"I’m sure things will go as planned literally ever."
Haruna couldn’t be sure if Suki was going to show up for their jog together or not. But she didn’t have her number and it seemed a little awkward to ask Tsubomi for it when the goal was to talk about Tsubomi without her being present. So all she could do was wait by the proverbial start line and hope she showed up. Ten to twenty minutes before the agreed time was a nice time for punctual people to aim for, but Suki did not feel like a punctual person. However, it was now ten or twenty minutes
past the agreed time, which seemed awfully late for someone who wasn’t Tsubomi.
”You can start worrying Haruna, I’m baaaaaack!”— Willow Willow’s voice reached Haruna’s ears from a nearby rooftop.
"I like how you’ll go out of your way to screw over someone who saved your life, but wouldn’t think of ditching someone who put you in that position in the first place." She looked at a wrist watch she didn’t have.
"Welp, they seem to be running a little late.""Hi, Willow," Haruna responded, her apparently-perpetual look of exhaustion seeming to intensify at the very sight of her "partner." She had actually done something good, for once, so she had a point, but it was undercut by her actions immediately before and after.
"Are you going to come down here to talk, or is the pain in my neck from looking up part of my punishment?""You’re too young to have neck pain." Willow rolled off the roof and floated down to the street below. She folded her arms behind her head and threw one leg over the other.
"Do I really seem like the sort of person who would punish my fellow partner? On the contrary, Hizuki. Everyone in the Detention club either avoids me or hates me, so even though you are, hmmm, ‘competition’ for Rei’s attention, I don’t mind playing nice with you." "I figured you would be mad at me. Or, well, you obviously are, and if I’m being honest, you seem like the type to get revenge." She gave a sort of half-shrug, not really sure how to put that in a way that didn’t sound like an accusation.
"I don’t know why Suki attacked me, but I wasn’t planning on holding it against her, either. Just like the thing with Shuuko." Haruna sighed.
"I also wasn’t trying to screw you over. You were hurting someone who placed their trust in me, so I did my best to make up for it."The cat girl squinted her eyes. She was more or less eye level with Hotaru, but only because she was still hovering in the air.
"I understand you’re a light girl and everything, but you could stand to be a little dishonest. No book has to be that open." In a puff of smoke and musical notes, Willow turned into, well, Willow. Her normal form. The difference was small, with only her eye color and ears changing. Of course magical girl identity protection made spotting the similarities in her face difficult, but it was uncanny how similar both of her forms looked.
"But honesty can be fun too, I suppose. You know Suki is part of my band, right? I could give her a phone call and get her here in seconds. Buuuuuuuuut since I’m a vengeful bitch that’s incapable of remorse, as you worded it, my services will come at a cost to you. Then once I’ve exacted my revenge, there will be no reason to hold anything against you moving forward. Sounds reasonable, right?" The girl folded her arms behind her back.
"That’s not. . . whatever," she said with another, more irritable sigh.
"Sure, hit me with whatever you’ve got. As long as we can get past this. Although after that, I want to talk to you about what happened back there." She noted Willow’s mundane appearance for the future. Transforming in front of her was a sign of trust, at least. Or that Willow felt absolutely no threat from the idea of Haruna knowing her significantly more vulnerable mundane form, which was also entirely possible.
"Of course, of course." She said with a dismissive tone.
"Hmmm, but how should I exact my revenge?" She swiftly stepped behind Haruna.
"Trust is hard to restore, especially for me." She stepped back in front of Haruna and rubbed her chin.
"Hmmmm, yes, I should take something from you. Something that you can never get back, regardless of how willing I am to return it. But I feel like it should also be something you would be willing to part with. Something you would be willing to, hmmm, share, if you would." Willow’s hands went behind her back and she leaned in towards Haruna.
"Got any ideas?" She tipped her head to the side.
Haruna stepped back, squinting at Willow as she tried to both preserve her personal space and figure out what the hell the dark girl was on about.
"You. . . aren’t seriously asking for a first kiss or something, are you?" That was the only thing she could really think of that fit that description, other than. . . well, one other thing of a similar nature.
