Soon enough, the brooding Nyxia again felt the unnerving chill that heralded Schrade’s return, and she wasn’t alone. Besides a pleasingly mangled Oros, Acid Drop and Earthshaker also trailed behind the club president, the latter looking almost as beat up as the pink-haired pervert. With an annoyed groan, the Neon Tempest fell in beside her partner, the action prompted more by her concern for Roche than any respect for their leader’s command. “The fuck happened to you?” she asked in a low voice so the other members of their little “procession” wouldn’t hear. “I thought you’d be able to take that giant fucker’s punches without breaking a sweat.” Then again, maybe it was the corrosive vomit that had caused most of the Rule Keeper’s injuries. Nyxia had assumed that her partner’s ability to absorb damage would extend even to that, but if she’d learned anything from fighting these so-called “Giga Miseria” it was that they seemed to exist to defy expectations.

Once the entire detention club had reunited, Rei proceeded to give another of her annoying speeches, its main point being how absolutely fucking amazing she was, and that they were all nothing without her. Oh, and apparently the new light girl was now an honorary club member? Well, that wasn’t really surprising either, Nyxia reflected. Rei was such a massive control freak that any solo light girls who were new to town would be placed under the aegis of her club in short order. For her part, the Neon Tempest didn’t really care much about such things, although she had to admit, this new girl was pretty cool, and pleasingly devoid of the nauseatingly self-righteous attitude displayed by most of the light girls she’d encountered. Nor did the armored young woman seem afflicted with any of the unpleasant, or flat out disgusting, traits most of her fellow club members possessed. Maybe, just maybe, this girl might actually be a suitable candidate for her second friend…

---

Schrade could accuse Earthshaker of being dramatic all she liked, but there wasn’t any denying the Rule Keeper had taken a beating for an ultimately fruitless assault upon the Giga Miseria. If she was looking to scrounge accolades from the muck left in Schrade’s wake she could have argued her efforts had saved countless civilian lives and kept the pressure of the tengu off the others, as there was more trying to maul her then was collectively descending upon the club.

But if there was one commonality between leader and rule keeper, it was that neither gave a single shit for unearned glory.

Her grumbling faded as she staggered to her feet and followed their intrepid leader. It was a slow march, letting the chill wind caress at raw skin still red from corrosive bile. One could have called it peaceful in the wake of fighting for their lives, a slow march onwards like the gentle plodding of night towards the dawn. Drawn inexorably together, the Detention Club fell into Rei’s wake.

Earthshaker’s cloak returned to her with a flutter of magic as Nyxia remarked on her battered state, and the Rule Keeper could only exhale as she pulled her hood up to mask the worst of the beating.

”The Giant couldn’t hurt me. But I couldn’t hurt it either, and the birds didn’t have any issue trying to melt me from every direction.” It was a small mercy that they were wary from splashing each other or there would have been nothing to stop them from simply burying the Magical Girls in bodies and melting them in a torrent of spittle.

She didn’t say much more to Nyxia before the club was hale and whole, most of them battered and bloody but still intact. Besides Oros, but with her unique anatomy it hardly was worth noting.

What was worthy of attention was Rei deigning to explain herself. Their glorious leader had a near aversion to such frankness, and though it was a mild relief to hear such confidence.

If it was only Ashbringer I’d even believe her. She winced and crossed her arms, pulling the cloak closed around herself in discomfort. Could even Rei know Sink Queen was already aligned against them and Ash would be hunting for more friends? Somehow she doubted their leader’s seeming omniscience in that regard.

Fortunately she didn’t linger on the sword hanging over all their necks and turned to, perhaps most shocking of all, welcome Hizuki in full to the Club. Earthshaker harbored no doubts towards Hizuki’s earnest desires, but the Rule Keeper hadn’t considered Rei would be as accepting either.

”Welcome to the Club, Hizuki.” The words were interrupted only by a cough, the tanned Magical Girl sagging under her cloak. A slain Giga Miseria brought with it an upswell of power that would suffuse the city’s resident Magical Girls, but that didn’t erase the strain she put herself under trying to blitz the Giant.

Nor did it blind her to the bruises around Hizuki’s neck and the stilted apology Shatterscape gave her.

Later. I’ll take to her later. Roche thought, eyelids heavy as she swayed gently against the chill wind. I need to sleep this off something bad.

Ah, Willow the ever-annoying pest. If it had not been for her ill-timed comments on Evil Eye, perhaps Ember could have kept control of the body with the help of Sylvia, the only one of them who seemed to be at least somewhat sensible these days. Then again, the schemer understood why events unfolded like this. Indeed, as she ran through them in her head, the sequence seemed inevitable. So much that she knew she should have seen it coming. Now, however, she had to deal with something else: the fallout.

The more she thought about it, the more severe the potential repercussions became in her mind, their consequences too much to really predict. Her only solution? Talking to everyone get a sense of how they felt regardless of the light girl accepting her apology. Or their supposed leader boasting about being strong enough to kill the GEMS while bathing the area in pure terror. At least Sylvia was there for that, the protector eagerly standing in front of the impulse to flee.

Ember still felt the shiver travel through Shuuko’s body, her heart squeezing in her chest. Air fled from her for a moment as fingers soaked in ice wrapped their fingers around her body, their touch lingering not on her skin, but on the core of her being.

”Perhaps you ought to think it is partially because of my unacceptable behaviour,” Ember spoke as she rose from her bow. ”And yes, I do think we should talk about this in detail later.” Small mercies. Hizuki did not seem to be interested in making things right this very moment. Or bashing Shuuko’s body in the face. That would not even be that big of a surprise at this point.

”But to cover the gist of why I acted… I did not recognise her at first.” A flimsy excuse. It would likely not get past Kiyo’s sharp eyes, yet Ember did not have anything better. ”I should have paid more attention. I will not let it happen again.” A note of steel entered her voice as she spoke, turning her head towards Hizuki before nodding at her.

”I will make it up to you.”

---

"Ignore her. She spouts more nonsense than all of us combined," was all Evil Eye offered in response to Willow. Stealing a glance at Hizuki, she flashed a smug half-smile. "Welcome to the club—feels weird to say, even though I expected this outcome." Her eyes were always on Shatterscape, even if they weren't always pointed her way. The sudden apology seemed a bit out of her usual character, but Evil Eye could make sense of it if she imagined that the apology was directed at Hizuki for politeness' sake, but was really meant for her. How exactly will you make it up to me? she wondered, but didn't say.

She noticed that she didn't feel stronger now, despite the fall of the giga miseria. That didn't line up with what she experienced during her travels. Perhaps it was because she didn't do anything of worth in the battle, but she also found herself suspicious, given the stated purpose of this exercise. Could it be that their power cannot be absorbed because they are also summoned constructs, like mine? Did they ignore Rei, not because they were smart, but because they belong to her?

She gave Rei her undivided attention, now, while the others talked among themselves. Even Evil Eye found it difficult to meet Schrade's gaze, but when it was 'just' Rei, she could manage. "That you could beat Ashbringer was never in question... I think I speak for all of us on that... but can you blame us for imagining that you'd make us fight her instead?" She looked at the others as if she were second-guessing her impressions of what the club was feeling. "We don't ask for your help because it's always 'bothersome.' And it feels like giving up." She decided to simply come out with it, without her usual obscurity, perhaps because Rei had done the same.

---

As she was brought to her feet, Acid Drop felt pain screaming through them. It took Oros a few tries to get her to a point she could hold her own weight, and more effort still to help her walk. The process caused much more blood to pour from Tsubomi's wounds, but at least she didn't get angry at Oros for the ordeal, mostly because she couldn't.

When Rei gave Hizuki a stamp of approval, Tsubomi couldn't help but wonder why. Why did the Boss give a random Light Girl permission to join? Was that a sign that they were so desperate for members that the girl from lunch would be approved too? Or was it only okay for Magical Girls to join? Well, even if Haruna wasn't able to join, maybe this girl would be a good addition at least.

But more importantly, Evil Eye was actually giving a heartfelt response to the Boss. If only Tsubomi could sense what those things felt by that heart were, because at the moment, she couldn't read her any better than she could read Russian.

After being called out by Evil Eye, Willow looked away from the group and started whistling. With Rei in attendance, there was no reason to say anything else.

”The detention club is only made up of dark girls because they are usually more interesting. We have a simple rule structure, and nothing forbids us from taking you in.” Her eyes ran over Unstoppable Doom, but since they were keeping to themselves, there was no reason to address them further. Not now, at least.

Shatterscape was being rather vocal tonight. While she could have been talking to Evil Eye or Hizuki, it didn’t really matter. The intent was to address her shameful behavior. ”There is no reason to feel ashamed, Shatterscape. In the days of samurai, they believed that getting drunk allowed a kami to take over your body. Nobody could be tried for damages they caused while under the influence. Perhaps it was a Kami that took over your body tonight?” It didn’t seem like a big deal. Light girls and dark girls shouldn’t feel the need to apologize for attacking each other. No one was killed, so there was no problem. Maybe Rei would take this more seriously if she expected Medusa’s Mirror to be more effective, but Evil Eye was playing games, and tempers were bound to flare.

Speaking of, Evil Eye was the only one in attendance to address Rei directly. ”Have I ever forced you to fight something that was beyond your abilities?” The answer was no, Rei barely told anyone to do anything. Even tonight’s hunt was something she offered to do only because Earthshaker begged her to appear before the club. Be careful what you wish for. ”This giga miseria is recurring. It would show up once a month if I did not set out to vanquish it beforehand. Perhaps you’d like to try taking it on yourself, but it will be a while before I let you attempt it again.” She folded her arms behind her back. ”Because you'd need help defeating it, and you don’t like asking anyone for help.” Her eyes scanned the Detention Club. ”We have nine members now. Eleven if you count the Royal Navy. We’re short one for a new team. Perhaps the existing teams need to be shaken up?” Rei was done taking questions. She set off to stroll into the night. ”Earthshaker, Evil Eye, I’ll have a word with you in the morning.” She said without looking at them.

”Called it!” Willow chuckled to herself. Then an extremely dark realization hit her and she turned to run after Rei. ”S-Shinimori still works fine, right?”



Oros had underestimated the severity of Rainbow’s wounds. Once it was apparent that she was in crippling pain, she heaved her onto her back and walked her back to the group with everyone else.

There wasn’t much for her to add. It was a little disappointing to hear that this entire outing had just been a way for Boss Baby to affirm her place above the rulekeeper. But it had been Oros the Joyful who had arranged to carry on with these meetings. Even if what had set Boss Baby off was Bedshaker’s choice to take everyone out of town, it was something she had indirectly set in motion and directly participated in. Nothing to do about it now.

As for Hizuki’s involvement in the club, what was there to say? Oros had yet to really talk to her, but she wasn’t too excited about the prospect. Cyborgs had never been her thing, and it looked like Roach was already trying to expand her harem. That was fine though. If Haruna managed to avoid Roach’s clutches for long enough, things would be alright.

It didn’t seem like Boss Baby was going to feed them tonight, so it was probably best to get Rainbow home and detransform as soon as possible. But before she departed, she took a look at her companions. For how aggressive these Miseria were, it seemed like most of them had taken hardly any damage. The only exception was *Nyxia, who looked like she had a close encounter with a demon barber.

^{*Roach does not count as a companion.}

”Are you okay, Nyxia?” She shambled a little closer. Her severed limbs floated around in the mass of blood she was using to hold Rainbow in place. ”Those guys were tough, huh? I only managed to kill five of them. But I needed Rainbow’s help.”

---

"Every month. . . ?" This place must have had it really bad if something that size showed up that regularly. Rei was a complex figure indeed. Evidently, it took no effort for her to defend the city, but defend it she did. The Detention Club resented her, but she had declared her intent to protect them at the end of the day. It almost seemed like she was trying to teach them a stereotypically light-sided lesson - "never be afraid to ask for help" - but she'd dismissed the goodwill of people like Hizuki as slavish subservience. "Well, I guess I'm going to need to keep getting stronger too, in my own way. I wouldn't want to let anyone down."

She glanced around at their surroundings. "Speaking of, I should probably get back to my patrol." Her voice held little energy for it, despite the light girl's efforts to project continued strength. "There's still probably some people in trouble in the aftermath." She let her extra armor dissipate, the blades melting into reddish motes to reveal her battered, but functional baseline self beneath. "See you at the next meeting."

Hizuki paused a moment to receive any farewells or parting ominous remarks anyone was wont to throw at her, before turning about and taking off. She dipped precipitously low after a moment, but her flight soon leveled off, and she was winging her way off toward the outer parts of town, continuing her search for citizens in need despite the level of shit-beating she'd just taken.

Nyxia listened in her typical moody silence as Rei continued to hold court, but couldn’t keep her teeth from clenching and her grip on her beloved death ray from tightening at the mention of possibly reorganizing the club’s various teams. She had finally begun to see Roche as an actual friend, and the thought of being paired with any of the club’s other members was unappealing in the extreme. Yet, that was neglecting the source of this potential development, the club’s newest member, whom the Neon Tempest actually found herself unopposed to getting to know better. If she would indeed be getting a new partner, this light girl was probably the best candidate.

“Welcome to the club,” Nyxia told Hizuki as the armored young woman passed by, while giving her the least pained and exhausted smile she could muster, under the circumstances. “I’m really looking forward to seeing you in action.”

