town’s taller buildings (to gain both a better vantage point from which to blast Miseria and from which to look down on Rei), Nyxia couldn’t help but note the cluster of billowing storm clouds gathering in the distance above the far side of town. Their contours stood in sharp contrast against the sparkling stars of the otherwise clear sky, lit up as much by the moon’s soft glow as the flashes of intermittent lightning from within the depths of their turbulent forms. It reminded the Neon Tempest of a scene in an anime film she had watched with her brother several years prior. It was one of Makoto Shinkai’s earlier films, one released long before the country had lost its collective mind over Your Name. Yet, as an ardent fan of the director’s work, Kaito had always felt Shinkai’s lesser known, and less well-regarded, works held a particular charm, a rawness that had been lost in the wake of overwhelming commercial success. Nyxia, too, had come to share that sentiment, even if she didn’t entirely agree with his opinion that those early films’ less-than-happy endings were far more accurate portrayals of reality than the more upbeat endings of the director’s most recent fare. After all, if striving against all odds to attain a seemingly impossible goal could only end in failure, then what was she even doing any of this for? No, the Neon Tempest told herself with firm resolve as she glanced over to where the illuminated spire of Hibusa Town’s tallest antenna rose up into the highest heavens in an uncannily similar manner to the iconic tower from yet another of Shinkai’s works. It wasn’t impossible. Not for her. She would get Kaito back, but first, she would force-feed Ashbringer her own intestines, and to do both of those things, she needed to get stronger. Culling the night’s crop of Miseria was sure to assist in attaining that goal, at least, if she was able to find them…

An instant before she was about to fire one of her death ray’s writhing cylinders of annihilation at a nearby cluster of Miseria, Nyxia felt her body suddenly begin to shudder. At first, it was slight, like a shiver brought on due to cold or fright, even if she never experienced such things while transformed. All too quickly, however, the shaking became much more pronounced, and the Neon Tempest realized that she wasn’t the one shaking. It was the very ground itself. It had been quite a few years since she had last experienced an earthquake, but the sensation was unmistakable. Although the trembling subsided in short order, its aftereffects promised to have rather unfortunate implications for the success of the night’s hunt. Although Rei, predictably, didn’t seem especially bothered by the turn of events, Nyxia knew that the power outage brought about by the quake would make locating and exterminating the Miseria all the more difficult…

Bracing herself so as not to unceremoniously plummet over the edge of the roof, Nyxia’s glowing eyes scanned the darkened streets. While some of the club’s members were heeding their leader’s command and mopping up any stragglers, the vast majority of the Miseria had since departed for more lucrative feeding grounds. “Fuck…” the Neon Tempest hissed. “Now we’re gonna need to find a way of gathering up the little shit stains…” She didn’t see her partner yet, but then, she hadn’t exactly been looking for her either, simply figuring Earthshaker would meet up with her sooner or later, as the Rule Keeper usually did. Now, Nyxia began actively scanning her shadowed surroundings for the tribal girl. It wasn’t long before something caught her attention, but it wasn’t Roche.

A massive pillar of blindingly bright radiance had suddenly lanced up into the sky near the center of town as if to serve as a consort to the towering, cloud-piercing antenna. While it only lasted a few short seconds, that was more than enough time for the beam’s afterimage to be thoroughly seared into Nyxia’s mind. “Holy fuck…” the Neon Tempest breathed in hushed awe. In all her time as a Magical Girl, she had never seen an expulsion of power quite so spectacular, and, she had to admit, this particular spectacle soundly surpassed even the most intensely powerful of her own ruinous energy beams. Not only that, but whoever had fired it was clearly at least somewhat intelligent. While Nyxia normally didn’t care to fuck around with what other magical girls were doing (like how she’d simply ignored that portal in the back ally she’d leapt over on her way here), the recent light show was obviously intended to attract the Miseria, like moths to the proverbial flame, and that was an opportunity the Neon Tempest wasn’t about to pass up.

“Maybe this’ll be more fun than I thought…” Nyxia mused as she raced off towards the pillar’s point of origin. She had to admit, she was very much looking forward to meeting whoever had fired it…

---

“And here we are!” Stacy Sterling (aka Storm Witch Stacy) declared as she stumbled out of the crackling portal. “Huh,” she added a moment later, a puzzled frown forming as she took in her surroundings. “Geopolis looks kinda different from how I remember it…”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure this isn’t Geopolis,” Ramona Ralorin (aka Razor Weaver Ramona) observed in her trademark deadpan.

“What makes ya say that?” Stacy inquired, turning her head around to look at her companion.