"That’s just really weird and inappropriate if you are. So please don’t be." "Hmm?" She raised an eyebrow.
"No! No, I was just thinking out loud. I really didn’t have any ideas. But that would sort of fit, wouldn’t it?" She brought her hands in front of herself and smiled.
"God you’re smart, Haruna! Yes! I don’t have to ask for it because you just suggested it! That makes this all a lot less weird. But I appreciate that you look so repulsed, which makes this the perfect little revenge." She giggled.
"Aside from satisfying my criteria, it’s painless and simple. We can just kind of get your ‘punishment’ out of the way and then once you’re done with me you can go for your little jog with Suki. Oh! It’s symbolic too! To end a feud with a kiss and to emerge as friends! It’s almost poetic!" Willow went to play a song, only to realize she didn’t have her violin now that she was no longer transformed.
"Absolutely not," Haruna snapped, before she had time to really think about it.
"No. Not happening. I don’t care if it's poetic or whatever, I’m not doing it." She crossed her arms.
"I know you probably think you can just push me around however you want because you’re Rei’s partner and I’ve tried to be forgiving with the club, but I still have lines. Think of something else." She glanced to the side a bit.
"I want that to be shared with someone special to me. And you don’t even know if I’m into that sort of thing." Her slight blush wasn’t doing her any favors in selling that last. Willow
was kinda cute, but that wasn’t the only thing that mattered. The light girl was sure she’d continue to insist, too, now that she’d found something that really bothered Haruna.
"Okay so, a few things." Willow raised her fingers and started counting them off.
"Number one, hetero girls just say they’re not into that. Or they laugh. Or they get really disgusted. You get the idea. ‘You don’t even know blah blah blah’ is what closet tuna munchers say. Number two, do you remember why you’re in this predicament? You freed my prisoner and denied me a second one, both of which were sought after targets by the club." She pursed her lips and tipped her head side to side.
"I might have gotten a little rougher with the goat girl than I needed to, but it was justified. Number three, you’re also Rei’s partner, and my seniority does not seem to have endeared anyone to me over you. I doubt Rei is any different. She just seems to like you for no reason whatsoever. And four, I have no extra points to make, but I feel like I need to raise my finger anyway." She walked in front of where Haruna was looking and cast out her arms.
"What? Do you want me to beg for it? Do I need to say ‘I want to be special to you’ even if you won’t believe me?""Nobody told me about any plans to take any prisoners," Haruna said, her voice starting to rise.
"Black Gate trusted me and I promised I would keep her safe during a meeting I was trying to set up with her. A meeting, not an ambush. You would know that if you actually bothered to talk to me for a reason other than making me uncomfortable!" She balled up her fists.
"You want to convince me I did something wrong by not wanting to betray my friends? You want to humiliate me for no reason other than your failure to ever communicate anything useful?" Haruna was breathing heavily at this point, her face flushing for an entirely different reason. She could feel her fingernails digging into her palms. She forced herself to take a deep breath and unclench her fists before continuing at a lower volume.
"Look, I’m grateful for the save back there, but that doesn’t mean I’ll just do whatever you want now. So seriously, stop it."During this entire exchange, from Willow appearing on the rooftop to now, Willow had been giving off the desire to play with Haruna. But with Haruna’s most recent contribution to their discussion, that had changed to a desire for Haruna to understand her. Willow pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Okay." She nodded.
"I didn’t want to have to do this, but I’m going to have to count at you again." She lifted up her fingers.
"Number one, I brought up the prisoners because that was something you did that went against my wishes. You’re smart, Haruna, and I know that you knew that I wanted the girl that stole my phone. Same with Morganite. Number two…" She looked at her fingers. As if suddenly realizing how futile it was, she stuffed her hands into her pockets.
"I think Rei’s dying." It took Haruna a moment to respond. All of the pent-up frustration finally beginning to boil out was abruptly shoved to the back of her head as she finally processed what Willow said - and that she was serious.
"Wait, woah, what?" The idea of Rei being anything but the indestructible, inscrutable demon she seemed to be was strange, to say the least.
