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Chapter Text

“You, Utena Hiiragi, have the potential of a chosen one!” Venalita’s golden smile remains unerring as it produces a strange, four-pointed gold star from the sleeve-like end of its arms and tosses it forwards. Utena’s eyes widen at the mascot’s words, and she tries to step back, but too late to stop the star from reaching her and pouring magical energy into her body.

As the star meets with her neck, purple light bursts from it, washing over her body, uniform fading away in a fraction of a second. The light coalesces, a silken white top forming with puffy sleeves and an ornate collar around her neck, the star fusing into it with purple, bat-like wings extending to either side. The sleeves disappear into a pair of long, tight-fitting purple gloves with golden trim, coming to an end at a small golden band upon her middle finger. The shirt leaves her chest bare save for a pair of deep purple pasties in the four-point star shape just barely big enough to keep her nipples from showing, and likewise the shirt bares much of her upper back, only narrowly covering her shoulders and neck. A pair of similarly form-fitting purple, gold-rimmed pants adorn her legs, low-cut to show off the tops of her hips with a purple, v-shaped segment that trails behind her legs. A pair of simple anklets each bearing a smaller golden star rest just below the bottom of her pants, bridging the gap between them and her black, low-heeled shoes. Lastly, a tight purple corset appears around her, the top just below her breasts with the bottom just high enough to leave her naval exposed. A pair of white, layered skirts extend to either side and trail in her wake, giving an impressive figure from behind but leaving her fully exposed from the front.

Even as her attire shifts, so too does her body warp. The whole world seems to shrink back as her bones lengthen, growing vastly taller than her normally-diminutive stature. Above her ears, thick golden horns extend, curling frontwards and inwards towards the center of her brow, low to her purple hair like an animal tucking its ears back in fright. On the front-facing face, a singular star-shaped black mark forms just below the tips. Her pupils shift as well, extending out into stars. One appears just below the outside corner of each of her eyes, and from the middle of her back, purple light extends and forms into a pair of diminutive bat-like wings, fitting narrowly through small slits in the corset she wears.

Utena’s heart soars in her chest, excitement washing over her even through the panic at her sudden transformation. She’d longed to be a magical girl for years, and finally, she’s being gifted her own transformation. As she opens up her eyes and gazes down at her new form, her heart sinks instead. ‘What is this? I look… Awful!’ Embarrassment and abject shame washes over her as she gazes down at her body, simultaneously overdressed and underdressed at the same time. Her flowing skirts and disparate layers are almost suited to being a magical girl’s over-the-top uniform, but nearly every intimate part of her body is showcased rather than concealed by her uniform.

Utena quickly covers her body with her hands to the best of her abilities, one arm folded in front of the pasties barely covering her breasts while the other moves down to obscure the form-fitting clothing covering her vagina. “I-Is this m-my uniform?” Her cheeks burn bright, incandescent heat emanating from her face and ears as the Mascot gives her an unnerving golden smile.

“Yup, that’s it! It suits you, Utena!”

“It doesn’t exactly scream ‘Magical Girl’ though…” Her words trail off as her golden eyes look anywhere but the Mascot’s own. She’d always imagined herself in a lavender-hued outfit in the style of Tres Magia, instead of this deep purple outfit more suited to some sort of adults-only advertisement.

“Of course it doesn’t,” the Mascot drifts closer as it talks, hovering just next to Utena’s shoulder. “You’ve been chosen to be a villainous leader in our evil organization!”

“Oh.” Her heart sinks as Venalita fills in that essential detail, a morose acceptance settling into her mind. ‘Why was I so foolish? Of course I wouldn’t be chosen to be a Magical Girl, I should’ve known better than to trust the first magical creature I saw.’ Utena sniffles, eyes starting to well with tears, disappointment and embarrassment starting to overwhelm her as she turns away from the floating creature. “No thank you, I-I’m just going to go now.”

“Stop right there, Enormita villains! Whatever evil schemes you are up to are at an end now that Tres Magia is here!” Utena’s blood runs cold at the words, slowly turning to look up at three floating heroes.

Her favorite Magical Girls, Tres Magia, hover above her in the gardens outside of her school. Magia Magenta, clad in a bright-pink dress hovers in the middle with her spear pointed firmly at Utena’s chest. To the right of the most-veteran magical girl is Magia Azul, clad in her teal attire that is otherwise-identical to Magenta’s with a frozen blade of ice extending out of her wand. Magia Sulfur, in a sunlight-yellow dress, hovers to Magenta’s left, the only one of the magical girls who doesn’t wield a weapon, preferring to utilize her wand and protective barriers instead. Utena had dreamt of being able to meet them for months, since even before the trio’s debut when it was only Magenta defending her hometown. In her wildest dreams, she’d been able to meet them, touch them, even fight alongside them against the forces of evil, but never in her worst nightmares had she thought she’d be threatened by them.

“Damn, talk about unfortunate timing, huh, Utena?” Venalita’s voice is enough to snap the panicking, newly-appointed villain from her paralyzed stupor, the bright-red girl dropping down onto her knees pitiably.

Immediately, Utena’s horns itch, a strange scratchy sensation emanating from them. It’s just for a moment, but a strange, discomfortable and uncertain sensation washes over her as she sees her beloved Tres Magia glance between one another with looks of disbelief and confusion. Then, the uncomfortable itching sensation ebbs as they take up stalwart expressions once more. “W-Wait, please! Help me, Tres Magia! That monster made me transform, you have to save me!”

“Wait, what?” Magia Magenta tilts her spear off-target, her eyes widen, and for a moment, Utena’s scalp grows itchy once more as a burst of concern washes over her. It feels alien though, the emotions not quite her own sense of immense fear for her physical well-being at the hands of the just paragons threatening her.

“That seems pretty dubious.” Magia Azul chimes in with a level tone, lips curled down in a frown. Unlike Magia Magenta, she keeps her blade aimed towards Utena’s helpless form as the poor girl starts scratching at the base of her horns, the itching starting to soothe as she stares at the cool-headed Azul, only to redouble as Sulfur’s interjection pulls her attention away.

“There’s no way you’re actually falling for that.” Magia Sulfur chimes in, her voice smooth and honeyed as she cocks an eyebrow and stares at Magia Magenta with a disappointed expression. Utena’s scalp keeps tingling unpleasantly, the newly-minted magical girl scratching at her head harder. Bits of her scalp tear, warm blood trickling down along her horns as mad giggling slips from her lips unbidden, amusement and aggression welling up in her skull as Sulfur adjusts in the air, holding her hands out to the front once-more, ready to conjure up a barrier.

‘What is this? Is it… Tres Magia’s emotions bleeding into me? W-why aren’t they listening to me?’ Her golden eyes flit to Venalita as her heartbeat thunders in her ears, warm blood trickling down her head and framing her face as manic giggles grow in volume. Between fits of laughter, she plants one of her heeled shoes into the ground, stumbling up onto her feet unsteadily. “Th-They don’t believe me?”

“Damn, sucks to be you.”

“What do I do?” Her words come out in a panicked shout, and the Mascot’s smile grows wider still, lips curling upwards unnaturally.

Purple light manifests from its sleeves, coalescing into a short, narrow rod with a narrow bottom, tapering down into a narrow midsection before ending with another four-pointed golden star. “Take this. It’s called Frusta Dominazione, your weapon.”

Utena grabs the riding crop without hesitation, her heart singing of conflict from the bristling bloodlust emanating off of Magia Sulfur. Quickly adjusting it in her hand, she bends her knees, wings swelling with magic and growing larger as she leaps into the air with a wordless scream, the crop swinging through the air in a wild strike towards Magia Magenta. A shimmering golden bubble intercepts her weapon as Sulfur points towards her, and a moment later, Magenta lunges forwards. A sharp pain erupts from Utena’s belly as the spear strikes her not two centimeters right of her bellybutton,  Magenta letting out a triumphant yell and shoving the weapon forwards with enough force to send Utena tumbling back to the ground, head slamming into the flowerbed where she’d just stood.

‘It hurts.’ The forefront of Utena’s mind is nothing but pain as her left hand moves to her pierced tummy. The spear didn’t dig too deeply into her body, but there’s still blood trickling from the small hole inside of her. Already, her magic-infused body has begun to stitch itself back together, flesh knitting closed without so much as a scar, but the shock and pain of being stabbed is enough to leave the inexperienced villain curled up on her side, Frusta Dominazione forgotten in the flowers next to her. As Tres Magia float lower, Venalita backs off, a shimmering black smoke billowing behind it in a roughly-circular vortex that quickly swallows up the form of the Mascot, the portal collapsing once it is through and leaving Utena alone with the magical girl team. Her mind races as she curls up on her side, clutching her stinging wound tightly and letting out pitiful sobs. ‘Think, what can we do? We can’t fight them off, there’s three of them and that Mascot gave us a worthless weapon. We can’t outrun them… Maybe this is the end.’ The young girl rolls onto her back, the strange sense of emotion her horns pick up settling into a grim determination as the three magical girls close in around her, readying to finish her off like they’d slain the demon this very same morning. Utena forces a smile, her eyes squeezing shut, accepting her helplessness. ‘At least I’ll get to die surrounded by my precious idols… And my beautiful flowers.’

Venalita hovers in the shadow of one of the nearby trees, watching with growing concern as its most recent recruit is surrounded. Things hadn’t gone at all as the Mascot had intended, Utena wounded and seemingly out of strength to fight before she’d even truly gotten started. It could tell that she has the strength to be a powerful magical girl, or at least dark magical girl, within her, the utter adoration she holds for magical girls strong and unstable enough of a love to shape into a weapon, but she lacks any of the experience in a fight and wasn’t keen to follow Venalita’s instructions. As it watches on, Magenta hesitates, her spear glowing and collapsing into a wand as she looks away from the incapacitated form of Utena, forcing Azul to step forwards and align the ice blade with the villain’s heart. With a sigh, Venalita begins to create a portal, dark magic pooling beneath Utena’s supine form, only to hesitate as she caresses one of the azure bulbs, and it shifts, power surging into it. ‘There it is, Utena Hiiragi. Show me all your power, and the depths of your depravity.’

As the Mascot watches from afar, Utena’s eyes flutter open as magic courses through her body and into her fingers. The flower grows, bulb exploding outwards in a large growth spurt, hardening as it does. The expanding form slams into Azul, knocking her to the side with a rush of pain and something distinctly different, Utena’s head swirling as her cheeks burn a faint hue of red once more, a shiver of excitement racing down her spine. From the growing flower, dozens of vines erupt, whipping about like mad. Sulfur’s barrier doesn’t come fast enough, two vines grabbing her arms and feet, hauling her up into the air before she can protect herself. Magenta doesn’t fare any better, with her primary armament already unavailable she’s quickly caught in four vines, spreading her limbs out and flipping her upside-down in its grip while the remaining tendrils scoop up the dazed Magia Azul with binds around her wrists two vines pressing into her mouth in a crude gag, finally gathering Tres Magia’s bound forms together for the wide-eyed stare of its creator. In the shadows, Venalita produces its phone, setting it to record the events yet to come. ‘Now let’s see what she’ll do with her precious idols at her mercy.’

The dark magical girl’s horns echo a whirlwind of emotions as she gazes at the three tied-up magical girls, each of them bound about a meter off the ground for her viewing pleasure. The titan of vines and roots doesn’t speak, nor can Utena feel any emotions as she focuses on it, but it responds to her wordless desires just the same, bringing together the three girls in front of her, vines constricting their limbs. The emotions she can sense are bubbling anger from Sulfur, accompanied by a flurry of foul words and threats not at all appropriate for a lady such as herself. Magenta burns with humiliation and horror not unlike Utena’s own feelings when she had first transformed. Azul, determined and brave Azul, burns a bright red hue as well, but as Utena focuses on her, the emotions aren’t quite like the others. Among the humiliation and shame is another sensation, a sense of anticipation and excitement that stirs a fire within Utena’s depths. With a thought, the villain brings Magia Magenta closer to her, the giant plant lowering Magia Magenta before her, the pinkette’s skirt tugged up to reveal the pale globes of her bottom, the other two magical girls gasping out in unbidden arousal as the tendrils begin to wiggle and prod at their sensitive regions, spurred on by Utena’s building arousal. Utena let’s out a soft gasp, eyes widening, drool trickling from the corners of her mouth and dribbling down her chin, Frusta Dominazione reforming within her dominant hand as she steps closer.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing! Let us go, monster!” Magia Magenta doesn’t give up or show fear, just like a true hero should. Utena can feel her dread and panic, but the totality of the emotion that shows on her face is the angry glare she sends over her shoulder towards Utena.

“I-I’m sorry, my beloved Magenta… I don’t believe that is possible.” Utena’s breaths grow shallow as she rests her free hand upon Magenta’s bottom, tenderly squeezing the tender flesh as the heroine lets out an indignant gasp, anger flaring up more intensely. “If I let you go, you’d just try to harm me again.” ‘I should run away, find out how to change back!’ The logical part of Utena’s mind screams for her to flee, but the building lust within her loins fights just as strongly for her attention, eyes fixating on Magenta’s exposed bottom, dignity preserved only by the thin panties of her uniform. Whip in hand, it is her lust that wins out, wrist flicking before she even realizes it is happening, the star-shaped tip streaking towards Magenta.

Utena’s heart skips a beat at the crisp impact of Frusta Dominazione against her beloved Magia Magenta’s bottom. The sweet squeals of her beloved Tres Magia stoke a flame in her innermost core. Flames of love, and passion, the absolute adoration that overflows from her heart for her precious magical girls, but something else blazes in her depths as well. ‘I’m hurting my beloved Tres Magia, but why does it feel so good?’ She brings down her whip once more, biting her lower lip as Magenta squeals out in pain. Magenta moans out deeply and Utena mirrors it, the magical hero calling out in pain as Utena’s own cries drip with her depraved lust. Slowly, Magenta’s moaning gives way to pitiful sobbing, the heroine going limp as tears spill down her face.

Tearing her gaze from the vine-wrapped Magenta, Utena’s golden eyes fall upon the gagged form of Magia Azul, heavy breasts straining against her too-small top. With her arms pulled back behind her by the strange plant monster Utena had summoned, the newly minted magical girl can’t hold back, bearing her small fangs in a manic smile and lashing out with her crop in a fit of sadistic laughter, the faint whimpers Azul manages to slip out forming a melody of sinful pain and pleasure.

With each strike, Utena tears into the flimsy uniform shirt, baring to the world the serious girl’s heavy breasts and light-pink nipples, but the budding sadist doesn’t stop for even a moment. She merely lashes out again, star-shaped tip of the whip letting out echoing claps as it strikes the teal-haired Azul again. Each strike draws low groans from Azul, and through the horns atop her head, Utena can feel surge after surge of bewildered pleasure rush through Azul. Beneath her torn skirt, her pussy drools out, fluids soaking through white cotton panties and rendering her thighs slick with arousal. Through it all, Utena continues laughing and raining blow after wild, poorly-aimed blow even after her brave hero’s shirt is in tatters. Flesh reddens, bruising turning Azul’s tender tits into a beautiful mosaic of masochistic delight, drool and snot and tears spilling down her face as she moans and gasps around the vines forced into her throat, Utena’s laughter growing ever-more manic as her own sex drools down her thighs with just as much depraved lust as she can feel oozing from Azul.

“Enough, already! Leave her be you uncouth brute!” Utena’s golden eyes finally break contact with Azul’s aching chest, instead falling onto Magia Sulfur, the last of her precious Tres Magia. She’s the smallest, slimmest, and only debuted the most recently of the town’s heroes, but her place in Utena’s heart is no less expansive than either of the others.

“Oh, my sweet Sulfur, don’t pout.” The newly-awoken magical girl strides forwards in her heeled shoes as though she’d practiced her whole life for the motion, hips swaying from side to side. Though she lacks a tail, the skirts and wings of her outfit sway hypnotically behind her with every step. Frusta Dominazione rises to her lips with slow, drawn-out movements, Utena’s lips closing around the tip of star-shaped crop, tongue darting out of her mouth and over the surface of the weapon. All of her posturing was exclusively for her own benefit, rather than Sulfur’s. The last member of Tres Magia was hogtied, arms and limbs behind her back with another vine around her eyes. Unlike the other two, the large flower that Utena had animated loomed just above Sulfur, leaking out honey all over her body. The blindfolded magical girl is covered in the thick slime, setting ablaze a needy warmth between Utena’s legs as the viscous fluid clings to her body, pressing the beautiful uniform against Sulfur’s flesh, the white fabric partially-transparent from the fluids sinking into it.

With a final, drawn-out kiss, Utena lowers the crop from her lips, drool trickling from her mouth as she comes to a stop behind Sulfur. The bound girl is suspended at a perfect eye level, letting her drink in the delicate white panties that barely hide away the innermost treasure of her beloved Sulfur. She lets her fingers trail over them, the prim girl whimpering out as Utena caresses her folds through the undergarments before slipping two fingers within, her heart thundering as she prepares to look upon Sulfur’s precious slit. With a grand flourish of motion and aided by the powers of her transformation, she tears them off, the sound of ripping fabric echoing in her lust-filled brain.

“Get away, you perverted freak!” Between Sulfur’s thighs lie her virginal slit, untouched and undefiled, as pure as Utena knows the girl’s heart is. Her outer lips are pronounced, leaving only a narrow glint of her pink strip exposed. Above her sex lies a small patch of yellow-blonde hair, carefully trimmed but not fully shaved, an intimate view into Sulfur’s most intimate parts. The mere sight of her Sulfur’s precious sex would be enough to overwhelm her mind under normal circumstances, and even though Utena is already in the depths of lustful mania the sight is enough to prompt a narrow trickle of blood to spill from her left nostril. Not even the venomous tone to Sulfur’s words is enough to break Utena out of her lustful high.

“Oh, Sulfur… You are so beautiful. You shouldn’t be ashamed of showing off your gorgeous body to me.” The most prominent emotion that her tingling horns can sense from Sulfur is far from shame, but rather an overwhelming, violent rage, but she’s in no position to act upon that as Utena leans forwards and plants her lips gently upon her idol’s pussy. Sulfur lets out a distressed gasp, and Utena moans out in delight at the sudden sour taste upon her lips. A moment later, her tongue darts out past her lips, gently pressing it between Sulfur’s and into her idol, utterly engrossed. Sulfur squirms on her back, trying to kick Utena away, but unable to manage it within her binds. Utena’s tongue probes within her depths, the sadist eagerly licking at Sulfur’s folds, her overabundance of enthusiasm making up for her lack of technique or skill. She brings her hands up, gripping Sulfur’s thighs tightly as she lavishes affections upon the defensively-oriented hero, stirring unwanted pleasure in her victim. The pleasant, sour taste of her idol burns into her tastebuds as Sulfur’s love juices and Utena’s saliva intermingle, dripping down her chin and onto her bare chest as Utena squeezes tighter, pressing her tongue deeper and nestling her nose in the little tangle of blonde fuzz above Sulfur’s cunt.

“F-fucking freak! I’ll rip that thing out of your mouth, tear your oh god yes, goddamned head off you disgusting pervert!” For all her screaming and squirming, Sulfur is little more than putty in Utena’s hands. The drooling sadist’s tongue squirms inhumanly-deep within her core, rubbing nerves the young heroine never even knew she had, drawing moan after drawn-out whine of aroused need out of her. Slowly, her screaming and squirming comes to an end. Sky-blue eyes roll back as her yet-unnamed foe continues to eagerly lap at her sex, the pleasure leaving her gasping pathetically as she struggles to maintain composure, and ultimately fails. The pleasure and love Utena pours into her bubbles over, Magia Sulfur throwing her head back with a drawn-out wail of pleasure, muscles contracting as her whole body shudders, then goes limp in the tendrils binding her, her own sexual fluids joining the sticky sap covering her body.

As Sulfur’s first-ever orgasm slowly finally ebbs, Utena staggers back, her face and breasts soaked in her own drool and a heavy layer of magical-girl love-juice. Her tongue, forked like a serpent and dangling down past her chin, slowly retreats back up into her mouth as her horns pulse and leave her grabbing at her own thighs, still drinking in the overwhelming pleasure that emanated from Sulfur as she succumbed to climactic bliss.

For several long breaths, the four magical girls are quiet, Tres Magia bound and Utena barely standing upright with her hands gripping firmly to her thighs, though it is eventually broken by a noise akin to the creaking of old wood and a burst of purple light that marks the end of the enchanted plant’s empowerment. The vines fade in an instant, dropping Tres Magia onto the ground in undignified heaps while the bloomed flower drifts down slowly, landing uprooted on the now-cracked walkway where their brief fight had taken place.

Utena doesn’t even try to hide her twisted glee, smiling wide as she plucks up Frusta Dominazione from the ground, hooking the tip under Sulfur’s torn undergarments and drawing those up to her sticky breasts with one last quip, words oozing with lust. “My heroes, that was absolutely amazing. I can’t wait until we get to see each other again soon, and I can show you more love.”

Magenta, having taken the least abuse at Utena’s hands, is the first to stagger to her feet before the newly-awoken sadist is able to retreat, taking up her spear and planting the tip into the dirt to support herself onto her knees. “Love? Is that what you call assaulting us!”

“Oh no, my dear Magenta.” Utena practically coos in delight, hooking two fingers into her mouth, tongue darting over them and smearing a thin layer of saliva over the digits. “It was you who assaulted me, don’t you recall? I only gave you some much-needed discipline, and so much of the love overflowing from my itty-bitty heart. I promise, next time I’ll make sure you get more time to enjoy the love you so deeply deserve.

Magenta merely stares at her, fear, disbelief, and anger whirling about her mind as Utena stumbles away. Her world spins, a wave of fatigue engulfing her alongside a dull purple glow, but before her transformation can break, Utena finds herself falling through a black, smoky rift. Her head meets a pillow in a familiar bedroom, and a moment later her eyes blink shut, and unconsciousness embraces her.

Chapter Text

“Tres Magia! Face the day, Magical Girl!” The Magical-Girl branded alarm clock begins an upbeat pop song, dragging Utena from the land of her dreams, her golden-hued eyes blinking open hazily.

‘It was just a dream?’ A pang of disappointment runs through her mind as she lies back, letting the music play and staring up at her ceiling. ‘It felt so real, though.’ The disappointment grows as she lies back, fighting against a faint flicker of relief. Deep down, she knows that she shouldn’t want to hurt her precious Tres Magia, nor work for their enemies, but the vivid glee that accompanied being full of power and having them moaning out at her mercy felt intoxicating. Before she’s able to dwell on her thoughts and the unwelcome longing within herself, the alarm clock abruptly falls silent, her eyes flickering over to it and the strange, cat-like entity settled atop it, black with golden stars over its body just like the weapon that she’d wielded against Tres Magia.

Utena lets out a gasp, eyes widening in shock as Venalita floats over to her lazily. “Okay, Utena, that’s enough of the sleeping. You’ve got important business to take care of today after all!”

The malicious mascot’s words are enough to jolt her from her half-awake state, Utena quickly scrambling out of bed, her blankets kicked off the bed as she bounces up onto her feet. “N-No way! I did what you said, I-I’m not doing it again! I love magical girls, I won’t hurt them for you!” Even through her protests, a heavy blush spreads, cheeks and ears burning up brilliantly as she remembers the cruel and devilishly arousing acts she’d undertaken just the previous afternoon.

“You do? I never noticed.” The mascot’s voice goes dry and oozes with sarcasm, slowly rotating in the air as its golden eyes pass over hundreds of thousands of yen worth of magical girl memorabilia. Then, it takes up its cheerful tone once more, finishing its slow spin with a wide, golden smile as it dives back into its sales pitch, eager to convince its newest recruit to continue. “But they need you, Utena Hiiragi!”

The creature’s words are more than sufficient to make Utena’s cheeks burn with embarrassment at her earlier acts. “What are you saying? Tres Magia doesn’t need me, and they don’t need me to hurt them.” Yesterday, she’d been full of confidence, but today Utena can barely manage to speak without stumbling over her words. Venalita doesn’t comment on that, but its smile curls higher at the stammering voice barely softer than a whisper.

“Magical girls need a rival to face off against, Utena. If they weren’t the defenders of this town, then they wouldn’t get to be Tres Magia anymore. Without Enormita, Magical Girls like them wouldn’t have gotten a chance to be heroes. They need a real villain to face off against and grow, not just the same basic monsters time and again.”

“Why does it have to be me? Why can’t someone else be their rival?”

“Someone else could.” The Mascot’s voice stays level, but beneath its black-and-gold façade is a deep sense of amusement. “But can you imagine what they’d have done if they were in your shoes? Someone who doesn’t love magical girls with such deep-seated passion as you?”

Venalita floats closer to Utena as it speaks, prompting her to shuffle a half-step back as she stammers. “What do you mean by that?”

“You have so much love for Tres Magia, you would never really hurt them.” It draws out the adverb as it floats closer, Utena taking another step back and falling onto her bed once more. “They were helpless in your hands. Magical girls are strong, but they aren’t invincible. If you decide to be their rival, they’ll never need to worry about that.”

Utena gulps, the implication cutting to her core as she imagines, for a brief moment, her beloved heroes wounded, bleeding in the tendrils of the monstrous plant instead of squirming and moaning. With a furious shake of her head, she pushes the thoughts deep down, trying to ignore them and collect herself, but her resolve is shaken. “But I’d be a villain. A monster, they’ll hate me.” Her voice wavers, and Venalita doesn’t give her a moment to recompose herself.

“Maybe, maybe not. They looked mad, sure, but magical girls and their rivals can forge powerful bonds. Mutual respect, friendship, or perhaps bonds that run even deeper than friendship. And no matter what happens, you’ll always be able to care about them while you’re off-duty and they’ll treat you like every other fan, no matter how many times you get right up in their faces in a fight.”

Utena’s mouth opens, but she hesitates and lets out a sigh a few heartbeats later. Her cheeks are still burning, but she doesn’t muster further protest against the creature’s words. Were it not for the perverted sense of love and arousal the blooming sadist held within herself, she might’ve managed a more substantial rebuttal, but the mascot’s words only stoke the depraved desires already bubbling within herself. “Alright. I’ll stay, just for a little while longer.”

Utena lets out yet another morose sigh as she waters the flowerbeds outside of school. Not even a day ago, she’d fought against her beloved Tres Magia here. Not even a day ago, she’d sexually assaulted her idols just outside of the school she has to come attend for the next three years. ‘Maybe I can ask Mom to change schools. How did I wind up in this situation! I adore Tres Magia, why couldn’t some other fan be the one who has to harass them like this? It’s just too much, why did I agree to this?’ Yesterday had been a blur after her fight, and this morning had barely been any better. Since her talk with Venalita, she’d managed to dress herself in her usual uniform, white and green seifuku with a yellow tie. With time to calm down after the whirlwind of a day she’d endured yesterday, she could finally think on what she’d agreed to, the weight of it starting to eat at her. ‘Did I do the wrong thing by agreeing to join Enormita? Am I really going to be okay with hurting Tres Magia? Why did it feel so good yesterday, when they were screaming and moaning for me?’ Those thoughts, and many more, rush about in her skull, a veritable whirlwind of emotions eating away at her.

As she continues her work for the morning and her thoughts wander, other students begin to filter in behind her, each dressed in the same school uniforms complete with yellow ties. She’s accustomed to being left to her own devices due to her rather-solitary lifestyle, so it comes as a distinctive shock to her when a cheerful voice calls out to her from within arm’s reach. “Good morning, Utena!”

Utena jumps back in surprise, watering can tumbling from her hands and hitting the stone path with a loud crash. The purple-haired girl slowly turns her head to look at who’d approached her, faint recognition washing over her as she does. “Haruka H-Hanabishi?” The pink-haired girl is one of Utena’s classmates, and not someone who she’d never spoken to, but the two are far from friends.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” Haruka blushes with embarrassment at startling her classmate, scratching the back of her head and laughing awkwardly.

“I-It’s fine. I didn’t know that you knew my name.” Utena’s golden eyes flick aside, not holding Haruka’s gaze for very long as her own cheeks tinge a faint shade of red.

“What? Of course I know, we’re classmates!”

“Y-yeah, I guess so…” Even with Haruka’s friendly attitude, Utena backs away with shuffling steps, trying to shrink down and disappear into the background as Haruka bends down and looks at the flowers with enthusiasm.

“I always see you coming in early to take care of them, and I realized recently that I don’t ever see anyone else helping you out. I’m sure that the flowers really appreciate everything that you do for them and would love to thank you if they could.”

“O-oh? No, it’s no big deal.” ‘I don’t deserve their thanks, after yesterday.’

“I’m sure it takes a lot of effort, so, don’t sell yourself short, okay?” Haruka bends down to pick up the fallen watering can, her heels brushing against her backside as she does. The pink-haired schoolgirl quickly bounces back to her feet, letting out a low groan of pain and nearly dropping the can once more.

Utena is quick to take hold of it, and Haruka’s hands fly to her backside, rubbing her aching bottom as her shorter classmate nervously watches on. “A-are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I just pulled something, I’ll walk it off. Keep an eye on the time though, you don’t wanna be late for class! I-It was nice talking to you.” Every word Haruka manages comes in a gasping voice, her jaw tense as she pushes through the pain blossoming from her abused butt. With one last small wave, she turns, hurrying off and leaving Utena to the flowers once more.

Utena sighs out in relief as she finally gets back to her desk, having finished yet another sports class with neither injuries nor severely disappointing her team. She’d been grouped with Haruka, her friends, and a few other classmates during basketball, and after a close game that they ultimately lost, she was one of the first who managed to get back into the classroom and change, giving her a few minutes to get comfortable and begin doodling in her notebook prior to math lessons. Her notebook is just as much a collection of black and white sketches of magical girls as it is a collection of actual notes, and today isn’t off to a different start as she finds herself idly sketching Magia Sulfur, the blonde-haired heroine on her mind after the battle that they’d engaged in not even twenty-four hours ago.

Not far from the golden-eyed magical girl, Sayo Minikami groans out in pain as she pulls her shirt up over her bruised chest in the process of changing back to her normal uniform, dropping it onto her desk after a deep breath. ‘My poor breasts are still so tender from that crazy girl, why did she have to hit me the most?’

Haruka offers an empathetic smile as she gets changed by her desk alongside her friend. “Are you okay, Sayo? We could go see the nurse if you want.” The teal-haired teen shakes her head in response, silently declining the invitation.

“I don’t envy either of you. You really should’ve sat out today, though.” The two’s blonde-haired friend chimes in as she takes a seat on Haruka’s other side, having only just arrived to school a few hours into the day.

Utena glances over to the three girls as they talk in hushed tones, spotting the blue and red marks on Haruka’s bottom and pausing. ‘Those look pretty nasty. I guess that’s why she was hurting earlier… Did her parents do that to her?’ While she should be concerned over her classmate’s injury, concern isn’t the only emotion that sparks within her depraved mind. Instead, her thoughts drift back towards her fight against Tres Magia, more specifically the ‘punishment’ that she’d given to Magia Magenta. ‘God, her screams were so beautiful… I need to get this out of my head, though! It’s wrong!’ As much as Utena tried to convince herself that what she was doing was wrong, the memories of her idol bound, screaming, and crying while helplessly at her mercy makes her cheeks burn and her heart flutter with longing. Those beautiful red marks all along Magenta’s butt and uppermost thighs, along with the sheer rush of power over her, were utterly divine. As her classmates continue talking, Utena swallows and turns to a blank page, starting a new sketch.

“I’m pretty sure that what you did was cutting class, Kaoruko.” The petite girl just rolls her sky-blue eyes in response.

“That wretch, what is wrong with her?” Sayo groans softly, wiping tears from her deep-red eyes before tugging down her sports uniform shorts, baring her gentle white undergarments to the classroom.

“And what the hell was she wearing?” Kaoruko’s crass language betrays her gentle tone of voice, earning her a few glances. ‘She looked like a pervert and acted worse. Such a freak.’

“She looked like she was around our age, do you think we’d be able to find out who she is?” Haruko frowns, trying to recall some of the distinguishing details of the magical girl that they’d faced off against yesterday. Short purple hair, diminutive stature, and unnatural eyes, with a face that doesn’t remind her of anyone she’s met before and certainly not a magical girl she’d ever heard of.

“I doubt it. She’s likely got the same magic as us, to keep anyone from recognizing her while she is transformed. She could go to our school, and we’d never know it unless we saw her change forms.” Kaoruko crosses her arms with a scowl. It’s impossible for her to know just how true her words are, with their new foe not only in the school but one of their own classmates.

“Well, it doesn’t matter who she is. Next time we see her, she’s going down.” Sayo takes up a determined tone, and her two teammates nod in agreement, hurrying to their seats as their teacher stands to begin the lesson.

The class begins as Utena focuses on her drawings, paying very little attention to the teacher or material. She slowly sketches the outline of Magia Magenta on her hands and knees, with a perspective above and behind the magical girl. Her ballpoint pen carefully glides across the lined sheet of paper, drawing Magenta’s twin drills with minor detailing before working downwards, slowly detailing her body and outfit. Rather than her typical sketches with the heroine’s outfit pristine and dramatic, Utena’s current doodle depicts her heroine’s outfit in tatters. Magenta’s skirt is torn and frayed with panties on full display in the drawing. Any pretext of taking notes is gone, the drawing of the heroine who’d been her very first crush taking up the full height of the page as Utena keeps drawing, detailing her gloves and boots. ‘My Magenta, you were so precious. I can’t wait to play with you again.’

Before she is finished with the last of shading on the sketch that has dominated her attention throughout class, a trio of voices call out and jolt her back to focus on the world around herself. Haruka, Sayo, and Kaoruko all have a hand up, calling out in perfect unison that could only come from years of deep friendship. “Excuse me, Miss! I need to use the restroom!”

Their sudden outburst doesn’t just startle Utena, with their flustered teacher’s chalk snapping as she jumps in surprise. “All of you? Right now?”

“It’s an emergency, my bladder is about to burst!” Each of them answers in an entirely serious tone, the teacher sighing and waving them off before turning back to the blackboard.

“Fine, if you must.”

‘I wonder what it must be like to have such close friends… Or grades. I can’t imagine the teachers would be okay with me stepping out in the middle of class.’ The purple-haired schoolgirl smiles as she watches her classmates close the door behind themselves, flipping over to a new page to at least begin to take notes. ‘I’ll have to tear out that page when I get home, I don’t want anything to mess up my drawing.’ With that prideful thought, she forces herself to at-least begin taking notes for class.

Haruka, Sayo, and Kaoruko step out onto the roof, eyes scanning their surroundings one final time to confirm that they are alone before pulling small, heart-shaped trinkets with a colored gemstone on the front face. “Trans Magia.”

Light erupts from each of their trinkets as they call out, washing away their school uniforms and leaving them bare to the world for a heartbeat. Kaoruko’s erupts with an intense yellow glow, washing over her body. A deep blue light emanates from Sayo’s at the same time, while Haruka’s emits a gentle pink radiance. Their heart-shaped cameos touch their necks, a pale ribbon enveloping them and holding the charm securely in place. Each of the girls holds their hands out to the side, the light from their tokens forming into a tight, radiant glow around their hands and lower arms before solidifying into tight, brightly-colored gloves that come up over their elbows, ending in small cuff with white trim. Light pools around their feet, extending upwards before taking the shape of their over-the-knee boots with ribbons tied at their ankles. Their skirts form in a flash of light as well, the uppermost edge several centimeters above the navel, while the lower end only comes down halfway down their thighs, leaving a narrow strip of bare flesh below the white silken ruffle on the bottom. Their thin, silken-white shirts form a moment later, the cropped shirts just long enough to fit beneath the top of their long skirts and sleeves. White, cotton panties appear in a flash beneath their skirts, and Haruka lets out an anguished groan at the faint shift in pressure on her bottom. Finally, pale ribbons manifest in their hair, Sayo receiving a pale blue ribbon on the left side of her hair. Haruka’s manifest as a pair of ribbons at the top of her twin drills, while Kaoruko take the form of a massive, bright yellow ribbon on the back of her head. Heart-tipped wands manifest in the girls’ hands as their transformation finishes. The members of Tres Magia don’t transform physically, the only change in their height coming from the small heels of their boots, while their bodies remain identical.

Haruka leans to the side, rubbing her bottom with her free hand, still aching from being spanked by the dark magical girl. “Damn… My poor butt.”

“I’m sorry, Magenta.” Sayo offers with an empathetic smile, familiar with the pain of the riding crop from where her chest had been whipped. “I guess I am lucky our shirts are so lightweight, at least.”

“Let’s get going, girls. I’m itching for a real fight again.” With no camera or crowd to censor herself, Kaoruko’s crass attitude doesn’t change a bit in her role as Magia Sulfur, simply eager for a chance to have a real fight after the strange and deeply frustrating experience with the new villain. Not giving her companions any time to respond, she pushes up into the air, floating steadily in the air before streaking off towards the south-west, the other two members of Tres Magia following after her.

The shrill ring of the school bell signals the end of class, giving Utena a few minutes to herself. Using the opportunity, she pulls her cell phone from her bag, confusion washing over her as she sees over one-hundred text messages have been missed since the end of the sports period. ‘How do I have so many messages? I only have my parents added on Lime.’ With trepidation, she taps on the icon, seeing a single unfamiliar contact that she’d not added herself: Venalita. Before she can even read the previous message, it shuffles out to a new one.

‘Ha, your status changed!’ Utena starts to type a response, but the Mascot sends another flurry of messages before she can, typing with extraordinary speed despite its lack of obvious fingers. ‘Tres Magia are active. Get here.’ A screenshot is attached to that, a map location along with the address. ‘Hold out the star I gave you yesterday and say “Trans Magia”. You should be able to fly while transformed.’

Utena’s thumbs dance across the digital keyboard as she hurries to respond. The idea of another fight so quickly after the first should be dreadful, but she can’t help but imagine the bound forms of her idols at her mercy once more, the mere thought sends a pang of arousal through her mind as she forces herself to decline the invitation. ‘I can’t, I’m in school.’

Before she can even close her phone, the Mascot’s response comes through. ‘No good, I need you here now. Preferably several minutes ago actually!’ Accompanying the message is a picture of Magia Magenta and Azul facing off against a red-skinned monster with hulking muscles, though the only one showing visible damage is the demon rather than her idols.

‘No. You need to discuss this with me beforehand, I have a life outside of working for you.’

‘You don’t.’ Utena can imagine the Mascot’s deadpan tone even through the text message that pops up on her screen, giving a withering glare to her phone as the next message pops up. ‘I’ll warn you before hand in the future, get down here ASAP.’

‘No, get someone else to do it today.’

The next message from Venalita is accompanied by a photo that makes her heart stop. It’s another screenshot, this one of a yet-unposted Bluesky post on what appears to be an account run by the Mascot itself. The attached video looks like a moment from her transformation, while the text seems to confirm that. ‘Introducing our newest lieutenant at Enormita, Utena Hiiragi, a succubus-inspired dominatrix with a depraved lust for all thinks bondage and magical-girl related.’

‘I’m on my way, don’t you dare post that!’ Rather than another message, the Mascot merely reacted with a small heart emoji.

Utena silently glances at the clock, seeing she has another minute or so to slip out before class starts, and doesn’t dare to waste any time. She quickly grabs her backpack before stepping out the door by the back of the classroom, breaking into a light jog as she reaches the hallway. The bell chimes out once more as she ducks into the stairway and hurries towards the roof, but mercifully, she manages to get to the top without crossing paths with a teacher who’d surely demand to know where she is going, to which she’d not have any answer to give.

As the door to the roof shuts behind her, she presses her back against it, breathing heavily in spite of her relatively-short burst of exercise. ‘I guess my improved stamina doesn’t apply to this form.’ With panic on her features, she pulls the four-pointed star from her backpack, holding it against her neck and mumbling, “T-Trans Magia.” In a burst of purple light, her body shifts once again. Her eyeline shifts up just about twenty centimeters, horns sprout from her head and curl inwards, wings burst from her lower back and her sensible school uniform is replaced with the utterly awful mess of clothes that she’d worn yesterday while transformed, a deep crimson blush exploding across her face as she looks down at it. “Still so embarrassing… Who would ever wear this?” Much as her embarrassment is eating away at her, the unspoken threat Venalita sent to her is the bigger concern, and she forces herself to take trembling steps towards the edge of the roof. As she focuses on the magic flowing within her body, it bends to her will surprisingly-easily, her golden eyes widening as she hops in place and finds herself floating, wings moving with such ease it is as though she’d had them all her life, the demonic limbs helping her to steer as she sets out over her town at speeds rivaling those of the cars and buses far below.

It takes mere minutes before she sees the building, and sees Tres Magia floating up above it, Magenta driving her spear into the side of the monster and knocking it back. Ducking low, Utena’s body starts to plummet, dipping below the treetops, ground rushing towards her swiftly as she aims towards a propped-open door on the second level of the facility. Her wings flare out, slowing her descent and forwards momentum drastically. Her feet barely make it over the railing on the external staircase, letting her land softly inside the building and hurry inside, heels clacking loudly on the concrete floor as she steps up behind her Mascot, the black creature staring out through a broken window into a shipping yard below.

“S-Sorry that I’m late, Venalita … Please tell me you didn’t post that?”

“Nope! You sure took your time to get here though, I was worried that you weren’t gonna show.” If it truly was worried, its cheerful tone give no indication of that fact. “Now get out there and fight them.”

“W-What, already? I just got here! Can’t I get a breather?”

“No can do I’m afraid, they’re wrapping up right now. If you don’t get out there soon, you’re gonna miss them!” Utena sighs, not daring to risk further upsetting the mascot. Her right hand curls into a fist, a whisp of purple light leaping from the star around her neck and coalescing into her weaponized riding crop the moment that she thinks of it. “You should try hitting some of those mannequins downstairs, they look like they would make for good minions! I’ll be up here to watch.” The magical girl only nods her head, glancing down to the pile of poseable, wooden humanoids and shuddering at their uncanny forms, her crop sparking with life-giving magic as she approaches them.

Azul shouts out as her sword bites into the back of the demon’s leg, black ichor spilling from the wound and causing it to stagger long enough for Magenta to drive her spear into its chest. A moment later, it blackens, turning into a thick slime and spilling from the weapon into a puddle upon the ground, rapidly dissipating back into whatever darkness or wicked world it was born from. The blue-haired magical girl smiles, the blade of ice melting away and leaving her wand in its traditional form as she calls out to her teammates. “Nicely done! I think that was the last of them.”

“Damn, I was hoping they’d put up a bit more fight at least.” Sulfur drifts down from the sky, her gloves covered in black ichor from fighting off against a demon on her own. “I suppose getting away from this creepy factory would be nice, though. You two ready to head back?”

“Wait, I just sensed something!” Magenta’s warning coupled with the sounds of tearing sheet metal spurs the girls to action, turning in time to see three deformed wooden marionettes racing across the ground at them like animals. While the bodies are humanoid in build, they each have six arms instead of only two, four more sprouting from their backs. Sulfur brings together her hands, a yellow barrier forming between Tres Magia and the animated dolls, but the massive creatures crash through it with ease, finding themselves atop Tres Magia before the girls can react.

Four limbs grab each of them around the wrists and ankles, and a moment later, Azul and Magenta find their captors using their remaining limbs to pry their hands open and toss their wands aside, the weapons bouncing across the shipping yard and leaving them helpless. A moment later, each of the animated monsters grabs at their shirts, flimsy silken tops tearing like tissue paper in the creatures’ grasp, bearing their underarms and the sides of their chests to the cold air. Sulfur writhes in the grip of the creature, her head slamming against her captor’s chest, blue eyes locking onto the golden eyes of the other magical girl floating towards herself and her friends. “Why are all these monsters such perverts? I’m gonna smash you to bits when I get out, damn it!”

Utena watches from around the building, her horns tingling as Magenta’s determination, Azul’s level-headed focus, and Sulfur’s uncharacteristic anger all wash over her. Unlike last time, she doesn’t lose herself to it, but seeing her idols securely restrained and the dolls that she’d made already following her instructions, the dark magical girl decides that this is the time to reveal herself and get directly involved. She rounds the corner fully, smoothing out her skirts and corset, deeply wishing that the gesture would make her more presentable as she walks towards her beloved heroines. “H-Hello, Tres Magia.”

“You again?”

Utena shrinks back as the restrained magical girls glare at her, but she doesn’t stop her approach, carefully stepping closer to the three and blushing nervously. “My sweet idols… I’m sorry that I couldn’t stick around yesterday. I came up with s-something you’ll like more this time, though!” With a quick flick of her wrist, the animated mannequins start moving once more, pressing the tips of their fingers gently into the underarms of her idols and starting to carefully tease the sensitive region. Their dexterous fingers dance against the tender flesh, and each of her heroines start to giggle, then burst into full-on laughter as their body responds to the stimulation against their own wishes.

Magenta squeals, giggling and starting to cry, salty tears trickling down her face as she squirms in the grip of the brittle but immensely powerful golem Utena had created. “Why are you doing this to us?” Her resistance flickers, though, Utena’s strange horns feeling pangs of embarrassment starting to slowly eat away at the heroine’s focus.

Azul manages to keep quieter, struggling ineffectively and giggling like mad, but even as she blushes and laughs, she manages to keep focused this time. The faint, unwanted surges of pleasure and confusion that flicker through Azul’s mind are quickly smothered with cool, level-headed focus, the tallest member of Tres Magia gathering her focus and attempting to find a way to regain control of the situation as the animated creature toys with her.

Sulfur struggles as well, the petite girl managing to momentarily free one of her legs. With a sharp kick, the mannequin’s body cracks, but two hands clamp down on her leg and secure it once more, tearing apart her thigh-length boot and discarding it. Keeping her ankle pinned, it shifts its other hand lower, repeating the same simple pattern of prodding and gently trailing its fingers over the sole of her foot, drawing a snort from her as the little giggles give way to utterly manic laughter. “N-No! Don’t you dare! Those are s-sensitive, get away from me! P-pervert!”

‘They’re suffering again.’ Utena’s golden eyes trail over each of her idols’, seeing the pained expressions among their laughing, eyes dull and narrowed in panic and dismay. ‘I’m hurting the magical girls that I love so much… And I don’t want to stop. Their cute screams, and those sweet giggles, and the adorable expressions… God, I don’t think I’ll ever manage to stop.’ Her cheeks burn, lips curling up as she pushes off the ground and floats closer to Sulfur. “Don’t you like this, my sweet girls? Don’t you want to lose control?” Frusta Dominazione fades in a purple flash, leaving her hand free to slowly tug down Sulfur’s other boot, slowly working it off of the squirming magical girl, baring her other foot. Utena carefully brings her hand up, gently trailing over Sulfur’s sole, tender and gentle, teasing the blonde girl who can do little more than laugh and shake her head wildly from side to side. Even her fiery words fail her, laughter the only thing that can escape her mouth as she squirms pathetically. “My sweet Sulfur… I would love to play with you all day, but I’m afraid that you already had the longest turn yesterday. I’ll wait eagerly for the next time, though.” Utena reluctantly pulls back, the mannequin’s hands moving down to tease Sulfur’s feet in her stead as she floats past Magia Magenta, leaving Sulfur a helpless mess.

“Azul, my sweet protector.” Utena hovers up to Magia Azul, the teal-haired girl dwarfing even her transformed height. “You don’t need to squirm so much.” Utena pauses, one hand moving to take the place of the mannequin’s own, teasing Azul’s cleanly-trimmed underarm while the other carefully traces down Azul’s side, the teal-haired girl giggling but maintaining at least greater composure than Magia Sulfur.

“N-no! Stop this, right now! I demand you cease this, fight u-us head on!”

“Oh, my sweet protector, if you insist, I’ll save your special day for last. I promise, I’ll be as rough as you so deeply desire, even if you won’t admit it yourself.” A flare of deep-seated arousal pulses through Azul, her cheeks darkening before her struggles resume in earnest and Utena pushes away from her, slowly drifting up to Magenta, her hands tenderly teasing the pink-haired girls thighs as she begins to whisper to the final member of her beloved team.

“That just leaves you and me, Magenta. I am so glad that we can have these moments together.” Utena’s fingers dip into the top of Magenta’s boots, the lightest of touches that she can muster trailing up the poor girl’s thighs as Magenta sobs, the mannequin’s tickling ceasing and her laughter finally coming to a merciful end. Utena lets her hands explore further up, transitioning from teasing tickles to gentle caresses, tracing over the girl’s abdomen and then back. Slowly, she floats closer, her arms wrapping around Magenta in a gentle embrace, pressing her warm body against her restrained idol and shivering in delight. “I’ve longed for you for so many long months. I’m sure that can’t come as a surprise to you, everyone adores you after all. You were my very first crush.” Utena keeps her left hand wrapped around the taller girl while her right trails higher, nails brushing over Magenta’s neck on their way to cupping her cheek, thumb gently brushing tears away from her eyes.

“Why are you doing this to us? You said you love us, then why this? Why join Enormita?” Magenta’s voice wavers, weak from sobbing and unwanted laughter alike, her emotions in utter turmoil as Utena presses against her, their chests only separated by pasties and the thin silken top.

“Those are two different answers, Magenta, my beloved. I’m making you squirm because, much as I might be sick, seeing you so weak and helpless is the most intoxicating sensation I’ve ever felt before. Just seeing you begging for mercy, knowing that I am the only one in control of your sensations, your pain and your pleasure, it’s utterly divine.” Magenta simply stares, eyes wide, with a look of revulsion upon her face. Not even the faintest hint of arousal or love hides beneath the anger and fear bubbling to the surface of Magenta’s mind, but Utena’s own bubbling lust spurs her forwards despite that. “As for why I’ve joined the villains?” Her hand trails lower, thumb pressing between Magenta’s lips and tugging the corner of her mouth up. “I told you yesterday, silly. I was transformed by the Mascot without knowing that they were part of Enormita, and it was you girls who wouldn’t listen. I forgive you, though.” Her golden eyes are manic, staring at Magenta’s utterly-terrified expression as tears begin to well up once again, both girls’ hearts racing for far different reasons. “Had it not been for your hostility, I’d have never gotten to feel this wondrous.”

“You’re deranged.” Her voice is quiet, eyes flicking to Azul and Sulfur as they squirm with renewed effort against the mannequins. The animated creatures keep them pinned, but the others have gone still, Utena’s focus on them lost.

“No, dearest. I’m just… I love you all so much.” With a giggle that sends shivers down Magenta’s spine, Utena leans closer, her breaths warm against the captive magical girl’s cheeks. “Have you ever had a kiss before? A romantic kind, not like a kiss before bed from mommy?” Magenta doesn’t answer, doesn’t dare to even let out a breath, her struggles having ceased as Utena presses closer. “It’s okay, I haven’t either. I would love it if you would be my first, Magenta.”

Magenta tries to pull her head back, but Utena’s other hand comes up, fingers weaving into her pink hair and holding the girl still, lips drawing nearer. Her heart races, the faint radiating warmth of Magenta’s body filling her with arousal and anticipation, only for a sharp crack to cause her head to jolt back as Azul’s struggling finally bears fruit, freeing her right arm and tearing the animated mannequin’s off at the joint. “That’s enough!” Azul tears her other hand free, ripping apart a second of the mannequin’s limbs in a surge of energy. Her legs kick once more as she flies forwards, breaking free of the creature’s grip entirely. Suddenly, Magenta resumes her squirming with greater vigor, head swinging forwards and cracking against Utena’s with an audible crack that leaves both girls with a dull ache.

“Time to go. Let’s fall back, Ma’am.” Utena’s gaze flicks up to Venalita, the Mascot hovering above her and Magia Magenta, it’s tone unusually insistent as Azul darts over to her wand and recovers it. ‘Damn it, I played too long.’ Cursing herself, Utena disentangles herself, floating up towards Venalita as the Mascot conjures a black swirl of shadow, and the two start to disappear into it. Utena lingers, casting one last sorrowful glance towards Magenta, drinking in the girl’s relief as her friends rush to her side before Utena ducks fully through and the portal closes behind her. ‘I’ll see you soon, my beloved heroines.’

Venalita drifts lower as Utena sulks on the school rooftop, finally deciding to try speaking with her again after giving her a few minutes to cool-off post-fight. Her transformation has already faded, leaving her in her school uniform, back against the stairway enclosure with her knees hugged up against her chest. “I know you are upset, Utena, but that went very well. You were able to hold them for quite a while and you came out of that without taking any major injuries. Your powers are really growing.”

“That’s not the point.” Venalita drifts closer, slowly landing atop her shoulder as she continues to sulk and mumble.

“Well, what’s wrong then? Was it not getting the kiss?”

She nods solemnly, glancing up at the Mascot before gazing out off the rooftop. “Mostly, yeah. I was looking forwards to it, and then I lost control and ruined my opportunity.”

“That’s true,” the Mascot replies, its tone soft and more restrained than usual, “but it’s not like you won’t get another chance. You’ve pinned them down twice now, I’m sure that you can do it again next time you fight them. Plus, doesn’t the anticipation and wait make it even better than if you’d just fulfilled all your desires then and there?”

“Maybe,” Utena admits. “Just because I know it might be more fun next time, that doesn’t make the disappointment of not getting to enjoy it now go away, though.”

“I see. Still, I’m sure that you’ll find it works out for the best soon enough. What else has you down, though?”

“Is there something wrong with me?” Her Mascot stares at her blankly, and even Utena knows that it is almost certainly the worst judge for this particular question, but she continues nonetheless. “I love Magical Girls. I love Tres Magia most of all. I spend every bit of my allowance on their merchandise, but when I’m hurting them, I feel so fulfilled. Am I really just insane?”

“I don’t think so. You might be hurting them, but that doesn’t mean you don’t genuinely love them. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be in control.” It smiles wider, Utena flinching back from it as its tone turns serious. “I didn’t lie when I told you that the bonds you can form with your rivals can run deeper than friendship.”

Utena nods, a sad smile onto her face. “Thanks, Venalita.” ‘It wouldn’t tell me if I was a monster, but it still makes me feel just a little bit better to hear.’

“I’m sorry I can’t do more to help, but I’ll try to give you a bit of time off to recuperate. Take today off, maybe even tomorrow as well, you deserve it.” The Mascot floats off of her, giving a small wave before disappearing through another portal to who-knows-where, leaving Utena alone to finish the remainder of the school day in relative peace.

The rest of school passes without further incident. Haruka and her friends had filtered in at some point, worn down and more reserved than normal, but nothing else had really caught Utena’s attention as she zoned out and through the remaining classes. The day finally came to an end, students gathering to unwind and make plans with their friends before filtering out. ‘I wonder if Haruka could use my notes from the class that they missed? She’s really nice, so, it wouldn’t hurt to offer!’ As Utena digs through her backpack, the three girls chat amongst themselves, discussing their insight into the magical girl that they’d fought, perception filtering magics preventing them from ever knowing that it is one of their very own classmates who’d so badly beaten them only a few short hours earlier.

“She’s seriously fucked in the head.” Kaoruko chimes in as Haruka finishes recounting what had been whispered to her. “So all this is just her idea of flirting?”

“I guess so. It’s seriously messed up, whatever her goal is.” Sayo spares a glance at Haruka, the pink-haired girl idly poking at cold ramen she didn’t eat during their lunch break. “You need to eat something, Haruka. Please?” The pink-haired girl doesn’t respond, still shaken by what the villain had said and the depraved glint in her eyes.

“Do you think that she’s serious about ‘loving’ us?” Kaoruko casts a glance at Haruka, and the green-eyed woman nods somberly.

“I don’t think that she was lying.” Haruka’s words are barely audible to the two girls, her voice shallow. ‘Though that doesn’t mean whatever she feels is actually love, either.’

“That might mean that she won’t try to kill us.” Sayo chimes in, trying to be optimistic for her friends. “And we might be able to lure her out if we make it known we are in a certain area, which could let us put her into disadvantageous environments.”

“Maybe. Whatever we do next, we should speak to Vatz about her. Maybe it’ll have more ideas for how we deal with her.” Haruka suggests, Kaoruko rolling her eyes in response.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt, but I ain’t holding my breath waiting around on any master plans.” Kaoruko chimes in, rolling her shoulders and standing, seeing their discussion starting to die down once more. “I’m going to find something to do to blow off steam, the past two days have been an absolute killer.”

“U-umm, excuse me?” The three pause, turning to face the nervous, purple-haired girl standing by their desks, clutching a notebook tightly to her chest. “I-I noticed you all ran out during maths, I thought that you might want my notes? They aren’t the best, but, if you want to copy them and give them back tomorrow, maybe they’ll be helpful?” Utena nervously holds it out towards Haruka, the girl looking unusually downtrodden.

“That’s really kind of you, Utena. I promise, I’ll get it back to you first thing tomorrow.” Haruka carefully takes the book, smiling brightly at the petite girl. “Can I meet you out by the flower beds?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice. And, umm, if there’s anything else I can do for you, f-feel free to ask… My contact details are on the front cover.” She blushes, staring down at her classmates’ shoes. “I should, uh, probably get going though, but, please call if I can do anything to help.”

“Oh, did you get the notes from history studies?” Haruka quickly asks. Utena blushes, scratching the back of her head shamefully.

“N-No, I’m sorry. I kind of dozed off between classes, so I didn’t really get anything.” In truth, Utena had been away fighting at the time, but the purple-haired girl’s absence from her desk in the corner of class had seemingly gone unnoticed.

“That’s okay, I really appreciate these!” Haruka offers a bright smile, her warm gesture enough to cheer up Utena a bit more.

“Well, I’m really happy that I can help! Have a great day, all of you, and I’ll see you tomorrow!” With a final, quick bow of the head, Utena heads for the door with the remainder of her notebooks, entirely forgetting about the drawings within the notebook that she’d just given to Haruka.

Chapter Text

Haruka bumps her bedroom door closed behind herself before collapsing onto her bed, sighing in relief as she sinks into the mattress. She'd had a long day, a very long day, and the pink-haired magical girl had very much needed the break that she'd received after class. Her smile widens further as her phone chimes, and she quickly pulls it from her pocket, spotting a message in her group chat with the rest of Tres Magia, Sayo inquiring about the notes from maths. ‘Hey, Haruka! Can you send us a copy of Utena's notes?’

The teen smiles, rolling off her bed and quickly striding to her desk as her fingers dance across her phone. ‘Sure thing, let me go grab them.’ Sayo’s response comes in the form of a heart reaction below her message, and Kaoruko chimes in with one a few seconds after that. As she flips open the notebook that she’d been entrusted with, her smile wavers just a hair at the chaotic sprawl of notes and doodles scribbled without rhyme or reason. ‘This is going to take a few minutes, actually.’ Kaoruko responds with a laughing emoji as Haruka stares at the beat-up notebook.

Each of Haruka’s notebooks are very neatly organized. Large letters proudly declare the subject on the inside and outside of the front cover, each of her notebooks containing her contact information on the inside of the cover. The pages are all dated and labeled, with every problem written neatly on its own page. She takes care to go above and beyond, highlighting sections where needed and adding post-it notes to create brilliantly color-coded pages. All told, it is in sharp contrast to Utena's. The book is unlabeled, and while she did take care to ensure that her phone number and home address are written barely legibly on the inside of the cover, there is no name or return location in school in case one of their schoolmates were to find it. Instead of neatly-written notes between the horizontal lines, Utena’s writing curves up and down around doodles all over the pages and squishes into narrow, hard-to-read boxes in the space between example problems. Dates are missing or were scribbled over when the purple-haired girl ran out of space for drawings and some of the pages were entirely covered in doodles without the faintest indication that the girl was even hearing their teacher.

She wouldn’t dare to complain to Utena, the girl is doing her and her friends a huge favor after all, but just looking at the utter chaos of the notebook is ever so faintly upsetting to Haruka.  ‘Oh, Utena, how can you ever study from this mess? And why are there so many drawings of us?’ There are drawings of other magical girls, many from anime as well as real groups and individuals, but by far the group that Haruka sees is Tres Magia. It’s flattering and a bit embarrassing to see how much she and her friends feature in their classmate’s daydreaming. As she continues paging through the book, Haruka spots an actually-organized section from what seems to be a few weeks back, pausing to take a closer look.

On the right hand page is a list of notes, while on the left-hand page is a large drawing of Utena, or at least a somewhat idealized version of herself. Her cute fangs are nowhere to be found and her teeth seem to be straightened out, a beaming smile upon her face instead of a nervous and forced grin. Her bust seems a small hint larger than real life as well, though Haruka couldn’t quite say for sure, but the biggest change comes from her outfit. Instead of a school uniform or casual clothes, she wears a copy of Tres Magia’s uniforms complete with a big ribbon on the top of her head and a heart-stylized wand in her hand. Notes on the right hand page declare Utena’s height to be ‘about 150 centimeters’ instead of her rather-diminutive stature of about 120. She even came up with her own powers. Some of them are generic, like flying and being unable to be recognized while transformed, but she also lists ‘light manipulation’ along with it, going so far as to mention blinding rays as well as stunning eruptions of radiance. Haruka smiles as she reads over the noted further, describing Utena’s light purple outfit and even a name: Magia Lumina. ‘That’s pretty cute, she clearly put a lot of work into this and really looks up to us... Too bad she gets scared so easily.’ Haruka had been responsible for recruiting Sayo as a magical girl, but she’d known Sayo for a very long time, trusted her friend with her life, and had witnessed Sayo standing resolute in the face of dangerous and frightful monsters. Together, they’d recruited Kaoruko as well, following a similarly extraordinary display of bravery. While she does genuinely appreciate Utena’s shy charm, she doesn’t believe that Utena would make for a capable magical girl with her fearful nature.

With a small smile, Haruka returns to paging through the notebook, only to pause again at another drawing that covers the entire page. This one wipes away her smile, a look of horror settling upon her face as she stares down at another depiction of herself. Instead of the proper Magia Magenta depicted as a proud heroine, she’s depicted in tattered clothing with her panties and buttocks on full display. Shame burns on the girl’s cheeks as she takes in the pristine detail. Every detail is painstakingly drawn, carefully traced almost like it'd been drawn while looking on her in such a disgraceful state, the kind of state that she’d only been in at the school gardens. ‘No, it’s nothing, she just doodles during class.’ Those thoughts spur her to flip to the next pages, finally seeing what looks to have been new content, with Utena’s drawing of herself falling in between her notes from yesterday’s class and today’s.

Haruka jolts to her feet and steps away from the desk, fear and shame dominating her mind. Utena almost always stays late after class to tend to the gardens, and that knowledge coupled with the position of the drawing leads Haruka to only a single conclusion. ‘She must’ve been nearby when we first fought that villain. The drawing was when she saw me getting beaten.’ She groans out, burying her face in her hands and shouting out in wordless frustration, frustration at herself just as much as the nameless villain that they’d fought. ‘No wonder she was so tense this morning, she probably thought that villain might pop up and make more monsters, and I just scared her further then ran off without even making sure she was okay… I need to go talk to her again, as Magenta. She needs to know that we are okay, I need to dispel any fears that we are going to waver just because of this indecently-dressed girl.’

Haruka takes a breath to steady herself before grabbing her phone, pulling up the group chat once more. Kaoruko had sent a pair of question marks while she was caught up in Utena’s drawings, and a few minutes later, Sayo had messaged to ask if something had come up. ‘I shouldn’t tell them, they don’t need to worry about this on top of everything else.’ ‘It’s fine, Utena’s sweet but I’m going to have to completely rewrite her notes to be legible. It’s going to take a bit longer than I thought, but I’ll be sure to get them done tonight.’ Kaoruko quickly reacts with another heart on the message before Haruka closes line and opens up her phone’s map. She produces her heart trinket from her pocket with one hand as she taps the address on Utena’s notebook into her phone, checking the direction before transforming. “Trans Magia.”

The dull aching of her bottom flares up once more as her clothes are replaced with a pristine version of her uniform. After both fights against that villain, Magenta is more appreciative than ever before that their outfits always reform in a pristine state when they transform. With that source of relief, she slides open her window and ducks out of it before ascending into the sky above town, already angling towards Utena Hiiragi’s home.

“I can’t believe I did it again.” Utena flops down onto the floor, back resting against her bed as she reminisces on the fighting with Tres Magia once again. “I hurt the magical girls that I love again.” Her cheeks tinge red as she recalls their squirming bodies and squealing faces, utterly adorable and helpless in the clutches of her monsters. They’d been so cute, so much more beautiful than she’d ever seen them before. Every time she gets to fight them, she gets to see new expressions and feel new emotions emanating from them.

More than anything, her thoughts continue to drift towards Magia Magenta. She remembers the warmth of her body as they were pressed together, the faint pulse of Magenta’s heartbeat, the sweet scent of perfumes, the delectable oozing of unwanted arousal and fear. Her brave heroine’s look of horror was simply intoxicating. Utena knows that she shouldn’t enjoy that, but the memory of it sparks arousal and adoration in her heart nonetheless. Her fingers brush down her thighs as lust starts to swell within her, but before her hands wander too far, a familiar voice calls out from above her.

“Glad to see you had fun today, Utena.”

She pulls her hands away from her more intimate regions and shoots a glare at Venalita. “I did no such thing!” Venalita grins at her weak excuse, neither of them believing Utena’s words, but before the conversation furthers, the pair of them both feel a faint font of mana in the distance, pure and bright. “Hey, what is that?”

“I think it’s one of the members of Tres Magia. I’m surprised that you can already feel magical sources while you aren’t transformed though, you are quickly growing into your powers.”

“Wait, that’s possible? Won’t Tres Magia be able to tell that you’re here, then?” Her words well with panic, but Venalita quickly shakes its head.

“No, I’m neither a magical girl nor a monster. They won’t be able to sense my power, nor your transformation item when it isn’t actively being used. They can sense you and the other girls in our evil organization while you are transformed, but I planned ahead for that too! Can you go ahead and feel under your bed for me?” Utena nods nervously, patting at the underside of her boxspring until she feels a strange, metallic sensation instead of the normal texture. “That’s a barrier generator I made for you, it should keep sources of magic inside this place from being detected by people who are far away, and it comes with similar perception-blocking powers to your own transformation. Unless you let your identity out somehow or they physically see you transformed inside your home, it’ll be exceptionally hard to determine that you’re their new rival.” The mascot turns its head, looking at the windows, the evening light filtering through and illuminating the magical-girl covered bedroom. When it speaks next, its words are uncertain. “It should be at least.”

“H-Hey, what do you mean ‘should be’?” Utena follows Venalita’s gaze, the source of mana growing more defined as it draws nearer with every passing moment.

“They’re headed pretty much straight towards us.” Venalita replies in a level tone, a small maelstrom of black smoke opening beside it. “I’m going to make myself scarce just in case, but I can’t think of a reason that they’d be coming this way. Don’t transform unless you have to, but be safe.” With that, it disappears into the portal, and a few moments later, it closes, leaving Utena on her own.

Magia Magenta frowns as she orbits the cozy house a few times, looking for any indication as to where her classmate might be. It’s late enough that there’s no reason Utena would be at school, but peeking through the windows that are uncovered doesn’t show any signs of the purple-haired girl. ‘Gosh, I feel like a creep peeking through windows upstairs. Maybe I should just try the doorbell? No, what if her parents answer, that’d be way worse.’

Finally, some movement catches her eye as she circles the home. Her petite classmate stands, head rising high enough to be seen through a bedroom window, and Haruka floats in closer. Her fingers lightly knock against the window, putting on a warm and reassuring smile as her skittish friend jumps in apparent shock before turning to face her through the window. Haruka floats lower, gently beckoning Utena closer, and the nervous schoolgirl shuffles forwards, unlatching her window and sliding it open. “You’re… Magia Magent? Why are you here?” Her mumbling is worse than Haruka had ever heard, stuttering and stammering out every word over several attempts, her eyes aimed downwards and full of intense emotions. Haruka assumes it to be surprise and awe, given the doodles of Tres Magia and the sheer amount of posters and statuettes all over the room that depict herself and her closest friends.

It's a very close assessment to Utena’s feelings, but there’s a deep-seated worry as well, worry that Magia Magenta had somehow identified that she is the new magical girl who’d been molesting them. As she shuffles back, Magenta floats into the room, her heeled boots landing softly on the floor and making Utena’s heart skip a beat. Even through her fear, seeing her idol so close outside of their fighting is a dream come true for her, and her heart soars further as Magenta bends down slightly and speaks in a gentle tone. “That’s right, cutie. Your name is Utena, right?”

“Yeah, Utena H-Hiiragi. How did you know that?”

“I overheard one of your classmates say your name. I wanted to speak with you earlier today, but I didn’t find a chance to speak with you in private.” Haruka hates lying, especially to someone who she considers to be a friend, but she can’t risk her identity getting out even to someone as solitary as Utena. Utena clearly cares about them, and surely wouldn’t intentionally do anything to compromise their safety and identities as magical girls, but it’s still prudent to not admit her secret identity to the girl.

“M-Me? Why would you w-want to speak to me, I’m just a normal student.” Utena’s fears grow more intense at the thought, in her mind the only thing that Magenta could wish to speak to her about are the words that they’d exchanged while she was transformed, or perhaps on their fight earlier, but the perception-shrouding magic proves more effective.

Magenta sighs, steeling her nerves before answering. “You saw us fight yesterday, didn’t you? Outside of your school, when we encountered that villainous magical girl who works for Enormita? The one who,” a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she pauses, “she spanked me, and did other things to my teammates?”

Embarrassment still echoes in Utena’s mind, but there’s a sense of relief from those words as well. ‘She doesn’t recognize that I was the one she fought. Then, she must have seen I was nearby before transforming, perhaps? Or, could she even go to my school, know that I stay late every day?’ Utena’s cheeks burn bright, her mouth opening and closing a few times before she manages to speak up. “I was. I-I’m real sorry, but, I won’t tell a soul wh-what I saw, Magia Magenta!”

Haruka continues smiling reassuringly at her shorter classmate, reaching out to carefully tip the girl’s chin up as she continues to stare down at her boots. “I know you won’t tell anyone, you’re a very good person and you have nothing to be sorry for, Utena. I’m the one who owes you an apology. You shouldn’t have had to see that, nor should you have had to deal with that memory alone. I should’ve come to you straight away when that girl disappeared.”

Utena blushes harder, but she doesn’t try to speak. Instead, she presses herself against her idol’s touch as her eyes well with tears. ‘Oh, Magenta, if you only knew the things that I’ve done, you’d never say such kind words to me.’

Haruka resumes speaking. “That’s why I sought you out. I can only imagine how scared you must have been to be so close to the fighting, and to see us fail yesterday, but I promise you we will keep this town safe. Just today, we fought her again, and this time we drove her away, broke free of the monsters she brought, and she ran away rather than risk fighting us.” It’s another white lie. Sayo had been the one to break free, and the strange evil mascot had been the one to call for a retreat instead of the magical girl, but those are smaller details that wouldn’t be as effective at reassuring Utena. Haruka couldn’t possibly know that her classmate is already aware of those details, only seeing her smile spread at the words of one of her favorite magical girls. “Do you mind if we take a seat, Utena?”

“O-Oh, umm, of course!” Magenta smiles at her, quickly stepping past her and sitting on the edge of her bed, and Utena does the same, sitting down beside Magenta and leaving her backpack containing her transformative trinket on the floor beside her desk. “Thank you, Magenta, for telling me this, but, did you just come down to tell me you are safe?”

“Mostly.” She rubs the back of her head sheepishly, smiling with a hint of embarrassment as Utena stares up at her with excitement in her gentle golden eyes. “That was the main reason, to let you know that we are okay, and make sure that you are doing well too. The other was a question that I had for you, though. Did you see who that girl was that we fought? Either seeing her transform, or maybe just spotted someone followed by this floating black mascot with these golden star marks on it? She said that she was being forced into this somehow, if we can find her, we might be able to put an end to this whole mess without further fighting.” It’d be a very fortunate outcome, but Haruka knows that there isn’t any guarantee that the magical girl would accept her help after the manic pleasure she’d gotten from assaulting her and her friends. ‘Still, any chance to end this without further fighting would be best, she’s really strong and still new to fighting.’

“You’d really forgive her?”

Haruka nods solemnly. “I would. I don’t think everyone would, but if she gives up her evil ways that would be for the best for everyone, including her.”

Utena goes quiet, tensing up as her thoughts race. ‘This is my chance. I can show her the item and apologize for what I’ve done. Then, Tres Magia could protect me from Venalita.’ Memories of her two fights flicker in her mind. The delicious taste of Magia Sulfur as she’d kissed and lapped at the petite heroine’s sex and Magia Azul’s moans as pleasure and pain blurred under Utena’s own whip and hands echo in her mind, but so does the utter disgust that Magia Magenta had felt for her. ‘Is that what I want? To let it go, be a normal girl?’ Magenta lightly nudges her shoulder, but Utena’s thoughts continue to drift to Venalita’s implied threats that someone else, someone more malicious and willing to harm her heroes, would be the one to take her place. ‘Or do I want to be the one that they fight? To keep feeling fulfilled as we fight, and I make them squirm and moan for me? I still get to see Tres Magia in a way that nobody else gets to enjoy. I’m not ready let that go just yet, Magenta.’

“Utena, are you okay?” Haruka’s concern grows, but her classmate finally responds in the meekest little voice she’d ever heard, full of uncertainty.

“I don’t know. I’m so sorry, Magia Magenta.”

“It’s okay, Utena.” The girl’s words don’t convince Haruko in the least, but she doesn’t push her classmate either. Utena seems to be deeply concerned about something, perhaps threatened by the dark magical girl or the mascot, and she won’t push Utena further than she is comfortable with. Instead, she gently interlaces her fingers around Utena’s own, squeezing her hand reassuringly. “Just know that if you are ever in trouble, Tres Magia will always be here to make sure kind and sweet girls like you are safe, okay?” Finally, her classmate’s lips curl up a bit into a sad smile, Magenta’s unshakeable cheer slowly eating away at her worries. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Utena? Anything at all to brighten up your day?”

“Kiss me.” Those two little words escape Utena’s lips before she even realizes that she is speaking. She covers her mouth a moment later, but it’s too little too late, a fierce blushing glow washing over her face and ears as Magenta burns in embarrassment as well. ‘God, why did I say that? She’ll think I’m a freak now!’

Magenta’s own mind is a whirlwind of emotion. Embarrassment is the greatest sensation as her classmate asks her for such an intimate gesture, unaware that they know one another when she isn’t working as a magical girl. Just below that lies a faint appreciation and charm, however. Utena’s clearly passionate about Tres Magia, posters and doodles of herself a constant in her classmate’s life, and to so quickly ask for a kiss without as much as a moment’s pause makes it feel like genuine adoration of her. Even further than that, the memory of how close that villain had come to stealing away her first kiss lingers in her mind, calling out for her to give it to someone more deserving instead. A deep part of herself knows that she shouldn’t kiss her friend without the girl even knowing who she really is, but another part of her takes charge instead.