“I don’t know,” Ramona replied. “Maybe it’s because Geopolis doesn’t have any mountains looming over it, or maybe it’s the fact that all the signs are in Japanese?”

“Holy freaking crap!! You’re totally right!” Stacy exclaimed as she finally noticed those two prominent incongruities. “Man, and I was soooo looking forward to taking that tour of their snowplow museum!”

“Yeah, what a disappointment,” Ramona muttered, before giving voice to a tired sigh. “Well, as far as fuck ups go, this might just be your worst yet. We’re not just in the wrong city, we’re on the wrong continent.”

“But, that’s still crazy awesome!” Stacy insisted. “I mean, I always wanted to visit Japan, and our magic should totally translate things for us, like it did with that Big Foot guy!”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that was just a school mascot,” Ramona replied, although Stacy was no longer paying attention.

“Oooh! Look!” she cried in delight. “An arcade! We should totally go in there!”

“You’re forgetting the fact that our money isn’t good here,” Ramona pointed out.

“We can use our magic!” Stacy replied. “I’m sure if I gave the coin machine a little jolt—”

“You’d probably blow up the building,” Ramona cut her off.

“Well, then we can use your magic!” Stacy declared with her typical irrepressibility. “You can send those crazy cool web strings of yours inside the machine and get it to give us the coins! Y’know, just like how you used them to control me like a puppet that one time so I could actually hit what I was shooting at!”

“Did you also forget that normal people can’t see us while we’re transformed?” Ramona inquired. “Don’t you think it’ll look a little odd for the machines to start running through games all by themselves?”

“I guess…” Stacy conceded before rapidly brightening back up. “But I’m sure it’ll totally be fine! Like, when they see all that crazy stuff and suddenly find our names at the top of the score boards, it’ll totally be like an April Fools Day prank!”

“It’s the beginning of October.”

“Well, maybe it is here, but back home it should totally be early April! Y’know, because of timezones and rotation and junk!”

Ramona simply stared at her companion with a blank expression before finally uttering an even more deadpan than normal, “…What.”

“Yeah! Like how on one side of the planet it’s Fall, but on the other side, it’s Spring! Just like how on one side of the world it’s day and on the other side it’s night! I mean, that totally is how it works, right?!”

“Wrong.”

“Huh?”

“That isn’t remotely how it works. For one thing, seasons are only reversed on the northern and southern hemispheres, and even then, the months of the year stay the same. So there’s no way it’s April anywhere on this planet.”

“But maybe it is on another planet!” Stacy suggested. “Or in another universe! Well, anyway, let’s check out that arcade!”

“Fine…” Ramona relented with a weary sigh. “But only because I don’t wanna get rained on…” she added, glancing up at the ominous thunderheads that seemed poised to unleash a torrential downpour at any moment.

Although Stacy was often blissfully unaware of it, her magic had the unfortunate side effect of causing extremely localized storms, especially if she was feeling exceptionally emotional about something. Which was to say, most of the time, and this seemed to be yet another such occasion. Ramona only hoped it wouldn’t end up leaving her soaked, struck by lightning, or worse…

No sooner had they entered the arcade, then Stacy darted over to one of the machines along the back wall. Its cabinet was covered in artwork depicting several robotic warriors in dramatic poses, while a battle between two of the fighters was playing out on the machine’s waiting screen. “Oh sweet!” she cheered gesturing to the machine excitedly. “They’ve got Gearmantic Hearts! Come on!” she insisted as she grabbed the far more sedately moving Ramona and pulled her over. “Let’s play a match!”

“If you insist…” Ramona muttered.

“But, uh, first we need some coins, so, like, if you could get those for us, that’d be great!”

“Yeah, whatever…” Ramona grumbled. “After all, what could possibly go wrong?”

Surprisingly, nothing did go wrong, and soon enough, the multi-limbed patchwork girl had returned with a small fortune in less-than-legally acquired coins. Placing the required amount into Gearmantic Hearts’ coin slots, the game commenced its start up sequence. First, the logo for Covington Arts filled the screen, before the elaborately calligraphed letters gave way to the opening animatic, which succinctly summed up the game’s meager story. Then it was time for the players to choose their respective fighters…

“Okay! So, I think I’m gonna go with Finnegan Fabricant!” Stacy declared, selecting a brooding bishonen pretty boy with a robotic crow perched on his shoulder and wearing a tattered trench coat. “He’s crazy handsome, has really cool moves, and a super tragic backstory that just makes me wanna give him the biggest hug!”

“I guess I’ll take this girl,” Ramona decided, her sullen voice devoid of any hint of enthusiasm as she chose an attractive female android with stark white hair.