Yet, whatever hint of a smile the Neon Tempest had been able to manage for Hizuki dissolved completely when Oros approached, carrying her emotionless partner's limp body on her back.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that was Rei,” Nyxia replied with a sneer, not even bothering to use their leader’s magical girl title or conceal her contempt for the extra bloody blood witch’s existence. “And to answer your question, no, I’m not okay. One of those flying fuckers puked all over me, Rei killed it just before I could slaughter it myself, and now I’m talking to you,” the Neon Tempest explained, her already bruised and singed face distorting even further into a disgusted snarl. “Still, glad to see ‘Shaker and I weren’t the only ones those shit stains fucked up,” she added with a cruel smirk. “Heh, knowing how utterly disgusting you are, I’ll bet you’re such a fucking masochist that you actually enjoy getting yourself gutted like a fish.”

Oros did her best to be attentive to what Nyxia was saying, even though it was probably going to be mean spirited. It wasn't hard, as Rei and her chatterbox had left, as well as the new light girl. Though between the blood loss and everything else, she was having a little bit of trouble keeping her focus.

”Boss Baby?” It was possible she showed up to help Oros, but she hadn't noticed her. But that didn't seem right. Why would Nyxia assume that Oros couldn't kill five miseria with Rainbow's help? She revealed it, briefly, in recounting what happened to her. It seemed that Nyxia had needed help defeating them as well. Oros felt her chest swell with pride when Nyxia mentioned that she was now talking to her. Clearly things were looking up for the purple skinned girl. But this was followed by snide comments. Yes, yes it seemed like tonight hadn't quite gone the way Nyxia wanted. To even suggest that being beat up like this was something she could enjoy...

The stump of her wrist oozed blood. It wasn't often Oros got cut up like this fighting miseria, but she had done battle with several magical girls. Often as the fight wore on, they would get more exhausted and tired, but Oros would only become emboldened as she was worn down. Her moniker, "The Joyful," was a nickname she had earned a time she had become much more badly damaged than this. But now was not the time to recount that tale.

”I mean, I don't like getting hurt.” Maybe it was from how unfocused she felt, but she couldn't tell if Nyxia was trying to offend her or actually believed someone could enjoy getting hurt like this. For some reason, an image of a gothic bad boy who worshiped Norse gods and engaged in macho sadism forced its way into her head. She blinked the repulsive image out of existence. ”But pain is inevitable, isn't it? If you're living, you're going to get hurt. It's something you need to be prepared for.” Oros expected to get hurt when she fought. She got her when she didn't fight. Pain was something Oros had forced herself to become accustom to. ”I don't even like hurting magical girls. It's a good thing I don't have to.”

If Oros thought she could get away with it, she might have asked for a kiss. She could collectively recover her health and seal her limbs back together. While it seemed perfectly logical, she knew only one person would take her up on the offer, and she had too much pride to allow herself to accept it.

Without another word, she turned around and departed for home. First she'd drop Rainbow off at home, then she'd limp her way back to her own bed. Usually Oros was an early riser, but she would sleep in that night.

Rei called for a meeting, and Rei would get it.

The Detention Club room was seldom used this early in the morning, and so it should have been no surprise that Rei, Roche, and Kiyo were the only ones present. The setup was similar to a meeting between a shogun and their two most trusted daimyo. Kneeling mats were set out, as was a table that might have had a map for planning future conquests. But there was no map, only some school supplies that Suki had yet to cobble into anything, and the shogun was keeping the back wall up. Her arms were folded and her heel was planted against the back of the wall.

“This will not take long.” That was Rei speak for “I don’t feel like discussing this in depth,” which meant there might be a lot of unanswered questions. “Have the two of you put much thought into how you’re going to deal with the GEMs? With Hizuki on our side, a diplomatic approach to the problem might be possible.”

”It’s not just a possibility. We’re compelled to attempt just by having Hizuki.” Roche was relaxed in her element, brows not as she gave Rei her full, laser-like focus. She’d given it thought amidst the plethora of other problems before them and wasn’t terribly pleased with her conclusion.

”We’ve welcomed Hizuki among us, but being the aggressors may alienate her when we need unity the most. Any future engagement with the GEMS needs us to be the offended party. We can hope that having Hizuki will make them more open to a ceasefire and negotiate some boundaries. We may have more options but unless Hizuki cis up for striking first, we’ll have to keep our guard up and brace to take the first punch.”

She shook her head ruefully, a soft grin forming a upon her face.

”Fortunately we’re good at that. It’ll just be a matter of keeping us in groups till the GEMS strike so they can’t get an overwhelming opener and not even give us a chance to talk.”

"I've been hoping for something along those lines," Kiyo admitted. "Normally when a new light girl shows up in town, I'd just try turning them into one of us, but since she came to me on her own wanting to be useful and all... I intended to test her sincerity last night, but I didn't even need to fetch her." She pursed her lips. "Thing is, I don't want to make concessions with the GEMs. I want to make demands. They've made theirs—we stay off their turf. Now they need to stay off ours. Sure, have Hizuki go ahead and tell them that our leader gave us a spanking and a shorter leash or whatever, but if they don't get the fuck off our lawn, they're going to get bitten."

She folded her arms. "I just don't know what to do about Shuuko. I knew she didn't like light girls, but I didn't expect her to be so against the idea of using one that she'd try to kill her. I intended to partner with the newbie for a while—I said I'd take responsibility for her, because I'm not sure the others would be on board otherwise—but now I'm worried Shuuko might do something rash. I suggested pairing her with Roche, but it seems like she's against pairing me with Hizuki no matter what."

Rei lifted her head and smiled. “Interesting you should bring that up. It’s what I wanted to discuss next.” She waved her hand at Kiyo. “It’s as you said, it does not seem that having the three of you together would be a good idea. And even if it were, I feel increasing Medusa’s Mirror’s member count would be unfair to the others.” Rei looped her thumbs in her pockets. “The Royal Navy is away, which leaves nine of us. That’s enough for three teams of three, and would help keep us together. For the time being, Medusa’s Mirror will separate and join in with the other teams. Shatterscape feels like a good fit for Unstoppable Doom, as you pointed out. You will join up with Endless Ecstasy, as Oros the Joyful seems to respect you enough to not try her usual antics. That, and I feel Willow will get along much better with Hizuki then you. Don’t both of you agree?”

The Rule Keeper cocked her head consideringly, but it was entirely for show as her grin only widened. A consolidating of teams wasn’t what she expected but it was fitting for their circumstances and gave her a perfect opportunity to socialize Nyxia and Shuuko.

”Sounds good to me. I think we’ll gel well by day and night.” Roche nodded happily, feeling an airy flutter in her chest that had nothing to do with the ease they could crush Miseria as a group. Though thinking of Shuuko was enough to sober her slightly and she shook off the flight of fancy.

”I’ll keep an eye on Shuuko and make sure she doesn’t fly off the handle with Light Girls. I don’t know what her beef is, but I can keep it from getting in the Club’s way.”

Kiyo scratched at the side of her head. "I'd rather work with Oros. Willow can't keep her mouth shut," she remarked somewhat hypocritically. "If Medusa's Mirror is the only team shaken up, Shuuko could see it as a punishment. Is that your intent?" The look in her eyes questioned more than it accused. "I'm concerned about Acid, too. She seemed to be struggling last night. Putting me and her on the same team could leave it wanting for firepower."

“This is not permanent. Medusa’s Mirror is not getting disbanded.” Rei reassured Kiyo. “But I think we are in agreement that it would be less damaging to split the two of you up than any other team. It is not as if we are placing you with the light girl, so it shouldn’t be seen as a punishment for her.” She raised a hand to her chin. “Though it did appear to me last night that the two of you had the most difficulty working together. Acid Drop was a bit off point but she still had synergy with Oros.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a hassle but it’s not that drastic. Roche suggested we stick together in larger teams. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll try something else.” Rei looked at a clock hanging above a bookshelf. “Unless you want to say something else, we should probably head to class.”

”All good here. It’ll be best if my team isn’t the one who encounters the GEMS for diplomacy’s sake but we won’t have an issue fighting them off either. I’m planning to meet up with Shuuko after school and hash things out so we’re on the same page.”

There were mixed feelings on that, as while she enjoyed having company over, discussing the heavy topic of attempted murder wasnt going to be the light, fluffy mood she wanted.

”I can’t say what’s going on there but I’ll keep a handle on it. You got anything, Kiyo??”

Kiyo shrugged. The boss's mind was made up, and while her team was more likely to corrupt a light girl than beat one in a fight, that suited her just fine. "Nah. Just don't treat Shuuko like she's on probation. She needs some elbow room to function properly," she quipped with a glance at Roche. "And I work hard to convince the others that my eyes do more than silently judge them."

She, too, glanced at the clock. "Someone—I think it's a dark girl—keeps destroying them. For the sake of time, I'm looking into it. I'll revisit that topic when I know more, but Ashbringer is probably watching us," she said for Roche's sake, figuring that Rei already knew somehow.

“There’s that name again.” Rei shrugged. “It does sound like everything is coming under control now. We’ll meet again in a week and see if there’s any improvement with Shuuko and the GEMs. If there’s a dark magical girl lingering about, I’m sure you’ll encounter her sooner rather than later.”

There was no choice but to face the music. What happened could not be forgiven without recompense, or at least so did Sylvia think and Ember agreed with her. What form that would take… they disagreed on it. Ember asked for some time to think it over, letting the protector do what she thought to be the best while she retreated into a corner of their shared space. Hotaru remained out of reach likewise, concealing herself behind countless walls Sylvia did not even try to break, because she had no idea where to begin.

At least with the inevitable punishment, she knew where to begin. That did not mean it was easy, her hands turning white as she gripped the implement, her head hanging low. She felt the fingers on Shuuko’s body grow numb - stronger, more vivid than usual. Maybe because she could not share the burden with anyone - and her shoulders quaked. She had to have scraped deep gouges into her skin with her nails, yet that would be nothing compared to what was to come.

Sylvia took a deep breath. She willed Shuuko’s body still. Shivering would only make it worse. The punishment would hurt more. Last longer. Dig deeper. She could not hide her fear completely, because that would not help either. She had to wear the perfect amount on her face. Not too little, not too much.

Another breath. A quick check of her expression in a hand mirror. She looked passable: white as a sheet, with her lips pursed tight. Gathering all of the courage she would need, the protector knocked on the door of Roche’s apartment and felt a serrated lump grow in her throat.

In the wake of the Club’s first full group activity, Roche was physically drained. The external wounds didn’t carry over but the exhaustion was pervasive. It proved the rare day when even the Track Club could be afforded a lax day, their captain set upon the bleachers offering half hearted shouts as they kept a sedate pace around the track.

She needed time. Time to recover and time to process what she knew was coming that night.

Shuuko had tried to kill Hizuki. A dark magical girl trying to kill a Light Girl, while frowned upon heavily, was still something understandable. A mortal sin, but one few could look upon with any judgement.

But doing so when she was tacitly accepted by the club and everyone was fighting for their lives? That was not something that could be ignored. Deferred? Roche had no choice when she barely made it home after the Giga Miseria, but if she didn’t address then Rei would have to start looking for a new Rule Keeper.

Roche hadn’t spent one minute longer at school then she needed to before racing back home. Casting aside her windbreak and shucking on an oversized shirt, the fabric was soft and billowed around her knees like a nightgown. She lifted the collar upwards and took a sniff, expression souring to find it smelled of nothing but herself.

The TV was off and there was hardly a light on, the Rule Keeper sullen upon the couch as she leaned in discomfort upon the arm. Physical distractions to the turmoil of the coming conversation. It came as a relief to hear the knock and she bounded upwards, wrought with a manic desire to free herself from the wretched anticipation.

Common sense asserted itself only once her hand found the door handle, and by then she had no recourse but to pull it open and take in Shuuko looking as frail and distraught as when they conversed upon the school rooftops.

She stared with widened eyes before slowly, palms open as though approaching a skittish cat, she pulled her into a hug.

”I want you to know I’m not mad at you. I will not scream, and I won’t ever hit you. Okay, Shuuko?”

Lies. The rulekeeper had to be angry. She merely hid it well, behind a wall of sweet words and while Sylvia was not familiar with this, she still knew what would happen later. A distant part of her hoped that she could get out of this by talking, but there was very little chance for that, so she did not cling to it. She only put the thing in her hands away, storing it in the shoulder bag she got recently, before she nodded.

”Okay.” Her response came flat, without much emotion or a response to the hug. Just a hint of fear, precisely calculated so that Grandmother or Grandfather would not make the torture punishment last longer. She dared not to return their gesture lest they get mad about a filthy thing touching them.

Shuuko’s disbelief came off as palpable as a wave breaking upon Roche. She sagged slightly under it’s embrace and twisted into a side hug. Leading her into the apartment after shutting and locking the door behind them. The heavy click of the bolt sliding home was more ominous then she intended, and the Rule Keeper hurried to set her friend down upon the couch before settling beside her.

”Now, I want you to take a breath, and tell me anything you want about. Just say it in your own words, and not what you think I want to hear.”

It was important to her that she withheld her judgement till Shuuko explained herself. Enough so she withdrew her arm from the girl’s shoulder and folded them over her own lap, projecting a calm she didn’t feel to try- Futilely- To put Shuuko at some ease.

Shuuko’s body flinched as Roche touched her. Thankfully, it seemed the rulekeeper did not pick up on it, leading it towards the couch before she spoke, telling Sylvia the cruelest thing she possibly could.

Just say it in your own words.

So it did not matter what she said. Her punishment had been decided in advance and the only thing she could control is how severe it would be. It made complete sense; she… or rather, Hotaru… had screwed up, nearly getting the entire Detention Club killed. Or at least seriously injured. Hizuki more than most.