“I’m sorry, th-that wasn’t appropri-“ Utena’s words die on her lips as Magia Magenta squeezes her hand again and cups her cheek with the other hand, pulling her closer. Utena’s heart skips a beat. She doesn’t even breath as Magenta gently closes her eyes, leaning forwards solely on touch. Utena leans back faintly, tumbling onto her bed as she squeezes her eyes shut, Magenta’s flowery scent and warmth dominating her senses as her idol draws nearer, and their lips meet while Utena is pinned gently against her bed.

Magenta kisses her softly at first, gently pressing their lips together and nipping at Utena’s lower lip, pulling back for a heartbeat to take in more breath before pushing further. Her classmate tastes sweet as her tongue darts out, the tip rubbing over Utena’s lips before pressing firmly between them, the short girl moaning in confusion as Magenta gently pushes her tongue past them to lightly press against Utena’s own for a few moments. As the girl mewls out below her like a kitten, she pulls back fully, tongue trailing over Utena’s teeth and little fangs before retreating from her mouth and breaking the kiss altogether, two thin trails of saliva linking their lips for a few moments longer before breaking as Magenta pulls away from the kiss, her sore bottom pressed against Utena’s lap. Utena simply stares up at her in awe and adoration as Magenta traces her thumb over the girl’s lips, smiling proudly and wiping away their shared drool. “How was that, Utena?”

“Perfect.” Her words come out without a moment of pause, utterly awestruck by the kiss, and Magenta smiles down at her before scooting off the bed, rising onto her feet once again.

“I’m glad to hear it, Utena.” Magenta bends down, kissing her on the cheek chastely before glancing out the window. “I wish that I could stay longer, but I need to go.” The burning of embarrassment after the sudden, passionate kiss is no small part of her yearning to slip away, but beyond that, her teammates are still waiting for her to send them notes to study. Utena doesn’t manage to vocalize a response, but bobs her head in acceptance, and Magia Magenta ducks out through the window once more, lingering just long enough for one last statement. “See you at school, Utena.”

Utena lays there in bliss as Magia Magenta leaves her alone, her heart racing in her chest at the lingering taste of Magenta upon her lips. She’d gotten the kiss that she so desperately wanted earlier in the day, needed earlier in the day, and although it had been with her on her back instead of Magenta, the sheer joy of that little exchange leaves her full of lust. Once more, she yields to her desires, reaching down and unclasping her skirt before tossing it aside, the garment hitting the floor in the middle of her room. Her left hand reaches beneath the pillows of her bed, pulling out Sulfur’s stolen undergarments while she slips her fingers beneath the fabric of her white panties to prod at her sensitive folds. A soft moan drifts out past her lips as she gently rubs at her sensitive clit, eyes closed and mind drinking in the thoughts of her beloved magical girls. Magia Sulfur, bound and wanting, explodes into her mind as she presses that heroine’s panties against her face, drinking in her scent and slipping her second finger between her lower lips to rub at her sensitive sex, pleasure rippling outwards through her body. Her moaning grows louder as she pines for Magenta to return, the fresh taste of her oldest crush calling out to her. Eventually she presses her middle finger into her sex, both digits curling to rub at previously untouched nerves as she turns her dreams towards Magia Azul.

Each time she’d tasted her cool-headed heroine’s emotions, there has been a depraved pleasure welling within her. The girl yearns for pain just as much as Utena longs to give it to her. Whipping her was a painful euphoria, but even simply restraining her was enough to inspire lust. Utena moans out as her fantasies move away from what she’s already enjoyed and towards the yet-untasted delicacies she could extract from Azul, focusing on the image of the teal-haired heroine bound with her limbs spread, Utena transformed atop her and playing with her bruised body, introducing the most intense of pain and pleasure alike to sweet, precious Azul. Needles gently piercing to make room for jewelry or dying her skin with intricate tattoos. Itching powders applied while her pet is bound and incapacitated, unable to tend to the desperate, primal need to scratch at her flesh. Electrical shocks sending burning streaks of pain through her most sensitive areas. Each thought that drifts across her mind redoubles the pleasure she feels, drifting ever closer to her peak until she finally crests it. Her moans intensify into a wordless song of pure bliss as she curls up onto her side, thighs squeezing her hand tightly in place as she rides out the wave of bliss before going limp, head dropping down to rest against her mattress as she pants for breath, contented and comfortable as she lets herself drift to sleep, her final waking thought being a yearning for one of her heroines to hold tight in her arms through her slumber.

A few minutes later, Venalita drifts over to Utena’s slumbering form, panties dampened, shirt wrinkled and messy. ‘You truly are remarkable, Utena Hiiragi. Sleep well, evil needs their rest too after all.’ The mascot floats lower, grabbing hold of Utena’s comforter and draping it gently over the sleeping girl’s body before floating back through its portal, leaving her to her dreaming with a peaceful smile upon her face.

Haruka sits on her bed with a guilty expression on her face, like I child who’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Kaoruko can’t keep herself from smiling with amusement, sitting down on the corner of Haruka’s desk and watching her friend stews in her own shame. Sayo casts a few sympathetic glances towards Haruka as well, but most of her focus is on copying down the useful notes Utena had taken during mathematics rather than paying attention to her friend’s repetition of the events that had played out a few hours prior, which Haruka had failed to complete on her own due to her other activities this evening. ‘She wasn’t kidding that these are a real mess, though.’

Hovering in the center of the room is Vatz, the mascot of Tres Magia as well as other magical girls beyond the borders of their town, staring down at Haruka with a look of equal parts disappointment and concern. The creature resembles Venalita, slightly bigger than its villainous counterpart with a white and pink color scheme instead of Venalita’s black and gold. The physical shape is near-identical, the only difference in silhouette being the heart-shaped tail that compliments the heart-shaped markings over its body. “You shouldn’t have kissed her.”

“I know. I’m sorry, it just happened, I didn’t mean to.”

“Anyone wanna tell me what the big deal is, exactly? It ain’t like she forced herself on Utena, she’s the one who asked for it.” Kaoruko’s question earns her the attention of her team, and Haruka answers before Vatz can.

“She wanted to kiss her local celebrity, but we actually know her in person. She didn’t realize that she was going to be kissing me.”

“Plus,” Vatz cuts in quickly, “I’m concerned about any sudden changes in physical intimacy. That magical girl you fought isn’t one I’ve ever heard of, and we don’t know the extent of her powers. She might be trying to influence you into behaving more like her, and these sudden actions are way out of character for you, Haruka.”

“I won’t do it again, Vatz. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, just be more careful in the future, okay? I don’t want anything bad to happen to any of you.” Haruka nods, but the mascot isn’t done with the lecture. “I’d really encourage you to spend more time with her as yourself, instead of Magia Magenta. If you still want to pursue a romantic relationship, that’s ultimately your choice but it’d be vastly preferable to not inform her of your work unless it’s unavoidable.”

“Vatz! I’m not going to date her; this was a one-time thing!”

Sayo giggles as her friend and mascot squabble, glancing up to catch Kaoruko rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Under the blonde’s serious façade, she’s clearly enjoying herself, but she’d never admit as much out loud. Sayo can’t help but join in at her friend’s expense. “She’d probably say yes, you could take her out to lunch as a thank you for the notes.”

“And all of the fanart.” Kaoruko chimes in as well, the duo laughing as Haruka throws herself into her bed and buries her face in the pillows to muffle a groan.

The group go quiet as Sayo starts to wrap up with the notes, eventually closing Utena’s notebook as well as her own and spinning to face towards the center of the room. Vatz drifts down to rest on Haruka’s nightstand, and Kaoruko hops off the edge of the desk, stretching her arms over her head as she wanders over to gently shake Haruka. “Alright, up ya get. Why’d we all have to come down here tonight?”

Haruka reluctantly sits back upright to address the group, pointing over to her desk and Utena’s notebook once more. “Well, you all saw her drawings, I think we do need to consider what Utena might know about this new villain, and more importantly consider whether she is safe.”

“What, you think someone’s fuckin’ with her?” Vatz glares at Kaoruko as she swears, but doesn’t interject just yet.

“I think so. The answer she gave when I asked about the magical girl felt really forced. She was clearly hiding how much she knew. I don’t think she’d want to hide anything from us, she’s obviously a huge fan of Tres Magia. So, my best guess is that she or her family were threatened by either the new girl or her mascot.”

“What do we know about her mascot?” Vatz pipes up, already suspicious of who its counterpart is. Sayo is quick to reply.

“I had a decent view of it when I broke out. It was a bit smaller than yourself, but a similar body shape. Black and golden, with four-pointed star markings all over.

Vatz nods, a deep from upon its face. “That sounds like Venalita. I suspected as much, but I wish it wasn’t the case.”

“Do you think that you can talk to it, convince it to stop whatever it is planning?”

“Venalita and I aren’t on good terms, and haven’t been for quite a long time. I’m afraid I don’t have any influence over it.” Sayo nods, turning her focus back towards Utena.

“So, what do you propose? We can’t exactly stalk the girl or hover outside her bedroom all day.”

“Haruka did.” The pink-haired girl glares, feebly protesting against the teasing but Kaoruko pays her no mind. “It’s mostly gonna come down to keeping an eye on Venalita and the newbie, though. We can’t stalk Utena around, but if we are quick to respond whenever Enormita pops up we should be able to keep her safe from afar, and with luck she’ll eventually be confident enough to share what she knows if we don’t find out who this girl is ourselves.”

“I think that she’s right,” Sayo concurs with her friend. “We can’t always be with Utena, so it makes the most sense to worry about what we can control, which is being there as quick as possible whenever Enormita crop up, and we can try to keep an eye on Utena whenever we see her around.”

“I guess so.” Haruka isn’t fully convinced, but she doesn’t push the topic further.

Vatz takes the uncomfortable silence as its queue to open a pair of large, milky-white portals for Kaoruko and Sayo. “Well, girls, thank you for taking the time to meet, and with luck you’ll handle things quickly and these worries will be gone soon.” With Vatz’ cheer-up complete, Kaoruko and Sayo step through the gates and back into their bedrooms leaving Haruka alone with their mascot once more. As Vatz floats above her, Haruka tiredly makes her way to her desk, flipping a few pages back in Utena’s notebook until she is looking at the drawings for Magia Lumina once more, casting a glance up at Vatz. “Something else on your mind, Haruka?”

“What if we can’t protect her?”

“What are you saying? You’ve done an excellent job of protecting the town, Haruka.” The mascot cocks its head, floating closer to see what’s caught her attention.

“I know that, but this is different. We’re not fighting some faceless demon or monster anymore, this is just another girl, one who isn’t emotionally stable and needs support. We’ve lost back-to-back fights against her, and I can’t even fight her without holding back.”

“I see why you are worried,” the mascot starts out, keeping its tone steady, “but just because you lost one or two fights it doesn’t mean that you can’t win the next one!” Even as it projects a cheery tone, the mascot’s thoughts drift to its missing teams. They’d lost one fight, a fight Vatz hadn’t even known was coming, and either turned up dead, broken, or not at all. “What do you mean when you say you are holding back when you fight, Haruko?”

“When we first fought her, we got the first hit in and knocked her onto the ground. She was defenseless, in a position for me to finish her off for good, and I couldn’t.” Haruka’s voice cracks as she remembers the bleeding form of the villain lying in the flowers, her eyes closed as she awaited the end. The girl had seemed serene as she accepted her fate, undeniably human instead of another faceless monster. As she continues, Haruka’s eyes well with tears, letting out the pent-up emotions that have been eating at her since yesterday, her words growing louder and spilling from her mouth faster as her emotions spill forth until she’s nearly screaming, fingers clenching the notebook so tightly her knuckles whiten. “I couldn’t kill her. I looked at her, and I could see another girl our age. A girl with a family waiting up for her or friends who’d be waiting for her in the morning. She could be a student at our school or someone’s older sister, Vatz!” Haruka can imagine it, standing by a tombstone or looking at an empty desk every class if she’d killed the girl. It might be worse, if she didn’t revert and Haruka had to see posters and social media pages talking about someone’s missing daughter, knowing in the depths of her heart that they would never see their little girl again. “This isn’t who I thought we would be, Vatz. You told me we would be heroes fighting back against monsters.”  Her words come out in a whisper as she sets the notebook onto her desk, pulling out her transformation heart and dropping it on her desk as well. “I won’t kill that girl if we wind up in that position again, Vatz. I don’t care if that makes me weak, that’s a line I can’t cross.”

“Haruka, that isn’t weakness. I chose you because you are brave, and empathetic.” Its tone is gentle and caring as it rests an arm upon her shoulder. “I won’t ask you to kill a human. There are other ways to defeat her, ways to take away the ability to transform and be a significant threat. We can find out how you can do that together, figure out how to render her a normal girl again.” The mascot groans out as Haruka pulls it into her arms, squeezing it tight, sobbing with a mix of relief and emotional fatigue, her mascot smiling and gently returning the gesture as best as its small size allows. ‘I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner, Haruka, and I am so sorry for how much I have asked you.’

Chapter Text

‘I wonder if I’ll recognize her today.’ Utena’s thoughts drift in the early morning sunlight as she tends to the flowers outside the school once more. Magia Magenta’s words continue to echo in her mind. She’d always known that there was a chance that beloved Tres Magia attended the same school as herself, but everything feels so monumentally different today. Now, there’s no doubt left. Magia Magenta is one of her schoolmates. A mix of excitement and anxiety roil in the depths of her stomach as she casts another glance towards the gates to the school grounds, scanning her surroundings and again finding nobody who reminds her of that beautiful face or the intimate pleasure of their kiss. The thought of meeting her idol, spending more time with her even as ordinary civilians, should be simply intoxicating, but Utena can’t shake the worry within herself either. ‘What if I know her? Will I be able to keep going, fighting her one day and then hanging out with her the next? Or, will just learning who she really is change things, take away from the love I feel for her? Everything was so much simpler before I met Venalita.’ Only two days ago, she’d had the four-pointed star forced onto her and first transformed into a magical girl, but her whole life feels as though it’s changed. Not only is she serving as a rival to Tres Magia, but now she’s had direct interactions with one of them outside of her transformed state.

Her eyes sweep over the crowd of students once again, a nervous smile settling onto her face as she recognizes one of her classmates, Haruka making her way across the courtyard with a familiar notebook in hand. Utena quickly sets aside her watering can, meeting Haruka halfway. “Good morning, Haruka. How are you today?”

“I’m doing well! Thank you once again for the notes, I really appreciate it!” She offers the notebook back to Utena and the purple-haired girl takes it, smiling and more relaxed than she had been the other day. ‘That’s good, I don’t want her to be constantly on-edge.’ “How about you, Utena? You seem like you’re in a really good mood today.”

Utena’s cheeks burn red as she recalls the taste of Magenta’s lips, the gentle pressure pushing her back against her bed. She could never share that fact, but as she thinks of that kiss her heart skips a beat once more. “I-I am, yeah. A really good mood, honestly. And, I am glad that I was able to help you out yesterday. Sorry again if these notes weren’t any good.”

“No, they were helpful!” Haruka hurries to reply, nervously adjusting her posture and rubbing the back of her neck. “By the way, do you want to exchange contact information on Line? If I add you, we could share notes in the future if either of us need it?”

“That sounds really nice!” Utena pulls her phone out of her pocket as Haruka does the same, the two adding one another.

“Thanks again, Utena! I’m going to get to class, but, I’ll see you there shortly.” Haruka pauses, glancing back at Utena with a friendly smile. “By the way, you don’t just have to message me about class. If you ever want to just chat, I’d be happy to.”

“O-Okay.” Utena nervously smiles back as Haruka rushes ahead, regrouping with her friends before heading into their building. The minutes slowly trickle past as Utena continues to watch the students, but none of them stand out to her as her beloved Magenta.

Utena turns as one of her teammates calls out to her before throwing a basketball her way. They don’t call her name, rather shouting out “Short girl,” but the warning is enough for her to bring her hands together and hold them in front of her chest to try to catch it, only for the ball to bounce off her hands and tumble onto the floor before she can.

“Sorry, Utena.” Kaoruko, playing today on the opposite team as her, rushes ahead and beats Utena to the ball and quickly passes it to off to Sayo. The teal-haired girl brings the ball further before throwing it from just below the hoop, cleanly scoring two points for her team and establishing a further lead. Immediately, the glares start as Utena ducks her head down and starts to trudge towards the back by her team’s hoop once again. Kaoruko smiles sadly at the purple-haired girl, though it quickly turns to a scowl as she sees one of their other classmates shove her onto the floor. “Oh, no you don’t.”

“That was a perfect pass, how’d you drop that?” The brown-haired girl glares at Utena. “Are you even trying?”

“I’m sorry, I-I’m just not good at this.” Utena quickly tries to shuffle out of the girl’s reach, and a moment Kaoruko steps between the pair, glaring up at the taller girl.

“Do that again, and I’m gonna kick your ass, ‘kay?” Kaoruko’s tone is just as gentle as ever, but she takes up an offensive stance with her fists up in front of herself. The brown-haired girl stares for several long seconds as Kaoruko smiles, more than eager to follow through on her threat, then turns and stomps off. “Sorry about her, Utena. Some people don’t know how to take a loss. Do you wanna take a seat for a bit, the teacher ain’t gonna mind.”

“Thank you, t-that’d be nice.” With a smile, Kaoruko helps her up onto her feet before leading her off the court. Utena slowly sits, back to the wall with her knees pulled up to her chest tightly once again, trying to disappear into the corner of the gymnasium, only to be surprised as Kaoruko takes a seat beside her. “Y-You don’t need to stay, Kaoruko.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Besides, if I keep playing your teammates will probably get more annoyed without you to keep me from walking all over them.” When Utena doesn’t respond to her jest, Kaoruko glances away, lowering her voice. “Sorry, I guess that ain’t as funny as I thought it’d be.”

“It’s okay. I know I’m not any good.” The golden-eyed girl forces a small smile as she catches Kaoruko glancing back towards her. “Why are you really sitting with me?”

“I just wanna make sure you ain’t hurt too bad, or letting them bum you out.” Kaoruko replies without a moment of hesitation, though she doesn’t mention her other motive, to get closer to Utena and be able to better keep an eye on her after the conversation with Haruka and Sayo the previous night. “Did ya bang your tush hard in the fall? I could take you to the nurse.”

“Not too hard, probably a bit of bruising later. Thanks for being worried, but, I really don’t want to keep you too long, Kaoruko.”

“Do you need space?” Utena nods quietly, and she takes the hint, pushing herself up onto her feet with a sigh. “Kay, I’ll hop back in. If you need anything or folks give ya any trouble, just let me know.” Utena doesn’t respond to that offer, but Kaoruko doesn’t push her either, leaving the girl to rest for the remainder of the class.

“Do you always get lunch from the convenience store, Kaoruko?” Sayo carefully carries her chair over to Haruka’s desk, wincing as Kaoruko instead slides her own across the floor with a loud grinding noise.

“Yep. It’s not like I can buy anything big with the money that Vatz gives us.” The blonde-haired girl replies with a shrug, pulling out a small plastic container of sushi and setting it down on Haruka’s desk alongside a small box of pocky.

“It’s not exactly healthy though,” Sayo points out in a low tone.

“I wonder if Utena’s gonna eat alone again…” Haruka’s doesn’t pay any mind to Kaoruko’s choice of meal, instead watching Utena gather her things.

“Ain’t she meeting up with someone?”

“No, she always eats by herself on the stairs to the rooftop.”

“Why on Earth do you know that? I thought you’d just started stalking her yesterday.”

Haruka blushes at Kaoruko’s words and Sayo’s laughing at her expense, though the question is a reasonable one. “I’m not stalking her, I needed to talk with her…” Her words trail off as she glances back at her classmate, focusing on the purple-haired girl as she starts to pass by on her way to the door. “Utena, would you like to join us for lunch today?” Utena stops in surprise, stumbling and stammering a few times without managing to truly vocalize her thoughts, and Haruka hurries to add on to her offer. “You don’t have to if you don’t want, of course.”

‘Kaoruko and Haruka have both been nice to me lately. I don’t really know Sayo, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to spend more time with them.’ Utena nervously grins, setting down her bagged lunch on the edge of Haruka’s desk and bowing forwards. “I’d love to, so long as I’m not intruding on anything.”

“It’d be a pleasure to have you, Utena.” Sayo offers a smile as Utena pulls over her own chair and joins the trio, sitting in a tight cluster around Haruka’s desk as they begin to eat.

“So, do you usually eat alone, Utena?” Kaoruko asks the question innocently, not pointing out Haruka’s odd knowledge of their classmate’s schedule, though it’s a topic that she intends to discuss further in private.

“Yeah,” Utena keeps her voice soft. “I don’t have any friends to eat with at school.”

Her eyes drift to Sayo as the blue-haired girl chimes in with a question. “Not even in the beautification committee?”

“No, not really. I sometimes see them after school, but I don’t know anyone in the group too well. It just seemed like it would be the simplest activity, and Mom wanted me to pick a club to join. It’s pretty rewarding too, though. I like watching the flowers in the mornings.’

“That’s good then. You always seem to be taking really good care of them when I see you outside of class!” Haruka beams warmly at the golden-eyed teen, but Kaoruko chimes in with a more pointed question, words muffled by the sushi in her mouth.

“So, you don’t have any friends?” Her friends both shoot her glares at the question, but Utena only hesitates for a moment before answering, eyes downturned.

“Not really, but I don’t mind it very much either. All but one of my contacts are family members, and I don’t hang out with anybody outside of class.” ‘Technically two, but Venalita isn’t exactly a friend either.’

“Really? Why are ya doing on your phone during class all of the time, then? Ain’t ya messaging folks?”

“N-No, I just scroll on social media and zone out. I sometimes post online, but I’m not close with anyone on the sites I use either.”

Haruka reaches forwards, taking hold of Utena’s hands and squeezing them tightly. “We can be your friends, then! Now you have three!”

Utena stammers, tugging her hands against Haruka’s grip for a few moments before the pink-haired girl realizes and lets her fingers slip free. “Th-That’s very nice, but, umm…”

“Maybe Haruka came on a bit strong?” Sayo offers with a gentle smile, and Utena nods nervously. “She’s excitable sometimes, but I promise, she means well.”

“I’d enjoy spending more time with ya, though. If you ain’t interested, I’ll understand, but I think that it’d be nice.”

Utena glances down at her feet, pondering to herself. Haruka tries to chime in again, but a quick look from Sayo makes the girl stop, letting Utena sift through her thoughts in silence. ‘They are really kind to me, and I’m sure that Mom would be happy to hear I’m finally making friends. Logically, there isn’t a reason not to at least try. But, it’d be another huge change to my lifestyle.’ Glancing up, her eyes pass over her three classmates, each of them waiting on her response without pressuring her. Haruka looks full of hope and eagerness, her fingers holding the edge of her desk tightly. Sayo is more reserved, a polite and relaxed posture with a sweet smile full of decorum and poise. Kaoruko is leaning forwards, resting her elbows on the desk and toying with her chopsticks with a playful smile. Utena’s heart continues to flutter nervously as she swallows, then speaks in a timid voice. “I’d like that. Thank you, Kaoruko, everyone.”

A moment later, Haruka wraps her arms around Utena in a tight embrace, provoking a more intense blush that spreads over the purple-haired girl’s face and ears until she’s practically glowing. Kaoruko grins and joins in on the hug, squeezing Utena tight and laughing as her classmate timidly wraps her arms around the duo, her golden eyes fluttering shut as she enjoys the warmth. Sayo merely smiles at the scene, resting her head on one hand as she watches her teammates and Utena. Eventually, the embrace ends, letting Utena slowly regain her mental faculties and exchange contact details before resuming their lunch, Utena taking small bites out of her sandwich and flicking her eyes between each of the others as they speak.

“We should do something together to celebrate after school!” Haruka claps her hands together as she makes her declaration.

“Sorry, girls. I can’t today, I have chores to take care of at the shrine.” Sayo smiles apologetically at her friends, Utena included. “Maybe we could meet up tomorrow or Sunday instead? I should have free time during the weekend.”

“I ain’t got anything to do then, so that sounds good to me.” Haruka nods in agreement as well and the trio glance at Utena.

“I don’t have any other plans for the weekend, but I don’t really have much left over from my allowance either, so it depends on what you were thinking of doing?” She blushes bashfully as she recalls having once again spent all her money buying Tres Magia merchandise. ‘I guess I should start saving my money so I have some spending cash if we go out. I wonder if I could ask Venalita about getting paid for my work.’

“We can plan something at one of our houses then, just hang out and maybe make lunch while we’re there.” Haruka cheerfully replies without a moment’s pause, or any judgement on Utena’s financial situation. “We can plan out the time and place over Line, I can start a group chat for us!”

“Thanks, Haruka.” Utena smiles with relief as Haruka quickly moves away from the topic of money and continues to include her. Her eyes glance over to Sayo, easily the girl that she knows the least. “Sayo, maybe I could walk home with you today? I don’t have anything to take care of after school today, and it could be a nice chance to get to know you better.”

“I’d like that!” She replies with a warm smile and a cheerful tone, the prospect of keeping an eye on Utena a bit longer as well as getting to know her being a very appealing one.

“O-Okay, we’ll meet then.” Utena smiles before turning her attention back to picking at her food, eager anticipation stirring at the thought of spending a bit of time alone with Sayo after class.

Outside of the school, Venalita’s golden grin observes from one of its favorite trees, watching on without detection as its unaware magical girl establishes plans with her newfound friends, its mind already whirring as it plots out how to best spark Utena’s depraved desires and push her deeper into the depths of her own lusts.

The rest of school passes uneventfully. Haruka sets up a group chat for the four to message and make plans, but the classes themselves are simple enough. As they wrap up for the day, Utena waves goodbye to Kaoruko and Haruka as they split off at the gates of the school in the opposite direction as herself and Sayo, leaving her alone with her much taller classmate as the two of them walk down the sidewalk. Utena trails just a step behind Sayo, looking up at her timidly as they walk, several quiet minutes crawling by before Utena musters the courage to break the silence. “So, Sayo, what kind of chores do you have today?” ‘Nice going, that’s got to be the lamest start to any conversation.’

As Utena silently berates herself, Sayo lets out a polite giggle before responding. “I have to tend to the shrine grounds, as well as review inventory of the sacred goods that we sell.”

“Shrine grounds?” Utena pauses mid-stride, staring up at Sayo for a few moments before continuing with greater enthusiasm. “You work as a shrine maiden, Sayo? That’s so cool!”

The blue-haired girl smiles at Utena’s sudden increase in energy, nodding in response. “I do. My family has a shrine beside my home that I tend to after school and occasionally during the weekends.”

“Sayo, that’s amazing!” Utena hops forwards, grabbing Sayo’s wrists as she continues to speak, words spilling from her mouth quickly and with far more vigor than Sayo is accustomed to from her. Her thoughts focus on that idea, already imagining her new friend dressed up in the cute, traditional garments that they wear. “That sounds like it really suits you, you’re always so cool and composed! I’ve always thought that miko are amazing, not as adorable as magical girls but the uniforms are so pretty! Do you wear them? I’d love to see sometime, or maybe visit the shrine one day while you are working? What is it like to work at a shrine? Do you have sisters who tend to it as well?”

Sayo blushes and stammers as Utena squeezes her hands, unable to even get a word out in response between questions. ‘It’s like she’s an entirely different person. I guess cute uniforms are her passion.’ Finally, the purple-haired girl pauses for breath and Sayo manages to interject. “I’d love to show you around, Utena. I can’t promise it is as interesting as you think, though. It’s very peaceful, occasionally I do fortune readings or guided meditation but primarily my duties are only cleaning and selling of talismans, masks, and other sacred goods.” Utena’s expression falls and she lets go of Sayo’s hands, shifting back like a wounded puppy. The look of disappointment sends a pang of regret through Sayo, and the taller girl offers her a small smile. “We do wear traditional garments while we are tending to the shrine, I’ve been complimented on them before by tourists. I’d be happy to show you once we get home, Utena.”

“I-I’d like that.” She smiles once more, eagerly picturing Sayo in the pure white and brilliant reds, serene expression on her face as she kneels down in front of a shrine. “I’m sure that you look amazing in it, Sayo.” Her cheeks redden in time with Sayo’s own blush intensifying.

“That’s very sweet of you, Utena. I’m not sure that I would agree with that though, I’m not anyone special.”

“Well, there’s just one way to find out!” Utena eagerly bounces on her feet as they resume walking, and this time she trails ahead of her classmate, forcing Sayo to quicken her stride just to keep pace. It’s only a matter of minutes before they arrive outside the gate to the shrine, Utena rushing up the stairs eagerly, turning at the summit to smile down at Sayo. “Let’s go!”

Sayo smiles warmly at Utena’s enthusiasm, but she holds up a hand to motion for Utena to wait. “I need to stop home. Give me five minutes, and I’ll be with you again. Please, tour the grounds and enjoy yourself while you wait.” She offers a deep bow at the waist before departing to the adjacent property where her family lives, leaving Utena alone to tour the shrine grounds.

Utena slowly wanders the grounds around the shrine, taking in the sight of the traditional holy ground. A small wooden building rests on the left-hand side before the shrine, and there’s small display shelves showcasing kitsune masks and a variety of paper talismans as well. There are no grand gardens, simply stone walkways and cobbled ground beyond the smooth pavers. Easily the most impressive sight for Utena are the large statues depicting foxes in a variety of postures that lead up to the large shrine. ‘It’s truly a beautiful place, I can’t imagine what Sayo needs to even clean today.’ Her wandering brings her to the large shrine, and Utena smiles to herself before pulling a 500-yen coin from her wallet, dropping it into the offering box within the shrine and clapping her hands together with a deep bow of the head. “Please, help me to control these dark urges in my heart and overcome the twisted pleasure that I get when I hurt the magical girls that I love so much.” She holds the pose for a few moments before sighing and straightening up, keeping her eyes low to the ground as she starts to head back to see Sayo by the entrance to the grounds. ‘Only talking to the gods when I need help is so pathetic, isn’t it? I need to get my act together and figure this out myself, instead of relying on someone else to do it for me.’ The flutter of movement in the corner of her eye catches her attention, and Utena tilts her head to see a magazine sliding over the cobblestones in the breeze.

Utena strides over to it with a puzzled frown that only deepens as she picks it up and finds herself staring down at the cover. A beautiful woman is prominently featured with a blindfold draped over her face in such a way it covers only one of her eyes while a ball gag dangles around her neck, thin trails of saliva still bridging the gap between it and the girl’s lips. Her breasts take up the lower third of the cover as well, barely kept decent enough to display in stores by two black heart-shaped pasties that cover her nipples. Above the smiling and flushed face of the model, bold letters declare the magazine to be issue 37 of S&M Club. ‘This is just porn! Who in the world would bring this here?’ A quick glance around doesn’t indicate anybody who might be responsible for leaving it, though Utena does see the brilliant blue hair of her new friend just barely cresting the staircase.

Realizing what she is holding and seemingly alone, Utena explodes into motion and races behind the wooden structure near the shrine, pressing her back against it to desperately try to hide from Sayo. The logical part of her mind knows that she needs to simply dispose of it somewhere, but another part of her longs to read deeper, her interest piqued by the lewd depiction of the young woman. ‘Just a quick peek won’t hurt, right?’

Her thumb pulls back the pages nervously, letting one page after another flow past, pausing only briefly to take in the details of a variety of tied-up young women in the thrones of carnal pleasure. The earliest pictures introduce the model for the week, and Utena only stares for a few faint moments at the latex-bound woman before delving deeper into the issue, Sayo’s return already forgotten. ‘That outfit isn’t very cute, but it shows off her body really nicely.’ The next pages describe bondage etiquette and how to effectively contain a partner’s limbs using ropes. The bound form of the woman stokes the flames of lust within herself as she stares down at similar scenes to what she’d done to Tres Magia. She barely takes in the words describing the scenes, picking out a few verbs but mostly fixated on the pictures. What starts with thick paddles to the buttocks turns to whipping with a shortened crop, leaving the model with heavy bruising across the bottom and no-doubt moaning in anguish into the gag. The pictures make her look anything but unhappy, however. Her body looks flooded with arousal, nipples erect and thighs slick with moisture spilling from her pussy. Her chin is likewise dampened with drool from around the very same gag showcased on the cover of the magazine, looking utterly enthralled even through the pain she’s enduring. ‘She’s enjoying this. Just like Magia Azul…’

“Utena? Are you still here?” Sayo’s words carry across the courtyard, but Utena doesn’t even notice them as her breaths grow deep and unsteady. Her golden eyes squeeze shut as she imagines her beloved Azul, outfit torn and showing those beautiful breasts and toned abdomen from months of fighting against the forces of evil, but now bound and at her mercy. A low whine from Utena’s throat as she leans back against the wall, trails of purple magic flowing up off of her like whisps of smoke, her outfit and body slowly shifting into her magical girl form without so much as a single word spoken from her.

Sayo shudders as she feels a sudden surge of demonic energy. Unlike the previous few days where she’d detected the presence of Enormita’s minions, this time it is close, no more than ten meters from herself, only the Kagura den shielding her from the view of the immensely potent source of energy. ‘Damn it, why does it have to be here today? Utena, please be safe.’ Much like the homes of her teammates, Vatz had placed barrier devices that mask the presence of magic and at least dissuade the presence of Enormita’s minions, though the intense source of mana makes it clear that it doesn’t entirely prevent any enemies from trespassing. The magical girl quickly produces her transformative heart from within the white kosode she wears for her shrine duties and holds it out in front of herself resolutely. “Trans Magia.” In a flash of blue light, her miko outfit fades away, replaced by her uniform as Magia Azul, her wand freezing over with a blade extending from the tip.

‘Venalita, what the hell is this? I didn’t say the chant, I didn’t even take the star out of my bag! How did I transform?’ Unbeknownst to Utena, it’d been the overwhelming flood of lust that had forcibly activated her transformative star, leaving her meme moments to compose herself before the very same girl that she’d been fantasizing about whirls around the corner, frigid blade already in hand.

“You were a fool to come to holy grounds, demon. I’ll grant you your final rites today.”  Utena turns to face Azul, and the blue-haired heroine shifts back a step as she stares at the girl’s face. Instead of the timid, inward-curling horns that adorned the villainess the past few times Azul had seen her, this time the horns extend upwards like two dramatic peaks that extend her height by nearly another head. Her cheeks are painted with at least a half-dozen extra stars overlapping beneath her eyes as well, and the mana emanating from her shines immensely greater than either of their prior fights. The girl’s skirts extend much further, barely two centimeters from dragging on the ground while her hair now extends all the way down to her waist, disturbed by a second pair of wings that extend upwards and come nearly to the top of her head. Azul gulps and adjusts her posture, unwilling to risk retreat even if it means that she will be forced to fight without her allies to come to her aid. Utena can taste the flicker of fear that washes over her. It lasts only a moment, a faint worry of the unknown, but deeper than that lies a primal fear and an all-important resolve. It’s the very same resolve she so deeply idolizes, the resolve to protect the innocent and weak that sets her beloved magical girls in a league all their own. Utena licks her lips, a shudder of bliss running down her spine at the sheer depths of awareness and the bubbling worries that hide beneath Azul’s resolute mask. “What trickery is this? Explain yourself at once!”

“Trickery? I’m afraid that I have no trick in mind today, my dearest Azul. In fact, I’d not even intended to bring violence to this holy site.” Frusta Dominazione appears in her hand with ease this time, Utena not needing to spend even a moment thinking about her weapon. The weight of it in her hand feels immensely familiar as she toys with it, the tip of her weapon cutting through the air faster than ever before. When Azul suddenly lunges forwards, it’s as though her idol is pushing through water to try to drive that sword into her belly, and Utena easily pushes herself back, floating effortlessly through the air. Four wings flare out to guide her back towards the shrine, golden eyes massing over the racks of kitsune masks as she smiles winder. “This is the first time I’ve seen one of you fight alone, my love. Are we expecting company?”

Azul scowls and follows behind her, but she can’t keep pace with the over-eager magical girl. Utena smoothly dodges both sluggish slashes of the blade, slowing her pace to let Azul at least try to keep up the assault. “It’s only me today, fiend! Perhaps you’ll have the courage to face me head on for once.”

Utena smiles wider as she focuses on Azul and finds not even the faintest hint of deception. She slowly leans forwards and lowers the hand holding her weapon out to the side, all but begging for Azul to make a thrust towards her heavily exposed breasts. “Perhaps, but it wouldn’t be much of a fight, would it?” Her eyes gleam with joy as her heroine takes the bait, the blade slowly gliding closer as though it were moving in slow motion. Her free hand darts out, mana pouring into her nails and extending outwards into long, black claws, catching the sword of rime in them and smiling wider. Azul feebly tugs at the blade for a moment before Utena lashes out with her crop, smiling with sadistic glee. Her heroine squeals as the star-shaped tip strikes into the blade, sending her wand bouncing across the ground in a pile of broken ice shards. “Seeing you has me in such a lovely mood, my dearest Azul. I’ll make you an offer.”

Azul takes a step back, looking down at her wand, and Utena can practically hear the girl’s desperate thoughts, the rush of panic and fear giving way to steady resolve and building anticipation as Azul readies to dive for her weapon once more. Utena waits, letting Azul ready herself and build up to that lunge until the very last moment before striking her in the thigh just as she pools her mana to launch herself away, the lash of her whip cutting through the teal skirt of the Tres Magia uniform like it is tissue paper and disrupting Azul’s focus. Utena hums in delight as Azul moans out softly, pain and a hint of pleasure rushing through her form like a ripple through pristine waters before continuing her playful taunts, words dripping with need. “Naughty girls get more lashes. Kneel.”

This time, it’s indignant rage that emanates from her idol like an inferno. Utena beats her wings and glides upwards away from Azul’s desperate punch, giving her just enough time to dive for her wand before the demonic conjurer lands beside her once again. “I won’t allow you to defile this holy ground, demon!”

Utena laughs in delight as Azul conjures another blade of frost from her wand and lunges forwards, her strikes more deliberate and defensive this time but they are still unbearably slow. Utena flies up into the air, making a wide arc that carries her to the shrine that Azul clearly holds in such a lofty regard. “Defile holy ground? My dear, you should know by now that I’ve no interest in such unimaginative matters, though I would love to defile you. Perhaps you would like that, to lose your purity upon this altar to the gods?” Her voice oozes with sensuality as she feels her lust and magic swell to ever greater heights. Mana pools in her grip and she lashes outwards once more, Frusta Dominazione cutting an angry purple crescent in the air which goes screaming across the courtyard. Azul braces, mana surging around herself and erupting outwards into a large crystal of ice, shielding her as Utena’s attack connects and the two elemental forces explode in shadow and smoke. Sensing the wavering of Azul’s resolve, Utena dives lower and taps one of the kitsune masks, sending the newly created monster after her quarry to cement her victory.

Azul’s impromptu barrier doesn’t manage to shield her from the entire blast, but it protects her against the worst of it. Her muscles ache as the smoke clears, leaving her clothes torn but nothing worse than bruises upon her form. A shadow flickers at the edge of her vision, another source of demonic energy, but before she can bring up her sword to strike at it, the shape connects with her head and her vision goes black as pitch. “Do you think I’ll let you win that easily? This is your end, monster.” Her words betray her crumbling resolve, trembling with fear as the animated mask smothers her senses with its mana, leaving her blind and unable to sense her foe as Utena silently floats closer to Azul.

“Such strong words, but you’re so very helpless to resist my dear.” She ducks back, dodging a sweeping slash from the blinded swordswoman and giggling as she retreats, only to float in lower as Azul tries to steady herself and focus solely on the sounds of the world around her.

“Wh-Where are you, fiend?”

“I’m right here, dearest.” Her tone is teasing, but she doesn’t manage to suppress the deep-seated adoration for her prey. Utena dodges away as Azul swings at her again, silently landing mere centimeters from the heroine. “Just where are you aiming?” Another desperate swing streaks towards her, and Utena reaches forwards, catching Azul’s wrist in her own. Frusta Dominazione fades in a purple glow, freeing her other hand to carefully take hold of Azul’s sword and pry it out of her idol’s hands before tossing it aside. “Now you’re all mine, dearest, and with no way to fight back.”

Azul whines out as Utena wraps an arm under each of her own and presses her hands against the heroine’s ample bosom. Her fingers carefully grip the thin top, and she tears it open, baring Azul’s breasts to the world before pressing a knee into Azul’s own, forcing her down onto her knees before the shrine that she’d so desperately attempted to protect. “P-Please, don’t hurt me.” Azul’s voice is timid and soft, but beneath the fear, Utena can feel the pang of lust at her own helplessness.

“Okay.” Utena giggles at the little gasp Azul makes as she straightens up, emotions a cloud of disappointment and relief at the same time. “You’ve been very patient with me, and I am truly so very happy to have you all to myself this long, so I’ll be gentle on you today. Tell me, my sweet Azul, why are you alone today? Are Magenta and Sulfur on a school trip, perhaps? Don’t tell me that you’ve had a falling out.”

“I’ll never tell you!” Utena leans in close, her breath tickling Azul’s cheeks before she plants her lips over the magical girl’s own. Her heroine tastes like raspberries, sweet and succulent as Utena presses her tongue through the blind girl’s lips, provoking a soft whine from her prey as their saliva intermingles within her mouth. She holds the gesture, deepening the kiss and gently caressing Azul’s cheek, her cute victim shuddering softly as unwanted pleasure washes over her. Slowly, Utena lets her long tongue retreat back into her own mouth before pulling back away from Azul, running her thumb of stunned girl’s lips.

“That’s one of the qualities that I love about you, my pet. The way that you protect those in need, and protect your friends, is so deeply inspiring.” Utena beats her wings once more, floating close to the paper talismans, pulling a handful free before drifting back to Azul as the girl nervously turns her head aimlessly, looking around as though it’d allow her to peer through the pervasive darkness snuffing out her senses. “Unfortunately, I have a very good guess as to why we are alone. Somebody set a barrier in this location to hide mana from being spotted by those on the outside, didn’t they?”

“You’ll never know, monster!” Beneath her angry façade, Utena can taste the flicker of fear from Azul, confirming her suspicions.

“Don’t worry, my dearest. I promise you, I’ll keep this shrine safe for us to enjoy together if it means that much to you.” The thought that the barrier might be in one of the nearby houses passes through Utena’s mind, but she turns her focus towards Azul instead of letting her thoughts linger on that topic. “However, you are to call me ‘Mistress’ today, am I understood?”

“Just ‘Mistress’? Is that your name, or are you just some arrogant freak?” The last word comes out in a substantially higher pitch as Utena pinches one of the girl’s nipples between her thumb and index finger, sending a tinge of pain racing through Azul and only stoking the flames of that unwanted pleasure that the girl is desperate to pretend that she isn’t feeling.

“Just Mistress, for today. I’d love to give you a name to call out when you orgasm, but I’m afraid I haven’t picked one quite yet, my love.” Utena carefully picks up one of the talismans, guiding her mana into it. Below her grip, the kanji characters shift, perverting the meaning of the talisman and giving it true magical potency before pressing it over Azul’s left breast, the paper sticking tightly to the girl’s flesh. As she prepares a second one, she continues to whisper, her voice soft and filled with perverse love for the heroine who she’s brought low. “You have such a beautiful body, Azul. I can hardly control myself when I see you. I know that it’s wrong, but you must understand, my heart is overflowing with adoration for you. I want to touch you, Azul. Make you moan, make you squirm. I want to kiss you each and every day and remind you that you are mine, and I am yours.”

Azul whines as Utena presses the other talisman onto her other breast before cupping her cheeks and kissing her again. Even though her arms are free, the magical girl can’t muster the energy to meaningfully struggle against the hyper-charged villain of lust, instead moaning pitifully into her mouth as Utena again invades with her tongue, tracing over Azul’s teeth before breaking the kiss again and breaking their touch once more. “I-I thought that you wanted M-Magenta to be your first kiss.” Those had been the words that spurred her into breaking out during their last fight, a burst of energy that had enabled her to break free and save her best friend that moment of intimacy that had been stolen away in an instant.

Utena’s nails run down her back, splitting open her shirt and her skirt before disposing of the lower garment, quick to continue whispering in her heroine’s ears. “She was.” The words leave Utena’s mouth before she even considers the weight of them, and Azul’s blood runs cold.

‘That’s not possible, she didn’t get to touch Haruka’s lips. The only girls that Haruka has kissed are her family, and Utena.’ Her heart skips a beat, and her thoughts clear. Utena, the petite girl that she’d invited to the shrine, had beautiful golden eyes and purple hair. She’d constantly doodled and drawn pictures of them in class, Haruka had said that her room was covered in their merchandise. Her lips part again, shaping the first syllable of her classmate’s name, of her rival’s name, but suddenly, Utena presses her knee between Azul’s thighs and the girl’s voice is stolen away in a wordless moan.

Utena giggles at the little moan that her Azul makes, cupping the girl’s breasts and squeezing them softly as she rubs Azul’s clothed sex firmly. “That’s right, my beloved. Sing for me, sing those sweet songs of your passion and pleasure for your Mistress.” Azul groans out as Utena continues to molest her, slowly shifting one hand lower to dip a finger beneath Azul’s pristine white panties, giggling as Azul stiffens up once more.

“W-Wait, no, you can’t!” Suddenly, she’s full of desperation as Utena gently rubs her clit, toying with the sensitive bud as Azul’s voice shifts higher, but Utena doesn’t pay her protests any mind.

“I can’t? My sweet, submissive pet, I can do exactly as I wish to you.” She pinches Azul’s other nipple, drawing another whine out of the girl as her pleasure steadily wells, twisting it and laughing as her pleasure and pain both swell at the rough treatment. “Do you know what I want you to do most right now, my sweet Azul?”

“No.” Utena shifts to her other breast and pinches it once more, a pang of pain racing through her and drawing out another moan. “N-No, Mistress!”

“Good girl.” She whispers those two little words in Azul’s ear and the blue-haired girl shudders again, doubting herself for but a moment as she struggles to imagine Utena Hiiragi ever mustering such controlling confidence to speak in such a belittling manner. Her thoughts muddle as her assailant continues to toy with her sensitive sex, however, the villain dipping two fingers into her sex, pumping them in and out at a steady, slow pace as Azul nears her limits. “I want you to beg me for permission to cum, my dearest, and I want to reward you for begging like a good girl for your Mistress. Here, where not a single living soul but for the two of us stand, I want you to accept these little desires that you have and beg like your Mistress’ good little girl.”

Azul pants for breath, shaking her head from side to side desperately, her moans growing more intense. She rolls her hips, pressing them against Utena’s fingers as she nears her limit, desperate to relieve her lust, to tip over the peak and into orgasmic pleasure, only for the contact to simply stop as Utena pulls herself away moments before Azul reaches blissful euphoria. It’s not a moan that escapes her, but a sorrowful whine. “No! W-why did you stop?”

“Beg.” Utena’s voice is steady and level as she whispers into Azul’s ear, pausing to nibble on her earlobe softly and provoke yet another whine of disappointment. Slowly, she presses her fingers against Azul’s clit once more, rubbing at the sensitive bud gently. “Beg me, and I’ll give you what you want.”

“Please, please let me cum!” Azul’s voice oozes with need as she leans back against her mistress, rubbing against the girl’s warm flesh and barely-there clothes. “Please, I want to cum for you, let me cum for you!”

“That’s not good enough, my pet.” The way that her heroine begs, suddenly desperate for relief, stokes Utena’s lust. Even more than that, the language that she uses, impure as it is, sets a fire ablaze inside of herself, but Utena won’t settle for anything less than perfect obedience today, unwilling to let her have her treat just yet, and as she feels Azul’s arousal near her limits, her motions start to slow, to the magical girl’s despair.

“Mistress! Please, please let your pet cum! I need it, I need you!” It doesn’t matter anymore, in this moment, and Azul yields. She doesn’t merely beg like a timid toy, but instead screams out the words, losing herself in another moan as Utena finally rewards her, moving with renewed vigor, fingers thrusting into her needy pussy as her other hand cups Azul’s cheek and pulls the girl into another kiss. Azul shudders in the high of orgasmic pleasure, losing herself. Her fingers and toes curl tight as Utena’s sugary-sweet taste fills her mouth once more, thoughts failing her as she coasts through her first climax at the hands of anybody but herself. Utena keeps their lips locked together through every haywire rush of euphoria that she can sense roiling and screaming in Azul’s mind, the tip of her demonic tongue brushing against her idol’s, intertwining and molding her like putty until the girl’s orgasm fades at last, and she goes practically limp against Utena’s arms.

Carefully, she shifts back, kneeling down and guiding Azul’s head onto her lap as her teal-haired heroine hyperventilates, desperate to fill her lungs with fresh air at last. Utena strokes her hair with one hand, carefully lifting up the mask and reabsorbing the mana she’d poured into it with her other, revealing those beautiful red eyes. Immediately, Azul squeezes them shut at the blinding intensity of the sunlight, slowly opening them to a squint as she adjusts and steadies her breathing, gazing up not at some unknown evil, but shy and soft-spoken Utena above her. Azul smiles, rolling onto her side and grasping tight to her classmate’s thigh before slowly pushing herself upright, staring at the shorter girl nervously, those cute golden eyes glimmering with mischief and lust. “Mistress… Join us.”

Utena blinks in surprise, almost as much as Azul herself, as out of the ocean of conflicting emotions, Magia Azul extends to her an invitation. “I beg your pardon, my sweet heroine?” ‘Magia Magenta said that she’d spare me, but I never thought that the others might as well.’

“Join us. You don’t need to work for Enormita. You can join us, I’m sure that our mascot could help you to be a real hero, like us.” There’s no dishonesty, beneath it all Utena can feel genuine worry. Not worrying for her own well-being or her teammates, but seemingly directed towards Utena herself.

Several long moments pass by in silence before Utena speaks, frowning deeply as she shifts away. “I can’t. If I stop, someone else replaces me, my sweet Azul. I’m not going to stop until you’re strong enough to defeat me. But when that day comes,” Utena cups her cheek again, leaning in and planting a swift kiss upon her lips before rising to her full height. “I’ll happily throw myself at whatever mercy you wish to offer me.” Azul nods tiredly as flares her wings out behind herself and pushes up into the air with a satisfied smile. “Until then, we’ll have lots of fun whenever I get the chance, my beloved heroine.” With a final glance and eyes full of adoration, the tired villainess ascends higher, eventually disappearing into the skies above their hometown.

Sayo smiles as her transformation fades, leaving her in her miko uniform once more, muscles aching but a pleasant, contented warmth radiating through her body as she slowly pulls herself up to her feet. Slowly, she reaches into her kosode, fingers passing over the surface of her chest without finding any sign of the ensorcelled talismans that Utena had placed there. ‘Odd, she definitely didn’t remove them. I wonder what those were meant to do?’ She doesn’t spend too long pondering their nature, contented with the thought that Utena would never do anything to deliberately hurt her in either of her forms. Instead, Sayo slowly begins to busy herself, sweeping up the shards of ice and dirt cast over the ground during the fighting and tending to her duties as the sun slowly dips lower in the sky, eventually returning home in the early hours of the evening with the very same mask that Utena had blinded her with tucked beneath her arm and a comforting warmth filling her chest.

Chapter Text

Utena had sent messages to Sayo after she returned home. At first, she’d only sent an apology for running off, but as the hours slowly passed, she had sent three more, growing increasingly worried that something had gone awry. The thought of spending time with Sayo had entirely escaped her mind when she’d mysteriously transformed into her magical girl form, and a greatly empowered one at that, but after her prolonged encounter with Magia Azul, her thoughts quickly turned to how she’d disappeared on Sayo without so much as a word, and then gotten into a major fight that the girl could easily have been terrified by witnessing to boot. ‘She definitely didn’t get hurt, I didn’t see her in the area after the fighting began and I held back on anything too dangerous until she’d had time to flee, but that must be terrifying to see. Magia Magenta was so worried I’d gotten caught up in their fighting that she came to console me, I owe Sayo at least that much.’

Her phone finally chimes to alert her of a new message, and she races to check it, sighing in relief as she sees it is from Sayo. ‘Hey, Utena. Thank you for reaching out. I am sorry that I took so long to compose myself, but I assure you I am well and understand your absence. I had a small family emergency as well, but you needn’t worry, everything is okay now. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to show you my uniform, maybe this will suffice until we get the chance?’ A few seconds later, she attaches a picture, showcasing herself with her arms down by her sides and a beautiful smile upon her face. She’s wearing a uniform just like a traditional miko, with a white kosode top and red hakama trousers. The left sleeve of her kosode is has a small slit on it revealing a tasteful strip of her pale flesh as well, only making the outfit look even more adorable. The kosode appears slightly tight on Sayo’s chest as well, which only makes Utena even more enraptured by the picture. 

‘Oh gosh you look amazing Sayo! So cute!’ Utena hurries to send a second message, realizing that she’d been immediately distracted by Sayo’s uniform and not at all focused on the fact she couldn’t get in touch with her for several hours. ‘I’m also glad that you are okay. Is there anything that I can do to help?’

Her response comes only a little more than a minute later. ‘I don’t believe so, but it is sweet of you to offer. I think I’m going to take a warm bath, then have an early night today. I’ll be back in touch tomorrow!’

‘Talk to you tomorrow.’ Utena sighs with relief, saving the picture that Sayo had sent her as her contact image before setting her phone down on the edge of her bed and rolling onto her back, smiling with relief. “Maybe a bath wouldn’t be all that bad of an idea myself.”

“I think you should come up with a name.” Venalita’s sudden appearance in the bathroom earns it an indignant glare from the bathing girl, but she only manages an exhausted groan before submerging even lower beneath the suds of her bath.

“Does this need to happen tonight? I’ve already had a full day, I don’t think I have it in me.”

“Yep, it’s time! You’re getting ready for your third confrontation with Tres Magia and they still don’t have a name to call out when you are making them squirm! That simply won’t do.”

“Why not? A-also, it’d be the fourth confrontation, there was an incident today…”

Venalita beams, putting on a proud expression as Utena considers whether she could hide in her bath long enough for it to leave. The mascot is more than aware of the fact that she’d taken its bait and encountered Magia Azul earlier in the day, but that little detail isn’t one it sees any advantage to sharing. Instead, it claps its front limbs together with enthusiasm. “Oh my, you’re already arranging your own fights? How wonderful! I knew that you were the right choice, Utena! I can already sense a promotion in your future!”

That sparks a moment of pause from the blushing girl. “R-Right, I’ve been meaning to speak with you about that actually. Am I going to be receiving payment for the work that we do?”

“Oh, sure! The organization has some cash on hand, I’d be happy to keep paying you so long as you’re continuing to fight the magical girls! Would you like that in cash, your current bank account, or would you prefer me to set up a new one for you with a new debit card?” ‘You really are perfect, Utena. Get used to the extra income, and it’ll be that much harder for you to back out of the work that we do.’

“Wait, really? Just like that?” Venalita’s willingness, if not outright eagerness to pay her comes as a surprise to Utena but it’s an exceedingly welcome one. “Um, I-I guess that a separate bank account would be best if it won’t cause me any trouble, but having a little bit of cash on hand wouldn’t hurt. I’d rather not have unexpected deposits into the account that my Mom can check in on though.”

“Sure thing, I’ll be sure to set it up for you!” After a moment’s pause, Venalita opens up a portal behind itself and drifts towards it slowly. “I’ll leave you a few books to look over for names. I know German and Latin are popular for girls your age, but it’s important that you put some serious thought into this. After all, you don’t want the magical girls whining something in your ear that doesn’t feel right while you make them into shuddering messes.” Even Venalita cannot help but laugh at Utena’s bright-red glow and embarrassed expression, dipping through the portal and vanishing before she is able to muster up a response.

A jolt of pain sparks in Sayo’s chest as the wire frame of her bra digs into tender flesh, the pain drawing a pitiful whimper from her throat as she pulls it away. ‘They’re still so sensitive!’ While she was in the bath, she’d noticed the tenderness. The warm water that helped her muscles to relax had been similarly soothing for her bare chest, but the lingering sensation of what must be Utena’s own magic had yet to fully fade. Sayo strides over to her bathroom nervously lifts her bra to her chest again, carefully moving it into place and watching the way it rests upon her in the mirror. ‘It’s too small.’ The realization is enough to finally work out at least one of the functions of those mana-imbued talismans that her mistress had placed onto her body, the magic within them altering her flesh without any obvious indication as to when or even if it would wear off. ‘Utena, I really hope that this isn’t permanent.’ With a sigh, Sayo steps away from the vanity and back into her room, setting her bra back into her dresser before making her way over to over to her bed in only a pair of white cotton panties, collapsing into it with a sigh and carefully pulling her blankets up and over her nearly nude form, the warm embrace of sleep claiming her only moments later.

Venalita curiously emerges from another portal as Utena fails to respond to yet another of its messages, only to find the girl face-down on her desk, still asleep. Beside her head lies a notebook the mascot doesn’t recall seeing her use before, open to a drawing of her with a list of scribbled-down names beside it in a variety of languages, most of them crossed out already. One of the translation dictionaries that it’d given her lies halfway opened on the floor, pages creased from how it’d fallen off her desk, and Utena’s phone is blinking with a slew of messages from both herself as well as what must be her friends. “Utena? It’s after ten o’clock, you need to wake up and face the day!”

Venalita taps her face a few times as it tries to speak with her, but Utena’s only reaction is a wordless groan and rolling her head so that the spot which had been repeatedly prodded is inaccessibly placed against the desk. “You’re going to be late to your playdate with your classmates if you don’t get up.” This time, Venalita takes her shoulder in both of its hands, shaking her body back and forth, but to limited success as she shrugs it off. “Utena, Magia Sulfur is all alone in a private environment waiting for you.”

Utena jolts upright, the sudden motion driving her shoulder blade into Venalita, genuinely catches it off guard by suddenly regaining consciousness at the mere suggestion of getting time alone with a member of Tres Magia. “Where?” Her golden eyes focus on Venalita as it reorients in the air, a blush creeping over her features as she looks at it. “O-Oh, I’m sorry, are you okay?”

“Perfectly fine, actually!” The mascot’s tone is chipper as it responds to her, coming to a stop after the sudden but ultimately harmless impact. “As for where, she’s off by the mountains, just past that decrepit mansion. You should be able to reach it in a few minutes if you fly, and I left you some supplies in the attic, just beneath where the roof is partially collapsed.”

“Right. I’ll go straight away!” Her hand darts to the pillows on her bed, pulling her star out of the hiding place and pressing it against her neck. “Trans Magia.” Mana surges, a familiar sensation of raw energy flowing through her body and expanding outwards before her awareness swells, the faint energy of living creatures and the disparate hues of emotion filling her mind as her pajamas are replaced by her increasingly familiar costume, horns and wings erupting from her body. Her power doesn’t swell to the same peak as it did yesterday, however. The movement around her doesn’t feel sluggish in comparison to her physical capabilities, her horns remain short and curled inwards, and her awareness of living creatures doesn’t grow to the same precision as it had last time she transformed.

With a pang of disappointment at the seeming loss of fighting prowess, Utena quickly leans over to unlatch and open her window, spreading her wings and taking to the air. After a few moments of carefully drifting outside, she kicks off the wall of her home and quickly soars higher into the air, fueling her acceleration with a considerable amount of the raw magic coursing through her like the blood in her veins. Soon enough, she spots the run-down building and starts to swoop lower, eventually setting her heels down on the uppermost portion of the roof, staring down into the overgrown back yard behind the property.

Magia Sulfur stands utterly alone in the back yard, only a few paces away from a broken segment of the wall running the length of the old property. Only a few brief seconds after Utena lands, the blonde turns to look up at her with a taunting smile. “Jeez, it’s about time you got showed up. Don’t you know better than to keep a girl waiting?” Utena smiles with delight as she bends down to grab the small paper bag that Venalita had mentioned before she left. Sulfur’s tone is one of mockery, and Utena can feel the flicker of amusement radiating off of Sulfur using her horns. When she rises back to her full height, Sulfur is still staring up at her expectantly and calling out in the same honeyed voice that Utena has grown accustomed to. “Ain't ya coming down? It’d be a real lonely morning if you are planning to stay up there.”

“That eager to spend time up close? You don’t need to ask me twice.” Utena leaps forwards off the edge of the roof, slowly drifting over Sulfur’s head and twirling mid-air before setting down a few meters from the blue-eyed heroine.

The moment Utena’s feet touch the ground, Sulfur lunges forwards, magic flaring around her body. Before she can close the distance, Utena pulls out a pair of white candles from Venalita’s parcel, focusing her magic into them and tossing them towards the eager heroine. Quickly, they blossom outwards, swelling together into a vaguely-humanoid monstrosity of molten wax, Magia Sulfur’s momentum carrying her directly into the gooey creation's grip.

“Really? No time to talk today, Miss Sulfur?” The blob of wax collapses in on itself, flowing down Sulfur’s body until her head and chest are freed, letting Utena float close enough to her victim to gently cup Sulfur’s face. “I would’ve never guessed that you had such an aggressive streak.”

Utena’s empathic horns reveal Sulfur’s amusement swell as the bound girl puts on a smug smile, not the least bit put off by her situation. “I guess we’re both full of surprises. Would you like to see another?”

Before Utena can respond, the wax golem erupts, and pain blossoms in her stomach. A wet crunch reaches her ears a fraction of a second later as her back collides with a nearby tree, and she slumps over with her back against it. ‘What happened?’ Utena takes in a shaky breath, and sharp pain races through her body yet again. Her vision swirls unsteadily as tears spill down her face, every motion of her body causing a fresh agony, but she tries to focus on the steadily-growing image of Magia Sulfur as the girl slowly closes the gap that had formed between them when she delivered that devastating blow. Slowly, her pain-addled brain processes the image, focusing in on Sulfur’s hands. Rather than the long gloves Utena is accustomed to seeing her wearing, metallic gauntlets cover her hands with thick spikes on her knuckles. Densely coiled belts wrap around the girl’s forearms, and the strange new weapon radiates mana at an intensity unlike anything Utena had seen from Tres Magia before.

“Ah, these are the only way to fight.” Her smug smile widens as she flexes her armored fists a few times, staring expectantly at Utena as the girl lies at the base of the tree which had caught her. “You ain’t down for the count yet, are you?”

Utena can barely focus on Sulfur’s words, and the magic that let her taste the heroine’s emotions are entirely absent as she struggles through the haze of pain and barely manages to claw her way to her feet. “N-Not yet.” Spitting out the words is an exertion, and the moment Utena manages them, Sulfur lunges forwards again, throwing another punch towards the purple-haired villain that Utena barely manages to throw herself out of the way of, letting Sulfur’s blow instead collide loudly with the trunk of the tree.

“Good! That’s what I like to hear.” Sulfur races forwards yet again, the usually protective hero unyielding in her aggression and keeping Utena constantly on the back foot, the purple-haired girl barely managing to throw herself out of the way of the next blow. Her fingers brush against the ground and she funnels her magic into the plant life as she runs, the magic coalescing on one of the flowers to create a beast akin to the very first one that she’d made in what she’d thought would be her final moments. “Trying this again? Keep underestimating me and you’re gonna be the one who gets a beating!”

Much like the first of its kind, the monster extends vines from its body to try to grab the magical girl, and in spite of her best efforts to dodge, it manages to get two vines around her leg. Sulfur is quick to grab onto the tendrils, grunting with effort as she physically tears the offending vines before flying closer to its core. Her gauntlets help her to deflect the smaller vines that lash out and clear the way for her to deliver a heavy blow to the monster’s core. Purple magic oozes out of it as the vines unravel and start to recede, eventually shrinking down to an ordinary flower with a broken stem.

With what are apparently powerful weapons, the plant doesn’t stand much of a chance, but the distraction buys Utena enough time to get distance, an opportunity she gladly takes to fly up and set herself once more atop the edge of the roof. Her stomach still aches in pain from the unexpected punch, but it is steadily receding to aching. Intense, but not enough to suggest anything broke, no doubt thanks to the increased durability that comes with her transformation. As she watches her second monster come apart, Utena swallows her nerves before calling out, her voice brimming with excitement now that she isn’t close enough for more debilitating strikes from the heroine. “Sulfur, why have you been keeping these amazing things a secret? Cute, small girls with huge weapons are absolutely amazing!”

Sulfur smiles up at her, putting on a tired smile that matches with the rapidly growing fatigue Utena can feel at the forefront of the brawler’s mind. “You really are something else, ain’t ya?” She shakes her head at her own question, her gauntlets disintegrating into golden motes of light and fading away. “They’re a much scarier weapon than Magenta’s spear, so I don’t use them around town. The sponsors apparently don’t like them much either.”

“Well, I think that they make you look adorable. Still scary, for sure, but it’s perfect magical girl fashion. To be quite honest, I’d love to see them showcased in some of your merchandise soon.”

Hearing her foe absolutely enamored by her weapons only makes Sulfur’s smile widen, a small giggle escaping her. “That’s mighty kind of you to say, though I ain’t gonna be any easier on you next time we fight.” She pauses, glancing over at the remains of the two monsters that she’d fought and easily destroyed before her fatigue had gotten the better of her. “Speaking of which, I think it’s safe to say I won today, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I guess so, though don’t think this counts as truly defeating me. More like driving me away.” Utena’s wings twitch, ready to take flight, before she hesitates and instead casts a mischievous grin towards Sulfur. “Why, were you hoping for a prize?”

“Well, if you’re offering, I’d love it if I could have my knickers back. Maybe I should take yours instead, that way we’ll both have each other’s.”

Utena blushes at Sulfur’s teasing words, the red hue spreading across her cheeks only making Magia Sulfur’s amusement swell to even greater intensity. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible, my sweet Sulfur. You see, whenever I transform, I don’t actually have any panties.”

“Perv.” Utena huffs, but the mocking tone doesn’t do anything to diminish her blush from Sulfur’s words. The blonde girl stretches her hands above her head, practically showing off her undamaged outfit as she starts to unwind, only chiming in again as Utena starts to drift back into the air. “Before you run off, what’s your name?”

Utena slows to a stop a few feet above the rooftop, swallowing and thinking back to the list that she’d spent all night working on. “Baiser.” Sulfur cocks an eyebrow as Utena mumbles the name softly, wanting to hear it out of her mouth one final time before announcing it more dramatically. “My name is Magia Baiser. Your rival, and your greatest fan. It’s a pleasure to properly meet.”

“I’m charmed.” Magia Sulfur bows her head and carefully lifts her skirt in a dramatic curtsy as Baiser beats her wings and sets off back towards town. Once Baiser is well out of her sight, the heroine drops her pose, falling onto her back with a tired sigh as the exertion from using her gauntlets finally gets the better of her. “Magia Baiser? What a fun gal… When she’s keeping her hands where they belong at least.”

Sayo shudders as Kaoruko recounts details of her and Magia Baiser’s fighting. Haruka seems just as cheerful as ever, and Kaoruko is obviously satisfied with how the fight concluded this time, but Sayo finds herself struggling just to keep her composure. Hearing the name that Utena had picked out for herself was exciting enough, but as Kaoruko went on to describe their fighting, the thought of Utena lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, crying and writhing in pain began to dominate Sayo’s thoughts, not helped in the least by the fact that Utena was meant to arrive nearly a half-hour earlier. ‘Did Kaoruko really hurt her in the fight?’ Her eyes drift down to where her phone sits in her lap, still seeing no responses from Utena that would explain why she’s twenty minutes late. ‘Maybe I should walk to her house, make sure she at least made it home?’

Kaoruko and Haruka share a worried glance as Sayo spaces out, the blonde girl finally waving a hand in her friend’s face until she snaps back to reality. “Something’s eating you up inside, girl. Do you want to share?”

The concern in her voice brings a small smile to Sayo’s face, but she shakes her head. “No, it’s nothing.” Seeing Kaoruko cock an eyebrow, she reluctantly amends her statement. “It’s nothing you need to worry about, I’m just not feeling at my best today. Plus, a little bit worried about Utena.”

“Do you not want her to come over?” Haruka chimes in, just as worried by her friend’s obviously unusual behavior as Kaoruko. “I’m sure that she’d understand if you said you weren’t up to it.”

“No, it’s not like that. I think I just didn’t sleep too well, I’m sure that I’ll cheer up a little bit once she gets here, but she should’ve been here already. What if something’s happened to her?”

“I’m sure that she’s just running late.” Sayo nods lamely as Haruka joins her on the edge of her bed and pulls her into a tight embrace. “Give her a few minutes more before you get all worked up, okay?”

The sound of somebody knocking on the front door catches the girls’ attention, and Kaoruko offers a small smile. “See, Haruka’s right. She was just running late, probably had to take care of some chores and forgot to send us a message to let us know. I’ll go and grab her.” She waits until Sayo nods before heading out of Sayo’s room and hurrying through the house over to the front door.

“Hey, Utena!” Kaoruko cheerfully calls out to her classmate as she opens the door, pausing as she sees Utena nervously fidgeting with her blue, conservatively cut dress. “I’m glad that you could make it.”

The moment Utena opens her mouth, words rush out in an overwhelming stream, blending into a barely comprehensible explanation of her day as she bows her head forwards shamefully. “I’m so sorry that I’m late, I meant to be ready early but then I was up all night working and I had to take care of things when I woke up and I was a mess so I had to shower and then I ran all the way here.”

“Hey, it’s no problem, we were just planning to lounge about today, so it doesn’t matter if you’re a few minutes late.” She can’t help but smile at her nervous classmate’s heartfelt apology for the rather-trivial burden that she’d caused, though Kaoruko takes it as a good indicator not to mention how worked up Sayo was becoming with fear something might’ve happened. “The others are hanging out in Sayo’s room, I can show you the way.”

The house is empty save for them, Sayo’s family having prior commitments that will keep them preoccupied for most of the day, which made for a perfect occasion to spend the day in the Minakami household. It’s a cozy and compact home, with old-fashioned wooden furniture and décor that gives the home an almost timeless feeling even despite the more modern utilities and electronic devices. While Kaoruko is used to seeing her friends’ houses, Utena is clearly more taken by it, beaming in delight as her and Kaoruko step through the doorway into Sayo’s room. “Sayo, your home is so pretty!”

Sayo smiles back at her, relief and a flicker of something far more grand racing through her at the sight of Utena’s brilliant smile. She’d taken the minute or so since hearing Utena knocking to wipe away the tears in her eyes and make herself look just a hint more presentable. “Thank you, Utena, I’ve very glad to hear that. It’s a pleasure to have you in my home.” ‘Should I hug her? That’s probably too forwards, right?’

Before Sayo can decide, Haruka rushes past her and squeezes Utena tightly, the purple haired girl whining out at the sudden pressure on her bruised stomach, still sore from the earlier fight with Magia Sulfur. Sayo winces as she sees Utena’s face scrunch up for a moment, but she returns the embrace without voicing any complaint about the pain. “Utena, you made it! It’s so nice to see you again!”

“Yeah, it’s nice to see you again, and outside school for a change!” Kaoruko smiles pleasantly, but she doesn’t move to hug Utena, leaving the touchy-feely for her friends.

Sayo throws her arms around Utena the moment Haruka lets go, pulling her unknowing Mistress closely against her. When she lets go a few moments later, Utena’s entire face is bright red, blush spreading all the way to her ears. “Utena? Are you okay?”

“Mm-hmm.” She doesn’t even bother to attempt responding with words, simply blushing intensely at the compliment and Sayo’s sudden hug that wound up with her face pressed against the taller girl’s breasts. Her heart races in her chest, her friends watching her for a few seconds before Haruka changes the subject with a cheerful tone.

“So, what would you all like to do today?”

“There are the hot springs we could go up and visit, it’s only a short hike to get there. We also have plenty of movies we could go enjoy in the living room, and I could make us some popcorn if we want to stay inside. My family also has a ton of board games in the house!” Sayo rattles off a few suggestions eagerly, keeping an eye on Utena as the girl takes deep breaths and slowly grows less incandescent.

“I also brought some games over we could set up on your TV, Sayo. I brought my Switch and our old Wii, so that gives us a ton of options. Party games, fighting games, racing games. Any of that sound fun, Utena?” Kaoruko gives Sayo a quick wink, clearly having a similar idea to gently prompt Utena into making the choice or at the very least narrowing down what she’d like to do.

“W-Well, what do you normally do when you are over?” Utena poses the question nervously, and Sayo sighs. ‘Mistress, it’s cute when you’re nervous but you need to be brave enough to at least give an opinion when you aren’t transformed.’

“Board games, video games, hike up to the hot springs, watch movies Sayo has on DVD.” Kaoruko counts on her fingers as she repeats the suggestions that they’d already made. “Does any of that speak to you?”

Haruka chimes in as well, a warm and cheerful tone to her words. “We could always just go for a walk and chat too, if nothing else sounds like fun!”

“It’s just a question of what you would prefer the most, Utena. I know that we’ll all be happy to spend time together with you.” Sayo claps her hands together softly and flashes a final cheerful smile for her mistress before quietly waiting for Utena’s answer.

Utena is quiet for several moments as she mulls over the options, nervously shrinking back from the friendly gazes of the other three girls before answering in a small voice. “I didn’t bring a swimsuit for the hot springs, but video games or board games sound like they could be lots of fun.”

“That sounds perfect then. Kaoruko, Haruka, could the two of you set up the television while I show Utena some of the board games my family has?” The other two girls happily agree with Sayo’s request and head out, leaving her alone with the blushing, purple-haired girl.

It only takes a few minutes for Kaoruko to set up her Nintendo Switch and connect it to Sayo’s television. That few minutes is long enough that Utena and Sayo most likely should have joined them by now, but as she sits back on the couch beside Haruka, Kaoruko finds no indication that they are on their way to the living room. “So, I ain’t the only one who noticed Sayo has been acting weird lately, right?”

Haruka quickly glances towards the bedroom to confirm that they are alone before replying, keeping her words soft. “She’d definitely acting differently today, but I don’t think that it’s something we need to be worried about just yet. That Baiser girl has been putting us through a lot lately after all.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Kaoruko glances back over their shoulder, still puzzled as the other girls continue to dawdle. “Doesn’t seem like they’re moving very quick. Wanna warm up a bit?”

Sayo swallows nervously as her friends depart, leaving her and Utena alone in her bedroom. As her red eyes fixate on Utena, her heart flutters in her chest. The Utena standing in front of her is a far cry from the girl who had stolen her first kiss yesterday. The Utena in her bedroom is beat red, nervously shuffling back and forth instead of shining with the confidence of the girl who knows just how beautiful she is. Even without that unyieldingly aggressive presence, she still looks utterly breathtaking. “So beautiful.”

The words escape Sayo’s mouth without her even noticing, and it isn’t until Utena suddenly flicks those gentle golden eyes up to meet her gaze that Sayo realizes her thoughts had slipped out into the world. “Sayo?” Utena barely squeaks her name out, an adorable little noise that makes Sayo want to hug her even tighter.

‘If I did hug her, she might actually collapse though.’ Sayo smiles reassuringly and blushes just a bit at the genuine, though unintentional, compliment she’d given. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that aloud, but I truly mean it.”

“Isn't it too stuffy? You look really nice, but I’m…” Her words trail off as she gestures down at her dress, far looser and more concealing than Sayo’s own.