"Dying? Why do you think so? She seemed okay to me." Though she was questioning Willow’s words, concern was by far the strongest emotion in her voice.
"Well, I did specify think." Willow averted her eyes.
"Look, I want Rei to think I’m cool and everything, but sometimes she doesn’t want anyone around. Of course that doesn’t mean I’m going to stay away." She rubbed the back of her head.
"She was in the kitchen, and I thought I saw her coughing up blood. You can’t really appreciate it, but she used to come out and watch the club fight miseria all the time. Just recently she’s started doing it again but I don’t know. Maybe the two are related?" She raised her hands and pretended to hold a cylindrical object.
"They say a flame burns brightest just before it goes out. And well, I doubt she’d like to be compared to a flame, but I don’t think there’s a lot of magical girls that can compare to her." Haruna sighed in frustration, though this time it wasn’t directed at Willow.
"This is one of the many times I’ve wished I could heal people with my powers." She knew of a couple magical girls with healing powers - and, obviously, the club had just met one - but if it was something she was capable of doing, Haruna hadn’t figured out how yet. It wasn’t exactly an easy power to develop if it didn’t come to you naturally.
"Is there anything we can do?" She rubbed at her eyes, trying to banish her exhaustion.
"Maybe it’s related to that big Miseria she killed the other night? It could take more out of her to keep that thing in check than she lets on.""Maybe. But if that’s the case, we’re kinda screwed." She lifted a finger to her lips in thought.
"She seems more irritated with the GEMs presence than anything else. That’s a problem we can fix, maybe, but she’s been acting weird for a while now." Haruna could sense a shift in Willow’s desires. The desire to be understood was gradually overtaken by the desire to play once again, and then Willow lowered her hands onto Haruna’s shoulders.
"So you see, it’s really about having a plan B. And despite everything that’s happened, you’re still my second favorite member of this club. I mean no one can replace Rei, but I don’t have to wallow in despair, right? They call me Willow and not wallow for a reason." She grinned.
"And really, I would like to be special to you.""I’m still not kissing you," Haruna said flatly, giving Willow a look before pointedly lifting the other girl’s arms off her shoulders and stepping back.
"I have some ideas on how to deal with both of those problems. Not the me-not-kissing-you, that’s only a problem for you." That much wasn’t actually true, Haruna could tell, but she wasn’t going to belabor the point.
"Also, you shouldn’t take Maliss stealing your phone very seriously. I’m. . . not actually convinced she knows how to charge a phone." Haruna looked like she didn’t actually want to be saying this last - it felt kinda mean - but felt she had to.
"She probably would have given it back if asked. I’m going to try to get in contact with her again at some point, I told Kiyo I’d set up a meeting."Willow blinked a few times.
"Right, well, sounds like you and Kiyo have it all under control then. And not to put too fine a point on it, but if she asked when she took it, I wouldn’t have kicked her butt. You can let her know that." Her tone let Haruna know that she didn’t think she would, but also that she didn’t really care.
"So you’re really big on romance, huh? Who are you saving that kiss for?"The light girl went back to looking rather awkward and embarrassed.
"I mean, I didn’t really have anyone specific in mind. It’s not like I’m dating someone right now, I don’t really have the time." She did have the tiniest crush right now, but she wasn’t going to give Willow that ammunition. Especially given the target. It wasn’t that serious of a consideration, anyway.
"I just, you know, want that first moment to be something I don’t regret." She abruptly stopped her efforts to look away from her partner, hitting her with a sharp look.
"Also, even if I did have someone in mind, you wouldn’t ever let me hear the end of it."Willow’s chest puffed out as she slowly, very slowly drew in the autumn air until her lungs were filled to full capacity. Then, without taking her eyes off of Haruna, she sighed. A lot. Possibly beyond what her lungs were holding. If it was possible for someone to create a vacuum inside their chest, Willow had most assuredly done it. Then she inhaled before speaking, but it was much faster.
"When I said you could be a little dishonest, I meant you didn’t have to be so direct. But lying? To me?" She held her chin and looked at the floor.