”I’m sorry.” The lump in Sylvia’s throat grew bigger. She could barely keep it down. She could not even look into Roche’s eyes; Grandmother and Grandfather hated that, so Roche had to hate it too and so she would be punished. ”Please don’t hurt me, Roche.” The protector pleaded, reminding herself of the implement in her satchel. She was not supposed to present it just yet; she had to satisfy the rulekeeper’s curiosity first.

”I know that I shouldn’t have attacked Hizuki and I did it anyway.” Still no eye contact. Only a tremble of fear in her voice.

The matter was serious but Shuuko’s reaction spoke of a terror that unsettled Roche deeply. She’d kept her hands to herself not because she didn’t want contact but so she didn’t want to terrify the girl with the hyper tension of her curled fingers against her.

”We all know what happened. That’s not what I’m asking.” The Rule Keeper said with a sigh, casting her gaze down to the floor as she sagged forward. Discomfort fell upon her shoulders and she ached to stop and let the matter rest.

”You need to tell me WHY you tried to kill Hizuki…and then tell me why you stopped.”

Ah. If only Sylvia knew. A part of her wanted to say that it was not her who really hurt Hizuki. That it was Hotaru, the warrior. Her sister-in-arms. But not only would Grandmother refuse to believe her, it would make things only worse. So she had to lie and come up with a reason. But why would she attack someone? Especially people who didn’t deserve it? She could not come up with any reason and Ember was no help to her right now. Not that she wanted to bother the schemer with this.

”I…” Didn’t know? Had no reason to? No, Grandmother would never accept that. ”I…” she averted Shuuko’s head even further. Her shoulder sagged. ”Because I’m a bad girl.”

”You aren’t even listening to me.” It was all too clear Shuuko was gripped by the same hysteria that spoke of unresolved trauma. Not for the first or last time did Roche yearn to break the unbreakable rule and snap the necks of Shuuko’s grandparents.

It was so much harder to not reach out and grab Shuuko. Physical encouragement came easy to Roche and she longed for contact, but she could picture the terrified response it would evoke well enough to stay her hand and keep them on her lap. Clasped together and trembling with the force they locked together and her nails cleaved into the backs of her palms.

”Hizuki forgave you. Rei forgave you by not acknowledging it. Just about all of the club can understand the desire and won’t hold it against you. Shuuko, I forgive you.”

Inhale. Exhale.

”You aren’t here to be punished. If anyone is going to be it’s me for not upholding the protection I offered, but that’s for another day. So please, Shuuko, I’m asking you why you stopped. Not because I want to condemn you, but because I want you to hear yourself say it and realize you aren’t a bad girl.”

What did Grandmother even want from her? Sylvia could not even start to guess, no matter how many times she examined the words spoken to her. The admission of guilt, of being in the wrong usually won her some favour, but she had to have missed something. She did not dare look up at her, nor could she question her without risking severe punishment but… Ah. That might work.

”Then please tell me what I did wrong.” There was no such thing as forgiveness, after all.

The Rule Keeper groaned, hands coming apart so she could grind the heel of her palm to her brow. Shuuko was so deep into her misery she couldn’t see or hear anything. It required a drastic response even if it was likely the wrong one.

Twisting on the couch she threw her leg over Shuuko’s lap and straddled it, now having to look down. Her over-large shirt pooled around her hips while she rested her hands on the sofa cushions behind Shuuko.

”Shuuko, I thought I was clear I wanted to get to know you. To be friends with you. I didn’t call you here to punish you, but to get to know you better.”

That did not sound like something Grandmother would say. Nor would Grandfather say it. Daring to risk a look at her would be tormentor, Sylvia glanced up and saw Roche climb up on her and… her heart skipped a beat. Even with the tremors running through her, she felt something at the sight that should not have been there, especially in the presence of her parents. It proved enough for her to look straight up into an emerald forest in a mixture of wide-eyed wonder and terror.

A breath. A shudder. A trick of the light. Were there hints of green in those eyes, or was Roche seeing things? The rulekeeper could likely not catch it, as Sylvia averted her gaze again.

”I… I won’t be punished?” The words felt foreign. The body’s shoulders loosened slightly. Her spine still remained curled and tense, though, like a bowstring about to snap and strike someone in the face.

”No, you aren’t going to be punished. I suppose I’ve gotten complacent with how often I have to say this to Suki, but I’ll tell you as well; I won’t ever hit you.”

It was disheartening that there was such a sincere need to state it, but her own reputation did Roche no favors. Knowing that, and seeing how fraught with tension Shuuko was, was all the impetus she needed to try and relieve her from the expectation of physical punishment.

”I won’t guilt you, shame you, or demand you repay anyone for it. I will only ask you to answer my question, but if you really do not want to, just say so and I will let it drop till you’re ready. We can just put something on the TV and unwind.”

The Club wouldn’t be pleased with her to let the matter go entirely, but it wouldn’t be the first secret she’d buried from them.

The protector almost collapsed while sitting. Her breath hitched as she suppressed her tears, but she could not hide how the colour returned to her face, nor could she as much as attempt to conceal her shaking shoulders. It also spoke volumes that she finally dared to look Roche in the eyes. Shuuko’s gaze filled with relief as the air filled with heavy breaths, each one bringing life to a new limb or an area of her body.

”I… umm… I don’t think I want to talk about it.” There. She said it. If the rulekeeper did not want to press, she would not open up about it. ”I have lots of bad memories.” But they also had nothing to do with Hizuki and everything to do with the past. She still could not wrap her head around why Hotaru would blame someone for the mistakes of another and the warrior refused to heed her call.

She took another breath and it caught for a different reason.

Were Roche’s eyes always this beautiful? They gleamed in the low light as though they were a precious gem and as she thought that, Sylvia reached for the ruleekeper’s face. Her hands slid along the cheek, carefully, almost as though the other dark girl would shatter if she were too forceful. Then she realised what she was doing and froze.

Roche offered a shrug that set her bangs swaying, dismissing the inquisition without any gravitas. If Hizuki was fine with matters, then no one else was owed an explanation. More importantly, Roche had already forced enough hard truths from Shuuko the day prior.

As much as she did want to know more about her, it was so much easier to abandon the pursuit when it meant she wouldn’t have to see the girl cry.

The decision felt more virtuous seeing Shuuko unfurl beneath, the rigid guard dispersing amidst a wave of elation she could both see and feel pass through the other Magical Girl. Then it was all she could do to keep still as Shuuko made the first movement of her own volition and reached out, hand brushing across her cheek with a warmth that made the Rule Keeper’s spine stiffen.

Then she relaxed, and a bit more of Roche’s weight pressed down upon the Magical Girl she straddled. A lazy smile pulled at her lips as she tilted her cheek into the palm against it.

”You’re warm, Shuuko. It’s another thing I like about you.” The Rulekeeper purred, her shock melting into a half lidded gaze like a contented feline and her hands drew from the sofa’s cushions to settle upon Shuuko’s shoulders. Resting there easily, not even touching the skin yet perched softly all the same.

Why did her heart start racing when Roche said that? Something welled up inside of Sylvia. Suddenly, the terror she felt deep in her heart no longer seemed so bad and while it still ran its course, she allowed herself to be overtaken by what she could not name. A pillowy thing. A soft thing. A fluffy thing. It let her continue her touch along Roche’s skin, the contact speaking to… another something inside of her.

Perhaps the thought that she had never experienced a gentle touch like this.

Shuuko’s body did flinch a little when Roche lowered her hands onto Sylvia’s shoulders, but the protector felt that they were different than the rough, large things that lashed across the skin of her back and shoulders. They… intruded, yes, but they… also felt a little comfortable?

Her brows frowned.

”I… I’m not good at compliments,” she replied, the oddity of the situation keeping her touch hesitant. Almost as though she were afraid of what might happen next.

”Fufu. I’m not enough of a narcissist as to start giving you ideas for those, but I’m flattered you want to anyway.” The Rule Keeper’s laughter was soft, unfettered by the stress of the day as she settled fully onto Shuuko’s lap. Her only effort at mindfulness was not to press upon her chest and smother the girl outright in her buxom.

After all, she wouldn’t be feeling Shuuko’s hand if she was worried about breathing.

Slowly her fingers began rubbing back and forth, a soothing motion to loosen muscles she could feel were as taut as corded wire. “That won’t stop me from giving you some examples, though.”

“Your eyes are priceless gems, and I could lose myself in them from sunup to sundown. Your hair is the envy of all women, and I long to lose myself in their length.” Roche said with a touch of theater, letting her voice swell grandly with honeyed words before dipping low enough that they were eye to eye. There was no teasing playfulness when she uttered the next words in a whisper.

“I can’t forget the softness of your lips.”

Thump thump. Thump thump.

The protector’s heart seemed intent on making its presence known, almost thunderously so, as blood started to rush towards her face under the barrage of compliments, especially when Roche mentioned her lips. Did their lips touch somehow? Was that not only for people who were important to you? Or was it a casual thing? Oh, what she would not give to have Ember in her head right now, but the schemer did not want to be disturbed, so Sylvia did not want to call out unless it was an emergency. This clearly was not.

”N-no, t-that isn’t true,” she managed to deny. ”I’m just a useless, filthy girl,” Sylvia averted her eyes again, but with how long they had locked gazes and how close they were to each other, Roche would definitely be able to notice the spots of green in the eyes of Shuuko’s body this time.

”You don’t have to force yourself to… compliment me. If… if anything, you’re umm… I think you’re… too nice to me.” At least for someone who wasn’t Ember, Hotaru or Chiaki.

So she doesn’t remember our accidental kiss much Roche thought while drinking in the flustered reaction of the Magical Girl beneath her. Adorable though they were, and there was no shortage of her desire to give Shuuko a very clear reminder of the last time she came to Roche’s place. Or at the school, though given her panic attack that was understandable.

The feline contentment radiating from the Rule Keeper dimmed in the face of Shuuko’s self depreciation, their little detente on the rooftop not sitting well with her. Her gaze narrowed further seeing, of all things, the untransformed girl’s eyes have the briefest flecks of green in their irises. A trick of the moonlight? Maybe, but Roche was starting to feel like those oculars were more expressive than Shuuko wanted to let on.

”There’s no such thing as being too nice to you, and I’ll keep being nice till you realize it.” One hand slowly detached from Shuuko’s shoulder, crossing the threshold to run along the slim arch of her neck, tracing the pads of her fingers over a rather lively pulsepoint before coming to cup Shuuko’s cheek. Mirror the touch that Roche still nuzzled against while not affording her the luxury of turning away from a far more focused gaze.

”If you call yourself filthy again I’m going to have no choice but to spend the entire night showering you with compliments till you can’t handle it. So take my word on the matter or I’ll have to start getting creative, Shuuko.”

Sylvia shook her head in response to what her companion said and closed her eyes. ”I know when people are being too nice to me.” The response felt heavy, almost as much of a condemnation of herself as confessing herself to be a filthy girl. The touch at her neck helped less, too, than Roche might have imagined, with Shuuko’s body tensing under the touch for a moment, becoming even worse when the chin was grabbed. It only let up after a while, silence reigning between the two of them for several seconds.

”You’d be lying.” A smile, out of all things. ”It’s okay. At least you’re not-” The body’s jaws clicked shut without warning. Right, she should not be mentioning that. Only dirty girls told people about it and she already spoke too much of what happened then, so she shook her head again as if that would make the moment go away. ”N-n-nevermind.”

Thump thump. Thump thump.

Why did her heart keep beating with such strength? Sure, she felt conscious of how close Roche came to her, along with how she touched, but it was not bad. It was not the touch of Grandmother or heavens forbid, Grandfather, yet… She did not know. It felt a little dizzying. But a part of her also wanted more? It made no sense.

It was a fool’s hope that Shuuko would be less tightly wound given the change in setting, but she still gave the same deflections that made Roche ache to damn her soul in an act of bloody minded violence. Even with those responsible long gone, the wounds they left were still open and weeping all over Shuuko.

I’d never have thought Nyxia would be the easier girl to connect to. For all that she was walking wounded and still living with her tormentors, neglect was a different beast then direct and active malice.

”If you’re so willing to let others apply labels to you, I wish you would accept the ones I offer as well.” The Rule Keeper sighed, her arms shifting to wrap around Shuuko’s neck in an embrace while she pressed her face into the crook of her neck. There she inhaled, drawing in a scent that was anything but filthy, and let her head rest upon her shoulder.

”For one, you’re a great cuddler. I might just fall asleep like this…..”

Two forces warred within Shuuko’s body. One of them trembled from how close Roche came. Muscles tensed up as she pushed herself close, anticipating a blow that could descend upon the protector at any time, whispering well-known promises of pain. The other, slightly stronger one felt a certain connection when Shuuko’s body was embraced, along with many unknown things that kept puzzling Sylvia. It almost felt as though she needed or wanted more of it, but not in a bad way.

She grasped for straws as she tried to hold onto it even as waves of uncertainty broke it up into fragments whenever she took a stronger breath or the discomfort started to outweigh the pleasant weight against her skin. Fortunately, it never seemed to get too bad, so she remained in Roche’s embrace, barely so.

”I… umm… I am not even hugging you,” she responded, not knowing what else to do. Indeed, her hands felt like useless lumps of flesh by her side as her touch had dropped from her friend’s face. ”Should I… hug you?” She knew even less on how to respond to the other things Roche said, only knowing that they were false. White lies spoken to make her feel better about herself.

And yet it was still leagues better than home.

”You’d feel better if you did.”

The Rule Keeper’s reply under layers of torpor, the rigors of the prior night’s battle slipping further from her the heavier her eye lids fluttered as she nestled herself against Shuuko.

Her breath came soft and warm, flushing across Shuuko’s neck in wisps. As close as they were she grew in tune with the girl’s conflicted reactions and felt her smile bloom beyond simple contentment when Shuuko’s body slackened in response to her.