While Utena nervously squirms and glances away, Sayo carefully kneels down, gently taking the short girl’s wrists in her hands and smiling at her. Warmth rushes through her as she gazes up at that same cute face as yesterday, albeit without the addition of those small, star-shaped markings. “No.” With that single word and her serious tone, Utena pauses. It’s only for a moment, eyes widening in shock before Sayo continues. “You look gorgeous, Utena. Your dress is very cute, and the contrast makes those pretty eyes stand out.” Sayo sighs in relief as Utena smiles and stares down at her in shock, lips parting just enough to reveal her adorably-pronounced canines.

“Really?” Utena’s voice remains soft as she speaks, but her eyes well with tears at her friend’s words of praise, not even trying to wipe away the tears as Sayo reassuringly squeezes her hands.

“Truly.” Sayo pauses, wondering if she should continue to compliment Utena, but her words fail her as she gazes up at Utena’s adorable face, blush as bright as the sun and tears trailing down her cheeks at those passionate words. Instead, she pulls Utena into a gentle hug, barely resisting the urge to kiss her blushing villain. As she starts to pull back, her unaware mistress’ arms wrap around her as well, and Sayo’s cheeks burn almost as bright at the innocent gesture.

“Thank you, Sayo.” Utena barely squeaks out the words in the most adorable voice Sayo has ever heard, before she shuffles back, wiping her eyes softly with the sleeves of her dress. “So, umm, board games? Before the others worry?”

“Right, I think we’ve kept them waiting long enough. Let me show you what we have!” Sayo guides Utena to a closet stocked with a collection of board games the Minakami family owns, each of them picking out a few and bringing them out to join their other friends, chatting and enjoying the collection of games Sayo and Kaoruko have available. Slowly, Utena’s blushing fades, genuine comfort settling upon her features as she gathers around the table to play with her friends, though Haruka and Kaoruko take notice of the way she and Sayo nervously glance away each time their eyes meet while they steadily hop between various activities together until they eventually break to get lunch and clean up.

As Haruka and Sayo head to the kitchen to prepare a late lunch for everyone, Kaoruko and Utena quickly pack up the games they’d brought out, the blue-eyed teen taking the opportunity to strike up a curious conversation while she has Utena alone. “I hope I ain’t intruding too much, but I gotta ask, is there something going on with you and Sayo?”

Utena blushes, a pale pink spreading across her cheeks once again. “No, not exactly anyway. She’s just been really sweet to me, a-and I’m not really used to that kind of treatment.”

“She is a nice girl, but, Haruka is too and you don’t seem like half as nervous when you look at her. Plus, Sayo’s squirming almost as much as you are. Did something happen between you two yesterday?”

“No, not really. She told me about being a shrine attendant for a short while, but, my mom needy my help at home, so I wound up leaving before any of the fighting began.”

“Fighting?” Kaoruko pauses, her curious tone becoming a cautious one. “What do you mean by fighting? Sayo didn’t mention anything like that.”

“Oh. Umm, she told me that there was an incident at the shrine, Magia Azul and some evil girl got into a fight. She probably got shaken up by that.” Utena stammers out the words, a sense of shaming burning in her chest at the thought that she’d caused her incredible friend any strife yesterday.

Kaoruko doesn’t pay much heed to Utena’s emotional turmoil. Instead, her thoughts are of concern. Sayo hadn’t mentioned anything about fighting Magia Baiser to her, and likely not to Haruka or Vatz either. Even when she had recounted her own fight earlier, the teal-haired girl hadn’t brought up the encounter. ‘So much for not needing to worry. Sayo, what the hell are ya thinking?’ Seeing Utena’s expectant expression, she lets out a noncommittal response, not risking anything that might reveal Sayo’s secret identity nor her own. “I guess so. I just hope she’s okay.”

“Me too.” Utena swallows, trying to suppress the guilty feeling in her chest as Kaoruko’s expression sours and the last of their games are set aside.

Haruka glances back towards Sayo, her friend clearly worrying about something even as they work together to prepare a simple supper together. It’s unusual for her to see Sayo blushing. She’s also appeared so collected outside of the most extraordinary situations, both in and out of uniform as Magia Azul, so seeing her nervous glances at Utena and the shy way her eyes dart away whenever she is caught is a totally foreign experience. Sayo’s gentle red eyes meet her own, and Haruka takes the opportunity to pose the question that has been in her mind since Sayo and Utena had joined them with their cheeks both glowing  red. “Do you have a crush on Utena?”

Sayo pauses, blush flaring up on her cheeks once again and refusing to make eye contact with her friend as she answers in a single, small word. “Yes.”

“Isn’t that kind of sudden? You’ve barely spoken to her before yesterday.”

“You’re the one who kissed her!” Sayo swiftly defends herself by bringing up Haruka’s actions, though she doesn’t divulge the fact that Utena had kissed her in as Magia Azul as well. “Besides, isn’t love at first sight meant to be romantic?”

Haruka pauses as well at Sayo’s odd suggestion, casting a dubious glance towards her best friend. “It definitely could be, but this is not ‘first sight’. We’ve gone to school with her for a while, we just weren’t close to her before.” She takes a moment to pause, resting a hand on Sayo’s shoulder before continuing in a slightly softer tone. “Can I ask why you feel this way?” At Sayo’s hesitation, she continues. “When you two left school yesterday, you didn’t give any indication you found her attractive, and today you look like you’re head-over-heels for her. What happened yesterday?”

That question, more than any other, was the one Sayo had hoped wouldn’t be asked. “Not a whole lot. While we were heading to the shrine, we talked about it and my duties, as well as the uniforms. She gets super excited when she’s talking about girls in cute uniforms, full of passion.” Sayo’s lips curl upwards in a warm smile as she reflects on Utena’s words, both the ones from before the shrine and the compliments that she’d sent over Line. “When we got there, I left her alone for a little bit to change, and she spent a bit exploring the grounds. She gave lots of compliments on my outfit, and we spent some time together before she left and I started to clean the shrine.” Nothing is inherently false, but the omission of just what they did in their shared time, and the fact that it was as Magia Baiser and Azul instead of Sayo and Utena, makes her feel sick to her stomach as she lies to her oldest friend. She spits the words out, keeping as strong a smile as she can before turning her thoughts towards Utena once again, focusing on the image of her mistress. “While we were there, everything just felt right.” ‘The back and forth fighting, the teasing, the way she made me helpless and made me hers.’ “My heart was racing, when she held me, I felt like I belonged in her arms.” ‘On her lap, helpless but impossibly safe.’ “I feel happier when I see her, and when I see her smile or hear her laughing, I can’t help but adore her.”

Haruka doesn’t comment, even as Sayo goes quiet for long stretches to collect her thoughts she just watches on, seeing Sayo’s warm smiles and nervous blushes. There’s not a single moment where Sayo makes her doubt the truth of her words, the omissions slipping past Haruka like water through a sieve. Finally, Sayo breaks eye contact again, resting her hands on the counter and taking in a deep breath to try to calm her nervousness. “Okay. I’m sorry for pushing, Sayo, I was just worried. It’s like what Vatz said, that we should be careful of sudden changes, but if this is how you feel I’ll support you however I can.”

“Thank you, Haruka.” The icky feeling in her stomach doesn’t fade, but Sayo smiles with relief as her always-optimistic friend pulls her into another hug. ‘I’m so sorry, Haruka. Someday, I promise, I’ll tell you everything, and we’ll both beg for your forgiveness.’ Haruka squeezes her one last time before pulling away, not a hint of suspicion and her concerns alleviated.

After dinner and their conversations dying down, Sayo walks her friends out and they begin to exchange their farewells. When Haruka pulls back from one last hug with Sayo, she nods her head towards the purple-haired girl with an encouraging smile, and Sayo nods in understanding before turning to Utena as she starts to walk, quickly catching up to the shorter girl with a smile and a cheerful tone. “Utena, may I walk you home tonight?”

Utena’s cheeks tinge red once again at the thought of spending more time in private with Sayo, a small blush matched upon Sayo’s own cheeks. “O-Oh, umm, if you would like? I’m sure that I’ll be able to get home okay though, and I’m sure Haruka or Kaoruko would appreciate the company instead.”

“They’re going to be walking home together almost the whole way, so I thought that it could be nice to walk you home so you don’t have to go alone. But, if you would prefer the space I’d understand.”

“I think the company would be nice. Thank you, Sayo.” Utena smiles up at her and holds out her hand for Sayo, the teal-haired girl squeezing it softly as the duo walk, comfortable in the gentle quiet of the early evening hours, no words spoken until they stop just before Utena’s house.

Reluctantly, Sayo lets go of Utena’s hand, bending down to gently hug her mistress one final time for the evening, a gesture Utena is eager to return. “Thank you for coming, Utena. I enjoyed myself today a lot, and I would love to spend some more time with you. Maybe this coming week, we could find some time to spend together just as the two of us?” ‘Maybe even as a date.’

“I think I would like that. We can try to plan it out over Line?”

“I’d like that.”

Utena reluctantly steps back, offering one last bow of the head. “It’s been a lot of fun. Have a good night, Sayo, and take care.”

“You have a good night as well, Utena.” Sayo bows in return, staying to watch Utena make her way up the walkway and waiting until the door closes behind her to turn and begin home, buzzing with excitement.

As soon as she is sure that Sayo is out of earshot, Kaoruko groans and presses her face against her hands, much to Haruka’s surprise. “What’s going on? Is something the matter?”

“Sayo and Baiser fought yesterday. She told Utena about it, but it seems like Utena wasn’t there when it started at least.” Frustration oozes from her every word, Haruka looking equal parts worried and hurt while Kaoruko simply scowls.

“We need to tell Vatz about this.” Haruka’s tone is simply one of sadness, a stark contrast to Kaoruko’s volatile anger, but the blonde nods as they head towards home.

“Yeah, it ain’t gonna be a fun time but we can’t ignore this. I’m gonna message as soon as we get home.”

Haruka doesn’t muster up a response, simply glancing back over her shoulder one final time before resuming their walk, her usually-upbeat attitude replaced by quiet worry for her friends.

Chapter Text

‘We need to talk. Meet at our training grounds at noon tomorrow.’ The message from Haruka had been eating at Sayo the whole morning as she tried, and failed, to study, eventually giving up and heading to the mountains as it drew nearer to the time that the seniormost magical girl of her team had instructed. It wasn’t especially out of the ordinary for her to ask Tres Magia to meet, especially with Baiser’s activity the past couple of days. They’d only met yesterday to discuss Kaoruko’s fighting, however, and Utena hadn’t transformed to the best of Sayo’s knowledge. The fact that Haruka had extended the message to Vatz as well implied that it had to be something serious. ‘It has to be about Baiser and I’s fight.’

As she draws closer, flying high in the air above town, a sorrowful smile settles upon her face, heart heavy with the weight of her own self-doubt. ‘I should’ve told them we fought.’ It was nothing short of dangerous and foolish to withhold the information and had Utena come at Kaoruko with half the vigor she’d showcased during their battle at the shrine, Sayo knows that her teammate would’ve been outclassed. Despite that, Sayo can’t shake the fact that Utena’s touch, Baiser’s touch, had lit a fire within her, a lust and affection for her friend that goes beyond the platonic and relatively new bond that they’ve been forging, into something deeper. ‘Why couldn’t you have just said yes, Utena? This would all be over, and the two of us could ask Kaoruko for her forgiveness together.’ It’d have made it so easy for her, if Utena had simply taken her offer, joined her and asked to become a magical girl the right way, be it as a perhaps more modest Baiser, or the cute magical girl she’d envisioned herself as some time ago.

Instead, Sayo feels as though she is being torn at the seams, pulled between what is best for her friends and teammates, and her adoration for the villain that they’ve been coming to blows with. ‘Can I love Utena, and keep Kaoruko and Haruka from greater harm? Or will I wind up leading them to their doom if I don’t tell them everything I’ve learned and bring Baiser down before she can fully grow into her powers?’ Until two days ago, she would’ve called Utena harmless, just a quiet and shy girl who she’d vaguely known and spoken to in passing before. ‘And now she’s coming into her own. She’s more confident and outspoken than I ever recall before, but when I speak to her she’s still just a young lady, I don’t see villain with wide-spread ambitions. But when she transforms, there’s no line that she seems unwilling to cross when it comes to our bodies, and I have a duty to keep them safe.’

Minutes slowly pass as the girl mulls over her thoughts, her abject failure to do what she had promised and protect her teammates to her fullest, only broken out of her daze at the sight of the waterfall and open fields where they’d so often met to train. ‘And today, we’re going to meet to discuss how I let them down.’ She arcs downwards, slowing as she rapidly approaches the ground. As she crosses over the barrier Vatz had established, the familiar flare of her teammates’ mana catches her attention as well, the two of them and almost-certainly Vatz having arrived before her. Sayo arcs towards them, spotting the trio at the base of the cliffside already discussing amongst themselves, voices quiet as they sense her approach. The looks of worry on their faces reinforces the sense of shame in Sayo’s heart as she lands, eyes drifting towards their feet as she calls out somberly. “Hello, everyone. Was I late?”

Vatz speaks up first, the mascot sparing Magenta and Sulfur the pain of directly confronting their friend and teammate. “No. We gathered before Magia Magenta asked in our shared messages so that I could speak with them separately from you. Before I start, Sayo,” it floats closer to her and dips down to eye level, the corners of its mouth twitching as it tries to keep calm, “is there anything that you’d like to share with us? Regarding the past couple of encounters with Magia Baiser?”

Sayo swallows hard, bowing her head towards her friends. “Magia Baiser and I fought, the day before yesterday. She showed up at my family shrine. I lost, miserably, and she had her way with me, uninterrupted.”

“Why didn’t you tell us, Sayo?” Kaoruko’s words come out full of anger, but her eyes show the vulnerability that she is unwilling to show. There’s hurt, hiding the fact that she and Baiser had fought is a betrayal of her trust as well as Haruka and Vatz’, but more than that is worry. ‘It’d be easier if she really was just mad at me.’

“Hey, easy.” Haruka puts a hand on Kaoruko’s shoulder, gently pulling her a step back. “She’s our friend, she doesn’t deserve to be yelled at.” Sayo smiles sadly as her oldest friend focuses on her once again. Deep down, the teal-haired girl knows that she does deserve such a reaction for her betrayal of their trust. Instead, they both seem to place almost a greater focus on her well-being than the fact that she’d mislead them both. “Why did you hide this from us though? We’re your friends, did you not trust us?”

“I do trust you.” Sayo’s voice trembles with worry as she circles around her teammates, pressing her back against the stone face of the mountain for even the faintest bit of the support that she desperately needs. “I’ve been thinking about the fight since it happened. I knew that I should tell you I fought her, but I wanted to delay it to figure out my own thoughts first.”

Haruka steps up beside her, leaning against the wall with a smile, keeping her voice soft. “Have you gathered your thoughts yet, Sayo? Are you ready to tell us what happened?” It’s out of character for her friend to show such a look of obvious nervousness, but Sayo’s cheeks are flushed and she keeps fidgeting as she talks, unwilling to make eye contact. “Or do you want more time?”

“I’m not ready,” Sayo admits, “but I don’t think I ever will be either. If you three are ready to listen, I’ll tell you what really happened.”

“If you think it is best, we’re here to listen, Sayo.” The mascot offers her a reassuring smile, and her two friends nod softly.

“Okay. The day of the incident, the four of us parted ways, you two walking home together while Utena was going to walk with me on the way to her house, right?” The two nod, and she continues. “We walked together to my family’s shrine, and she started talking about the chores that I had. Our conversation steered towards a discussion about my duties as a shrine attendant, and Utena complimented me about it, said that our attire must look beautiful on me I believe were her words. She seemed genuinely excited to see what my work is like, and it was charming to see her act in such a manner.” ‘She came alive, full of passion unlike I’d ever seen before.’

Sayo pauses, glancing up at the nervous expression of her two teammates, but no questions arise. She takes another deep breath, heart thundering in her chest as she resumes her story. “I brought her up past the gate and left her alone on the shrine grounds in order to change into my miko attire. When I returned, I didn’t see Utena. Instead, I felt a surge of demonic mana coalesce nearby, so I retrieved my own transformation item and used it before confronting the source. It was Magia Baiser, however, she wasn’t anything like what I had seen in previous fights, nor was she like Sulfur encountered yesterday. She was practically incandescent. Magic radiated out of her at a scale unlike anything the three of us have ever encountered, easily several times the intensity that Sulfur’s gauntlets exude when she used them during our last training session here.”

“Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like what Kaoruko described,” Haruka frowns, confused by the suggestion that Baiser could be that strong, but still be driven off by Kaoruko with relative ease.

“I’m certain. She looked different as well, her horns were upturned, hair longer, a bigger pair of wings higher on her back as well.” Sayo continues to explain what she’d witnessed in a soft tone, weighed down by her own guilt at hiding the event from her friends in the first place. The fact that they are letting her speak without judging her doesn’t alleviate that feeling, but only feeds it further. “I tried to fight her, but I couldn’t even keep up. She danced around my blade with ease. She didn’t just move faster, her reaction time was vastly improved, and her ability to turn and steer midair was phenomenal. Even when she had obvious openings in her stance, I wasn’t able to make a single strike connect.” Sayo takes a moment to catch herself as she finds her words racing out of her mouth faster the further along she gets in her story, slowing down as she resumes. “There was one point where she very obviously left her chest exposed, and when I tried to hit her she easily caught my blade between her fingernails, and then destroyed it, knocking my wand out of my hands in the process. Then, she let me go pick it up again after spanking my butt with the short whip she carries.” The mention of that weapon makes Haruka squirm subconsciously and reminds Sayo of the exquisite pain Utena had inflected on her after their first fight as well, a delightful blend of pain and pleasure that had left her pent-up and annoyed after. “Finally, she must’ve gotten bored of playing with me, so she launched a wave of magic directly towards me. I drew all the moisture in the air around myself and froze it solid, and the attack tore it apart with ease. A moment later, she made another one of her pet monsters out of one of the masks my family sells, and it leapt at my face before I was able to fully recover. It locked onto my face, blinding me and preventing me from sensing her mana. She taunted me for a few seconds, and when I tried to swing towards the sound of her voice, she pried my weapon away from me. I never stood a chance against her.”

Sayo finally stops recounting her story, her eyes sweeping over the others and slowly taking in their expressions. Haruka’s expression is one of distress and horror at the scale to which she describes being outclassed, and more deeply at the thought her friend was left at the mercy of such a powerful foe. Kaoruko seems simply confused, eyes focused on Sayo’s face and trying to find any indication of a joke, the Magia Baiser her friend is describing sounding nothing like the one that she’d faced off against the next day. After collecting itself and a long, uncomfortable silence, Vatz speaks again, keeping its tone quiet as worry seeps onto its face. “And what happened next, Sayo?”

“She had her way with me, the same as she did every other time that we lost to her. This time, she didn’t get tired, and nobody was there to save me, she simply got to enjoy herself the whole while.” Sayo’s cheeks burn bright, equal parts shame and arousal as she recalls Utena’s tender touches, the sweet words whispered into her ears, the way that she was made to beg for more pleasure.  The way Utena kissed her, cupping her cheek and pressing their lips together, tongues together, in utter passion. The memories make her shiver, a moan nearly escaping her before she composes herself enough to continue, albeit with a brilliant blush that denotes her lust and the shame it brings to her. “She held me down and tore away my clothes, playing with my breasts while she whispered to me.” Sayo’s voice shifts softer still, Haruka and Kaoruko having to shift closer just to hear their friend’s tale continue, words full of genuine passion. “She told me that she adores me. She told me that I’m beautiful, and that she wanted me to be hers.” ‘And that she wants to be mine.’ Though she doesn’t say it aloud, the recollection of those words makes Sayo’s heart slow, stress and fear melting off of her as she recalls the intimacy and vulnerability that Baiser had shown to her. Her story continues, details and order blurring as she lets her eyes press closed, reliving the moments that she spent together with her friend and rival. “She was so gentle, and she praised me when I refused to share details about you both. She kept playing with my body, kissing me, touching between my legs, and she placed talismans on my body that must’ve been imbued with magic just like the mask, but I didn’t know what they did until later. Then, she made me beg her for pleasure, teasing me mercilessly until I cracked, and when I pleased her she made me orgasm so much better than anything that I’ve ever felt before.” As Sayo speaks, her voice trembles and her cheeks continue to glow, embarrassment and passion both flowing through her. Her teammates, her friends, exchange worried glances, but they don’t interrupt as she continues to speak, simply silently confirming the others are just as shocked and uncertain what to make of Sayo’s tale.

“When I recovered from my orgasm, U-“ Her heart freezes, ice in her veins pulling her back out of her lust-fueled distraction and forcing clarity back to the teal-haired girl. “Umm… She was holding me. My head was on her lap, and she was softly stroking my hair like a love interest from a sweet rom-com. She didn’t run off, and she didn’t try to take away my transformative token, she just let me lie there until I was better. When I was ready, she let me sit up, and I asked her to stop this, and join us.”

“Join us?” Kaoruko speaks up incredulously at her friend’s story. “Why would you ask that, Sayo?”

“I want her to join us.” Sayo admits, her nervous embarrassment swelling as her heart beats ever more swiftly. “I’m attracted to Magia Baiser. I might’ve been since the day that we fought her outside school, but when she was holding me, and whispering these beautiful words of praise in my ear, I wanted that moment to draw on forever.” Her eyes sweep over her teammates. Vatz keeps a stoic expression, while Kaoruko doesn’t look any less incredulous.

Haruka’s expression is just one of confusion. “I thought that you were attracted to Utena?” Haruka curiously poses the question, and Sayo nods again.

“Utena’s charming, and cute, and I am attracted to her. It’s different, though.” ‘Utena is sweet as pie when she’s blushing and nervous, and when she transforms into Baiser she’s utterly in control, confident, knows just what to say and where to hold me.’ They’re nearly two different people, her shy and nervous classmate and her dominant alter-ego, but both stir the strings of her heart. “They’re both attractive, I guess.”

“You’re really into Baiser? She’s,” Kaoruko points at the side of her head, making a swirling motion with her index finger and mouthing the word ‘insane’. “I ain’t gonna lie, I don’t see it working out. We’re heroes who beat up the baddies, and she’s precisely the kind of villain we’re supposed to beat up.”

“I know.” Sayo sighs softly. “If she’d said yes, things could’ve been different. But she didn’t, so…”

“So you didn’t want to tell us you had a crush on our enemy?” Sayo nods in response to Haruka’s question, looking down at the ground.

“There’s something else as well, but, I’d like to save that until after the rest of the story, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“If you think it’s best, I have no objection,” Vatz replies, and the others nod.

“Okay. Baiser refused my offer, as I said, but she didn’t do it because she is some kind of monster. She told me that she couldn’t stop, because someone else would replace her if she didn’t fight us, and she was worried about us when she said that. I don’t know the details, but, I believed every word that she said to me then… And she made a promise that, when I beat her, she would do what I instruct her to. I don’t know whether it was specifically about me, or if she intended for it to apply to all of us together, but her point wasn’t that she wants to beat us, or even make us weaker. She wanted to see us get stronger. Mostly, at least. I’m sure that she enjoyed everything that she’s done to us so far, but at her core, she adores us.” Several seconds pass before Sayo peeks open her eyes, meeting the gaze of her teammates and Vatz. Worry, confusion, and a hint of betrayal color each of their expressions to varied degrees. “She left after that, but she didn’t look like she wanted to. She looked at me like she was full of longing before flying out of the shrine. I went about my duties as a shrine maiden, I confirmed that Utena was safe, I took a warm bath, and I fell asleep immediately after.” ‘I slept more deeply than ever before.’ “In the morning, I took care of my chores, and Kaoruko arrived only a few minutes after. I had no encounters with Magia Baiser since she left me at the shrine two days ago.” As her story finishes, Haruka wraps her arms around Sayo, pressing herself close without a word.

“Thank you for sharing that with us, Sayo. I’m certain that it wasn’t easy. I have a few questions I’d like for you to clarify, if you think you can do that for me?” The teal-haired girl bobs her head in affirmation, and Vatz continues. “The first question is about the monsters you said that Magia Baiser made. Are you absolutely certain that she animated objects, instead of summoning creatures?”

“I believe so, yes.” Sayo furrows her brow in confusion, not having foreseen that particular question, but taking the opportunity to answer a seemingly noninvasive one. “She poured magic into them in other times that we fought, and when she lifted the mask off of my face I felt the mana flow back into her body, like she was re-absorbing it.”

“I think she’s right, too. Both times I was close to her when she made a monster, I just felt magic flow into the object and it began to grow.” Kaoruko chimes in, likewise confused by Vatz’ question.

The mascot takes a moment to collect its thoughts before continuing. “Very well then. I just wanted to confirm the nature of her powers. My next question is related to the first. Regarding the second monster Baiser made, you said that she placed talismans on your body, imbued with magic but you weren’t aware of their purpose at the time, implying that you know now. What did those monsters do to you, exactly?”

Sayo looks away again, blushing at the question and the fact that her two teammates are close enough to hear her answer, but she offers it anyway. “They made my breasts larger, and perhaps a bit more sensitive. I don’t think that Mi-“ Sayo barely catches another slip of the tongue before she says anything regrettable, “Magia Baiser can’t directly manipulate people as far as I can see, only empowering inanimate objects or plants. So, I believe that she intended to use them as a method of altering my body?” The mascot doesn’t immediately react, and Sayo nervously adds on one final comment. “I believe she has a preference for larger breasts, though I can’t exactly confirm it.”

“I see. That is concerning, but I am grateful for the insight. If she was able to manipulate your body using her mana, even through a separate medium, it is likely that some of her magic might have mixed with your own mana inside of you.” The mascot floats closer, focusing on the magical girl as she nervously presses her back against the cliff face behind herself.

“Ain’t that a good thing?” Kaoruko poses the question to Vatz. “We could just pull it outta her and she would be back to normal, right?”

“I’m afraid it isn’t that easy. If we’d been able to get to Sayo immediately, I might be able to force Baiser’s power out of Sayo’s. With how long it has been, all I can do is identify her influence.” Vatz glances around at the three girls, each of them worried in their own way, Sulfur looking as though she’s ready to try to hunt down Magia Baiser this very moment to put an end to this menace once and for all. Haruka seems ready to squeeze Sayo tighter and cry with her friend, but Sayo simply seems conflicted, though the mascot cannot tell why. What it does know is the particular feel of Sayo’s mana, a feeling which is ever so faintly muddled by that of another girl’s power. The mascot forces a smile onto its lips and its tone shifts to one of cheer, a lie slipping from it. “I don’t this that there is any lingering mana from her. Maybe that’s because of her skillset, or maybe it is just a lucky break, but it doesn’t seem like you have to be worried on that front, girls.”

Haruka sighs in relief, and Kaoruko backs off slightly, but Vatz’ words don’t inspire confidence in her. Instead, it is a faint sense of disappointment that is left as she is told that no part of Utena’s magic had intermingled with her own. ‘That must be for the best, but it sounds almost romantic to always have a piece of her with me too.’ “Does that mean that my body should go back to normal, since there isn’t any of the magic that changed my body left behind?”

Vatz takes a moment to think before shaking its head in frustration. “I’m not honestly sure. I don’t think so, because it doesn’t seem to be actively using any mana, but it is possible your body will naturally shift based on non-magical factors. I’m afraid that is outside my expertise, but if you would like to speak to a doctor on the topic, I am certain I can find someone with a little bit of searching.”

“I guess that would be good, if only to figure out what might happen.” She sighs once again, glancing up at her mascot and meeting its gaze. “Is there anything else you’d like to ask, Vatz?”

It nods its head, speaking softly to try to avoid putting any more pressure on its charge. “I’m afraid so, Sayo. I’d like to keep going, if you think you are ready?” With a nod of confirmation from its charge, Vatz continues. “Do you trust Magia Baiser?”

“Yes.” Sayo doesn’t hesitate, and her teammates shift in surprise, Haruka squeezing her just a bit tighter. “Baiser is not perfect, not remotely close even, but I’m confident that she hasn’t lied to us. The love that she feels for us is genuine. Obsessive, and dangerous, but in her own way, I’m certain that she cares about us.” The way Utena had kissed her, the way she’d patiently held her close, every touch on her body had felt tender and loving. She’d been calm, carefully adhering to the desperate little requests that Sayo had voiced without a word of complaint, and her embrace felt so perfectly warm and safe. In spite of that, she’s still their enemy, and a dangerous foe at that. “She had every opportunity to harm me, take away my transformative, or spirit me away while I was exhausted, but she did everything to ensure that I was comfortable and safe. I can’t ignore that. It doesn’t mean she isn’t dangerous, or that what she did to the two of you was right, either.” Sayo’s words slowly trail off, growing quieter as weighs the actions of Utena, focusing on the girl beyond the aggressive villainess that sparked her lust. “But I trust her. She hasn’t lied to us.”

“Would she be willing to meet me with all of us?” Vatz asks after pondering her answer, Kaoruko and Haruka not speaking up but simply watching on in ever-deeper confusion at what the mascot is thinking. “Without fighting, that is. I’m confident that she’ll leap at the prospect of fighting against you again, but I’d like to simply speak with her, try to understand what she is hoping to achieve and what drives her for myself.”

“I’m not sure,” Sayo admits, feeling helpless at the question. “I believe that she would be willing to speak with us, she stayed and spoke to me after our fight, but I can’t be certain without asking. I’d be willing to lure her out with my presence and speak with her however.”

“Wait, ain’t that dangerous? What if she decides to try to assault you again, Sayo?” Haruka chimes in again, her posture defensive and tone irritable as though it would keep her concern from being obvious.

“I don’t believe that she will, after the fight we had. If I make it clear that I’m not willing to fight her, I suspect that she won’t attack me, and I can stay in an open area where I wouldn’t be able to be ambushed by one of her minions and prevented from speaking.”

“You should let at least one of us tag along just to be safe, Sayo.”

“Thank you, Kaoruko, but I’m confident that I will be fine. I trust her, and while I understand that you don’t, this is entirely my decision.” Kaoruko takes a few seconds, mulling over her thoughts before nodding, obviously worried but accepting Sayo’s decision.

“I’d ask her to meet at six o’clock this evening, but I would leave the location up to the three of you. Find somewhere open, without a lot of space to hide traps, and where you all feel comfortable fighting if it comes to that.”

Sayo considers protesting that Baiser wouldn’t try to lead them into a trap in such a manner, but she bites her tongue. ‘It’ll be a long while before they trust her, and I can’t blame them for being doubtful. She’s an enemy while she is transformed.’ “I’ll try to arrange that. I can’t guarantee that she will agree, but I’ll let you all know as soon as we finish here. Does this mean that you are out of questions, Vatz?”

The mascot nods, a genuinely pleased expression on its features for the first time since Sayo had arrived. “I’ve asked every question that I had, but I would like to know if either of your teammates have any. Haruka, Kaoruko?”

Kaoruko expels a heavy breath through her nose, taking a few moments to collect herself before speaking, hiding her emotions beneath a stoic expression. “I ain’t happy about this. I think you were being reckless, and I don’t like that you trust our enemies. But, I know you’re a good person, so, just promise you won’t keep any more secrets from us, please?” After a moment’s pause, she quickly amends her statement with a small smile. “No more secrets that relate to the Enormita gal, I don’t want to know every last detail of your dating life.”

Sayo dryly swallows, fear pooling in her chest as she slips free of Haruka’s embrace. ‘I can’t keep lying to them. Not after this. But I can’t give up Utena’s secrets either.’ She takes a deep breath, her heart racing as she speaks. “I can’t make you that promise.” The two girls’ expressions shift to simple shock, Kaoruko stuttering and sputtering as she tries to make sense of what Sayo is saying. “The other thought that has been weighing on my mind… There are things that I can’t tell you, secrets that aren’t mine to share, that I simply cannot part with.”

“But we’re your teammates, Sayo.” Kaoruko’s brow furrows in confusion as she continues. “She’s our enemy. We need to work together, share what we know.”

Sayo softly shakes her head, her tone apologetic but keeping her expression the same resolute look that she so often gives as Azul. “I’m sorry, but I can’t violate her trust like that. You know I wouldn’t do the same to you either. It isn’t mine to tell, you won’t hear it from me until she allows it, or she’s already told you herself.” Even as she says it, the guilty feeling in her core doesn’t fully fade as she lets down her friends yet again.

“Enough.” Vatz cuts in again as Kaoruko opens her mouth to speak, its eyes flicking between its three charges with a faint smile on its face as a flash of recognition washes over Haruka. “Sayo, please go and find Magia Baiser. Let us know where she wants to meet, and we’ll make arrangements to be there.” Its tone softens as it turns its focus towards the blonde teen. “Kaoruko, I understand why you are hesitant, but Sayo is our teammate, and friend. I know that this isn’t what you want, to be quite honest it isn’t the answer that I want from her either, but if it is the decision she has made I’d ask to respect that.”

Kaoruko sighs, but reluctantly backs down, putting on an irritated expression to mask her worry about. “Okay, I trust you, Sayo. But I really hope that you know what you are doing, and not getting yourself into trouble.”

‘I do too.’ Sayo nods, pushing back into the air. “I’ll do everything I can to get her to meet with us, and I promise, I’ll be safe.” Her mana flares, aiding her ascent as she rises above the treetops and back towards town.

After ensuring that Sayo is well out of sight, Kaoruko casts a glance towards Haruka, hugging her arm over her chest and trying to swallow down her worry. “I don’t like this. She’s still keeping secrets for Baiser.”

“But she’s keeping our secrets, too,” Haruka takes up a hopeful tone, Vatz watching from a distance as the two speak. “It doesn’t hurt if she can build trust with Baiser and maybe figure out a way to stop this without us having to bring her down in a fight, does it?”

“Maybe not, but what if she makes a mistake? She could put one of us in danger, or herself.”

“We all make mistakes,” Haruka sits down, maintaining her optimistic tone. “But I trust her to always do her best for the three of us, and I’m confident she won’t let anything slip that puts us in danger.”

Utena sets her pen down and stands up by her desk as the distant source of magic finally ceases its movement. It’s Magia Azul, that much she is certain of, and just like the last two encounters she’d had with Tres Magia, she seems to be alone. ‘Sorry, Mom, I’ll finish up my homework after this.’ “Trans Magia.” The familiar sensations of raw mana and her sinful lust both wash over her as her body shifts, wings and horns emerging and clothes reforming into her devilishly delicious outfit. With a hop that is quickly becoming second nature to her, she takes to the sky, narrowly clearing her windowsill and getting out into the open skies, wings beating with greater haste to send her upwards and steer her in an arc towards the familiar rise of her school. ‘And Magia Magenta’s.’ Within minutes, she can spot the blue-and-white shape of her most recent intimate partner, and she arcs down towards the rooftop, heels clicking softly as she lands behind her idol.

Azul isn’t the same as Baiser had seen before. She lacks the resolute resolve that she’d showcased at the start of their previous encounters, but she is also a far cry from the enamored state of their last encounter. Instead, she looks anxious. Baiser can feel the rippling nervousness that emanating from her heroine, and the sight of the girl, her girl, worrying brings a frown to Baiser’s face, and she clears her throat to announce her presence. Azul doesn’t respond with words, turning to glance at her with a small smile as a wave of bright affection races through her. Slowly, Baiser strides closer, stopping a few strides from where Azul is leaning against the fence on the southern edge of the roof before speaking. “Hey there, Azul. What is wrong?”

“Magenta and Sulfur and upset at me, and I know that I deserve it.” With her magic only at its usual intensity, Baiser can’t use her horns to confirm the veracity of Magia Azul’s claim, but she takes the heroine at her words, stepping closer and resting her arms on the metal railing beside the taller girl.

“I’m sorry, Azul. I suspect I play a large part in that?” ‘After all, I’ve been a thorn in their side the previous four days, that’s surely taking a toll on them.’ “Is there any way that I can help?”

The heroine shakes her head sadly, answering in the same sad voice. “There’s one way that you could help, but I’m not going to ask you again. I’m sure that your answer hasn’t changed since yesterday.”

“I’m afraid not, my sweet Azul.” Baiser smiles sympathetically, not needing her ability to sense emotions to notice the disappointment that passes over the heroine before she nods in quiet acceptance. “Is there something I can do for you?” Her golden eyes glance towards Azul, catching those delicate red orbs staring at her. The taller girl blushes faintly, her frowning mouth curling slightly upwards as she continues to gaze at her dearest villain. “I could try to offer a massage, a shoulder or lap to cry upon maybe? Or if you would like, I could just listen to your woes, though I understand if that is something you aren’t comfortable with.”

“Would you try to use what I say to find out who my teammates are, Mistress Baiser?”

The question catches Baiser by surprise, and she doesn’t bother with trying to hide that expression, instead leaning into Azul’s side gently. “No. I don’t want to seek out who you are, and I’d be disappointed if you were to share the identities of Magia Sulfur or Magia Magenta without their consent, which I am rather confident they haven’t given.” She brings one hand up, carefully cupping Azul’s cheek and turning the girl to face her more directly. “Why are you asking?”

“Because,” her voice starts off shaky and unsteady, “I’m attracted to you. Being here with you, or in your lap on the shrine, it feels peaceful and pleasant when I’m alone with you, and I want to explore what this means.”

Azul presses her cheek against Baiser’s hand, beautiful red eyes gently closing as anxiety swells, an intense buzz surrounding the two of them. Baiser leans in, rising up as high as she can to plant a small, quick kiss on the girl’s other cheek, smiling warmly at the faint grin that settles on Azul’s lips. “I’m sensing that there is a ‘but’ coming?” She gently rubs small circles on the heroine’s cheek with her thumb, letting the seconds slowly pass without complaint, content to simply stay with Azul until the girl is ready to continue.

“There is.” She takes a deep breath, and while her emotions don’t fade, she takes on a strict and serious tone, steering the conversation towards the main reason that she’d been sent here. “Tres Magia wants to meet with you. Specifically, our mascot wishes to speak with you directly, though Magenta and Sulfur want to be there too. Would you be willing to meet us?”

“For you? Absolutely.” She maintains her warm smile as one of Azul’s precious, sunset-red eyes peeks open to look at her face.

“And can you promise you won’t fight us?”

“I won’t attack you,” Baiser’s tone shifts to a more serious one for just a moment, “but I won’t stay passive if I’m attacked. I don’t expect you to do that, but I won’t make a promise that I don’t fully intend to follow through on. Can you accept those terms, dearest?”

“Yes.” Azul hesitates, leaning closer to her villainous lover and kissing her softly on the tip of her nose, giggling as she pulls back. “Would six o’clock tonight work, outside the building where you and Magia Sulfur fought yesterday?”

“I’ll be there, and I’ll try not to arrive earlier than you all just to be safe.” A wave of relief rushes through Magia Azul at her answer.

“Thank you, Baiser.” The demonic girl lets out a faint gasp as she sees Azul lift a hand up to the trinket upon her neck where her mana seems to be at its brightest, and before she can intervene, Azul taps her fingers against the curio, pulling a mote of blue light from it. Rather than washing out over her and returning her to a civilian appearance, the small glow of magic reforms in her palm, becoming a solid blue phone. Sensing Baiser’s weight shifting and hearing the gasp of surprise, Azul cocks her head, confused. “Baiser? What happened?”

“I thought you were going to transform. How did you do that, Azul?”

“You should be able to tap that star of yours and focus on what you were carrying before in order to retrieve it.” Azul explains with a small smile, and as her Mistress conjures her own cell phone complete with a Magia Magenta sticker, Azul quietly claps her hands together.

“That’s really useful. Thank you, my love.” Azul glows brighter with happiness at the appreciative words from her mistress before pulling her phone up to her chest, shielding the edges of the screen just to be safe, though Baiser doesn’t even attempt to peak. Instead, she turns her back to Azul to give her privacy, pressing her phone against the star upon her neck and watching as it turns to a purple-hued glow before disappearing back into the star.

As Baiser busies herself exploring her ability to conjure her belongings without having to transform back into her civilian form, Azul sends a message to the rest of her teammates. ‘She’s agreed to meet, and promised not to attack us, though she will defend herself if we start anything. We’ll meet where you and her fought, Sulfur.’ Each of the three acknowledge the message with a simple reaction in the app, and Azul follows up with a second message. ‘Would you like me to return, or should I venture to the meeting on my own?’

Magenta is the one who responds. ‘Take the time to yourself, but try to arrive between ten and fifteen minutes before the meeting.’

Azul sends a reaction in the affirmative before returning her phone to her transformative charm as well before turning back to Baiser, seeing her villain giving her some privacy and smiling wider. “The meeting is set, Baiser.”

“It’s a date, then.” The demonic girl responds in stride, though seeing her heroine’s growing anxiety, she steps closer, gently taking Azul’s hand with a soft squeeze. “My offer still stands, my beloved. If there is anything that I could do for you to ease the stress of your life, you need only say it.”

Her heroine nods, blushing as her voice softens. “Could I lie in your lap again, Mistress Baiser? Just… Rest, and pretend that the rest of the world doesn’t matter? If just for a day?”

Baiser’s smile widens as she carefully lowers herself onto her knees, patting her lap and beaming up at her precious magical girl as the girl glows with embarrassment and love alike, face as brilliant as the nimbus of intense feelings. “Of course, Azul. Always.”

The taller girl lowers herself to the ground slowly, pausing long enough for Baiser to cup her cheek with one hand and kiss her nose before continuing the remainder of the way, her head setting down atop Baiser’s thighs and red eyes closing with a peaceful sigh.

While Sayo rests on the lap of her paramour, Vatz opens a portal back to Haruka’s room, lingering atop her desk while the others work on their studies, though they are obviously struggling to focus on it.

“Are you sure it ain’t a problem that she and Baiser are alone?” Kaoruko breaks the silence after staring down at the swirling words of her notebook, unable to even think of anything other than the distant sources of mana where her teammate is lingering with their nemesis.

“She’ll get there early like I asked her to.” Whereas Kaoruko’s tone is clearly one of worry, Haruka keeps optimistic, turning to offer a small smile to her fiery friend. “If she wants to spend time with Magia Baiser, it’s none of our business what they do together.”

“Why are you okay with this? Ain’t you worried what that girl is gonna do to our friend?”

Haruka rises from her seat and closes her notebook, crossing her room quickly to sit beside her worried teammate and wrap an arm around her gently. “I’m a little bit worried, Kaoruko, but Sayo’s a big girl. I think that she’s stronger than you are giving her credit for. You might be the strongest one of us in a straight-up fight, but Sayo’s still a magical girl. She’ll be safe.”

“I’m not worried about her getting in a fight, Haruka,” the blonde explains, voice uncharacteristically trembling with nervousness. “I’m worried that Baiser is going to try to manipulate her, or seduce her away from us.”

“How long do you think that I’ve known Sayo?” Haruka asks, smiling with a hint of amusement slipping into her words.

“A couple of months? You’d been partners for a little while before I joined you and we formed Tres Magia. Why?”

“I’ve known Sayo for years. Since we were going to our first classes, we’ve been close. I can’t tell you that I know every feeling that she has, I was pretty surprised when she admitted to us that she has a crush on Magia Baiser, but I can say this. Sayo is loyal, and wise, and strong, and there’s not a single girl in the whole world who she’d run off with if it meant leaving us high and dry.”

Her friend’s optimistic attitude brings a small smile to Kaoruko’s face, her worries diminishing, though they don’t fade fully. “Thanks, Haruka.”

“Always.”

Their mascot speaks up from atop Haruka’s desk, voice carrying over to the bed. “For what it is worth, I agree with Haruka as well. And thank you, for not pressing Sayo on that last topic that she was unwilling to expand upon.”

“Yeah, I just wish that she trusted us enough to share it,” Kaoruko replies with a small sigh.

“Do you think we should tell her?” Haruka asks, focusing her attention at Vatz.

Kaoruko glances back and forth between the two, confused. “Wait, did she tell you both?”

“No, but Haruka and myself both came up with a reasonable assumption as to what the information is.” Their mascot answers before Haruka is able to. “Magia Baiser’s true identity. It’s the most important secret that a magical girl has, so it makes sense that after everything she confessed, that would be the one thing she refuses to tell us.”

Haruka nods in agreement, leaving Kaoruko simply confused. “Why don’t we push her for that information, then? If we can learn what Baiser’s identity is, we can corner her before she can transform, and make her surrender.”

“And she’d never trust Sayo again,” Haruka adds on. “We can’t do that to her. Even if she shared it, what would we do with that information, Kaoruko? Attack her while she’s in her civilian form? Threaten to reveal her to her family?” She keeps her voice low and steady as she talks, listing the questions rhetorically. “Those aren’t lines I’d be willing to cross even if Sayo did tell us.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Kaoruko admits softly. “So, we just let her keep that secret while we keep fighting Baiser?”

“In broad strokes. We’ll sort out specifics when we meet with her tonight.” Vatz hesitates before speaking up once again. “There’s something you deserve to know, however. Do you remember when I told her that Magia Baiser’s magic hadn’t mixed into her?”

The somber tone of its voice and the pained expression is enough to make it clear what it has to say. The two girls’ expressions fall, stealing away Kaoruko’s voice as she stares, eyes widened in fright. Haruka manages to soft speaks up, albeit with a tremble in her voice. “What is it going to do to her?”

“I don’t know,” it admits with a defeated tone. “I’ve only seen this once before, and she disappeared before I could figure out any way to cure her.”

“Do you think that Magia Baiser knows how to undo it?” Haruka asks, Kaoruko just holding her friend tightly as worry continues to gnaw at her.

“I doubt it. From everything you’ve told me, she’s far less experienced than any of you. Exceptionally powerful if Sayo is correct, but inexperienced. It’s possible that she could, but I don’t think that the odds of that are very good. I’m going to pick up my research into the topic though.”

“Thank you.” After a pregnant pause, she poses another question, one that brings her far more worry than the first. “What did you mean that the last girl disappeared?”

“She ran away.” Vatz answers Haruka’s question with as little detail as it can, trying not to let the thought of failing her twice over linger for too long. “We can’t let the same happen to Sayo.”

“We won’t, Vatz. Whatever happens, I’ll stay by her side.”

At Haruka’s confident words, the mascot forces a smile upon its face. “I’m sorry for worrying you further, but I wanted to let you know before tonight. Please try to rest before the meeting, and whatever happens, I’ll do everything in my power to keep Sayo safe.”

Sayo groans out softly as she is gently shaken awake to the sounds of evening insects and the incessant vibrations of a cell phone against the cement of the rooftop. Her eyes flutter open, and her vision is immediately dominated by the sight of Utena’s chest. ‘Baiser’s chest,’ Sayo corrects in her mind as she glances from the mostly exposed, soft breasts where her head had been nestled and up towards the face of her mistress, spotting those familiar horns, the star-shaped markings, and through Baiser’s open-mouth smile, the adorable little sharp teeth that stand out prominently from her others. What she doesn’t see are the vibrant, golden eyes, her mistress making a clear point to keep them closed despite obviously being awake enough to shake her back to consciousness and speak to her. “I’m glad that you’re awake, my dearest Azul. It’s past five-thirty, you need to get ready for our meeting soon.”

Sayo presses her hand against the rooftop, pushing herself upright off of her supine villain. Immediately, she recognizes the reason that those golden eyes are hiding away from her as she sees the bare flesh of her arm rather than the tight-fitting glove of her magical girl outfit. A wave of panic washes over her, eyes widening and a small, desperate breath escaping her before she plucks the blue crystalline trinket off of Baiser’s tummy. “Mistress, did you see me when I wasn’t transformed?”

“No. I didn’t peak, my dearest.” Her words aren’t deceptive in the least. The very moment she’d seen Azul’s magic begin to wane after she’d cried herself to sleep, Baiser had averted her gaze in order to avoid learning more than her heroine would share with her.

A mix of relief and disappointment runs through Sayo’s mind. The fact her lover had taken pains to keep her secrets safe is nothing short of a great relief, but at the same time, the thought that Baiser might have seen who she really is, and chosen to stay despite that, would’ve been just as wonderful. She swallows dryly, voice unsteady with nerves as she leans closer to the villain, whispering into her ear without so much as a hint of the smooth confidence that Baiser had showcased back at her family shrine. “Would you like to see me, Baiser? To know who I truly am, without the perception filtering magic to keep my identity hidden from you?”

“I would like that, Azul, but if you have bit of doubt about whether or not to show me, you shouldn’t. Once I know the other you, that’s not something I’ll ever forget.” She speaks softly, face pointing towards the nebulous shape of anxious worry knelt above her as she smiles in absolute adoration. “It doesn’t need to happen today, Azul, and I won’t hold this against you in any way.”

Baiser lifts a hand up towards her, and Sayo carefully guides it up to her cheek, sighing as she presses her face into the palm. ‘Thank you, Baiser.’ “Trans magia.” Her magic blooms outwards, flowing over her body and gracing her with her uniform once again in a flash of blue brilliance. A second after it fades, her red eyes meet Baiser’s golden ones, and she leans in close, pressing her lips against her mistress’ own. She brings up her now-gloved hand to cup her lover’s cheek, nipping softly on her lower lip before withdrawing with reluctance as another alarm sets Baiser’s phone abuzz. “Does that mean that it’s time for me to go, Mistress?”

“Five-forty, I’m sorry to say.” Baiser leans up and quickly kisses her back, lips barely brushing over one another’s. “Your teammates are already at the creepy mansion, I’m sure that they’re waiting for you.” Reluctance washes through Azul, and Baiser is quick to take her hand and squeeze it softly. “It’s only twenty minutes until we’ll see each other again, my dear. It’ll be over in a heartbeat.”

“You’re right.” She pushes herself upright fully, extending a hand down and helping Baiser onto her feet as well, the evil girl groaning in pain as her back and wings throb with aching pain from lying upon them for hours. Baiser’s hand slowly slips from her fingers, and Azul casts her gaze off towards the faint sense of her two close friends far beyond the edge of town, nervousness building steadily in her core.

“It’ll be alright, through whatever happens tonight, Azul.” Baiser gently reassures her, somehow managing to always at least have a good idea how she feels. The taller girl nods somberly, and Baiser takes a step closer, rising up a few centimeters from the rooftop to kiss her cheek softly. “Go, my dearest Azul. I’ll be there before you even know it.”

Azul gracefully rises off the rooftop, glancing back towards Magia Baiser before focusing her magic and rapidly rising, a shimmering blue radiance trailing in her wake as she soars towards the site of their meeting.

When the clock strikes five fifty-nine, Magia Baiser brings her phone to the star upon her neck, the familiar flow of her mana washing over it and absorbing it into whatever space it inhabits alone with her clothes and other belongings. It’s only a quick flight from her school, sailing high above any possible obstructions. The buildings grow sparse, then disappear entirely into the trees as she glides towards the mountains, arcing downwards towards the sight of her near defeat at the hands of Magia Sulfur. After Magia Azul arrived, she had been able to sense three distinct sources of magic, intermingling and passing close to one another. Those were undeniably Azul, Magenta, and Sulfur, but much like Venalita, the mascot of Tres Magia seems to simply be non-existent to her magical senses. Her wings pull in close, bringing her arc into a dive lower, flaring out dramatically as she draws near to the rooftop and rapidly slowing her descend, letting her come to a stop hovering a few meters above the four figures.

After spending the better part of a week with Venalita, the mascot Magenta and Sulfur are protectively standing beside isn’t what she expected. The small creature could pass for Venalita in a dark environment, comparable in size and silhouette, only the color palette and different markings separating the two, each mascot apparently making its transformative trinkets in the shape that matches their own markings.

Baiser’s gaze wanders away from the mascot as she slowly floats the rest of the way down towards the ground, angling towards where Magia Azul stands off on her own. Magenta looks ready to leap to the defense of her allies with her spear already in hand, but Utena can feel worry radiating off her as her blue eyes follow the dark magical girl. Sulfur seems similarly worried, though her eyes keep wandering, passing over Baiser and the others in Tres Magia, but always finding their way back towards Azul instead of her foe. Azul’s anxiety has grown in the short while that the two were apart, but a flicker of hope washes over her as she catches Baiser’s gaze, the two sharing a brief smile before the villain bows forwards at the waist. “Tres Magia, it is an honor to meet you all at last.” As she rises, her eyes fixate on the floating mascot. “My name is Magia Baiser. I’m aware of most of your names, though I am afraid I’ve never been acquainted with you.”

“My name is Vatz. Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Magia Baiser.” Like Venalita, it keeps its tone calm and collected as it speaks.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Vatz. I’m told that you were the one who wished to meet with me. May I ask why?”

“There are two reasons. Firstly, are you aware of what this is?” As it speaks, it produces a small, gray heart of a cloudy crystalline substance from the sleeve-like end of its arm.

“It’s a transformative item.” In spite of the seeming obviousness of the answer, Baiser's tone is uncertain. She can’t sense the mascot’s emotions, but each of the girls around her seem almost as confused as she is.

“That’s technically correct, though this one is special. Unlike those of the girls around me, this one has yet to become attuned to the mana of a particular individual. Anybody is capable of using it. Magia Azul?” It holds out the heart expectantly, and she steps forwards, taking it with a puzzled look. “Please give this to Magia Baiser.”

“I refuse.” Azul pauses between the two parties at Baiser’s declaration. “While I am honored at your invitation to become a magical girl allied with my beloved Tres Magia, I cannot accept it at this time.”

“Why not? We can protect you from Venalita if you are concerned about retribution.”

“You can’t. Even if Tres Magia is strong enough to defend me, you can’t keep me safe around the clock. Venalita knows who I am, I’d be a target in my civilian form.”

“I'd protect you, be at your side every moment if that is what it takes.” While the other girls remain quiet and conflicted, Azul chimes in with a hopeful note to her voice and not the faintest bit of hesitation. “If you join us, we wouldn’t have any secrets to keep. The two of us could fight back against whatever Enormita throws at us.” As Baiser hesitates, Azul closes the distance between them, pressing the trinket into the shorter girl’s hand and staring pleadingly at her. “I know how much you care about us, Baiser. You can’t deny that you want this.”

“I do want this, Azul.” Her thoughts drift, Azul’s fingers gently guiding hers to close around the trinket, but she doesn’t try to pull her hand away just yet. ‘Magical girls have been disappearing. The past two months have had upwards of thirty drop out of the public eye. I won’t let that happen to Tres Magia, no matter how much it costs me.’ “But I can’t. Not until I know you can protect yourselves, at least as much as I can protect you like this.” Azul sadly nods, but before she can pull the trinket from Baiser’s hand, Vatz speaks up again.

“I understand, Magia Baiser. Thank you for considering my offer. I would like to leave this item in your possession, should there ever come a time that you change your mind, I encourage you to use it.”

“Thank you, Vatz.” Baiser again smiles at Azul as the teal-haired heroine lets go of the trinket and takes a step back, a sorrowful smile on her face. “What was the other reason you wished to meet? You said there were two.”

“I’d like to discuss the matter of your relationship with Magia Azul.” The mascot glances over to the girl in question. “What information has she shared with you about Tres Magia and myself?”

It takes Baiser several seconds to answer that question, trying to sift through not only the information she possesses, but also determine whether it was given to her by Azul, Magenta, or third-party insight into her heroines from forums or news reports. “I don’t believe she has shared anything with me other than the general distrust that Magia Magenta and Magia Sulfur have for me. While she didn’t tell me, I was able to use her reactions to confirm the existence of a barrier around the shrine in town. She also informed me about this meeting with you. She hasn’t given out anything about their identities, school, home addresses. I don’t know those details about her either.” Baiser steps closer to Azul and wraps an arm around her side, hugging her heroine close and narrowing her eyes at the mascot. “Why are you not asking Azul this question? She can speak for herself, can’t she?” Her tone is heavy with annoyance as she protectively holds Azul, irritated by the way that the mascot seems to be ignoring her magical girl. ‘I wish I could tell what it’s actually feeling. I need to ask Venalita why I can’t see their emotions.’

Finally, the mascot smiles at her, and Baiser scowls back at it. “I spoke with her earlier about the topic, I simply wanted to hear your answer as well. I’m not surprised in the least that they match.” It flicks its eyes down towards Sulfur, tone reassuring and gentle. “Does this dispel your worries, Magia Sulfur?”

“Sorta. Thanks, Vatz.” Her tone is unconvincing, soft and sad as she refuses to meet the mascot’s gaze, her thoughts still lingering on the thought of what Baiser’s lingering magic might do to Sayo. While she can’t tell the reason, Baiser can still sense the girl’s worry, but as Magenta reassuringly rests a hand on Sulfur’s shoulder and smiles to her, the blonde-haired heroine’s fears ebb, if only a little bit.

“Sulfur,” Baiser starts softly, “I’m not going to try to snoop into your personal lives. If Magia Azul wishes to share her identity with me, I won’t try to use that information to find out who you are.”

“You really don’t know her name?” Vatz sounds genuinely surprised by her for the first time, but without her horns able to detect any emotion nor magic within it she can’t be certain.

“No.”

“I didn’t share it with her yet. I wanted to, but…” Azul’s words trail off with a helpless glance down at Baiser, and the dark magical girl happily picks up where her heroine leaves off.

“I don’t want her to show me until she is certain. It’s something that neither of us can undo. It doesn’t make sense to rush into it.”

The thought of Baiser not rushing into something makes Vatz pause for a moment, surprised just as much as Magia Sulfur and Magenta, but the mascot quickly continues to speak a moment later. “I see. This may be unnecessary then, but I would like to propose an agreement regarding names. I won’t ask Magia Azul to hide her identity from you, while I have my own opinion on the topic it is ultimately her choice, just like it is your choice who you reveal your secret identity to. I would ask that you keep any identifying secrets that Magia Azul gives you. In exchange, I would like you girls not to ask Azul for any of Baiser’s own secrets.”

“I would never share that information without her consent. You have my word, Vatz.” Baiser doesn’t hesitate to answer for even a second.

The mascot glances back towards Sulfur and Magenta expectantly, and the pink-haired heroine answers, a wave of relief washing over her. “Of course. We won’t push you, Azul.”

Magia Sulfur nods her head as well, but Vatz frowns at her and floats lower to rest on her shoulder. “I would prefer if you were to say it aloud, Sulfur.”

The girl swallows, obvious distaste radiating from her as she focuses her angelic-blue eyes upon Baiser. “I won’t ask Azul, but if you hurt her,” she clenches her fists, a golden glow emanating from her arms as she conjures the heavy gauntlets she’d used last time her and Baiser were here. “If you hurt her, I’m gonna find ya, whatever it takes, and bring you down.”

“I’d expect nothing less, Miss Sulfur. But I promise, I will treat Magia Azul like the precious girl she is.” Baiser leans up, tenderly kissing the girl in question upon the cheek in front of her teammates with a mischievous smirk. “When we’re not fighting of course. I’m afraid I can’t risk holding back when it comes to our next grand confrontation.”

“I’ll hold ya to that, Baiser.” Sulfur lets her gauntlets fade in a golden light. “So, Vatz, does that mean that we’re done?”

“That’s everything that I’ve been planning to discuss. The floor is yours if there is anything you wish to discuss.” It casts a wide glance, letting its eyes pass over each of the four. None of them speak up. “Then I suppose that concludes our meeting. The invitation to join us instead of Enormita is always open, Magia Baiser. Azul, would you like me to bring you home, or are you going to stay with Baiser for now?”

Azul leans down, softly kissing Baiser’s nose once again before trying to slip free. “I’m sorry, but I have to take care of some schoolwork tonight. I should’ve done it earlier, but…” ‘I fell asleep in your arms instead.’

“I understand.” She lets go of Azul, smiling softly. “I’ll see you again soon I’m sure, and when we do, you and I can enjoy some much-needed time together.” Her wings beat softly, carrying her smoothly into the air and allowing Magia Azul to slink back towards her friends with a faint blush. “Until next time, girls.” With a wink, Utena blows a kiss towards the girls before heading back towards home, deeply relieved by the way that the meeting had gone.

Chapter Text

Utena groans, her face flushed and muscles sore as she lies in bed. Her mother plucks the thermometer out from under her tongue carefully, smiling with relief at her as she reads it. “Well, you aren’t running a fever, but you can’t go on like this either Utena. Are you sure you don’t want me to call out today so I can take care of you?”

“I’ll be okay, Mom, I promise.” It’s not that Utena feels truly miserable, but the sluggishness and lack of balance are doing her no favors. Even less helpful is the fact that even with the aching of her muscles, she can’t help but feel the burning flames of her arousal. She’d not fought Tres Magia for four days and hadn’t gotten an opportunity to taste of Sulfur’s body when the two of them had fought, leaving her sexually frustrated too. Worst of all is the fact that she was forced to cancel her plans yesterday. She and Sayo were going to spend the afternoon together at the mall, but after collapsing during sports class Utena had wound up needing to spend the afternoon with the school nurse, and the two had agreed to postpone until she was feeling better.

“If you say so, my brave girl.” Her mother smiles down at her, leaning in to give her a small kiss on the forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as I can tonight, though. I’m a phone call away if you need anything at all.”

“Thanks, Mom. I'll call you if anything happens.”

“Good. I’m going to bring your lunch up and some extra water for you. If you need to head downstairs, please promise you’ll be very careful. The last thing I want is for you to have another dizzy spell and fall.”

“I’ll be careful, Mom.” Utena smiles, putting on a brave front for her mother. “It’s just a little cold, you shouldn’t worry so much.”

“Okay, little angel.” Her mother leans back from the bedside,  and while her worried look doesn’t fade she does finally stop doting over her daughter. “I love you, Utena. Please, make sure you get plenty of rest, and drink lots of water.”

“I will, Mom. I love you too.” Utena leans  her weight on one shoulder to be able to watch her mother pause in her doorway, finally closing it behind her a few seconds later. “She’s gone, Vena.”

The mascot pops out of the pile of pillows behind Utena, still smiling cheerfully. “She seems nice. Normally, I would agree with her and ask you to rest, but today is an important day.”

“I can’t, Vena.” Utena shifts her weight back and shuts her eyes, groaning softly at the weight of the mascot settling atop her shoulder, clearly insistent on getting her out of bed. “I’m actually sick. Even if you’re immune, I’m not going to get better without bedrest.”

“You’re not going to get better until you stop bottling up your desires.” Utena lazily peeks an eye open, seeing a rather-serious look on Venalita’s face rather than its usual smile. “Your magic is fueled by love and lust, but you’ve been bottling up your desires this whole time I’ve been away.” Away is perhaps a stretch, but the mascot had been focused elsewhere in town since Utena had fought against Magia Sulfur. The day after, it’d sensed a drawn out encounter between Magia Azul and Utena, followed by another encounter with the whole of Tres Magia, but it didn’t seem to rise to an actual conflict. For the past two days, Utena hadn’t even transformed, perhaps except for within her bedroom.

“I’m not sure I understand. You think this is because I’m not spending time with Tres Magia?”

“Not specifically then. I’m sure that any sufficiently cute girl would be enough to satisfy your urges.” The mascot gently retrieves her transformation star from the side of her bed and places it into her hand. “Besides, it doesn’t do you any good to laze about today. Just a quick trip?”

“Does it matter if I say no?” The ill girl doesn’t expect the mascot to back down, so it’s no surprise when Venalita shakes its head.

“Not really. It’s important for you to get back to work, and I have somebody I want you to meet.” Seeing Utena’s annoyed expression, the mascot decides to sweeten the deal. “She’s a magical girl, like you.”

That catches her attention. While Utena suspected Enormita had other magical girls, she’d never met them, nor even heard of them, and the thought of doing so is one that stirs her interest. “Fine. Let me get ready, first?”

“Sure. You go brush your teeth, and I’ll make you some tea. That makes humans feel better, doesn’t it?”

With a groan, the purple-haired girl rolls onto her side and pulls her legs over the edge of the mattress, straightening her back out before slowly pushing herself upright, resting one hand on the corner of her nightstand in order to help keep balance as the world spins around her. Swallowing down the bile in her throat, Utena stumbles forwards, circling past her table and planting her hands on the dresser. “Sometimes. Thanks, Vena.”

The mascot drifts past her as she pushes open the door, drifting down towards the kitchen while Utena steps out into the hallway and over to the bathroom, her steps becoming more stable as she continues to move around. Following the mascot’s instructions, she brushes her teeth and gives a half-hearted attempt at brushing her hair before Venalita drifts back up the stairs, depositing a smooth gray thermos of tea on the vanity alongside the familiar four-pointed star which Utena uses to transform. “Ready to go?”

“As much as I will be.” Ignoring her uncertainty, Venalita opens up another murky black rift in the doorway to her bathroom before drifting through. With a heavy sigh, the sickish girl follows after it, stepping through the inky black with trepidation.

Stepping out of the portal, Utena could only describe it as an entirely alien world that she finds herself in. Above her, the sky is a strange purple shade, only broken up by the glint of small, dim stars and the exaggerated crescent moon that hangs larger in the sky than the sun, casting alien light over the ground that somehow manages to illuminate the world as though it were midday, yet not bothering her eyes in the least as she stares at the luminescent object in the sky. The ground is made of smooth, black stone, with the perimeter around the base raised up like cruel barbs of stone before flattening out into seemingly endless plains of stone. Past the stone crags lie a heavy cloud cover, but around the area where they’d stepped through the portal, the sky is open to the air.

“Here we are!” Venalita darts past her, Utena whirling around to focus where its attention is and gazing up at what must be Enormita’s hidden stronghold. “Our headquarters, Nacht Base.” The base itself is somehow less comprehensible to Utena. The exterior is entirely a pale, smooth stone of some sort, but the geometry of it is utterly impossible. Sections float, entirely detached from the ground as though frozen in time or suspended by some arcane power, without any apparent way in which one would even be able to access them. Each section is made up of rectangular pieces, giving it a very blocky look, but some sections jut out at unusual angles. “I figured that I would give you the tour, what with you being a member of Enormita and all.”

Following Vena the short distance to the open doorway, the strange geometry continues, with rectangular protrusions sticking out from the walls and the ceiling, rendering the upper section of the room more akin to a cavern full of stalactites than a human building. The lights seem at least mundane, dangling from power cables that disappear somewhere deeper into the building. “I thought that you said that this was important? Couldn’t you have done this any time, like over the weekend?”

“Nope, had to be today!” Venalita replies, cheery despite her glum attitude as it floats over to a large pair of metallic doors that are closed, akin to those Utena and itself had passed through to get inside. “This is the ground floor, of course. It has everything needed for most official business. Through here lies the war room, where the boss plans out everything we do. Over here,” it continues, drifting further ahead to a door at the opposite wall from the entrance, “the boss built some sort of weirdo throne room, and you can also access the dungeon cells through there. Both are pretty self-obvious, so I think we’ll just move on upstairs.”

As the mascot drifts over to the only open door, a compact staircase that looks as though it would barely fit two girls shoulder-to-shoulder, Utena speaks up, hurrying her pace to even match Venalita’s effortless floating. “Wait, pause! Why do we have dungeons?”

“We can use them to store prisoners if we ever wind up with any. When the boss gets upset she sometimes puts one of the other girls in there as a punishment too.” It pauses, turning towards her with an innocent smile. “You’re welcome to use them as well, of course! There are enough cells that I’m confident she wouldn’t even notice their use.”

“Why would I want to use them?”

Hearing Utena’s indignant tone, the mascot drifts lower, its voice dropping to a whisper. “Well, there are a few ‘tools’ down there you could use. I happen to know some of them match those magazines you are hiding in your desk.” Her face immediately begins to redden, words failing her as she tries to stammer out a defense for herself and her mascot continues its taunting. “You could certainly bring back a magical girl or three, tie them down and make them squeal?”

“I-I couldn’t!” Her face burns bright as she tries desperately to push down her growing arousal, the image of Azul, Magenta, and Sulfur tied up under the strange midnight sky of Nacht Base dominating her thoughts and stoking the fires of her lust. She could keep Azul as a bound pet, the teal-haired heroine gagged and blindfolded, only able to listen for her footsteps and whimper in need for more affection, made to beg like the desperate toy in front of her teammates. ‘Or I could take Magenta at last. My first crush, saved to be the very last of the girls that I bring to a mewling, pathetic orgasm, my fingers rubbing at her clit, stealing away every bit of her delicate purity.’ Sulfur, feisty little Sulfur, she could tie down, leave the girl helpless to do anything more than just watch, hands bound behind her back so fiercely she couldn’t even throw a punch as she saw Utena, saw Baiser bring her two teammates such pleasure, denying her the very same until her prideful spirit finally caves. ‘No! Control yourself!’ With her will wavering, Utena turns back towards the doors she’d entered through, the smooth steel having closed behind her at some point and refusing her attempts to pull it open. “Please, can I go back to bed now?”

Mercifully, before Venalita can pounce on her and continue to tease the girl further, another voice breaks through the oppressive silence of Nacht Base. “C’mon, you can’t leave already! Hang out a little! At least make the trip worth it, Utena Hiiragi.” The voice belongs to a fairly short, pale girl with ashen-blonde hair tied into two low-set loose buns.

“H-How do you know my name?” Utena shuffles backwards away from the stranger as Venalita floats back up into the air.

The other girl doesn’t seem to show any care for her nervousness or attempts to maintain personal space, stepping right up to Utena and grabbing her hands, roughly shaking them as the too-long sleeves of her loose-fitting green jacket drape down low enough to obscure their hands from Utena’s view. “I heard all about you from Vena. Pleased to meet you and all that, I’m Kiwi Araga.”

The metallic sensation and sudden sense of weight distracts Utena from Kiwi’s words, and as she glances down, she finds a metallic object loosely held, metallic green with a segmented outer shell. ‘Is that a bomb? What do I do?’ Flat-footed, Utena is helpless to do more than stare, first at the heart-shaped grenade and then at Kiwi, watching the girl hurriedly backpedal away from her before it can go off. ‘Am I going to die?’

Unbidden, magic surges through Utena’s form as Venalita presses both of its arms against her chest, light erupting from the star within her pajama pants’ pocket and enveloping her moments before the projectile’s violent explosion sends the two of them flying. Before Baiser can even adjust to her outfit, the magically-fueled bomb and the fragments launched from it tear her attire, her skirt, corset, and thin top utterly ruined while her gloves and pants are left with holes scorched into them. What would’ve been severe, if not lethal, burns and deep, bleeding wounds instead form into shallow scrapes and singes, only a few of the largest pieces of shrapnel even managing to draw faint trickles of blood from her. The base itself doesn’t fair nearly as well, with deep cracks running along the blackened wall and metallic debris embedded at least ten centimeters into the walls and floor around where Utena and Venalita had been standing.

Venalita seems to fare similarly to Utena, though where her worst scrapes fall upon her hands and arms, two large chunks of red-hot metal that would’ve struck near Baiser’s face instead pierce the strange creature’s underbelly. Black mana spills out of it, and as she reorients herself in the air, a renewed wave of nausea washes over Magia Baiser as she looks upon an impossibly vast font of magical energy. Tres Magia and herself wouldn’t even hold a candle to the near-limitless wellspring of untamed magic Venalita radiates. For that same fleeting moment, annoyance washes over her as she stares down at the creature. It isn’t angry, the intensity of the emotion doesn’t rise to anger, but just as the mana within it feels nearly as boundless as the oceans, so to does the depths of its mild irritation seem nearly infinite. It’s merely a heartbeat before its strange flesh knits back together, the smog radiating out of its body dissipating across the ceiling and fading into the ambient power that sings through the alien world in which Baiser now finds herself, and then Venalita’s presence is gone from her supernatural senses once again. As soon as the emotion and power she can feel dissipates, Baiser finds herself trembling, Frusta Dominazione held tightly between herself and the mascot as though to shield herself from the creature that she hasn’t seen threaten anything more than its social influence yet now feels undeniably powerful. Her head continues to throb, and blood spills from her nose as she struggles to push through the nausea.

Either unaware or unconcerned with her plight, Venalita turns towards where Kiwi had been standing. “Kiwi, your pay is suspended effective immediately. That nearly killed her.”

“That’s because she’s awful at fighting.” Kiwi smiles as Utena floats in a high arc, nearly scraping the ceiling and frayed electrical cables that now spark and dangle from it before beginning to slowly drift towards the ground. Her deep red eyes focus on the magical girl as she slowly tugs her jacket into place, plucking her transformative star out of somewhere within her sleeves. “I was watching your last fight, y’see. You were a total loser, getting stomped flat by that dumb idiot Magia Sulfur. After you lost, you were smiling like a total weirdo for some reason.” As she talks, she lifts the star up, though instead of setting it in place on her neck as Utena and Tres Magia always had, she places it atop her brow. “I would’ve been totally pissed. I’d have gone back for a rematch straight away.”

Green-hued magic erupts from the star as she begins to transform. A large, green military coat with golden trim bursts into being upon her torso, mirroring the over-sized jacket that she’d been wearing before with the sleeves coming down low enough to hide her hands. Three golden, star-shaped buttons keep the garment closed, and the much-too-big collar and cuffs take on a deep maroon color nearly as rich as her eyes. A single medal rests on her coat, the same four-pointed star trailed by a white-and-green ribbon beneath it. In stark contrast to the too-large sleeves and collar, the coat barely comes down past her navel, ending with tattered white cloth that doesn’t come close to reaching her waist. Atop her head, a similarly styled hat appears with the large transformative star pinned onto it, two folded-up sections revealing a rich red with golden trim while the top is the same deep green as her coat. A moment later, the light around her lower body takes shape as well, a thin black thong bursting into existence to only barely keep her from exposing her lower orifices. A pair of thigh-high green boots with maroon cuffs at the tops. A four-pointed star rests at the bottom of the garters keeping aloft the tall footwear, their other end connecting somewhere beneath the coat that the magical girl wears. ‘Ah, she’s cute. The big coat, those deliciously bare thighs, the military aesthetic.’ Baiser’s tongue darts out of her mouth, licking her lips as the girl produces a silver handgun from her sleeve, pointing it up towards her.

“Don’t you worry, though. Kiwi-Chan’s Leopard is going to beat you into shape.” With a metallic click, she pulls the trigger, but instead of a projectile erupting from the barrel of the small gun, large cannons of various shapes emerge from smoky black rifts around her and send red-hot projectiles streaking towards Baiser once more, accompanied by the deafening roar of ship-mounted weaponry.

Baiser dives to the side, bringing her arms up defensively to catch the few rounds that still manage to connect despite her attempts to evade. The impact drives her into the ground and tears through her corset and gloves, leaving her nearly nude as she roughly slides to a stop upon her back. Leopard strides forwards with a wide grin, the artillery she’d summoned fading back into the rifts through which it’d appeared. Before Baiser manages to get up, her foe drops down onto her stomach, pressing her barely clad butt against the newer magical girl’s tattered corset, giving Baiser an amazing view of not only her nearly exposed sex but also her heavy breasts from below. “Tell me, Baiser-Chan, why do you fight Tres Magia? I’m mad at them because they steal my spotlight.” As she talks, Leopard rolls her hips, grinding herself against the girl she’d pinned down beneath herself and giggling at the golden-eyed girl’s small gasps. “That’s why I want them gone. So, Baiser-Chan,” she leans forwards, breasts bouncing under her coat as she presses another heart-shaped grenade against the lust-fueled girl’s forehead in a wordless threat. “Why, oh why, oh why why why why why,” her words grow louder with each and every repetition, “do you want them gone?”