"It couldn’t be many of the club members, but it is a club member. You don’t know anyone else around here. Or is it Maliss? It could be Maliss." She completely turned away from Haruna.
"Boy that would be a twist, wouldn’t it? Or would that be too obvious? No no, she joined the club, dummy, it almost couldn’t be Maliss, even if it would justify most of her actions." Willow transformed back into a magical girl, dust and musical notes floated off in every direction. Her ears still hadn’t healed from the peirce job Pearl gave her.
"Kiyo’s an option. She won’t leave the girl alone it seems. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s watching her right now. But does that mean Haruna would reciprocate? Aren’t there other explanations for Kiyo’s behavior?" She floated off the ground.
"Tsubomi’s an option too. She was trying to rescue her, and didn’t they talk a bit? That's what Suki told me but… It couldn’t be Suki ,could it?" She snorted.
"No, no. Impossible. Is what I would normally think, but Suki hates herself just enough that she’d miss the obvious clues. So that’s at least four…" Willow landed on the roof. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. As soon as someone picked up, she held the phone to the side of her head and manifested a sickeningly sweet smile.
"Hey! Yup! She was waiting!" A pause.
"Oh, no, I think she’s positively pissed that you nearly killed her. I’d say things are pretty bad right now. H-hey! Don’t cry! You don’t need to cry. I think she’s going to try and pretend nothing ever happened for the team just… Yea, be careful. I know. It’s okay though. I saved her. Uh-huh, see you at band practice later." She hung up and looked down at Haruna.
"Um… I don’t think Suki’s coming."Haruna buried her hands in her face, partially because it gave her hands something to do besides slapping Willow and her face something to do besides yell at Willow for what she just did. She took a long moment, took a nice deep breath, then let her hands drop before responding.
"Please give me Suki’s number," she said calmly.
"If she wanted to talk to you, she’d have shown up." Willow stepped away from the roof edge.
"I think we’re even now. See you later.""Willow! This is serious!" Getting somewhat desperate, she glanced around to check whether the coast was clear, then transformed herself to follow the dark girl up onto the roof.
"Wait! If you give me her number I’ll tell you who I have a crush on!" She hoped Willow wouldn’t be able to resist such a tantalizing tidbit to tease someone about, though how she would react is anyone’s guess.
"Hah!" Willow spun around.
"I wouldn’t think of betraying my band mate’s trust like that. Giving you her number would be in poor taste. And besides…" She placed her bow on her violin.
"The suspense is growing on me." Her body faded into a cluster of lights, the will-o-wisps she was named after, and she vanished from sight.
"Damn it, Willow-! Ugh." She threw her hands up in frustration, stomping around in a quick circle as she transformed back into her mundane form. Haruna needed to talk to Suki, one way or another, and at this point she might be willing to do it with Tsubomi right there. Given the incident, this really couldn’t wait any longer.
With one more sigh of frustration, she belatedly remembered the club’s group chat.
"At least that can’t fly away and disappear," she grumbled to herself, before opening it on her phone and sending a message.
> Suki? Did Willow really call you just now?
For some (not so) strange reason, Suki’s icon went from Online to Offline just seconds after the message went through.
"Yeah, that figures." Fortunately, there were figures in the club who hadn’t decided to be exceedingly weird about her, and one in particular who probably knew where everyone was at all times.
> Kiyo, I need to talk to Suki and it can’t really wait. Can you let me know where she’s at?
Kiyo's status was idle, and it would take a moment for her to appear online.
> Sure. Just give me a minute or two.
Only a few seconds passed before she began typing again.
> Is ut sonething serious? Can I help?
There was not one typo, but two.
> Is it something serious? Can I help?
(edited)A couple minutes later, it was fixed before she began typing again. That was just how Kiyo was.
> She's at the convenience store near the bowling alley.
"Okay. This is still salvageable."> Thanks, Kiyo. I’m glad I can rely on you.
She transformed once again and took off. Normally, she might swap armors to get to Suki faster, but given the blood witch had broken THUNDER CRACK, Hizuki would have to fly there without. Fortunately, she was still fairly swift, especially when she didn’t have to bleed momentum swerving around after a moving target. Hizuki flew straight toward the mentioned area, reaching out with her senses as she got closer to get a better sense of Suki’s exact location.