”I’d like having your strong arms around me. Make me feel safe and warm.”

She could do that. Even if it made her feel weird, even if she felt all too conscious about it, Sylvia could definitely do it. So as her friend requested, she slowly, carefully wrapped her arms around the rulekeeper. It felt awkward at first, not to mention she felt like she could hurt Roche if she did it incorrectly, so after she did some initial fumbling around, she wanted to ask her friend how to hug her properly…

Only to see that her eyes had closed and her breath remained steady.

Well then. It looked like Sylvia would have to turn into Roche’s pillow for the night.

How would this incident affect them?

Evil Eye would likely be angry. They had discussed the new light magical girl and yet Hotaru attacked her using Shuuko’s body, which reflected poorly on all of them. A lot of the club would not care or would even understand, of course, however, her… err… their partner remained a worrisome consideration. She liked to be mysterious and even Ember could hardly predict what she would do, so it was difficult to prepare. But if nothing else, she had a flimsy excuse along with a bit of background that might make it more understandable.

Then there was the light girl. She wished to talk with them for some reason, despite the injuries Hotaru caused and that could also cause trouble. With how the mental space of Takae Shuuko had shifted, they could not see Chiaki anymore. Only her presence remained to assure them she did not die a gruesome death, that their mission had not failed yet. Perhaps the light girl could help reach out towards her again? Perhaps they also made a mistake in shielding her from the truth of the outside world in an attempt to be merciful.

Too many questions. Too few answers. So she put one foot in front of another as she advanced through the streets, the mechanical motion made possible only via Sylvia’s ever-vigilant watch, the subtle interface moving Shuuko’s limbs to avoid any hazard nearby. Fortunately, at this hour there weren't many people walking around. There would be no repeat of what happened at the school with Misoka. Then again, they had barely gotten away from their dorm. There was plenty of time for things to change. Which was why Ember was left to focus on what truly mattered. Such as one of her fellow Detention Club members approaching.

”Good morning, Oyama-san,” she waved with a smile.

But Oyama-san did not smile back. Her brow was pinched together and she was power walking straight for her. She nearly tripped on the curb, but stumbled right back into a stride. She did not wave, she did not speak. When she was just inside Shuuko’s personal space, she stopped.

”...” Suki folded her arms. ”You don’t have to be so formal with me, ya know?” Shuuko and Suki were in a weird spot in the club. They were too new to be considered seniors, yet too old to be considered fresh meat. They had even been in the club for around the same amount of time. Though they both filled the niche role of super-fast-melee-specialist and were seldom paired together. That, and it was hard enough for Oros to keep her focus with one partner. ”A-anyway! I’m running a few errands, but I wanted to ask you something. Tsubomi hasn’t been acting like herself lately. She’s been a little weird ever since the beach thing, but it felt like it really ramped up a few weeks ago.” She wiped her nose on her arm. ”You uh, the two of you got ambushed, right? Did anything weird happen to her?”

”Why, Oyama-san, I’m only being polite,” deflected Ember. She did not react when the other girl moved slightly too close to her, nor did she make a move to get away from her when Suki asked the question and… it was a good one. The last battle, Acid Drop seemed to be completely out of it, so it made sense to question what happened.

”I don’t think I can recall anything strange happening to Kana-san. She did act a little strange, but I don’t know too much about her, so it could be normal.” They had not gotten much in the way of conversation before the light girls showed up, after all. ”I do think what happened during the fight is a cause for concern, however, the best thing I can come up with right now is to try and talk to her.”

”Yea, I’m working on it…” Suki kept her arms crossed. ”Anyway, that was just something I was wondering about. But uh, you and Roach are an item now, huh? You seem like you’ve really warmed up to each other. If you don’t mind me asking: Why?”

Ah. Right. Sylvia’s relationship with Roche. While the protector would have been more suited to answer the question, Ember did not want to give up her time right now and besides, she already knew what to say.

”Do I really need a reason to get to know someone better?” The schemer’s question sounded sincere, like she thought it needed no explanation. ”I do enjoy her company, yes. But quantifying or qualifying why would be difficult.” No, it really was not. Roche seemed to show genuine concern for Sylvia’s well-being, which in turn served Ember’s purposes well. Sylvia’s purposes, too, even if she did not know about it.

”Riiiiiight…” Suki’s eyes squinted just enough to let her know that Suki thought she was a pretty shitty liar. ”I don’t think you’ve made much of an attempt to get to know anyone else, but whatever. If you see Roach, mind telling her something for me during your next cuddle session? Tell her I’ll give her another chance if she can get Nyxia to spend some time with me.” Suki didn’t wait for a reply. She immediately turned on her heel to leave. The familiar click of a zippo lighter filled the air, and so did the smell of cigarette smoke.

”Now, please hold on for a moment, Oyama-san,” Ember stepped forward to catch up with Suki, who looked a little surprised that she would bother. ”For one, that is an accusation I wish to defend myself against, for it wounded me to my very soul,” a wink to let her know that the schemer understood the message behind Suki’s response, as well as to indicate being playful.

The delinquent blinked. ”O-okay?”

”For two, may I know what is this exactly about? I am aware that you two were not on the best of terms, however, it sounds like something serious happened.” And if so, she needed to know about it.

Suki placed a hand over her face and sighed. The smoke rolled out between her fingers. ”I guess that was unfair.” She tucked her hands into her pockets. ”I’m just a little on edge because of how Tsubomi’s been. You don’t have to hear my life story. Roach beat me up and I decided I couldn’t be her partner anymore. It happened forever ago and I don’t like talking about it.”

”I’m sorry to hear about that,” Shuuko bowed her head slightly towards Suki. ”I’ll have a conversation with Roche about it, and I hope you have fortune in your endeavours with Kana-san. If you need a third perspective on that, I would be more than willing to help.” SHe meant it, too. She needed to have a conversation with the rulekeeper about what exactly went down, because it seemed that Suki did not wish to talk about it. That did not surprise her at all.

”I’ll uh, be sure to talk to you about it later.” She reached for her lips and pointed past Shuuko with her cigarette. ”Speaking of, I’ll see if I can get anywhere with her.”

”Good day to you then, Oyama-san.” she said to close off the conversation, then went on to continue her contemplations. Suki’s hands slid back into her pockets, but she watched Shuuko for a moment before departing herself.

It was getting late in the day. Before long, it would be safe for Norika to turn into Nyxia. Then she could go on some adventures with Roche and maybe blow up a few miseria. That should have been cause for elation, yet, concern continued to gnaw at the back of her mind. In all previous instances, the slaying of Miseria, and especially Giga Miseria, had led to an increase in power for her and the other club members. But that hadn’t happened when they’d fought the bone giant and its disgusting bird minions. While it was possible the reason for that was simply because Rei had dispatched them all single handedly, Norika strongly suspected there was something else at play. Or someone…

*knock knock*

”Girl.” It was her father. ”If you’re not dressed, do so immediately.” Prior to becoming a magical girl, Norika would spend her evenings sleeping to preserve her energy. Usually her father would never risk waking her, and even forbade his servants from doing so. ”I have someone I need you to speak with. Don’t keep me waiting, child.”

Norika gasped, her father’s voice shattering her musings. A moment later, she had caught her breath enough to stammer out a meek reply. “Y-Yes, f-father.”

Clutching her pendant tightly, the frail girl tried her best to calm her racing heart. W-Who could he possibly want me to speak to? her racing mind wondered. C-Could it be that man from before?

She desperately hoped not. Norika had never been the most outgoing person, and the crippling social anxiety she felt in her weak mundane form would only be exacerbated by the nature of what that man probably wanted to talk with her about. It was no exaggeration to say that such a discussion terrified her more than any battle with Miseria ever could, but although she wanted nothing more than to curl up under her covers, she knew she had to face this most daunting of battles head on. Donning her robe and gripping her cane with a trembling hand, Norika slowly made her way to where her father and the mysterious guest were waiting…

It turned out her worst fears were true.

The only people in the lounge room were her father and that stranger from the other day. Though he was dressed much better today. It was almost the same outfit, but everything was neatly tucked in and there were no wrinkles in his clothes. The man and her father both cat on large lounges, but there was a small one nearby that was reserved specifically for Norika. It was located in the dark corner of the room and was always kept clean. There were also no allergens in that corner of the room, and two silent air purifiers created a germ barrier between her chair and the rest of the lounge.

”There she is.” He pointed at her while holding a joyless expression. ”Well? Go sit in your chair and I’ll explain.” Once Norika hobbled over to her chair and sat down, a maid snatched up her cane and backed out of the corner. It was almost as if they were trying to trap her.

While she seated herself, both men watched her. Her father displayed his usual thinly concealed impatience with her, but the man sitting across from him was different. It was hard to see his eyes through his shades, but it appeared as if he was looking at her with complete indifference. Or was it curiosity, like a cat that had spotted a cornered mouse?

Norika’s heart stopped when she saw who her father wanted her to speak with. It took all her willpower to not collapse on the spot, but she managed to finally settle her shaking body into her seat. So great was her state of near paralysis, that she barely even noticed the maid take away her cane. Indeed, her fear was keeping her rooted to the chair even more than her feeble body’s lack of mobility. Swallowing and taking several panicked breaths, she finally gathered the strength to whisper a timid, “H-H-Hello. M-My f-father said y-you w-wanted to s-speak with m-me…?” she asked, her head bowed as she tried her best not to look too long at the unnerving man’s inscrutable visage.

The man placed his hands together and leaned forward. ”Hello, Norika. I’m Makoto. I’m told it means good and honest, which I feel is a fair assessment of my character. We saw each other the other day, remember?”

Though her father knew she wouldn’t speak that easily. ”Utter disgrace of a child…” He grumbled just loud enough for her to hear. With a groan, her father leaned in. ”Makoto here thinks you might have heard something the day the break in happened, and it could help catch the person responsible for such an egregious theft.”

”Your father has agreed to let me talk to you alone. But of course, you need to agree to it as well.”

Her father presented a photo album with Kaito’s name on it. ”Kaito was such a gifted boy. He loved many things, photography included.” He seemed to be explaining mostly for Makoto’s benefit. ”We were going to give you his photo album if your grades improved, which they have not. However, I’m prepared to photocopy a few pages for you if you can get through Makoto’s questions. Do you think you can handle that?”

Norika gasped when she saw the album, her eyes going wide. She and Kaito had spent many long hours looking through its pages, her brother describing the story behind every shot, describing a world she, at the time, hadn’t been able to enter, and feared she never would. Of course, after his death, their father had confiscated it, and Norika had resigned herself to never looking upon its pages again. To hold it over her now, as a bribe, as blackmail… She clenched her teeth, her hatred of the cold, heartless man who called himself her father growing even stronger. But she couldn’t act on those feelings, even if she wanted to, couldn’t reveal just how strong she had actually become…

“Y-Yes,” the sickly girl assented in a meek whisper. “I-I a-agree.”

”Good girl.”

Her father tucked the album under his arm and left, not bothering to glance at either of the two still in the lounge.

”Hmmm.” Makoto took a moment to look the girl over, or maybe he was just staring her down. Then he reached into his vest and pulled out a notepad and a pen. He rested his arms on his knees and looked straight ahead. ”This won’t take long.” Those could have been words of reassurance, but his tone made it sound like they were meant for her father rather than her. ”So the break in. Do you remember the night that it happened?”

“Y-Yes,” Norika confirmed with a nod. “I-I was i-in my r-room,” she added, her voice as quiet and timid as ever. “R-Resting in b-bed.”

However, although she was still incredibly nervous, it occurred to Norika that there was no way a meek and frail girl like her could ever have contributed to the break in, and it was equally impossible for any mundane person to know about Nyxia Torrentia, let alone that she and Norika were one and the same. Thus, there was really no reason to feel anxious about lying to this man. Norika really had been resting in her bed that night, at least until she’d determined it was safe to transform into Nyxia, so it was only natural to assume that she had remained in bed while the robbery took place, a robbery that weak, sickly Norika would know nothing about.

”Right.” He started to write. ”And you didn’t hear anything unusual while you were resting?”

“T-That’s c-correct,” Norika replied.

This was actually the truth, since, although the Omega Obliterator usually emitted the typical sci-fi sounds of a death ray being fired, Nyxia was fully capable of silencing it on the rare occasions when stealth was required. As such, there was nothing for anyone to hear when she used it to slice open her parents’ safe.

His hand froze momentarily, then with a nod he continued to scribble. ”You were aware of the safe’s existence before it was opened, correct? I can imagine your parents showed you the safe after it had been pillaged. Do you remember when you saw it after the robbery?”

“I-I, um, w-wasn’t s-shown the s-safe,” Norika replied with a frown. “M-My parents d-don’t usually i-involve me in s-such matters…” she explained.

”Then you don’t know where it’s located? You don’t even know what it looks like?”

“I-I know r-roughly where it is,” Norika replied. “I-I s-saw it o-once, w-with my b-brother,” she explained. “B-But that was s-several years a-ago.”

”I see.” His pen blazed across his notepad. He wasn’t even looking at it, or, maybe he was. ”Do you mind telling me a bit about Kaito? You seemed to be close to him.”

“Y-Yes,” Norika confirmed with a hesitant nod. “I-I was v-very close to h-him. H-He was e-everything I’m n-not, s-strong, intelligent, s-skilled, h-healthy… B-But he n-never looked d-down on m-me,” she added. “H-He was always s-so s-supportive and k-kind. H-He was my o-only f-friend, a-and n-now…” Her voice trailed off as she struggled to fight back tears.