Baiser’s lips curl upwards as she shudder, a low whine of arousal escaping her as her magic swells, and the world grows more defined. Her horns pick up the faint shifts of Leopard’s emotions, and the girl’s breaths seem to pass by at a snail’s pass. Faster than Leopard can even hope to react, Baiser drives her palm into the girl’s generous breasts, launching her away and driving the air out of her lungs. The grenade tumbles from her grip, and Baiser quickly swats it out of the air with Frusta Dominazione, pouring magic into it and sending it towards her opponent. From the animated object, two segments rise up like the carapace and wings of a beetle, letting it straighten its flight before diving close to Leopard, detonating the moment that it connects with her over-sized coat.

Baiser kicks off the ground, both pairs of wings beating to reorient herself in the air as she focuses on the mix of fear and awe emanating from her foe. Beneath the emotions, the girl’s mana is twisted and unstable, churning like the waves below an ocean storm. “Gone? No, Leopard. I don’t want them to go anywhere.” As the smoke clears, Leopard’s anger swells moments before she dramatically raises her weapon towards Baiser once again, but the sudden shift of emotion gives the over-eager villain enough time to flick her wrist and send a crescent-shaped wave of weaponized mana towards Leopard, slamming into her and erupting with far greater intensity than the grenade. The villain goes tumbling across the ground, coat torn open in the front from the pair of explosive hits, Baiser darting overhead and tapping one of the intact lights with the tip of her crop whilst she continues to answer. “I love magical girls. Not just Tres Magia, but you as well. You girls are just so cute.”

The light grows, cracking open as thin tendrils protrude out of the white-hot filament and wrap around Leopard’s arms, dragging the dazed girl up and into the air. Fear and anticipation roil within her as the glass shell closes up around her body. “When I see you adorable girls, I just can’t help myself.” Her tone grows lower, drooling with lust as she stares up at Kiwi’s helpless expression, firearm lost in the rapid series of attacks. “I just want to fuck you girls up so bad.” Baiser drifts closer to the massive lightbulb, tracing her claws against the surface as Leopard squirms in futile desperation to try to free herself. “Do you want to know why I smiled after Sulfur beat me? Let me tell you, Leopard. I was so, so, sooooooo happy! I got to see a whole new side to one of the magical girls that I love so much. I got to see more of her emotions, a new expression on her face that she’d never shown to me before. I can’t wait to mess up that cute face of hers, make her cry, make her beg, make her squirm, all with my own two hands and my own magic.” She pauses in her answer, phone appearing in a purple light from her star before sprouting bat-like wings as she animates it, setting the device-turned-monster free into the air to observe what is to come.

“Y-You’re crazy.” Baiser smiles as Leopard’s resolve fails, eyes wide and trembling with terror. She can only giggle in response, tapping the glass once again before the animated object glows bright, her mana turning to unrelenting lightning that courses into Leopard’s body.

“Don’t you like it, kitty? Don’t you want more? Scream for me, my pet!” And Leopard screams, thrashing violently as Baiser’s monster sends electricity coursing through her body. More tendrils prod at her, tearing her attire and scorching her skin beneath while stimulating her nervous system in a way unlike anything she’d ever felt. An exquisite agony runs through her, pain and unwelcome pleasure overwhelming every other sensory input as Baiser continues, moaning in delight at the pain she is inflicting to her captive. “It feels so good, my adorable little pet. So good, I need to share more with you.”

At her words, the light splits open once again, dropping Leopard’s barely-conscious body directly into Baiser’s waiting arms, catching her plaything and gently guiding her down onto her knees. One hand cradles the petite girl’s heavy breasts, toying with them while her other dips lower, tugging her thong out of the way before sinking two of her fingers into the twitching girl’s slit. “Kiwi-Chan,” Baiser whispers softly in the girl’s ear as her fingers gently thrust into her sex, drawing little whimpers out of supposed teammate, “right now you’re the cutest girl in my world.” There’s not a hint of sarcasm in her words, instead feeling genuine adoration at the twitching and defeated girl within her grip. Her lips press against Kiwi’s neck, nibbling at the tender flesh softly as she keeps up the movements of her hands, setting ablaze pleasures that her precious little Leopard couldn’t possibly have experienced before, until finally she feels the girl squirm more forcibly, one last, soft whine escaping her throat as pleasure swells within her, blooming into a barely-audible orgasm that crashes into her fatigued body. Baiser slows her motions, letting Kiwi ride out the rippling waves of pleasure until the sensation finally clears, wine-red eyes fluttering shut as Kiwi slips from her barely-conscious state and goes limp in her embrace, transformation fading in a glow of green magic. Out of the fear and anticipation and the haze of pain and pleasure, the last conscious emotion that rises to the surface of the girl’s mind is a deep-seated affection and adoration nearly as strong as Baiser’s own.

Venalita smiles, drifting through the devastated hallway until it is close to Baiser, letting her extract her fingers and lick them clean before speaking up. “Looks like you had your fun. Ready to head home, Utena?”

“No.” If her answer shocks Venalita, the mascot doesn’t show it. “Could you please get me a first aid kit, cool water, and some rags or washcloths, Venalita? You can take it from my wages.”

“Sure thing.” As Venalita floats up the stairs, Baiser carefully adjusts Kiwi’s arms, guiding them out of her sleeves and discarding her jacket before tugging off her boots and thigh-length socks so that she can see Kiwi’s injuries. None of the burns are serious, undoubtedly because of the inherently greater durability that comes with being a magical girl. As she waits for Venalita to return and gently strokes Kiwi’s head, her overabundance of magic begins to ebb, secondary pair of wings vanishing in a flash of light and horns growing less sensitive to the ambient mana in the environment.

It's only a few minutes before a small portal opens up beside her, a first aid kit dropping onto the ground followed by a pile of damp rags a few seconds later. Venalita pokes through after the items that it’d been sent for, gesturing down at the pile as it settles atop one of the many strange, rectangular protrusions coming out of the wall. “Let me know if you need anything else, Utena.”

“So, do you care to explain what this was really about?” Utena doesn’t turn to face her mascot as she asks the question, instead focusing on Kiwi as she lifts one arm, before gently beginning to wipe the injured area in an effort to cool it down.

“Are you implying that I had anything to do with this?” Venalita asks, not even able to keep the amusement out of its words.

Utena rolls her eyes as she sets aside the first rag and carefully opens the first aid kit, searching through for bandages and scissors to cut it with. “You obviously did, Vena. You insisted on me coming here today, I immediately got attacked, and you even intervened when I didn’t react to the grenade in time. What’s this about?”

“While you might find it hard to believe, I didn’t have anything to do with the attack, though I’m not exactly surprised by it either. Kiwi has some pretty strong opinions on magical girls, and on your performance against Sulfur.”

“Then why did this need to happen today, instead of yesterday or over the weekend?”

“The leader and her entourage were at base the past couple of days. It wasn’t until yesterday that they departed, and you had plans at the time, so this was the best time to meet your subordinate.”

Utena doesn’t stop her work, carefully cutting a long strip of bandage before wrapping it around the burned region of Kiwi’s wrist. It does take her a few seconds to come up with her next question. ‘What was it Vena said last week? I was chosen to be a leader? Is this girl really mine?’ Her lips curl upwards, and she casts a glance up at the floating creature as she bares her fangs with delight. “This one is mine, then? I’m in charge of what she does?”

“Yes, and no. You are the commander of the current generation of magical girls I’ve put together, but you still have to obey the Supreme Commander and any of her subordinates that she has pass along orders to you, or that she deputizes.”

Utena nods her head, picking up another rag and beginning to repeat the process of wiping down and bandaging Kiwi’s other wrist. “And you don’t want us to meet the Supreme Commander? What’s the reason for that?”

“I lied to her,” Venalita replies, seeming unusually willing to part with information today. “I told her that I recruited three magical girls already, and that two of them had three stars.” Seeing Utena’s brow furrow with confusion, the mascot continues its explanation. “You know how you have those two stars on your skin? Those are a rough indicator of how much mana you can control. Effectively, it’s a power level. A two-star won’t beat a three-star in a straight punch-out, but you can obviously manage to secure a win by being more clever.”

“I see. Does that mean Kiwi has zero, and that’s why I was able to beat her so quickly?” Utena can’t take another look for the small markings while Kiwi is unconscious and not transformed, but she hadn’t spotted any obvious markings during their fighting.

“Not exactly. When you got worked up, your mana was unlike anything I’ve seen in other magical girls I’ve seen, volatile and extremely potent. I didn’t have a great look, but I’m pretty sure that I counted at least six.” The mascot doesn’t mention the number of stars that Kiwi has, the ones that Utena couldn’t have seen along her collarbone. “To my knowledge, only the girls I give powers to have such markings, but you should be able to approximate how strong they are based on the amount of mana they are able to output from their attacks, as well as how much of a reserve they have.”

“I see.” Utena shifts Kiwi’s weight, gently leaning the girl down atop her jacket so that she can start to clean and bandage Kiwi’s ankles. “Do you know why my magic got out of control there? It’s not the first time that it overflowed like that, it even made me transform without using my star once.”

Venalita doesn’t give any indication that it knows about the incident at the shrine, instead taking on a scholarly tone. “Just like I told you this morning, your magic is fueled by your lust. You’ve bottled up your desires for the past few days, denying these emotions which are an essential part of yourself. I believe that finally indulging, plus Kiwi’s teasing behavior, caused your lust to overwhelm you enough to prompt your sudden transformation.”

“Do you think that I could learn to control when I enter that state?”

“I don’t know. You’re an exceptional magical girl, and you manage to surprise me more often than any of the other members of Enormita, so I won’t say that it’s impossible. I don’t think it’s something that will be easy for you to learn, though. Right now, it looks like it requires your emotions to overwhelm you.”

Utena nods, quietly bandaging Kiwi’s ankles before fishing the girl’s phone out of her pocket and turning it on. While Utena’s phone is a model from a few years ago, Kiwi’s looks brand new, the most recently released model and the cast pristine. She slides past the lock screen, quickly taking hold of the unconscious girl’s hand and pressing her thumb against the device’s sensor to bypass her password while Venalita watches on, drifting over her shoulder curiously but not making any effort to stop her as she navigates to the Line app and adds herself to Kiwi’s contacts, complete with a picture of herself posing as though she were blowing a kiss. With her work completed, Utena slips the phone back into Kiwi’s pocket, grunting as she picks herself back up with her unconscious teammate in her arms. “Any chance that there’s a bed I could leave her on before we go?”

“You each have a bedroom here, though I hope that you never need it.” The mascot replies with a smile, opening up another black rift in the air for Utena, connecting to a mostly empty room with a twin bed tucked in one corner and a lonely desk and chair pressed below a window looking out at the eternal midnight purple of the sky. Carefully, Utena deposits Kiwi down into the bed before rejoining Venalita in the damaged entryway. “Thank you, for helping me to patch her up a little bit.”

“It’s my pleasure, Utena. Ready to head home now?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” With a smile, Venalita opens up another vortex, and Utena steps through and into the living room of her family home, transformation fading in a glow of purple light and leaving her clad in her pajamas once more. “Oh, and thank you for transforming me earlier, too. I’m sure that was hard for you to do, since you’re super evil.”

“Not at all, Utena. Evil doesn’t mean uncaring. You’re my charge, and I want the best for you.” ‘Even if you don’t know it is best.’

Utena smiles, opening her mouth to speak, but her voice fails her as nauseousness hits her all at once. The room spins, and she hears Venalita speaking, but whatever it says is lost as drops onto her side, pain blossoming as she crashes to the floor, and then the world fades away as fatigue takes her.

Venalita winces as Utena crumples into the ground, alive but clearly unconscious. “I guess she really was sick… Well that isn’t good.”

As they filter out of the school following the final class of the day, Kaoruko hurries to catch up to her pink-haired teammate. “Hey, Haruka. Wanna go get something to eat on the way home today?”

“I’m sorry, Kaoruko. I’d been planning to stop by Utena’s home today. I made copies of the notes from class, and I was going to check in on how she is feeling.”

“Huh.” Kaoruko shrugs before continuing, walking alongside her friend as they navigate the crowd of students hurrying to get home. “Would’ve figured Sayo would be on her way to do that right now, honestly.”

“I asked if she wanted to tag along, but she said she wasn’t feeling up to it. I hope that she’s not coming down with something too.” Haruka’s words grow a bit more quiet as she frets over her friends, and Kaoruko just smiles in amusement.

‘More likely that she doesn’t want to hang out with her best friend and the girl she’s got a crush on. At least Utena’s a better gal for Sayo than Baiser.’ Kaoruko doesn’t share the idea with Haruka, instead making a non-committal hum before they cross through the gates. “Well, I guess I’ll swing by the mall or something. Shoot me a text if you need anything, and tell Utena I hope that she’s doing well. I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

“You as well, Kaoruko!”

As Haruka turns off towards the Hiiragi household, Kaoruko turns the opposite direction from her friend, the blonde-haired girl following her initial instincts and making her way towards the mall, pulling out a pair of earbuds to listen to music while she walks.

Haruka instead follows the road in the direction that Utena lives, familiar with the general location but never having gone there by foot before, as she’d only ever visited as Magia Magenta. Even by foot, it’s only a short trip until she is standing before the Hiiragi household, ringing the doorbell and waiting. After a few minutes without a response, she raps her knuckles on the door to the Hiiragi household and then rings the doorbell again, worry sinking in as nobody answers, several more minutes passing by in silence. ‘Maybe she’s just asleep? If nobody else is home, I could just go, but what if something is wrong…’ Her cheeks blush as she recalls the way her friends had teased her, but worry gets the best of her, and she carefully pulls out her transformative trinket. “Trans magia.”

In an eruption of pink light, Haruka transforms, doning her Tres Magia uniform once again and taking off into the air, floating up to the same window where she’d entered Utena’s room before. The girl isn’t in bed, and the blankets are haphazardly spilling onto the floor as though she’d quite-literally crawled out of it, without any indication as to where she might be. ‘Gosh, I wish Kaoruko or Sayo were here instead, I must look like such a weirdo!’ Beat red, she floats lower, poking her head up and glancing through every window she can find until at last she spots an indication of her friend in the form of the girl’s arm on the ground, barely visible through the blinds of one of the windows. ‘Utena!’

Panic welling in her chest, Haruka flies back to the door, transforming out of her uniform a moment later before grabbing the door and desperately trying to pull it open. To her immense surprise, the door flies open immediately, and she runs inside without even questioning why it was left unlocked. She rushes to Utena’s side, kneeling down and pressing the back of her hand against the girl’s forehead, warmth blossoming immediately. ‘She’s burning up! Okay, first thing’s first, let’s get you out of the warm pajamas, cool you down.’ She’s not particularly an expert, but with three little sisters, she’s had practice in taking care of those who fell ill. Haruka carefully hooks her fingers under the thick and fluffy beige top Utena is wearing, anxiousness racing through her. Logically, this shouldn’t feel any differently than helping one of her little siblings to change into something a bit less warm, but the thought of seeing Utena even partially undressed makes her cheeks burn. The memory of kissing Utena rushes back to her, the sweet taste of her lips prominent in the pink-haired teen’s thoughts as she pulls her shorter friend’s top up and over her head, blushing brightly at the sight of Utena’s lithe, soft form. Her pale skin is nearly unblemished, only a small, x-shaped mark two centimeters to the right of her navel, a birthmark or perhaps a scar from some form of injury. What steals her attention away from the scar before she can put more focus on it is the realization that Utena sleeps without a bra. Haruka stares at Utena’s perky, modest breasts, bright pink of her nipples like brilliant beacons the modest heroine can’t tear her eyes away from, until a rasping voice stirs her back into action.

“Magenta?” Utena’s eyes barely flutter open, blurry pink dancing in front of her eyes as she wavers at the edge of consciousness, unable to recognize her friend knelt just beside her. Her head throbs, muscles ache as she tries, and fails, to lift herself off the ground. The air bites into her exposed skin like frigid spears of ice, painful and bitterly cold.

“Yes.” Any thought of hiding her secret identity is in a distant third place, well beyond her worry for Utena’s safety and the embarrassing, intoxicating sight of Utena lying beneath her, the image of her friend burning itself forever into her mind. “I’m here, Utena. How are you feeling?”

“Cold.” Her fingers twitch, trying and failing to lift her hand, and Haruka quickly intertwines her fingers, squeezing the girl’s hand in a faint effort to reassure her. “So cold.”

“I’m sorry. I know it’s not pleasant, but you have a terrible fever, you need to cool down. I’m going to help you out of your pajamas, okay?” The warm and fluffy pajama pants need to go too, even as the thought of seeing Utena clad in nothing but a pair of modest panties makes Haruka’s hand tremble even more. ‘Gosh, what if she doesn’t wear panties?’

“P-Please, no,” Utena whimpers out, not considering her modesty as much as fighting back against the idea of being further exposed to the cold.

‘I’m sorry, Utena.’ Haruka ignores the girl’s desperate pleading, slipping her hand under the waistband of the purple pants and tugging down. The sight of Utena’s bare hip, without any sign of panties to conceal her sex, makes Haruka freeze. ‘Oh God, I am so sorry, Utena. Please forgive me.’ Haruka squeezes her eyes shut firmly before pulling Utena’s pants free, hurriedly wrenching the garment down and exposing Utena to the cool air of her home. The barely conscious girl whines out in pain and discomfort at the much colder air making contact with her skin now that the pajamas aren’t shielding any part of herself, and Haruka slowly peeks an eye open. Just like the rest of her body, Utena’s skin is flawless, not the smallest blemish visible. Her legs are lithe and between her soft thighs, Haruka can see the delicate pink folds of her labia, pubic hair carefully trimmed.

Utena groans out once again, shivering despite the burning heat of her body, and Haruka tears her gaze away from Utena’s exposed body. The pink haired heroine immediately feeling a sense of guilt and disgust wash over herself as she realizes that she’d been ogling her friend like some sort of creep, almost as disgusted with herself as she has been with Baiser during their encounters. ‘Why do I keep leering at her? Something is wrong with me, it must be.’  She lets go of the girl’s pajama pants with a wince as the objects in her pocket loudly collide with one another, but she puts her attention back towards her ill friend. “O-Okay, Utena, I’m going to bring you up to your bed now. Just hold on as tightly as you can.” No response comes other than a weak groan.

Haruka carefully slips an arm under Utena’s back, lifting the girl’s weight up and onto her shoulder before standing herself, keeping the girl secure atop her shoulder as she heads up the stairs. Already familiar with where Utena’s room is in the home, so it doesn’t take her very long to get back into the familiar room, depositing the still-burning girl down atop her bed gently, resting her head and back against the large collection of brightly-colored pillows before pulling the blankets out of the way, dropping them in a bundle at the foot of Utena’s mattress before pulling the top sheet gently over the girl, giving her at least a bit of modesty. “Okay, Utena. You were really brave, but you should shut your eyes for now. I’m going to make some phone calls, you rest for a bit while I do. I promise, no matter what I’m not going anywhere until your mother gets home.” Again, the girl doesn’t respond, and as Haruka glances up at her, she sees the girl’s eyes both closed, head lulled to the side, already unconscious.

‘I wonder if Utena would have more fun with any of these? I’d like to make sure that I have something she enjoys for next time we hang out.’ Kaoruko tosses another chip into her mouth as she appraises the display of games for her console, pondering the collection and letting her thoughts drift. ‘Calm day, good artery-clogging meal. All that’s missing is a tussle with Baiser or a demon to beat down, and today would be just perfect.’ Eventually, she pulls a pair of plastic cases out, one more suited to her personal interests while the other is hopefully to Utena’s liking. The blonde teen quickly makes her way up to the counter, setting both cases down on the counter along with fifteen-thousand yen.

The woman at the register frowns as she glances down at the case for the newest Doom game, before pushing it back with a frown, tapping the small CERO rating on the bottom-left. “I’ll need to see some ID if you want to buy this, young lady, and I’m pretty sure that you’re not old enough.”

‘Right, wouldn’t want the girl who fights demons for a living to see a game about tearing apart demons.’ Her eyes roll as she pulls out her wallet once again, setting down another five-thousand yen note and pushing both games back towards the cashier. “It’s fine, hun. You can keep the change.”

Kaoruko smiles as the woman picks up the case, but instead of scanning it, she sets it down somewhere below her side of the counter. “Not happening, kid. You’re welcome to buy Mario Party if you’d like, but I’m not risking my job for less than a day’s wage.”

“Fine,” she huffs out, and impatiently snatching up her purchase, receipt, and change once the woman processes the purchase, only to get bowled over by another girl crashing into her side. Kaoruko’s feet catch on one another, and she drops to the ground with a loud grunt.

“Hey, hey. Just these for today, please!”

“Just?” Kaoruko pushes herself back up, casting a quick glance towards the counter at the confused tone of the prudish cashier, blue eyes widening with surprise at the stack of items deposited on the counter. On top of two new Switch consoles still in their boxes must be at least a dozen games, with an over-sized plush on the counter beside it. “This is going to be at least a hundred-thousand yen.”

“That’s fine.” Kaoruko recognizes the ashen-blonde girl, a stereotypical private school brat constantly blowing crazy amounts of spending money that her parents give her on whatever caught her interest that week. This time, it seems to be video games, though Kaoruko can’t imagine why she’d buy two of the same console.

“Not you again.” The two have butted heads pretty frequently when they’d met, usually due to Kiwi’s flippant and disrespectful behavior, but what makes Kaoruko pause is the outfit that the girl is wearing. Beneath her beige jacket, the green, yellow, and white uniform is a near-perfect match for Kaoruko’s own. A giggle escapes before she can stifle it. “Oh my, what’s with the clothes? Finally flunk outta your private school for being a brainless dolt?”

“Nuh-uh, my grades are great! Just because you’re a big idiot, it doesn’t mean that everyone else is. Speaking of which, what brings you here?” Kiwi poses, cocking a hip dramatically and taking up the same annoying tone that she so often falls back upon when the two squabble. “Trying to scrounge up some coins to buy a used game, since your family can’t afford to give you an allowance? If you ask real nice, I might buy you something.”

“My family is quite comfortable, Kiwi, so don’t you dare say that again, or else,” Kaoruko steps up to the annoying teen, driving her index finger against Kiwi’s neck firmly, but certainly not harsh enough to explain the way the girl whimpers. ‘Her skin feels odd. Is she wearing make up?” Her words trail to a stop nervously, instead pressing her thumb against Kiwi’s neck and rubbing against it. Kiwi squirms, trying to break out of her grip and push her back, but Kaoruko ignores it as pale concealer slowly rubs away under her thumb to reveal a reddened bruise. “What the hell happened? Did someone finally hit you?”

“It’s a love-bite, you dummy! My girlfriend gave it to me!” Kaoruko’s worry dissipates, laughing at the absurdity of the rich, spoilt brat having even a normal friend, much less a romantic relationship. Kiwi just stamps her foot, clenching her hands into fists by her sides. “Who do you think you’re laughing at, you idiot?”

“Some self-centered brat who thinks that she has a girlfriend.” Kaoruko doesn’t miss a beat, smiling as she and the girl get back to their usual exchange of insults. At least, Kaoruko usually offers new insults when they get into it, Kiwi seldom manages to put together anything more eloquent than repeating ‘idiot’ as much as she can.

Kiwi swallows hard, tugging up her jacket and grabbing her things with an annoyed huff. “Idiot. She’s not fake.”

Kaoruko rolls her eyes again, heading for the door herself, shaking her head dismissively. “I’m sure. I just wouldn’t know her, cause she goes to another school, ain’t that the old routine?”

“She goes to our school, actually,” she replies, glaring at Kaoruko. “I’m transferring so that I can go to school with her as a matter of fact.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the little lovebird’s name then? And how much does she charge per hour?” Kiwi’s angry sputtering makes her smile in amusement.

“She’s not a prostitute, and her name is Utena!” Kaoruko gulps, thoughts immediately turning towards the girl that Sayo is attracted to. ‘It’s not a common name, but maybe she knows another Utena?’ That excuse crumbles as Kiwi thrusts her index finger at Kaoruko and continues, “Utena Hiiragi!”

The blonde-haired brawler giggles, her lips twitching upwards as she tries and fails to keep her amusement down. ‘What a joke. Utena, doing that to her neck? It’d be quite the sight to see, but if Sayo kisses her, Utena's heart would probably stop.’ Her giggling turns to full-on laughter, imagining Sayo blushing and panicked as Utena simply collapses into her arms after the smallest kiss in the world. “Sure she is,” Kaoruko starts, struggling to speak through her own amusement. “The quietest, meekest girl I’ve ever met gave you a hickey, of course.”

Kiwi blushes, stamping her foot in feeble protest as Kaoruko loses herself in a laughing fit at Kiwi’s expense. “She did! Why are you laughing at me?”

“I know Utena,” Kaoruko begins, smiling brightly. “She’s a sweet girl, and she’s not mentioned you a single time, she’s never had a social life before, no contacts other than my friends and her own family. So, your story ain’t true, at all.” She takes on a more serious tone, looking Kiwi in the eye and leaning close she speaks, “And if you mess with her, or creep her out, you’ll be dealing with me, and all the money in your allowance ain't gonna stop me from giving you a whooping.” Kiwi swallows nervously, but before she can respond, Kaoruko grabs her bag and heads for the door, waving and calling out over her shoulder in a cheery tone, “See you at school!”

Kaoruko happily makes her way out of the store as Kiwi stammers, quickly retrieving her phone as it begins to buzz without even pausing. Seeing Haruka’s picture, she quickly answers the call before tucking her phone between her head and shoulder. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I need help. Utena’s a mess, and I don’t know what to do.” Haruka’s words are nothing less than terrified, and although she can’t see her friend, Kaoruko knows that Haruka either has been crying or is about to break down into tears. “We’re at her house, she’s got a fever, I don’t know what to give her. Thirty-nine point eight degrees. I’ve tried everything except healing magic or medicine, but if she’s allergic-”

Kaoruko quickly cuts Haruka off as she sinks deeper into her panic. “Hey, it’ll be okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Have you told Sayo?”

“No, not yet.”

“I’ll call her. Call Vatz, see if it has any advice, and sit tight. I’ll be there as soon as I can, if Sayo doesn’t beat me to you. If she gets any worse, even just a little, call 119 and get her an ambulance, then transform and try using magic.” Kaoruko breaks off into a jog as she is talking, rushing towards the nearest exit to the mall as she carefully gives Haruka instructions in an effort to help her to calm down, if only a little bit.

After a pregnant pause, Haruka’s sniffles and responds in a soft voice. “Okay. Please, get here soon.”

“Before you even know it.” The blonde girl replies, forcing an upbeat tone into her voice before disconnecting the call. Despite the tone she takes on, she feels just as worried as Haruka must, terrified at the thought of anything happening to her petite friend. The fear doesn’t stop her from calling Sayo, the phone tolling in her ear four times before the call connects.

“Hello, Kaoruko. How are you doing?” The cheerful and warm tone one Kaoruko knows won’t last through what she has to say.

‘Better I’m the one to tell her than Haruka, I guess.’ She takes a deep breath, keeping her tone calm as she speaks. “Worried. Haruka is still at Utena’s home, and apparently, she’s worse than she was yesterday. I’m heading there now, you should come too. I know you didn’t want to go with Haruka because you thought it’d be a bit awkward, but you should be there too. If she’s as sick as Haruka said, she should have some friends to take care of her.”

Sayo’s tone is much softer, a worried tremor in her words as she answers. “I’m on my way now. I’ll be there before you.”

“Where are you?” The sudden sensation of Sayo’s distant magic answers her question as her teammate passes through the barrier around their training grounds, transformed and soaring across the sky in nothing less than desperation. The call disconnects, and Kaoruko shakes her head, swearing as she makes it through the mall doors and begins to run down the sidewalk towards Utena’s home.

Chapter Text

In Sayo’s earliest days as Magia Azul, Haruka had taken her flying in the mountains where they eventually established their training grounds around the hot springs. She’d taught Sayo how to reorient and move through the air with grace and precision, as well as how to gently slow her descent before landing. None of those are priorities on Sayo’s mind as she rapidly sails across the sky towards Utena’s home, turning down to a much-too-steep dive as she spots the building where she’d dropped Utena off Saturday night. Her feet hit the ground hard, and she slides to a stop, kicking up grass and dirt in her wake but just barely managing to keep herself from tumbling onto the ground. Her uniform burns away a moment after she comes to a stop, replaced with her shrine maiden attire as she hurriedly walks down the pavers to the front door and making her way into the home for the first time.

‘It’s a very beautiful home, I wish that I’d gotten to come under better circumstances though.’ The door opens into a nice family room with a small couch and a few large chairs positioned in such a way that they all have a good view of a television. It looks comfortable, and the kitchen Sayo can see through another doorway, but the main object that catches Sayo’s attention is the familiar, four-pointed golden star poking out of the pocket of a discarded pair of bright pajama pants alongside Utena’s cell phone. “I hope Haruka didn’t spot that.” Sayo quickly crosses the room to retrieve the items, tucking away Utena’s transformative token right beside her own enchanted heart, and the purple-haired girl’s phone set in a pocket alongside her own. With the identity-compromising object hidden away, Sayo continues deeper into the house, spotting the staircase and making her way up to the second story before heading into the open door to Utena’s bedroom.

The sight nearly breaks Sayo’s heart. Haruka, her best friend, is kneeling beside the bed, gently squeezing Utena’s hand and staring up at their purple-haired friend’s mouth, holding the thermometer within it carefully so that she can read it and ensure it doesn’t slip out of position. Utena, her fragile, adoring villain, is lying in her bed covered by a single thin sheet, face flushed, shivering and sweating and groaning out in pain with each and every breath. Sayo can’t even tell if she is conscious or not, she can only see the light rise and fall of Utena’s chest. Haruka has a damp washcloth resting on Utena’s head, another on the back of her neck with a towel carefully positioned to stop any significant seepage of water into the bed or pillows upon which the unconscious girl rests. “Utena,” her voice cracks as she rushes forwards, dropping down onto her knees beside Haruka. “Is she doing better? What’s going on, Haruka?”

“A little,” her friend casts a glance her way, her words just as filled with worry as Sayo’s own, and Sayo rests a hand atop hers, drawing a smile from Haruka. “But she is still running a fever. I don’t know what else to do though.”

“Can our magic cure diseases, or at least fight back against the symptoms?” It’d never come up before. When Haruka had first been teaching her to use healing magic, she’d always focused on injuries. Bruises, lacerations, broken bones and burns were the primary threats that they would face, and therefore, the biggest priority to learn to effectively remedy. ‘None of that will help right now, though.’

“I don’t know,” Haruka admits, helplessness obvious in her words. “I’ve never tried anything like that before. Kaoruko thinks that it’d be best to just tend to her normally.”

“Okay,” Sayo whispers out, barely able to hear herself. “I trust you, Haruka, and I’m glad that you came to check up on her.”

“Me too, Sayo.” The blue-eyed girl sees tears spilling from Sayo’s eyes, but she doesn’t comment on it, only squeezing her hand and keeping her focus on Utena’s miserable whimpers. ‘I wish I could do more, Utena. Please, be strong.’

A few minutes after Sayo’s arrival, Kaoruko joins them upstairs, carefully pushing open the door and stepping inside quietly, dropping off a small shopping bag by the door before joining Sayo and Haruka by Utena’s bedside. “How’s she holding up?”

The gentle tone of their fiery friend brings a bit of comfort to the two girls, but Sayo’s panic doesn’t subside, her voice unsteady and hands trembling as she squeezes Utena’s. “She’s not doing good.”

The blonde-haired girl gently wraps her arms around Sayo, hugging the girl from behind. “What about you girls? How are you feeling?” It’s an unnecessary question. Haruka looks worried, watching Utena like a hawk and gripping tightly to the girl’s bed frame. Sayo looks somehow worse. Even though she’s taking an effort to hide her face from her friends, they can both see the tears that spill down onto the white kosode she is wearing, and the sniffling and muffled whines make it obvious that she is barely keeping herself together. ‘I don’t recall seeing her this stressed out before. She’s taking it way worse than our talk about her and Baiser’s fight.’

“I’m scared, Kaoruko.” Sayo squeezes Utena’s hand tighter, and the blonde teen bobs her head up and down, quietly squeezing her tighter. “What if she doesn’t wake up?”

“She will. We’re here, whatever she needs.” Seeing Sayo’s unconvinced expression, she continues softly, “And whatever you need, hun.”

“Thank you, Kaoruko.”

“Any time, Sayo.” She gives her friend one last squeeze before getting up and glancing around the room. “Any chance you know where Utena’s phone is, or saw her mother’s number pinned anywhere?” Sayo pulls out Utena’s phone, offering it up to her friend, but Kaoruko scowls as she sees the lock screen devoid of an option to access it via fingerprint or facial ID. ‘Guess it is a bit more secure, but it doesn’t do us any favors today.’

“Do you think that you can get in, Kaoruko?” Haruka steps closer, a worried frown as she sees her friend’s annoyance. “If we can find her mother’s name,” Kaoruko finishes the statement for her friend.

“Then we could ask about medicine we can give her. I’d have to try to guess her PIN though.” 1-2-3-4 doesn’t work when she tries to enter it. “Anybody have any ideas?”

“Not really, maybe we could try her birthday? I’ll take a look downstairs, maybe there’s an old emergency contact we can find.” Haruka hurriedly strides out of the room, leaving Sayo knelt behind at Utena’s bedside, stroking the girl’s cheek nervously while Kaoruko tries and fails to come up with other reasonable options for the password. Utena’s birthday doesn’t yield results, nor does her best guess at the dates herself, Haruka, and Sayo had their first public appearances as magical girls.

A few minutes later, Haruka returns, glum and nervous. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing.”

“Then we’ll just have to keep her cool for a while, until she wakes up or her mother gets here.” Kaoruko is far more confident, giving a reassuring smile to both of her friends. “She’s tough, she’ll get through it alright.”

Tough is far from the word that Sayo would first use today, looking at her frail and sickly lover as she whines out in pain. Fragile is a far more appropriate in her mind. A delicate bloom that she needs to protect, to hold, to wipe away the external forces that weigh upon her. Even though she knows that it is a lie, hearing Kaoruko say it brings her a faint spark of hope, and Sayo remains knelt by Utena’s side as the day grows old, Kaoruko and Haruka in and out of the room, providing fresh washcloths to replace the old ones as Utena continues to fight through the fever. In fleeting moments, she stirs enough for Sayo to lift a glass of water up to her lips and help her to drink, and to whisper reassurances to her, but she never manages to speak up, always slipping back into a fitful sleep shortly after, the only comfort that the teal-haired girl finds being the way that Utena’s temperature cools off slightly as they continue to try to cool her head off and keep her from getting especially dehydrated.

It's nearly half past five in the evening when Utena finally shifts, straightening up her back a bit, the washcloth on the back of her neck falling as she adjusts her posture. Her beautiful golden eyes part, the girl wincing immediately at the light streaming in from the late-afternoon sun and the glow of her bedroom light, and Sayo scoops up the water that Haruka had been dutifully refilling, calling out to her delicate lover.

“Utena?” A wordless, rasping cry is the only response that the purple-haired girl can manage, and Sayo quickly lifts the glass to Utena’s lips. “No, don't try to speak yet. You need to drink more, you’ve been out for a while.”

“Welcome back, hun. You gave us a pretty good fright, y’know.” Kaoruko happily chimes in, sitting at the base of Utena’s bed and smiling at her cheerily while Sayo helps her to take small sips of water. “I hope you don’t mind the company.”

“Or that we let ourselves in,” Haruka hurriedly adds, sitting down by Utena’s desk, uncomfortably close to the drawer where Utena’s less decent belongings are tucked away. “I came to check up on you, and I saw you lying on the floor of the living room…”

Utena waits until the cup is empty and Sayo has moved it away before speaking up at last, her voice hoarse and soft, but audible at last. “How did you get in, Haruka?”

“The door was unlocked,” Haruka replies quietly. “I don’t know why, but it was.”

“I locked it when I got here, just to be safe,” Kaoruko quickly chimes in.

The last thing Utena recalls before passing out is leaving Nacht Base with Venalita, and she hadn’t tampered with the door before collapsing. ‘Mom wouldn’t leave the door unlocked. Did someone break in? Or did Venalita open it?’ Her mascot had stepped in to keep her safe when fighting Kiwi, so it stands to reason Venalita would do the same here. ‘I guess I have to ask next time I see it.’ “What day is it? How long was I asleep?”

“It’s only Wednesday,” Sayo replies, still not letting go of Utena’s hand. “I’m not sure how long you were asleep, but it’s half past five right now.”

“I found you right after school,” Haruka chimes in again softly, “but you were in and out of consciousness for a while. Do you remember any of that?”

“A little, I think?” Utena shifts, gently tugging her hand back, and Sayo reluctantly lets her pull away. “It’s hard to tell which parts I was awake, and which parts I was dreaming. Did something happen while I was conscious?”

Haruka glances towards Sayo and Kaoruko as she speaks, keeping a warm smile to mask her worry. The fact that Utena had called her Magenta doesn’t necessarily mean anything, the odds she’d somehow figured it out and seen through the recognition filtering magic is exceptionally low, but it does still give her pause, especially with the obvious devotion towards Tres Magia that Utena has displayed both in their conversations, as well as the expensive collection of merchandise and posters all over her room. “N-Not especially, you were just saying some weird things while I was helping you up, is all.”

“Oh. I hope that I didn’t do anything to make you uncomfortable, Haruka.”

“N-No, not at all.” Haruka blushes at the memory of Utena’s bare body, but she doesn’t mention it, and the fatigued girl doesn’t press her on the topic. Kaoruko shoots her an amused glance, but Sayo doesn’t let her thoughts linger on her friend’s words for even a moment.

“I’m glad.” She casts a nervous glance at Sayo, a pang of sadness washing through her as she realizes the effort that her friends have been going through on her behalf. ‘They’re too kind to me.’ “Thank you, girls.”

“Any time, hun. I’m gonna grab you some more water real quick, don’t wear yourself out too much.” Kaoruko carefully pulls the glass from Sayo’s hands before heading for the door, a stupid smile upon her face as she feels a rush of relief.

“Do you have any allergies?” Haruka doesn’t quite let herself be relieved yet, still fretting about Utena’s health. “We wanted to get you medicine, but, I don’t know if anything is unsafe for you to have. I read that Tylenol should help with your fevers, can you take that?”

Utena nods her head in confirmation. “Yeah, I’ve taken it before. Do you think you could get the bottle for me?”

“Of course!” Haruka pauses, nodding her head towards Sayo behind her best friend’s back in a silent gesture of encouragement before heading downstairs, leaving the two girls alone once again.

Even with her head aching, Utena can tell that her taller friend still looks worried about something, her eyes reddened, recently having been crying by her bedside no doubt. Utena forces a tired smile onto her lips, reaching out towards Sayo, the teal-haired girl carefully taking hold of her hand once again, intertwining their fingers. “I’m glad that you came to check on me, Sayo. It means a lot that you stayed all this time. You’re a really good friend.”

“Of course, Utena.” Sayo swallows nervously, her dread and fear about Utena’s illness dulled by the realization that Kaoruko and Haruka had intentionally withdrawn to leave her alone with her crush. “Is there anything that I can do to make you more comfortable?”

“I don’t think so.” Utena offers a small smile to her. “Can I do anything to make you more comfortable? You look almost as rough as I feel.” It’s unclear to her what Haruka had wanted her to say, but she must have wanted her to do something. ‘If I could transform, I’m sure I’d be able to figure it out by sensing her emotions.’

Sayo blushes softly, and shakes her head. “I’ve just been worried about you. You looked like you were in so much pain, and I was scared you might get worse and need to go to the hospital.”

“Were you here the whole time?”

“Yeah, she didn’t leave your side since I got here.” Kaoruko happily answers Utena’s question before her friend can, setting down a freshly-filled glass of water on the nightstand along with the Tylenol that Haruka had found in the kitchen cupboard. “Not even for a second.”

“Kaoruko!” Sayo’s cheeks burn brighter at the girl’s words, but before she can continue, Utena squeezes her hand.

“Did you really?” Sayo nods at the question, Utena’s voice soft and weak still. “Why? Don’t you have work at the shrine?”

“You’re more important than that, Utena.” Sayo carefully pours out two pills into the medicine bottle’s cap, slipping her hand free of Utena’s so that she can help the girl swallow the pills down and drink. “I wanted to be here with you. For you.”

Utena weakly brings a hand up to hold the glass as Sayo guides her to drink, and the teal-haired girl lets her take the lead at last, Utena slowly seeming more capable, strength slowly returning to her limbs. Kaoruko pats Sayo’s shoulder before ducking towards the exit of the room, a mischievous smile on her lips as she leaves the duo on their own once again, carefully closing the door so that they can have a bit of privacy.

When Utena has drank her fill, she passes the glass back to Sayo as she speaks, the blue haired girl setting it aside on her nightstand. “You’re so kind to me, Sayo. I don’t know how I could ever repay you for this.” “You don’t need to,” she doesn’t hesitate for a moment, gently cupping Utena’s cheek as she speaks. “I’m happy to take care of my friends when they need help.” Her heart races, pounding loudly in her ears as she leans closer to Utena’s face, anxiety eating at her. So desperately, Sayo wants to kneel down and profess her love to Utena, but deep down, she knows that it would be unfair to confront her with such emotions while she is already fatigued mentally and physically. Instead, she pushes the emotion down, hiding it away for just a little bit longer. ‘Just one more day. Only until the next time I see her, then I’ll come clean about it all.’

“I’ll still try,” Utena replies, a tired smile on her face as she leans back against her pillows tiredly. “And thank you, Sayo.”

“Of course. You should rest more, Utena, you’ll need your strength to get better.”

“Okay.” Her beautiful golden eyes flutter shut once again, but she doesn’t slip back to sleep immediately this time. “Can you make me a promise, Sayo?”

“Anything.” Sayo winces at her enthusiasm, not even giving a moment of pause between Utena’s question and her own answer, but the sickly girl doesn’t seem to pay her swift answer any mind.

“Please promise you’ll take care of yourself, too. I don’t want you to worry too much over someone like me.”

“I promise, Utena.” A small settles on Utena’s lips at her answer, but she doesn’t speak up again. Sayo waits several minutes, listening to the rhythmic rise and fall of Utena’s breaths until she is confident that the girl has drifted back to sleep. “Rest well, my dearest villain.” Reluctantly, Sayo gets to her feet, quickly striding over to Utena’s desk and tugging open one of the drawers, carefully tucking away the girl’s transformation star before sliding the door shut quietly.

The sound of the front door opening catches the attention of the three girls, followed a few moments later by a warm and gentle voice, full of motherly love. “Utena? I’m home from work.” Sayo glances towards her conscious friends nervously, Haruka offering her a reassuring smile before heading down the stairs, raising her voice to ensure that she is heard.

“Miss Hiiragi? I hope you don’t mind; we came to check up on Utena!”

As the trio round the corner to greet her, Sayo nervously nods her head in affirmation of Haruka’s words. Utena’s mother is very much alike her daughter in appearance, slim and with the same beautiful shade of purple hair. Her eyes don’t quite have the same golden luster to them, more of a modest hazel hue if Sayo were to describe her, and she’s quite a bit taller than her daughter as well. With her soft blue, long-sleeved blouse and nearly ankle-length skirt, the two seem to share similar fashion sense as well.

Her brow furrows in confusion, but Miss Hiiragi doesn’t seem defensive as she looks over the three girls. “You three must be the friends she was telling me about, then? How is Utena?”

“Not good,” Sayo’s answer makes her face fall in horror, “but I think that she’s getting better. She was running a fever for a few hours, but she’s cooled off a lot. She just got back to sleep a few minutes ago.”

“I see. I’m going to go up and check on her, but please, make yourselves comfortable down here while you wait.” It’s not exactly an invitation, more a command for them to let her check up on her daughter alone, but the girls nod in understanding anyway, letting her up by to go check on Utena as the trio make themselves comfortable in the living room. Sayo gathers up Utena’s discarded pajamas from the floor, folding them neatly and setting them down in one chair before joining her friends on the sofa.

Upstairs, Utena moans softly as she is lightly shaken awake, the familiar sight of her mother’s concerned expression greeting her. “Utena, sweetheart? Are you okay?”

She nods, not entirely believing it herself but not wishing to further worry her mother. “Cold, and sore, but I’m feeling a lot better.”

“I’m glad. Did you need anything?” Utena shakes her head, and her mother smiles softly before kissing her on the forehead. “Okay, sweetheart. I’ll let you rest for now, please let me know if you feel any worse.”

“I will, Mommy.” Her mother nods, tugging the sheet up to her chin to ensure her daughter isn’t too cold before stepping out. The fact Utena hadn’t called when she started to feel worse does worry her, but not so much that she feels the need to bring it up just yet, preferring to let her little girl get back to sleep.

Sayo, Haruka, and Kaoruko make polite conversation with Utena’s mother while their friend is asleep upstairs, the evening slowly growing old as it creeps closer to eight o’clock. The question of how they got in is a rather brief one, Kaoruko telling a white lie and claiming that Utena let them in before collapsing into Haruka’s arms rather than admitting that they don’t know why the door was unlocked.

Kaoruko is the first to depart, giving her two friends a hug and pretending to feel pressured into the gesture. Haruka departs a little bit past eight, wishing Sayo and Miss Hiiragi well and a speedy recovery for Utena before slipping away, and leaving Sayo alone with the older woman. Eventually, reluctantly, Sayo departs as well, sending Utena a message full of her warm wishes as the clock strikes eight thirty at night, Miss Hiiragi waving her off from the doorway before closing the door and switching the lights off in the living room as she goes off to prepare dinner for herself and her daughter.

After her alarm clock’s warm announcement stirs her from her slumber, Utena slowly rises out of her bed, feeling immensely refreshed. The aching in her muscles is gone, as is the throbbing pain in her skull and the bitter cold. With renewed vigor, she makes her way to the bathroom, brushing her teeth before stepping into the shower, already undressed for reasons that she can’t quite recall with any clarity.

As she is washing her skin and cleaning herself of all the sweat and grime that had accumulated since the day before yesterday, her mascot and occasional companion drifts into the bathroom with her, resting its arms on the shower rod. “Good to see you up and about again, Utena.”

“Good morning, Vena. I’m happy to report that I don’t feel awful today.” It smiles at her upbeat tone and smoother movements, no longer hobbling and unsteady.

“I’m glad to hear it. I’d also like to apologize for pushing you so hard yesterday. I didn’t realize that you were actually sick, I thought you were only pent up and fatigued from not letting yourself tap into the emotions that fuel your magic.”

“It’s okay. Just promise me that you’ll let me actually stay home next time I am sick?”

“I won’t push you again, I promise.”

“Thanks, Vena.” Despite the creature’s initial manipulation to trick her into joining Enormita, it doesn’t seem to be malicious. The fact that it’d willingly put itself into harm’s way in order to protect her, and been struck by Kiwi’s attack, only makes her more willing to trust it. “Are you’re still in a sharing mood today?”

Its mouth curls upwards, mischievous glee upon its plain features. “Maybe. It only depends on the topic.”

“Why do you need us exactly?” It cocks its head, and she expands further on the question. “When you intervened, I felt your mana for the first time. I don’t think that the combined power of myself, Kiwi, and Tres Magia is anywhere close to your strength, so why do you need Enormita? Couldn’t you achieve all of your goals without us?”

“No. Some of the magical girls I have made, or that my counterparts have awoken, aren’t that special, I will admit. Leopard is a good example. She’s a decent girl, and I think you’ll find a way to put her to good use, but she doesn’t really advance my interests or Enormita’s very much, unlike you.”

Utena takes a moment to process its answer, confused by the way it separates out its own interests from Enormita’s when it doesn’t seem inclined to actually share what either of them are. “So, your goals aren’t the same as the organization you run?”

“Not exactly,” Venalita admits, keeping a smile on its face as Utena lathers up her hands with shampoo and begins to work it into her hair. Perhaps it is due to her increasing acceptance of her lustful desires, or simply defeated acceptance of its ability to pop up at any time, but it is interesting for the mascot that she doesn’t even attempt to preserve her own modesty. “The Supreme Commander has been a big help to me, but she has her own goals which aren’t the same as mine, and Enormita ultimately exists to facilitate her in her own pursuits. My role is purely that of an advisor at present.”

“But you both want me to fight magical girls?”

“Precisely. I get to observe both parties in the conflict, and your leader gets to witness you defeat future obstacles and incapacitate magical girls.” The fact that she would not be happy with how Baiser is actively pushing Tres Magia towards improvement, rather than attempting to permanently eliminate their powers, is one that Venalita keeps to itself for now. “Speaking of which, you’ve been failing to deliver on that the past couple of days. I know that you were sick since Tuesday, but it would be good to get a few fights in each week, even if they wind up being small ones.”

“I’ll try to find the time today, then.” Utena tilts her head back, letting the warm water rush over her head, washing the shampoo out of her hair and carrying the suds down over her shoulders and back as she ponders Venalita’s words from the other day, right up until her collapse downstairs. “By the way, Vena, was it you who unlocked the front door when I fainted?”

“Yes,” the mascot replies honestly to her question. “I stayed with you until I heard a knock at the door, and when I saw your pink-haired friend I unlocked it before making a hasty retreat, just to be safe. Non-magical girls shouldn’t be able to see me, but it would’ve made things harder if I got spotted inside your home, so I took my leave, and came back a little bit later to check up on you both.”

‘That explains how they got in, then.’ It’s almost touching to hear that Venalita stayed for however long it took for classes to end and Haruka to arrive, and she can’t help but appreciate the fact that her mascot seems to be by her side routinely to help when she needs it. “Well, thank you for that, and for sticking around to make sure that we didn’t get robbed.”

“Of course. As I said, I want nothing but the best for you, Utena.”

Utena bobs her head up and down, pulling a small red loofah off of one of the hooks suction-cupped to the side of the shower and beginning to lather it with her body wash. Slowly, she starts to scrub her head, rose-scented bubbles of the exfoliating soap clinging to her face and neck as she guides it down onto her shoulders and starts to scrub her arms. “Thanks, Vena. You’re not all that bad, no matter what you say.”

“How could you say such a thing?” The mascot sounds almost genuine in its pained toned of voice, enough for Utena to peak one eye open only to catch it smiling down at her. “You’re pretty fun too, Magia Baiser. I’ll let you get ready for class in a moment, but there’s one last thing that I think you deserve to know.”

“What’s up?” Its sudden seriousness gives her pause, and a tinge of concern.

“I think one of your friends found your transformation star. I didn’t take it off of your person when you collapsed, which was a lapse of my judgement, but I didn’t find it with your clothes. It was tucked in a drawer in your desk instead, and I’m pretty confident that you didn’t bring it up there. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything, if they didn’t recognize it then they may very well think it is just a necklace or pin of some sort, and you don’t have very much of a social media presence just yet, but it is something you should keep an eye out for. If Haruka or one of your other friends bring it up, you should be prepared to explain it away. Just so long as you don’t actually tell them you’re Magia Baiser, you should be fine.”

That gives Utena a moment of worry, but Venalita’s words are also correct. Unlike Tres Magia who are widely recognized, Magia Baiser hasn’t had much time in the spotlight that would make it easy for her friends to recognize her transformative token. Tres Magia or Kiwi certainly would, be outside of them it should be reasonably easy to brush off any questions about the item. “Thanks for the warning, but, I have a question.” After a moment of quiet, Vena gestures for her to continue. “Why do you think it was my friends, and not my mom who found it?”

“It got tucked beneath one of your BDSM magazines. I’m pretty sure that your mother would’ve made a fuss about those.”

Utena slowly sits down on the shower floor, hugging her knees to her chest, face rapidly burning up, shame and humiliation eating at her. Would she even be able to look her friends in the eye again? And what would the girl who saw those think of her? ‘It couldn’t have been Kaoruko, Sayo was with me before she got there, so it has to be either Haruka or Sayo who found my star.’ Sayo didn’t show any indication of discomfort, only an overwhelming affection and concern for Utena. But Haruka hadn’t shown any emotions to indicate she was uncomfortable either, at least none that Utena had picked up on in her fugue state.

“Hey, don't shut down on me just yet!” Her mascot drifts into the shower fully, getting sprayed with warm water as it alights on her shoulder and gently taps her on the top of the head a few times in an approximation of a reassuring gesture. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Utena. Everyone has their own desires.” Utena’s only response is a miserable groan, not believing Venalita’s words for a moment. It’s one thing to be attracted to someone, it’s quite a different story to have a shameful collection of hardcore porn magazines she regularly reads that she’d smuggled home after some pervert left them outside Sayo’s family shrine. Venalita shakes its head, drifting down to the discarded sponge and picking it up between both hands, starting to slowly scrub Utena’s legs as the girl sits and wallows in her own humiliation. “I know it might be embarrassing now, but I promise, the feeling will pass with time. You’re extraordinary, don’t let this little thing eat at you too long.”

Her mascot floats back towards the bottle of rose-scented body wash, refreshing the bubbly soap layer on the scrub before floating to her back and continuing to wash her, struggling against the steady wave of water running down from her head and shoulders. The affirmations and encouraging words don't wash away the embarrassment, but it brings her a small bit of comfort. “Thank you, Vena.”

“Any time, Utena.” As she reaches out to it, the mascot passes back the soapy loofah, floating up to the shower head to rinse the soap off its body before retreating up over the shower curtain. “Don’t get lost though, or you won’t be able to finish tending to the flowers before class.”

Her only response is a tired nod before she takes hold of the edge of the tub, grunting as she pulls herself back up onto her feet to finish her shower. Suds cling to her modest breasts and soft thighs as she scrubs her front and the upper half of her legs that Venalita couldn’t reach, washing away as she turns to face the warm spray of water once again. While the warm water is still washing over her and skin cleaned of any dead cells that may have accumulated, she picks up her razor from the edge of the tub, able to cleanly cut through the fine hairs that have begun to emerge once again. With the grooming completed, she finally turns the water off, pulls back the curtain, and envelopes herself in a warm and fluffy towel, patting her body and hair off until she is no longer dripping wet. Warm and insulated within the too-big towel, she lifts her legs up over the edge of the tub and steps out into the cool air of her home once again, pulling open the bathroom door and crossing through the hallway swiftly back to her room, greeted by Venalita’s golden smile as it sits perched atop her desk, one of her school uniforms laid out on her freshly-made bed.

Utena casts a suspicious glance at the strange creature as she finishes drying herself. “What’s going on with you today, Vena? You’re being unusually helpful.”

“I just want to take a little bit off your plate, Utena. If you’re unsatisfied with the thought I’m being helpful because I feel bad, consider that the less you have to waste time on boring things like straightening out your uniform, the more time you can spend fighting Tres Magia.”

Utena starts to get dressed, carefully pulling a pair of modest purple panties up to her groin before sliding her arms into her matching bra, clasping it in position behind her back. As Venalita watches, she pulls her shirt over her head and fixes the tie before donning her skirt, grabbing her backpack, and grabbing her phone and transformative star off the desk where Venalita had placed them. Her mascot waves to her one last time before disappearing through a portal to a destination unknown to her, leaving her to walk to school alone in the earliest hours of morning.

It's not common for Utena to find others at school this early in the day. Recently, she’d been arriving earlier than usual so that she wouldn’t need to stay late in the day, leaving her afternoon open for Tres Magia, or her friend Sayo this Tuesday. It’s even less common for her to feel the sensation of mana emanating from the school grounds, having only gone toe to toe with Tres Magia the very first time that she’d transformed. Yet, the sensation of one of her beloved magical girls greets her as she draws nearer to the school, a smile spreading across her lips as she taps on the star in her pocket, utters the simple incantation, and transforms on the empty sidewalk.

Her wings and mana carry her the last of the way to school and over the fence while she animates her phone and lets it take flight, noting with concern as the bat-like minion lists to one side as though it were wounded. ‘Maybe it got damaged since last time? I wonder if Venalita could get me an upgrade, my phone’s storage isn’t nearly big enough to film Tres Magia every time we fight anyway.’

As she sails closer to the familiar stretch of stone walkway around a large flowerbed, Magia Azul catches her eye. Where they’d had their very first fight, Baiser sees the resolute girl bent at the knee with one of the Beautification Committee’s watering cans, watering the flowers and unconsciously tearing one at the stem as she adjusts the position of her feet. “Good morning, my sweet Azul.” Baiser carefully sets herself down on the cracked walkway, Frusta Dominazione appearing in her hand with a purple flash of light.

“Baiser,” Azul sets down the watering can atop the flowerbed, and Baiser winces in displeasure as the heavy canister presses down on a few bulbs. A mix of affection and relief washes outwards from her, bringing a warm smile to Baiser’s face as well. “You look well.”

“Is there some reason that I shouldn’t?” The villainess carefully strides closer, but Azul carefully shifts backwards, floating a few centimeters off the ground.

“Well, you were pretty sick last night.”

“H-How do you know that?” Baiser takes a step back, eyes widening as she starts to process what was just said. Sure, there were other girls who might’ve been sick, but for Magia Azul to know with confidence that she was ill immediately sets her heart racing with panic. ‘Does she know my identity?’ Her transformation star had been found, Venalita had warned her of it but she hadn’t been prepared for this. ‘Is she one of my friends? That’s how she knows?’

A wave of panic washes over Azul, panic and regret beneath that. Her face falls as she kicks herself internally. As much as she’d practiced this moment in her mind, she’d already slipped up and made a mess out of it. “I’m not going to tell anyone, Baiser. Just…” She glances around the empty grounds of their school. “I made sure that we are alone.

“You know my identity.” It’s not a question, but Azul nods anyway, worry creeping into her as Baiser shuffles back nervously. It’s unclear to her whether the villainess is going to try to flee, lash out, or if she is simply putting distance and worrying like she so often does in her untransformed state, and even Utena herself isn’t certain. A whirlwind of thoughts rush through her mind, messy, unorganized and panicked. “When? How?”

“Since the day at my shrine.“ That’s a slip up, and she winces, but there’s little reason to be concerned about it. ‘One way or another, I’m telling her who I am.’ She lets her face settle into a gentle smile once more. “As for the how, you told me Magenta was your first kiss, but you never got close enough to kiss her during one of our fights. I know a lot about her, and the only girl that’s ever kissed Magenta in person was Utena Hiiragi. When I could see again, I knew that it was you.”

Utena takes another step back, and Azul reaches out carefully, the villain’s hands trembling at her sides. Azul had recognized her. That’s the worst possible option, that one of the girls who she knows has been one of her victims. One of her few friends had been squirming and broken by her very own hands. She opens her mouth to apologize, to beg for mercy, for something, but before she can speak, Azul’s lips press against hers. There’s no anger, no fear, no disgust as her magical girl cups her cheek and kisses her. Just love, affection, and trust that radiate from Azul. Utena’s quivering and panic ebbs, slowly fading as she whines out at the sweet taste of her Azul’s lips. Slowly, Sayo pulls back, smiling down at her blushing and confused villain as she finally goes still, continuing to stroke Utena’s cheek just as the beautiful villain had done for her.

Sayo’s other hand taps against her transformative heart, intense blue light washing off of her and leaving her in her school uniform once again, golden-eyed lover staring in disbelief. “I love you. Utena, Baiser, every part of you.”

A moment later, purple light envelopes Baiser, her form shrinking back into the stammering schoolgirl that Sayo has grown close to. “Y-You don’t hate me?” Many other words jump to mind besides hate for how she expects Sayo to feel. Disgusted, violated, and betrayed all seem equally as likely, but Sayo’s warm and gentle smile doesn’t show a single indication of any of them.

“No. Maybe I should, after what you’ve done to,” she pauses, focusing on her words as much as she can with Utena wrapped in her arms, “Sulfur, and Magenta. But I don’t hate you. I love you. I love the cute way you stammer and try to hide yourself any time there’s a conflict, and I love the way your eyes lit up with passion when you started talking about cute uniforms. I love the way that you’ve made me feel whenever you best me in a fight, when you have me at your mercy and every touch is exhilarating.” Utena stares at her with a brilliant blush spreading all the way to her ears, Sayo kissing her on the lips quickly once again. “I want to be yours, Utena. Your girlfriend, and for you to be mine.”

Sayo’s heart pounds in her chest, the sound of rushing blood in her ear the only noise she can hear as the two stand alone beside the flowerbed. In her arms, she can feel Utena’s own heartbeat, racing nearly as fast as her own, an uncomfortably long wait stretching on between the two before the golden-eyed sadist speaks up nervously in the smallest little voice Sayo had ever heard. “I don’t know what to say, Sayo.”

“If you want to be my girlfriend, say yes. If you don’t love me, both sides of me, or you don’t think that this can end in any way but heartbreak for us both, then say no.” More than anything, Sayo longs for Utena to say yes, but unlike her, Utena had no idea as to the true identity of the girl who she’d kissed, and caressed, and embraced on Saturday. ‘I will understand if it is too much, or you don’t love me the way I love you. But gods above, please love me.’

Utena loves Magia Azul, that much she doesn’t doubt for even a second. ‘But do I love Sayo?’ Sayo has been sweet, and tender, and caring for her, but is it genuine love? Or just friendship? ‘What did Kaoruko say? “She never left your side”?’ And the kiss just a moment ago was so full of passion, Sayo so full of love and affection. Utena swallows, nervous, and Sayo feels her heart skip a beat as the girl speaks. “I want to be with you, Az-“ she catches herself, “Sayo, but what if it doesn’t work?”

“Then it doesn’t work,” Sayo replies, soft and gentle in her words just as much as her embrace around Utena’s petite form. “I don’t know what the future holds, Utena, none of us do. But right now, I want to find out alongside you. It might end with us discovering that we aren’t compatible, but the only way we could find out is if we try. But it is your choice. If you don’t want to, then nothing about our relationship changes.”

“Then, I’d like to try, Sayo.” Utena squares her shoulders, resting a hand upon Sayo’s arm as her face continues to glow with incandescence. “I’d be honored to be your girlfriend, and your nemesis, Sayo.” She stands up on the tips of her toes, and Sayo bends down to meet her halfway, kissing her upon the lips once again in a swift, chaste, and gentle exchange.

“I love you, Utena.”

The girl glances away, letting out a small, shaky breath as she leans into her girlfriend’s arms, pressing her face against Sayo’s soft breasts, and mumbling into her, “I love you too.”

As the morning sun rises higher in the sky, Sayo follows Utena around the school’s gardens, helping her to tend to the flowers before their classes start. Sayo can’t stop smiling each time she glances down at her girlfriend, leaning in to plant another kiss on Utena’s cheek as the shorter girl finally sets aside her watering can. “We got done earlier than I expected.”

“Having a helper makes it go faster,” Utena replies, nervously shifting her weight and blushing faintly at the intimate contact.

“I guess that means that we have some time to ourselves, don’t we, my sweet villain?” Sayo’s soft, teasing tone makes Utena squirm adorably just a bit more as she sets aside her own watering can. “Is there anything you’d like to do before classes pick up?” A quick glance at her phone confirms that they have a little bit less than twenty minutes before they need to be upstairs in the classroom, giving them time to hang out together.

“Nothing jumps to mind,” Utena admits, wrapping both hands around one of Sayo’s and pressing close to her girlfriend. “Though, I think I’m free after class today, if we wanted to reschedule our mall trip?”

“I would love that, Utena,” Sayo gently strokes Utena’s cheek with her free hand, amused and enthralled by the girl’s nervous charm outside of her transformed state. “I’ve been needing to pick up some new bras anyway, changing in the bathroom after sports has been pretty uncomfortable.”

“W-Why are you changing in the bathroom?”

“Well, somebody,” Sayo draws out the word, gently prodding Utena on the tip of her nose, “decided to alter my body without so much as asking first, and now none of them fit comfortably.”

Utena’s blush spreads further, eyes widening as she squeaks out in a high-pitched voice. “W-wait, that’s permanent? I thought that it’d wear off when I transformed back, I am so sorry Sayo, I’ll pay to replace everything for you!”

“It’s okay,” the blue-haired teen replies softly, brushing her thumb over Utena’s lips. “Just, please don’t try those on us again without permission, okay? I’d rather have some say over what happens to my body, and I’m sure the others in Tres Magia would agree.”

“I promise, I won’t do anything like that again!”

“Won’t do what again?” Sayo smiles as Haruka joins them, her voice making Utena jump in surprise. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine. More than fine, actually. Good morning, Haruka.” Sayo squeezes Utena’s hand softly, and Utena turns, keeping herself pressed against Sayo but positioning herself to be able to see Haruka.

“Hey, Haruka. Good morning to you too.”

“Good morning, girls. I’m sorry that I startled you again, Utena,” Her voice softens, a sympathetic smile on her face as she focuses on Utena, the girl blushing and shifting with more nervousness than she is used to, squeezing Sayo’s hand. “Sayo, did you finally ask her?”

“She said yes!” Sayo’s enthusiastic reply makes Haruka and Utena both smile brighter, their pink-haired friend softly clapping her hands together.

“Congratulations to both of you!”

Utena opens her mouth, her fingers slipping free from Sayo’s, but before she can speak up, a heavy mass collides with her, another girl’s skull connecting with her own as a vaguely familiar voice calls out her name and the two go tumbling across the ground roughly.

Sayo rushes to her girlfriend’s side as Utena groans out in pain, helping her up to her feet while Haruka helps the ashen-blonde teen who slammed into her up, a puzzled expression on her face as the stranger wearing their school uniform rapidly blinks a few times before seemingly regaining her awareness of the world around her, voice full of enthusiasm as she continues to speak so loud it borders on simply shouting. “Utena, I’m so glad to see you again! I heard you were sick!”

“K-Kiwi? What are you doing here?” The sight of the matching uniform on her subordinate’s body doesn’t help her confusion, nor does the blunt force trauma applied directly to her skull. “Why are you wearing our uniform?”

“I’m a transfer student! Today’s my first day!”

Kiwi’s excitement is palpable, but it just leaves Utena even more puzzled. ‘We only met yesterday, how could the schools even process that so quickly? Or did Venalita arrange for her to transfer earlier?’

Before Utena can question her coworker, Haruka speaks up, just as confused as the purple-haired, now-bruising girl. “Do you know Utena?”

“Course, she’s my girlfriend!” Kiwi leaps towards Utena again, but before she can get her hands on the petite girl, Utena ducks behind Sayo for protection, the blue-haired heroine holding her hands out to keep Kiwi at a distance.

“Excuse me? That’s simply untrue, Utena is my girlfriend.”

“Really? Cause we’ve already fucked, and I’ve got this!” Kiwi tugs down the hem of her jacket as she declares it, showcasing the bruising left behind on her neck from when Utena ravaged her body, while they were both transformed into their magical girl personas. “She left some other marks, too, want me to show them?”

Utena whines out behind Sayo, shaking her head as she carefully peers around the taller girl’s side. “Please stop. People are going to think I’m a freak, Kiwi!”

Sayo glances at her girlfriend, eyes widening in confusion. Utena should be outright denying that any of this is true, especially as Kiwi proudly shows off the hickey on her neck like it is some sort of badge of honor, but instead, she’s quietly disagreeing with the claim and shrinking back. “I think you’re mistaken, Utena wouldn’t do such a thing, and I’d like you to stop spreading rumors about her.” Sayo takes up a polite tone, but she keeps her words firm. It’s not a request, but an instruction that she expects this new girl to follow.

Kiwi hums for a moment before shrugging. “Fine, if it’s what Utena wants. See you in class, Utena-Chan!” The girl blows her a kiss before happily skipping towards the entrance to the school, leaving Utena and her friends behind, and it slowly settles on the dark magical girl just how many fellow students are watching her.

“D-Do you two need a minute?” Even Haruka can’t keep herself from blushing, embarrassed and terribly uncomfortable after Kiwi’s brazen display and the dissonance between what she said and Utena’s seeming acceptance of Sayo’s confession.

“I think that would be best,” Sayo replies softly, and her friend nods.

“Well, if either of you need anything, just let me know, okay?” Haruka nervously steps away, but she doesn’t head into the building yet, instead just wandering towards the school gates to be away from whatever awkward conversation is about to unfold while also keeping herself from any possible misfortunate encounters with Kiwi.

Sayo leads Utena back to the toolshed where the Beautification Committee stores their supplies, holding both now-empty watering cans in one hand and hugging Utena with her other arm. “She knows you’re Baiser.”

It’s a statement instead of a question, but Utena nods in confirmation anyway. “We fought, and I beat her. I didn’t think it’d be any different than with Magia Magenta, or Magia Sulfur.”

“She’s a magical girl?” Vatz certainly hadn’t recruited her, she seems unstable at the absolute best. ‘Not all that much better than Magia Baiser is. Maybe she’s one of Venalita’s?’

“It’s… Complicated. I can’t really tell you anything more, though. It’s not my secret to share.” Utena turns her eyes down towards the ground, looking upset by the fact she is already forced to keep a secret from her girlfriend, and Sayo squeezes her gently.

“It’s fine, I understand. It’s just like how I won’t share Magenta and Sulfur’s secrets.” Utena nods her head softly, humming in affirmation, and Sayo smiles nervously at her. The thought of Utena being intimate with someone besides herself is one that the heroine knew she’d have to confront sooner or later, but the fact that it is happening so immediately is upsetting, and it shows, her body more tense than she had been only a few minutes earlier.

Seeing Sayo’s discomfort, Utena carefully presses herself against the taller girl, keeping her voice soft and tender. “I know that this is pretty awkward. I can’t promise that I’ll only touch you, Sayo, but I do care about you.”

“Do you feel the same way about her, though?” Sayo presses the topic gently, and Utena shrugs helplessly.

“I’m not really sure, I only met her yesterday.” She glances up at her girlfriend, Sayo clearly just as worried as she is. Just like Sayo, Utena knows that she can’t be faithful. Her literal job is to fight, molest, and sexually stimulate Tres Magia. The magic within her veins is an extension of her lust and wanton desire, and the spark that Venalita had said drew its interest was the overwhelming and likely twisted love that she feels for the magical girls. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention her earlier.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Utena,” Sayo carefully sets aside the watering cans as they reach the shed, turning her full attention to Utena as she kneels down beside her girlfriend. “But, we should talk about this now, before things go further. You’re going to have other sexual partners.”

It’s an obvious fact that doesn’t need an answer, but Utena nods anyway. “I can’t be yours exclusively. There will always be more girls than just you who I have a connection to. It might not be as intimate, more focused on physical pleasure than a long-term emotional bond, but, I can’t promise that line won’t be crossed either. Would you be able to be with me, even knowing…” ‘That I’m a cheater, sleeping around, vile and unfaithful?’

Sayo nods slowly, her hands slipping lower to gently squeeze Utena on the sides of her abdomen. “I understand. I won’t ask you to change who you are, Utena, nor will I try to demand you don’t explore your sexual desires elsewhere. If you start to feel intimate,” she pauses, weighing her words carefully. It’s one thing to know that Utena is going to take sexual pleasure from others, but the thought of her falling in love, going on dates with others, possibly having another girlfriend is one that makes Sayo would have never considered settling for few weeks ago. Now, knowing the sheer depth of unrestrained, overwhelming passion that Utena possesses, it feels almost inevitable. “If you ever want to pursue someone else as well, I would like you to at least talk to me first. We can figure everything out together, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.” It’s the best answer that she can come up with, to communicate and try to establish any boundaries that might be necessary for the two of them to balance any changes the relationship may bring.

Utena nods, gently resting a hand on Sayo’s wrist and squeezing her arm softly. “I can promise you that, Sayo. I won’t run around behind your back. If something happens, I’ll talk with you about it.”

“That’s all I could ask, my dearest.” Sayo gently brings a hand up to Utena’s cheek, tilting her face up and smiling as Utena meets her gaze. ‘Whatever the future will hold, I’ll have Utena to figure it out with.’ She puts on a brave look as she reluctantly slips her arms from Utena’s body, gently intertwining one hand with her girlfriend’s. “For now, how about we get to class, before it gets too late?”

“Yeah, let’s head in.” Utena squeezes Sayo’s hand as the two walk back towards the entrance to their school, and while the thought of Kiwi potentially causing a bit more drama in the morning makes her slightly nervous, she finds comfort in the knowledge Sayo will be there to help defuse any tension. ‘Besides, what are the odds she’d be in our class?’

Chapter Text

As fate would have it, the red-eyed girl who'd brutally tackled Utena wound up in her and Sayo's class after all. The girl's mere presence wasn't enough to have distress her too much after finally pouring out the feelings that'd welled up in her chest. What does have her more tightly wound-up is where exactly Kiwi had been assigned in the classroom.

When their seats were assigned for the term, Haruka, Kaoruko, and herself had managed to secure seats in the back of the classroom, with Kaoruko closest to the door and Sayo among her teammates, her desk placed directly beside Utena’s. Over the first two weeks, Utena had steadily inched her desk out of the fourth row of desks from the door, and into the fifth row, leaving an awkward gap in the seating arrangement that none of their teachers had taken too much offense to, seemingly satisfied that the four students at the back of the classroom were non-disruptive and counting their blessings for that fact. It makes perfect sense that Kiwi would be assigned to a seat in the awkward gap between Utena and Sayo, but as Sayo sees her desk is separated from her girlfriend’s seat by the new arrival, her mood does sour. It’s only slightly, Utena’s body pressing against her side filling her with giddiness, but it is nonetheless a noticeable source of annoyance.

“I’d better go and talk with her,” Utena suddenly breaks the silence, pulling Sayo’s gaze from the back of Kiwi’s head.

“I guess you’re right. If you need me, I’ll be just a few steps away, my love.” Sayo bends down, gently brushing her lips over Utena’s own in a quick kiss before her girlfriend steps free from her, smiling apologetically and making her way over to Kiwi’s desk.

Sayo stays closer to the door, joining Kaoruko and Haruka, their hushed conversation coming to a stop as she joins them. “Is everything okay?”

“Just great, hon,” Kaoruko leans back in her chair, folding her arms behind her head and smiling up at her teammate. “I’m happy for Utena and you, Sayo. I wish you both the best.”

“Thanks, Kaoruko.” Her gaze flicks to Haruka as she poses a question to her best friend. “I assume you told her?”

Haruka scratches the back of her head sheepishly but doesn’t refuse it. “Sorry, I was really excited. Did you not want her to know yet?”

Sayo shakes her head, smiling happily. “It’s not a problem. I thought that I’d tell her myself, but I did want her to know.”

“Well, I’m happy for you both. If there’s ever anything that you need, I’m always here for you, hon.” Kaoruko’s tone remains pleasant, but her fingers curl, and her attention is clearly directed elsewhere as she watches Kiwi and Utena, ready to jump up onto her feet if she must.