It was just as Kiyo said. There was a muddled desire that belonged to a magical girl coming from the Eight/Twelve right next to the bowling alley. She landed on the sidewalk not ten feet away from the door. Going in wouldn’t be necessary, it seemed like someone was coming out.
"It’s such a good day to be alive!“— Suki OyamaThe delinquent looked concerned when she opened the door. She was cradling five kitkat bars in one arm, all different flavors. On top of them was a pack of generic cigarettes, and an unlit one was wedged between her lips. Suki looked to her left, and then to her right, at which point she saw Hizuki. Her gaze lingered on her far longer than it should have, Then her head sunk as she slowly backed into the convenience store.
Hizuki sighed again, then ducked around a corner to transform back (so she didn’t just pop into existence in front of some random passerby.) Haruna hurried back, following the dark girl inside.
"Hey, Suki. I’m not mad, I promise. You know how Willow can be sometimes, right?" She admittedly wasn’t even sure Willow had actually called her, and if so, whether the reaction she communicated to Haruna was the real one, so she figured she’d start by covering her bases.
"And even if I was, this is more important, it’s about helping Tsubomi."Suki peaked out from one of the isles. One of her pigtails was fully visible while she did this.
"Tsubomi?" The sound of a kitkat hitting the floor caused the girl to pull her head back. After some grumbling and what sounded like product rearrangement, she stepped out from the aisle. None of the candy appeared to be on her person, and even the cigarette in her mouth was nowhere to be seen.
"I uh…" She rubbed the back of her head.
"I want to help her." She still seemed nervous, but her desires lined up with her words.
"Okay. Is there someone else you’d want to talk? It’s. . . some pretty private information, I think, so it feels weird to just talk about in the convenience store. I don’t think Tsubomi would really care, but, well, that doesn’t really mean much." She blinked after a moment, realizing this might sound like trying to lure Suki to a third location for some nefarious purpose.
"Here is fine too, though, if you don’t-"Mid sentence, Suki grabbed Haruna’s wrist and power walked out the door with her. Once they got outside, she turned the corner into a shaded alleyway.
"No, I uh, I don’t really want to stay there." She retrieved a cigarette from one of her pockets.
"I know we said we were going to jog today, but I thought that was off after, uh, things happened." She placed the cigarette between her lips; the light girl resisted the urge to tell Suki about the dangers of smoking in response.
"I uh, tend to over react when I go bridezilla. I’m glad you’re okay." "Don’t worry too much about it. There was a lot happening." She didn’t know if Suki was telling the whole truth, but Haruna was willing to accept it for the moment. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how the hell she was supposed to broach the actual topic.
"So. . . before I talk about Tsubomi, I should probably mention how my magic works, so I don’t have to explain later." It was something she hadn’t actually mentioned to most people; she hoped Suki would appreciate the gesture of trust.
"I can kinda hear what people want. It’s harder with magical girls, so I don’t usually get a very clear idea. It’s also weaker when I’m not transformed." Haruna paused again.
"I got a really clear read on Tsubomi. She wants to die."Suki froze while she was pulling her lighter out of her pocket.
"Wha-" She was already pale, but somehow Suki looked even worse now, like she was transforming into a corpse.
"What the hell?!" She pointed at Haruna with both hands.
"We just got outside, and-" She held her lighter up to her cigarette, but it took her far too many tries to get it started. With a deep inhale, half the cigarette turned into ash. Suki’s back fell against the wall with a thud, and smoke rolled out of her mouth.
"I don’t know why, but that makes a lot of sense." She balled one of her hands into a fist.
"She told me she liked being this way, not feeling anything. But I just couldn’t rationalize it. It seems like she is feeling something and she feels horrible." She covered her eyes with both hands.
"Awwwwwgh! I’m such a horrible friend, what the fuck am I going to dooooooooo…"Haruna hesitantly reached out to put what she hoped was a comforting hand on Suki’s shoulder, nose wrinkling a bit at the smell of nicotine.