”What a nice brother.” Makoto wrote down a few more notes. After flipping through a few of them he swung the notepad shut. ”It must have been hard to lose someone like that. I mean, I’m sure your father’s a great man, but that was just monstrous.” He wrinkled his nose. ”He’s using your brother’s possessions to control you? It just seems so low to take something like that and guide you around as if it were a carrot on a stick. Your family isn’t showing you the same kind of love your brother did. The servants aren’t much better, are they?”

“N-No… T-They’re not…” Norika confirmed after a moment. “T-They all h-hate me,” she added in an anguished whimper. “T-They always h-have…”

”It must be lonely.” He put away his notepad and pen. ”You’re too ill to leave the house. Opportunities to make friends must be scarce. But they do exist.” He smiled. ”There’s a club at Hibusa High called The Good Samaritan Club. The club’s president has personally made a few visits here. Apparently Misoka Takahashi was so insistent and charming that even your mother couldn’t turn her away. She did a toy drive one year and a fundraiser for some chronic disease research the next. I don’t suppose the two of you are friends?”

“N-No,” Norika replied, shaking her head. “I-I don’t even k-know who t-that is.” This was the truth, as, aside from the Detention Club members she was forced to interact with, she didn’t know anyone from Hibusa High. “I-I’m s-sure you a-already know t-that my p-parents consider m-me an e-embarrassment,” she added. “S-So they d-don’t o-often introduce me to o-others.”

”I was afraid of that.” He put his hands on his hips and corrected his posture. ”I kind of know what happened, but you know, I need to check every thread I’m presented with.” He shrugged his shoulders. ”I guess I can share with you what we know. Misoka Takahashi’s mother runs a flower shop. Not long after it burned down, she came into some money and was able to rebuild around the time of the break in. The mother seemed pretty insistent that they found the money. And fair enough, there are robin hood types and, well, your parents are kind of well off.” He crossed his arms. ”The safe seems to have been cut open with a plasma cutter, or an arc welder. The cut is very clean, and while heavy, it wouldn’t be impossible to sneak one into the house. The theft seemed to have happened at night, and it’s quiet enough that nobody would hear it.” He leaned in. ”I’m quite certain that Misoka was the one to do it. She occasionally asks other club members for tools, and would have access to either of those tools from the welding club. After that, she just had to break in and hack into the safe.” While still leaning forward, Makoto extended his hand and pointed at the ground with his gloved hand. ”But what I don’t understand is how she found out about the safe. She managed to avoid security, knew where the safe was, and then cut into it in such a way that she didn’t burn any of the money. Maybe she got lucky, but it would make a lot more sense if she had some help on the inside.” He shook his head. ”Your parents tell me no one should know about the safe. There’s a few trusted advisors that visit once in a blue moon, but only your parents and maybe that ‘utter disgrace’ of a child knows its whereabouts. Call me crazy, but the idea of you conspiring against your parents kind of brings a smile to my face. The idea that they’ve mistreated and belittled you and you just kind of conspired to help someone in need. I mean that story’s kind of cute. Barely a crime, really.” He sighed and leaned back in his seat. ”But it’s sounding like Misoka Takahashi masterminded this herself. Invading a home, destroying private property, theft, that’s a serious crime. He placed his hands together. ”You really have nothing to do with this?”

Norika’s mind raced. It would have been so easy to simply say she knew nothing about the incident. After all, she really didn’t know anything about Misoka. But she did know about her mother, and their family’s flower shop. The last thing she wanted was for them to get in trouble because of her attempts to help them rebuild it. That said, she wasn't about to just reveal to this stranger what really happened. At least, not entirely…

She took a deep breath. “L-Like I s-said, I’ve n-never met t-this Misoka.” Norika replied. “B-But… W-Well, on t-the night you m-mentioned, I d-did see s-something strange. I-I sometimes l-like to l-look at the s-stars t-through my w-window,” she continued. “A-And I n-noticed some movement a-across the y-yard. T-There was a f-full moon, a-and it g-gave just e-enough light f-for me t-to make out a p-person with l-long, teal h-hair. D-Does Misoka h-have hair t-that color?” she asked.

Norika highly doubted it. Of course, that didn’t preclude a wig, but that line of thinking was what Norika was counting on. Now, all she would have to do was get Roche to buy her just such a wig, which she could then plant on a suitably unpleasant individual of her choosing, thus framing them as the culprit.

He looked surprised. ”Really now? This is the first I’m hearing about this…” He pulled back out his notes, checked them, jotted something down, flipped a few more pages, and then slowly let the notepad swing shut. ”No, she does not have teal hair. Though it would not be hard for her to acquire a wig from the theater club.” He tucked everything away in his vest. ”I’m told you have to rest soon. You were very helpful and I will not keep you up any later.” Makoto stood up. ”Good evening. I may talk to you later about the mysterious individual you spotted.”

On his way out of the lounge, Norika’s mother stopped him. ”Was she any help at all?”

”Very. Make sure she gets what she was promised.”

The woman rolled her eyes once Makoto stepped past her. With a wave of her hand, the maid returned to set the cane back in place. Her mother huffed and placed a hand on her hip. ”Go back to your room, please.” She turned her head while she spoke and left the room. The only one who remained was the maid, who’s stern face let Norika know that this was the most annoying part of her job.

​​“Y-Yes, M-Mother,” Norika replied with a meek nod, before tightly grasping her cane and hobbling her way back to the welcoming safety of her room.

Upon arriving at her room, she would find that everything was more or less the same. With an exception to a glossy piece of photo paper set on her desk. Upon closer inspection, she would discover that it was a page of Kaito’s album that had been copied onto some high quality gloss paper. Her parents might have been cruel to her, but they did keep their word. Their pride forbids them from breaking it.

As her eyes trailed down the pages, remembering the stories Kaito would share with her, she would come across a photo that she didn’t remember. Of course she remembered everything Kaito had told her. He had shown Norika this picture and told her it was a photo of all the club presidents on the last day at school. It was an impulsive selfie he felt like snapping towards the end of the day. He just turned around, held his camera out, and snapped a picture of everyone. It was possible that Misoka was in this picture somewhere. But what Norika hadn’t remembered, or perhaps hadn’t realized was more accurate, was the girl that Kaito was standing beside. It was Rei, and her cool exterior had been broken wide open. She had a nervous smile on her face and was weakly waving at the camera. That made his hand on her waist that much easier to notice.

“W-What…?!” Norika stammered, her eyes going wide and her breath catching in her throat.

While the fact that her brother knew Rei was understandable, the expression on the enigmatic club president’s face, and the way Kaito was holding her, were shocking in the extreme. W-Were they friends? Norika wondered as she continued to gaze into the copied photograph in an attempt to glean some further, hidden insight on the scene it depicted. W-W-Were they… more than that? Whatever the case, she had to know the truth, and not even Rei’s signature aura of mystery would be allowed to stop her from doing so…

---

---

The next day passed in relative peace. Haruna attended school as normal, although she passed out as soon as she sat down for her lunch. Last night had been a bit spooky for everyone, so it wasn’t odd that she’d slept poorly - in her own mind, at least. She dragged herself home, avoiding the temptation to take flight, and ascended the stairs to her apartment once again. There was no Mrs. Tanaka to help with groceries this time, so Haruna had time to settle in. In theory, this time was allocated for homework and studying, but she found herself yawning after finishing the first assignment. "I can probably just catch up tomorrow evening, right?” she asked the plushie that now sat in one corner of her desk. Haruna stood from the chair and flopped onto the bed with a sigh. She was pretty sure she had nothing else to do until nightfall, so she’d have time to take a longer nap.

Or so she thought, anyway, until she heard a knock at her door. Another, smaller sigh, and she stood up. "Be right there,” she called, before hurrying past her discarded backpack to open up.

On the other side of the door stood a relatively tall girl wearing the Hibusa High senior’s uniform. Her hair was as a long, elegant journey into the night that framed her face with short bangs and reached nearly to her thighs. Her eyes offered the warmth of cooling embers, the polite smile on her lips only serving to complete the image. She also seemed familiar, as though Hizuki had seen her before. Quite recently, too.

”Ah! It is nice to meet you. Might you be Haruna Maeda?” She bowed her head slightly as she spoke, just enough to acknowledge an underclassman in the same school.

"Uh, yeah.” She frowned a bit as she tried to place the girl exactly. They’d probably shared a class or passed one another in the hallway or something, right? "Did you need something?” As she waited for the reply, she pondered further. No, it’s more than that. Her desires are hazy. This is a magical girl, which means she’s probably in the Detention Club. I don’t know if I should let on that I know that. She tried not to let her nerves show as she realized which member this was, if Haruna was correct anyway, despite the promise of future civility.

”Oh no! I umm… I uhh…” The girl in question averted her eyes. Her desires wavered for a moment even through the fog of magic before they refocused. ”I… I heard you got injured recently. I am here to check up on you?” She did not seem to be sure of herself as she spoke, turning her statement into a question. ”If… if that’s okay. I won’t impose.”

". . . You should probably come in. There’s not a lot of space, but you can sit at my desk, if you want.” She stepped aside to allow the dark-haired girl passage into the apartment. It was still rather austere, with only a couple errant plushies to break up the blank walls surrounding the desk and bed. Haruna’s laundry was just sort of pushed up against one wall, and the occasional discarded box of precooked food rested on the kitchen countertops. "You’re here about the whole, uh, throttling thing, right?”

”It’s that obvious, huh?” A sigh left the girl’s lips as she crossed the threshold. ”Yes. I’m here because I want to make things right. I don’t have healing magic anymore, but I hoped… I hoped I could help you a little.” Were those really words from a dark magical girl? It did not seem like something an avatar of selfishness or a selfish person would say. Even the way the girl’s eyes looked at Haruna seemed different than the gaze of most Dark Magical Girls.

”Would I be allowed to do so?” A genuine question. An honest-to-god, genuine question that did not seem to harbor ill intentions, but did hold the wish not to overstep boundaries.

"I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about me.” She gave a small smile that was probably intended to be reassuring, though the effect was spoiled somewhat by the state of the room and the bags under her eyes. "I guess I won’t stop you from doing anything to help if you really want to, though?” Her gaze and tone both were questioning, wondering how this rapid turn had happened. "Like I told Evil Eye, I mostly just came here to see if the Detention Club needed any help. I was expecting to get a little beat up in the process.”

The girl tilted her head to the side, the gesture making her seem three or four years younger than she looked. ”But we did say we wouldn’t attack you! So I’m here because of that and first…” she made a show of looking around, ”Is it all right if I start tidying things up here? I’ll ask where things go, but I don’t think it’s healthy to sit here like this!” By all that was holy and sacred, was this girl sparkling?! No, no, that must have been a trick of the light, though her expression did look overly happy for someone who just offered to clean up a mess.

Haruna looked a bit pained at having her mess pointed out. ”Is it really that bad? I just haven't gotten around to cleaning my room, since I need to cover a lot more area on my patrols than back in the city of light.” There, she'd had plenty of girls with overlapping territories to split the load with. Hibusa wasn't nearly as big, but with only the Detention Club hunting when they felt like it and not bothering with the rest, it was a big obligation to meet for a lone light girl.

”Now that,” the girl paused, dramatically so before she winked, stuck out her tongue and gave the V-sign over her winking eye, ”is a secret!” She then giggled as though she had just made the world’s greatest joke before she adopted a more serious expression and started to survey the room more thoroughly. ”More seriously, hunting Miseria helps us too, so maybe I could try to talk to everyone about it.” She sounded serious about her offer, too, as she started categorising what she needed to do.

”I'd be happy to leave all the miseria to you guys, honestly. As long as people are safe, it doesn't matter to me.” She almost insisted she was fine to handle it anyway, but there were limits to even Haruna's ability to turn down help freely offered. ”I'd be able to start later and end earlier if I just had to focus on people who need help.”

Haruna paused for a moment, clearly weighing whether she should say something. It's probably easier if I start by accepting what she said, even though it doesn't really sound like much of a reason to attack someone you don't know either way. “You said you didn't recognize me. Does that mean you thought I was someone else, or did you just, like, assume I was a GEM muscling in on your territory?”

The girl started by cleaning and tidying up a shelf for the scattered schoolbooks. She was maybe a dozen seconds in when she winced at Haruna’s question.

”Yeah… that wasn’t true. I didn’t know what to say. Umm… I still don’t want to say it. But umm… Not all light girls are nice.” Her tone darkened as she spoke, the sentence hanging in the air as though it were a noose. ”I promise not to attack you again.” Despite her speaking at a low volume, the conviction in her voice stood solid as steel.

Haruna held up a hand placatingly. ”I won't pry. All I really need to know is that you had troubles with other light girls.” She didn't know this girl very well, and suspected Shatterscape didn't really want to bare her soul to a relative stranger. That thought prompted a realization. ”What's your name, by the way? I only know you as Shatterscape.”

”That’s a little…” Why would one hesitate on sharing their name? It almost seemed as though this topic had almost the same weight to it as the previous one. Especially because the girl sighed before giving her answer. ”I guess it’d be the best if you called me Shuuko.”

”I don't mean to be pushy. I guess I just thought it was fair, since you know my actual name now.” Haruna shrugged. ”Either way, I hope we can be friends from now on? Since we'll be working together at least a little.”

”Hopefully, yeah! You’ll find me under that name in school, too,” the girl responded with a smile in her voice. ”Just don’t be surprised if I act different, okay? I’ve got a reputation to keep at school.” While the choice of words was questionable, perhaps, it did not feel as though they implied her to be a delinquent. Just that there was a difference between how she acted in one place and in another.