“Hey, Kiwi.” Utena doesn’t even get to her own desk before Kiwi pops up in response to her words, pulling her into another tight hug that thankfully doesn’t involve another headbutt.

“Utena-Chan! We’re desk neighbors! Now we’ll get to hang out during school and outside of class as much as we want! Isn’t it amazing?” Her words swell with excitement, drawing eyes from some of their other classmates as Utena squirms in Kiwi’s too-strong grip.

“I guess so,” Utena’s voice is much softer than Kiwi’s, not nearly loud enough to draw further attention towards them as she tries and fails to get herself free from Kiwi’s embrace. “But why are you here, Kiwi? Did Venalita make you change schools?”

“No, of course not. They definitely seemed happy when I told them, but it was my idea.” The mention of their mascot is enough to at least quiet Kiwi down as she continues, only letting Utena slip free after a few more moments of intimately holding the sadist tightly. “I wanted to be able to spend more time with you after yesterday, so I convinced my mom to let me transfer to your school.”

“I-I see.” Utena shifts back away from Kiwi, pressing herself against the wall and windowsill. “Why, though?”

“What do you mean?” Kiwi takes another eager step ,forward, and Utena presses her back firmly against the wall. “You’re amazing, Utena. The things you did to me yesterday, and the passion you showed me, were absolutely incredible. I can’t wait for the next chance to experience it!”

Between Kiwi’s brilliant smile, the eager bounce to each of her steps, and her eager, genuine tone, Utena doesn’t see a single sign of deceit, only affection and adoration, perhaps bordering on sheer obsession. “You aren’t mad at what I did to you? Didn’t it hurt?”

“I’m not mad at all!” She cranes her neck, carefully tapping her fingers just below the mark where Utena had nipped and nibbled upon her during their transformed brawl. She also bares her wrists, small bandages still covering the electrical burns as she lowers her pitch considerably. “It hurt a bit, but it was totally worth it. And you left your mark, so nobody else thinks they have a chance with me.”

Her best efforts at a seductive tone, coupled with showcasing the marks Utena had left on her, make the purple-haired girl blush and stumble over her words, but she can’t muster up an excuse for her actions before Kiwi steps closer, placing one hand on the window beside Utena’s head and cupping her cheek with the other. Her heart pounds in her ears as her teammate pins her to the wall, Utena staring helplessly with wide eyes, not only at Kiwi’s adorable, love-struck face but also at her friends behind her.“K-Kiwi? What a-are you–”

Utena’s words are cut off by Kiwi pressing her lips to the blushing sadist’s own, her minty taste washing over Utena’s senses. Kiwi’s tongue gently prods against Utena’s lips, sneaking past and into her mouth just long enough to gently poke the girl’s tongue, then withdraw into Kiwi’s mouth as she steps back with a smile.

“Let’s find somewhere private for the next round, ‘kay? I wanna make sure it’s special for us both.” Kiwi winks at Utena happily before turning to get back to her desk, but the golden-eyed girl’s focus is on Sayo. She meets her girlfriend’s nervous gaze for only a moment, but their teacher striding in and calling for everyone to sit and get ready for class stops Utena from rushing to Sayo’s side once again, instead offering an apologetic look before sitting down in her seat.

Haruka grabs Kaoruko’s arm as their teacher readies herself at the front of the classroom, and Sayo raises a hand before whispering softly to her friend. “I appreciate your concern, but let Utena and I handle this, please?”

It takes Kaoruko a few seconds, and several deep breaths, before she finally lowers her arms reluctantly. “Fine, I’ll let you sort her out if you’re sure, hon. But, either of you ever need help, I’ll be here, Sayo.”

“Thank you, Kaoruko. I appreciate it, truly.” Kaoruko nods in response to Sayo’s words, settling back into her seat and tilting her head so that she can keep watch of Kiwi out the corner of her eye.

The buzzing of Utena’s phone distracts her from the start of the day’s lessons. Tapping in her password once again, she sees a message from Sayo, one written full of concern rather than disappointment or anger at what had happened with Kiwi. ‘Utena, are you okay?’

‘I’m okay. I’m sorry that happened, I didn’t want to kiss her.’ Before she sends the message, she deletes the word want and replaces it with ‘mean’. Regardless of the drama that Kiwi has been causing for her, she can’t deny that the girl is cute, nor that the kiss sent an electrical rush of pleasure down her spine. But she didn’t mean to kiss her in that moment. ‘Kiwi kissed me, I didn’t kiss her.’

She glances over at Sayo, catching a small smile on her girlfriend’s lips as she peers past the wine-eyed girl. A moment later, Kiwi notices Utena’s wandering gaze and waves, and Utena turns her focus back to the messages she’s sending with Sayo, not bothering to take notes or even process their teacher’s words. ‘I know you didn’t initiate it, Utena, and I’m not mad either. I just want to check in and make sure you aren’t shaken by that.’

‘I am. Thank you for the concern, my precious Azul.’ Utena smiles down at her phone as Sayo replies with a simple, red heart before her status switches to offline, and Utena sees her set aside her phone a moment later. Utena knows that she should do the same, but instead, she starts to review the messages that she’d received since Tuesday.

Kaoruko is the contact whose most recent message is the oldest. On Wednesday morning, she’d sent well wishes and promised to take notes during class, but since then she hadn’t reached out over Line. She’d been there in person though, just like Haruka. The pink-haired girl’s messages are the next Utena checks, similar except for the addition of a message after the school day to inform Utena that she was coming to check up on her.

Her mother had sent far more messages to Utena than her friends had, fretting and asking whether Utena is feeling better, growing increasingly worried as the day went on without any confirmation that Utena had even seen them. Those messages fill Utena with guilt, knowing that she’d worried her mother much worse by burning up her stamina fighting Kiwi and then passing out.

Kiwi’s had sent the most recent messages, save those she’d exchanged with Sayo only a few minutes prior. ‘Utenaaaaaa! You were incredible, I can’t wait to see you again. – Love, your cute kitten.’ Alongside the excited proclamation are a half-dozen pictures of Kiwi, or more specifically, Leopard. The first two are almost tasteful, her outfit repaired by her transformation, focused on her face and upper body as she pretends to blow kisses to the camera. The third is a wider shot, showing off her thighs, but the angle keeps her underwear concealed below her coat to at least remain tasteful. The next is considerably less decent, showcasing Kiwi’s full body, bare thighs and scandalously small thong immediately drawing Utena’s attention. The fifth manages to be even less appropriate, Kiwi’s jacket opened to display her bare breasts, her thong tugged to the side to reveal her moistened sex. While her lust begins to grow, she swipes to the final message, a soft whine of arousal nearly slipping past her lips. This photo forgoes any and all decency or decorum, instead oozing with depraved lust. It features Kiwi lying on her back in her bedroom in Nacht Base, two fingers inside of her bare sex, the beautiful red pools of her eyes half-hidden beneath her eyelids as she moans out in apparent pleasure. Her coat is gone, body bare and proudly showcasing the fresh bandage one arm, though the one holding her phone up into the air isn’t quite visible.

Utena’s face grows flush with arousal as she gazes at the indecent images, showcasing her teammate vulnerable and exposed all for her viewing pleasure. The sadist’s lust swells, heart quickening its pulse. If she were at home, she’d be able to indulge in her fantasies to her heart’s content, to sit back in front of her desk and fantasize as she tends to her own arousal. In class, that option is unavailable to her.

Then, with perfect timing like the devil itself, her phone buzzes again with a new message, this time from her mascot. She quickly switches to the messages she’s exchanged with Venalita, smiling with excitement as she reads its short message. ‘Zoning out in class again, Utena? Guess that means you’re feeling better.’

The jab at her less-than-stellar academics isn’t enough to spoil her good mood this morning, and its timing is fortuitous. ‘Much.’ An idea already taking shape in her mind, her thumbs dance across the digital keyboard eagerly. ‘Can you grab me some supplies, and meet me on the roof?’

‘Of course. What do you need?’

‘Just a new camera, high quality and preferably durable. My phone stands out too much to use for filming, and I don’t want it to break, either.’ Sayo had pointed it out, and she was correct. While Utena’s cellphone isn’t one of a kind by any stretch, it’s still a personal item, and one she needs to be careful showing off. ‘Can you have it ready in ten minutes?’

‘I’ll be there.’ Venalita’s response is brief and to the point, and Utena smiles eagerly, already imagining her heroines squirming for her again, Magenta and Sulfur whining pitifully for her. Her thoughts also drift towards Kiwi, taking in the sight of her classmate and coworker. ‘Maybe I can fit in some punishment for her as well.’

In the downtime between their first and second class of the day, Utena quietly slips out from her desk, tapping Kiwi’s shoulder before quietly stepping out into the hallway like she had one week prior. This time, she doesn’t feel the faintest bit of nervousness as she ascends the stairs to her school’s rooftop, pushing open the metal door and stepping out onto the empty area with a wide smile. The past two times she’d been here had been difficult, pressured to run and fight by Venalita the first time, then struggling to hold herself together when she’d returned. Today, it’s a sense of eager anticipation that fills her body as she waits for her companions to arrive.

Kiwi is the first to join her, curiously sweeping her eyes over the empty rooftop before her eyes widen in excited realization. “Utena-Chaaaan,” she draws out the words, purring deep within her chest, “did you take me out of class so we could make out more?”

“No, Kiwi.” With her eagerness to get back to fighting her girlfriend and the rest of Tres Magia, Utena isn’t even angry at Kiwi’s antics, though her words are firm. She turns to face her subordinate as she continues, narrowing her eyes and standing upright to put on as imposing a stature as she can muster. “We’re here to meet Venalita, then we’re going to be fighting Tres Magia. Do you have any experience with them?”

“Yeah!” Kiwi eagerly produces her transformation star from her jacket pocket, tossing it in her palm, but her laid-back posture doesn’t shift to one even remotely more prepared for combat. “I see them all over on social media, I can’t wait to blow them to pieces.”

Her words trail off as Utena shoots her a stern glare, the petite girl’s tone trembling somewhere between disgust and abject rage. “You will do no such thing, Kiwi.” Slowly, she strides forwards, closing the gap between herself and Kiwi and grabbing the blonde girl’s cheeks roughly, forcing Kiwi to look down upon her. “You don’t need to like Tres Magia. I can accept if you personally despise them, even, but this is not a fight to the death. You are not to cause significant wounds. No broken bones, no concussions, no lacerations. Am I clear?”

When they fought, Baiser’s actions were full of desire and warmth, affectionate even when she was inflicting pain. There are no soft undertones to her words here, and Kiwi doesn’t even try to break out of the diminutive girl’s grip. “Y-yes, ma’am.” Kiwi’s voice trembles, frightened by Utena’s sudden, icy tone, but the shorter sadist smiles at her response.

Utena’s hands shift, loosening her from a tight hold to a more tender caressing touch on Kiwi’s cheek, thumb brushing over the girl’s lips. “There’s my good kitten. Keep up that behavior, and maybe I’ll give you a reward.”

Before Kiwi can say anything more, a familiar disk of vacuous black fog spills open above the door back into the building and Venalita floats through a moment later. “Sorry I’m late, Utena, Kiwi. Am I interrupting?”

“Not at all.” She pulls her hand back from Kiwi, an eager smile on her lips as she turns her focus from her subordinate and onto the mascot. “Were you able to find me a useful camera?”

“I think I did one better, actually.” From its sleeve, it produces a sleek cell phone in a purple case, holding it out for Utena to take. “One terabyte of storage, the best camera on the market for recording, and it’s durable enough before you transform it that it shouldn’t be harmed by anything less than direct hits during fights. So long as you don’t put any stickers on it, nobody will know it is yours. It’s already configured to work on the network in Nacht Base, too, in case you want to send any messages in or out.”

Tapping the power button, Utena is greeted by a lock screen featuring a photo from one of her earlier fights, specifically her fight outside of the decrepit doll factory with Tres Magia. The mascot hadn’t set a password yet but swiping past the lock screen reveals a rather simple selection of applications already installed. Bluesky and Line have been added alongside Utena’s banking application, and much of the bloatware has been pruned from the device. There’s no indication as to who the network provider is either and were it not for the device being connected to the internet and Venalita ensuring her that it should work, Utena would’ve assumed the phone doesn’t have a network plan at all.

“I’m impressed. How were you able to get this ready so fast?” The phone might only have a basic collection of apps installed, and no accounts logged in, but even setting up a device like this should’ve taken much more time than she’d given Venalita.

“It was one of my overnight projects, actually.” The mascot is still in a sharing mood, it would seem. “After you used your own phone to record your fight with Leopard, I imagined you would want to do the same thing in the future with Tres Magia, so I took the initiative and started to set this up for you. This ought to suit you well for recording fights without getting broken or revealing your secret identity.”

Utena nods, slipping the device into her pocket with an appreciative smile. “Well, thank you, Vena.”

“Of course!” The mascot calls out happily, a proud look on its simple, golden face. “And where will I be taking you girls today? Back to that old estate you seem so fond of perhaps?”

Utena shakes her head, smiling as she pulls out her star but doesn’t transform just yet. After all, Magia Magenta apparently attends the same school as herself and Sayo, and now Kiwi. It wouldn’t do them any good to transform at school when they can wait for Venalita to deliver them to their destination. “Not quite that far, the derelict factory should suffice.”

Her eager smile is met by a mischievous one from Venalita. The mascot doesn’t know what she has planned, but the look of sadistic glee can only mean good things for her continued descent into debauchery and evil. “And Kiwi will be coming along too?” Venalita’s eyes pan over to the girl in question, and she nods eagerly.

“Yeah! I’m ready to fight alongside Baiser!”

“I need to see how she does against Tres Magia, this will be a great opportunity to test out her skills, against someone other than me.”

“Then let’s get going.” With a wave of its arm, another rift splits open, this one large enough for the two girls to pass through alongside their mascot. As they pass through, they are greeted by the sight of the morning sunlight washing over the shipping yard where Baiser and Tres Magia had fought before. A moment later, the two girls transform, purple and green light erupting from their transformative stars, clothes burning away in an instant and being replaced by their uniforms.

Baiser doesn’t waste any time, striding past the debris and back into the derelict factory. It will be only a matter of minutes before Sayo and her teammates arrive, and she needs to ensure Kiwi and herself are prepared. “Leopard, darling,” her voice oozes with desire, golden eyes flick to her transformed companion, and the girl’s precious eyes quickly leap from the eroding remnants of gargantuan mannequins and onto her. “Come over here, please.”

Leopard quickly strides over to her, a pang of joy running through her as she sees Baiser’s brilliant smile. “What can I do for you, Baiser-Chan?”

“Strip.” That single, quick word makes Leopard flinch, a pang of worry and confusion racing through her that only makes Baiser’s smile widen.

Leopard doesn’t pull away, but she blushes and struggles to hold Baiser’s gaze. “What do you mean?”

Leopard’s timid voice doesn’t dissuade Baiser from her lustful path. She carefully reaches out towards her kitten, resting her hand on the girl’s thigh and slipping two digits under the strap of her thong, tugging on it playfully as her Leopard squirms. “I want you to fight with your pretty pussy on display, kitten.”

“Is there an occasion, or are you just abusing your power already?” Venalita chimes in from above, not out of sympathy or disagreement. If Utena is already growing more willing to abuse her authority to make Kiwi squirm, she’s only further slipping into sadistic villainy. Instead, Venalita’s question is prompted by both amusement and curiosity about Baiser’s behavior as it watches her toy with the thin straps of Leopard’s undergarments with both hands.

“Kiwi made a scene today,” Utena’s response in nonchalant as she finally tugs Leopard’s thong down her thighs, baring Kiwi’s well-trimmed sex for her own viewing pleasure, and quite possibly that of Tres Magia. “She told everyone we slept together, and did it right in front of my friends, and then kissed me in class.”

“That explains why you’re stealing her underwear then.” Again, there’s no hint of anger or disappointment, only greater amusement at the antics of the magical girl, though Baiser has neither the ability nor focus to confirm using her empathic magic. Instead, she pulls Leopard's thong down past her knees, and with an expectant glance, her kitten raises one foot, then the other, letting Baiser remove the offending clothing and claim it for herself. With her business concluded, she heads into the long-unused building, pressing Leopard’s undergarments against the star on her neck and letting then disappear into the same magical space as her school attire and personal phone.

The familiar sensation of dark magic calls out to Tres Magia from across town. Together, the girls quietly shuffle out of their classroom while their teacher’s back is turned, the older woman tired and unfocused this early into the day. Once the door is closed behind them, they start to run down the halls, Kaoruko offering a dry comment to her friends once they hit the staircase. “Well, it was getting too quiet, wasn’t it.”

“We knew that Baiser wasn’t done fighting us,” Sayo can’t keep the excitement out of her words as they ascend. “It was only a matter of time before this happened.”

“I suppose so. Are you sure that you’re up for it, Sayo?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Sayo casts a glance towards Kaoruko, confused by the question.

Haruka joins in on the conversation as the trio reach the top of the stairs and step out onto the rooftop once again, fishing out their transformative items. “If it is Magia Baiser, she’s going to try to kiss you again, or worse. I don’t want that to get in the way of you and Utena.”

Sayo can’t help but smile at the absurdity of the thought, and she quickly turns away to hide her amusement from her friends. “I appreciate the concern, girls, but I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure.” Haruka’s voice is one of concern, but she doesn’t push the topic. Instead, as they have done many times before, the trio transform and take off into the sky, sailing off towards the edge of their town in a shallow arc. The intense font of magic grows clearer, separating into two distinct sources, dividing into two lesser ones as they sail closer. The two greater sources take to the sky, hovering several meters above the decrepit factory where they’d had their second encounter with Baiser, while the weaker sources of demonic energy remain on the ground.

Magia Baiser is up in the sky, to none of their surprise and to Sayo’s great excitement, hovering with her small wings beating far too slow to possibly be a contributing factor to her flight. The other girl isn’t one Sayo recognizes. Her mana is nearly as intense as Utena’s, but the metallic firearm in her hand suggests to Sayo that the way this magical girl fights will be significantly different than her girlfriend’s bizarre style of combat. As they continue their approach, Tres Magia slows, Sayo and Kaoruko flanking Haruka, moisture coalescing into another blade of ice over Sayo’s wand.

With an over-the-top bow, Baiser greets her idols cheerfully. “My beautiful heroes, it’s been to long. Did you miss me?”

“Nah,” Sulfur’s response is swift, her tone mocking and smug. “I’d been hoping you’d put some real thought into what we spoke about last time and might be done making a disgrace out of yourself. I guess you ain’t as smart as we’d hoped, though.”

Magenta nods her head sadly, wand reforming into her spear. “It’s never too late to stop this, Baiser.”

The thought makes Baiser laugh, lips curling up in a malicious smile. “I think that ship has sailed. Are you ready, kitten?” She casts a glance back to Leopard, and her blushing subordinate nods, summoning her gun into her right hand while tugging her coat as low as she can in front of herself.

“Ready! Let’s blow them out of the sky.” The heroines cast confused glances amongst themselves, and Sulfur brings her hands together in preparation, ready to conjure up a barrier if needed. A moment later, Leopard raises her firearm and squeezes the trigger. Instead of an explosion sending a small and swift projectile towards Tres Magia, several black fissures split open behind her. A moment later, massive cannons poke through the rifts. Sulfur brings up a barrier, and the barrels detonate, dozens of massive projectiles slamming into the barrier and dissipating against it in a steady hail of bullets, but just as many sail wide and disintegrate over the outskirts of the town.

The heavy rain of gunfire ends, weapons turning back into whisps of shadow after a few seconds, and Magia Sulfur lowers her barrier, smiling proudly as Leopard pants in fatigue. “How disappointing. All that firepower and you couldn’t hit the side of a barn.”

“She’s not alone, Sulfur!” With an eager cry, Magia Baiser dives past Leopard, her crop cutting through the air and sending a powerful wave of pure mana up towards her idols. Again, Magia Sulfur conjures a protective ward, but the impact from Baiser’s attack sends small cracks spiderwebbing through the golden discus.

Azul readies herself to leap from cover as her girlfriend continues to sail downwards towards the factory, but Magenta beats her to action, dead-set on taking down Magia Baiser before she can further strain Sayo or Kaoruko. “Neither is she! Azul, bring her down from afar, push up if you get an opening! I’ll take care of Baiser!”

The pinkette’s words are drowned out by another volley of cannon fire and a low grunt from Sulfur, but the projectiles do very little to break through her shield. Azul watches through the explosive flashes and rushing projectiles as her friend follows Utena through the collapsed rooftop and out of sight. ‘I can’t do anything for either of them right now.’

Magia Baiser smiles with glee as Magenta lands in the dusty warehouse along with her, old electrical lighting buzzing loudly overhead. The villainess taps her star as Magia Magenta swallows and takes on a serious stance, and a moment later the new phone Venalita had gifted to her appears in a flash of purple light. With a small surge of magic and a flick of her wrist, it sprouts wings and takes to the air, weaving through the loose wiring like it was an expert at navigating the space. “I’m glad that it’s you who came with me, Magenta. After all, my precious Azul interrupted last time we were going to play together. The way I see it, I’m still owed a kiss.” Another piece of important advice Sayo had given her this morning was to at least try to keep her actions while transformed separate from her actions as a civilian, and that means not mentioning the fact that she’d kissed Magenta the day that she’d last fought her earliest crush. ‘The fact that the taste of Magenta’s lips set my nerves ablaze with desire is entirely unrelated.’

“You’re never touching her again.” Magenta’s eyes track the newly born demon-phone for a few seconds before snapping back to Magia Baiser, relying on her ability to sense magical energies to monitor not only the position of the seemingly weak flying monster.

“Oh?” The fire in Magenta’s voice sets Baiser’s heart ablaze. The passion and determination to protect her friend is one of the most virtuous and pure acts of heroism she could ever imagine. ‘I can’t wait to make her squirm for me.’ “What makes you so certain?”

“Because, I’m taking you down once and for all!” With her intentions proudly declared, Magenta rushes forwards, spear twirling in her hand as she crosses the distance between herself and the villain, thrusting it forth. With a smooth flick of her wrist, Baiser brings Frusta Dominazione up, catching the spear two points on the star-shaped tip before driving it out of line with her body.

“Such passion!” Baiser steps closer as Magia Magenta’s weapon is forced into a disadvantaged position, her free hand reaching out to grab her idol’s wrist and keep her from pulling back. “I’m afraid I won’t be making that easy for you, but I’ll happily give you all of my attention today while my pets deal with your friends outside.”

Baiser’s eager smile doesn’t fade in the least, only growing wider as Magenta’s steadfast resolve remains undaunted in the face of her taunting. Instead, her heroine lunges forwards, slamming her knee up into Baiser’s stomach with enough force to knock the villain back. A quick and intense wrench of her arm is enough to free her from the villain’s grip, and she quickly floats back into the air, adjusting her spear before lunging forward once again, dancing into Baiser’s reach with another desperate but weak thrust. The attack is noncommittal and restrained, a pang of regret rising from her as she makes the attack, her wide it trivial for the villain to easily bat it aside with her crop, following it up with a quick wave of undiluted mana that arcs outwards and slams into Magenta’s chest, the resulting explosion of energy blasting her backwards.

The heroine drives the tip of her spear into the ground, gouging out a narrow path ten centimeters in length before she finally comes to a stop, Baiser floating nonchalantly above her. “Darling, you can’t hold back like this or you’re going to lose.” Magenta grits her teeth, anger flaring for a moment before she regains control of herself, reigning in her irritation and taking up an aggressive stance once again.

Another desperate lunge ends in failure once more, Magenta’s speared knocked aside and tumbling from her grasp. Baiser drifts high above Magenta’s reach, Frusta Dominazione brushing against one of the frayed wires that used to connect to one of the factory’s machines, her magic splitting it into a dozen thick and writhing tendrils that extend downwards. Two thick chords wrap around the heroine’s legs, restraining her movement, while more wrap around each of her arms, forcibly wrenching them behind her. The remaining tendrils loop under her body, securing her in place under Baiser’s eager gaze, suspended in the air and unable to meaningfully squirm free.

As Leopard’s artillery fire dies down, Azul puts her attention back on the girl in the military uniform. “Forwards!” Magia Sulfur doesn’t waste time, accelerating swiftly towards the uniformed girl and marching out a command. Azul doesn’t hesitate to obey, drawing the moisture in the air into sharp and short knives with thick crossguards, heavy enough to deal a significant blow and deplete the mana of her foe but shallow enough that they shouldn’t leave deadly wounds if her protective magic fails. A half-dozen of the less-lethal blades sail over the factory rooftop and towards Leopard, and the magical villainess dodges to the side with a burst of speed. She doesn’t manage to fully dodge the attack, two of the blades still cut through her coat and shatter into icy splinters against her skin, melting and falling like raindrops on the old metal of the factory while dramatically depleting Leopard’s magical strength. As Azul flourishes her blade in a wide arc and creates another volley of icy weapons above her shoulders, her foe points the derringer towards Azul and Sulfur, more rifts spilling open to reveal heavy artillery and forcing the two heroines to a stop once more.

With a cacophonous roar, another volley of high-caliber conjured shells crash into a golden hemisphere. Azul lets her blades dissolve back into the air before taking hold of Sulfur’s shoulders, gently squeezing her tense friend. “Do you think you can keep up with her attacks?”

“Easily.” She lets the barrier down and pushes forwards when Leopard’s cannons fade, and the villain drops out of the air, freely plummeting downwards with an excited laugh, her torn coat billowing up as she lands heavily beside a pile of old brick and concrete debris. Sulfur narrows her eyes, squinting at the villain before casting a defeated glance over at her friend, her tone falling in disappointment. “She ain’t got any knickers on, does she?”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Azul admits with an amused smile, “but I wouldn’t put it past Enormita after everything Baiser’s done.” She doesn’t linger too long in the air, starting to descend, picking up speed as Sulfur follows her lead and dives towards the shipping yard. ‘Utena, you’re insatiable.’ It’s hard for Sayo to imagine any explanation other than her girlfriend forcing the blonde-haired bomber to fight half-nude, especially with her being the girl’s senior.

While Azul’s smile spreads in amusement at her insatiable girlfriend’s antics, Sulfur breaks into a sprint the moment she hits the ground, conjuring her gauntlets in a glow of golden magic and quickly closing the distance and throwing a punch towards Leopard, the blow knocking the girl tumbling, mana flaring as she slams into the mound of debris. “Don’t just stand there, or you’re gonna get whooped!”

Leopard grins, pulling out a heart-shaped green explosive and tossing it towards the heroine. Sulfur crosses her arms in front of her face and chest just in time to shield herself from a brilliant flash that erupts from the large grenade. The fragmented shell erupts outwards, red-hot pieces burning holes in Sulfur’s skirt and impacting her gauntlets, drawing a groan from the girl while Leopard scrambles up the debris pile and out of the danger zone. “Quit your stupid quips! I’m not some fangirl who’s gonna moan and swoon for you!”

Sulfur grins and flies back into the air, quickly closing the distance with Leopard as Azul turns her attention back towards the factory, the pleasant sensation of Utena’s particular blend of magic washing over her. She adjusts her blade, holding it in front of her as a pair of massive mannequins with far too many arms crawl over the ground like spiders, similar to the ones Utena had made a week ago but with noticeably greater amounts of mana poured into their creation. “I guess you’re mine.”

Utena’s two creations rush toward her, each of them reaching out towards her as Azul dodges to the side. For a moment, Azul considers allowing her girlfriend’s minions to grab ahold of her, but the flaring magic from Sulfur and Magenta’s individual fights dispels that thought from her mind. Instead, she dodges back swiftly out of the reach of the monsters, twirling her blade and conjuring a dozen narrow spears of ice designed to pierce far deeper than the knives she’d use against a human target. The hail of deadly lances launches forwards, tearing cleanly through the monster to her left. Magically empowered wood splinter and tear with ease, the creature twitching before its dark magic dissipates, and it goes still.

‘Why is it so fragile?’ Azul hesitates, confusion washing over her at how quickly the creature collapsed from her attack, and that hesitation is the only opening that the other needs to launch an attack against her. She tries to dodge aside, but in the time it takes her to respond the creature manages to get two hands onto her. A moment later, its other hands close in, grabbing her limbs in one powerful hand apiece, while its remaining two grab at her blade and slowly pry it from her grip, the ice encased wand clattering to the ground. Her struggle is in vain, wooden limbs creaking but not managing to fail as the creature’s two free hands tear apart her silken top, her anger muddling and mixing with anticipation as her girlfriend’s monster exposes her upper body to the world, just as merciless as its sadistic creator herself.

Sulfur grunts, gauntlets absorbing the majority of the gunfire aimed at her, though some stray rounds connect with her abdomen, stinging pain reaching her senses as her reservoir of magical energy dips uncomfortably low. Leopard is faring no better, however. Each time the girl stops to conjure a volley of artillery, her mana plummets far faster than Magia Sulfur’s, and the heroine has managed to close the gap further in the interim between each attack.

The weapons fade, and Sulfur lunges forwards, her heart full of glee as Leopard has the decency to at least fight her own battles. Her foe conjures another grenade, and this time Sulfur is prepared, batting it up into the air and conjuring a small sphere of magic around it. The explosion tears through the thin, weak barrier, but the subdued blast is entirely ineffective, and the momentary pause gives her enough time to deliver a quick jab into Leopard’s abdomen, metallic knuckles tearing open the girl’s coat before Sulfur delivers a left hook directly into Kiwi’s face, the girl’s defensive magic flaring and fading as her mana depletes to nearly nothing, barely able to even maintain her transformation.

Sulfur pauses, watching as her foe slowly rises onto her knees, her uniform well and truly destroyed at this point in the fighting, a trio of star tattoos prominently displayed above her generous bust. The heroine’s lips curl upwards in a smug smile, her weapons dissolving in a flash of yellow magic as she strides up to Leopard and kicks the pistol out of her hand with a delighted smile. “You know, you’re a much better gal to fight than Baiser. You stuck around, even though it was clear you didn’t have a chance. Thanks for that.”

With all the energy she can muster, Leopard glares up at the victorious heroine. Her mouth opens to speak, but she can’t manage any bravado, instead stumbling back from the heroine nervously. “W-What are you gonna do now?”

Sulfur pauses, looking over the diminished villain for a few seconds and collecting her thoughts. If Leopard was a real demon, or another inanimate object infused with magic, it’d be an easy decision, simply deliver another few blows until whatever essential components animate the monstrosities are destroyed and they either disintegrate into raw mana or collapse into rubble. Seeing the girl trembling with a mix of fear and anger removes that option from consideration entirely, however. ‘I guess I could try to knock her out? A few unarmed blows would probably force her out of her transformation even if she stays conscious.’ That’s a better thought than going for a kill, and it’d allow her to take away whatever transformative item the girl has, but it still feels unnecessarily cruel, considering Leopard isn’t anywhere close to a fighting state. The last option is probably the most risky, but simply dragging the depleted foe back her team should be possible with her protective magics and attacks seemingly beyond what little mana she has left to use. “That’ll be for everyone on my team to decide.”

Baiser giggles with glee as Magenta squirms, effectively incapacitated and suspended from the ceiling. The heroine shouts at her, demanding release, but her words fall upon deaf ears as Baiser delights in the way Magenta’s resolve wavers, crumbling as fear and anxiety grip her as she awaits her defilement at Baiser’s hands, all the energy she can muster insufficient to free herself.

Baiser carefully traces the tip of her crop over Magenta’s side, gently prodding the space beneath her heroine’s arm and forcing a small and unwanted giggle from the girl. Floating up into the air to be level with her bound heroine, she cups Magenta’s cheek softly with her other hand, leaning in closely enough to smell the flowery perfume of her heroine before whispering into the girl’s ear. “I’ve waited all week for this moment, my beloved heroine.” Finally, she’d get the time to truly focus on Magenta. The very first day she transformed, Magia Sulfur had been her primary focus, and she’d had her fun with Sayo at the shrine, but she’d never been free to truly have her way with Magia Magenta. ‘Perhaps its fitting she’d be both my first crush, and the last girl I have my way with.’

Magenta squeezes her eyes shut, fear and discomfort radiating from her with the very same intensity as the sun itself. As Baiser presses her lips against the heroine’s own, the sweet flavor of the girl filling her mouth for the second time, there’s a pang of arousal as well. Unwanted, certainly, but a pleasure creeps into Magia Magenta as Baiser’s tongue gently probes at her lips, pleasure at the teasingly familiar taste and a sense of shame as she lets out a little whine into the villain’s lips. It’s easy enough for Baiser to guide the heroine’s mouth open, her longer tongue darting past Magent’s lips and prodding at her own tongue, the organ still and timid unlike the last time they’d kissed.

The taste is delightful, Magenta’s gentle moan of unwanted pleasure making Baiser’s heart skip a beat, but it isn’t quite enough. The golden-eyed villain pulls her head back, trails of saliva breaking between their lips as Utena tilts her head lower, delighted at the shameful pleasure radiating from Magia Magenta. Frusta Dominazione dissolves, letting her tug down on the soft ribbon on Magenta’s neck to bare her delicate neck, before planting her lips against the girl’s tender flesh. Her tongue darts out as she suckles on the girl’s neck, then nips at it, her teeth biting at the girl, firmly enough to leave bruises, but not quite enough to break her skin and spill blood. As she nips at Magenta’s bare flesh and squeezes Magenta’s thigh softly, the girl squirms again, this time pressing her neck into Baiser more firmly rather than trying to pull away, the intimacy only makes shame and pleasure both swell to greater heights within her.

The intense buzz of magic outside finally makes Baiser pull back. Even though she’d like to draw out the moment, she can feel as the heroine’s emotions grow, shame and pleasure alike eating away at her and growing closer to being overwhelming. With one final, soft kiss, she retreats from Magenta’s neck, gently brushing her fingers over the space where she knows a bruise will be form in the coming days. “I’d like to go farther, my sweet Magenta, but,” she sighs mournfully, shaking her head as Magenta’s delicate and gentle eyes part to stare at her once more, cheeks burning bright and a steady aura of shame radiating from herself for enjoying that brief intimacy. “No more touching for today.”

With a thought, the insulted cables restraining the heroine loosen, letting her fall into Baiser’s arms, the villain slowly lowering her heroine down onto the ground. Magenta’s fear ebbs, but she remains full of confusion and shame as she speaks, staring in confusion as Baiser carefully sets her down on her feet. “A-Are you done?”

“No,” that one little word makes Magenta squeak out softly. The small bat-demon born from her phone flies down to hover in front of the two girls, camera quickly focusing on Magia Magenta, the screen showcasing her prominently with Baiser standing just behind her. “We’re not done quite yet.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Fear gnaws at the pit of her stomach, and Baiser nearly pulls Magenta into a hug to try to bring her comfort before catching herself. She’d promised no more physical contact, and that promise had brought comfort to the girl that an embrace from a stranger likely couldn’t replicate.

“I have a few things I want you to say. Look at the screen for me, darling.” Magenta nervously turns her gaze towards it, meeting her own eyes and swallowing nervously. “Say ‘I am beautiful.’”

“Y-You’re beautiful?” The words come out as a question, uncertain both of her instructions and what it is Baiser will get out of this exchange.

“Thank you, my dear, but that’s not what I meant. You’re speaking to yourself. Repeat after me.” She raises herself up onto the tips of her toes, softly whispering into Magenta’s ear, close enough for her breath to be felt on the girl’s ear, but that closeness doesn’t provoke even the faintest of responses from her idol. “I am beautiful.”

“I am beautiful.” There’s more certainty this time, and the greatest emotion that rises from her becomes curiosity rather than shame.

“I am resilient.” Again, Magenta repeats the words. Even though she doesn’t understand Baiser’s goal, the words help calm her worries, even if only faintly.

“I am strong.” Once more, she repeats the words Baiser tells her, curious and uncertain about the motive.

That curiosity only grows as Baiser steps back, smiling to herself as she plucks Magenta’s weapon from the ground and offers it back to the heroine, who takes it with a nervous glance, confusion swelling as the villain floats up towards the collapsed rooftop. “Y-You’re leaving?”

“For today,” Baiser pauses to address the leader of Tres Magia, focusing her awareness onto her surroundings as she does so. Outside, Leopard is steadily growing weaker, undeniably losing against Magia Sulfur, but she should be able to continue fighting at least a minute or two more. Meanwhile, her beloved girlfriend has already toppled one of the monsters with a grand display of magical prowess, and the other will likely not last very long. It’s nearly time for her to depart, but for Magenta she can spare a few moments.

“Why? Don’t you want to,” she mouths the word ‘assault’ but isn’t able to say it aloud, her words crumbling as she clutches her spear tightly in front of herself, as though to hide behind it.

“I want to make love to you, my precious Magenta. I do want to make you squirm, and whine, and moan in ecstasy for me as well. But I don’t want to spoil all the fun today, my dear. I promise, we’ll have many more chances to show you just how much greater pleasure awaits. For now,” a powerful flare of magic erupts from Sayo, and outside splinters of ice tear through the other mannequin, making Baiser wince. “Remember those words of affirmation, tell them to yourself whenever you feel weak, or ashamed. I have to go save my pet Leopard. We’ll meet again though.” One last beat of her wings carries Baiser out of the factory, leaving Magenta to simply sit down, overwhelmed by the intimate touches as much as Baiser’s sudden tenderness.

Her hurried flight brings her towards Leopard and Magia Sulfur, another sharp lash of Frusta Dominazione sending another projectile down towards the duo. Sulfur brings up a barrier a half-second before it connects, but her barrier doesn’t manage to last as Baiser crashes into the magical girl. As the two tumble, the purple-haired girl calls out to her companion. “Get to safety!”

With the last of her mana, Leopard conjures a small, cylindrical canister and spikes it down into the ground, a thick pink smoke exploding outwards and covering the two. Baiser can only barely make out Kiwi’s presence from the nimbus of fear and anger as she runs, no longer transformed. The villain disengages from Sulfur, weaving through the mana-dense smoke and hooking her arms beneath her friend, lifting her up over the wall of the shipping yard and depositing her on the streets, transforming back into her civilian clothing a moment later.

Venalita smiles as Utena and Kiwi make a clean getaway, narrowly ducking out of sight before Magia Sulfur is able to get out of the mana-obscuring smokescreen. With both of its magical girls safe from anything that might compromise their identity, it turns its focus back towards Azul, focused on the nimbus of strange mana roiling with herself. Two distinct sources of magic stand out to the mascot, one foreign and one native to herself. ‘And not only can she still fight, but she seems stronger than ever. What exactly did you do to her, Utena?’ As Magia Magenta’s spear sails over its head, the mascot opens up a rift for itself and ducks through, leaving Tres Magia to their own devices.

After a mostly uneventful day at school save for their encounter with Magia Baiser and Leopard, Haruka and Kaoruko return to the pink haired girl’s house, setting up in her bedroom. A few minutes later, Vatz joins them from a small, white rift, landing at the foot of Haruka’s bed, watching the two curiously. “Where’s Sayo?”

“She’s got a date,” Kaoruko quickly calls out, Haruka chiming in a moment later.

“She and Utena went to the mall together, like they were going to Tuesday.”

“Are you sure you want to talk without her?” Haruka had been the one to ask for Vatz to meet at the training ground, and her tone had suggested that what she wanted to ask was important.

“It’s about her, probably best if she ain’t here.”

The mascot cocks its head in confusion and flicks its eyes towards Haruka for a more fulfilling explanation, one that she gives after a nervous swallow. “When we fought, Sayo seemed like she was a lot tougher today. She tore through several of Baiser’s monsters with ease, and she didn’t seem to be winded at all afterwords.”

“She helped us clean up pretty quick, and she didn’t seem to have depleted her mana at all,” Kaoruko chimes in softly. “You said that you saw a magical girl who got someone else’s power mixed into her before. Was she stronger, too?”

“I don’t know.” The mascot winces as it recalls her, the memory painful. “After what happened, she wouldn’t transform, or maybe she couldn’t.” Its tone is somber and weak, and Haruka offers a sympathetic frown in return.

Kaoruko furrows her brow at the mascot’s words. “You don’t know if it is because of mana leaking into her? What else could have done it?”

The mascot doesn’t answer immediately, instead taking a minute to collect its thoughts. She’d told it the story, what had happened, and while it’d been hard to sort through what was real and what was exaggerated, she’d been shaken to her core. “It’s a long story, and not a pleasant one, Kaoruko.”

“I’d like to hear it,” Haruka says, resting a hand on Vatz’ head softly. “If Sayo might be going through anything at all similar, I think we deserve to know.”

“And we ain’t hurting for time, either.” Kaoruko affirms. Neither girl is looking forward to what Vatz has to say, but they both want to hear it, in case there is the faintest bit of insight to help their friend.

“I understand.” The mascot nods, already saddened as it floats into the air. “A few months ago, one of the magical girl teams that I oversee was attacked. One of the survivors,” Haruka lets out a soft gasp at that word, “absorbed mana from one of the assailants. Her name is Randa.”

Chapter Text

A heavy fog lies low upon the streets as Randa Tada walks through the cold morning, frigid raindrops striking her umbrella and pooling in large puddles on the uneven surface. The headlights of passing cars barely cut through the low-lying clouds, the steady roar of their engines and the occasional wave of dirty water they kick up more effective than the dull glow at announcing their presence. The city smells like death and rot, the tall, pink-eyed teen patting her vest to confirm the comforting weight of the snow-white heart token she carries, the token given to her by Vatz nearly five years ago. At the very edges of the city, unpleasant gloom dances, flickering of shadows at the periphery of her vision. ‘Low visibility, and people will be inclined to remain indoors. Demons will be about today.’ It’s more than favorable conditions for them, but the thought doesn’t bring her fear, simply an observation. Whatever foul creatures crawl from the alleyways, her and her friends will be ready to bring them down.

The incessant hum of dark magic claws at Randa's senses, building until it reaches a fevered pitch, like the whining call of a mosquito constantly orbiting her. The pink-haired girl catches the eye of her friend from across the classroom, smiling at Rena before nodding towards the door. The two collect their things in silence before standing, quietly heading to the back and stepping out into the hallway of their school.

“It's strong.” Rena's words are calm and disinterested as the two quickly stride down the hallway towards the entrance to their school, as though the more intense source of magic was no concern to her. Across the city, two more sources of mana alight, streaking across the sky like brilliant comets as their remaining teammates begin their approach towards the threat.

The more concentrated the demonic power, the fewer individual monsters it should bring forth and the faster the fighting should resolve. The knowledge, from her years as a magical girl, spurs Randa on, her fast-paced stride breaking into a jog, one which her red-headed classmate matches. “We can’t leave them alone.”

“You can just patch them up again if they get hurt.” Rena replies, her voice smooth and full of well-practiced charm.

The reassurance isn’t untrue, Randa had managed to mend wounds before. Usually, they were little more than small scrapes and scars, but after a particularly nasty fight she’d pushed deep enough into her well of power to be able to mend a broken arm in mere seconds, albeit she’d slept for nearly three days after. Even knowing that she could heal severe wounds, Randa doesn’t slow, barreling through the front doors and into the schoolyard before turning sharply to the side and away from the most heavily-trodden region of the schoolyard. “I’d rather not need to heal any wounds today, Rena. Let’s just hurry.”

Randa pulls out her pure-white heart, holding it out in front of herself as Rena mirrors the gesture with her own, a deep, ocean-blue gemstone, the metal clasp upon it cast of gold rather than the typical white metal. At once, the two call out, unleashing their full magic with the aid of the transformative objects. “Trans magia.”

In a pure-white glow, Randa’s school uniform burns away, replaced in an instant by the very same attire that Vatz had once given to her, the white uniform beset with red trim and ribbons. Rena's outfit is altogether different. While her uniform had only undergone minor changes in the years since Vatz had first taken them under its wing, hers was far and away the most unique among their team’s.

The thin one-handed straight sword on her hip draws inspiration from European nobility rather than the katana of their homeland, the silver blade ending with a simple golden cross guard, a sapphire embedded in the pommel. Her outfit mirrors the same western inspiration, wearing a double-breasted white coat with golden trim, her bright-blue transformative heart pinned to the front rather than keeping it at her neck as she had done years prior. A blue-and-black corset adorns her waist above a short blue skirt and sensible white trousers. A pair of knee-high leather boots and the ornate blue-and-gold cloak complete her attire, giving her a dramatic, Victorian-style appearance in stark contrast to the uniforms that Vatz had given to Randa.

“Hey, how come she gets a custom outfit and we don’t?” Kaoruko suddenly interjects, disrupting Vatz’ story.

“Well, your outfit is based on Haruka’s,” the mascot explains with a small frown, “that way the three of you match. Haruka’s is very traditional as well, so there are a lot of overlapping styles.” It also makes for a good fallback option for unexpected recruits, like Rena’s three friends who she’d insisted upon discussing with before accepting its offer. “Do you dislike yours, Kaoruko?”

“Nah, I like our uniforms,” Kaoruko softly reassures her mascot, “but I wouldn’t mind making some changes. Our tops are way too fragile if you have a way to fix that.”

“Maybe a bra would be nice as well? Something so our boobs aren’t exposed from a single hit from that girl’s whip?” Haruka chimes in as well, frowning at the memory of Magia Baiser effortlessly destroying her and her companions’ clothing.

“I guess that might help to buffer another hit,” Vatz admits with a sad frown, but it can’t deny Haruka’s words make sense, especially given that their foe has been going out of her way to harass Tres Magia sexually, rather than attacking them physically. 'Of course, I’ll have to be careful about any modifications if I want to keep sponsors happy and be able to continue providing for the girls. We might be able to do a big event to showcase new outfits, but it’d be risky.’ Before it gets too caught up in its managerial duties, Vatz turns its attention back to the girls. “No promises, but I’ll see what I can do. For now, ready to continue?”

Kaoruko nods, leaning back in her chair. “Yeah, go for it. If anything else comes up, I’ll give you a shout.”

The two focus their magic, Magia Blanc lifting into the air and the blinding, thick clouds that hang low in the sky. Rena doesn’t get to enjoy the sensation of flying, weightlessly drifting through the air. Instead, she thrusts a hand upwards towards the fire escape beside one of the taller buildings, and with a pulling motion and a flare of her mana, her entire body being consumed by a brilliant blue light before streaking upwards, ascending several meters in a near-instantaneous movement that puts her on the two levels above the street on the fire escape. As soon as she lands, she starts to run, climbing up the stairs as swiftly as she can, her short-ranged blink carrying her the last two levels and onto the rooftop, arriving only a few seconds after Magia Blanc’s flight carries her to the top.

Together, they head towards the call of demonic magic, Blanc sailing high above the rooftops while Rena leaps from roof to roof, aided with the occasional blink when she needs to ascend to a taller building. With her greater physical abilities, the swordswoman is able to nearly keep pace with Magia Blanc, though the flying girl does need to slow herself just a bit in order for Rena to keep from falling behind. As the duo draw nearer, the intense glow of wicked magic becomes steadily clearer, Magia Blanc able to pick out five foes instead of the singular entity that such a potent source of power would suggest. Two seem distant and higher than the others, as though watching from afar or spreading their wickedness while the other three dart about, caught in a dance of steel and spell with their remaining teammates.

As they draw nearer, the fog finally fades as though driven away by the constant roar of magic, and Blanc pauses as she looks down at a purplish mass of raw magic, unlike any demon that they’d seen before, dozens of masked faces rising out of the oozing entity. Valkyrie stands at the center of the unnatural monstrosity, whirling her heavy spear about and driving the bladed end through two more of the masked things that rise, but for each that she cuts down, a dozen more rush to take their place. Their golden-haired leader stands tall against it despite the seemingly endless tide of monstrous forms that spill forth from the ooze, her amber heart clipped into her braided hair. Purple-hued dredges of the monster stain her costume, a bronze version of the same traditional uniform Magia Blanc wears, complete with soft white frills, a bronze heart on her choker, and a large bronze ribbon at the top of her long braid. Even from several stories above the fighting, Magia Blanc can see the fragile uniform torn open in places, but nothing seems to have left a mark on their leader’s flesh.

Higher up, Amana Avore is hovering, flying around a fire escape and conjuring bolts of brilliant lightning from her hands, thunder screaming from her as she fights. The raven-haired girl is clad in a dark gray uniform like a storm cloud with yellow ruffles that match the intense heart around her neck. While Valkyrie seems as-of-yet unbloodied, Amana's body is covered in thin, deep slashes, her tanned skin stained red with her own blood.

Unfamiliar to Magia Blanc is the girl who she is fighting, several years younger than Blanc and her team. The girl is dressed, to put it generously, in a black bikini top that barely contains her bust and something that blurs the line between a skirt that extends high upon the abdomen or a dress that fails to even touch the chest, while her knee-length white coat is left entirely open in the front. A pair of teal boots match her dress, as well as the streaks in her hair, but nothing about her outfit makes so much as a minimal effort towards decency. Instead of a proper weapon or even a wand like Magia Blanc uses, the girl has a microphone in one hand, the other clinging tightly to the metal frame of the fire escape, adjusting as she dances along the railing. With a high-pitched shriek, Blanc feels magic swell once more, and then a wave of concussive force crashes into her and launches her away, back colliding with one of the tall buildings and sending a rain of debris down beside herself.

Rena fairs much better. With another flash of light and magic, she blinks through the shockwave without so much as an injury, her sword already in motion. The blade carries in a clean arc seemingly destined to either sink into the screamer’s neck or inflict a significant blow to whatever defensive magic she has available. Instead, a short girl appears out of the shadows, catching Rena’s strike with a short knife, a dagger of some sort that looks better suited to slipping in an unaware foe than use as a primary weapon in the thick of battle. With a grunt, she pushes Rena’s blade back, and the heroine steps back to put distance between herself and the new threat.

Magia Blanc’s focus turns away from her friend’s fighting and towards Amana, the lightning-powered girl tumbling towards the ground as large pieces of rubble drop from the building she was slammed into. Without hesitation, Blanc dives for her teammate, only able to spare a passing glance as Valkyrie cries out in pain, her defensive magics finally pierced and crimson spilling onto the ground. ‘How? Two of them aren’t even fighting yet and we’re already struggling!’

Amana Avore’s weight hits her, the arc of her flight dipping low, and then pain blooms within her as the large demon manages to rake a claw along her right side, leaving a bloody streak from her waist up to her armpit. Blanc lets out a gasp, barely managing to keep hold of her teammate as they pass by Rena and the screaming girl, making her way up and onto the roof before landing hard against the roof, dropping her teammate and crumbling onto the ground herself. “What is happening? Who are those girls, Amana?”

“Enormita,” the wounded sorceress manages to sputter the words out, slowly pushing herself up, resting her weight upon one arm. “It’s the only explanation for why that demon isn’t attacking them when I knock one of them into its reach.”

“We need to tell Vatz.” Magia Blanc tugs off one of her gloves and rests the bare hand on her side, guiding the flow of her mana as flesh starts to knit back together beneath her palm. Valkyrie had always been insistent, unless a wound was immediately lethal, Randa was to heal herself before focusing on the injuries of her teammates. ‘If I’m dead or unconscious, I can’t help anyone.’ It’s practical, but it doesn’t make the decision any easier as she looks at Amana, bloody and bruised, left arm broken from the earlier fighting. “You shouldn’t be moving, Sakura.”

“We need to get back down there; we can’t leave Rena alone with those two.” The raven-haired heroine doesn’t pay her advice any head as Blanc continues to mend her wound, the bloody gash steadily stitching together, muscle and skin binding back together with only a faint scar left in the wake of the wound.

Even that can be mended with enough magic, but Randa doesn’t waste the energy to try to repair that minor damage. Her focus turns towards Sakura’s broken arm, resting her hands upon her teammate and pouring mana into the bloody wound, her face pale with fatigue and queasiness at the sight of bone protruding through flesh. “Not until I fix this, Sakura. Can you tell me what we are fighting?”

Sakura, Amana Avore, is by far the cleverest of her friends when it comes to understanding the mechanics of their powers. She doesn’t quite have Valkyrie’s indefatigable resolve, nor the impressive skill with healing magic that Randa herself possesses, nor Rena’s impressive skill at blending swordsmanship and magic together, but Sakura is the closest to a dedicated expert on magic that Randa knows. She grits her teeth as chunks of bone shift back together into place, even the numbing effects of Randa’s magic unable to fully soothe the agony of such a wound. “There are four girls, I have a good guess at the capabilities of three of them. The simplest is the girl I was fighting with. She doesn’t seem to be able to fly, and she uses some sort of sonic attack when she screams. It’s strong, but she doesn’t seem capable of anything precise.”

The burning pain flares up, too intense for her to continue as the broken segments of bone twist back into position and her nerves scream in agony. Slowly, Randa’s power guides the growth of bone back into its proper position, the cracks slowly shrinking and finally vanishing as it mends back into place. Her hands drop to the sides, flesh and muscle still torn up as she gasps for breath, her mana and stamina dropping too low to possibly continue despite having just arrived. Numbness slowly washes over Amana’s arm, finally bringing her relief from the eye-watering pain as Randa mumbles out a tired apology between desperate gasps for air.

After a minute to recollect her thoughts, Sakura continues, speaking softly. “The other I was fighting is a bit more complex, she transforms into shadows, and uses them to restrain her enemies. It’s exhausting, but we can fight them off with enough mana. The third…” Her words slow to a stop as she watches black magics wrap themselves around her teammate, shadows peeling off of the ground and wrapping tightly to the helpless girl. “Randa,” her words die in her mouth. After healing two severe wounds, there’s no chance that her teammate’s diminutive reservoir of mana will be sufficient to break free of the shadows that envelope her. ‘We’re going to die here if I don’t do something.’ Even if Rena and Valkyrie were to bring down their foes, it’d be too late to stop the shadow-transformed villain. ‘I don’t have the strength for another prolonged fight.’ One last burst of energy is her limit, a desperate and likely doomed final attack. ‘But maybe I can at least save Randa.’

“S-Sakura?” Her voice wavers as she speaks, her arm moving against her will as the more-powerful villain effortlessly overpowers her relatively weak muscles. Blanc’s fingers slowly close around a knife left beside her, small and ill-suited to use in a fight, but more than adequate for finishing off a downed creature. “What’s happening? I-I can’t let go.”

“None of this is your fault, Randa. She must’ve latched onto you the moment you caught me.” The ground beneath her uninjured arm grows hot to the touch as she gathers what little mana she has left, readying herself for one final, desperate attack as Randa is dragged forwards, the shadows forcing her to lean closer, bringing her other hand onto the dagger, readying to thrust it. ‘She’s going for the throat.’

“What do I do?” Her horrified words, the look of dread on her face, and the feeble straining of her muscles do nothing to slow down the villain’s spell.

“Close your eyes, Randa,” Amana smiles at her, putting on a brave face even as she tenses up, waiting for the dagger to fall. “You shouldn’t have to see this.”

The shadows twitch like a coiled serpent, and Amana launches one final bolt of electricity, the last of her mana poured into the attack as the blade plunges downwards, crossing the gap too swiftly for her to stop. Lightning washes over her teammate, but the bulk of it strikes at the region where the villain’s mana is at its greatest concentration. The shadows flicker and retreat from Randa’s body, but the knife is already embedded into Amana’s flesh.

Magia Blanc stares in anguish as warm blood spills down around her hands, staining her uniform and skin alike in the rapidly cooling crimson. Sakura forces a smile, blood trickling from her lips as she mouths the word ‘run’, unable to speak with the weapon lodged in her throat. Blanc doesn’t heed her friend’s warning, instead taking hold of her hand and sitting beside her, unable to muster even the faintest bit of magic to heal the wound.

‘Please, RanRan, run. Live. You need to tell Vatz what happened, help it to prepare.’ Sakura can’t share her thoughts, eyes welling with tears and lungs aching as she is denied fresh air, asphyxiating as her own blood floods her lungs. She shuts her hazel eyes as her chest begins to spasm, but the pain is far from the forefront of her mind. Instead, as she accepts her imminent death, her thoughts turn towards her friends and family. Her chest grows tight, a searing pain eating at her, while the air around her grows cold. Warmth spills from her slit throat, pooling on the ground beneath her. A few moments later, she doesn’t even have the strength to shiver in the cold, RanRan’s hand the only bit of warmth and sensation that cuts through the steadily growing haze in her mind, and then that, too, fades as she slips away from the world.

As the blue-clad girl dissolves back into the shadows, unfamiliar magic flares from one of the rooftops. A moment later, five purple flying monstrosities of goo manifest from nothingness, conjured undoubtedly by one of the remaining two magical girls. Blade in hand, Rena quickly slices two of the monsters, one through the neck and the other vertically in nearly perfect halves, disposing of them with ease. “Vox Forte!”

The heroine again blinks forwards, reappearing behind the wave of destructive noise that emanates from the girl a half-second later, watching with satisfaction as it shows no consideration for allies and easily blasts apart the small, winged terrors, scattering their ooze across the cracking stonework of the building and fatigued, creaking metal upon which Rena and the screamer are fighting. With a smooth lunge forwards, the tip of her blade collides with the girl’s throat, predictably being deflected off to the side by the girl’s magic with a sharp crack. A quick flick of her wrist brings the cutting edge of the blade back into contact with the barrier, less effective than the thrust but still maintaining pressure, cutting just deep enough to leave a small cut on the girl’s neck alongside depleting her mana further. “Surrender, and I’ll spare your life.”

The screamer doesn’t respond with words, instead grinning as foul magic suddenly pools behind her. A moment later, a pair of sharp claws lash out, dragging down Rena’s back with a sting of unexpected pain. With swiftness spurred on by panic at the sudden attack, Rena blinks from the edge of the fire escape and drops the last two meters to the ground, blown off her feet a moment later by yet another magic-infused shriek. The damage is mounting over her uniform, but other than the stinging ache in her ears from listening to the girl’s senseless, dissonant wails, her defenses have kept her from any true injuries.

As she watches on, the small monsters slowly reconstitute themselves, purple sludge flowing through the air and balling up before more defined limbs and wings take shape in only a matter of a few seconds, as though they’d not been cut down and blown to bits. ‘Damnable monsters. I’ll have to get to the rooftops, go after whoever created them head on.’ Her gaze flicks to the two magical girls before her, the screaming one dropping down and getting caught in the hands of the shadow-wielder. ‘But they’re not going to make this easy on me.’

“Jeez, Loco. She’s still standing?”

“I’m doing my best, she’s just too fast for me to hit her!”

“You can’t hit her? Really? Just blast everything nearby!” The shadowy girl’s hair is an absurd shade of bright blue with pink tips, and her outfit is perhaps more absurd than the other girl’s, with some sort of long cloth draped over a seemingly nude body and a pair of long sleeves and boots to match. Her outfit looks badly singed with strange, forking patterns, almost certainly a leftover mark from one of Amana’s attacks, which would also suggest she’d be more vulnerable to “Whatever, the other two are down already, let’s get this over with.”

‘Down?’ Rena’s eye twitches, adjusting her grip on her blade and lunging towards the two, delivering a quick, shallow cut along the shadow-user’s abdomen, more blood gracing her blade. A moment later, she brings her knee up into the girl, her improved strength rewarding her ears with a satisfying crunch as a rib breaks from the impact. She grabs onto the girl’s wrist with her free hand, twisting it sharply and squeezing until another distinct crack announces her wrist snapping, and the knife drops onto the ground.

Pressing her advantage, Rena twists the girl’s arm behind her back and drives her heel into the back of the girl’s knee, easily bringing the fatigued girl down onto the ground and pressing the edge of the sword to her captive’s throat. The small fiends swarm behind her, but they keep their distance as the two girls lock up. Instead, they take to the air, pressing against a wall with their mana melting and blending together, but the heroine pays them no mind as the screamer draws in a deep breath again. “Crazy, if you make one wrong move, she’s dead.” The screamer takes a step back at the threat as Rena pierces her prisoner’s skin, blood spilling gently from her neck. “What the hell did you do to my friends?”

“Ain’t that a bit… much?” Taking the girl prisoner is one thing, but using her as a hostage feels as if it is crossing the line. ‘Better to try to knock her out and keep going, ain’t it?’

Vatz pauses as Kaoruko again chimes in, Haruka just bobbing her head in silence while struggling to keep down bile ever since the mascot had described Amana’s demise. “I don’t support her actions, but in the circumstances, I understand why she did it. She was trying to save her friends.” The mascot doesn’t vocalize the last of its thoughts. ‘Even if it was too late to save Sakura.’

“How can she be so much stronger than her teammates?” Haruka softly speaks up as well, and the mascot smiles.

“Rena was probably the girl with the most fighting experience before I recruited them. She’d participated in fighting tournaments with peers of similar ages, kendo as well as unarmed martial arts, and the powers that she’d developed improved her ability to reposition in a fight, and made her far faster and stronger, basically a flat improvement to the things she was already excellent at.”

“So, sorta like how I could take Haruka an’ Sayo using my gauntlets, except you ain’t raising a fuss about her actually going all out in public?”

“Similar, yes, but Rena had a few years of experience fighting using her magic at this point which made her decidedly more dangerous, as well as the discipline to keep herself from burning through her mana pool like you do.” Kaoruko nods, a bit displeased at the answer but unable to truly fight against the claim, using her gauntlets causes her stamina to absolutely plummet. Without further rise out of either of the girls, Vatz slips back into its tale, voice somber.

The captive girl doesn’t answer, but she goes still, full of terror at the blade pressing against her throat. Before Rena can make the decision to either follow through on her threat or back off, the metallic, star-shaped tip of a whip darts past her head and bites into the back of her hand, snapping bone and cutting through her glove and flesh alike.

Rena’s sword drops to the ground with a clatter, and the girl in her grip disappears back into the shadows, flowing over the ground and scaling up the nearby wall, the screamer retreating from her reach as well. Rena turns her head towards the source of the attack, scowling at the sight of a strangely dressed woman in some sort of military officer’s jacket with a flowing robe beneath. In one hand lies the same whip she’d lashed out with to attack, while the other is held tightly by a large, winged demon of goo that slowly lowers her the rest of the way to the ground.

Rena glares at the stranger, wreathed in the very same magic that emanates from the fiends around her, a determined smile falling over her features. ‘There’s our summoner. I just need one clean hit.’ In a flicker of soft blue radiance, her sword manifests in her uninjured hand, and a moment later she lunges towards the woman with a much more desperate sweeping swing cutting through the air with far less grace and precision than she can muster with her dominant hand, but the strike fails to connect as the conjured demon steps in the way. Her blade cuts deep into the monster’s chest, but the thick, magic sludge slows her strike, tendrils extending from it and wrapping around her forearm, pinning her in its grip.

With a quick gesture, the villain conjures another pair of larger demons, each taller than herself by about a half meter.  Each of the freshly-spawned monsters grab Rena roughly, claws squeezing down on both arms before dragging her down onto her knees. The villain strides closer, arrogant and cruel smile curling up over her lips. “How pathetic. That little flicker of power, and you waste it swinging around that sword and pretending you’re special?” Rena narrows her eyes, her fingers twitch, and the world fades around her with another blink carrying her past the protective trio of monsters and delivering her into the air a meter and a half behind her foe. Her legs kick out to their full length, landing upright once more and making a desperate swing for the woman’s head. Before she can make contact, a blue-gloved hand grabs her arm, and a moment later, cold metal plunges into the small of her back, pain erupting throughout her body as her legs crumple.

With a final, tired slash, Valkyrie cuts an opening to the sky above her, remnants of the purple monster raining down over her pale, freckled skin and the tattered remains of her uniform, already soaked in blood from many shallow gashes and twisted magic from the unstoppable terror. As the ooze starts to coalesce and return to the massive, greater whole, the magical girl leaps upwards before taking flight, unable to do more against it than rise out of the clutches of the enormous demon and try to turn her attention towards the four magical girls fighting against her and her companions.

Randa and Sakura are nowhere in sight, nor can she make out the steady hum of their magic. At best, they’d have transformed, perhaps having made a wise retreat or perhaps having been knocked unconscious. Rena’s magic barely registers on her senses, but as she gazes down, she is able to detect the last few whimpers of her friend’s magic before it flickers and fades away. “R-Rena?”

The blue-haired girl tugs Rena back onto her knees, but Valkyrie can still see the heavy dagger embedded into her back, blood and a strange watery fluid spilling from the injury that the heroine can’t place. The other one, a woman at least five years older, grabs hold of Rena’s transformative heart, demonic magic pouring from her hand as she twists, and pulls it off of Valkyrie’s teammate like it was nothing more than a cheap necklace. In an instant, her uniform flickers and dissolves, leaving her in her school uniform as the younger teen pulls her knife from Rena’s back and lets her fall to the ground, landing roughly on her side with her skull bouncing off the broken ground.

The sight of Rena, bloodied, unconscious and possibly dying, is the last thing Valkyrie sees before a tendril wraps around her ankle, pulling her back down into the massive monster with a hundred masked faces, more wrapping around her tightly, Randa watching from atop the parking garage as her last teammate is again dragged from view and swallowed up by the massive demon that’d only seemed to grow in size and strength since their arrival.

‘Rena, no! Please, hold on!’ Despair grips at her heart as her spear is grabbed, and slowly pried from her hands, disappearing within the gelatinous form of the massive monster. Two more tendrils grab hold of her arms, wrenching them behind her back and denying her any hope of reaching her wounded friend’s side. ‘No! I have to reach her!’ She writhes, struggling to free herself, only to earn sharp stings from large claws that form within the jelly-like form of the demon, piercing her wavering barrier and cutting into her flesh. Even through the pain, she struggles on, her courage and devotion not wavering even in the face of certain defeat and uncertainty as to whether any of her friends would live to see the sunset.

“I’m not sure what exactly happened to her while she was restrained by the demon,” Vatz continues to force itself through the story with some significant difficulty. “Randa couldn’t see what was happening, and her ability to sense the magic of others wasn’t particularly refined. But what she described was Valkyrie’s mana swelling to a scale she’d never seen before.” Not unlike what Sayo had said about Magia Baiser during their doomed dual.

Golden light detonates outwards from the monster, the immense magic fueling it snuffed out in an instant. At the center of where the monster had once stood stands Valkyrie once more, her heavy bronze spear clutched firmly in one hand, the tip planted into the paved ground beneath her to help her onto her feet. On her other arm rests a bronze discus shield, glowing almost as brightly as the girl herself. The sludge-like remnants of the monster are gone from her body, and neither blood nor scars from her wounds linger upon her body, as though she were born anew in the explosion of light. Even more unusually, a pair of massive, feathered wings protrude from her back, ethereal feathers glowing faintly with a golden light.

Her uniform is gone as well. Instead of the frilly and delicate blouse and skirt of her uniform, heavy brass scales overlap to form an armored tunic over her torso. A set of heavy boots of the same material come up past her knees, and a pair of matching gauntlets come halfway up her forearms, protecting her against glancing strikes. Beneath the tunic, a short white skirt comes down to her mid-thigh, but her arms and legs have exposed flesh, and her armor bears no helm, leaving her braided hair and freckled face uncovered.

The summoner shifts backwards a step nervously before nodding towards the heroine, and the trio of demons that still linger take to the air on their wings. She continues to backpedal, letting her monsters take The blue-clad teen dissolves into shadows, and the remaining girl squares her shoulders, lifting her microphone up in front of her lips once more.

The first demon swings a claw towards her head, and Valkyrie takes a step back, swiftly bracing before thrusting her spear up into the monster’s head, cleanly piercing the monster. It starts to melt, liquidating around her weapon and dissipating. She brings up her shield and braces, mana pouring into it as naturally as breathing as the other two draw near and a golden glow emanates past the edges of the discus. The demons claw at her, but the barrier and the metal shield easily halt their assault, leaving them open for Valkyrie to step forwards and slam her shield against one of the monsters, tearing through the thick slime, and the creature melts into a puddle at her feet. The last of the demons backs off out of reach of her physical weapons, but Valkyrie follows her combative instincts and plants her spear firmly into the ground. A moment later, a short axe of luminous gold manifests in her open palm, and she throws it in a smooth arc, the head sinking deep into the chest of the flying fiend before erupting, tearing its torso apart. The rest of it boils and disintegrates a moment later, nothing left of the monster to even fall onto the ground.

The screamer draws in breath while her spear is still embedded into the earth, and a dozen small imps suddenly come to exist around her as the summoner flicks her wrist and the tip of her whip makes a distinctive crack against itself. Shadows envelope the heroine, pinning her feet in place and swiftly climbing her body, slowing her movements but incapable of overpowering her. Following the newfound instincts of her transformed body, Valkyrie brings her shield-arm up in an arc before letting go of the bulwark, letting it sail across the open air, steadying out to fly parallel to the ground. The heavy shield slams into the girl’s neck and rebounds without any loss in speed, and whatever words she might’ve said die on her lips. The microphone tumbles from the girl’s hands and her knees hit the ground a moment later, her body glowing with light as she crumples, her stamina far too depleted to continue the fight. As her shield deflects off the walls, leaving deep cracks in its wake, the heroine raises her arm up into the air and makes a gesture of pulling downwards.

Radiance spills downwards from far above her head, casting an intense golden hue over the ground for several meters around herself. Immediately, the smaller monsters begin to fade, their gelatinous forms boiling and melting away along with the leftover sludge from the demon torn open using her shield. The shadows clinging to her legs and torso also retreat and revert, turning into the blue-clad woman who’d dared to drive a knife into one of her very greatest friends in the world. That same knife, still stained with Rena’s blood and spinal fluid, collides with Valkyrie’s armor, but all that it does is leave a thin mark on the surface of the overlapping scales before the heroine’s shield gets close enough for her to catch, then drive into the younger villain’s stomach. The girl staggers, managing to barely put enough distance between herself and Valkyrie to avoid the second swing of the heavy metallic aegis. As the shield’s arcing path falls short, a wave of golden light ripples outwards, past the extent of Valkyrie’s reach, and collides with the villain with all the unyielding power weight of the metal discus itself. The girl crumples onto the ground, a sharp kick to the side of the head knocks her flat on her belly, and her struggling ends in an instant as she loses consciousness.

The heroine doesn’t pay her any mind as her transformation ends, instead pulling her spear from the ground at last and beating her celestial wings, letting them carry her into the air, golden glow washing over the ground beneath her as she soars to Rena’s side, landing and dropping onto one knee beside her friend.

The wound is deep, and debilitating, a piercing strike delivered directly into Rena’s spinal column. Whether or not it is life-threatening the heroine couldn’t say, but she carefully rests one of her gauntlet-clad hands on Rena’s back, stitching together flesh and blood vessels far more swiftly than she’d ever been able to before. The raw power is insufficient to stitch together nerves and bones, however. Despite her vastly improved strength and the newfound power, offensive and defensive alike, her skill with restorative magic remains unchanged. ‘Randa will have to tend to her later. Now is the time to finish this.’ With Rena’s condition stabilized, Valkyrie’s wings carry her into the air once again, quickly setting her sights on the summoner as she flees through an alleyway and steps out into the open street.

As the heroine sails after her, bathed in incandescent light that burns away the small creatures the villain desperately summons behind herself, the girl’s drive remains focused purely on the protection of other magical girls. Deep down, she’s angry, enraged beyond anything that she’d ever felt in her life at the brutal assault against Rena that she’d observed, but her anger doesn’t control her, cannot control her, and it is her desire to shield others from cruelty that spurs her ever onward into the fray. ‘Nobody will endure this again. Enormita, the assaults, the demons, I won’t allow any of it to continue.’

She feels the surge of magic above herself a moment before she sees the shadow of the massive woman, easily as tall as the buildings around themselves. Before she can process the sudden arrival of the final magical girl, the gargantuan villain brings both hands down, fingers interlaced in a brutal slam that knocks the angel out of the air, slamming her into the asphalt and shattering a large section around herself, kicking up large segments along with bits of rubble. Metal sunders at the impact, her armor tearing in multiple places, broken segments piercing her skin. The sudden impact makes her skull throb in pain, but she still pushes herself back onto her feet, bringing up her shield in time to catch the massive woman’s heel as she tries to stomp her bare foot against Valkyrie. The heroine’s arm screams in pain, and she drops down onto one knee to brace herself as the pressure continues, but the woman’s assault fails to bring her down onto the ground despite their difference in scale practically insisting that Valkyrie would be crushed into a fine paste with only the faintest of effort. Gritting her teeth, the heroine drives the tip of her spear up into the bare flesh before shoving upwards at an angle, forcing the villainess to stumble and have to plant her foot on flat ground rather than the resisting heroine, freeing herself but at a tremendous cost to her magic, fatigue beginning to set in upon her.

Again, Valkyrie’s wings beat and she sails up into the air, dodging a desperate kick from the evil nun, her vivid blue eyes locked on the form of the cowardly conjurer. As the giant gets back to movement, Valkyrie’s confidence begins to wane, doubt creeping into her mind. She spins her spear, feeling its weight before throwing it with all the force she can muster mere moments before a massive hand closes around her leg, squeezing down tightly and snapping bone and greave alike. The villain yanks the heroine back before grabbing onto her with her free hand, squeezing down on the girl with several more quiet crunches and cracks reaching her ears before the squirming stops, but she’s too late to prevent the desperate attack.

While the giant villain incapacitates Valkyrie, her spear sails through the air towards the demonic summoner as she ducks towards the alleyway on the far side of the street. The faint whistling of the projectile alerts her too late to have any hope of fully dodging the attack, but she throws herself aside as best as she can, and instead of being struck directly in the chest, the bladed head of the weapon cuts cleanly through the flesh of her left arm, leaving a deep gash that nearly reaches the bone and incapacitating the limb entirely before embedding itself nearly a meter into the ground of the city.

One final squeeze snuffs out the burning light around Valkyrie, and the nun drops her into an undignified pile upon the ground before transforming back into her normal size, still tall enough to tower over the other three magical girls as they limp over, each battered to various degrees, with the nun only having superficial burns and a small wound in her foot while the others are significantly more injuried.

None of their wounds are quite as grievous nor widespread as Valkyrie’s own, the girl’s transformation fading and her school clothes quickly growing red with blood. There’s no spark of consciousness left in her, and many of her bones are fractured, with the larger ones broken in multiple places. The nun kneels down beside her, plucking the bloodstained heart from the ground beside the girl and passing off the transformative to the summoner.

“How sad,” the nun kneels down to appraise the rapidly-bleeding girl, paying little heed to the faint flicker of magic that rises from Randa as she pulls her cracked transformative heart back up to her neck and utters the incantation, turning into Magia Blanc one final time. “Such extraordinary power, yet her wounds are too severe to survive.”

“It’s best this way. She’s a threat.” The nun nods at her leader’s words, while the younger two girls cower under her furious gaze. “Put her down, Leberblume.”

The blue-haired girl nods, swallowing down bile as she looks at the bloody mess of what used to be a person and pulling threads of shadow into her hands, letting them coalesce into her knife once again, the thought of refusing the Supreme Commander’s words having long faded away from her mind. “Yes, Lord.”

Before she can plant the blade into Valkyrie and end the girl’s tortured existence, Magia Blanc collides with her, knocking Leberblume onto her back and the knife across the ground, where it comes to a stop at Lord’s feet. Not even paying mind to the remaining three girls, she turns her focus to her teammate, resting her hands on the girl and pouring the last echoes of her mana into a fleeting healing spell that doesn’t even begin to mend enough of Valkyrie’s wounds to stop her from bleeding out.