“What?!” Stacy exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “But, uh, that’s Penny Pinnacle!”

“So?”

“Well, she’s, like, crazy OP, and she’s banned in all kinds of tournaments and stuff!”

“I was able to select her just fine,” Ramona noted.

“W-Well, yeah…” Stacy conceded hesitantly. “I mean, they didn’t remove her from the game or anything, but…”

“Then I can play her,” Ramona stated flatly.

For a moment, Stacy didn’t say anything, looking rather conflicted on how to proceed. But soon enough, she clenched her fists and her visage took on a look of fierce intensity. “Okay, fine!” she relented. “You’re on! I’ll show ya that I can still beat the game designer’s super busted special snowflake with a balanced character like Finnegan!”

“Knock yourself out,” Ramona replied as the game began.

“I’m gonna knock you out, Ramona!” Stacy shot back as she charged Finnegan into combat.

“I choose violence!” the fabricant declared as he thrusted his glowing energy rapier at Penny, the blade leaving a series of after images behind itself.

At first Penny didn’t move, Ramona’s controls having been locked to represent Finnegan’s manipulation of the very fabric of time to grant himself hyper-accelerated speed. Yet, at the last possible second, Penny leapt above the thrust and over Finnegan himself, leaving after images in her wake as she slammed a supercharged fist into the fabricant’s back.

“Cool power.” the android remarked. “Think I’ll take it.”

“You really don’t get it, do you?!” Finnegan shouted as he got to his feet and conjured a flock of robotic crows from his outstretched palm. “No one can see what’s really going on!”

“Don’t need to see,” Penny replied as she activated her four energy blade tipped spider limbs and sliced each of the robo-crows apart in a rapid flurry of motion. “Just need to win.”

For the next minute and a half, the battle proceeded at a furious pace, Finnegan making rapid jabs with his energy rapier and shooting crackling arcs of bronze lightning at his white haired opponent, while Penny employed her prodigious strength, nanotech mastery over metal, and devastating gauss cannon to keep the fabricant on the very edge of total destruction. However, although Penny was clearly the more powerful fighter, Ramona wasn’t the most experienced player, and Stacy’s expert knowledge of the various strengths and weaknesses of Finnegan’s moveset ultimately allowed her to gain the upper hand.

Leaping above Penny, the fabricant held out an antique golden pocket watch that furiously crackled with writhing tendrils of lighting as he prepared his ultimate attack.

“Time to end this!” Finnegan and Stacy shouted as one, the finishing move an instant away from striking home.

And it was at that exact instant that all the power in the building suddenly went out, immediately followed by a bout of shaking that reverberated for several seconds.

“W-What the…?!” Stacy exclaimed in horror as her seemingly inevitable victory was snatched away at the last possible moment.

“Wow. It looks like you continue to be your own worst enemy,” Ramona observed with a wry smirk.

“That wasn’t me!” Stacy shot back as she held onto the game cabinet in an attempt to maintain her balance. “It must’ve been this stupid earthquake!”

“Then I guess the universe itself didn’t want you to win,” Ramona snarked. “Or maybe Penny’s just too powerful for a ‘balanced’ character like Finnegan to ever beat.”

“She is not!” Stacy protested. “I totally had you on the ropes! I just needed that one last hit!”

“But you didn’t get it,” Ramona told her, pointing out the obvious. “Which means it’s a draw at best. And since I had more HP left,” she added with a smirk. “I think that counts as me being ahead.”

“It does not!” Stacy shot back. “Penny had waaay more HP than Finnegan to start with, so of course she’d have more left before I landed my killing blow!”

“That sounds like the kinda thing a sore loser would say.”

“Oh, whatever!” Stacy grumbled, before grabbing her lighting staff and infusing it with mystic power. “I’ll just recharge the game with a little zap, and then we’ll see who has more HP by the end of the match!”

“I really wouldn’t do that,” Ramona advised. “You’re more likely to completely fry it, and then we’d never be able to have our rematch. _{Well, at least not on this machine…}”

“You’re probably right…” Stacy conceded with a defeated sigh. “So, uh, I guess we should head back home now… Or, maybe we could try going to Geopolis again?!” she suggested, her dour mood brighting considerably in response to this new possibility. “I mean, with all the extra power I can draw on thanks to this storm, I’m sure I can get a super strong lock on it this time!” Before Ramona could protest, the cheerful witch tore open another crackling portal in the arcade’s back corner and gestured to it eagerly. “Come on! If we hurry, we can make it to the snowplow museum before it closes!”

“The anticipation is killing me,” Ramona muttered as she was dragged through the portal, idly wondering where they might wind up this time…