Haruna considered Shuuko's statement in light of the fractured desires she'd sensed that night. There was probably something more going on than Shuuko was letting on, but there wasn't really enough information to actually figure it out. ”Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Although maybe don't repeat our first meeting at school, that'd be a little awkward to explain.” She gave Shuuko a small smile, making it clear she was just indulging in some light ribbing.

The girl winced as she lifted one of the books onto the shelves. ”I’ll keep that in mind,” she responded with a bit of regret seeping into her voice before it turned cheerful once again. ”Anyways, let’s hope that the others will welcome you too! Oh! Maybe we can host a welcome party for you?”

”For Haruna, or for Hizuki? I haven't really told everyone who I am yet, and I'm not actually sure I should.” There was clear conflict in her tone; Haruna disliked lying, even if only through omission. It seemed like the best approach for helping, even if she was pretty sure people would figure it out on their own eventually. ”I don't think I need to tell Evil Eye though, she probably already figured it out. Rei probably knows too, she seems kinda omniscient.”

”Everyone in the Detention Club knows each other’s identities,” replied the girl as she tidied up the stack she had been building, then bent down for the last book she wanted to place, ”Even if there are some special circumstances,” namely, herself, ”so you should introduce yourself! You’ll make more friends that way. Also, it wasn’t that hard to find you. I came here straight away, didn’t I?” A healthy dose of mischief entered the girl’s voice as she professed how easy it was to find Haruna.

”I guess that makes sense. It’s a little awkward, though, because I got invited to the club while everyone else thought I wasn’t a magical girl, and then Rei told me I was in separately from that.” After a couple more moments of watching Shuuko clean up after her, Haruna stood up herself and started to collect trash for disposal, unable to watch someone else labor on her behalf any longer.”I didn’t realize I was that easy to follow, though. I thought I was doing a decent job of staying hidden on my way home.”

”There’s more than that at work here,” responded the girl as she looked at Haruna, her eyes widening. ”Ah, you don’t have to help! Weren’t you doing your homework? I did this because I genuinely wanted to uh… apologise and… um…” she trailed off as she spoke, averting her eyes as a touch of rouge appeared on her cheeks for a second before she suddenly perked up and started to speak forcefully. ”Anyways! You don’t have to help me help you! That’d defeat the point of helping!”

”R-right. Sorry.” Haruna sat back down, trying to actually focus on her homework, before realizing she’d never actually established what she was doing. It hadn’t been homework at all. It’d be a bit awkward to tell her that she’d been getting ready to take a nap, so the light girl decided to just roll with it. She did still need to keep her grades up, after all. A yawn cracked her jaw open as soon as she began to reach for her math textbook. ”You were saying something about there being more at work?” she asked, pushing past.

”The Detention Club’s scary,” came the non-answer from the girl as she turned back to her self-appointed task. She started to pick up the trash that Haruna had tried to move. ”I think you’ll understand once we welcome you. Oh! I can’t wait. Another girl li-” she cut herself off abruptly, almost slamming her jaws shut, only to continue with a more hurried cadence. ”I meant things are going to be much brighter with you around.” She deliberately emphasized the word, making it clear that she meant the pun.

Haruna tilted her head, but elected not to press Shuuko on whatever she’d been about to say. Instead, she shook her head and snorted at the comment on the effects of her presence. ”Yeah, hopefully something like that,” she said with a small laugh. ”Of course, maybe that’s a bad thing. Kiyo acted like she was gonna puke just on hearing my introduction as a magical girl.”

”Kiyo’s always like that, so don’t worry. I think she bit a lemon the day she was born and she hasn’t stopped eating a lemon a day ever since!” The girl laughed. ”Besides that and umm… my… err… unwelcome greetings,” and boy was that a euphemism for trying to murder someone in cold blood, ”Are you feeling okay in the city so far?”

She nodded. ”Yeah. I’m settling in, slowly, and getting a good handle on the layout. It’s a lot easier when you see it from above regularly. Hibusa’s a lot less noisy than the city of light, too, which is nice. It’s easier to sleep at . . . well, I don’t really sleep at actual night that often right now, but you know what I mean. Plus, honestly, I was expecting the whole club to be hostile to my presence. I didn’t think Rei would allow me to exist here at all, going off her reputation.”

”There’s all sorts of rumours about Hibusa Town. Unfortunately, a lot of them are true, so…” the girl spread her arms in a theatrical ‘what can you do’ gesture. ”I know why you believed it. Honestly… I just wish Hibusa was a brighter place.” Now that sounded strange from the lips of a dark magical girl, didn’t it? She clearly meant it in the metaphorical sense, too, as she continued to elaborate. ”It’d be great if there were less Miseria to cause people pain…”

Haruna sort of shrugged and gave another small smile. ”That’s why I’m here, I guess. I know there are dark girls with wishes like that, and nobody’s really trying to fulfill them. I don’t think someone should be ignored like that just because they didn’t match up to someone’s standards or had something really bad happen to them, you know? There’s also the rest of the town, which is why I hunt miseria, at least.”

The girl nodded a little too enthusiastically to that. ”It isn’t like hunting Miseria hurts us. Maybe you really should talk with Nyxia, she’d enjoying kil- hunting them with you,” the girl smiled as she finished collecting the wrappers and small pieces of trash around the apartment she found. ”Oh! Maybe we should work together! I think she’d like you!”

”That’s not a bad idea. I don’t really know where she hangs out, usually, but I wouldn’t mind being part of a team for once. Back in the city of light, I was usually doing my own thing. I had other magical girl friends, but no actual group I was part of.” She thought back to Nyxia’s reactions to her. ”I did get the impression Nyxia liked me, too. So yeah, I’d love to work together.”

The girl held out her hand for a handshake with the widest grin on her face as she reached for Hizuki, almost going as far as to touch the other girl before something occurred to her and she withdrew the offered limb as fast as lightning. ”Ah! I’m so sorry! I… uh… I think I should wash my hands first… but yes! Let’s work together. Umm… now, where can I…?” Her voice trailed off as she averted her eyes.

Hizuki blinked, having begun to react to what she thought was going to be a handshake. Shuuko’s reaction was. . . puzzling, to say the least. ”Er, there’s a sink over in the kitchen area,” she said, pointing across the counter dividing it from the main area of the apartment. ”And another one in the bathroom.” She hesitated for a moment. ”Are you alright?”

”Yes, I’m fine. I’ll be right back!” The girl ducked into the bathroom for a few moments and returned just as quickly. ”Again, I’m sorry,” she said before she offered her hand again. This time, she met Haruna’s grip head on with her own.

She took the handshake and returned it firmly. ”Looking forward to working with you. Assuming Rei doesn’t decide to have an issue with it, or something. I still haven’t really gotten a read on her.” Was she actually worried about hygiene that much. . . ? Actually, that wasn’t that weird, considering the state of her room and how concerned Shuuko had been with cleaning it.

”Great! Just… uhh… again, don’t be surprised if I act different at school, okay? Promise?” Worry filled the girl’s voice as she let go of the handshake. She pursed her lips, her head tilting slightly to the side. ”Please? It’ll be worth it if you stick it out.” Strangely enough, it almost sounded as though she were apologising for something in advance without saying it out loud.

Haruna's brow furrowed in visible confusion. ”Uh, sure, I guess.” She gave a noncommittal shrug, clearly wondering at the implications of the request. ”Everyone acts a little different in different contexts. It's probably fine?”

The girl looked deep into Haruna’s eyes, uncomfortably so. Though the distance between them did not decrease, her gaze seemed as though it were searching her new-found friend’s very soul, examining it mote by mote. The silence between them stretched out for what seemed like a subjective eternity before a smile bloomed on the girl’s face - obviously fake and obviously hiding her true thoughts.

”Hopefully,” she responded, the word weighing a thousand tons on her lips. ”Anyway, I’ll finish up here,” she indicated the rest of the room, ”And then I’ll be out of your hair, okay?”

”Okay.” Suddenly, Haruna Maeda felt more uneasy than she had since arriving in Hibusa.

Hibusa High, when divorced from its dark magical girl club, wasn’t that different from any other high school. Things were comparable to Haruna’s experience in the City of Light. Maybe there was a bit more worry in some of the students, but that could easily be chalked up to the quake. In the end nobody had been hurt, and the damage had been minimal.

Rei continued to be a bit of a puzzle. She couldn’t get a good read on her from their brief interaction, but at least she hadn’t done what the light girl had been expecting (i.e., thrown her out or killed her on sight.) I wonder what she does when she isn’t killing entire cities’ worth of miseria. I certainly haven’t seen her around school much.

Haruna had yet to reveal herself to the entire club. She hadn’t been invited to any club activities, and Rei hadn’t sought her out since her recruitment. Shortly she would have to decide if Hizuki was going to help the town out or if she was going to take some time for herself. She happened to be walking past a bush while she considered her options. Immediately, she could feel the bush’s desire to destroy. Its black heart yearned for a great calamity, and rustled its branches. The bush had so much spite, it was able to fling a small pebble at Haruna’s backpack. As terrifying as this might be to most people, the eyes peering out of the bush at her made things feel a lot less paranormal. Her desires were starting to feel familiar.

She blinked, then tilted her head. "Ms. Black?” she asked, after a moment, thoroughly baffled by this choice of approach. They had exchanged cell phone numbers, after all. Haruna supposed this might be a way to confirm her identity, but it wouldn’t exactly be hard to figure that out if Black Gate could actually somehow perceive things through her plushies as Haruna suspected. "What are you doing here?”

Initially, the eyes looked startled. But they hardened just before a black sleeve reached out of the bush and pulled Haruna closer. The bush was just a bit too small for two people to convincingly hide inside. ”How did you know it was me?” Rather than wait for an answer, her eyes scanned her surroundings. ”I thought that might be you. Mr Banana told me he is enjoying his new arrangements. You spoil him.” She started to speak more quietly. ”I was going to call you, but my battery died. The eyeballs are relentless, which is why I look like this. But you can never be too careful.” At this distance, it was easy to see that Black Gate’s human form more clearly. She had pale skin and was wearing an all black dress with some christian jewelry. Crosses hung from her ears and neck, but they had a macabre motif. The pendant cross was adorned with a skull. The only thing that might have tipped off a normal magical girl to her identity was that tired stare she had. ”For a moment I thought you had died. How were you able to survive an encounter with them?”

"Couldn’t you just recharge it. . . ?” Haruna asked in confusion, before shaking it off and continuing, just sort of accepting that she was in the bush now. "The club was actually a lot nicer than I expected. Only one of them tried to kill me, and even then she apologized after.” She scratched at her head, where a bit of bush was poking at her. "Rei even saved my life from some really strong miseria.”

”But that’s only because they want your purity, isn’t it?” She sighed. ”I don’t mean to suggest your life has been easy, but this is the Detention Club we’re talking about. They’re depraved and corrupt, and they get immense joy out of spreading that corruption to the pure. So when they see a paladin shining with optimism-” She lifted a hand to her mouth. She rose out of the bush, standing over the kneeling Haruna. There were a few leaves sticking to her hair. ”Has someone ever…touched you in a way you didn’t like?”

"Wh- N-no!” She stepped back in startlement, blushing at the insinuation. "Nothing like that happened.” Evil Eye had insisted she was doomed to fall, of course, but hadn’t exactly seemed invested in hastening that process. Quite the opposite, in fact. "Why. . . why would you think that would happen? We just fought against a huge swarm of miseria until Rei killed them all. Nobody did anything weird. Or, well, Shaddoll did try to strangle me, but like I said she apologized.” Evidently, her hopes of actually understanding what was up with Maliss - Black Gate, she reminded herself - were fainter than she’d believed.

”Oh.” Black Gate blinked a few times before raising her hands. ”So she didn’t… Alright then.” She lowered her hands. ”I’m surprised they reacted positively. I hear they are often quick to turn light girls away. Most flee and the stubborn ones take up residence nearby, like the frog priestess of the forest.” She brushed herself off and stepped out of the bush. ”Did you need any more of my servants? I have plenty more you could help distribute.”

Haruna shook her head. "I still have plenty from before. I’m new at school, so I haven’t really had a chance to give any of them away.” She still wasn’t sure whether Black Gate had some sort of power that worked through them, or if she was just. . . a little off. Signs pointed to the latter, really, but Haruna wasn’t the judgmental type.

During the discussion between the two, a certain apathetic girl had progressed through part of her process of leaving the school. Once more the Light Girl would be able to sense the desire to kill Tsubomi coming from her, though this time there was a smaller desire to go home as well. She still seemed to be without access to her own magic, and despite trying to think of why all day, she hadn’t come to any conclusions.

All this is to say, she didn’t notice the two in the bush until she caught sight of them in her peripheral vision as she slowly walked past. She came to a stop as her pitiful momentum died out, and she lifted a hand in greeting. ”Namaste.”

Haruna turned to wave hello back, having waited for the lethargic girl to reach the greeting of her own accord. "Hi, Tsubomi. I was just talking to a friend of mine.” She glanced at Black Gate. If Tsubomi were going to question her presence, it would probably take her a while to come to the thought, and a while longer to express it to anyone. "I don’t suppose you want another stuffed animal?”

It was a good thing Tsubomi’s reaction times were so slow. Black Gate looked like a deer caught in the headlights. There was a look of betrayal on her face, but then, as if suddenly understanding the situation, she forced a smile. ”I’m Michi. Pleased to meet you.” She gave a small bow.

A few seconds after the two greeted her, Tsubomi matched Michi’s bow and gave an introduction again. ”Hello.” she said in English. A few seconds later she stood back up to her usual slumped height. ”Are you who gave her the animals? The lion is nice. I think it’s friends with my cat.”