Lord’s cracks her whip into the air to conjure a demon to her side and lets it grab the girl, but another voice chimes in before she disposes of the worthless girl’s life. “She’s not a threat anymore.” Ever reliable, their mascot finally drags itself to the fighting, draping over the size-changer’s neck like a shawl, keeping out of Blanc’s line of sight rather easily, given how distracted she is.

“Putting it mildly,” Lord replies with a frown, nudging the girl with a boot. “The others at least fought back, but this one is too pathetic to even manage that.”

“She is rather weak, and her mana is basically non-existent. She’s not worth killing.” It glances down at her transformative heart, barely holding itself together with a myriad of cracks across it. “Honestly? I don’t even want her heart. She’s too weak for it to even have value. Just cut her loose.”

Randa pays their conversation no mind, even as the monster holding her melts into raw magic, dregs of its body clinging to her. The mana-dense essence drips down around the sides of her neck, some of it clinging to the heart she wears as she desperately searches for the strength to continue her healing magic, and as she bathes in the incomparable power of Enormita’s commander, she finds it at last, that little spark of strength to push forwards. The gentle white light darkens to a dull gray, but the magic continues to pour through her body at last, nausea and dizziness washing over as she pushes beyond her limit. Bones shift back beneath her hands and blood vessels start to stitch together as her vision starts to blacken and close in, but still power flows through her, power that is certainly more vast and incandescent than anything she could ever hope to wield herself.

Finally, her work is interrupted, the woman grabbing Randa’s chin and tilting her head to face her, instead of her wounded friend. The moment that Randa sees her, any thought of trying to struggle crumble, and her consciousness begins to waver as the woman speaks. Instead of thinking about the well-being of her friends, Randa’s final thoughts turn to sheer wonder at the vastness of power wielded by the woman named Lord as darkness swallows her.

“Valkyrie’s body was gone when I arrived a half-hour later,” Vatz explains, its eyes focused away from the magical girls. Kaoruko has Haruka’s hand clenched tightly in her own as the pinkette leans against her, face pale and nauseous.

“That’s horrible,” Kaoruko is the one to speak, but Haruka’s thoughts mirror her own. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Vatz.” What Magia Blanc went through is far worse than anything Magia Baiser had done to Sayo, and the girl’s insistence on protecting them finally makes some sense to Kaoruko, as well as her insistence that Tres Magia wouldn’t be able to protect her were she to join Vatz as a proper magical girl. Even the summoned demons that they’d fought sound immensely more powerful than anything the trio had fought prior to Baiser’s arrival, to say nothing of the remaining three girls. ‘It doesn’t sound like Baiser would support that level of violence, so these girls must be stronger than her. We’d have no chance.’

“Thank you, Kaoruko.” It offers a smile, but all three of them can tell the gesture is forced and far from being genuine. “I wish I could’ve been there. Even if I couldn’t save them, I should’ve been by their sides, but I wasn’t.” And it never had been, either by luck of intentional planning and intimate knowledge of its schedules, the mascot had never been there in person during these deadly attacks, though how that could happen remains a mystery to it.

“It ain’t your fault, Vatz.” The mascot nods sadly as she continues. “But, what happened after that?”

That day, Vatz confronted Sakura’s mothers, somberly telling them of her bravery and courage while they stared, then wept, then cursed it. One of them had thrown a vase at the mascot, the mundane projectile passing through as though it wasn’t even there and shattering against the floor. Then the weeping had started anew, and Vatz stopped its speech, and simply waited, knowing it wouldn’t soon forget the anguished sobs of the two mothers when they learned that their baby girl wouldn’t be attending the college she’d been so happy to be accepted into. Emily’s mother had taken the news more quietly, nodding her head as if she’d already known exactly what her daughter did during her free time, her breaths quickening and eyes welling with tears the moment she’d seen the mascot, letting it explain what it’d come to tell her without a single question and asking it in a soft voice to leave when at last it’d finished the tale. When it returned in the evening to check in on her, Vatz had found her unconscious in her kitchen, smelling of vomit and booze.

In the weeks that followed, the mascot stayed close to Randa whenever it could. Rena’s family had demanded it to leave her alone early during her stay at the hospital, cursing its name and lashing out with blame when the doctors informed them that the girl would never regain a full range of motion using the medical practices available to them in even the finest hospitals within the country.

The first thing that Vatz had asked of her was to help Rena heal, but that proved to be an impossible task. The fissures in her transformative heart, hue darkened by exposure to the influence of the Enormita member who’d assailed her, refused to mend, and no matter how much Randa tried, even the most basic transformation was impossible for her to maintain.

“It wasn’t because of a lack of mana, though. Within a week, I could feel her own natural magic had slowly recovered to the limits of her ordinary reserves. The power she needed to transform was there, just like how you have that much mana inside yourselves at this moment. But even with her transformative heart, she just… Couldn’t use it anymore.”

“Because it ain’t hers?” Kaoruko asks quietly.

“I don’t know,” Vatz admits, disappointed in its utter lack of insight. “The magic pooling inside of her was remarkably different than it had been previously, but she’d naturally replenished the power, and I’m certain that it was still close enough that her transformation item should’ve responded to it. But she couldn’t manage to even conjure her uniform anymore.”

“Is it possible that she just… Didn’t have the resolve anymore?” Haruka quietly pipes up, squeezing Kaoruko’s hand for support as she does, and the blonde wraps an arm around her. “If I saw half of what she did, I-I don’t think I could keep going, Vatz.”

“It’s possible, but I simply don’t know for sure.” The mascot admits softly, taking a moment to brace itself before concluding its tale.

Randa kept herself to the edge of the small crowd during the service, staying as far from Rena as she could. Before Rena had demanded she leave, the doctors had mentioned that the girl might walk again one day, but that day wouldn’t be for many months, if not years. Her days of martial arts tournaments and showing high placements at a national level for kendo were certainly beyond her now.

Now, Rena looks like a shade of herself. She’d lost several kilograms of weight during the past few weeks in the hospital, incapable of meaningful exercise while restrained to a wheelchair or her bed. Her transformative had been taken from her, rendering her incapable of anything more than detecting the presence of magic. Randa hadn’t done anything to deserve it, but being by Rena’s side had left her as the obvious outlet for the girl’s pain and anger.

After everything she’d been through, Vatz couldn’t fault her for lashing out. In a single day, everything she’d held dear had been stolen away, her body, hobbies, and even her identity as a heroine were simply gone, along with two of her closest friends. Yet, for Randa there were no lasting marks on her body, no wounds that would indicate the fight even happened. ‘No physical ones, at least. Neither of them will ever be the same after what they lost.’

Even if it didn’t hold any ill will towards Rena for her behavior, seeing the two remaining magical girls at separate ends of the thirteen-person service was heartbreaking. For Sakura, the family at least had her ashes to remember her by. Emily’s mother simply wept at the foot of the small memorial sight depicting the four magical girls, never knowing what would become of her daughter’s body. She’d be leaving the country in a few days, back to her home to be with what little remained of her family in Sweden.

“Rena’s asked that I not attempt to make contact as well, and out of respect to her, I’ve followed through. Should she ever need it, I’ve continued to make payments to the bank account I opened for her, and she maintains access to it, though she’s not taken out any money since a few days prior to the incident.”

“What about Randa? You said she ran away?”

“She did,” Vatz admits softly.

“She’d stayed with me at the old warehouse where the four of them trained. She had tried returning home, but she told me that she was scared to bring any danger to her family while I was checking up on her. There was a withdrawal from a nearby bank, she took all the money out of both of her accounts while I was away with another team.” It’d been during one of Tres Magia’s photo shoots, though Vatz would never admit that to them, to spare them from any worry that its attention being on them might have invited further harm on another girl. “When I got back, I found a note on her nightstand beside her phone. ‘I’m sorry’ was all it said. She hadn’t even signed her name.”

“Did you look for her?”

“For another month. She never showed up, though.” With her bank account drained and her phone gone, Vatz’ only other option to try to track her would be to wait until she was to transform and then hone in on the excess energy radiating off of her. With her incapable of that, it’d needed to turn to alternative methods to look for her, but every favor that it called in with law enforcement, magical girl teams, and private eyes had come up disappointingly short of locating her. “She’s gone. I don’t know if she’s even in the country anymore.”

“Do you think she got grabbed?”

It shakes its head at Kaoruko’s question. She’d been unconscious, and according to what she’d told Vatz surrounded by able-bodied enemies when she finally collapsed. If Enormita or Venalita had wanted her, they’d had ample opportunities to take her as well as Rena. “No. Whatever the cause, she chose to leave, and at this point, I don’t think she wants me to find her. If she ever changes her mind, though… I’ve kept her accounts open. If anybody accesses them, wherever it is in the world, I’ll at least know that it’s happening and be able to make my way there and re-establish contact, if she wants.”

“Do you think she ever will?”

“I don’t know, Kaoruko.” The mascot sighs, finally landing back on the nightstand. “But I hope she does.”

The two girls nod, letting the uneasy silence linger for a few minutes before Kaoruko speaks up again, posing another question to Vatz. “When we were talking to you about Magia Baiser with Sayo, you were asking questions about how exactly she made her monsters. Were you worried Baiser was the one who attacked Randa and her friends?”

“Yes,” Vatz replies softly. “The appearance didn’t sound the same, but the ability to create demons coupled with the sheer amount of power Sayo described made me worry they were the same person or related in some way. It’s why I thought to check if any of her magic was left over inside of Sayo.”

“And they ain’t the same?” They certainly can’t be if Vatz was willing to invite Baiser to join them and leave Enormita behind.

Vatz shakes its head, confirming her suspicions. “Almost certainly not. Their magic is distinctly different from one another. I’d say Magia Baiser’s is more similar to yours than it is to the woman Randa called ‘Lord’.”

That doesn’t bring Kaoruko much comfort, but she nods her head in understanding nonetheless. ‘Better the crazy sex-pervert than the psychotic murderer, I guess.’ The mere thought of facing off against Lord or the other bloodthirst women fill her with worry, and Haruka is clearly doing worse. “Which one do you think is stronger? Lord, or Baiser?”

The mascot doesn’t reply immediately, collecting its thoughts slowly and organizing what little it knows about the two before speaking up. “I don’t know. I suspect Lord is stronger, but I can’t say it with any certainty. Based on similar dregs left behind where other magical girls were assaulted, Lord seems to be able to consistently fight at the same level of power, while Baiser can’t." Even if they are of the same level when at their peak, Baiser’s lack of consistency and refusal to show the same brutality makes her less dangerous overall. “But I can only make assumptions about their power based on what I’ve heard from Sayo and Randa. I’ve never seen Lord in person, and Baiser wasn’t at her strongest when I met her.”

“What do you think we should do then?” If they were to defeat Baiser and her new partner, there’d be nobody to stand in the way of the others in Enormita, but the thought of letting her run amok and harass her friends doesn’t sit right with the brawler either.

“Stay the path,” Vatz replies with a smile. “Train with one another, and when you get the opportunity, bring Baiser down, but keep her alive. When she’s finally been beaten, we’ll tell her just how terrible her allies truly are and convince her to stay by your side.”

The thought of Baiser joining them once she’s finally forced to surrender doesn’t sound out of line with what Sayo had relayed to them, but it doesn’t dispel Kaoruko’s worry about what would follow. “And when the rest of Enormita comes after the four of us?”

“I won’t force you to put yourselves in a fight you don’t think you can win. Whether you fight or hide, the decision will be up to you each to make.”

Randa’s thumb carefully traces along the broken gemstone of her transformative heart, a deep frown upon her features as she stares at it. A month ago, simply holding it had made her feel powerful and important. Two funeral services and her utter helplessness had beaten any pride or self-confidence from the girl with ease. ‘Compared to that woman, I’m nothing. Unworthy to even be swallowed up by her power.’ Her twisted mind turns towards Lord, utterly enthralled by the thought of finally being of use to someone so vastly more powerful and deserving than Randa herself.

“Hello, Magia Blanc.” Randa’s eyes slowly rise from her sullied token, looking at the floating black fox that had appeared within the now-silent training facility. “You look like you’re deep in thought.” Venalita’s mouth is curled up with a gleeful smile as it gazes at the broken shell of the heroine. Since the fighting, it’d followed from afar, watching as Lord’s magic sunk into her and steadily took root within her heart, spreading through her body like the roots of a malign fungal growth. For the first time in a long time, Lord Enorme, the self-proclaimed Supreme Commander of Enormita, had done something impressive. Forcing mana into Magia Blanc had no doubt been an accident, the girl had been in the wrong place when the demon began to melt, and her stamina was so depleted that she’d somehow managed to absorb power from the fiend’s remains, but that little accident had led to an intriguing month of observation and study on the effects of foreign magic upon the body and mind of a magical girl. Unfortunately, the past week had yielded no further insight into her condition. ‘And now it’s time to dispose of you, before Vatz can learn anything further.’

“What are you?” The girl’s words barely rise above a whisper, but with the building silent and otherwise uninhabited, Venalita has no difficulty understanding what she has to say.

“My name is Venalita. I’m the mascot of Enormita, the ones who you and your friends fought against.”

“Why are you here?” Her thoughts should turn towards dread, terrified at the malign creature that now knows her secret identity. Instead, there’s a sense of anticipation, excitement swelling at the thought that she might be taken from the constant state of malaise and brought back into contact with the impossibly strong woman. “Did Lord send you to retrieve me?”

“She did not.” The mascot makes a mental note as Randa’s face falls, excitement crumbling away to heartbreak. “I’ve come to make you an offer.” Randa tilts her head with confusion as the mascot waves an arm, a small black portal rippling open behind it. “I’d like you to walk away from this life. I’ve found an apartment for you, several hours away from this city. The first six months of rent are paid off, and there is a fully stocked pantry and refrigerator with food and supplies, as well as a new cell phone.” Lord Enorme hadn’t been back to her apartment for three months now, and there’s no indication that she would ever want to settle down outside of her decadent stronghold beyond the reach of mundane and magical girl alike, so the mascot sees little harm in using it as a location to relocate the girl who’d unfortunately been caught-up in its little experiment.

Randa listens to it speak, her confusion only growing as it offers her effectively a new life. ‘A new life without the constant reminder of my dead friends. Without Vatz’ expectations and constant disappointment.’ It’d mean leaving behind her family, but it’d also mean an end to seeing the families of her friends, the women who had cast glares at her and said how much they wished it’d been her instead of their daughter when they thought Randa was too far away to speak to them. It’d mean leaving Rena, finally fulfilling the girl’s tearful plea to not see her any longer. She slowly nods her head, switching off her cell phone and setting it aside, gazing up at the smiling monster timidly. “What do I need to do?”

With the girl removed from Vatz’ reach, Venalita returns to Nacht Base, finding its way to the unmarked corner chamber where it’s oldest confident and ally had been awaiting it alongside a dozen of the small golems responsible for maintaining the stronghold. “Greetings, Venalita-Sama.” The purple-haired nun bows her head to the mascot as it joins her in the dungeons, golems already beginning their work to tear apart the unassuming wall at its silent command. “I pray that you were successful in your work.”

“Hello, Gigant. I believe that I was. The opposition won’t be finding Magia Blanc again any time soon.” Large stone bricks tumble from the wall as the small demons break apart mortar and quickly carry them out of the way, revealing the dimly lit stairway that descends further still beneath the bowels of Nacht Base, the sole light radiating from a pair of star-shaped barrier devices set at the top and bottom of the stairs. “Did anything happen in my absence?”

“Enorme wished to speak to you regarding the additional recruits she’d requested. I informed her that you were with one of them at the time she called.” It is easy enough for the duo to mislead the self-important leader of Enormita, but the mascot knows that it will need to speak with her eventually.

As the two descend, Venalita conjures its phone from the ethereal space within its body, quickly navigating to its contacts and calling the woman in question, the phone displaying her contact listed simply as E-7. The two make their way down into the hidden-away space that most of the girls didn’t know about, and which Enorme was unwilling to trek all the way down into to investigate Venalita’s private experiments.

“Venalita,” Enorme’s callous and downright venomous tone isn’t enough to make Venalita’s smile waver, its endeavors far too long in the making for her usual attitude to even sully its good mood. “You informed me that you were in the process of selecting new recruits , when will they be ready to present?”

“Patience, my Lord. You’ve requested individuals of the highest quality for your organization, and that takes time.” The mascot had yet to begin searching, the past weeks spent watching over Randa and taking care of its personal project within its own testing space beneath the base, but there’s little to gain by admitting such to the gullible woman. “I’ve only granted a single magical girl her star at this time, but I assure you that you will not be disappointed by her. I expect to select the beneficiaries of my remaining two stars before the end of this month.”

After a long pause where only the woman’s angry breaths could be heard, Enorme directs another question towards the mascot. “And how strong is this recruit?”

“A two star, but shaping up to be a skilled addition to your current team.” Anything less than that would surely invite her anger, while a three-star would lead to Enorme’s interest piquing, neither options which are favorable to the mascot’s current lack of any tangible progress on her instructions. ‘Introducing a four-star magical girl would be the worst option of all, of course. Enorme would either throw her in a cell or throw another tantrum if she thought her position at the top was being threatened.’

“After a month, that’s the best that you can do?” Her tone is one of disappointment, the perfect lack of actual interest that enables the mascot to continue its own efforts while only barely playing along with her orders.

“As I said, quality takes time. This one will be exceedingly loyal to you as well, unlike the last batch that you were rather displeased by. I promise that these girls will be well worth the wait.”

“Fine. But I expect the other two magical girls will be three stars, do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly, Lord.”

“Good.” With that, the woman disconnects the call and Venalita tucks its phone back into the darkness from whence it came, slowing to a stop as it and Sister Gigant reach the bottom of the staircase.

The nun gently opens the metal door for it, and the mascot drifts through, smiling as it eyes the collection of curios it’d gathered, magical girl weaponry and transformative trinkets that predate Enormita’s founding in many cases. Its focus doesn’t lie on that today, however, instead drifting further into the room, towards the eighth experiment the mascot had undertaken since it resumed its activities among humanity. At the end of the long chamber, chains binding all four limbs, lies a nude girl, covered in her own blood.

Hearing the sound of Gigant’s bare feet on the stone floor, the girl glances up, dull and hazy blue eyes staring up at the mascot that had finally returned for presumably another invasive procedure to discover just what enabled her to fight with such potent strength. “Please,” throat parched and raw, her words barely pass her lips, “kill me. Let this end, if you’ve any kindness.”

“I’m afraid not.” It drifts off to the side, collecting a stoppered flask containing just over a quarter of a liter of leftover ichor from one of its fallen demons, pulling out the cork before carrying the vial over to the broken girl. “Today begins the second stage of our study.” Gigant takes hold of the girl’s head, tipping it back and allowing Vena to press the vial between the prisoner’s lips before tilting it upwards, letting the black, mana-rich sludge slowly flow down the flask and into the girl’s mouth. “Drink up now, Valkyrie. I’m so terribly excited to see how you turn out.”

Chapter Text

Kiwi sighs in exhaustion as the bell lets out its final shrill call for the day, completing her very first day in public school. It’d not been all she’d hoped for by any stretch. The girls were quiet and seldom most of her interactions had been limited to speaking to Utena and Kaoruko in the classroom, and Utena had declined her invitation to go eat together, but at least she was close to the beautiful and sadistic teen who’d stolen her heart.

Of course, on the other side of her desk was a girl she was decidedly less pleased with. ‘Sayo Minakami, eh? Don’t think your big tits are enough to steal my Utena.’ Unaware of Kiwi’s jealous glares, Sayo stops by the much-to-cheery pink-headed girl’s desk, discussing some frivolous plans, leaving Kiwi the perfect opportunity to seize the moment.

With swift and graceful strides, Kiwi slips out of her seat and crosses the small gap between her desk and Utena’s, grabbing the petite pervert and pulling her into a tight embrace from behind, pressing her chest against Utena’s back and lifting her feet off the ground just a hair. Utena lets out a yelp in shock, but Kiwi still leans in close, kissing the nape of her neck softly before whispering into her ear. “Heeeeey, Utena-Chan. Wanna go get sushi after class with me?”

“K-Kiwi!” Utena squirms, and Kiwi relents, setting the girl back down on her feet before letting her free from her arms, and Utena turns back to face her teammate with a gentle frown. “I’m sorry, Kiwi, I already have plans with Sayo today. Maybe we could hang out tomorrow?”

“Oh, yeah, no biggie.” Kiwi’s face falls and she quickly turns away, staring woefully towards Sayo and her friends. “You have lots of fun, okay? I’ll be around if you need anything.” Her voice cracks as she imagines Utena and Sayo together, perhaps spending the undoubtedly significant sums of cash Venalita pays Utena at a nice restaurant or a hotel room together. 

Utena carefully steps up beside Kiwi and casts a glance up at the girl’s pained face, immediately recognizing the look of sorrow and envy painted over Kiwi even without relying on her transformation. ‘Though, I don’t know what to say to fix it.’ Kiwi catches sight of Utena out of the corner of her eye and turns away again to hide her expression. “Kiwi,” the girl doesn’t give her enough time to speak.

“Please, not right now, Utena. I’m just…” Angry is the best word that she can think of, though she wouldn’t say it to Utena, least of all admit that she’s angry at someone Utena very deeply cares about. Between losing to Sulfur so badly that she’d needed to be bailed out, eating alone in the stairwell, and losing out on time with Utena, her cheer and pep is just about out. “I’ve had a rough day, Utena. You should go have fun, I’d just like to have some time to sulk, okay?”

“If that’s what you want,” Utena whispers back softly. “Just, call if you need anything, okay?” Kiwi nods before slinking back to her desk, dropping heavily into her seat and hiding her angry expression with her arms. After a moment of pause, Utena turns back to her things, gathering the last of her school supplies before heading for the door and the blue-haired girl undoubtedly waiting for her.

After a few minutes, when the classroom is empty, Kiwi slams both arms against her desk before getting up onto her feet, marching around the room with her feet loudly stomping. “Damn it! Why? How could I lose to that stupid girl, and now Sayo? Who the hell does she think she is! Why can’t she just leave my Utena alone!” Magic crackles over her body even untransformed, the envious void in her chest swelling and reacting with her transformative star as she focuses her eyes on Sayo’s desk, her magic threatening to spill over and transform unbidden as her emotions run out of her control. “You don’t deserve her, stupid idiot! You wouldn’t love the real her!” Not the girl full of confidence, controlling everything and everyone around her. Not the girl who’d burned and bitten, extracting every bit of pleasure and pain from her. “You’d never be able to endure all her desires.” Kiwi pauses, resting a hand on Sayo’s desk and grinning like mad. “Maybe I should tell you just what my Utena-Chan is really like, and we’ll see if you still want to stand between us!”

“Kiwi?” Venalita stares in surprise at the magical girl, her emotions running haywire, mere moments from forcibly transforming herself as she doesn’t even attempt to claw back control or emotional stability. ‘I didn’t even have to do anything to make this happen to her.’ While Kiwi and Utena have distinctly different magic that the mascot can use to easily tell which of them is which at even immense distances, the sight of Kiwi’s power overflowing unprompted gives it pause, only for a moment before its smile obscures its surprised look. “Calm down and take a breath, Kiwi. Who’s getting in between you and Utena, exactly?”

The girl turns up to the smiling mascot, face marred by tears spilling from her eyes. “She’s got some stupid girlfriend!”

Yet another unexpected development, and Venalita’s smile only grows wider as it drifts closer, gently brushing away Kiwi’s tears with its sleeves. On its back, as tiny as she can make herself, Gigant shifts to hide better from the teen. “Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard anything about this.”

“R-Really?” Kiwi’s anger starts to fizzle and turn to simple sadness, and her magic starts to return to normal, the green energy rising off her body fading away.

“Of course.” It carefully rests its arm against Kiwi’s cheek and smiles. “I’d have told you if I didn’t think she was just as interested in pursuing you as you are in her. I’m sorry.” Eager to get more insight, it nods its head towards one of the myriad empty chairs with a smile. “Would you like to vent? A very small shoulder to cry on perhaps? I’ll gladly listen to your woes, if it would help.”

“A-and you won’t tell Utena?” Kiwi sniffles, emotionally vulnerable before the mascot, her only thoughts on her desire for Utena’s attention and adoration.

“Cross my heart and wish to die, Kiwi. I’ll not tell another living soul.”

Sayo wraps her arms around Utena as the smaller girl steps out of the their school, gently squeezing her sides and offering a sympathetic smile as she sees Utena’s saddened expression. “Hey, dearest. Is something the matter?”

“I guess. I’m just worried about Kiwi.” Utena casts a glance back towards their classroom before hugging Sayo back, kissing her girlfriend’s neck chastely before the pair start to walk out of the classroom. “You don’t need to worry about it, though.”

“But I would like to help.” Sayo wraps an arm around Utena’s side as she walks. “If you want to talk about it, of course.”

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t want her to feel left out or unwanted, but... She’s not my girlfriend. You are.”

Sayo hums softly, gently guiding Utena as they walk through their school’s gates and start down the sidewalk, the crowd slowly dissolving as they get further and other students turn away from them. “Well, do you want to be more intimate with her?”

“What do you mean?” Utena looks up at Sayo with a puzzled expression, and her girlfriend smiles down at her.

“If you weren’t dating me, would you be interested in Kiwi romantically? Or are you only interested in her sexually?” She’s certainly attracted to Kiwi, the marks that she’d left on the girl more than prove that, so the question only becomes whether that attraction extends beyond simple lust.

“I’m not sure.” This morning, she’d had a similarly uncomfortable conversation with her girlfriend about pursuing other partners as well, but she hadn’t expected it to come up so quickly. “Kiwi’s sweet, but I barely know her.”

Sayo lets out another low hum in response, weighing Utena’s words carefully before verbalizing her response. “Well, if you ever decide that you want to pursue her romantically, just speak with me first, okay?” She softly reminds Utena of her earlier words with a smile. “We might not be the most normal couple, but I want to ensure that you never feel unfulfilled.”

“Won’t that hurt you, though?” Utena’s voice wavers, full of concern over Sayo’s feelings, bringing a warm and gentle smile to the red-eyed girl’s face.

Sayo slows, gently bringing her other hand up to cup Utena’s cheek and tilt her head up so the two are looking directly at one another. “No, because I’ll get to see you thrive and bloom to become even more amazing than you already are. Besides, I know just how much love you have inside, dearest.” Her girlfriend stares, mouth opening, but no words come to her, instead simply blushing brightly as Sayo bends down to kiss her on the tip of her nose softly. “Whatever you choose, I’ll be right by your side, supporting you. Just like I know you’ll always support me, my love.”

“Thank you, Sayo,” Utena squeaks out softly, kissing her girlfriend’s cheek before turning her gaze forwards, the duo resuming their walk.

“Of course, Utena.” Sayo smiles in amusement, gently squeezing the purple-haired girl against her side before her words turn to a teasing tone. “Now, let’s get a move on. I need to replace all the clothes that don’t fit thanks to a certain someone.” With her tone playful and gentle, as well as the delightful chime of Sayo’s laughter, Utena joins in, a bashful chuckle escaping her as the two of them continue their walk.

It's only a few minutes before the two of them reach the large mall near the outside edge of their town, and Sayo quickly leads Utena inside, keeping the girl close. As they walk, aiming for a small department store where the duo can do some clothing shopping, hands clasped together and fingers intertwined as they walk. “So, Utena,” her girlfriend tilts her head up to meet Sayo’s gaze with a smile, “do you have any spending money? I know you said last week that you’d spent all of your allowance already. Would you like me to cover for you today?”

“N-No, I couldn’t ask you to do that!” Utena quickly stammers out a refusal, unwilling to accept her partner’s money just to spend on clothes or other things just for herself to enjoy. “Besides, Venalita’s been paying me, s-so I have spending money again. Actually, it’s a lot more than the allowance my Mom gave me.” Utena nervously signs in to her bank account before showing Sayo the balance in the account Venalita had opened in her name, already having accumulated more than one million yen in only a week of being a magical girl. Not life-changing wealth, certainly, but enough to comfortably spend on outings with friends or dates without any risk of burning through her funds.

“Oh my. Congratulations, Utena! That’s a really nice paycheck!” Sayo smiles, gently squeezing Utena’s hand in her own. “Just make sure you don’t spend it too quickly, okay? I’m sure your mother would notice if you suddenly bought enough Tres Magia merchandise to redecorate your whole room with.”

“I’ll be careful with it, and I promise I won’t bring too much home.” Her thoughts turn to the pretty bland room where she’d left Kiwi in Nacht Base for a moment, idly pondering whether or not she’d get in trouble for decorating her bedroom in the base with Tres Magia paraphernalia before pocketing her phone once again, switching it off as she tucks it out of sight. “Um, if you would like, I could cover your shopping, Sayo, since I’m the reason your old clothes don’t fit anymore.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Sayo teases softly with a warm smile on her face. “If I don’t get to spend my money on you, you shouldn’t get to spend it buying me gifts, Utena.”

“But, it’s not gifts. It’s my fault, you shouldn’t have to waste your money because I messed up.” Utena frowns, a guilty feeling growing in her stomach at the thought of her girlfriend being put in a bad situation because of her.

Sayo sighs, her smile only growing as she looks at her girlfriend, the petite girl uncomfortable and guilty. “If you really want to, you’re welcome to it,” Sayo relents with a smile. “But I get to buy you at least one item too, something I pick out. Is that alright with you?”

“O-Okay, but nothing too embarrassing, okay? I don’t want you to buy me something I’m not going to wear.” ‘What would Sayo pick out? Some sort of latex outfit like the girls in my smutty magazines? Or would it be something else, a revealing set of lingerie that leaves my body on full display? Worse, even?’ Even as she imagines those outfits, she doesn’t protest against the idea, simply gazing up into Sayo’s beautiful eyes as her girlfriend nods with a gentle smile.

“I promise, nothing that’s too uncomfortable for you to wear, sweetheart.” Utena nods in acquiescence, and Sayo gently bends down to kiss her upon the lips, fingers of her free hand gently resting on the back of her girlfriend’s head as she softly presses her lips against the blushing girl, her lips gently nibbling on Utena’s before withdrawing with the sugary taste of her girlfriend on her tongue.

Utena follows Sayo with a warm smile as her girlfriend carefully reviews the aisle, carefully reviewing the cup sizes and comparing the different colors and patterns available. She slowly picks out a few in solid white hues and a few in solid black that fit the new measurements she’d taken a few days earlier in preparation for the Tuesday shopping trip that they’d unfortunately needed to postpone. “I’m going to try these on if you don’t mind, Utena?”

“No, not at all! I’m happy to wait until you’re done.” The golden-eyed girl smiles up at her girlfriend as she makes her way into the changing room, and Sayo slowly starts to shut the door behind herself, pausing long enough to flash Utena a smile and blow her a kiss.

“Feel free to look around if you’d like too, dearest, there’s lots of cute clothes you can pick out.” Utena lets out a noncommittal hum in response as Sayo closes the door, and after a moment, Utena steps away, quietly making her way through other aisles and browsing, looking at more conservatively cut dresses that are available, the kind of modest attire that she’d normally wear, her eyes quickly seeking out those in cool colors. Her fingers idly run over the fabric of some of them, feeling the sleeker garments with smooth, machined stitching before striding past, nervously continuing past the more modest clothing and over to ones a bit more flashy and revealing beyond her normal tastes.

None of the outfits come anywhere close to being as revealing as her own attire when she transforms, but they still feel revealing. ‘Maybe it’s because I wouldn’t be transformed? I’d just be me, not Magia Baiser.’ Dresses with short skirts that come down to the mid-thigh, strapless tops that leave cleavage exposed and display her body more deeply than anything in her wardrobe. ‘Sayo would look amazing in these, but I’m not sure I would.’

“See something that you’d like?” Sayo gently hugs her arms around Utena, a handful of bras tucked under one arm as she embraces her girlfriend from behind. “Maybe the nice purple?” Sayo gently picks up a soft, purple dress off one of the display racks, with a knee-length skirt no less modest than their school uniforms and only a tasteful hint of cleavage on display, arms bare except for the straps over the shoulder.

“It’s pretty,” she admits softly, “I’m not sure when I’d want to wear it, though. I don’t usually dress up like this.”

“If I bought it, would you wear it?” Sayo gently holds the garment up to Utena with a smile, quickly putting it back and searching for one in a smaller size.

“Maybe, on special occasions, but it’s not something I’d wear every day.” She smiles nervously as Sayo holds the dress up to her again, this one in a smaller size. “Do you think it would look nice on me, Sayo?”

“I do,” the girl replies with a gentle voice softly encouraging her girlfriend with a warm smile on her lips. “If you would like to try it on, I would love to see how it fits you.”

Utena swallows nervously before taking the dress from Sayo’s hands. “I’ll try, then. Just for you.” With Sayo trailing behind her, Utena hurriedly walks back to the changing room, stepping inside while Sayo waits by the door. After quickly changing out of her school uniform, Utena quietly steps back out, clad in the delicate, deep purple dress and smiling up at her taller girlfriend.

“You look amazing, dearest.” Sayo smiles, utterly smitten as Utena gives her a nervous twirl. It’s a simple change, the dress only baring her arms and sternum beyond what their uniforms would, but it makes Utena look utterly majestic all the same. ‘Of course, she’s adorable even in her other dresses or our uniform, but she looks so much more pretty and bold like this.’ Not as revealing or downright sexual as Baiser, but more outgoing and revealing more of her body to touch, caress, and kiss. “Absolutely beautiful, though I’d say that regardless of what you were wearing.” Her voice shifts to a lighter and more teasing tone for the last little comment. “Or not wearing, my beloved Baiser.”

Utena blushes at Sayo’s words, but her smile grows wider at the words. “Do you think that I should buy it though?”

“If you think you would wear it, I’d love to buy you a pretty dress to wear on a date someday. But, if you won’t wear it, then it doesn’t make sense to spend money on it.” Sayo gently rests a hand on Utena’s shoulder, bare except for the strap of the dress, squeezing it reassuringly.

“Then, I’ll buy it, even if I might only wear it to your house.” She steps back into the changing room, quickly redressing in her uniform before rejoining Sayo outside, dress in hand.

“That’s perfect,” Sayo replies with a warm smile, quickly taking her girlfriend’s hand and pulling her back out into the store proper. “Let’s go and pay for these, and then I can pick out a swimsuit for you to wear.”

“S-Swimsuit? Why would I need that?” Utena doesn’t struggle against Sayo as the girl leads her back towards the front of the store, passing by others their age and a few adults, smiling with delight at Sayo’s eagerness and warm touch.

“You said you wanted one for the hot spring behind my house, didn’t you?” Sayo quickly helps ring all of their purchases thus far up before turning back to her girlfriend. “Are you sure that you want to pay for my things? It’s no trouble if you’d rather me cover it.”

“I’m sure.” She nervously pulls out the black-and-purple bank card that Venalita had given her for her new account before passing it to the cashier with a smile. “Please, put everything on this.”

After scanning the card, the cashier hands it back with a smile, passing the girls the small shopping bag of undergarments for Sayo as well as their receipt with a smile. “Thank you for your patronage, please feel free to come back at any time ladies!”

“We will, thank you!” With the transaction concluded and both bags under one arm, Sayo reaches out and takes Utena’s hand on her opposite side, offering a small frown as she sees her girlfriend glance down towards the ground with disinterest. “Do you want to take a break from clothes shopping, darling?”

She shakes her head and offers a small smile at her girlfriend in response, but Sayo can see it is a forced gesture. “I don’t mind if you want to keep going.”

“But is there something you’d like to do more, sweetheart? Another store, or maybe we could get some food and take a seat for a little while? We don’t need to do something you aren’t interested in.” She gently squeezes Utena’s hand with her own as she extends the offer, and Utena’s smile grows a hint more genuine in turn.

“I’d like that, actually. Maybe we could find a bench to sit down and just talk for a little bit?” Clothing shopping isn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but it certainly isn’t the most fun either. ‘Just spending some time talking together sounds like it’d be nice instead.’

“Ouch. I’m sorry to hear that, Kiwi.” The girl lets out a low groan, her fingernail idly picking at her desk. The mascot gently brushes her face once again, patting her cheek gently and offering her a smile. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Tell Utena to dump that hag?” Her tone is tired, worn-down by the fighting and her emotional outburst before that, and not even the faintest hint of hope is present in her voice, already confident that Venalita won’t do such a thing.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any authority there, Kiwi. If she wants this, there’s nothing I can do to stop her.”

She lets out a low grunt in response, rapping her fingers against the desk. ‘Maybe I could just blow her up, like I was gonna get rid of those magical bitches? But, Utena would never forgive me if I touch her girlfriend.’ The girl gags in disgust at the word, bile racing up her throat before she manages to swallow it back down. ‘I just want her to call me cute again, and cradle me in her arms. Is that too much for me to ask for?’

“You shouldn’t just sit here beating yourself up, Kiwi.” The mascot speaks up after a few minutes of her silently stewing in her dismay, and the magical girl turns her focus back to it.

“What else am I gonna do?”

“Shopping?”

“Spent my allowance.”

“Fight some magical girls?”

“Been there, done that, didn’t go well.”

“Go home and watch TV?”

“Really? That’s the best you’ve got?”

“What about social media, then? You could try to post some new photos there?”

“Nah,” Kiwi replies with a frown. “My feed will just be weirdos going crazy over the magical girls again.”

“I see. Maybe you’d like to take some time to yourself in Nacht Base, then? I think some of the other girls your age have some games you might like there, or I could get a demon for you to spar against?”

“Eh, not interested.” She puts on a warmer tone and gives the mascot a miserable smile. “I appreciate the effort, mostly. If it means that much to you, I’ll find something to do around town, Vena.”

“That’s all I could ask for. Take care of yourself, Kiwi, and remember to call me or Utena if you need anything.”

The couple settle down beside a small internal fountain, Utena leaning into her girlfriend tiredly while Sayo simply wraps an arm around her and smiles warmly. She gently brings her other hand up to her girlfriend’s head, leaving their recent purchases and bookbags unattended at her feet as she nudges stray hairs out of Utena’s face. A few minutes pass, simply holding her girlfriend in peaceful quiet before she finally musters up something to say to break the gentle quiet of the fountain bubbling. “I’m glad that we became friends, and that I got to know both sides of you, Utena.”

“I feel the same way,” she replies with a soft smile, letting her eyes flutter shut as she enjoys the tender embrace and light touches of her girlfriend. “Even before this morning, I was so happy that Haruka introduced us and I got to become friends with the three of you. The fact that the three of you came to check up on me when I was sick means so much, too.”

“We were pretty worried,” Sayo runs a hand through Utena’s hair gently as she speaks. “I’m glad that you’re feeling better today, though. I thought you just had a rough cold, but then you wound up getting way worse with a fever.”

“That’s probably my fault,” Utena admits with a nervous chuckle. “I wound up going on an outing with Venalita, then I got into a fight. When I transformed back, all the fatigue just hit me at once.” Sayo frowns, gently pinching Utena’s cheek and prompting a little squeak from the girl. “Ow.”

“You need to take better care of yourself, sweetheart. If you’re sick you can’t be going out and fighting. Even if you transform, it takes a lot of stamina out of you.”

“Yeah, Venalita didn’t mention that. It thought something was wrong because I wasn’t indulging myself, but… Apparently that wasn’t the only thing that was making me feel under the weather.” She pauses for a few seconds before posing a question curiously. “Is that actually a thing that can happen? Not transforming, and having an ill effect from that?”

“I don’t know. Magenta, Sulfur and I certainly haven’t had that experience, but your transformation seems a bit different to our own to say the least. It was a power given to you by a different, and honestly more suspicious individual, and if Leopard is anything to go off of, it seems like it is fueled by a much different kind of emotion to myself and the rest of Tres Magia. You can definitely do some of the same things as us, flying, transforming, and being physically more durable.” Her arm around Utena dips lower, gently pressing down nearly in the place where she’d been struck by Haruka during their first ever confrontation. “Depending of course on the mana you have available. But, you don’t use any elemental attacks or spells that I’ve seen, you just…” She waves her hand, recalling the pure, undiluted power that Magia Baiser had showcased, a single wave of raw magic tearing through the frigid barrier she’d called upon. “As far as I can tell, you just force pure mana out of yourself somehow. It feels different than when my teammates or Leopard fight, so maybe it could cause you to feel unwell if you don’t transform enough?”

“Maybe…” Utena glances down to her backpack, the colorless, unbound heart that Vatz had given her tucked away within. “Do you think that would change if I stopped fighting for Enormita one day?”

“I’m not sure,” Sayo admits sadly. “Have you been considering Vatz’ offer lately?”

“Yeah. Every day, I can’t help but to imagine going up against Enormita, and knowing that I’d be doing it alongside you makes the idea much more tempting.”

“Do you think you’re going to accept?”

“I don’t know.” She lets out another soft laugh. “Every time I think about it, the offer is tempting. I’d get to put an end to the drama, and try to live a normal life, or at least get to be a hero instead of a villain. But, if I choose to do that, you’d be in danger, we’d definitely be hunted down, and I don’t know if we can defend against Enormita even with the four of us working together, or with Leopard’s assistance if you were to accept her.” There’s more to it than that, another reason that’s more selfish that encourages her to continue as well. ‘I’d never get the same opportunities to make Magenta and Sulfur squirm if I were to accept its offer. I’d have to give up every part of being a villain, even the parts that I’ve come to adore. Maybe I could be their friend, but certainly not their lover, nor would I be able to enjoy my prize for defeating them in combat.’ Perhaps she’d be able to see them continue to grow stronger by her side, but it’d mean forever altering their relationship in a way that requires significant sacrifices on her behalf.

“I understand,” Sayo gently squeezes Utena once again, making no effort to push deeper into the reasons that Utena has for being hesitant. “If you ever do decide you want to join us, we’d be happy to have you, but until then I’ll look forward to every cruel strategy you come up with to fight against us. Or the gentler moments when the dust settles, like you showed today, and last time we fought together.”

“I’ll be looking forwards to it as well, my precious Azul.” Utena shifts closer, lifting her hips off the bench and settling into her girlfriend’s lap with a smile. “Would you prefer the cruel, or the gentle?”

“A mix of both would be nice,” Sayo replies with a smile, a faint shiver racing down her spine as Utena’s lips part enough to bare her fangs, golden eyes glimmering with lust and sadistic desire. “But I enjoy spending time with you, being intimate, fighting together, or just spending time with our friends. The sex is definitely nice though.” She gently guides her lips down to Utena’s own, kissing her girlfriend deeply.

“True,” Utena whispers as their lips part, leaning her head against Sayo’s warm and plush breasts. “I love you, Sayo.”

“I love you too, Utena.” The two sit together in comfortable quiet for a few minutes, Sayo gently rubbing small circles between Utena’s shoulders, simply enjoying the peace and warmth radiating from one another’s bodies.

“Should we tell Sayo any of this?” Kaoruko asks after Vatz’ story is concluded and Haruka has had a few minutes to compose herself once again. “Hell, even Baiser ain’t gonna like hearing about what the others in Enormita did.”

“She might already know,” Haruka points out timidly, and Vatz nods.

“I suspect that she’s aware of it, if not in every minute detail at least in broad strokes she must know that they are responsible for attacking magical girls. As for sharing with Sayo, I’ll trust your best judgement. If you think she deserves to know, or needs to know, then I would only ask that you tell her in private and keep it amongst yourselves. Nobody other than magical girls and the families of those who were attacked are aware these events took place, and I would like to keep it that way.”

“We ain’t gonna share it with anyone else, Vatz. Promise.”

“Thank you, girls.” Haruka nods in confirmation, and the mascot floats back from them, a rift of pale light splitting open in the air for it to depart through. Before it does, it hesitates, posing one final question to them. “By the way, you mentioned that Sayo and Utena were dating. Is Utena aware that Sayo is Magia Azul?”

“Probably not, but we didn’t wind up asking when we had time after fighting Baiser and Leopard.” Haruka answers softly, and Kaoruko nods.

“We might be able to find out though. Is it a problem if she does find out?”

“Not exactly a problem, but it’s something that could put Utena in more danger if someone in Enormita learns that she knows one of your identities. So long as she doesn’t share that fact, it shouldn’t be an issue.” It smiles at the two heroines reassuringly. “Just be careful, is all I can ask you. I know you’re all friends with her, but she’s not a part of Tres Magia, so you should be careful with her. She’s much more vulnerable than the three of you, after all.” With that, the mascot departs through the rift, leaving the two girls to their own thoughts.

Sayo shifts, finally breaking the quiet intimacy with a gentle smile on her face and her voice full of love and devotion. “Is there somewhere you’d like to go today, sweetheart? I know that you weren’t very interested looking at clothing, is there something you’d like to eat or another store you might be a bit more interested in checking out?”

“I’d be happy checking out another store, did you have one in mind?”

“There’s a store that sells a lot of magical girl themed collectables, maybe that’d be fun?”

“Sure!” Utena immediately perks up, but she pauses and gives a sheepish smile a moment later, quickly amending her statement. “If it’s not too embarrassing for you, of course.”

“Not at all. Anything that makes your eyes light up so brightly sounds perfect.” Sayo gently kisses Utena on her nose, smiling and lifting her blushing girlfriend up off her lap and onto her feet. Sayo stands a moment later, grabbing their bags and following after Utena as the shorter girl takes the lead, more than familiar with the store in question.

After only a short and hurried walk, the two arrive at the store in question, Utena rushing inside and looking around excitedly at stocked shelves of figurines, toy wands, and plush toys, some recreations of herself and Tres Magia while others are of different magical girl teams further from their home, and even a few are from . ‘I wish that there were figures of Magia Baiser. Though, I doubt that a villain’s aesthetic would fit well here.’

Sayo quickly follows behind Utena with an amused smile as she rushes around the shelves, pointing out different items and figurines. Sayo pauses and just smiles as Utena stops besides a two-thirds scale figure of Magia Azul on display, careful not to touch it but simply staring at it and casting the occasional glance back towards her girlfriend, finally able to recognize the features of her classmate. Sayo smiles at Utena, stepping up beside her girlfriend and her smaller statuette. “So, sweetheart, want to buy me?”

With a giggle at the particular and very intentional phrasing, Utena shakes her head. “I’d never be able to explain to Mom where I got the money. You’d be worth every last yen, but 90,000 is just too much to explain away.” She pauses, thinking for a few moments. ‘I could always put it in Nacht Base, though that might cause some drama when I finally meet the others in Enormita.’

“You could tell her that I bought it for you, if you’d like,” Sayo offers gently. “I did say I wanted to buy something for you after all.”

“That was clothes, this is way more expensive than that, Sayo.” Utena keeps her protests quiet, but she doesn’t let her hesitancy show on her face. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable asking you for that, dearest.”

“You’re not asking, though,” Sayo corrects her with a warm smile and a gentle tap on the tip of her nose. “I’m offering. If you really don’t want me to, that’s okay, but if you would like it, just say the word.”

It takes her a moment to think, but she shakes her head and smiles, her voice soft. “I really appreciate it, but, I have something much, much better than just a toy.” She cups Sayo’s cheek, and her girlfriend leans down, bringing their lips together once more in a deep kiss. Utena’s tongue gently presses to Sayo’s lips, and she lets her own part, pressing her tongue to Utena’s in a passionate, deep exchange of passion and saliva before pulling away.

Sayo doesn’t press the more expensive statue, though as they continue their tour and Utena flits about the shelves, she does insist on picking out a single piece, quietly scooping up a more manageable figurine at a one-fifth scale, buying it while Utena eagerly gazes at some of the newest products Vatz or other mascots had arranged since then. Once her purchase is completed and hidden away in a bag, Sayo rejoins her girlfriend with a smile as she watches Utena bounce about, eyes full of passion and excitement.

Eventually, the two of them step out of the store, the sun starting to dip low upon the horizon, and Utena sighs in disappointment, her enthusiasm dying down as she checks the time. “I should probably head home, it’s getting late and I have homework to do.”

“That’s true,” Sayo agrees, bending down to kiss her girlfriend’s lips, her own brushing gently across them with a warm smile. Light, and soft, and gentle, just a quick little kiss to ensure Utena’s sweet taste lingers on her lips just a bit longer. “Before you go, I’d like you to have this, since you don’t have anything else to remember her by.”

Utena had been expecting one of the figurines of Magia Azul, but the one that her girlfriend produces isn’t her own alter-ego. Instead, it is a scale model of Magia Magenta that Sayo hands to her within a plastic and cardboard box, the figure displayed with a proud expression, spear planted against the circular base with one foot on the guard, her free hand flashing a peace sign in front of her radiant smile. “Th-Thank you, Sayo.”

“I just hope you don’t already have it,” Sayo gently replies. “I considered one of Sulfur, but…” She trails off with an amused smile as she recalls Kaoruko’s utterly indignant rage after their first fight, when she’d realized Baiser had stolen her panties away before withdrawing.

“I love it. Thank you, dearest.” Utena wraps her arms around Sayo, squeezing her in a tight hug that presses her face against her magical girl’s bosom, warm and soft breasts pressing back against her face through their school shirt.

“Of course, sweetheart.” Sayo replies, gently pulling Utena into one final hug, squeezing her tight before withdrawing and gently coaxing Utena into doing the same. “Would you like me to walk you home?”

“Thank you, but you don’t need to. I’m sure that you have your own work to do for tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Sayo replies with a smile, passing off Utena’s backpack and the shopping bag with her new dress to her girlfriend with a warm smile. “Then, feel free to text or call if you need anything, make sure to study for tomorrow’s exam, and I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you too.” Utena’s smile doesn’t waver even for a moment as she and Sayo step out into the light of the early evening before splitting off from her girlfriend to continue walking toward her home.

Sayo watches on with a smile, contented with having spent the afternoon with Utena without any lies or secrets to hold her back from sharing her truest self with her girlfriend. It’d been far from the most exciting or high-energy date that they could’ve gone on, but the simple, peaceful moments that they’d shared more than fill her with joy, and her heart sings with love as she watches Utena walk until she turns off onto another road, and only then does Sayo turn away to start her own trek home, eagerly awaiting the next chance she’ll have to see Utena in the coming morning.

Chapter Text

“Well, that exam sucked.” Utena announces with a sigh as Sayo and Haruka quietly wait for her after the rest of the class had filtered out. “At least it’s done.”

“I didn’t think that it was that bad,” Haruka glances between the couple with a stern frown. “Did you two stay out late and not manage to study?”

“We got home reasonably early!” Sayo quickly says to defend herself from Haruka’s sudden fierceness. “But, Haruka is right, I didn’t think it was all that bad either. Did you study like I reminded you to?”

“I tried, but I couldn’t get in the right headspace. I just tried to cram it in before the exam,” Utena admits with a regretful expression, her stress only worsened by Haruka and Sayo’s visible disappointment, even when they try to quickly hide it. This is her own fault for not studying, and she knows it as well as they do. 

“Maybe we can do a study session for the next exam? The three of us, and maybe Kaoruko or Kiwi would want to join in too?” Haruka offers with a smile. “That way, you’d have to study, even if you really don’t want to.”

“Maybe,” Utena replies, trying to avoid committing to anything. ‘If Vena decides to call on me, I don’t know how I’d get out of there.’

Sayo gently rests a hand on Utena’s cheek, tilting her head up so that she can see those delightful golden eyes, smiling warmly at her sulking girlfriend. “She’s right, Utena. Your education is important, and this way, you’d have people to hold you accountable to studying, so you can’t just put it off forever.” She gently brushes her thumb over Utena’s lips, pausing for a moment just to admire her girlfriend. “You don’t need to say yes, but I would encourage it, sweetheart. At least think on it, okay?”

Utena nods softly, putting on a smile for a few seconds before it crumbles from her built-up stress thinking on the exam. “I’ll think about it, I promise.”

“Good,” Sayo replies happily, shifting her hand from Utena and gathering up her pens and notebook for her with a smile. “Do you want to walk home with us today? I’m sure that my family wouldn’t mind if you’d like to stay over, either.”

“I can’t, I have plans with Kiwi today. She’s probably waiting for me downstairs.” Specifically, the plans with Kiwi would amount to rewarding the girl for her good behavior yesterday during their fighting. Her initial plan had been to pin down the girl in Nacht Base and ravage her body once again, but instead, Kiwi had simply asked her to spend some time together, reaffirming the desire she’d had to go get sushi and spend a little bit of time together without her other friends lingering nearby. ‘And she definitely deserves something that simple and easy, if it’s what she wants.’

“Really?” Haruka asks with a hint of surprise, having expected Utena to want to stick to Sayo’s side, though she doesn’t push the topic. “Well, if you’re sure, I guess the two of us should get going?”

“Yeah.” Sayo bends down and presses her lips against Utena’s, parting her own and gently nipping at Utena’s for a few seconds before retreating with her girlfriend’s sweet taste filling her senses once again. “Have fun today, sweetheart, and make sure you text me when you get home.”

“I will,” Utena’s smile grows a bit wider and more genuine, “thanks, Sayo.”

“Of course. I love you, Utena.”

“I love you too, dearest.” Her cheeks tinge red, love and lust both heavy in her mind as she stares up at her girlfriend and beloved heroine, their friends none the wiser of just how they tumbled into their strange but passionate love for one another.

After another painful headbutt, a flurry of small kisses over her cheek, and getting their food, Utena let Kiwi enthusiastically drag her over to a bench, smiling nervously as Kiwi sat down and pressed up against her side with a much more enthused grin, opening her small plastic container. “Thanks for agreeing to this, Utena-Chan!”

“Of course! You’re my friend, and I did promise you a reward for having such good behavior.” Utena keeps a cheerful tone as she replies, but the sight of strangers passing by as she eats does make her feel more self-conscious and nervous. She doesn’t voice the complaint though, nor raise a fuss about Kiwi eagerly rubbing up against her and pressing close enough that simply moving her right arm becomes difficult. “How much do I owe you for my food, by the way?”

Kiwi quickly chews on her food until it is small enough pieces to be able to easily swallow down, amusement washing over her features as she responds in a light-hearted tone. “Nothing, Utena-Chan! I asked you out, remember? I’m not gonna ask you to pay when I invited you.”

“Are you sure? Vena said you weren’t going to be getting paid, so I don’t want to eat into your money too much…”

Kiwi’s smile grows wider as Utena quietly worries over her finances. “It’s okay, Utena, I promise. I’ve got a little left over from my allowance anyway.”

“I-If you’re sure, then, thank you, Kiwi.”

“Of course, Utena-Chan,” Kiwi replies, dragging out the final syllable of her reply and leaning in to kiss Utena’s cheek gently before turning her attention to the food and simply enjoying the warmth radiating from Utena’s body. It only takes her a minutes to eat the remainder of her portion, but when she glances back at Utena’s meal, the girl has barely made a dent in the food. “Did you not like yours, Utena?”

“N-No, it’s good. I’m just not used to eating in front of other people,” Utena admits, carefully picking up another small roll of sushi and slipping it past her lips, before withdrawing the chopsticks that it’d been served with.

“You never seem to have an issue eating with your other friends, though,” Kiwi points out with a small frown. “Are you having a bad time?”

“It’s not like that!” Utena suddenly adjusts her posture as she hurries to explain herself, the shift pushing Kiwi’s arm and shoulder upwards. “I’ve had a bit longer to get used to eating with them though, and it was always in a private space. This is a lot more exposed.” She lamely waves her hand out towards the others walking down the street, and Kiwi nods in understanding.

“I guess so. Would you rather go back home, then?”

“No, definitely not. It’ll just take a little bit longer for me to finish, if you don’t mind the wait?”

“Nah,” Kiwi replies with a grin, turning in her seat so that she can press her breasts against Utena’s arm and gaze at the beautiful villain’s face. “You take all the time that you need. I’m happy to take as long as you need.” And, though she doesn’t say it aloud, the longer it takes for Utena to eat, the more time the two of them will spend together, and the chance to spend more time gazing at Utena’s cute face and smile at the girl, minutes slowly passing by as she simply bathes in the warm sunlight and stares up at Utena, the blushing sadist slowly taking bites of her late lunch.

Throughout it all, Kiwi simply watches, hugging Utena’s arm and smiling at her, though her lips slowly tilt downwards as her commanding sadist grows close to finishing her meal, the little moment of peace together nearly done. ‘I wish that I could just have this moment forever.’ The peace, the intimate presence of one another and nobody else to disturb, is almost as lovely as the brutal mistreatment that Baiser had given her after their fight, the mind-melting mixture of pain, pleasure, and genuine love. Questions form on her lips as she sits beside Utena, her mind racing with uncertainty, but she can’t bring herself to ask them. How could she ask Utena if she loves her, even just a little? Would she laugh, if Kiwi begged for words of praise again? ‘It’s easier to stay quiet.’ Instead, just a sad whine passes her lips, but Utena gently smiles at the sound, patting her open palm against Kiwi’s head.

“Thank you for lunch, Kiwi. Do you want to do something else together too?” She slowly slides the container off her lap, placing it atop Kiwi’s own on her other side. “After all, you were a very good girl yesterday.”

Kiwi blushes and shifts on the bench, lifting her hips off the wood and instead setting herself down directly on the cute girl’s lap before she can wimp out. “C-Can I have a k-kiss?” Her tongue is like lead, a struggle to even force herself to speak much less stumble through the sounds needed to make her request while her cheeks glow a brilliant shade of red. “One where you kiss me back.”

“W-Well, if that is what you want, then I guess that’s fine,” Utena replies with a nervous tint to her words, carefully leaning in towards Kiwi and letting her eyes flutter shut, her heart pounding in her chest as she leans in close, and Kiwi does the same while tilting her head to keep their noses from bumping into one another.

Their lips meet, and Kiwi’s delightful minty flavor graces Utena’s lips as the two start to gently move their lips, lightly nipping at one another. Kiwi gently runs her fingers through Utena’s hair and caresses her head as the two kiss, rolling her hips and pressing down against Utena’s soft lap, her tongue gently darting out as her lips part again, letting them trace over Utena’s lips before pressing between them faintly.

As Kiwi takes the lead, pressing her tongue into Utena’s mouth, the sadistic girl’s stress begins to simply fade away, replaced by steadily building arousal as Kiwi rubs against her body. Her inhibitions start to lose out to her desires, one hand shifting up to gently rub Kiwi’s neck while the other dips lower, resting on her hip and pulling Kiwi firmly into her lap.

Utena’s tongue gently flicks back against Kiwi’s, twisting to trace press the broad face against Kiwi’s own as her hand wanders lower, tracing Kiwi’s shoulder before moving to her generous bust, gently squeezing it and provoking a soft moan from her teammate before she leans back, pulling her lips just out of Kiwi’s reach. “That’s it, my cute kitten. Moan for your Mistress.” Her voice is quiet and deep, dripping with lust as mana spills out of her body, stress replaced with sadistic desires that overwhelms her already-unstable mental state. “Moan for Mistress Baiser.”

Kiwi doesn’t hesitate, even as powerful, uncontrolled magic spills out around her, curling around her like trails of smoke, and Utena’s gentle golden eyes are replaced by Magia Baiser’s piercing gaze. “Please, more, Mistress Baiser! Ravage your pet kitten!” She giggles in excitement as Utena starts to transform, reaching into her jacket pocket for her own star excitedly.

“So, how’d your date go yesterday?” Haruka cheerfully breaks the silence as she and Sayo sit on the stoop outside her home, a warm smile on her face as she imagines her two friends’ shopping trip and the items that they must’ve bought for one another.

“It went well. Utena got the most gorgeous dress, and we got to spend some time together.” Today’s exam had meant that they couldn’t stay late, nor spend the night, but it had been a lovely first date even if Sayo knew that she lacked any point of real-life reference to compare it against. ‘Maybe it was a mistake to invite her out yesterday, though. If we’d gone today, she could’ve spent the night at my place and maybe it wouldn’t have distracted her from studying.’

“Are you sure?” Haruka asks after watching Sayo’s expression tense up, lips curling downwards and seeming frustrated by something. Her friend is quick to respond though, shaking off those concerns.

“The date itself was lovely. I’m just a little bit frustrated that exam left things on a bit of a sour note though. It’s not all my fault that she didn’t study, but I wonder if I should’ve suggested we hold off until today instead.”

“Perhaps,” Haruka says with a small smile. “But you can’t do anything to change the past. Don’t get yourself down in the dumps just because she had one exam that gave her a bit of trouble, okay? I’m sure that it’ll work out okay.”

“I hope so. Thanks, Haru-“ Her words abruptly stop as she feels dark magic flare up in the distance. It’s a single source at first, one that sets her heart aflutter as the familiar, comfortable glow of Utena’s mana emanates across the air, strong and clear and proud. Sayo can barely make out the faint glow of Leopard’s power a few seconds later, dim and insignificant compared to the radiance of her girlfriend.

“Enormita’s acting up again... But it feels stronger this time.”

“Magia Baiser is there, at her full strength it feels like.” Sayo’s lips curl upwards against her best efforts to keep the excitement off her face at the thought of seeing Utena going all out once again. “This is going to be tougher than anything we’ve fought before, Haruka. Do you think that you’re up for it?”

“I’m not going to back down,” she replies with a stern smile, and Sayo nods, not challenging her on that point.

The duo retrieve their transformative trinkets from their pockets, holding them out and calling in unison, “Trans Magia!” Light spills from each of them, their normal clothing burning away and being replaced with their magical girl uniforms.

Sayo takes flight and rapidly gains distance on her teammate, sailing towards where Utena is no-doubt going to be waiting for her and her friends with an excited grin upon her face, already conjuring ice over her sword in preparation for whatever Utena will throw at her. Across town, Kaoruko joins them, her mana emanating as she transforms and begins to make her way over as well.

“Over here!” One of the members of the gathered crowd shouts out, trying to get the attention of Leopard and Magia Baiser only for another two voices to immediately call out for attention as well. Leopard is delighting in the attention and happily poses for photos while Baiser keeps her head turned up towards the sky, looking aloof as she waits for Tres Magia to arrive.

Her sweet Azul has split off from Magia Magenta, while Magia Sulfur seems more distant than the other three. ‘I wonder why Sayo’s trying to get here faster than her friends. Is something wrong?’

“Baiser-Chan!” Kiwi hops onto the bench and hugs her tightly, rubbing her cheek against Baiser’s and giggling happily as the awe-struck citizens take photos of the magical girls, not knowing their true affiliations with Enormita. “This is so fun! They want more photos of us being cute together!”

“It won’t last,” Baiser warns her with a soft whisper. “They’ll be afraid of us once they realize we’re not like Tres Magia.”

“Maybe, or maybe they’ll like us more than those lame-o’s!” Kiwi nudges her in the ribs again, drawing a soft giggle out of Baiser as she strikes the ticklish spot. “Either way, I’m gonna enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Then you stay and have your fun, Azul’s mine today.” Baiser’s wings unfurl behind her, two pairs beating and pulling her up into the air and out of reach of Kiwi and the dozen and a half strangers who’d been drawn in by the sight of the duo.

Beneath her, there’s a mix of emotions in response to her taking flight. Disappointment and adoration are the most common, but two of the girls below seem taken aback and concerned instead as the demonic wings cast shadows down onto the ground below. She pays them little mind as she ascends higher, slowing her pace as the familiar shape of Magia Azul comes into sight high above the rooftops, and she slows to a stop with a warm smile on her face even as her sword glistens in the light of the afternoon sun. “Hello, sweetheart. Did you miss me?”

“Always,” Baiser replies with a smile, drifting close enough to rest a hand on Azul’s cheek and press herself against the taller girl as they float in the sky together. “Is everything okay, dearest? You left your teammates in the dust.”

“I just wanted to see you before they got here,” Azul replies in a soft whisper as she leans in close.

Magia Baiser seizes the moment to steal a quick kiss, pressing her lips deeply against the heroine’s and gently suckling on her lower lip before pulling back with a giggle. Azul whines out, desperate for more as the demonic girl hooks a thumb into her mouth with a smile. “That’s very sweet of you, my precious Azul. I hope you don’t think that I’ll go easy on you because of that, though.”

“You’d better not,” Azul replies with a loving smile on her lips. “I want you to go all out, fight to the fullest that you can without any serious wounds. Just, no more permanent changes to the body without approval, okay?”

“None for the three of you, I promise.” Sensing Magenta and Sulfur growing closer, she pulls back, disentangling herself from her girlfriend, her lips curling up in eager anticipation of the coming battle. “Unless one of you wants it. In which case, you need only say the word, my dearest.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, my beloved villain.” Azul grins and floats back, pointing her sword off towards Magia Baiser as Magenta and Sulfur finish their approach, taking up her flanks. Leopard finally disengages from the crowd below and ascends just as Venalita portals in, each taking up a position in the air beside Baiser, Leopard grinning at her Baiser-Chan and Venalita just smiling with its twisted grin.

Baiser takes in the moment, the emotions emanating from each of the magical girls. Magenta and Sulfur are full of resolve, ready to fight to their limits against Enormita’s forces once again, but beneath that Baiser can pick up on the faintest notes of fear in their hearts as they observe the sheer power overflowing from her body. Azul and Leopard have entirely different emotions than the other two heroines, both eager in anticipation of the upcoming fight and full of absolute love and adoration. Azul can’t even keep her eyes off Baiser, struggling to keep her cool, focused expression instead of simply smiling at her girlfriend’s beautiful form.

“Azul, what are you thinking running in ahead of us. What if it was someone dangerous instead of these two?” Sulfur casts a glance towards her teammate, but she keeps her hands close together, ready to conjure up another barrier as Azul scratches her head sheepishly.

“I got a bit excited,” she replies with a small laugh, careful not to hint at Baiser’s true identity. “But it was obviously Magia Baiser was the strong one.”

Sulfur cocks a brow, but before she can continue to question her teammate as to how she could be so certain of that at a distance, Magenta conjures her spear and aims it towards their foes, taking on a stern tone. “Tres Magia are the guardians of this city! We won’t let you get away with your crimes, Enormita! Surrender now, or-“

“We don’t need your dumb intro,” Kiwi interrupts her in a deadpan tone, and Baiser gasps, staring at her teammate in dismay as she ruins the moment.

“Oh,” Magenta blushes and nods in understanding. “I guess that’s true, you both know who we are by now.”

“Don’t let her walk all over you, hon,” Sulfur chimes in, glancing back at her teammate before refocusing her attention onto Leopard.

“Besides all that, we haven’t even done anything yet, so what exactly are we not going to get away with?”

‘She actually makes a decent point,’ Baiser thinks to herself as Magenta pauses, her mouth open to answer but unable to come up with any explanation. ‘As far as I’m aware, Kiwi hasn’t actually committed any crimes or hurt them, she just hangs out with me when we’re transformed. From their perspective the only thing that separates them and Leopard are their transformation items being different, isn’t it?’ Kiwi’s mana is the furthest from the three heroines, but each of them feel distinct as well, Sulfur more intense and abuzz with energy, Magenta more relaxed and purer, and then her precious Sayo’s mana feeling refined and focused that feel more closely related than Kiwi’s own magic. As Magenta glances back at her friends for an answer to Leopard’s question, Baiser glances back at her mascot, whispering to it to try to spare Kiwi’s feelings. “Keep an eye on Leopard today, please, I don’t want her to get in trouble.”

“Yes Ma’am.” The mascot snaps a mock salute before drifting back, letting the more capable magical girls take the lead.

“Umm… Well, you joined up with an evil organization so I’m pretty sure you share in the responsibility for everyone that they’ve hurt, even if you weren’t a part of it yourself?” Magenta finally comes up with a reply, though it is phrased as a question rather than a statement.

“Sure, that’s plenty true,” Sulfur chimes in with her agreement, a smug smile on her lips as she continues. “But if you are too afraid to stick around and tussle, feel free to run back home, little chickens. Seeing you scurry away with your tails between your legs would be the perfect entertainment for afternoon tea.”

“Oh, you really wanna pick a fight? Let’s go then, dummy.”

Leopard points her derringer at the taunting magical girl, but it’s Azul who surges forwards and delivers the first attack, throwing two small blades of rime that shatter against Leopard as she tries to block it with her arms. “Magenta, focus on Leopard. Sulfur, let’s do this!”

“I won’t let you down!” With that, Magenta lunges forwards, slamming her spear against Leopard’s arm, then driving her shoulder into the girl, successfully pushing her away from the stronger villain. As she forces Leopard away, Sulfur and Azul split off to either side of Baiser, splitting the two villains apart and separating the fight into two. While Leopard adjusts in the air, Baiser pulls her wings in close and dives downwards, Sulfur and Azul sticking close together as they dive after her.

‘Grenades up close, artillery at a distance.’ Magia Magenta reviews everything that Kaoruko had told her while she slowly orbits Leopard. Just like she’d been told would happen, Leopard’s patience quickly runs thin and a half-dozen different cannons emerge from an inky black portal like the ones that Magia Baiser had taken in the past, and Magenta quickly adjusts her path in the air. As the cannons flash brightly, her body dives down sharply, propelled faster using her mana. The deafening roar hits her a heartbeat later along with the sharp whistling of wind as artillery shells sail past her but fail to connect.

“You ain’t gotta close in on her,” Kaoruko had shared that insight with her and Vatz. “Her mana reserves ain’t that good, and she wastes a ton of stamina. She’ll never crack one of my shields on her own, but you and Sayo shouldn’t let her get any hits on you if you can help it. Stay at a distance if you can, let her wear herself down, and give her a few jabs once she starts to get worn down.”

Long-ranged fighting isn’t something that her powers lend themselves to, but as she ascends and backs away from Leopard, Magenta can already see that the simplistic strategy is proving to be effective. Another set of weapons manifest just above Leopard, and Magenta starts to drift to her right around the villain, watching as the weapons turn in the air track her orbit.

“Gotcha, bitch.” Leopard squeezes down the trigger of her handheld weapon as she makes her triumphant declaration, and Magenta throws herself to the left an instant before fire blooms from the end of the large cannons. One of the shells clips her arm and a cutting pain erupts along her side, the disruption making her wobble in the air before she stabilizes. Thankfully, her sudden lunge to the side is enough to get out of the firing line, with the remaining shells streaking down towards the ground and dissipating into puffs of black smoke before they can collide with any of the buildings below the duo.

Leopard’s path slows to a stop as the hail of gunfire dies down and Magenta capitalizes on the opening, streaking forwards with her spear held tight, a high-pitched cry leaping from her lips. The guns start to recede into the blackened smoke, and Magenta makes a sharp thrust with her spear, the heart-shaped head glancing over Leopard’s abdomen without piercing her. Confidence surges as she continues her attack, twisting the spear in her hand and striking the villain’s face with the blunt end of her weapon. “You aren’t going to win, Enormita! Tres Magia will never surrender to the likes of you.”

Leopard tumbles back from the blow, barking out in annoyance as she steadies herself and conjures a grenade into her free hand. “Save the dumb speeches for Baiser, pinky!” A quick toss sends the explosive sailing overhead at Magia Magenta too quickly for her to fully dodge the blast. Flame envelopes the heroine’s left side as the bomb detonates, the fireball burning through her shirt and glove, bearing her arm as well as her shoulder and part of her breast as the thin top is consumed in the inferno. Her barrier spares her the worst of the heat, pressure, and shards of red-hot casing that are cast outwards by the blast, but it still leaves her with small scrapes and burns as well as significant damage to her outfit. “Now stop dodging and let me kick your ass already!”

Magenta performs a swift incantation and brushes her hand over her side, pale pink light binding the small scrapes together and dulling the reddened burns, the pain fading to nothing as she finishes her work. It doesn’t fix her clothing, tattered, blackened edges leaving more of her chest and back exposed than she is comfortable with, but she doesn’t allow that to distract her as Leopard conjures another collection of cannons, and she prepares to dodge and close in once again.

Sulfur and Azul land on the street a few seconds after Magia Baiser, and the blonde brawler quickly scans her surroundings, growing more excited as she sees that the regular folks have already cleared out. “Perfect, we get to do this the fun way.” With a flourishing of radiant yellow magic, her metallic gauntlets manifest over her fists. Azul simply aims her blade down the street at Magia Baiser with an excited smile, her mind already whirling as she tries to come up with what exactly her girlfriend is going to do to her.

“I’m looking forward to having some fun too, Sulfur dearest.” Baiser gives the girl a wink before letting her eyes wander. Flowerbeds by the sides of the road, powerlines up above, a bakery and a few other small storefronts nearby along with of course the small takeout restaurant where she and Kiwi had gotten sushi. ‘Bakeries sound like fun. I wonder what kind of monsters I could make out of food?’

“You need to win if you want another chance,” Sulfur replies with a smug smile, but beneath her confident exterior and the excitement at what seems like it could be another real fight, Baiser can sense something else. Worry, focused not on herself but instead at Magia Azul. Sulfur takes a step forward to put herself closer to Baiser than Azul is, ready to step in between the two girls and protect her friend should the need arise but without blocking Azul’s clear line of sight on the villain.

“She might be able to, Sulfur,” Azul warns, stepping forwards and frowning in confusion as Sulfur advances as well, trying to keep herself in a position to take the first hit instead of letting it fall on Azul. “Don’t underestimate her.”

“Might?” The villain smiles eagerly, her tongue darting out to wet her lips, eyes glistening with unrestrained desire. “Oh, my sweet Azul, you should know better than anybody that I’m the only one who will be in any condition to keep going when the dust settles.” Mana courses through her body and pools at the tip of Frusta Dominazione and the head of the crop glowing intensely before she flicks her wrist and rends a crescent shaped scar in thin air, the wave of energy leaping forwards swiftly.

Sulfur quickly reacts, conjuring a hexagonal barrier and stepping into the path of the projectile to shield Azul further with her body. The wave of raw power tears through Sulfur’s protective spell as though it were tissue paper, the large face receding like a burst bubble, the edges vanishing in a spark of golden light. The attack continues onwards without even slowing, provoking a swear from Sulfur as she plants her feet firmly on the ground and brings her arms up to shield her face and chest. As it connects with her heavy gauntlets, the attack detonates, and a wave of overwhelming force comes crashing down upon her.

An intense, throbbing pain erupts deep in her arms as she braces and endures the impact without letting her guard waver, the unrelenting energy of the impact sending tremors down her arms and knocking her back. Her feet press into the road as she slows, gouging out a narrow path where each foot passes, gouging out a path nearly three meters in length.

Baiser doesn’t have any quips to give in the moment, simply stunned as she sees Magia Sulfur not only throw herself into the path of the attack but then stand tall after enduring the hit. Her gauntlets are cracked and charred from the impact, but they remain in place, still ready to fight and take further blows. The rest of her equipment endured considerably less favorably. The silken top that her and her teammates wear had been shredded by the wind, her petite, tender breasts only shielded from Baiser’s eyes thanks to the position her arms are held out in. Her skirt is torn and tattered as well, letting not only Magia Baiser, but also Azul catch glimpses of her bare thighs and gentle white panties.