"Hey, it’s not like you had any way to know. I figured, since you’re her best friend and all, you might be able to use the information better than I could." She let her hand drop.
"I don’t really know her that well, but I do want to help. Unlike the whole getting-stronger thing, I don’t have any ideas of my own, though.""I have been trying to make her feel better, and hearing this is not helping!" She started to gyrate in place.
"Ah geez…" Suki, suddenly, ceased all moment.
"Um, so she wants to die?" she pulled her hands off of her face.
"Has that always been the case? I mean you say you can hear what people want and I’m pretty sure she wanted you to join the club. Were you able to hear that? If she wants to die why would she want you in the club?" "I think so? She wants other things alongside it sometimes, but it’s always the same thing on top. Although, I guess it’s not necessarily. . . her wanting to die." She frowned, thinking.
"Tsubomi wants to kill Tsubomi. Is there a reason there would be a difference?""I mean, I’ve always considered my magical self and myself two different people. Maybe Tsubomi is the same way? Did she, maybe, know you were a light girl somehow?" Suki looked at Haruna.
"Is it maybe Acid Drop that she wants to kill?""I don’t think she knew. Or if she did, she didn’t want to do anything about it." She shrugged.
"Maybe it is Acid Drop. Or. . . Acid Drop wants to kill Tsubomi, maybe?" Haruna shook her head.
"I have no idea. You said she doesn’t feel anything, right? Maybe that’s not actually true. Could her emotions be still there, but locked away somehow?" Her mouth twisted.
"I kinda hate to say it, but I’m wondering if the GEMs somehow know something we don’t. They were going to mess with Tsubomi’s emotions somehow.""I uh, don’t think it’s hard to see that she’s not like most girls, heh. And getting the GEMs help is not a realistic option anyway." The delinquent held the side of her head as her cigarette burned up.
"Well, I have two ideas." She raised a finger.
"The first one is that we try to make her happy. I noticed she has an attachment to you for some reason, so I was thinking she maybe had a crush on you. Maybe if you started dating her, she wouldn’t feel so suicidal. I was working up to matching you guys together, but uh, things happened." She huffed her cigarette.
"The other thing we could try is to confront her directly. If she wants to die or kill one of her selves, I want to know why." She snorted.
"You uh, you wanna try one of those ideas?" Haruna scratched her head awkwardly.
"I think I’d rather just talk to her about it.""I was afraid you’d say that." Suki sighed before extinguishing her cigarette.
"You don’t mind being there, do you?""No, not at all. I was just told I’m painfully blunt, so I can probably do it if you can’t, heh." She glanced to the side, thinking about something.
". . . Did Willow actually call you by the way, or was she just full of crap as usual?""Oh!" Suki looked at her phone.
"Oh yea, you texted me, heh, um, I don’t like to answer the phone when I’m in the convenience store, so I usually leave my phone off." She blinked.
"And uh, she sent me a text when I woke up this morning. She sends me memes sometimes." "Oh, thank goodness. She acted like she called you and that you cried when she said I was still mad about the whole ‘smashing me into the pavement’ thing." Haruna’s relief was palpable.
"Hah!" Suki looked like she might laugh.
"That Willow is such a prankster!" Then she immediately lowered her head.
"But I understand why not everyone likes her that much. She’s always been nice to me though.""I understand, though, you were worried about your friend. Well, kinda. Um. But it’s fine. Just, er, I’m kinda fragile compared to other magical girls, I think? And I was getting ready to charge Diamond all dramatically and stuff." Realizing what she’s doing, Haruna drops the proverbial shovel.
"Aaanyways, um, when did you want to talk to Tsubomi? I’ll be there right away when you’re ready.""Yea…" She averted her eyes.
"Soon. Very soon. I don’t want to wait. We go to the arcade sometimes. She doesn’t enjoy it, but she says it helps her practice her precision, which is useful." She nodded.
"It’s too noisy inside, but if you wanted to join us, maybe on the way home we could talk to her."Haruna returned the nod, resolutely.
"Yeah, absolutely. I’d be happy to." Something occurred to her, something that made her blush a bit.