"Yeah, she wanted other people to have them.” Tsubomi had a cat? It was hard to imagine her keeping a pet. Unless it was a mascot? ”I’ve been trying to give them out, like I was saying, but being new in school makes it a little hard. I’ve already got a little bit of a weird reputation,” she said with a small shrug. "Not that there’s anything wrong with weird, but you know how people are.”

”Well...” Black Gate rubbed the back of her head. ”Maybe it would be less weird if others helped you distribute them?”

"That’s a good point. . .” She waited for a moment, considering whether the slow girl would be overburdened by the request. Haruna supposed it probably couldn’t hurt. "Tsubomi, did you want to take a few more and hand them out?”

A singular nod was her response. ”Who to?”

Haruna shrugged. "Pretty much whoever, I guess? Other kids at school, people you know, that kind of thing.” She looked to Michi for confirmation.

”Yes, just pass them around to who you can. You could also use them to decorate a space if you have permission.” Michi continued to look nervous. ”B-but it would be good to make sure they get distributed broadly, and don’t wind up in the hands of people who would destroy them for fun. I think it goes without saying that some people are clumsier than others, but you know. Everyone deserves a chance, right?”

Another nod. ”Okay.” Tsubomi’s head turned from side to side before landing back where it started. ”Why are you in a bush?”

”It’s actually a very interesting story.” Though Michi’s face didn’t look like she was interested. ”So! I don’t actually go to school here, but I thought it would be a good idea to check up on-” She hesitated. ”H-Haruna! Because she has so many of my little plush creations, and I wanted to see how she had been doing. But then when I walked past this bush, I thought I saw a silhouette that looked like Mr Binky. I leaned into the branch, it snapped, and I fell into it. I’m awfully clumsy sometimes. Fortunately, Haruna managed to see me fall in and helped pull me out. The reason why she’s still inside is because she was helping me find my ring, unless-” She patted down her pockets before drawing the aforementioned ring. ”Oh! Silly me! I had it in my pocket the entire time!” Her smile held for a fraction of a second before her worry returned. ”Please don’t spread any rumors. That’s exactly what happened.”

Haruna awkwardly stepped out of the bush, wondering what kind of rumors, exactly, that Michi thought Tsubomi would be spreading. She elected not to speculate too much in light of earlier assumptions made. ”Anyway, um, you said you had some more stuffed animals, right?” Best to move past the subject as fast as possible. The light girl didn't want to add any more lies to the situation. "You could hand those over to Tsubomi,” she suggested.

”I’ll have to get them later. I have too many to carry them all with me.” Michi adjusted her collar.

”Mm. So they can move…” Tsubomi’s head had been tilted during the explanation, but once she thought that she understood, she nodded. ”Can they talk too?”

It was, instead, Haruna's turn to tilt her head quizzically. ”I don't think they do either of those things?” Black Gate’s apparent conversation with them notwithstanding, of course. ”One could have ended up in the bushes because I gave it to the wrong person, or something.”

”Yes, it is as she says, they do not like to move on their own.” She nodded. ”They can talk, but it’s quiet. Here, let me show you.” She pulled a tiny plush angel out of her pocket. It would have been small enough to act as a phone charm. ”Come on Elroy, don’t be shy. Say hi to everyone.” She held the plush out. After a moment of silence, she pulled the angel into an embrace. ”He’s very shy, but did you hear him?” She tucked him into her pocket. ”If you plan on distributing them, you’ll eventually learn to hear their voices. Um, Haruna.“ She turned her head. ”Why don’t the two of you share what you have left, and I’ll just restock you when needed?“

”Sure, that works for me.” She deliberately didn’t mention that she heard nothing. It seemed pretty harmless to let her go on. It’s probably a coping mechanism or something. Dark girls became that way for a reason, after all; that much she knew, at least. ”I’ll bring an extra box to school tomorrow, how’s that sound?” she asked, turning to Tsubomi.

”Mm.” While she didn’t hear the plush speak, Tsubomi figured it was the distance between them. After all, if it was speaking quietly, then that would make sense. ”Okay.”

”Sounds good.“ Michi began to scuff her feet backwards. ”Anyway, I’ll be off now. It was nice to meet you, Tsubomi. Haruna? I’ll have my phone charged up by tomorrow and will call you then.“ She continued to shuffle backwards into the darkness, at which point she disappeared from sight. But not without knocking over a trash can, as evident by the sound coming from the alley.

Haruna watched the odd girl disappear from sight with some remaining bemusement, giving her a small wave as a sendoff. I wonder what’s really going on inside that head. Her newfound gifts were of great help in understanding what made people tick, but they were proving surprisingly unhelpful with Black Gate. A question to ponder later, she supposed, as someone else needed her attention. ”Did you need anything, Tsubomi? Doing okay?”

Giving a similar wave goodbye, Tsubomi was no more learned of anything than before she showed up, but that was fine with her. When Haruna turned her attention to her, Tsubomi shrugged a moment later. ”I was heading home when I saw you two.”

”Want me to walk home with you? I don’t have anything too urgent to do.” Not strictly a lie; she had homework and studying to get to, as well as feeding herself at some point, but looking after the Detention Club was a higher priority.

Tsubomi gave a shrug so slow that it didn’t seem like her shoulders were moving at all. ”I’ll be fine. If you want to.”

Haruna elected to take that as a yes, and gestured for Tsubomi to lead the way. She figured she was in for the long haul here; even if she was starting to suspect Tsubomi was sharper than she seemed on the outside, it didn’t mean she was suddenly going to begin walking at normal speeds. ”I guess I thought it might be nice to get to know each other, since we’ll be in the same club and stuff.”

With the addition of Haruna to the party, Tsubomi did as was suggested and began her long walk home.
”Okay.” After about three meters she stopped. ”Do you live this way?” If she was going to keep up her attempts to be more aware of people’s feelings, even without being able to feel them, then it would be bad to make Haruna walk all the way to her house and then have to go back the other way for herself.

”More or less,” she said with a shrug. Realistically, the distance didn’t matter at all, given how fast she could cross the landscape as Hizuki, but she hadn’t quite decided to let that bit of information slip yet. ”I’ve got time, though, so don’t worry about it.”

”Okay.” Again Tsubomi turned to walk towards her Aunt and Uncle’s home. Given her pace, it usually took about an hour to get there from school, despite the distance being walkable in twenty minutes for a normal person. Even if she was trying to act considerate, Tsubomi wasn’t planning to walk faster than was comfortable for her. Besides, this gave Haruna plenty of time to talk if she wanted. Unless someone were to spontaneously show up out of the blue.

"Hold on!“

A new, yet familiar voice called out from behind both girls as someone who smelled like tobacco leaves rushed towards their position. Rushed might have been a strong word for it. While definitely faster than Tsubomi, this girl had to work on her cardio.

Or stop smoking.



Suki leaned forward and grabbed her own knees. Once she had caught her breath, she stood up. "Wew! I thought I was going to be late. The janitor gets awfully mad when you throw away trash.“ Suki had tossed a lit cigarette into a waste paper basket. But she didn’t feel the need to share the specifics. "And uh...“ She turned to look at Haruna. "...Haruna! Yes, you’re uh, you’re both walking home together. Of course. I should think of a nickname for you.“ She scratched the back of her head. "You guys are doing good I trust?“ As if urging everyone to start walking, Suki took the first step and looked over her shoulder at the others.

”Oh, hey Suki. Yeah, we’re doing alright, I think.” She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose at the odor. Was she really smoking enough to smell like that on her own? Not to mention she probably did something else to make the janitor mad. . . Still, she was here to help. Haruna wasn’t exactly expecting the dark girls to be perfect angels. ”Are you doing okay?”

"Yea! I just need to take a shower.“ She brushed some soot off of her shirt before turning around. She was walking backwards now. "And how’s… Sunshine here? Hmm?“ She locked eyes with Tsubomi. "Same as usual, I take it?“

Tsubomi obliviously lifted her chin, looking into the sky as she began walking towards her partner. But unfortunately, it was cloudy today. ”Too overcast.” A several seconds and three steps later, she realized what Suki had meant. ”Same as last night. Usual, now, I think.” Another few seconds passed before she remembered that she was still looking at the sky and lowered her head to look at Suki’s face. Without being able to feel what she felt, all Tsubomi could do is guess. Just like everyone else.

"Hmmm.“ Suki looked to the sky. "Too cloudy for my ray of sunshine. And not enough rain for my little rainbow...“ With a sigh, she turned ahead. "Do you guys wanna do something fun? You’re not that eager to get home, right?“

”Fun?” Haruna asked, sounding almost as if the idea was a foreign one to her. ”I guess I’d be up for something fun.” Her shoulders bobbed in noncommittal fashion. ”What did you have in mind?”

Suki giggled. "It’ll be a surprise, okay? We’re just going to take a short detour.“ Suki wasn’t able to take more than five steps before speaking again. "Any word about joining the club? We just had someone else join us last night, so I do think Boss Baby is feeling charitable! What do you think, Tsubomi?“

”It’s rare to get new people. Wanting to join or being accepted. Maybe Boss is trying to expand. Maybe she only wants one new person?”

Haruna scratched her head. ”Well, Roche hasn't said anything to me yet about it. I hope I get accepted, though. Not really sure what I'll be doing with myself otherwise.” Technically that was true. . . She failed to suppress a jaw-cracking yawn at the thought of last night. She'd been out basically until dawn, and while her mortal body was fine, the experience of getting that banged up made it hard to take what little opportunity to rest she’d allowed herself.

By the time Haruna got done with her yawn, she could see that Suki had not only stopped walking, but again, turned around to look at her. But there was a look of abject horror on her face, like a masked murderer was standing right behind Haruna. "You met Roach already?“ She began to roll her thumbs over each other. Quickly. "I uh, I thought Aneki was going to be your go between for that. She didn’t like, try to do anything weird, did she?“

The response was abject confusion. ”Uh. . . no?” Seriously, is that all you think about!? “Like I said, I haven’t heard from her. Or Kiyo.” She paused. ”Who also hasn’t like, tried to drag me into a bathroom or whatever you think Roche might have done.”

Suki’s pale skin suddenly became even more pale. If she wasn’t moving, one might suspect that her soul had left her body. "E-excuse me? Why would I think Roach did something like that!?“ She turned her body and held up her arm, as if to deflect the accusation. "She’s just kind of gruff and a bit of a showoff. I was surprised to hear you mention her, I uh...“ As Suki spoke, she started to calm down. "I mean, not all of our members are the friendliest, you know? Tsubomi keeps to herself but not everyone is so easy going.“ It was clear that Suki was still agitated, but she turned away and folded her arms behind her back before walking again. "Dragged into a bathroom.“ She repeated. " I don’t think you have to worry about anyone doing that to you. At least if they did they’d get your consent first.“ Suki chuckled. "I didn’t realize you were that open about that sort of stuff.“

Haruna’s skin did the opposite of Suki’s, her cheeks flushing bright pink. ”Wh-I’m not! You were the one making weird implications!” She waved her arms frantically. ”What else was I supposed to think when you got all shocked and asked if someone tried anything weird!?”

Suki’s entire body shuttered before she came to a stop. She stood there for a moment before a slow, tired sigh left her body. "Huh.“ The words were spoken as if she just had an epiphany. She turned around, yet again, to look at Haruna. "I uh, I just kind of talk like that. I didn’t mean to imply anything, and, uh, I’m sorry. I guess I’m the weird one.“ She bowed her head slightly. Then she flipped out her phone. "Oh, wow, I am late today.“ She brushed her hair out of her face before looking at both of the girls. "They’re expecting me home, so I should really get going. I don’t even think I have time to walk with Tsubomi, so, uh, um, uh, I guess I’ll be heading off.“ She flapped her hand at them. "Bye-bye.“ She spun on her heel and walked off, but it was a pace Tsubomi wouldn’t be able to keep up with.

”O-oh, um, I didn’t mean to chase you off. . . !” Haruna called after her, briefly leaving Tsubomi behind as she moved to follow. ”I just didn’t know how to react, I’m sorry.” The light girl in hiding sounded genuinely pained by how bothered Suki seemed, weirdness or no. ”I wanna see whatever surprise you had in mind, if that’s still okay.”

"Ah, I dunno, it’s pretty late...“

Tsubomi blinked, then again. When she finally snapped out of her futile attempts to access her magic, Suki was walking running away. It was also about that time that the conversation caught up with her. Suki definitely [seemed to be having some pretty strong emotions, but was she really? Tsubomi never knew her to pretend to feel things she didn’t, but lots of things she’d consider strange had been happening lately.

Turning to where Haruna had just been standing only to find her missing, her head moved to the right and then left before she caught sight of her again. She was chasing after Suki, which was probably a good thing since not doing so would be worse for the girl everyone called a pervert. She tried to follow, but even at her best speed she was only almost as fast as a normal walk, so she chose to just keep her focus on Suki as she trailed further and further behind.

While trying to dissuade Haruna from following her, she caught a glimpse of Tsubomi looking back at her. With a sigh, the delinquent stepped past Haruna. "Okay, we can go look.“ She arrived before Tsubomi. "But we do need to move a little faster.“ Suki might have been a skinny, tar lunged highschooler, but Tsubomi was relatively fun sized. It wasn’t too hard to get the girl up on her back. She could carry her a little while like this. "I’m probably not going to be able to talk very much, but uh, how about you tell us why you’re hanging out in Hibusa town?“

Haruna looked down at the ground. ”I moved in here with my uncle a few weeks ago. My, uh. . .” She trailed off, not really sure how much she wanted to say here. ”I live here now. That’s all.” The drop in mood was palpable.