While she’s vaguely aware of the ruined state of her outfit, her thoughts are focused on the painful aching in her hands instead. Slowly, the heroine flexes her fingers, testing her sore muscles and then smiling as she lowers her arms to her sides, staring up at Magia Baiser with a smile that can’t hide the pulsating waves of pain that run through her arms. “Jeez, is that really all you got?”

“Don’t provoke her, Sulfur.” Azul carefully steps up beside her teammate, resting a hand upon her shoulder and pouring mana into the shorter girl’s body as a healing spell, while her girlfriend’s surprised expression shifts back towards pure excitement.

Baiser’s gaze shifts from the burnt gauntlets to Sulfur’s bare chest, nipples resting on her petite chest that barely has the faintest hint of womanly curves upon it. Beside her girlfriend’s own sizeable bosom, they are modest, if not downright small, but it doesn’t take away from the prim and proper persona that Sulfur shows the public nor the delightful contrast between that and the much more aggressive individual that Baiser had found her to be. “Not in the least, my beloved. Consider it the first of many gifts to come.”

The corners of the heroine’s mouth twitch upwards just a hint, adrenaline flowing and excitement radiating through her body, her resolve hardening and pushing down her doubts. “Not if I have anything to say about it, it ain’t!”

With that, Sulfur bursts into stride once again, dashing straight towards Baiser as Azul follows behind her. Rather than conjuring a monster and simply retreating to fight from afar, Baiser strides forwards to meet her precious and delicate magical girls head on, her heels making a pleasant clack with each slow step that she takes until she is within reach for Sulfur to throw her first punch.

Magia Sulfur steps into the heavy punch, armored gauntlet aiming low towards Baiser’s gut, but the attack feels so much slower to the villain than the last time that they’d fought. She shifts back a step, cleanly dodging Sulfur’s slow swing and flicking Frusta Dominazione against the outside of Sulfur’s thigh, the magical girl gasping out as the whip tears another small hole in her skirt and leaves a stinging pain on her leg without cutting deeply enough to draw blood. ‘Shit, she’s fast.’ Sulfur adjusts her footing and tries for a quicker jab at Magia Baiser, but the villain simply hops back out of her reach, taking advantage of her much more substantial range and greater speed to deny any attacks Sulfur makes.

Azul rushes past her with a fierce cry, her icy sword cutting cleanly through the air with greater speed than their last fight, but it’s still slower than Baiser. The villain swats the side of the blade, knocking it away from her before swatting her girlfriend’s chest and delighting in the sound of the thin fabric tearing, and Sayo letting out a lewd whine at the pain, a pang of embarrassment rushing through the magical girl a moment after the sound escapes from her lips.

Despite that shameful pleasure, Azul doesn’t dare to waver in her attack, shifting her sword to one hand while her other draws nearby moisture into a dozen small needles surrounding Baiser at odd angles. A moment later, the spell concludes and the darts streak towards the villain. She sidesteps some, but the majority connect with her back or her arms as she guards her upper body with them, the needles shattering against her body, albeit with minimal effect beyond the distracting sensation of sharp pinpricks. As the needles close in and strike true, Azul thrusts her blade forwards once more towards her partner’s abdomen, but her blade fails to connect. For the briefest moment, instead of seeing Magia Baiser as the powerful and physically resilient villain that she is now, Azul sees the girl as Utena, nervous and blushing and longing for her touch. Azul freezes, her sword feeling unusually heavy in her hand for only a second, but that’s all the time that it takes for Baiser to take to the sky, out of range of the attack.

Sulfur steps up beside Azul, casting a concerned glance at her teammate after seeing her freeze up. “Hey, are you good to keep going?”

With a guilty expression, Azul nods, focusing her magic on her sword and mending the small cracks forming in the ice. “I should be. I don’t know what just came over me.”

“Maybe you’re just looking forward to playtime,” Baiser practically purrs as she says those words, taking perverse pleasure from the way that Azul blushes and averts her gaze, embarrassed. “Throwing yourself down at my feet isn’t too shameful, sweetheart.”

“Not happening, Baiser!” Azul calls out, her confident boast only somewhat undermined by the gentle red blush on her cheeks. “If you want me, you'll need to win first.”

“Hon, stop encouraging her,” Sulfur adds in, her concern growing as she focuses on her teammate, looking at the small, exposed spot on her chest where the sadist’s crop had struck true. ‘Is she flirting with the psycho? Sayo, what are you thinking?’

Baiser smiles widely as Sulfur radiates compassion and concern at her friend’s behavior, while Azul simply loses herself to her absolute adoration. “Are you sure that you’re in any position to criticize, Sulfur? After all, only one of you has her chest bare.” Frusta Dominazione sparks with energy, and both magical girls brace below her. Sulfur conjures another barrier for what little good it might do against the attack, and Azul starts to pull moisture close by, ready to entomb herself and her teammate in ice as she’d tried when Baiser first took on her overwhelmingly strong form at her family shrine.

As the crop cuts another crescent of pure energy in the air, Azul freezes the air around herself and her teammate. Baiser’s attack easily shatters Sulfur’s barrier once more, colliding with the icy prison and detonating with enough force to send large, jagged chunks up into the air and scatter them across the street. This time, Azul’s magic holds strong against her attack, the crystalline structure cracked and weakened but still holding as the smoke clears. With a grunt, Azul shatters it into large spears of frost before launching them up at her partner, Baiser smiling with twisted glee as she twists in the air, dodging most and shattering a few with quick strikes from her weapon. Only two of the large lances connect and shatter against her body, the first tearing her corset while the other leaves a large gash in her pants, exposing her thigh and leaving a small scratch on her otherwise-pristine flesh. Azul winces at the sight of her girlfriend’s blood trickling from the injury but Baiser simply lets out a giggle, delighted as her magical girls show their strength.

Sulfur doesn’t let up either, capitalizing on the opening that Azul had made by taking to the air and throwing several quick jabs at the villainess, one striking Baiser in the abdomen while the other collides with the flying girl’s head, the heavy metallic weapons doing little more than bloodying her nose before she swipes out at Sulfur with her claw like nails, arcane energy sparking as they rake over Sulfur’s armored forearms and leave deep gouges in the metal. “Not fast enough, Baiser!”

“Oh?” Her excited heart skips a beat, her manic glee building to a crescendo and power coursing into her palm. “How’s this for fast?” Frusta Dominazione swats Sulfur across her flat chest, drawing another pained whimper from the sharp sting and leaving her open just long enough for Baiser to fly up above her and kick down, driving her heel into the girl’s belly. The impact forces a gasp from the girl along with creating a sickening crunch and launching the girl back towards the streets below. Her body breaks through a window before crashing in an undignified heap atop one of the tables in a small bakery, shattering the table and landing among the broken wood.

Leopard groans in fatigue as her cannons roar out once again but fail to connect with the infuriating dolt in pink. The heroine moves through the air with far greater control than anything Leopard can manage, effortlessly bypassing the attack and lunging forwards once again as the villainess slows to a crawl and the weapons begin to dissolve into black smoke. Another sharp pain erupts in Leopard’s side as the girl drives the annoying pink spear into her, wrenching it back out painfully before slamming her elbow against her face and sending Kiwi tumbling back yet again without giving her enough time to get in a single hit of her own. “Just give up already! You’re never going to beat me, Magia Leopard!”

Kiwi’s eye twitches as she reorients herself in the air, wanting to scream in disgust as Magenta tries to force the word ‘Magia’ into her name. The mere thought of being another one of the brainless magic bitches flaunting their frilly, conservative skirts and too-small tops in the name of justice and innocence makes her feel sick to her stomach, disgust adding on to the mounting weight of her wounds and fatigue. “N-No way! I’m not gonna lose to one of you weirdos!”

“You’re already losing,” Magenta points out in a low voice, her eyes carefully scanning for the next attack that Leopard will make. A level of confidence has slowly settled over the girl thanks to how predictably the evil girl fights, but the increasing desperation that begins to break through Leopard’s smug façade leaves her on edge once again, ready for her to lash out with something unexpected. ‘She’s not going to keep the same pattern going when it always blows up in her face.’

No artillery manifests, and Magia Magenta takes the chance to launch another attack. She closes in on Leopard, rushing forwards and driving the tip of her spear towards the villain with a sudden burst of speed. The scantily clad girl ascends, flying up out of the way of the heroine with a smug smile, lobbing a small explosive down towards Magenta, who quickly bats the grenade aside with the butt of her weapon. The grenade explodes harmlessly in the air a quarter of a second later as Magenta slows to a stop then adjusts her course, ascending to the air and sweeping her spear towards the villain’s dominant hand, the sharp head of the weapon connecting with Leopard’s wrist, the sudden cutting pain nearly making her fumble and drop her weapon.

The blow isn’t quite enough to disarm Leopard, and instead of regaining distance the magical girl forces herself forward, wrapping her free hand around Magenta’s spear and pressing her body against the shaft, preventing the heroine from stabbing her any longer. Magenta shifts one hand closer to the head of the weapon and tries to push Leopard away, but the villain hangs on in pure desperation, aiming the derringer up at her chest with a weak smile.

Leopard squeezes the trigger, conjuring two sets of large cannons to either side of herself and smiling with glee as they flash intensely, forcing Magia Magenta to surrender her grip on her weapon or endure the full force of the explosion. She wisely chooses the former option, letting go of her weapon and quickly retreating away from Leopard as the girl wobbles unsteady in the air and the cannons unleash another hail of gunfire through where Magenta had just been floating.

“What was that about me losing?” The red-eyed villain taunts with a cocky smile on her lips before tossing the spear aside and letting it plummet towards the streets below.

Magenta watches it descend out of her reach nervously, taking comfort in the fact that the weapon is at least unlikely to strike anybody with the immediate area mostly cleared of any civilians. She still lets her magic fade, and the spear reverts to the shape of her wand, just to be more certain that it won’t do anybody any harm. “I’m not out of it just yet!”

“Then come and get me, loser.” Leopard flashes one last grin at Magenta before diving lower, plotting how to best take advantage of the minimal reserves of mana that she has left. In a straight up fight, even if Magenta doesn’t get the time she needs to rearm herself, she’ll run dry before the annoying insect finally takes enough hits to be brought down due to just how taxing it is to conjure and fire long-ranged weapons. ‘I’ll need to beat her! I can’t lose again!”

Magenta dives after the girl, her eyes darting from side to side as she surveys the air for another round of heavy weapons to be conjured while Leopard lands on one of the taller rooftops, tumbling onto the ground instead of landing on her feet. Before she can get back onto her feet, Magia Magenta seizes the chance and drops down atop Leopard, planting one leg next to her and pressing her knee firmly against the villain’s stomach, pinning her on her back with a smile.

Leopard raises her gun, desperately trying to conjure up another artillery volley, a grenade, anything that might be enough to bring Magenta down even if it means they take one another out of the fight, but the more experienced girl quickly grabs hold of the firearm as well. Magenta violently wrenches the gun to the side and tries to twist it, pain flaring up across Leopard’s fingers as the heroine finally pulls the weapon away from her before tossing it aside. “It’s over!” While she calls out in triumph, Leopard simply stares at her weapon in dismay as her last hopes for impressing Baiser crumble.

“Utena!” Azul keeps her voice low, closer to an angry whisper than a shout as she looks down towards where Sulfur had crashed through the bakery window, her girlfriend staring blankly at the ruined storefront beside her. “I thought you weren’t going to risk hurting us!”

“I-I didn’t mean to, she just seemed strong enough to take the hit and be okay.” It’s a lame excuse, but it isn’t incorrect by any stretch either. Even from several stories above Sulfur, Baiser and Azul can both feel the girl’s lingering magic. While it had been a heavy blow to her stamina, her mana isn’t quite yet depleted, and while certainly shaken up, her natural hardiness should’ve prevented any severe injuries from occurring. “Sorry about that,” she adds with a bashful giggle.

Azul can only roll her eyes, amused and a faint bit annoyed by her girlfriend’s evil antics. “Maybe, but you should be more careful. What if it was me or Magenta? We’d never be able to take that kind of hit.”

Baiser cocks a brow, resting one hand on her hip and giggling at her girlfriend’s apparent humbleness. “Sayo, my love, that’s simply untrue. She’s definitely strong but I’m certain that you are the strongest out of the three of you.” She drifts closer to her partner while dismissing her weapon in a flash of purple light, gently tilting Azul to face her once again. Azul’s worry slowly ebbs and is replaced with arousal once again, Baiser able to not only sense the change in emotion with her horns but also witness the subtle changes on her girlfriend’s face, a smile easing its way onto her lips as her concern fades.

“But that’s a conversation for another time. Right now, you need to decide whether you’d like to continue to struggle helplessly in vain, knowing that you are alone and none of your teammates are going to be able to come and save you?” She presses her thumb against the corner of her girlfriend’s mouth, the digit slipping into Sayo’s mouth and tugging at her cheek as she leans in closer, her words dropping to a sultry tone. “Or would you like to throw yourself at the mercy of your mistress instead of pretending to have the faintest bit of dignity left, even though we both know that you want to lose and be humiliated?”

Azul lets out a low whine as her girlfriend presses against her body closely enough to whisper into her ears in a sultry tone. She gently rests her free hand on Azul’s chest, slowly groping one of Sayo’s large breasts before shifting her hand onto her girlfriend’s shoulder, trailing her nails teasingly over her girlfriend’s shoulder before slipping her fingertips into Sayo’s glove. “I-I can’t, Utena. I’m a magical girl, it’s my duty to fight back against evil, n-no matter how beautiful they may be.”

“It is, my love,” Baiser agrees in a teasing tone of voice, but she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she softly purses her lips, blowing a steady and gentle stream of air against her girlfriend’s earlobe while slowly peeling down the skintight glove, baring centimeter after delicious centimeter of her girlfriend’s delicate and tender flesh. “But wouldn’t you like to simply be humiliated in front of the town that you’ve pledged to protect? If you are a good girl, you can have a treat, exactly like we both know you desire.”

Azul doesn’t try to deny the truth of her girlfriend’s words. Her arousal and yearning to be bound, shamed, and treated as little more than a toy for her beloved Magia Baiser runs directly against her duty as a magical girl. “U-Utena, please…” She knows that she should ask her to stop, to simply fight her head on, but she can’t force out those words. The pleasure, the intimacy, Utena’s closeness and willingness to tease her without restraint feels impossible to deny. Instead of allowing Sayo to continue to struggle in a feeble attempt to resist her, Utena leans back slightly, aligning her lips with her girlfriend and kissing her deeply.

Azul leans into the kiss, her resolve to fight simply fading away as Utena shifts her hand off of her arm, and hooks her fingers underneath her girlfriend’s own. She slowly pries each digit off the hilt of the frozen blade, the handle where Sayo holds her rime-encased wand, moaning softly into Azul’s lips as she does. Baiser’s tongue darts out, pressing down against her lover’s, and Azul’s will wavers.

‘Would it be that bad if I said yes?’ In the distance, Magenta’s magic is weakening and wavering, certainly too fatigued to even attempt to make a difference against Baiser’s empowered form. Sulfur is even worse off, barely a flicker of mana left, only maintaining her transformation and nothing more down below, and Azul knows that she’s not strong enough to bring her girlfriend down alone. It’d be so easy to just give in, and allow Utena to have her way without further delays, so easy to let herself simply succumb to Baiser’s twisted desires knowing that they will only bring more pleasure crashing down on her mind.

‘I shouldn’t…’ It isn’t that she can’t submit here and now, simply let Baiser take her without a fighting to her last. All she has to do is allow Baiser to pull her thumb off her wand and let it drop out of reach, and she’d have lost in an instant. ‘But that would undermine everything I promised to my friends. I’m sorry, dearest.’ Her mind made up, the last vestiges of resolve reignite within her like a flame stoked from embers, and she puts all the force she can muster into driving her head forwards.

Pain radiates across her skull as she headbutts Baiser, then slams her wand into her partner’s abdomen and backs away out of arm’s reach, her guilt quickly melting away as she sees nothing but a smile upon Baiser’s lips. “That w-won’t happen, Baiser. Not while my friends are on the line. But, if you want me to take me without a fight someday just say the words.”

Baiser’s pulse quickens, the faint pain from Sayo’s desperate attacks quickly washed away as she sees her beloved Azul dig deeper into reserves of confidence that she’d never known existed. “I’ll hold you to that, my love. Now, let’s see just how long you can hold out when you’ve nowhere left to run.” Her weapon returns to her hand in a flare of brilliant magic, and Azul shifts into a proper guard, ready to meet her girlfriend head on once more.

Leopard’s heart sinks as Magenta pins her down, the heroine exhausted but still more than capable of putting up a fight, whereas the villain simply isn’t. She knows that it’s pointless, but she still curls her hands into fists and lashes out, punching at Magia Magenta with barely more strength than a normal girl of her age until the heroine finally grabs hold of both of her wrists and pins her hands together. “It’s over, Leopard. Please stop, and make this easier for yourself?”

“No!” The villain squeezes her eyes shut and screams. “No, no! I can’t fail Baiser-Chan again! Just fucking lose already!” Her legs flail, kicking at the air and slamming her boots against the roof, but she can’t get an angle to actually strike at Magenta, if only to put a bit more weight behind her squirming. ‘I need to win; I need her to be proud of me!’

Magenta winces as the girl squirms beneath her, tears starting to spill down her cheeks in a show of genuine distress. Seeing the girl sniffling and starting to cry is not at all what she’d originally wanted when she signed up as a magical girl, but on the other hand, Leopard made her own choices. ‘I can’t let her go just because she’s upset.’ “I’m sorry,” her voice is genuine even as she pulls Leopard’s hands together so she can restrain the girl with one hand and prepare a spell in her other. “I hope one day you can forgive me.” Magic pools in her hand, disruptive energy coalescing as she reaches out to pry the star off of Leopard’s head and forcibly revert her to her normal form.

‘I’m gonna win. I’ll win, and I’ll make Baiser-Chan proud of me, no matter what!’ Leopard draws in a breath, magic roiling within her core as she focuses on the image of her beloved Baiser, and then she erupts with power in a desperate and dangerous act, all for the purpose of impressing her Magia Baiser. Her uniform burns to ash in an instant and her heart races in her chest, the sound of rushing blood and countless explosions roaring in her ears until, with a sudden tearing pain, the world goes silent. More than anything else, what gets to her is the pain.

Every movement of her chest is nothing less than harrowing as power surges beyond her own limits. Simply flexing her muscles and taking a deep breath is an exertion, sharp, stabbing pain erupting as she forces her limbs to move. Her power surges far too intensely to contain, and it feels as though she’s being torn in a thousand different directions all at once as she staggers upright, but she keeps her thoughts focused only on a single thing: Not disappointing her beloved Baiser-Chan. Through the tears, she focuses on Magia Magenta once again, the scorched girl hovering in the air only a few meters away from her with a mix of fear and surprise on her face.

“Wh-What is this?” Leopard smiles through the crushing pain as Magenta’s annoyingly optimistic confidence wavers at long last. Her uniform is burned heavily, minor burns across her skin beneath that begin to rapidly mend themselves at the cost of her vastly fading mana. ‘Was she holding back? Why?’

Leopard doesn’t offer her a reply, deafened by the roar of her own magic, instead focusing on drawing what little traces of magic she can back to herself. Shadows coalesce over her arms and legs taking on the shape of feline paws with sharp, predatory claws protruding out in place of nails. A second set of ears take shape atop her head as well, the same black, smoky magic forming them and trailing off into whisps that taper off and fade away into nothingness as they drift further from her body. Her jaw aches as bone restructures, horrible stabbing pain like a drill in her teeth as her teeth grow sharper and canines expand into carnivorous, flesh-tearing weapons suitable for the predator that is her namesake. The last whisps of her untamed magic pool above her butt and fuse together at the base of her spine, extending into a long, slim feline tail, leaving her body vastly more cat-like and entirely bare, three of Enormita’s stars proudly inscribed on her collarbone above her breasts.

The desperate power boost won’t last very long, though, and Leopard knows it. Her body aches, her ears ring with a steady, high-pitched chime that snuffs out every other sound, crimson spills from the corners of her mouth as her body struggles to even keep together, but she won’t back down and disappoint her beloved Baiser. Instead, she leaps into the air, a sweeping slash of her arm sending a trio of explosives streaking across the air at Magia Magenta far too quickly to be dodged by the stationary heroine.

In spite of her best efforts, the brilliant flash of flame and pressure engulfs Magenta. The shockwave launches her back, and Leopard is upon her before she can regain control of herself in the air. The girl’s dangerous-looking claws lash out, carving a shallow but painful wound across her belly, crimson trickling down from her. Without her spear to discourage Leopard’s assault, all Magenta can do is try to resort to unarmed combat against the clawed girl, but it’s an extremely disadvantageous position to be in. Each time Leopard’s claws lash out, she can’t do anything more than back away as the villain’s claws rack up her forearms, blow after blow drawing blood and draining her mana ever lower as she heals herself. She needs to find the opening in Leopard’s desperate flurry of quick, physical strikes, but it simply doesn’t come.

As Magenta wavers in the air, Leopard digs her claw deeper into the girl’s arm, drawing a gasp of pain out of Magenta that falls on quite literally deaf ears. “Just fucking…” The word she wants to use is “die”, but she hesitates as she recalls the words that Baiser-Chan had told her, warning her not to seriously wound Tres Magia. “Just stay down, I guess.” It doesn’t hit with anything near the same intensity as her first instinct, but it’s something that wouldn’t upset her beautiful Baiser. Her child-friendly threat concluded, the villain grabs Magenta around the neck tightly and twists in the air before throwing Magenta down towards the cracked rooftop, a dozen small whips of black smoke forming around her and streaking down towards the girl. The sheer force of Leopard’s powered-up throw spikes Magenta through the rooftop, cracking apart concrete and carrying the girl down into the storefront below before the bombs connect with her body and detonate.

Azul grunts in pain as Baiser quickly swats her thigh with her delightful crop while dodging out of her reach once more. Despite her best efforts, Utena’s empowered form is simply too fast for her to keep pace. Her blade cuts through the space where her girlfriend had been floating just a moment too late to connect, but Azul doesn’t give up. Ice forms into more spikes above her shoulders while she turns to face her grinning girlfriend, then they streak forward as a deadly set of spikes. Were it anyone else, she wouldn’t even consider pouring as much magic into the attack, but Baiser is far stronger than Leopard or her teammates.

The icicles crash into her and shatter, but she takes the impact with barely more than a flinch, her mana dipping as her wards catch the impact, but it’s far less taxing on her relative to the cost of her girlfriend simply summoning the attack. “You’re so much stronger than last time we did this, dearest, but you’re holding back!”

Baiser is not wrong, Azul could channel more of her power into the attacks than she has, but the faintest worries keep lingering in her head. ‘What if something goes wrong? What if she gets hurt?’ That little spark of worry has her holding back just as much as the powerful villain she’d fallen for, each of them tempering their blows. ‘Of course, Utena has to hold herself back much more to make it a fight.’

Azul dives forwards with a smile, making a quick cut at her girlfriend’s side only for Baiser to bat it away effortlessly with her crop, sadistic smile on her lips but a glow of genuine enjoyment rising from her at the back and forth strikes the two are making. She still longs to win, to twist Tres Magia and make them squirm, but Azul can see joy in the act of fighting as well. “If I stop holding back, how am I going to see that pretty face of yours?”

She conjures another set of frigid lances, this time creating them further from one another and launching them from different angles in hopes of putting more pressure on Magia Baiser, but there’s little effect. Baiser dodges to the side swiftly, Frusta Dominazione shattering one of the spears while her claws carve through a second, and the remainder fail to even connect with her. Her wings beat, a superfluous gesture that Azul knows is not truly needed for Baiser to hover in place just like herself and her teammates, but the instinctive gesture gives her enough warning to react to the sudden lunge into her space.

She’s too slow to stop the first strike of Frusta Dominazione across her breast, a stinging pain sending a shiver down her spine as she imagines the pleasure to come alongside that pain. She manages to shield herself from the next blow, however, bringing her sword up catching the crop against it, their weapons meeting between themselves, bodies close enough that Azul could simply lean forwards and press her lips to Baiser’s if she was so inclined. “I’m so glad that you’re the one Venalita chose, Utena.”

Her villain blushes at her words, responding in the same loving tone. “I’m so happy that I got this chance too, Sayo, and I’m glad that it was you.” Her free hand grabs Azul’s blade, squeezing it in her claws and shattering it as mana surges into her grip, then her claws lash out and wrap around Azul’s wrist, holding her close as she tries to pull back in surprise. “And I hope that there’s no hard feelings, my love.” As last, she brings Frusta Dominazione down against Azul’s hand, and her girlfriend gasps softly as the impact, along with one of Baiser’s claws, manages to tug her wand out of her grip and onto the ground.

“None at all, dearest,” Azul whispers back, leaning in close to her girlfriend once again. Without her weapon, and with her stamina mostly exhausted, any fighting is effectively over. Baiser would catch her before she could recover her weapon, and fighting unarmed against the armed, clawed girl would be impossible as well. “Looks like you win again?”

“It looks that way,” Baiser purrs back, her weapon dissipating back into herself and leaving her free to caress her girlfriend’s cheeks, tender and careful with her claws. “Now to claim my prize.” Azul’s heart skips a beat at the sultry tone, Baiser’s lust and sadistic desire washing out over her and making her feel small and helpless despite the height difference between them being the exact opposite.

Before she can reply, another of Leopard’s echoing explosions roar out and the ground trembles as the nearby café is torn apart in an inferno just beside the street where they’ve been fighting. Azul and Baiser both flinch back, then stare as the devastated building starts to collapse, tearing down walls in the buildings neighboring it and kicking up chunks of the sidewalk and a cloud of dirt as it collapses to the ground, the faint shining light of Magia Sulfur’s barrier shining dimly as she sticks close beside Magenta and shields them both from the small and potent bombs.

“I didn’t realize Leopard could do that much damage,” Azul mutters in shock as she stares at the building and Sulfur tiredly shoving a large chunk of the rooftop off herself and Magenta.

“I didn’t either,” Baiser admits with an amused grin, her eyes focusing up above as Leopard drifts through a portal alongside Venalita. “She got some sort of power spike near the end, but I didn’t expect her to level the café…” She lets out a heavy sigh. “I’d planned on inviting you there one day, I’ve heard good things about it.”

“It’ll be fixed up pretty quick. Vatz has these little fellows who help with reconstructions after fights, if anything happens in populated areas.” She squeezes Baiser’s hand gently before trying to pull away, and Baiser lets her slip free without a struggle. “I need to go check on them.”

“I’ve got to go check on Leopard, too,” Baiser agrees with a frown. Seeing that level of destruction isn’t particularly pleasant. On its own it isn’t enough to ruin her mood, but the thought of Kiwi overexerting herself leaves Baiser concerned. “If there’s anything that they need after that, just let me know. That looked pretty bad, for all three of them.”

“I promise, you’ll be the first to know, sweetheart.” She leans in, kissing Baiser on the cheek before withdrawing towards the ground, watching as her girlfriend waves her hand and an inky black rift opens, and she disappears within, the passage closing behind her.

Kiwi groans as her eyes flutter open, head pounding and lights painfully intense. Unlike the last time that she’d awoken in Nacht base, she isn’t alone. Instead, before she squeezes her eyes shut out of pain from the intense lights, she can make out Utena’s form cradling her close, head resting upon her lap. “Good morning, my brave little Leopard.”

Utena’s words are soft and reassuring, no hint of lust or displeasure to them, and it brings a smile to Kiwi’s lips despite her aching body and head. “Did I win?” It’s the first thought that comes to her, before concern for her safety, just hopeful that she hadn’t disappointed the girl she so deeply loves for a second day in a row.

“You did,” Utena replies hesitantly before taking up a more serious tone. “But I don’t want you to ever do that again! Venalita said that you could’ve died!”

“I guess, but I’d have lost if I didn’t go for it.” She tries to get up, but Utena gently guides her head back down to her lap. “I didn’t want to let you down, Utena-Chan.”

“You could never let me down, Kiwi,” Utena gently reassures her, stroking the girl’s head with a warm smile. “I’m very proud of the hard work that you’ve put in, Kiwi. I can’t wait to fight with you by my side again once you are better, but please,” her voice drops softer, her hand stilling, “never make me worry like that again, okay? I’d rather you need to run away than wind up seriously hurt.”

Kiwi makes a dramatic huff before shifting onto her side to hide her smile from Baiser. “If it’s going to keep you from worrying, then I promise I won’t fight like that again.”

“Thank you, Kiwi.”

“Is it possible that she’s romantically interested in several individuals? From what you’ve said she’s attracted to Kiwi as well,” the purple-haired woman gently strokes the demonic mascot’s head as she questions it on its story from the day’s activities.

“They called each other by first names while transformed,” Venalita replies with a grin, producing its phone out of its sleeve. “I can’t be absolutely certain that they’re the same person, but I have reason to suspect that they are with a high level of confidence.”

“What will you do, then, Vena-Sama? Should I eliminate the girl?”

“Certainly not,” the mascot’s chuckles at her offer. “We’ll just keep an eye on her as well and gather whatever information we can. Consider her a sister experiment to our caged angel.”

“As you command, Vena-sama.” The woman shifts her hand lower, rubbing Venalita’s back as it purrs out atop her lap. “Shall I do anything else?”

“Just keep Enorme happy for now and keep her from the base as much as you can. I’d like to pick out another girl or two before Baiser and Enorme meet, so their numbers are equal.”

“And where do I fall, when the time comes?” The experienced villain asks softly, but her question goes without a true answer, only a grin from the mascot atop her lap.

‘How could she?’ The scene was still stuck replaying itself in Haruka’s mind as the sun set and she tried to get ready for bed. ‘I was so happy when I heard the news, but now I just don’t know what to think.’ Sayo had seemed genuinely happy with Utena, the two head over heels for one another. The thought of the two being anything but the perfect couple of school sweethearts seems absurd, even having seen the proof herself. But she can’t stop replaying the moment in her head.

Azul and Baiser must’ve thought that they were alone, reasonably, since Magenta and Sulfur were caught in the rubble. It’d taken the last of Sulfur’s energy to actually heave aside the rubble, and while she’d laid there panting heavily, Magenta had watched Azul and Baiser. She wanted to be prepared to intervene if Baiser launched another attack. Instead, the two had begun to separate, Baiser seemingly ready to retreat once again, when Azul had done something Magenta simply couldn’t understand.

Rather than returning to her and Sulfur’s sides to assist them or retrieve her wand to be better prepared for any further incidents, Azul willingly returned to Baiser’s side, and then leaned in to kiss the villain despite seemingly being in a genuinely perfect romantic partnership with Utena. Unlike the previous moments, this one was driven by Sayo herself, a conscious and willful choice instead of being more of Baiser’s uncomfortable advances.

She’d betrayed Utena’s trust and love, and for Haruka to see that come from her best friend of all people is hard to accept. ‘Utena deserves to know, but how can I tell her without exposing myself and Sayo’s identities?’ She sighs out again as she flops onto her bed, a deep frown on her face and her phone in her hand, staring blankly at the two girls in her contact list, unable to decide which of them she should even reach out to first. ‘Do I confront Sayo with what I saw? Or should I try to figure out how to tell Utena without revealing who we are?’ Another possibility passes through her mind as well, the possibility that Utena may already know Sayo is Magia Azul. ‘Would it be easier to tell her that if she knows? Or would it be even more heartbreaking for her to hear that one of her idols betrayed her faith just as much as her girlfriend?’ She groans in frustration and sets her phone aside on her nightstand, exhaustion from the day of fighting weighing heavily on her mind, and before she can come up with an answer, the blissful embrace of sleep takes her.

Chapter Text

“All alone at last, my delightful pet.” Baiser’s sultry words send a shiver down Azul’s spine, her heart skipping a beat at her villain’s tender caresses. “Nobody is going to disturb us this time.” As Azul leans back, Baiser plucks the mask off her nightstand, the very same one that she’d animated once before, magic flowing through it before lowering it down onto her girlfriend’s face.

Darkness takes hold a moment later, not merely blinded in a physical sense but incapable of sensing her girlfriend, intense mana emanating from the mask and smothering her perception of mana completely. “It’s been too long, Mistress Baiser,” she whines out in a soft and desperate tone. “But don’t be too loud, please? My family’s sleeping.”

“Then you’d best bite back those moans, my delightful toy. We’re only as quiet as you allow us to be.” Her tone is malicious, no doubt delighting in the way that Azul tenses up and whimpers softly beneath her, the helplessness and risk of discovery enticing to the teal-haired heroine.

Unlike the mall earlier, she doesn't fight back, letting her beloved Baiser press her wrists against the headboard. A moment later, the sheets move on their own, animating and twisting around her wrists and securing them in place to leave her even less capable of defending herself. “Yes, Mistress. I’ll be as quiet as I can.”

“Good girl. Now, let’s put that to the test, shall we?” Baiser reaches out to the nightstand once again, picking up a set of durable scissors that she’d picked up after the fight earlier. She carefully presses the closed blade against her girlfriend’s neck, smiling as the cold draws a little whine from the girl before she leans down, whispering into Sayo’s ear. “Shirt or skirt?”

“Shirt please, Mistress Baiser,” Sayo whines without a moment of doubt, yearning for Utena to strip away her top and play with her tender breasts once again. “My boobs were your gift to me, I want you to enjoy them, Mistress. Enjoy my body, and don’t hold back, please.”

“My sweet heroine,” her knuckles brush against Azul’s neck as she carefully guides one blade of the scissors under Sayo’s silken shirt, the strong shears absolutely more potent than needed for something as flimsy as the soft and delightfully fragile tops of Tres Magia’s members. “What would your friends say if they saw you begging for abuse?”

Sayo whimpers at the biting words, aimed directly at her shameful desires. If it was anyone else, she’d be disgusted in herself, but her heart throbs as her girlfriend prods at her, humiliating words accompanied by nothing less than adoration. “They’d be aghast, Mistress. My friends think I’m a proud heroine.”

“And what are you really?” Her thumb pressed down, metal sliding against metal and plastic ends clicking together as the blades connect, shearing through several centimeters of the silken top. With slow, deliberate motions, Baiser opens the scissors and prepares to lengthen the cut, carefully brushing the cold, broad metal over Azul’s flesh before squeezing her fingers together and making another cut, the sound of the blades loud in the silence of the Minakami household.

“I’m Mistress Baiser’s toy, her pet heroine who needs lots and lots of attention, pleasure, and pain until she is properly behaved.” The cool air washes over her body as Utena slowly makes a third and fourth pair of cuts, the tips of the shears finally biting into her skirt. "And I fought really hard today, Mistress Baiser. Does your cute pet deserve a reward?”

“No, my beloved fox, I don’t think you do. Can you tell me what you did wrong?” Utena’s tone is slow, syllables drawn out. She carefully sets aside the scissors to instead tug Azul’s shirt to either side, baring her girlfriend’s chest and most of her ribs to the cool air and her own lewd gaze.

“It’s because we lost, Mistress. You wanted to see us win, but even though I’ve gotten stronger than  I was before, I couldn't beat you. That’s why I deserve a punishment instead of a reward?” She whimpers as Utena pulls away from the bed, longing for her lover’s touch once again, but Utena quietly steps around her before opening the small paper bag she’d tucked behind the bed.

“That’s a good answer, my pet, but not exactly the one that I wanted.” A few seconds later, she leans forwards, pinching a wooden clothespin between two fingers and carefully lowering it down over Sayo’s left breast, not yet releasing it as her delightful pet frowns timidly.

“I’m sorry, Mistress.”

“You will be, my dear.” She slowly releases the pressure with her thumb, and the clothespin starts to squeeze down, flat ends squeezing down on Azul's pink bud.

In less than a second, Sayo feels light pressure that swells to an intense, biting pain that spreads deep into the tissue. A pained cry escapes her lips before she even realizes, louder than their whispering to one another. An instant later, her villain giggles softly in her ear once again, leaning in so close that her every breath shifts Sayo’s hair, strands tickling against her neck. “Hush now, my darling. You wouldn’t want to be seen like this, would you?”

“No, Mistress.” The mere thought of her family discovering her in this state is terrifying, but there is a part of her that longs for it. A longing to be humiliated and shamed, her pride stripped away in an instant and a single bad decision, and Baiser is quick to strike at those destructive desires, impossibly prescient.

“Are you sure, sweetheart?” Her horns, curled low along her head, still manage to sense Sayo's pride contrasting with her lustful desires, an internal struggle running rampant in her mind. “We could go outside, if you would like, put a collar on your neck and show the world exactly who you belong to.” Sayo whimpers and Baiser circle back around the bed, climbing atop it and planting her knees on either side of Azul’s body, lowering her butt onto the girl’s tummy. “You need only say the word, my pet.”

“M-Mistress, please, d-don't.” Sayo desperately whispers the word, and Baiser shifts her stance lower, rubbing herself against Azul’s clothed abdomen, skintight leggings pressing against thick and durable fabrics.

“Please what, my dear?” Baiser rolls her hips, rubbing her bottom up and down her pet’s belly while Azul’s little whines ring out, the most beautiful song in her world.

“Please don’t s-show anyone, tonight, Mistress. I want t-to squirm and ache for you, but please don’t make me get caught.” It’s deeply arousing to imagine, but crossing that line tonight, being caught or shown off to others is simply too daunting.

Baiser just smiles and retrieves a small, orange candle she’d set on the nightstand, not pushing her lover further on the topic. “Then we’ll keep it here, quiet, private, intimate.” Her mana flows into the candle, and the wick blooms into a gentle purple flame a moment later, wax heating and quickly melting, warm wax pooling within the dip close to the mystical flame.

“Thank you, Mistress Baiser.” Sayo sighs out in relief, her muscles tensing slightly as Utena shifts her weight atop her, gently removing the clothespin, intense pain dulling to a steady ache. “I love you, Mistress.”

“I love you too, my sweet fox.” She carefully tilts the candle, golden eyes watching with delight as the molten wax shifts and threatens to spill from the cavity in the toy. “Now here I come, my beloved.” Azul nods in response, bracing herself, and Baiser tilts the candle further.

Droplets of hot wax drip down from the candle, falling the short distance onto Azul’s heavy breasts, hot enough to sting. Having the moment to prepare herself this time allows her to keep her mouth closed, muffling the low moan from each of the droplets that start to slowly cool on her skin, a gentle pain rising from the warm, but not harmful heat.

Utena smiles and tilts the candle further, her hands shaking with excitement as each little glob of molten wax lands on her lover and makes her lips twitch from the sensation of vivid warmth suddenly erupting instead of biting cold. Azul’s body shivers in response to the cool air, yet each touch brings a burning warmth to her body. Uneven splashes dot her flesh as Baiser shifts lower, away from her pet’s perfect bosom and down to Azul's lower ribs, letting small drops spill down to them as well. Each time one of the drops lands on her skin, Azul flinches, her untied legs kicking out. Her lips curl upwards, drool running from the corner of her mouth as she lets out soft, airy gasps, an aura of pure desire and pleasure washing off of her.

The pain is exquisite, gentle and intimate but without sacrificing intensity. Her nerves, receptive to the temperature around her, are primed by the cool air only to rebound and send jolts of pain from the heat, yet the warmth isn’t vivid enough to scorch her skin, harmless in the long term. Blindfolded and with her ability to detect magic suppressed, her sense of touch feels so much more vivid than ever before in a futile attempt to accommodate her two stolen senses. Baiser remains atop her through it all, her hips slowly rolling, rubbing herself against the magical girl who’d been utterly smitten by her. One hand continues to drip wax slowly over Azul’s body, but the other shifts, lightly caressing her heroine’s breasts, squeezing them playfully and drawing yet more muffled whines out of Azul’s mouth. Utena’s fingers alternate, kneading her sensitive flesh in one moment and then brushing the tips of her fingernails so lightly in the next that Sayo has the slightest doubts about whether she’s even making true contact.

Utena slowly shifts the candle further up Azul’s body, another collection of droplets dripping over Sayo’s perfect tits, then up onto her collarbone and her delicate neck. Hot wax drips down onto it, and Azul whines louder, twisting her neck to shield her face away. Utena carefully cups her girlfriend’s cheek, tilting Sayo’s face back up towards her as a hint of fear takes hold of the girl. “Are you okay, Sayo? Is this too close to the face?”

“No,” Sayo whispers back, all the movement stopping in an instant. “I know you won’t hurt me, Utena, and you won’t splash it on my face.”

“But you’re still worried it’ll happen?” Utena softly probes, the candle held upright, off to the side so it wouldn’t spill on Sayo even if she dropped it.

“I'm sorry, Utena.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for, dearest. I'll keep the candle lower, and save your pretty face for this.” Before Sayo can question her, she leans down, gently pressing her lips against Sayo’s own. Her nose brushes against the cool mask, head tilting to the side, lips parting and nipping at her girlfriend. Her tongue shifts, darting out as Sayo moans against her lips to brush her tongue against Azul’s teeth, straight and white and perfectly pristine before she withdraws with a warm smile, delight washing over her as her girlfriend cranes her neck upwards to draw the kiss out just a heartbeat longer. “Ready to continue, my pet?”

“Yes, Mistress.” As the two switch back to titles and their transformed identities, the movement and touching resumes. Baiser rocks her hips once again, rubbing against Magia Azul’s body and bringing the candle back over her pet, more drops of warm and enchanted wax falling onto her unblemished skin. Her other hand dips lower, tugging Azul’s skirt up and out of the way of her thighs before shifting lower, resting on her haunches between Sayo’s legs. The candle shifts low as well, gently dripping molten wax onto Sayo’s inner thighs.

The potent heat slowly trickles down her legs before pooling against the fitted bedsheet and cooling rapidly, Baiser dripping more and more onto Azul’s thighs. Her free hand explores higher. Tender and slim fingers brush against her hip, tracing along the thin cotton band of her panties before dipping them within, brushing over Sayo’s lower lips tenderly.

“You are so beautiful, my pet.” Her index and middle finger gently close against Azul’s clit, squeezing it gently and drawing a faint whine out of the magical girl. “I wish that I could make you sing in pain and pleasure tonight,” she slowly rolls her fingers, rubbing the sensitive bud between her digits. Azul’s lips part, mouth hanging open as she quietly sighs, shivering in delight and the cool air, Baiser’s smile only widening as she tips her candle again. Hot wax spills onto Azul’s yet-untouched thigh, brilliant heat trailing up her body. “But tonight, I’ll settle for those cute whimpers, my pet.” She lifts the candle away from Azul’s thighs and back over her chest, pouring more mana into the candle. The flame blooms, growing larger, producing more molten wax in the dip of the candle while bathing her precious pet in the ethereal purple glow. “Now, cum for me, my pet.”

Baiser tips the candle further, pouring molten wax down like glaze over each of Sayo’s breasts, relying on her magic to produce far more of the painfully-warm fluid than a single candle ever should be able to. Azul moans out for her softly, shuddering with delight and unable to push the pleasure down. Baiser inverts the candle, last of the liquid spilling over her girlfriend before she discards it, leaning forward to cover Azul’s mouth as her moans rise in pitch and volume. Azul’s arms tense, fingers and toes curl at the painful heat and her girlfriend’s affections, until the pleasure is too much.

Baiser shivers as pure bliss washes over her, emanating from Azul like light from the sun itself. Her girlfriend throws her head back, forcing Baiser to strain just to keep her palm pressed firmly to Azul’s lips and muffle the beautiful girl’s cries. Azul shivers, her aching muscles go limp as she submits to the haze of pure pleasure, Baiser’s fingers rubbing and lightly squeezing her clit the whole while until at last the shivering stops and she rolls her head to the side, breathing deep through her nose.

“I love you, Magia Azul. You’re so strong, so brave, more beautiful than I could ever put into words, my pet.” Baiser finally withdraws as the last aftershocks of pleasure race through Sayo’s body, instead cupping the mask on Azul’s face and lifting it aside. Mana flows back into her body as its magic fades and the dazed face of her girlfriend graces Baiser’s eyes again. With a faint gesture, the top sheet unravels itself, falling from Azul’s wrists and pulling itself over her body along with the heavier comforter that’d be relegated to the foot of the bed.

Azul’s unfocused eyes slowly glance up at Baiser as the villainous girl gently wipes away the saliva that had trickled from her mouth in the throes of pain and pleasure. “I love you too, Baiser. You're incredible… That was incredible.” It feels lame compared to Utena’s loving words, but it’s the most she can muster from her tired mind, fatigued from pleasure and an exceptionally long day.

With a smile, Baiser plucks the candle up out of the small puddle of wax, lifting it to her lips. Her lips purse, and a gentle exhalation is enough to snuff out the flame, the last traces of magic within returning to her. As she reclaims her magic, the puddle and the dried wax over Azul and the bed vanish, the extra wax of her inanimate creation fading to nothingness without a spell to sustain it. “I’m glad that you enjoyed that as much as I did, Sayo.” She places the candle back into the box, then closes her fingers around her star, pulling it away. Her clothes burn away to nothing, leaving her utterly nude, her normal clothes cast off alongside Sayo’s before they transformed.

“I’d say I enjoyed it more,” her girlfriend replies with a small frown on her face, her own transformation ending. Utena plucks the heart from her grip and sets both magic tokens down behind the mask. “Was that enough for you? You didn’t get to climax.”

“It was perfect, dearest.” Utena gently lifts the blankets aside, and Sayo shifts over to allow Utena to climb into bed with her. “I loved every moment, every little whine that you made for me.” She gently shifts closer to Sayo, wrapping an arm over her and leaning her head just barely against the corner of the pillow.

“If you’re sure, dearest.” Sayo squeezes Utena’s hand in her own, soft and tender. “We could keep going though, I could make you feel good too. I could use my fingers, or try to make you feel good with my tongue like you did to Sulfur.”

Her girlfriend tenses up, shaking her head after a moment of nervousness. “I’m okay, Sayo, really. I’d like to just snuggle, if that’s okay?”

“Absolutely, sweetheart.” She doesn’t push the topic, but she does shift closer to Utena with a playful grin. “You know, I’m not gonna bite you if you want to share the pillow. I don’t mind if you want to bite, either.”

Utena quietly inches closer to Sayo, her girlfriend’s gorgeous smile illuminated by gentle light streaming through the window over the bed. “Thanks, Sayo.”

“Of course, dearest.” Sayo leans in, gently kissing Utena’s nose before leaning back, letting her eyes flutter shut as Utena presses up against her side, warmth easing the cold around them. Her breaths slow, but before she can get to sleep, Utena shifts closer still, leaning her cheek against Sayo’s chest and humming happily to herself. Sayo gently lifts a hand to hug Utena, and she tenses for a moment before relaxing in her girlfriend’s embrace. Sayo’s contented smile grows, amusement at Utena’s cute adoration of her breasts the last thought that accompanies her into the depths of sleep.

Haruka raps her knuckles against the door to the Minakami residence, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other until she hears it unlock, and Sayo’s mother opens it a moment later. “Good morning, Haruka!” Her warm smile shows no surprise at the girl’s unannounced visit. “Please, come inside.”

“Thank you, Ms. Minakami!” Haruka puts on a cheerful tone for the blue-haired woman, but her thoughts are far from pleasant. The memory of Sayo’s actions yesterday still weighs on her mind, but she wouldn’t dare to share that with the girl’s innocent mother.

“I’m afraid Sayo isn’t out and about just yet, but I’ve heard her talking in her room, probably with Kaoruko or perhaps that new friend of hers? I’m sure that she’d be happy to see you though!” The older woman quickly returns to the kitchen and resumes tending to breakfast with Haruka following her inside, taking in the warm and inviting scents rising from the stovetop. “Should I set out a plate for you, dear?”

“No, thank you. It’s very kind of you to offer but I don’t intend to stay for too long, and I already ate at home.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” The woman happily turns her attention fully back to cooking while Haruka crosses through the house quietly, making her way up to Sayo’s door and quickly knocking on the doorframe. “Sayo? I’m coming in, we need to talk.” As she calls out, Haruka doesn’t hesitate to start to open the unlocked door, having done similar many times throughout her life whenever she came by to visit Sayo.

“What?” Sayo’s response is immediate and alarmed, accompanied by the loud shuffling of sheets against one another and a pained grunt as she scrambles to her feet. “Haruka, don’t come in!” Her protests unfortunately come too late as her friend opens the door and steps inside before freezing at the situation.

The first thing that Haruka notices is Sayo’s nude form, complete with a look of horror on her face as she stumbles and stops her desperate rush to try to reach the door now that Haruka is already inside. Sayo and Haruka had seen one another nude many times throughout their youth though, warm baths in the hot springs or covering for one another while changing in more public settings, so the abject panic on Sayo’s features seem out of place to Haruka at first. Slowly, the messy details start to piece together. Strands of hair brushed aside tenderly. The faint gleam of saliva around her lips and over her cheek. Little bite marks along her neck. Haruka turns from her friend, sparing a glance at the bed where a purple-haired girl is staring back at her with her own nudity hidden from view under the blankets.

“I’m so sorry,” Haruka steps back as she whispers out an apology before closing the door, giving the two girls some space to compose themselves without her intrusion while she leans against the wall opposite the door and slowly slides down into a seated position.

The mere thought that Sayo and Utena might already be sexually intimate hadn’t even crossed Haruka’s mind. They’d been together for mere days, but there’s no other explanation for the marks on her friend and undoubtedly more hidden away beneath the blankets over Utena’s body. She’d always imagined that Sayo would’ve saved herself for marriage if given the opportunity, not throw her body at the first person she’d dated as well as the villainess that had stolen her purity away. ‘And poor Utena doesn’t even know that Sayo’s been lying to her, kissing Magia Baiser then sleeping with her in less than a day.’

“Haruka?” She glances up at the door as Sayo calls out softly through it, trying to keep her mother from hearing. “Just give me a few minutes, please, and don’t tell my Mother that Utena is here, okay?”

“Okay, Sayo. I’ll just wait until you both are ready.”

“So much for a quiet morning,” Sayo tries to keep her tone upbeat and cheerful as she strides over to her mortified girlfriend and sits down at the edge of the bed, gently stroking Utena’s hair with one hand. “You okay?”

“Not really,” Utena whines out softly, but Sayo’s gentle warmth against her head is comforting. Not enough to wash away the absolutely humiliation of their friend walking in on the pair of them naked, their clothes discarded in a small pile beside the bed, but the warmth of her girlfriend does ease her panic slightly, heartbeat beginning to slow and drift towards her usual baseline. “Do you think that she’s going to tell anyone about this?”

“She’d never do such a thing, sweetheart,” Sayo replies with confidence as she shifts her palm lower, caressing Utena’s cheek with her hand. She gives a warm smile and gently tugs up on the corner of her girlfriend’s mouth using her thumb, giggling at the half-smile that the gesture creates on Utena’s face. A moment later, Utena cracks and starts to giggle, a true grin washing over her at Sayo’s playful actions. “There’s that cute smile I love.”

“Thanks, Sayo.” The silly antics help to ease her worries, but there’s still the looming fear about what Haruka might say. Even the thought of inviting her back into the room seems difficult to endure. ‘But I guess we should get up and get dressed again.’ With a sigh, she shrugs the sheets off of her bare skin and crawls out of bed, accompanied by her girlfriend a moment later.

“Of course, my love.” Sayo carefully picks through their discarded clothes, gathering the smaller-sized parts of their school uniform and passing them to Utena with a smile. She doesn’t redress in her own uniform, instead quickly crossing past Utena and picking out clean undergarments. A pair of lightweight black shorts and a white tank top complete her hurried and simple outfit.

Utena finishes adjusting her tie, leaving her uniform wrinkled but otherwise presentable as Sayo finishes dressing herself. The last thing that she has to do comes easily as she scoops up her transformation star from Sayo’s nightstand, tucked underneath the ceremonial mask that she and Sayo had used for fun last night, and slips the magical trinket into her pocket. “I-I’m ready if you are, dearest.”

“Okay.” Sayo doesn’t comment as Utena’s nervous stammering returns, only pausing for a moment to kiss the girl on one of her bright-red cheeks before quietly opening the door. “We’re ready for you now, Haruka.”

“Thank you.” She sheepishly steps back into the bedroom, standing timidly by the door as though she’s afraid to so much as walk around in the room. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think that you might have company over. I totally didn’t see anything though!”

“You saw S-Sayo naked, though,” Utena nervously points out.

“It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before,” Sayo chimes in as she pushes the door closed behind her friend before returning to her bed and sitting down at the foot of her mattress, atop the bunched-up sheets.

“Not in like, a romantic way though!” Haruka is quick to add on to her friend’s words. “Just, when we go to the hot springs mostly, or changing during sleepovers, not actually looking at one another like that!”

“It’s okay, I understand Haruka.” Utena sits down on the bed beside her girlfriend, resting her head against Sayo's shoulder.

“So, what brings you over today? I don't think you texted, is something wrong?”

“I just came over to talk to you, Sayo,” Haruka glances over at Utena with a look of familiar pity, not all that different from the occasional glances their classmates used to give her. “Just Sayo. I can come back another time, it doesn’t need to be now, but I want to talk to you today.”

Haruka doesn’t answer Sayo's latter question about whether or not something is wrong, a fact that isn’t lost on either Utena nor Sayo. The purple-haired girl doesn’t press the topic though, instead getting up once more and glancing over to the window by Sayo’s desk. “I guess I should get home anyway, Mom probably wants to make breakfast by now.”

“Right, makes sense.” Neither girl can keep the disappointment out of their words, but Sayo quickly joins her girlfriend beside her desk, quickly unlatching the window and sliding it open. “Let me give you a boost.” She firmly takes hold of Utena’s hips, grunting softly as she lifts the girl off her feet, stepping closer and setting Utena down on the windowsill. ‘That’s a lot easier while we’re transformed.’

“Thank you, dearest.” Utena leans back and brushes her lips against Sayo’s, a quick, gentle kiss before she has to depart. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Utena.”

With a warm smile on her lips, Utena drops down the short distance left between her feet and the grass outside, leaving Sayo alone with their friend.

Sayo slides the window closed once Utena has stepped around the corner and out of sight. With her girlfriend gone, her attention fully turns back to Haruka as the girl stands over her nightstand, looking down at the magical trinket Sayo had placed there. “So, she knows who you are?”

There’s a tension to Haruka’s voice, clearly holding something back. Sayo can’t imagine what Haruka is tense and worried over, but there’s clearly something important between her insistence on privacy, the biting tone, and the way her arms are pressed tight by her sides. “I showed her already, but I would never tell her about you or Kaoruko without your permission.” She carefully steps closer to her friend, resting a hand on Haruka’s shoulder but the pinkette shrugs her hand away. “What’s wrong, Haruka?”

“I saw you kiss Magia Baiser.” Her voice cracks at those words. Her face shifts, a look of disappointment on her face rather than anger. It’s much more painful than anger could ever be, the gentle disappointment as though she’d been betrayed.

Sayo nods, a frown settling on her face as she takes a step away from her hurting friend. “Yeah, that’s how she acts. She kisses us, touches us, ties us up and uses us like we’re her dolls or figurines rather than people.”

“You kissed her, Sayo.” This time, there is a hint of anger as her friend tries to just brush it off. “She was leaving after Leopard blew up the café, and you kissed her. You initiated it this time, not her!”

Sayo’s eyes widen with shock at that declaration. She’d thought that Haruka and Kaoruko were suitably incapacitated and had taken advantage of that freedom to be more open with her flirtations, to touch her girlfriend as the two of them enjoyed one another’s company even while they were meant to be fighting one another, head-to-head for the first time since her confession. ‘But she saw, which means that she must know, doesn’t she?’ “I-I’m sorry, Haruka. I’d have told you sooner, but-“

“Me? What about your girlfriend? What about Utena? Did you even consider how she feels?” Haruka stomps closer, jabbing a finger up at her friend in accusation while Sayo bites her tongue, her worry replaced by abject confusion. “She’s head-over-heels in love with you, and you’re making out with some freakshow pervert behind her back? How could you do that to her, Sayo?”

Sayo doesn’t respond at first, trying to collect her thoughts and come up with an explanation that doesn’t expose Utena’s identity. Even if it means that Haruka and Kaoruko wind up disgusted in her, she wouldn’t betray Utena’s trust. ‘And there aren’t any options where I don’t end up looking awful, are there?’

A heavy and uncomfortable quiet falls over the room as Sayo thinks and Haruka simply stares at her. The only sounds that break the silence are the steady ticking of Sayo’s bedside clock, and the heavy breaths that Haruka takes for several minutes. Sayo’s first thought is to simply lie, try to convince Haruka that she’d misread the situation. It’s the least absurd thing that she could say, but the thought of manipulating her friend makes her feel just as disgusting as Haruka’s expression.

Her other ideas are similarly flawed. Any attempt to reassure her friend that Utena is aware of her actions feel like they wouldn’t be believable in the least. They’d be truthful, but without knowing Magia Baiser’s true identity it would be impossible for Haruka to believe it, and Sayo knows that she wouldn’t if she were in her friend’s shoes.

That leaves only a single course of action left over, taking the fall and letting Haruka blame her for that perceived betrayal. Sayo finally sighs and averts her gaze. “Yeah, you’re right… I’m sorry, Haruka. I didn’t mean for you to see any of that.”

“I’m not the one that you need to apologize too, Sayo. You should be begging Utena to forgive you.” She pauses, frowning as she looks up at Sayo’s sad expression. “Why would you kiss her like that, Sayo? I thought you loved Utena as much as she loves you.”

“It just felt right in the moment, Haruka. She was beautiful and confident, but she pulled away to go check up on her teammate. She wanted to keep going, I was worked up from her behavior, it just happened.” Each individual part of that is true, but the obvious omission of it being her girlfriend makes her seem utterly awful.

“Do you love her?” Haruka's shoulders slump, emotionally fatigued from the conversation and her fitful night tossing and turning over the thought of what Sayo had done. “Magia Baiser. Do you love her too?”

“Yes.” No doubt, no hesitation, the words are immediate and absolutely certain. “I love her.”

“Do you love Utena more than her?”

“I don’t know.” It’s an impossible question to answer, which part of her girlfriend she loves the most.

Haruka just lamely nods at her answer, turning her eyes down to the floor, the ticking of the clock breaking up the quiet as she thinks. Her jaw clenches along with her fists, muscles tensed for an agonizing few seconds before she loosens up again with a sigh, turning away to hide her pained expression. “You need to tell Utena all of this, Sayo. Tell her about Magia Baiser, tell her what you did, tell her how you feel.” With her transformative item in plain view beside the bed, there’s no doubt in her mind that Utena knows about Sayo's work as a magical girl, leaving no secrets that would prevent Sayo confessing fully to her actions. “Tell her before school on Monday, and I truly hope that she forgives you.”

“Will you forgive me, Haruka?”

She stops in the doorway, slowly nodding. “I think so, but it won’t be today. I just want all our friends to be safe, and happy, and I can’t stop worrying about how much you might’ve hurt her. But you’re my best friend. I want this to just be over, I want her to forgive you and for the two of you to move on and be happy together. If she’s a wreck, it’s going to take time, Sayo, for both of us.”

“I understand.” Sayo sits back down on the edge of her bed with a sigh, and Haruka closes the door behind herself and departs.

“Welcome back, sweetie!” Utena smiles as her mother welcomes her with warm words and a gentle hug the moment that the door closes behind her. “How was your sleepover? Did you have a good time last night?”

“It was really nice. Thanks for letting me go, Mom.”

“Of course.” After a quick kiss on her daughter’s forehead, she pulls back and lets Utena free with a beaming smile. “Did you have breakfast there?”

“No, I headed out a bit before it was ready.”

“Let’s go get you something to eat then. You should go wash up, and put on some clean clothes.”

“Okay. Thanks, Mom.” She quickly scrambles up the stairs while her mother makes her way to the kitchen to prepare a late breakfast.

After a quick but soothing shower and getting dressed, Utena makes her way back downstairs, the smell of warm eggs, melted cheese, and sweet jelly calling to her. She quickly takes a seat beside the plate her mother had prepared for her, a hefty omelet with a large portion of purple jelly spread across it.

Her mother settles in at the table beside her, smiling softly at her daughter’s own beaming smile and abject delight. “Your new friends seem very nice, sweetheart. I’m very glad that you’ve been getting along with them so well.”

Utena pauses in between large bites of her meal, hastily chewing to free her mouth up and respond to her mother’s idle musings. “They’re amazing, for sure. I’ve also made another friend recently too, she’s a transfer student who’s sitting next to me, Kiwi.”

“What’s she like?”

“She’s super sweet too, but she doesn’t get along too well with some of my other friends. She’s got this cute smile though, and she’s been going out of her way to help me out, even when it isn’t helpful to her.” Kiwi had pushed herself much too far during their last fight. Venalita was confident that she had no lasting injuries, at least. Still, learning that she’d pushed herself so hard that she’d begun to hurt herself had been alarming. “She never gives in, and I’m a bit worried that she won’t stop even when she’s in over her head, but she’s still amazing.”

Her mother’s smile only grows as she listens to Utena talking about her new friend. Even when Utena is talking about Kiwi getting into trouble, there’s an air of deep affection to the words. “That sounds perfect, sweetheart. Maybe she can help you learn to be more outgoing, and you can help her to reign in her behavior when things start to get out of hand? It seems like you’d compliment one another quite well.”

“I hope so.”

“And what else has been happening? Anything new at school? Drama with your school club? Any lingering sickness?”

Utena frowns, her voice quieting as she recalls the miserable math test that they’d had. “Well, we had a math test yesterday. I don’t think that it went too well, but hopefully it wasn’t too bad?”

“I hope that too, sweetheart, but you’re a very clever young lady.” Her reassuring voice helps Utena feel just a bit more at ease. “I’m sure that you did better than you think.”

“I hope so,” Utena offers a noncommittal reply before perking up a bit, thinking of a much more exciting topic that she’d not managed to find the time to share with her mother quite yet. “Oh, and, I also have a bit more news, about Sayo.”

“That’s the blue-haired girl, right? One of the attendants at the old shrine?”

“That’s her, yeah.” Utena smiles at the thought of her girlfriend, still abuzz with excitement from her confession only a few brief days earlier. “the two of us are together. Dating, together, she asked me out, and it’s been really special.”

“I see.” Her tone grows a bit more cold as she shifts her posture, looking her daughter up and down carefully before relaxing just a touch. “Are you sure that you two aren’t moving a bit fast? You only told me that she was your friend last week, now you’re already dating?”

“W-Well, it’s definitely fast, it feels like everything has been happening quickly,” Utena admits nervously. “But, she makes me really happy when I get to spend time with her, and her laugh makes my heart skip a beat, and she’s got an amazing smile… I really want to be with her, Mom, and I think that you’ll really like her.”

“I’m glad that she makes you feel that way, Utena, and she does seem nice.” Her tone slowly grows more stern, firm, serious, protective. “But you’re still my little girl, Utena. If the two of you are serious, then I’d like to have a proper meal with her and her parents sometime soon, okay?”

“I’m sure that she’d like that too, Mom. I don’t really know too much about her parents, but, I’d love to have Sayo over for dinner sometime soon, give you a chance to get to talk to her more? I can see if her parents could come too, but it’d be easier to schedule something just with her.”

“Okay. We’ll start with just her. Pick out a time, let me know a few days in advance but you know my schedule. Pick any day that I’ll be home early, and we’ll make an evening out of it.”

“I will.” She takes a big bite of her omelet while her Mother’s smile grows wider once more.

“Perfect. Now, this Sayo, does she have any social media profiles?” Utena pauses at the question, taking a moment to wrack her mind before shaking her head.

“I don’t know. I have her on Line, but I haven’t seen any other accounts that she has.” That’s not entirely true either. Sayo certainly has a Bluesky profile for her magical girl persona as well as some sort of influence over the Tres Magia page, but neither of those are under her name.

“What about a job? Does she get paid for her work at the Minakami shrine, or is it just one of her chores?”

“She gets paid, I didn’t ask how much, but I think it’s closer to part-time work than an allowance.” She hadn't actually asked about the topic. Sayo’s family seems to give her some spending money though, and she supplements that with whatever money Vatz provides to her to be able to comfortably buy small items, snacks, and clothes without too much attention. “Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering what she’s like.” There’s a hint of amusement to her words though. “Plus, I saw the strangest thing in your closet last night while I was putting some wash in, this cute purple dress that I don’t recall ever buying you.”

“Sayo bought it for me Thursday, as a gift. That was our first date together.”

“That was sweet of her. Are you planning to let her pay each time the two of you go out, though?”

‘That’d be unfair to her, but I don’t have a way to explain how I’d be paying for any of our outings either. No way I’d ever tell her I’m a part of Enormita.’ She takes the last bite of her omelet before shaking her head, quietly chewing as her mother continues.

“Maybe you should look into a part-time job of your own then?” Her words are gentle and guiding, suggestion rather than instruction. “You’ve been heading to school earlier lately, and if you use that time to take care of most of your club duties, you could definitely make time for it if you’d like to be able to take her somewhere nice every now and then.”

‘Plus, I could use that to explain any bigger purchases I make with the cash Venalita gave me.’ It’s far from a bad idea, overall. “Do you have any ideas what I could do?”

“Well, you could definitely ask if there’s room for another shrine attendant if you want to be able to spend time with Sayo at work. Barring that, you could get by as a clerk or waitress you don’t mind talking to strangers briefly. I used to babysit a bit when I was your age as well. It’s a bit slow to start, but once you know a few clients you'll start to get recommended, and girls age out so there are opportunities to get your foot in the door if you keep at it.”

Utena smiles, appreciative of her mother’s insight and care for her wellbeing. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll look into those in a little while, but I have a little bit of homework to take care of first that I’d like to do.”

“Of course, classes should always come second only to your health.” She gets to her feet along with Utena, bending down to kiss her cheek softly, loving, but not in the same way that she and Sayo love one another. “I’ll take care of the dishes.”

“Thanks, Mom. I love you.” With that, she scampers back upstairs quickly, intent on quickly taking care of her work before checking in with both Kiwi and her girlfriend.

“I love you too, sweetie,” her mother calls upstairs with a smile, simply happy to see Utena smiling and socializing so much more than she ever had before.

The next morning, Utena joins her girlfriend by the shrine, sitting on the front steps beside her and listening to her woes and what Haruka had somehow seen. Thankfully, she wasn’t hurt during the fighting, but it’s a bit embarrassing for Utena that she hadn’t even noticed her friend among the crowd. ‘I wish that I didn’t need to hide my identity, it’s so unfair for Sayo to be in this position. At least it means she didn’t see me transform.’’ She gently wraps an arm around her girlfriend and pulls her into a hug, stroking her back softly. “So, what should we tell her? She’d definitely freak if we tell her that I’m Magia Baiser, and that wouldn’t help out with your teammates either if they ask questions.”

“That’d be a really bad idea,” Sayo confirms softly. ‘That’d mean giving up your identity directly to Magenta and Sulfur.’ She can’t say that part to her girlfriend, but she can share what else she knows about Haruka. “I’m pretty sure that she wouldn’t handle it well if she learned your secret identity. That’s doing exactly the same thing she thinks I did, with more girls and half of them don’t want you to smooch them, or worse.”

“Is it exactly the same?” Utena’s voice quiets, suddenly worried. “I thought you said you were okay with me doing that, s-so it isn’t as bad as cheating without telling, right?”

“I am, dearest,” Sayo gently shifts to be able to squeeze Utena against herself in a tight hug. “I’m happy as long as you are fulfilled and smiling, and I get to be a part of your life. It’s not cheating either, because I know what’s happening and I want you to do it, so long as it makes you happy. But Haruka doesn’t know about that, from her perspective it’d be worse than what she thinks I did to you.”

“Thanks, Sayo.” Sayo’s quick reassurances, as well as the embrace guiding Utena’s face to rest against her chest, eases the petite girl’s worries. Her cheek presses against Sayo's ample breasts, delightful and warm even through her shrine uniform, more perfect than any pillow could ever be for her to lie her head against. “Do you think that Haruka would still be upset if I told her the same thing you told me? Wanting you to be able to be with whoever makes you happy, that I’m supportive and don’t love you any less for being in love with Baiser and pursuing us both?”

Sayo grins as Utena nuzzles up against her chest and delights in her body once again, adorable and genuine smile warm enough to melt even the most stoic woman’s heart. Utena’s idea is inspired, but there’s obvious merit to it in that it doesn’t require her to surrender her identity, but it also clears Sayo of being a cheater. “It could work, but I might’ve ruined that idea yesterday.”

“I’ll find a way to make it work, Sayo. Then, you can share the same with your teammates if it ever comes up.” She lets out a tired sigh, leaning against Sayo a bit harder. Her girlfriend quietly lifts her hips and quickly shifts Utena fully onto her lap. “This double identity is hard sometimes. How do you manage it?”

“Not very well lately, considering Haruka is mad at me. Normally though? The trick is to not mix your two identities. If someone knows you are dating a cute girl in your civilian life, you shouldn’t let yourself get caught making out with her in uniform. That's a bit more complicated when the two of us both have secret identities that we can’t share with one another’s teams though.”

Utena bursts out into laughter at Sayo's answer, and her girlfriend chuckles along with her. “Maybe the solution is to make out with me more when we’re both out of uniform then. Or find ourselves a little hideaway.”

“Don’t tempt me, dearest,” Sayo teasingly threatens, punctuating her words with a soft kiss. “Surely you have one already, a meeting place that’s secure? Somewhere to train or rest up after a fight?”

“We do, but it’s not just for my team. It’s for the older members too, so, I can’t bring you there. I’m not sure about the rules, but it’d be dangerous if someone found you. It’d be really nice to have our own place instead, somewhere that I could bring you that’s shielded where we can get with whatever we want and no prying eyes to hide from, or coordinate with Leopard without worry of bumping into the senior members.”

“You want your own supervillain lair?” Sayo asks, playful grin on her lips. “Fill it with flowers and all kinds of monsters just waiting to be animated?”

“I guess so, yeah. Something that I’m in control of entirely would be best. Venalita's been going out of its way to keep us from the other members of Enormita, so I don’t know much about them, what they’d react negatively towards or be endeared by. Having my own private place to play with in addition to the group base would be nice. I'd need to figure out how to set up more barrier devices though.”

“It sounds fun, but you also need to be practical. Your mother isn’t going to let you run off on your own all the time, so it might make more sense to set up wherever your base already is, and operate out of there and your homes.”

“Maybe, but Mom recommended I pick up a part time job though, depending on how often Vena pays me, I could just tell her I’m babysitting or something in odd hours while I set up.”

“You could try it, but you definitely shouldn’t neglect getting at least a little bit of actual work too. If your Mom wants to check up on you, having a few families to vouch for you would be best.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“I always do, dearest.” She gently strokes a hand through Utena’s hair. “So, babysitting? That sounds like it could be fun. Are you hoping to have kids of your own someday?”

“Definitely not soon, but, I think it might be nice to have a kid one day, once I’m secure financially, and we’re married and have our own home.” She straightens up, pulling away from leaning onto her girlfriend’s chest to talk more seriously. “What about you? Do you want a big family?”

“I want kids and I’d like to be married, but I’ve never put too much thought into the specifics beyond that.” She gently takes Utena’s hands in her own. “Being a mother is definitely a plan for my future though. I hope that we’ll get to do it together.”

“I hope so too, Sayo.” It’s a pleasant, quiet moment, but the day won’t come for many years ahead. After a few minutes of quietly resting against Sayo, her girlfriend gently stroking her hair, Utena finally chimes in softly once more. “Can I ask you a question about Haruka?”

“Of course. What’s on your mind?”

“How long has Haruka known that you’re Magia Azul?”

“She’s known for a while.” She’d known since the very first moment. She’d been the one to responsible for Vatz even offering to make her a magical girl. “She was the one I could go to and confide in.”

“And, does she know that I know your identity?”

“She must know. She saw my heart on the nightstand,” Sayo explains, referring to the trinket in her pocket. “You’d obviously have seen it, since I didn’t make any effort to hide it from you.”

“Okay. Then, I don’t need to worry about saying Baiser’s name tomorrow.”

“Just make sure not to slip up and reveal that Baiser is you,”

Haruka swallows as she approaches the gate to school, worry forming a lump in her throat. ‘I wish that Magia Baiser had stayed gone last week.’  With a little more than an hour until class, Utena is almost certain to be on the grounds. Haruka almost wishes that she wouldn’t be, to spare them both the uncomfortable conversation. ‘It’d just postpone it though. I need to tell her, in case Sayo didn’t.’

It doesn’t take long to locate Utena. For the first morning that Haruka can recall, Utena isn’t slowly watering the flowerbeds carefully. Instead, she’s sitting down in the middle of a bench, a small smile on her lips. The moment her eyes meet Haruka’s she shifts to one end of the bench and beckons Haruka closer. ‘She was waiting for me.’

Each step Haruka takes is a challenge. Anticipation runs wild in her mind, imagining how quickly everything could come crashing down. The second she starts, Utena might simply collapse, break down into tears or lash out in pain from what Sayo did. ‘I am strong.’ She pushes down the mental image of Utena’s grief-stricken face, slowly crossing the courtyard towards her friend. ‘I am resilient.’ She steps up to the bench, Utena’s greeting washing over her ears as her heart races. The words are lost on her, but she smiles, and her words catching in her throat. ‘And I’m going to help my friend, whatever it takes.’ She swallows hard once again and sits down beside Utena, finally facing the girl who seems unshaken by the confession Sayo must’ve given her. “Hey, Utena,” it’s barely a whisper, but it’s audible and gentle, and that’s enough for the moment. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” her tone is genuine, no sign of hidden pain in her words either. “A little nervous, but I’m doing well.” Haruka frowns, confusion taking hold, then a moment of disbelief as she wonders for a brief instant whether Sayo hadn’t actually told her. Before she can ask, Utena squeezes her own knees and sighs heavily, glancing away and blushing. “Sayo didn’t cheat on me, Haruka. I know you’re worried about me, but she didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Is that what she told you?” Haruka’s voice trembles somewhere between disbelief and anger, but Utena keeps her own tone steady.

“She told me what you saw, but I knew that she was interested in Magia Baiser as well. We spoke about it before, when she’d first confessed to me.” The corners of her mouth twitch as she tries to maintain a calm expression, but Haruka can’t tell whether she’s struggling to hide a smile or a frown. “I don’t mind that, Haruka. I went in knowing everything she wanted, including Baiser.”

“What?” Her bewildered question slips past her lips before she can think about it, unable to make sense of anything Utena is saying. “That doesn’t make sense. How are you dating if she loves someone else, and wants to kiss them?”

“We’re dating because we love one another. I love her, and she loves me, and going out on dates or snuggling up against her makes me happier than I could put into words.” She closes her eyes, leaning back and smiling. “I want to see Sayo smile. I want to hear her cute laughter, and see her blush when I manage to do something for her that she doesn’t know how to respond to. But she’s happy when Baiser is around too, and I want her to be able to have that source of happiness in her life, and she’s open to me looking for affection elsewhere if I ever desire it, too.”