"Hey, wait, why did you just assume I’m into girls!?"Suki nearly jumped out of her skin at the accusation.
"I- uh-ae-aasd-gasd-fu!" Her hands flew up around her head. Then she froze for a moment while the gears started to turn.
"I uh, I didn’t?" Suki lowered her arms.
"I said that I thought that going on a date with Tsubomi would make her happy. I uh, guess I figured you’d do it if it made her not suicidal." She averted her eyes from Haruna.
"I mean, I’ve never met someone who didn’t like cute girls. Is liking cute girls weird?" "N-No! Or, uh, kinda? Maybe? I think it depends on who you ask? Like its not weird to like cute girls because they’re cute, but its a little weirder to like, want to date and kiss them and stuff, I think, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it," she babbled in a panic.
"But some people do? I think? I know Grandpa got mad when someone brought up himejoshi that one time. I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve ever really seen a boy I would think about kissing but-" She nearly bit her tongue cutting herself off, trailing off into a sort of strangled sound instead of whatever she was about to admit to.
The delinquent’s stern, judgemental, unimpressed eyes bored into Haruna.
"Riiiiiight…." She went to smoke her cigarette, only to realize she crushed it out.
"Well, I didn’t mean anything by it." She tried to stretch out the tiny crumpled stub.
"This isn’t a prank or something, right? Tsubomi is really feeling that way?""I wouldn’t joke about something this serious," Haruna said as she shook her head.
"I know I got a little, um, flustered there for a second, but that’s just because Willow was messing with me like ten minutes ago. I’m really worried about Tsubomi and I really wish I knew how to help.""It’s fine." Suki eventually gave up and shoved the cigarette butt into her pocket.
"We’ll talk to her and figure everything out tonight." Suki hung her head.
"It’s all we can do I guess." Haruna put a hand on her shoulder, this time with more confidence. It caused the delinquent to jump a little.
"We’ll find a way, I promise. Optimism is for light girls, I know, so I’ll just have to be three times as hopeful to compensate.""T-Thanks Haruna." The corners of Suki’s lips twitched into a smile.
"Make that four times as hopeful." Another hand fell on Suki’s other shoulder, which made her jump again.
"I’ll keep my distance, but know that I’m rooting for you from the shadows." An untransformed Willow winked.
Suki looked between the two girls.
"How long have you been there?""Not too long." She tucked her hands into her pockets.
"But stay focused! You guys are probably going to want to exchange phone numbers, right?""Oh! I almost forgot!" Suki pulled her phone out of her pocket.
Haruna pulled her own phone out as well, trying not to be too obvious with her incredibly mixed feelings about Willow's presence.
"How did you get here so fast, anyway? I didn't think anyone in the club except Rei moved faster in a straight line than me.""What can I say?" Willow stretched, and then proceeded to say nothing.
"Oh! Suki, did you get any candy?""Eh?" Suki was halfway done programming in Haruna’s number.
"Oh, not this time.""Ah well." Willow patted her shoulder before walking off.
"Why don’t we move band practice to tomorrow. It’ll give you time to sort things out, right?""Sure does!" Willow was almost out of sight when she turned around and looked at the two. She smiled, shook her head, and then fully departed. Maybe. Suki kept staring at where she had been before her eyebrows perked up.
"Oh!" She turned back to Haruna.
"So the going out with Tsubomi thing, Bast had the same idea?""H-Huh? No, she just called me a ‘tuna muncher’ for other reasons. She tried to get me to kiss her as revenge for messing up her plans and it came up." Haruna made a face at the prospect.
"Oh." Suki rubbed her cheek.
"Yea, she acts like that sometimes. But I think she’s just trying to be funny. She’s offered to kiss me a few times, but insists that I be transformed when it happens." After a moment of silence that was just long enough to be awkward, Suki wiggled her phone before putting it away.
"I’ll call you later." She sighed.
"Yeah, I’ll see you then. Assuming I don’t get sucked into another ridiculous pileup of magical girls who all want me to fight each other, or something." She let out a laugh, but it sounded a little hollow.
"Hope everything goes well in the meantime."
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