From her new vantage point, Tsubomi watched Haruna avoid the question, but didn’t feel any real desire to dig. Instead, she treated it like a normal conversation and tried to act the way that was probably expected of someone. ”I live with my uncle too. Is your aunt here too?”

”I do have other family in town, but my uncle lives alone. It’s usually just me in the apartment, since he’s pretty busy.” Haruna didn’t mention that she’d more or less deliberately slipped through the cracks, trying to be left to her own devices with a minimum of supervision.

”That would be convenient. Do you get an allowance, or have a job?” Tsubomi wondered if it would be worth living mostly alone, when that would mean having to do housework and cooking for herself. She’d probably starve to death, if she were honest with herself.

”An allowance. I think I’d die if I had to work a job on top of the rest of my schedule,” Haruna said, somewhat ruefully. ”Especially if I get into the club properly. I’m lucky, though, my family’s pretty well off overall, so my allowance is really nice.”

”The club isn’t a lot of work.” Sure, they were “officially” there to help people with random things, and they did so, but at least in Tsubomi’s experience most of it was during the school day. ”Do you have a lot of time set for studying?”

Haruna nodded. ”Studying, and I’m thinking of trying out for one of the sports teams at school. I was on a few back home, and in the meantime I’ve been trying to stay in shape.” She still felt a bit bad about lying, but it was probably still good to keep what was actually taking up so much time under wraps. The club had been pretty welcoming, but that didn’t necessarily mean she wanted every dark girl in town to know where Hizuki the Daybreak slept. Or their light counterparts, for that matter, given how . . . enthusiastic. . . the GEMs could be.

”Mm.” Haruna didn’t really look like the sporty type to Tsubomi, but she didn’t realize that she even had that thought. Instead, the thought she noticed was… ”What sport do you want to play?” Her wording accidently implied what her subconscious was wondering, not that she was aware of it. Was Haruna going to join the Track Team with Roche? Or was she going to join multiple?

”I hadn’t really decided yet. I can’t be in as many as I was before. . . maybe I could join some with someone else in the club?” She glanced over Suki and Tsubomi. They, similarly, did not look like the sporty type. Haruna might’ve looked more like the type if she wasn’t perpetually exhausted, at least.

”What were you in before?”

”Kendo, tennis, and baseball. I mostly started kendo to get out of piano lessons for it. It always annoyed Mom a little.” She sounded happy to talk about her sports, but the mention of her parents made her expression fall a bit, despite her efforts to hide it. ”I just don’t like sitting still for that stuff, even if the alternative was ‘too boyish.’”

”Kendo… Maybe you’ll be club bodyguard.” A pause for a moment. ”Why don’t you like piano? Music is good.”

Haruna shrugged. ”Like I said, I’m just bad at sitting still. It’s not like there’s anything wrong with piano or something like that, it’s just, I dunno, not really my thing.” She thought for a moment. ”Also my tutor was some old guy that smelled funny. We didn’t get along very well.”

Suki’s face had been getting reader and reader as they walked along. Finally she stopped and kneeled so that Tsubomi could climb off of her back. Slowly. At her own pace. Once Tsubomi was off, Suki sighed and ran a hand across her forehead. "That, was, a work out“ she managed between breaths. Once she stood up, she faced Haruna. "One of the club members is really into music and is trying to start her own band. Willow plays the violin, Tsubomi sings, and I play drums. If you don’t like sitting down, maybe a keytar would be more your style. You could hop around like a lead guitarist while playing the piano, essentially.“ As if to demonstrate, Suki grabbed an air keytar and started hopping around. Though she started coughing shortly afterwards and stopped her prancing. "Um, or you could always put on some taps and dance around. Kendo requires good footwork, right?“

Haruna couldn’t help but cringe slightly at the thought of spending more time than necessary with Willow, despite the fact that only Hizuki was supposed to know Willow. ”It does, but I don’t think there’s that much similarity between kendo and tap dancing.” She debated internally for a moment, weighing her various goals against the potential rudeness of insinuating further that Suki’s fitness might be lacking. ”I dunno about joining a band, but did you maybe want to join me on my afternoon run sometime? I actually wanted to ask you about something in private, so that’d be a good chance.”

"Oh!“ Suki’s eyes shifted side to side. "Oh...“ She looked directly at Haruna. The corners of her lips twitched into a nervous smile. After spending far too much time staring at her, Suki finally sighed. "I-I’d love to go for a run with you, and if you want to talk to me about something then that’s fine with me! Heh! But um, you know, Tsubomi wouldn’t be able to join us…“

Haruna gave her a reassuring smile back. ”Great. It gets a little lonely sometimes.” She glanced at the rather languid girl before returning to Suki. ”That’s probably fine. Like I said, I wanted to talk about something kinda privately.” That something being Tsubomi herself, of course. Suki seemed to be her best friend in the group, so mentioning it to her was probably the most benefit for potential risk. The thought prompted another, more anxious look in Tsubomi’s direction. Honestly, I don’t want to leave her alone at all, but at least she doesn’t seem motivated enough to act on it. . .

"Okay!“ Suki agreed a little bit too quickly. "I don’t really keep secrets from Tsubomi, buuuuuuut I can probably swing by your running spot some day soon.“ Suki had no important plans. They could have gone running now if she hadn’t lied about needing to go home. "I probably don’t look like it, but I used to run all the time. Then uh, something happened with my last running partner. But! Where do you typically run? Is it in town or do you go to the mountain to run in the forest?“

”Huh, I hadn’t really thought of going up to the mountain. I’ll have to see how close the roads are to my apartment. Thanks for the idea, Suki.” She smiled again, looking a bit happier now. ”I usually just run to the outskirts of town and back unless I have groceries to pick up. There’s a bus stop over in that general direction, the one with the pasta place across the street? We could meet up there.”

"And then we could have some pasta once we’re done.“ Suki thought out loud. "Yea, we could make that work. I’ve never tried eating at the Pit Stop, but it looks cool!“ She peaked over her shoulder, only to realize that they were slightly out pacing Tsubomi. Suki stopped in her tracks. "We’re actually already there!“ The excitement in her voice caused Suki’s voice to squeak. "Where the fun is, not the Pit Stop.“ she corrected after the fact.

After turning the corner, the trio of girls were greeted by a small park area. Like everything else in Hibusa town, it lacked the majesty and upkeep of the parks Haruna had visited in the City of Light. The trees were overgrown, the hedge plants were too, and the lawn had overtaken the stone walkway. Though someone must have been thinking of cleaning up the place. There was a brand new galvanized garbage can sitting in the middle of the park. Additionally, there were four swings. Two sets of rusted arches held a pair of swings each. They had been strung up with fresh chains, and the seats looked to be new as well.

”A playground?” Haruna sounded slightly confused. She hadn’t really been sure what to expect from the local blood witch. ”I guess it’s been a while since I visited one of these.”

Having had the conversation that the other two girls had been having finally processed in her mind, Tsubomi would, nowadays, normally have apologized to Suki for being so hard to carry. The only thing stopping her was the much quicker realization that the conversation where that would be appropriate had already passed. So instead she walked over to a swing and began to move back and forth, but without raising or moving her feet from their singular position. Even with the motion being fed by her own actions, the demands of gravity meant that her body was moving at a speed beyond what she could normally muster.

It was fun. As much as it could be when it couldn’t spark happiness. ”This was a good idea. Thanks, Suki.

"Not a problem!“ Suki might have been blushing, or maybe her face was still red from carrying Tsubomi. Either way, it seemed like she was genuinely pleased with this outcome. This was one of the few things that seemed to work out, and hopefully there would be many more in her future.

What even was this week?

It had been a day or two since Rei decided to show everyone what she was made of. Or had it only been one day? Either way, it seemed like a good time to call a meeting and figure out a way to deal with the Gems. They hadn't done much after the one attack, but who knew when they were going to strike again? Or was this the idea? They had the dark girls wondering where the next attack would come from, and that fear was going to keep them rooted in place for a time. If that was their master plan, than mission successful. Even Rei seemed to be bothered by the Gems. Meanwhile Ashbringer's increasingly large party and growing power might be a larger problem that Rei was underestimating. Then there was Tsubomi, the mysterious robot angel, and whatever else Rei decided to use to flex on everyone with. Oh yes, there were plenty of problems in the future. Then there were all the secrets that were being held from her that she knew existed but couldn't uncover. What was Shuuko's deal? What was Tsubomi's deal? Why did Nyxia really like Roche now?

But Suki was not bothered by all the potential misery in her future. Haruna wanted to tell her something in private. The thought of someone willingly confiding anything in Suki was enough to make her blush, but trying to work out what could possibly be for her ears only set her heart aflutter. Tsubomi seemed like the better candidate to tell a secret to. Was it something about another club member? Maybe Haruna wished to leave the closet? Suki dared not even dream of it, but was it possible that Haruna wanted to tell Suki that she had a crush on her? That scandalous thought had Suki squealing from her seat in the club room, but she understood that was in the realm of fantasy. She'd take being Haruna's friend, however.

Also, she was very likely a magical girl. Haruna really didn't hold back on that swing yesterday. Tsubomi and Suki were enjoying it as casually as they could, but Haruna was going for quadruple backflips and sticking the landing. That was the one good thing about Suki and Tsubomi's nature. Nobody would ever expect them of being magical girls because of how frail and slow they appeared.

But while Suki could spend the rest of the evening picturing what Haruna's magical girl form looked like, it was probably best to prepare for another meeting.

Suki had several maps out on the table, all from the local area. She had pushed some pins into the maps and was in the process of wrapping a red string between all of them. There would be no hiding today, and maybe Rei would show up later.



Rei was absolutely, positively, not going to show up today.

She had given Roche and Kiyo more than enough homework to keep them out of trouble for a few days. The new light girl was being strangely bashful around the dark girls, but it was sure to produce some interesting situations. Really though, it would be best to see if that hunt had any effect on them moving forward before deciding her next move. Let them have their secret meetings and reflect.

Rei Ishiko did not hide from anyone, but she was pleased that she was able to get out of the school without getting spotted by anyone. Now she just had to vanish into the night.

---

---

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate for Suki's hopes, the first person to appear in the club room was not Rei, nor was it the "mysterious robot angel." The girl she'd been fretting about walked into the room, giving her a small wave before virtually collapsing at the nearest table. Haruna looked like she was about to pass out, the bags under her eyes just as visible as ever. She slid her headphones backward, letting her actually hear any response, before giving the other girl a proper greeting. "Hello, Suki." The music she'd been listening to was audible across the room, at least until she turned it down a few notches. "What's going on?" Haruna asked, with a vague gesture toward the developing conspiracy-theory board.

It felt a bit like a dream.

This space had never been inhabited by people like Haruna. This was a space for Rei's self absorbed acquaintances. This could only mean one of two things. Either Suki had fallen asleep, or Haruna was an official club member now. While looking at Haruna, she pinched her cheek and pulled until it hurt.

"...Alright! I knew they'd take you in!“ She laughed, but not without snorting like a pig. "Right now we're uh, facing some resistance. The Detention Club is sort of the pride of Hibusa High, and we butt heads with... girls from other... schools, sometimes. It's usually pretty tame, but they've been getting a lot more intense recently.“ This was going to be an awkward meeting if she had to continue to not talk about magical girls directly. But it was worth it. By golly, it was worth it. "I'm trying to figure out where they came from, but there's no indication that they have a base of operations anywhere. They've been spotted on every side of town.“ She tapped her chin. "But uh, how you holding up? You look a little tired. If you need to sleep, we have a Kotatsu. I usually nap inside it when it gets colder.“ She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb.

---

---

Haruna chose to pretend that Suki's explanation made any sense whatsoever without the context of magical girls. Unless one was supposed to assume that random friend groups needed "bases of operations" like they were some kind of covert unit, or a group of yakuza. "They could just have a friend that drives them around," she suggested. Or they could fly, or teleport, or turn invisible, or any number of other ways a group of girls could move around undetected. Granted, dark girls were usually sneakier than light girls, but none of those abilities were exactly unheard of for the ostensible heroes of the city.

"And I'm fine. School is just. . . loud. You know?" She hadn't anticipated her new abilities being quite this overwhelming. Haruna wasn't the type of person to ignore someone in need next to her, which meant that a school full of students all dealing with their own problems had a lot of ground to cover, and she was only one person. "Voices all over the place, trying to pull you every which way. I just need a little bit of quiet to recover."

The temptation was to ask Haruna about that secret, but it would be pretty awkward if everyone piled in while she was in the middle of explaining herself. That didn't make it any less frustrating. Frustrating? No, that wasn't the right word. It was like waiting for your birthday, only your parents and maybe a friend bothered to get you something. And there was cake. And people were actually happy to show up. Basically the opposite of a normal Suki birthday.

"A friend that drives them around...“ Suki mentally patted herself on the back for presenting the club's problem in a way a normie like Haruna could understand. That just meant that her suggestions had to pass through the same filter. A friend who drives them around could correspond to someone with portal magic, or maybe they really did get around on the back of giant familiars. "We should keep an eye out for any strange vehicles.“ She reached into a toy bin and pulled out a tiny car. After setting it on the map, she placed a pin beside it.

"School's loud?“ Louder than that music she was listening to when she came in? After thinking about it for a bit, she realized what Haruna was really trying to ask for. Unlike the other day, Suki wasn't going to make her feel bad until she begrudgingly changed her mind. "Well uh, I don't have to talk to do this. Not to sound like a broken record, but it's pretty quiet in the kotatsu too.“ She doubted Haruna was going to try and sleep, but that would make for the best kind of ambient noise. Even if she snored, Suki was sure it would be a pleasant kind of sound. The joys of having a super cutie in the club...