“So, you’re dating Sayo, but Sayo is dating you and Baiser?” Haruka’s words quiet down once again, unable to make sense of what Utena is saying. “Is that really what you want? To be together with somebody who doesn’t love you as much as you love her?”

“That’s not what I said.” Utena’s voice grows firm as she sits upright again. “Sayo pursuing someone else doesn’t make her love me less. It doesn’t have to take away from one another. She can love Baiser and foster that love, have more love to give, and still love me just as much as she would without Baiser in the picture. Maybe even more.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“Of course.”

“Why?” Haruka asks, already exasperated by what Utena is telling her.

“Well, I think I’ve gone through something similar. You know that I’m a huge fan of Tres Magia, right?” Haruka nods slowly. Between the amount of merchandise Utena owns and how often she’d brought them up, it’d be difficult not to realize that fact. “Ever since Sayo showed me that she is Magia Azul, I’ve loved Azul way more than I used to. That hasn’t stopped me from being just as amazed by her teammates though, I love them as much as I always did.”

Haruka nods along, understanding the words but not able to fully relate to them. “Maybe you’re right, it just feels wrong though.”

“I get that,” Utena smiles reassuringly at her friend. “It’s a lot for me as well, suddenly dating the best girl in the world and getting used to everything. But it makes us both happy, and I think that’s what’s most important, right? Supporting one another and being fulfilled with our lives?”

“I guess you’re right. Why wouldn’t Sayo just tell me this yesterday, though?”

“Would you have believed her if she did?”

Haruka shakes her head after a reluctant pause. While she’d love to be able to say that she knows her friend enough to believe her, to trust that she wasn’t lying to her, she would only be lying to herself. She was certain that Sayo had been cheating beyond the faintest shadow of a doubt. ‘Yet, I was wrong. I just made a mess of things.’ “I guess I wouldn’t have. I’m sorry for butting in when there was nothing wrong, Utena.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad that you wanted to protect me. Even if nothing was wrong, it could’ve been, and the fact that you stood up and helped means a ton.” Utena leans over, nervously pulling her friend into a hug. “Thank you, Haruka. You’re an awesome friend.”

“Thanks, Utena.” She returns the embrace with a smile, her worries slowly melting away. “That makes me feel way better.”

Chapter Text

Utena nervously accepts her graded exam back from her teacher as the woman walks down the space between rows and passes them out, turning her attention to the heavily marked up exam, red ink scribbling corrections over the overwhelming majority of her answers. In the top box beside her name, underlined three times, lies her final exam grade. Twenty-eight percent. A failure, and not even remotely close to passing. Instead, it’s an awful performance so dramatic that her teacher had left her a note reminding her of the option for redo exams after school this Friday.

‘Twenty-eight.’ The mark stares up at her, a cruel reminder of how little she’d been able to manage her time in the week and a half since she’d accepted Venalita’s offer and become Magia Baiser. ‘Oh god, Mom is going to kill me.’ A shaky breath escapes from her lungs as she sets down the paper before burying her face in her arms, sniffling, shoulders quivering as she tries to hide the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Her chest heaves as she takes shallow, hurried breaths and shame crushes her. All that her mother asked was for her to maintain passing grades and participate in at least one club or activity. ‘And I couldn’t even do that for her. I’m an awful daughter.’ Her mother would be distraught at how badly she performed, and if she were to hear what had been dominating Utena’s time and energy instead of her studies she’d be beyond disgusted.

Every day, her thoughts had been consumed by her lustful desires. She’d spend time that she pretended was for studying reading through inappropriate magazines she’d recovered from the Minakami shrine, or asked Venalita to discretely acquire for her, and fantasize about forcing Sayo, Kiwi, Sulfur, and Magenta into compromising situations. Evenings spent spirited away into Nacht Base, sneaking out of the house to go fight magical girls, assault and rape them, and even in spite of her most twisted pleasures being heaped upon her, she still couldn’t meet the barest requests that her mother had asked.

‘It’s not like we need her.’ The thought, the twisted and intrusive statement, leaps into her head alongside the image of herself in Nacht Base, Kiwi collared to her bed in combined room larger than her own bedroom, but it only makes her guilt and shame crash into her even harder as she imagines her mother distressed about her disappearance, or heartbroken to learn what kind of a monster she’d raised. The tears flow freely, spilling from her eyes and dropping down onto the red-marked paper atop her desk. ‘What is wrong with me?”

The bell finally chimes, and most of her classmates begin to filter out. Sayo and their friends linger, though, as does Kiwi, who gently shakes Utena’s shoulder, leaning over from her own desk. “Utena-Chan? Are you alright?”

She doesn’t respond with words, simply shaking her head as she remains curled up on her desk, muted and miserable sobs escaping her trembling form.

Sayo quietly runs her hand through Utena’s hair, gently stroking her girlfriend’s head and letting her shed the tears she clearly needs to release. “It’s okay, dearest. It's only one exam, there’ll be others.”

“She ain’t wrong. As long as you work hard and do well on the rest, you can pull it back.” Kaoruko glances at Kiwi, offering a small grin as she finds herself in the rare circumstance of actually agreeing with the troublemaker.

“You can always take the make-up exam too. We’d be happy to help you study this week.” Haruka adds in with a warm smile, wrapping her arms around Utena’s unresponsive body from behind. “We’re here to help, whatever you need.”

“She’s right, dearest. Whatever we can do to help, we’d be happy to.” Sayo reassured Utena, warmly smiling as the girl slowly picks her head up off her desk.

“Thank you, everyone.” She quietly folds the paper, covering the distressing red grade up before slipping it into her backpack with slow movements and unsteady tremors in her hands.

“Utena, I’m home.” Her mother’s voice from downstairs distracts her from half-heartedly sketching Magia Azul on her notebook. Her heart sinks in her chest as she picks up the folded exam off the corner of her desk and then gets up, slowly trudging to the door. “Utena?” She calls out again in concern as no answer comes from her daughter.

“I’m coming, Mom.” Utena slowly descends the stairs, clutching the railing so tightly her knuckles whiten and her fingers ache.

Her mother is already seated by the kitchen table when she makes it to the base of the stairs. The moment she spots Utena’s distraught face, her smile fades and she rises to her feet. “Utena? What’s wrong?”

No words escape Utena’s lips, only a few small sniffles. Tears threaten to stream down her face again, and she thrusts her hand out, letting her mother take the paper from her. The older woman’s frown deepens as she stares for several slow seconds before setting it aside with a sigh and beckoning Utena closer. “Oh, darling…” Her mother glances up from the paper and Utena averts her gaze, unable to bear the disappointment on her mother’s face. “This is a disaster. How could you let this happen, Utena?”

“I don’t know, Mom.” The lie escapes from her mouth much too easily. She knows exactly where she’d lost control. She’d neglected to study the notes that Haruka had sent her yesterday evening, and had instead spent the night imagining all the fun that she could have with Sayo and Tres Magia, thoughts consumed by those beautiful girls as she paged through the magazines tucked away in her desk. She knew that she was going to pay the price for slacking, but she’d never imagined just how miserable her performance would wind up. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t going to bring your grades up, young lady.” It’d be better if she raised her voice and yelled, but instead of shouting or a stern lecture, her voice is laden with disappointment. She sets the paper down with a frown and slowly rises onto her feet, walking towards the calendar on their refrigerator, hiding her face from her daughter as she does. “You’ll need to retake it, Utena.” She uncaps a small pen and quickly jots down a note for this coming Friday.

“I’ll do better this time, Mom. I promise.”

“If you don’t, then I’m taking away those magical girl products in your room.”

“What?” Utena jumps to her feet in, terrified at the mere thought. “You can’t! Anything but that!”

“Then you’d better get studying, Utena.” There’s no malice in her words, still no anger, simply saddened by how the last exam had gone.

Utena nods lamely a few seconds later, ignoring how her mother clutches the edge of the counter, worry and disappointment unnoticed as the girl retreats into her own fear. “Yes, Mom.” Miss Hiiragi sighs, listening as her daughter shuffles towards the stairs slowly before starting to slowly climb them, door eventually closing behind her as she retreats into her room.

Kiwi bobs her head up and down as Utena explains her woes. Her wine-red eyes stay focused on Utena’s face, frowning as she sees the beautiful girl so heavily drained by the return of their exams yesterday. She’s quite happy to be accompanying Utena back towards the Hiiragi residence, but seeing her perfect Baiser-Chan deflated sours that happy moment. “I’m sorry, Utena-Chan. Do you want any help? Kiwi-Chan would be happy to tutor you!”

“No, I’ll study on my own and do better.”

“Isn’t that precisely what you did last time, though?” Kiwi cocks her head as Utena shakes hers.

“Not really. I did study a bit on Monday, but then I was sick Tuesday and Wednesday, and I had my date with Sayo Thursday.”

Kiwi lets out a little huff, but she bites her tongue as Utena talks about the blue-haired homewrecker. ‘I’ll be the one Utena-Chan winds up with when the dust settles, Minimi. Mark my words.’ She carefully covers her frown with her wrist and jacket sleeve as Utena glances back up from her own feet. “But if you mess this one up, you won’t get another chance to save your grades. Are you sure that you don’t want Kiwi-Chan’s help?”

“I think I’ll be okay, but thank you Kiwi.” Utena offers her a smile, and Kiwi quickly returns it, beaming excitedly as a cute grin settles on the sadist. “I’ve got to go though, see you tomorrow at school?”

“Sure thing, Utena-Chan! Feel free to call if you need anything!” Taking the hint, Kiwi splits off from Utena with a smile, hurriedly crossing the street and heading off towards the mall as Utena presses on ahead.

Birds sing above Utena as she walks, but the sounds of nature are quickly drowned out by the excited calls of distant voices, at least a dozen individuals but quite possibly more than that. Curiosity gets the better of her, and she slows her path, crossing over the street to be able to better glance into the park and see just what had caused a sizable crowd to gather. Very quickly, she finds her answer: Magia Magenta.

The heroine is proudly perched atop one of the plastic pieces of the playground for children, while around her are a collection of handmade wooden signs. Each of them demands attention with their bright red pain and taunting declarations. ‘Come out, Enormita.’ ‘Show yourself, Magia Baiser.’ ‘What’s this? I don’t sense her friends nearby, is she out here all alone?’

“Keep your distance,” the heroine warns to some of the younger children who draw close to the playset. “I appreciate you coming out to cheer me on, but it’ll be dangerous once Baiser arrives, so make sure you stay out of harm’s way.”

One part of her, a very large part of her specifically, yearns to grant the wish that Magia Magenta so clearly has, to transform and meet her for what is sure to be a wonderfully exciting battle. ‘It’s too bad I can’t stay. I have to get home immediately so that I can at least study.’ She glances sadly up at the heroine, those gentle blue eyes meeting hers for a moment before she steps away from the gathered crowd and resumes her walk home, the crowd growing quieter until it is out of earshot.

“Where do you think you’re going, Utena?” Just when she’d thought she’d gotten away without anybody noticing, none other than Venalita whispers into her ear as it joins her, floating just beside her head. “She’s calling you out, you aren’t going to just let that go unpunished, are you?”

“I need to get home, Vena,” Utena weakly protests, barely able to muster the mental fortitude to ignore Magenta’s bold challenge.

“That’s not the Utena I know. Is something the matter?”

“My grades, for one thing. I bombed my last exam.” She looks up at the mascot, its face showing only the faintest frown as it listens to her. “If I don’t do well on the exam retake this Friday, Mom’s going to throw out all the magical girl items I’ve collected.”

“And?” It glances back to where Magia Magenta is posing on stage, an encouraging smile on its face. “You get to see them every day at this point, do you really need that stuff?”

“Yes! They’re collectibles, and it took a long time to get all of them!” She takes a breath, lowering her voice back down to a whisper. “I haven’t been able to study at all last week, between the fighting and being sick, so I really need to get home today, Vena. Please?”

“Really?” The mascot tilts its head in mock confusion, smile spreading across its face. “I thought that the issue was that you spent Sunday, Monday, and Thursday reading those erotic magazines up in your room and all your time in class doodling those girls naked and messed up.” Utena stares at it in shock while the mascot continues with a smile. “I understand that you want to study, but you’re not going to get anywhere if you just hunker down at your desk again today. Just give yourself one quick bout to get it out of your system.”

“But…” She doesn’t bother to protest or try to defend herself feebly. Even though she dislikes it, she knows that her mascot is telling the truth. “Fine, I’ll do it. Just a quick fight to clear my head.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then.”

As Utena fishes out her star from her backpack, Venalita dips through a portal, leaving her alone to prepare herself, then transform with a softly-spoken incantation.

Magenta straightens up, wand transforming into a spear in an instant as the twisted cry of dark magic screeches out across the air. “Enormita! Everyone, get back!”

Baiser grins as students scatter, rushing every direction except towards her. Her heels click against the stone walkway as she strides towards Magenta’s dramatic perch, a pair of functional but inexpensive scissors carefully held in one hand. “Hello, Magia Magenta.” Her golden eyes slowly trace over the signs, smiling as though she hadn’t read the taunting messages when she'd passed by in her civilian form. “It looks as though somebody has been missing me. Jealous at the attention Magia Azul and Magia Sulfur have gotten, perhaps?”

“Never.” Magenta swallows hard, nervousness and anticipation pouring from her body as she locks eyes with the villain. The sadist’s normal weapon is nowhere to be seen this time, but the metal scissors catch her eye, being a perhaps more deadly weapon than Magia Baiser’s usual one. “I’m going to bring you down, Baiser.”

“I’d love to see you try, my dear.” Her confident smile wavers for just a moment as she holds her scissors off to the side, mana flowing into them. “I’m afraid that I won’t be able to indulge for too long today, though, so let’s not waste any time.” With a flick of her wrist, the bladed instrument sails forwards, over a dozen scissors scattering to the air from only a single initial focus for her magic.

The scissors tumble out in the air, blades parting from one another as her magic takes hold. Metal and plastic bend, beating like the wings of a butterfly as they stabilize in the air, then zip forwards with the same enthusiasm as the villain who’d made them.

Dark magic surges and gathers into a swarm of animated blades. Magenta pulls the spear closer to her body, ready to try to defend herself against Baiser’s attack, but the blades zip through the air faster than she can hope to track. A shrill whistle rings past her ears as the blades dive past her guard. There’s no bloom of pain, but instead cold washes over her as Baiser’s lecherous smile widens, eyes glimmering with delight.

“Wh-What did you do?” Magenta squeaks out in dismay, glancing down at her utterly exposed body. While the blades hadn’t left so much as a nick on her skin, gloves, and boots, her dress and panties had been sheared to ribbons, leaving her beautiful body bare for Baiser’s eyes.

Only, it isn’t just Magia Baiser who is watching her. Everyone is staring at her exposed body just as much as Baiser, older students covering the eyes of their younger peers to protect them from the indecency of the heroine. Her spear clatters to the ground, forgotten entirely in her haste to cover her modesty as best she can, one arm crossing over her breasts while the other shields her sex from view.

As she scrambles to preserve some level of dignity, Baiser shivers, a soft whine escaping her throat in utter delight as the heroine's resolve crumbles. Embarrassment eats away at Magenta, her humiliated squirming and beat red cheeks more beautiful than she’d ever been before. ‘I wish that I could watch her squirm forever.’ Magenta’s eyes well with tears as she backs away, but Baiser doesn’t pursue her. Instead, she retreats up into the air and splits the air open into a rift of swirling shadow with a wave of her hand.

“I’m sorry, Magenta.” The heroine glances up in surprise at Baiser’s words, expecting genuine remorse for her actions. Those hopes are dashed a moment later when the villain continues. “I’d love to stay longer, but not today. We’ll play again soon, though.”

“But, why? How could you do this in public?”  She’d done twisted and cruel things in the past, but they’d always stayed relatively private. Now, there's no privacy, every eye on her, camera’s taking pictures of her desperately trying to preserve even a modicum of decency.

Baiser giggles at the way the heroine’s voice cracks and the embarrassment oozing from her, but she doesn’t answer the petrified magical girl. Instead she ducks through the portal, her thrilled smile fading as she ducks back into her bedroom, and it closes behind her.

‘I messed up.’ Utena stares down at her notebook, a freshly-completed doodle of Magia Magenta ineffectively covering her exposed body staring back at her. The drawing could never match up to the real thing, but her magical girl is still beautiful even without being able to taste the fear and shame running through her. ‘I messed up so bad.’ 

The practice questions she’d copied down remain untouched on the opposite page, her mind not even considering them for an instance after she’d sat down. Instead, her thoughts remain fixated on Magia Magenta, and just how unsatisfying the ending of their fight had been earlier. “I shouldn’t have left.” She groans, finally setting her pen down and sliding her chair away from the desk in frustration. Not only had she not managed to study, but she also didn’t get to enjoy her time with Magia Magenta properly. “I should've just told Vena I wouldn’t go fight her and spent the night studying instead.” With another sigh of frustration, she turns her focus back towards her notes, trying to at least make some effort on the problems she’d written down. It’s a fruitless endeavor, however, and eventually she simply closes the notebook after carefully removing the newest of her large doodles and tucking it away in the very same drawer with the magazines she’d found at Sayo’s shrine. With a sigh, she gets up from her desk, grabbing a clean towel and heading for the bathroom, hopeful for a cool shower to clear her head.

“So,” Kaoruko leans back in her booth with a smile, observing the freshly-rebuilt café, “how’s Utena holding up after that exam?”

“Not great.” Sayo glances down at her iced coffee on the table with a deep frown. “She took it really hard yesterday. We made plans to meet at her place to study after school Thursday though, so I hope she’s able to manage a passing grade.”

“I hope so too.” Kaoruko wasn’t quite sure why, but the mere sight of her exam had Utena on visibly devastated. “Is her family hyper-strict?”

“I don’t think so, but I only met her mother as long as you did.” Sayo takes small sips of her drink as she talks, trying to look for an opportunity to bring up what she’d really wanted to talk about, her relationship with Magia Baiser. ‘After all, better to get it out of the way before we get into any awkward positions like with Haruka.’

“I guess that’s true, but it seems a bit extreme of a reaction to a single bad grade. Are you sure nothing is going on at home that’s adding on to her stress?”

Sayo's sad smile grows as she listens to Kaoruko’s worried words. Trying to juggle working with Venalita, covering for us, and dealing with her secret identity and the issues that arose with Haruka were certainly additional sources of stress for her to endure. “She’s definitely had more than usual on her plate lately, but I don’t think they are issues at home. Just a lot of change in her life.”

“That’s good then. Any word about Magia Baiser scaring her since that first fight?”

Sayo shakes her head, trying not to show her amusement as she recalls their misinterpretation of Utena’s doodles in between her notes from class. If Tres Magia hadn't worried about her being in danger, Sayo can’t imagine she’d have ever gotten as close to Utena as she had. “No, I don’t think she’s been giving her any issues.”

“That’s good, then. If you ever need it, I’m always happy to help, though.” A glint of mischief shines in her eyes. “Including wrangling Kiwi when she starts being a total creep again, or just a general nuisance.”

“I don’t think that’ll come up. Utena likes her, and Kiwi clearly likes Utena and cares a lot about her wellbeing too.”

“Sure, that’s true,” Kaoruko acknowledges, her tone hesitant. “But I’m pretty sure that the way Kiwi likes Utena is a bit different than the way Utena likes her.”

“You might be right, but I don't think so. I asked Utena about Kiwi, and she seems genuinely interested in her. It might be a bit early to tell, but I think that Kiwi’s feelings aren’t a one way street.”

Kaoruko arches a brow at that, confused by Sayo’s casual tone. “And, you ain’t mad about that? Your girlfriend wanting to go after another gal?”

“I don’t think so. Utena and I spoke about this earlier, and I don’t think either one of us necessarily feel a need to push down those feelings we have for others, or to try to keep everything exclusively between the two of us.”

“So, more of an open relationship?” The pitch of her voice rises in genuine surprise. “In a million years, I don’t think I’d ever guess you’d be that kind of gal, or Utena either for that matter. Good for you both though, so long as you're both happy that’s what matters most. If you don’t mind me asking, why are you sharing this all with me, though?”

“We didn’t share it with Haruka,” Sayo explains with a smile, much more amused by Haruka’s discovery now that the situation is resolved. "So she got reasonably upset when she found out on her own. I’d like to avoid any repeated incidents which might cause people to turn upset with one another if we can.”

“I guess that makes sense.” ‘Who’s the third girl, then?’ Certainly not Haruka if she’d needed to be told of the situation after discovering it, and for all their teasing, she didn’t seem to be interested in pursuing a relationship with Utena. Kiwi most definitely was enthralled by Utena though. ‘And she claimed to have slept with her, too.’ Kaoruko glances up at Sayo’s nervous blush, her eyes focused down at her drink, clutched tight in her grip like she’s worried someone will snatch it away. “When you talk about being exclusive, do you mean just being physical? Sex, kissing, touching other gals now and then? Or do you mean genuinely dating others?”

“I guess a little bit of both. I don’t know if I would say that either of us are actively dating someone besides one another, but we’ve definitely been a bit more intimate with other girls.”

“Like who?” Kaoruko leans in close, resting her cheek on one hand, curiosity in her tone.

Sayo sighs heavily, leaning back and pushing her nerves down, finally meeting Kaoruko’s eyes once again. “I’ve been sleeping with Magia Baiser.”

At those words, Kaoruko straightens up, her playful smile vanishing in an instant. There’s a flicker of concern, eyes widening for just a moment before she catches herself. “What the hell do you mean?” Her hands shift, gripping the edge of the table tightly. “Baiser’s a threat, Sayo. She ain’t our friend. You’ve been meeting with her again?”

“I have. Not fighting, though, I’ve told you every time that the two of us did that. Just to feel her, the pain, the pleasure.” Her cheeks burn as she imagines her girlfriend’s touch, the cool and controlling laughter, the rough vines that entangled her flesh and left her at Baiser’s mercy. “She’s magnificent, Kaoruko. From the first taste she gave me at school, there was this pleasure along with the pain, and then at the shrine it was more than I could possibly imagine.” Once again, she glances up from her drink, pausing as she sees Kaoruko looking away from her, jaw clenched, a guilty frown on her face. “Are you upset with me, Kaoruko?”

“No,” she barely breaths out the word. “I ain’t mad at you, Sayo. I’m scared. You never mentioned this before, and Baiser’s dangerous. Enormita is dangerous. You shouldn’t be meeting with them on your own. What if something goes wrong? What if she seriously hurt you?”

“She won’t do that, Kaoruko. She’s surprisingly gentle.”

“She kicked me through that window,” the blonde points over her own shoulder towards the street, “and then her little pal bombed the whole place, and I had to make a barrier to keep buildings from collapsing on top of us. I’d hardly call that gentle.”

“She did feel bad about that, but, that’s not the same. We were fighting then. When she’s not fighting, or being rough in bed, she’s actually tender, and gentle, and delicate.”

“I’ll take your word for it, hon.” She doesn’t push back on the topic, instead focusing on the other members of the group. “But that doesn’t mean that there’s no risk from her pals. She might be a bit less explosive than that Leopard gal, and there’s gotta be other members who are pretty awful too. If you spend a lot of time with her, and nobody is around to bail you out, you could wind up getting hurt, Sayo. I don’t want anything else to happen to you.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I promise, I’ll be safe. We haven’t gone anywhere that would let us be discovered, and even Leopard doesn’t know my identity, or that I know Baiser’s. We’re being careful.”

“I guess. I’d still prefer if you didn’t hang out with her but it’s your choice at the end of the day. Just don’t do anything that puts you in too much danger, okay?”

Sayo nods, smiling softly at her friend. “I promise, I won’t do anything that puts us in more danger than our usual fights. No meeting others in Enormita or going off to any unknown locations with her.”

“Thanks, Sayo.” Kaoruko glances away, sighing heavily before looking back over to her friend. “So, what about Utena? Did she actually sleep with Kiwi? I thought that the girl was just a bit insane.”

“I-I believe she did.” Leopard had shown up right about the exact same time that Kiwi had, and while Utena hadn’t outright confirmed Kiwi to be her teammate it’d make sense with the timing, especially since Utena had admitted to fighting her as Magia Baiser. Still, Leopard’s recognition inhibition didn’t let her confirm it with absolute certainty.

“Did Utena really kiss her enough to leave that bruise on her neck, though? That doesn’t really seem like something that she’d do.” It doesn’t seem anything like the meek girl who’d shy away from the ball most of the time during PE, always hiding herself away and never daring to talk start a conversation with her until last week.

“S-She’s surprisingly controlling in the bedroom, when we’re alone… I-I don’t think that Kiwi was exactly lying about that part.”

“Huh.” After a brief pause, weighing the words carefully in her mind, Kaoruko shrugs. “Never would’ve guessed that neither. You two slept together too then?”

“Y-Yeah… Haruka walked in on us naked in bed Saturday morning, actually.” Sayo’s cheeks burn red as she recalls that moment, and Utena’s dismay at being discovered in a compromising position, hiding under the sheets. “But we’ve only done it one time, really…” There’d been other moments of sexual contact, but they’d always been with Magia Baiser and Magia Azul. ‘Though I guess Friday night, we were still transformed.’

“Still, it’s a bit fast. Make sure you two don’t get into anything you’ll regret, okay?” Kaoruko smiles before downing the remainder of her drink and slowly getting back up onto her feet. “Anyway, I think it’s time for me to head home, but… If you and Utena want another study partner after school Thursday, give me a call, ‘kay? I’d be happy to help out, and I think the three of us are all doing way better than her regarding our grades.”

“Probably,” Sayo admits with a smile before quickly finishing her own beverage so that she can start to head back home. “I think she’d appreciate it as well, but I’ll ask, just to be sure.”

“Gotcha. Just let me know. Either way, I’ll catch you both in class tomorrow.” She turns away from the table, but before she leaves she pauses, voice lowering. “And, if you ever need help, Baiser ever pushes you somewhere that you’re unsure about, please call. I’ll come and get you, no questions, no drama. I’d rather that you be safe, than anything else.” She doesn’t wait for Sayo’s response, instead pulling her bookbag over one shoulder and heading for the door.

Utena smiles as she spots her girlfriend outside the gates of their school, waiting for her well before their classes start with a warm smile. Even without transforming, the warm love that pours from her is apparent, warming Utena’s cheeks through the cool morning air. “Hey there, dearest.”

“Hey, Sayo.” She rushes to wrap her arms around her girlfriend, squeezing her tightly and sighing as the position presses her face into Sayo’s breasts. “How’re you doing?”

“Pretty good. I spoke with Kaoruko about everything, so that’s a lot of stress gone from my plate.” She pulls back with a smile, and Utena releases her reluctantly. “How about you? Feel better for your exam on Friday?”

“No,” Utena whimpers out, her hands fidgeting with her skirt. “I barely got anywhere. I had a fight with Magenta, and then I got distracted when I got back to my room, because I couldn’t stop thinking about how pretty she looked when she was trying to cover her boobs from all the cameras, and I kept making little doodles of her and-“

“Utena,” Sayo narrows her eyes, cutting her girlfriend’s nervous rambling off. “You can’t keep putting off your studies. In two days, you have to take the supplemental exam. You got a twenty-eight on the last exam.”

The purple-haired girl bobs her head, but it’s still a struggle to keep her eyes from wandering and her thoughts from drifting towards her lustful desires, and all the things she could do to Sayo’s beautiful body. “I know. I didn’t mean to, Sayo, but I just can’t stay focused. I really tried, but I just couldn’t. I’m sorry, Sayo.”

“It’s fine, sweetheart.” Sayo gently cups Utena’s cheek, both to try to reassure her girlfriend as she softens her tone as well as to keep Utena’s eyes from glancing down at her breasts. “But you need to do better next time, okay? No goofing off, no running around being Magia Baiser, or you are going to fail this exam too. I don’t want that to happen, sweetheart.”

“I’ll try, but,” her words trail off, and Sayo sighs sadly. It’s the best that Utena can offer to her. “I just couldn’t manage it before. I didn’t want to ignore my studying, but it was just so disinteresting. I just wanted to go back to the park and pick back up with Magia Magenta where I’d left off instead. I don’t know what to do, Sayo.” Her voice cracks, tears forming in her eyes. “I don’t want to fail again, I can’t do that to Mom, but I just can’t focus.”

“Utena,” she carefully brushes aside the girl’s tears as they start to spill down her face. “It’s okay. We’ll meet after class today instead. Kaoruko offered to help. We’ll stick around as long as you need, and we can make sure that you get through the material. We’ll go over it together, okay?” She leans forward, softly kissing her girlfriend nose, smiling reassuringly and keeping her tone gentle and low. “It’s going to be okay. No matter how much effort it takes, we’ll make it through this together, dearest.”

“T-Thank you, Sayo.” She glances over to the flowers, but before she can head towards the shed where her supplies are kept along with the rest of the Beautification Committee’s, Sayo rests a hand on her shoulder and nudges her towards the main building.

“I’ll take care of the garden today. Clean yourself up, and try to get a bit of time with your notes before classes start, okay?”

Utena nods, smiling as her girlfriend offers to take on her duties for the day so that she can at least try to prepare for the exam. “Okay, I’ll try, at least.”

“Good.” After a small kiss on the cheek, Sayo splits off from her towards the shed.

Utena makes her way up to their classroom while Sayo tends to the flowerbeds on her behalf, settling in at her desk well before the rest of the students arrive. She pulls her notebook from her bag and settles in, staring at the very same practice questions that she’d spent so much time staring at to minimal progress, only managing to copy down the first one at the top of a blank page so that she had space to work on it. Her progress is slow as the sun continues its lazy ascent over the distant horizon, but at least there is progress as students slowly filter in.

Kiwi is among the girls who strides in a few minutes before classes start, dropping down beside Utena and peeking over at her desk with a big smile on her face. “Good morning, Utena-Chan! How’d everything go for you last night?”

“Not great, honestly. I got distracted studying, but I’m trying to make up for it.” She spares Kiwi a glance and a small smile before turning her attention back to her current practice problem, frowning as she stares down at the answer she’d reached and trying to figure out why it didn’t match with the answer.

“Right… You want some help with that?” Kiwi keeps a smile on her face, easily picking out both mistakes that Utena had made while attempting to solve the equation. “I’d love to help out until class starts.”

“No thank you. I think I can do this on my own, I just need to double check where I went wrong.”

“Oh.” She frowns and straightens up in her seat as Utena flips back to her earlier notes from during class. “Well, if you change your mind, just say the word, Utena-Chan!”

“Thanks, Kiwi.” With a small smile on her lips, Utena continues her studying, only giving a small wave to Haruka when she makes it inside, then Sayo and Kaoruko when they come in together. Their first teacher comes in only a few minutes after the last of her friends, and Utena pulls out another notebook, intent on following along with the class today. It’s a struggle, though, and she can barely focus as their classes begin to drag on.

Utena tiredly leans against Sayo as the two of them sit on her bed, Kaoruko and Haruka settled down in chairs so that they could give her more questions to solve and help her through the solutions when she failed to handle them on her own. It’d been incredibly kind of the girls to agree to help her study, but after how much the school day had drained her, their attempts to study had been draining.

“Maybe we should take a break?” Sayo gently asks the group, glancing at the clock. “We’ve been at it for almost two hours.”

“That’d be nice,” Utena groans out softly, relaxing in Sayo’s arms as her girlfriend hugs her close. “It’s just too much, I need a few minutes.”

“Maybe we could get something for dinner, if your mother won’t mind?” Haruka offers with a smile. “It’s always easier to study after a nice meal.”

“That ain’t a bad idea. We could run out and pick something up if you’d like, give you a bit of time to just relax?”

“I don’t think she’d be upset if I eat without her. Did you have something in mind?”

“Well, we could grab some pizza and bring it back?” Kaoruko offers as Utena slumps further, Sayo smiling and guiding Utena down to rest with her head in her lap. “Ain’t too expensive either, so I don’t mind covering it.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that!” Utena protests, but it’s rather feeble with her lying down on her side. “I should pay for it, you’re here to help me.”

“We could just split the cost, I wouldn’t feel right letting you pay for it, Utena.” Kaoruko glances over at her pink-haired friend’s protest curiously. “Please, let us take care of it tonight?”

“I guess, if you’re sure?” Utena sighs, slowly pushing herself back into an upright position with some help from her girlfriend. “I’ll come with you to pick it up though, I don’t want to just sit around and not help.”

“That might help, honestly. Sitting around all day ain’t great, getting some blood flowing and might help you clear your head a bit more, too.”

“Do we want to just walk over? It should give us a bit more time to relax and cool down before we get back into studying.” Sayo gently helps Utena to her feet, and the petite girl nods along. with her girlfriend’s suggestion. Haruka and Kaoruko both chime in with their own agreement. After a few minutes to put away their things, the group set out together, Utena and Sayo holding one another close as they and their friends chat, taking a bit of time to simply enjoy one another’s company rather before they have to return to helping Utena with her exam practice. Once they make it back, they slowly resume studying, Utena’s friends gently correcting her each time she makes an error and reviewing the notes from class with her until the night starts to grow old.

“Utena!” Venalita pokes its head through another portal beside her desk, calling out excitedly. “Magia Magenta is back out in the park, and she’s calling you out again.”

“No way!” Utena shifts her posture so that she doesn’t have to see the swirling portal, tempting her away from her desk and notebook into something that she’d much rather do, fighting and tormenting her pretty Magenta who’d given her very first kiss. “My exam is tomorrow, Vena. I need today to make sure that I am ready for it.”

“Really?” The mascot drifts over her shoulder, looking down at the notebook. Rather than lewd doodles and untouched equations, there’s highlights and small notes scribbled between the margins explaining why certain methods were being used to solve equations. “You’re actually studying this time?”

“Yes, I am.” She glares at the mascot. “I was trying to study Tuesday, but then you tricked me into fighting Magenta, and I got nothing done.”

“I’m sorry.” The mascot’s face is impossible to read, but its tone seems genuinely regretful of her plight. “For Tuesday, and for interrupting you today. I’ll go ask Kiwi to take care of this today, you just focus on this.” It floats back up towards its portal, but Utena calls out before it can disappear within.

“Wait.” The mascot pauses, glancing back over its shoulder curiously. “You’re not going to make me fight her today?”

“Of course not.” The mascot lets the portal close, drifting down to rest on the corner of her desk where it won’t be directly in her way. “I didn’t mean to force you into fighting her Tuesday, either. I thought that it would be beneficial if you let out some of your excess energy, but I guess it didn’t help.” It offers a faint smile up at her. “Plus, it would keep her from drawing too much attention to Tres Magia. I’m sorry that it made it harder for you to study these past two days, though.”

Utena stares down at the smiling face, taking in its simple expression before sighing, a faint smile on her own lips. “It’s fine. I probably could’ve handled the fight better too. But, thank you for listening to me today.”

“Of course. I’ll try to be better about that moving forward, too. Good luck on your exam, and don’t worry about Magenta. Kiwi and I will take care of things today.” Utena nods, and the mascot floats off her desk, conjuring a portal and disappearing inside to go and fetch its other available villain.

Utena nervously gets up from her desk, walking across the otherwise empty room and handing the paper to her teacher. Her heart races in her chest as the woman smiles, takes the paper, and thanks her before beginning to read her answers, making corrections in red ink as Utena watches. Each mark makes her wince, dread sinking into her core, but there is much more space between each correction than last time, and eventually the paper is passed back across the desk to her. “Well done, Miss Hiiragi.” The teacher doesn’t offer her a smile, keeping herself professional and her expression neutral. “I hope you show this same performance on the next exam as well. Enjoy your weekend.”

Utena glances down at the paper, and a small laugh escapes her, relief washing over her as she sees her new grade. Eighty-seven percent. It’s easily the best grade in this subject she’d received since the start of the term.

Utena smiles excitedly as she hears the front door close. She gets up from her bed, grabbing her exam and rushing downstairs to greet her mother. She races down the stairs, meeting her mother just as she steps into the kitchen and hugging her tight. “Welcome home, Mom!”

“Hey there, sweetheart.” She wraps her arms around her daughter, smiling at Utena’s enthusiasm. “I take it someone has good news?”

“Eighty-seven.” She hands the exam up to her mother, and Miss Hiiragi’s smile grows wider as she takes it.

“That’s incredible, Utena. I’m so proud of you.” She leans down, gently kissing her daughter’s cheek before stepping past her into the kitchen to get started on their dinner. “I think you deserve something extra special tonight, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Utena makes her way over to the table, sitting down while she watches her mother start to cook.

“Speaking of good news, I think I found some for you. Remember when we talked about babysitting in your free time, sweetheart?”

“Of course. I haven’t really looked for clients yet though, I was really just focused on my studying.”

“I imagine so. But, I found a listing that I think might be perfect for you, Utena. There’s a doctor who’s looking for someone to watch her daughter, very early in the morning until a little bit past noon on Sunday. It’s an unusual hour, so she’s offering a very generous hourly rate. I can send you the listing, if you would like.” It’d be a big ask for most girls, but with how early Utena has been rising to make it to school, a 7 AM starting time doesn’t seem all that unreasonable.

“Yes, please!” Utena replies, happy both by her Mother wanting to assist her, as well as to have someone she could use to explain away her absences as Magia Baiser if she ever needs it. Her phone buzzes as her mother texts her the information about the job, and she scrolls through it idly while talking with her mother and letting her mind fully relax.  

Chapter Text

As the sun slowly crests the horizon, Utena makes hurried strides down the sidewalk, glancing down at her phone every other minute to be sure she is still heading towards the office where she would be meeting with her first client. The doctor who her mother had put her in touch with was certainly interested in having Utena watch her daughter on Sunday mornings, but the lack of any prior clients had left her with a few reservations. Rather than meeting at their apartment, she’d asked Utena to instead meet at her office, prior to her patients’ appointments.

It is only a short walk away, and Utena arrives at the office where she had been instructed to meet with time to spare before the six thirty time that the doctor had requested. The waiting room is ordinary, no different than any other doctor’s office that she’d seen with inexpensive chairs and an old television set in one corner, as well as all manner of magazines and journals talking about mental and physical health. On the wall, a few certificates catch her eye, accolades and degrees as well as a certification in Psychiatric Medicine, each of them for none other than Doctor Morino.

There’s only a single occupant in the room, a blonde-haired woman who greets her with a professional smile. “You must be Utena Hiiragi.” She’s dressed very nicely, with a button-up white shirt and long green trousers, with a white coat on over the top that immediately seems fitting for a doctor.

“Yes, Ma’am. Are you Doctor Morino?”

“I am.” She steps back, opening a door leading behind the receptionist’s desk with a smile. “Please, come have a seat in my office, my daughter and I would like to get to know you a bit better.” She heads past the empty desk where patients would be greeted and into the other solitary room, and Utena follows a few steps behind.

The room is unlike the clinical waiting room in every sense. The walls are a bright shade of green, with several large bookshelves placed on the far wall and multiple paintings on the others, mountain vistas and sunny ocean shores depicted, full of bright colors and beautiful vistas. A large and heavy wooden desk rests close to the bookshelves, with an armchair in front of it that faces a small sofa.

Unlike the waiting room, this one isn’t empty. A young girl, perhaps slightly more than half of Utena’s age, is resting on one end of the sofa. Just like her mother, she has blonde hair and bright pink eyes that struggle to remain open as she leans her head against the couch. A long, bright blue dress with long white sleeves covers her body down to just below her knees. A belt around her midsection, a pair of red, buckled shoes and long white socks come together with the white and blue cap she wears to look especially neat and orderly like her mother, but that image is undermined by her curled-up posture and the way she clings to a pretty plush of the Chesire Cat like it is an old friend.

The doctor crosses the room, sitting down in the armchair before gesturing over to the sofa, on the end opposite her daughter. Utena quickly takes a seat as indicated, glancing over at the girl and smiling at the child brightly. “Hello there. I’m Utena, it’s very nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

“Her name is Korisu,” the doctor interjects, answering on behalf of the young girl.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Korisu.” Utena shifts slightly closer to the girl, glancing at the doctor for any indication that she should pause and finding no sign of displeasure. “Have you seen its movie?”

Korisu stares blankly for a moment before her eyes light up, and she carefully lifts the well-loved toy off her lap with a smile. Her head nods vigorously as she does, then she hugs the plush tightly to her heart in a gesture of excitement about the film.

“I’m afraid that there was one detail I hadn’t mentioned in the advertisement.” The doctor’s voice shows a hint of remorse, but her eyes scrutinize Utena’s response carefully. “My daughter doesn’t speak. She doesn’t require special care beyond any other girl of her age, but I understand if that will cause any issues.”

Utena shakes her head with a smile, shifting her focus off the cute young lady and back onto Doctor Morino. “I don’t think that will be a problem, Doctor Morino.”

“I’m happy to hear it.” Her face and tone don’t give any indication that she is genuine, though. Her smile remains professional and detached. “Now, I understand that you are new to being a babysitter?”

“Yes, you would be my first client.”

“I see.” Utena can’t shake the feeling that she’s being observed and critiqued, like the doctor is taking a mental note of every answer and every movement. “And, what made you interested in watching over my daughter?”

“My mother was the one who suggested it to me. I’ve been wanting to earn money so I can afford nicer dates with my girlfriend, and she used to babysit when she was younger. She saw that this job was early in the morning, and I’m used to getting up early to take care of my club duties, so it seems like it would be a good fit.”

“I would agree with that. You are the first babysitter to express an interest in several weeks.” Doctor Morino reaches over to a small table beside her chair, picking up a plain, leather-bound notebook and a pen, starting to jot something down. “Do you have any siblings? Any experience taking care of cousins or other young family members?”

“I don’t.” Utena glances down at her lap as the doctor continues writing, not even pulling her eyes away from the purple-haired teen.

“Well, I appreciate your honesty, Utena.” The purple-haired girl stares down at her lap at the woman’s dismissive tone. She’s quiet for several seconds, idly tapping her pen against the paper and humming. “Well then, I’d like to make a proposal. You’ll watch Korisu this morning, and of course I’ll pay you fully, but you’ll do it here today. If things go well, we’ll see about having you watch her again in the future. Is that acceptable to you?”

“Of course!” Utena replies with an eager nod.

“Lovely.” The doctor’s lips curl upwards further, and she rises from her chair. “I’ll let you two get used to one another then, but in about fifteen minutes I’ll need to ask you to step out into the waiting room.”

“Thank you, Doctor Morino! I promise I won’t disappoint you!”

“I’m sure that you won’t. If you need anything, please talk to either myself, or to my receptionist if I am not available.” She pauses at the door, giving another smile to her daughter and receiving one in return before she steps out, leaving the two girls alone.

Korisu shuffles closer to Utena on her knees, hugging her stuffed toy tightly as she moves closer to the older girl. Utena glances at her, smiling warmly and kindly. “Hey there, Korisu. Would you like to play together? I don’t have any toys, but we could play with Chesire if you want.” She reaches out for the toy, and Korisu considers pulling back and fiercely protecting her toy, but something makes her pause.

Utena doesn’t grab at it, the way she slowly brings her hands towards it practically invites Korisu to pull her plush friend to safety. It’d be trivial to shield it from her, and she pauses her slow motion as she sees Korisu’s eyes widen with shock and uncertainty. Her smile seems genuine too, gentle and caring, affectionate even though they’ve never met before. In a word, she seems nice. Not necessarily a friend or family member, but kind and welcoming.

“I’ll be gentle,” Utena whispers, showing her bare palms to the small girl. “I’m not sticky, and I promise I won’t let it hit the floor. But if you don’t want to, we can find something else to do and you can keep it close.” Korisu’s smile widens, and she carefully lifts the doll, offering it out to Utena. True to her word, the girl carefully loops her arms under the feline’s front limbs, carefully taking hold of it.

The two of them play, Utena moving the toy and speaking aloud for it while Korisu watches on, her eyes gleaming with delight and cute little smiles gracing her face. True to her word, Utena treats the toy like the most delicate and priceless porcelain, keeping it on the sofa, never even swinging it above the edge as the two of them play.

A gentle knock on the door interrupts them, and a moment later the door is nudged open by Doctor Morino. “I’m going to need the room, girls. I put some tapes out in the waiting room though, feel free to put something on if either of you would like.”

“Of course!” Utena starts to stand, but she pauses as Korisu holds out her hands and stares at it, pouting. It takes a few moments, and an insistent grabbing gesture directed towards the Chesire Cat, before Utena realizes what she is asking for and obliges, returning her plush friend before getting off the couch and heading out into the waiting room.

Korisu follows her with a small bounce in each step, stopping beside Utena as the older girl glances down at the table, shifting through several old tapes, each of them very heavily used. They are all old movies, classic and much-beloved films, but Utena’s eyes quickly gravitate to one, Alice in Wonderland. “Do you like this one, Korisu?” She holds it up, and the silent girl smiles, squeezing her plush from the very same story in one arm while giving a thumbs-up gesture with her other hand. “Then let me put this on for you.”

It doesn’t take long for Utena to set up the movie, then take a seat beside Korisu on the opposite side of the waiting room from the corner where the television is mounted. The young girl is immediately enraptured, caught up in the beautiful colors and magical, absurdist charm of the world. Utena simply smiles and leans back, keeping an eye on Korisu as the girl enjoys her movie.

Only a single girl comes through during the duration of the movie, a green-haired young lady a few years Utena’s senior who gives them a polite wave before being beckoned into the nicer room by the doctor, but neither she nor Doctor Morino say so much as a word to Utena nor her sleepy charge. It’s peaceful, watching over the younger girl. She never says a word, but throughout the movie she keeps smiling, playing with her doll with one hand and gently squeezing Utena’s hand in the other, glancing back at her babysitter on occasion to point out some of the scenes that play excitedly. Utena keeps her tone upbeat, happily commenting on the movie and recalling bits and pieces of it from her own childhood with a contented smile.

As the film nears its final act, the girl beside her shifts, and the stuffed animal on her lap tumbles forwards from her lap. Her hands dart out to try to catch it, but it’s already tumbling down, bouncing off the floor once before going still. Korisu freezes as her friend hits the ground, horrified that it had been hurt. Utena leans down, quickly picking it up for the girl before brushing it off. There’s no rips or wounds on the toy, but it’s certainly dirtier after being picked up off the floor.

As she turns back to the young girl, she immediately notices Korisu’s worried expression and her small hands gripping at the bottom of her dress, balling up the fabric around her fists. “It’s okay,” Utena reassures her, giving the toy a slow twirl to prove that it wasn’t damaged by the small tumble. “I think it just needs a little bit of a bath though, the floors aren’t very clean.”

Korisu tilts her head, a confused frown on her face as Utena talks about bathing Chesire. Her mother had always told her that they couldn’t be placed into the wash machine like her blankets, and they were never allowed to share the bath with her either, or they might get hurt, leaving her confused as to what the girl could possibly mean

After a few moments of Korisu’s puzzled stare, Utena finally recognizes the girl’s unspoken question. “It’s hand-washable, so if you are super careful, and you give it plenty of time to dry, we can wash it in nice, cool water in a sink. Like a little bath, just for them.”

Korisu’s eyes light up with inspiration at that, and she eagerly leaps from her chair before racing across the room towards the restroom, bouncing with each step. Utena follows the young girl with a smile, stepping into the well-cleaned bathroom and immediately setting her sights on the sink. Korisu rises up onto the tips of her toes to be able to have the best possible view, and Utena carefully carries the toy over to the sink, cradling it like an infant in her arms.

It takes several minutes, but Utena begins to slowly wash the toy, dipping it into cold water and lightly wiping it with the corner of a cloth towel, lathered with a small bit of soap. Once it’s suitably cleaned, she rinses it under the faucet in a stream of cool water, suds washing away and leaving the toy dampened, but clean.

“There we go.” She gently wraps it in the towel, gently squeezing the toy to start to remove excess moisture from it. It’s still damp as she pulls back but not sodden nor dripping when she hands it back to Korisu. The girl smiles at her, then pulls her into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around Utena’s ribs and squeezing as tightly as she can manage.

Eventually the green-haired girl passes through the waiting room once again and then leaves. It’s another half-hour before Doctor Morino makes her way back out to check in on the duo, a contented smile on her lips as she takes in the sight of her daughter leaning against Utena’s side, hat tugged down to shield her eyes from the lights as she sleeps. “It seems that you two got along well. Did you have any trouble, Utena?”

“Not much.” She points over at the Chesire toy, the still-dampened plush held loosely under one of Korisu’s arms. “This little guy took a bit of a tumble, but we got it all cleaned up. Then, we finished the movie I put on, and she fell asleep a little while ago.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Utena.” The doctor takes a seat on Korisu’s other side, gently nudging her daughter a few times until the girl’s clever eyes slowly open, and she lets out a yawn. “Good afternoon, sleepyhead.”

The small girl rubs her eyes, then brightens up, a big smile on her face as she wraps her arms around her mother in a tight hug. “I love you too, sweetheart!” The doctor embraces her daughter with the very same enthusiasm as her daughter.

“So,” Doctor Morino pulls back, shifting her hands onto her daughter’s shoulders, “what do you think, dear? Did you enjoy Utena watching you?” The young girl turns, looking over at Utena as the teen smiles nervously back, but she nods her head after a moment. “Would you like for her to watch you from now on?” Again, Korisu nods her head, a single and determined movement.

“That settles that, then.” The doctor rises to her feet, helping her daughter onto her own before turning to face Utena. “I guess you made a good impression on her, Utena.”

“Does this mean you’d like me to come back next weekend?” Her golden eyes shine bright with excitement, the doctor’s amused smile growing wider.

“It does. There’s going to be a few ground rules, but yes, the position is yours. Please, come have a seat in my office once again, I have a few things that I’d like to give you.”

“Right.” Utena follows the doctor and her daughter, once again taking a seat on the couch, Korisu hopping up onto the sofa beside her. The doctor doesn’t sit down in the chair like she had earlier though, instead stepping behind her larger desk and making a few quick notes on a piece of lined paper.

She tears it off, then walks back around to pass the paper to Utena. “This should cover everything that you need to know. At the top are my office phone number, and my secretary’s personal phone number. If you cannot reach me on either my personal or work phone, and there is an emergency, call her.” Utena nods, pulling out her phone to start adding both numbers to her contact list in case they are ever needed. “Below that is our address and building code, you’ll need this to get inside. Do not share the code with anybody else without my explicit permission, not even your mother. Is that clear, Utena?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Utena straightens up at the strict tone and intense gaze of the older woman. “I promise, I won’t share it with anybody else.”

“Good. Now, for ground rules. Firstly, when you are watching my daughter, you are to always remain within a fifteen-minute walk of my home. If there is a particular event you wish to take her to, so long as it is age appropriate, I will reimburse you for any reasonable expenses incurred for yourself and my daughter, but not any other friends that you might meet there.” Utena nods along, taking mental notes as the woman rapidly rattles off a list of rules.

“Because I will be trusting you to come and go from our home, I will be giving you a key to our apartment. Always lock the door, even if you are still in the apartment, and keep this safe at all times.” The doctor retrieves a small brass key from her pocket, then holds it out to Utena. The purple-haired girl holds out her hands, palms cupped together, and the doctor places it into her hands carefully.

“I’ll keep this safe, Doctor, I promise.”

“I hope that you will. Now, do you have any questions for me?”

“Does Korisu have any allergies?” Utena looks over to the girl in question, who shakes her head. “And is there any medicine that she takes regularly, anything I’ll be responsible for?”

“No allergies, no medicine. You’ll just need to watch her and ensure that she has something to eat if she is hungry. She has some preference for spicier foods, and she isn’t a fan of sweets, but there’s no food allergies that you need to watch out for.”

“Okay.” Utena takes a moment, reviewing the mental list that she’d come up with yesterday. “I don’t believe that I have any other questions, Doctor.”

“Very well then.” The doctor finally takes a seat, leaning back, stress melting off of her body. “Then, may I make one more request for today, Utena?”

“What is it?”

“Could you escort my daughter back home? I have a second patient in a half-hour, and I would prefer to remain here until she arrives, but perhaps you two would enjoy resting at our home more?”

“I’d be happy to, Doctor Morino!”

“Thank you, Miss Hiiragi.”

Korisu squeezes Utena’s hand tightly as the older girl leads her down the sidewalk, pausing occasionally to check her phone and ensure that they are still headed the right direction. She knows the route better than Utena does, but she doesn’t try to take the lead, letting the older girl navigate without a single attempt to tug away or stop their walk. Her friend Chesire, still a bit damp, bounces under her other arm with every step, its soft head bumping her arm and chest as it loosely dangles.

“Good afternoon, Magia Baiser.” Utena freezes up at the words, squeezing down harder. A faint pain radiates through the younger girl’s hand as Utena grips too hard against the flesh to either side of her palm, but her focus is transfixed on the floating, feline creature, adorable and delicate looking, that hovers in the sky.

“Korisu, I’m sorry I need to take this call.” Korisu doesn’t react to the attempt at deception, simply watching as she presses her phone against her ear and then glances towards the mascot, offering a reserved smile that pales before Venalita’s twisted golden grin. “Hello, Vena. Is there something wrong? I can’t really get away right now.”

“No trouble at all, Utena.” It waves dismissively, brushing off her concerns. “I just wanted to check up on my favorite magical girl today. How did that exam go Friday?”

“It went well. I actually did a lot better than I expected to. Mom is super proud of me, and so is Sayo.”

“That’s one of your school friends, right?” The mascot’s eyes gleam, putting on a façade of curiosity at her words. “Did she help you study?”

“S-She did, yeah.” Utena gently tugs Korisu’s hand, starting to slowly continue their walk. “So did our other friends, Haruka and Kaoruko were really supportive.”

“Did Kiwi offer to help?”

“She did, but I turned her down.”

The mascot turns its head to the side. “Why? Are you two not getting along?”

“Not exactly.” Utena swallows dryly and her pace slows to a stop. “It’s not like we’re fighting. She’s nice, and cute, and really excitable.” Her words trail off, punctuated with a helpless shrug.

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ is coming up?” The mascot cuts in front of her, smile being vanquished by a small frown. “What’s going on, Utena?”

“She’s got a crush on me, but I don’t know whether or not I feel the same way about her.” She sighs, thinking back to Kiwi’s obvious dejection when she had a date planned with Sayo at the mall. “I don’t want to keep setting things up with her, because, it feels like it’ll never be good enough for what she wants, so I’d just wind up hurting her.”

“Aren’t you going to wind up hurting her if you refuse to spend time with her, though?” Her calling it a crush doesn’t begin to do justice to Kiwi’s single-minded desire to be Utena’s and Utena’s alone, but the mascot pushes down the amusement that bubbles up at that thought. “She transferred schools so that she could see you more, Utena. If you don’t actually want to spend time with her, like she wants to do with you, then you should just say that to her face and let her go back to her private school instead of butting in with you and your friends.”

“But it’s not that I don’t want to see her!” Her voice rises, emanating across the quiet street as she stares up at her mascot, brow furrowed in frustration. “I want her to be my friend, but that isn’t what she wants. She’s always kissing me or hugging me, because she wants to be my girlfriend, or wife, or to go to one of those cheap love hotels or back to our homes and,” her words trail off as she glances down at the young girl by her side. “A-and, make love, I guess?” It’s a much more child-friendly wording than ‘have sex’, though it certainly loses the impact of her original wording.

“Are you interested in any of that?” The mascot doesn’t raise its voice, even as Utena’s rises to a frenzied pitch. “Are you interested in dating her, or casual sexual interactions, any of the things that you know she is looking for?” Its golden eyes follow the direction that Utena glances, meeting clever pink orbs that seem aglow with excitement as they stare up at it. Venalita drifts off to one side, and Korisu’s eyes follow the creature, despite its magic concealing it from every other soul on the street.

“I don’t know.” She barely breathes out those words, shoulders slumping. “I’m not ready to pursue that right now. Th-There’s this girl that I like, who I’ve been spending a lot of time with, and I’m worried about what dating Kiwi will do to our relationship. But I don’t want to tell her that I’m not interested in her either, because I do think she’s strong and brave and adorable, I’m just not ready to try to be with a second girl right now.”

“Then why haven’t you told her that, Utena?” There’s a pregnant pause as it waits for some response only to be answered with her blank stare. “If you have an answer, even if you know it isn’t the answer that she wants, you should tell her what it is instead of just leading her along.”

“I’m not leading her along, Vena.” Even through her protests, her hands fidget nervously with her dress. “I just don’t want to break her heart.”

“You can tell her that you aren’t ready to date her without being cruel, but what you are doing is going to hurt her. It’s already hurting her, because she thinks you’re interested and then you blow her off.” The mascot flits to the other side, and those clever eyes follow it. “Whatever you want to do, it’s your choice, but you are making the wrong one, Utena. This isn’t good for either one of you.” It waves a hand, blank ink spilling out into the air and forming into a rift before it sails through, leaving the duo alone for Utena to think on its warning, and so it can think about what to do with the little girl who seemed to be able to see exactly where it was.

Utena quickly types in the seven-digit password on the outer door of the apartment complex, then pulls it open, ushering Korisu inside before following the young girl with a smile. She keeps one arm on Korisu’s shoulder, letting the young girl lead her into the elevator and onto the third floor of the building. The two girls stay side by side as Korisu leads her back to her and her mother’s apartment, and Utena carefully retrieves her new key from her pocket, unlocking the door and letting Korisu back into the apartment, where the girl rushes off into her bedroom, Utena following behind her after locking the door.

When the school bell finally rings out to announce the end of the students’ time confined to the building, Venalita smiles. It slowly rises from its curled-up position, lifting its head off its front limbs and rolling its neck, stretching its diminutive physical form and plodding lazily towards the window to look for its most recent curiosity. Students slowly filter out, young girls just learning to find their footing in the world, stepping out from the shadows of their families and growing accustomed to one another. Venalita immediately dismisses the majority from its mind’s eye, focusing only on the one little blonde human who’d managed to pierce the veil of magic that hides it from mundane sight.

In the years since it returned to the human realm and began to actively pursue magical girls that it could bend to its cause, Venalita had only been seen by a girl who was not awoken to her magical powers a single time. At least, that had been true until yesterday, when that young girl somehow peered upon it. She must know by now exactly what it was, and the mascot hadn’t even thought to shy away from referring to its latest experiment by her magical girl title rather than simply using ‘Utena’ in all their conversations. Tactically, the girl is a threat.

It'd be easy to eliminate her. Even a minor demon would be more than sufficient to ensure that Utena’s secrets died with the child, albeit at the risk that Utena might react poorly. Sending its own confidant would be equally likely to succeed, and just as tragic an ending for a little innocent child who’d be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. It’d be even favorable, as the girl’s death by seemingly mundane means would clear Venalita of any wrongdoing in Utena’s eyes.

The mascot wouldn’t do it, however. Even though she poses a threat to its current plans, her potential must be truly extensive to be able to make out its presence. ‘Perhaps even as strong as my Gigant.’

Finally, the mascot spots the young girl who it had been searching for, beginning to trail her from afar while observing her reactions. There’s no sign that she can sense its presence without seeing it. She doesn’t turn her head back to face it, doesn’t react as Venalita floats closer, and yet she can still see it.

In that way, she reminds the mascot of its very own confidant. Nearly two decades ago, when it had resumed its activities in the realm of humans, she’d found it. Back then, she was little more than a scared girl, with nobody to support and guide her. Her eyes betrayed her cleverness and resolve, and the two had found themselves becoming allies in mere moments. Now, the question became whether Korisu would follow in Gigant’s path to become a great boon, or if she would be an obstacle.

Korisu pauses, glancing over at the alleyway as she hears a voice that is tauntingly familiar to her. “Not a problem in the least, Commander.” It pauses, and Korisu recognizes the voice from yesterday. “Next week, that’s correct.” The voice which had called Utena that strange name, like she’d been one of those magical girls that are beloved all around town. Perhaps, in fact, she was such a girl. She’d been kind and tender, undeniably extraordinary. “I’ll speak with you then, Ma’am. Goodbye.”

Korisu finally rounds the corner, peeking up curiously at the floating creature. As she watches, its sleeve-like front limb absorbs a phone into its vacuousness. The electronic device vanishes without a trace, and Korisu reaches out, spurred on by its curiosity. Her fingers close gently on its tail, giving it a light tug but not enough to force it to sink lower to the ground. With a gesture of shock that is anything but genuine, the adorable creature turns to face her, then takes on a bright smile. “Hello there!”

Korisu frowns, taking a step back and staring up at the creature as it stares down at her. “You’re Utena’s friend, aren’t you? Utena Hiiragi?”

She is, Utena is an amazing friend, who’d taken a keen interest in the very things that she’d been drawn to. The girl was getting paid to watch over her, but the genuine interest and the tenderness she’d shown the girl’s toys yesterday were more than the simple duties of her job. It’d been kindness, genuine and personal. Korisu nods, her face remaining a blank façade as she stares up at the magical creature.

“That’s good. My name is Venalita, I’m Utena’s friend too!” The mascot drifts closer, holding out an arm towards Korisu. Its intention is for the girl to shake, but she instead takes hold of it beneath the shoulders, gripping its midsection firmly and pulling its body to her chest with a small smile, hugging it just like her inanimate friends. Venalita lets out a low purr, playing along as she takes it at its word without so much as a moment of hesitation. “Would you like to join her, and be a magical girl?”

She pauses, holding the mascot tighter in her grip before nodding once again, a smile breaking out on her face and finally cracking through her serious mask. She would get to become just like the amazing girl who would be watching her! She bobs her head eagerly, not so much as a moment of hesitation, bouncing on her heels as she waits for the creature to empower her.

Chapter Text

As her body and outfit transform in a brilliant glow of crimson mana, Venalita silently circles Korisu, smiling in great satisfaction. It’d chosen the basic shape of her outfit based on the film she and Magia Baiser had been watching earlier, and the natural wellspring of energy within her did the rest. The potent red energy forms a long wonderland dress before rapidly cooling, the resulting garment a light, sky-blue shade. A moment later, a white apron and a small red necktie appear over the top of it. A large pair of pure, white ribbons manifest atop her head and back, forming into oversized, decorative bows with small red accents at either end, each pinned in their center with a golden star, while her transformative trinket forms into a large timepiece that hangs from her apron.

Just as important as the attire is the physical brand that forms across her forehead, three crimson stars forming on her skin. Three stars shouldn’t draw any suspicions from Enormita’s commander, while keeping her satisfied with the quality of the recruits. ‘Assuming Magia Baiser and Leoparde can keep control of themselves, this meeting might just go over well.’

As the mascot watches, the girl spins about, examining her new form curiously before looking up at it in. She doesn’t say so much as a single word, but her confident smile and the energetic bobbing on her heels clearly demonstrate her excitement at the turn of events. Venalita meets her smile with its own, spreading its arms wide and gesturing to the wide-open alleyway. “Ready to see what you can do?”

“Utena-Chan!” Kiwi quickly scrambles from her seat to hover just beside Utena’s desk, carefully positioning herself so that Utena won’t be able to see her other friends or Minakami. “Do you wanna go get sushi? My treat, and it’ll be fun to spend time with you.”

“I can’t today, Kiwi.” Utena smiles apologetically as she gathers her school supplies together.

Kiwi sighs, nodding her head and shifting her weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. “Is there anything else you’d rather do then? We could get something else to eat, go out for dinner, stay at a hotel?”

“I already have plans for today, Kiwi. Sayo and I were going to visit that café that you blew up last week.” Utena glances up at Kiwi, and her smile drains from her face as she sees her friend’s disappointment.

“Of course it’s her.” The words slip out before Kiwi is able to stop it, an angry tremor in her words. She turns for the door, jaw clenching as she spots the stupid girl who keeps stealing away her time with Utena before she lets out a sigh of resignation and starts to trudge toward the exit. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Wait!” Utena hurries to her feet, grabbing Kiwi’s wrist before the blonde girl can run off and tugging her closer. “We can do something tomorrow. I don’t have any plans after school. Whatever you want to do, just the two of us, Kiwi.”

“Do you really want that?” Kiwi glances back, sullen and worn down as she gazes at Utena.

“Yes,” Utena insists, stepping closer and wrapping an arm around her friend. “I’d like to spend some time together, and I have no plans tomorrow. We can spend the whole afternoon together if you’d like.”

“Y-Yeah.” Kiwi nods her head, her lips curling upward to a small, forced smile. “I’d like that.” She steps away once again, and Utena doesn’t stop her, letting Kiwi’s hand slip through her fingers.

The blonde hurries out of the classroom, glaring at Sayo as she passes by, and Utena finishes putting away her belongings before pulling her bookbag onto her back and joining Sayo by the door with an excited grin. The two walk together hand in hand through the halls of their school, then across town to the café that they’d made plans at for the day.

Utena is quieter than usual, getting lost in thought, and eventually Sayo offers a worried frown and reaches across the table, resting a hand on Utena’s. “Is everything okay, sweetheart? You didn’t say much since the end of class today.”

Utena nods, but she doesn’t manage so much as a smile, lazily adjusting her straw to take another sip of her sweet-scented drink. “Sorry, I’m just thinking about Kiwi again. She was pretty disappointed today.”

“Did you finally sit down and talk out how you feel?” Sayo adjusts her hand, fingers slipping beneath Utena’s, thumb rubbing small circles on the back of Utena’s hand.

“Not yet. She was just upset because we had plans, and she wanted to spend time with me today.” Utena glances away from Sayo’s face, a guilty lump forming in her throat. “I know I need to talk to her, but, I haven’t found the right time.”

“I’m not sure that there ever will be a right time, but she’s clearly into you. Whether you feel the same, or you don’t, you should tell her.”

“I know,” Utena finally acquiesces to the advice Sayo gives her. It’s very similar to what Venalita had warned her not a day earlier, and yet her anxiousness refuses to fade at the thought of addressing her strange relationship with Kiwi directly. “I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow, after school.”

“I think that’s best,” Sayo says with a smile and a small squeeze of her hand. “For now, we can-“

Her words are cut off by the familiar sensation of magic swelling across the city. It’s not Leopard, nor her teammates, the source nothing akin to them. It’s not quite Magia Baiser’s energy either. There are similarities, but in subtle ways it feels different to the power her girlfriend wields while transformed, enough differences that Sayo would be able to identify it as a different source even if she with her girlfriend when she’d sensed the power. Utena is no less surprised by it than Sayo, instinctively turning in the direction that the power is concentrated in before reaching for her phone hurriedly.

“I’m sorry,” Sayo whispers, slipping out from her booth and rising to her feet. “I need to go investigate this. I’ll try to be quick.”

“I should go with you.” Utena hurries to her feet as well, and Sayo glances back at her in confusion. “That isn’t Leoparde, or anybody I know. If it’s one of the other members of Enormita, I should be there to keep you all safe.”

“That’s not a good idea. You’d be found out immediately, and my teammates would never go for it.” Sayo counters, masking her apprehension beneath a determined smile. ‘If Utena doesn’t know who this is, then it really could be one of the older members from her organization. That doesn’t mean we can back down and let them run around spreading chaos though.’ She steps closer, pulling Utena into a brief hug. “If we get into trouble, I’ll message you, okay?”

Utena nods, glancing away nervously and Sayo races toward the door.

After transforming, it takes a few minutes for her to reach the source of the magic, and Azul isn’t at all surprised to see that she’d arrived last among her teammates. She alights on a rooftop beside her two friends, anxious pit in her stomach as her eyes flick from side to side, searching for anything the faintest bit out of place. “Sorry I’m late, girls. Any sign of Enormita?”

“I thought I sensed someone down there when we arrived,” Magenta points her spear down into the alleyway below. “But then the magic just vanished.”

“Maybe we should just make some noise and lure ‘em out. The loud one ain’t gonna be able to keep herself hidden for long.” Sulfur floats off the rooftop, surveying the ground while Haruka flits back and forth aimlessly.

Azul follows her, drawing moisture from the air and freezing it around her wand, the spellcasting tool extending into a frozen sword once again. “I don’t think she’s here, Sulfur. I don’t think that the mana I felt was hers, and it wasn’t Magia Baiser.”

“Maybe it’s just another regular demon then.” Sulfur pauses as she spots a figure out of the corner of her eye, turning to face it head-on. Rather than a demon or another magical girl, the figure is a beaten-up stuffed animal of some sort, a dark purple feline with patches stitched onto its body to keep stuffing in. Its neck is ripped apart with white fluff spilling out the top, head held between its two front limbs while it bounces from side to side on its hind legs. There’s no eyes, just two buttons, one stitched tightly while the other dangles loosely above the silly smile on its face that hints at sharp teeth. “Or maybe it’s the blatantly evil doll? You sure that ain’t Baiser’s work?”

“It’s not her.” Azul replies firmly, not allowing any doubt on that answer. There’s simply no way that Utena could’ve beaten her here, much less find the time to animate and somehow hide her mana on the toy. The fact that it isn’t her girlfriend nor a traditional demon conjured by Enormita only stokes Sayo’s worries, Utena’s nervous expression bubbling up to the forefront of her mind. ‘There shouldn’t be any other magical girls around town.’

Azul and Magenta lower themselves to the ground, and Sulfur follows a moment later, holding her hands up at the ready to conjure a barrier if the knee-high creature lashes out. Rather than advancing as they land, it turns and begins to run, taking large, bounding strides as its little feet carry it at a pace far faster than its size would suggest. “And there it goes. Guess it is too small to face us head-on.”

“But that doesn’t mean this is any less of a threat. Whatever happens, be careful and stay close together. This could be a trap.”

Kaoruko nods, but Haruka doesn’t give so much as a moment’s thought to her words. Instead, she breaks into a sprint and races into the alleyway after it. “Don’t let it get away! We need to figure out where it came from!”

“Magenta!” Sulfur cries out in dismay, “Azul just said that it could be a trap!” The pinkette doesn’t slow down, and Sulfur breaks into a sprint after her with Azul following at her heels. The doll ducks around corners as they race after it, but each time it gets out of their sight the creature seems to slow down, letting them stay close enough to keep track of it until it finally dives through a doorway at the end of the alleyway and rounds the corner out of view. Magenta rushes through the doorway, and her teammates follow.

The moment Sulfur and Azul cross the threshold, the door slams shut behind them. The teal-haired girl turns, trying to force it open but the door simply refuses to budge despite her enhanced strength.  Sulfur groans, rubbing her temples while Magenta glances around the dim entrance hall. “Hon, why the hell did you follow it inside?”

“We couldn’t let it get away!” Magenta turns to face her friends, her confident expression unbroken by being sealed in the room. “We have to figure out where it came from.”

“But we can’t do that if we’re trapped in here.” Azul kicks at the door before stepping away. “Sulfur, do you think you can punch through?”

“Yeah, step aside.” Azul gets out of her way and Sulfur strides up to the door, mana flowing through her body and focusing around her hands. The golden energy forms the vague outline of her gauntlets, only to flicker and fade away. Sulfur’s eyes widen in shock, a jolt of fear racing through her. “What the hell?” Azul’s sword fades away in an ethereal blue glow, followed moments later by Magenta’s spear, leaving the trio unarmed.

Sayo presses herself against the door, eyes wide with genuine fear as their weapons are snatched away and she finds herself unable to conjure it back to her hand. “We need to get out of here, now.” She lifts a hand up to her neck, focusing on her phone to try to draw it from her transformative charm, but even that magic fails her, her heart plummeting in her chest as dread fills her. “W-We can break down the door. There’s got to be something here for leverage, Magen-“

Azul’s words are interrupted as Haruka presses their lips together, pressing a hand against the wall and holding Sayo still. Her sweet taste floods the blue-haired girl’s mouth, and Azul freezes up in sheer shock, not even trying to push Magenta away. Her best friend pulls back after a few seconds, smiling warmly at her without the faintest hint of concern. “Honey, there’s no need to be so worried. You know that I’d never allow anything bad to happen to you.”

Haruka’s words, in a low and seductive tone nothing like she’d ever heard leave the girl’s mouth, finally jolt Sayo out of her frozen state of shock. Instead, she stares in abject confusion at her teammate and closest friend. Magenta’s uniform is gone, replaced not with her school clothes but instead with a strange, old-fashioned suit that would be right at place in a fairy-tale ball. “Magenta, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, Azul.” Magenta leans closer once again, trying to steal another kiss. Sayo squirms, bringing an arm up to keep her friend away. “You’re just as beautiful as the day we met. I can’t help but kiss you!”

“Sulfur, something’s wrong with Magenta!” Magenta cocks her, a concerned frown settling on her face as Sayo turns to face Sulfur and her despair only grows. Sulfur’s uniform is nowhere to be found either. Instead, the petite girl is dressed in a frilly dress, voluminous skirts bunched up on the ground around the knelt-down girl. A matching bonnet rests on her head, pastel-pink just like the dress, looking infantilizing on the fiery and courageous girl that Sayo had grown close to.

“Mommy?” Sulfur stares up at her, a fearful glint in her eyes. “Mommy, is something wrong?” Her words come out in a soft and childish voice, the harder r sounds lost to infantile tics in her speech.

“Don’t scare her, honey.” Magenta seizes the moment as Azul stares in shock, stepping closer and resting her hand on Azul’s hip. “You don’t need to be so tense, my love. It’s just the three of us. Take a breath, everything is okay.” Her words come out steadily, no hint of doubt or worry on her face, just gentle smiles. Her fingers brush softly against Azul’s cheek, eyes full of love complimenting the tinge of warmth where she touches her cheek. “I’m here. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”

The gentle caresses and soft, reassuring words give Sayo pause, and Magenta takes advantage of the opportunity, pressing her body against Sayo’s side. For just a moment, doubt flickers across the blue haired heroine’s mind. ‘Are we really a family? Am I really a Mommy?’ A glance down dispels the illusion in an instant. Magenta and Sulfur’s uniforms might be gone, but hers remains, even devoid of the ability to wield her magic as she is in the moment. “No!”

Magenta flinches at her outburst, and Sulfur recoils in fright, eyes welling with tears. “Mommy? Are you okay?”

“Magenta, Sulfur, stay here. Watch the door, get out the moment you can. I’m going to go deal with that monster and find a way to get us out of here.” Azul pushes away her friend, a pang of regret filling her as she sees pain bloom across the devoted and loving girl. “

“Monster? Azul, what are you talking about?” Haruka grabs her by the wrist, turning Azul back towards herself, voice dropping low. “There are no monsters in our house, darling, but you shouldn’t be going after one if you see it, remember? We’re not magical girls anymore.”

“Then why am I dressed like this?” Azul yanks her hand free to gesture down at her outfit, frilly and bright attire still mercifully resisting any of the hostile magic warping her teammates’ own. Haruka just stares, hope draining from her face and being replaced with abject despair.

“Dressed in what, Azul? You’re not wearing your old uniform. We haven’t had those things in years, honey.” There’s no recognition on Magenta’s face, no sign that she can see what Sayo can. Her eyes stare right past the frilly, eye-catching garment, wide with worry. “I think you should lie down. Let me walk you to bed, okay?”

“Years?” Her voice cracks, turning into a small giggle at the thought. It couldn’t possibly have been years, they’d only just walked into the home a few minutes ago, chasing after something that she couldn’t quite recall. It’d been a monster, beastlike, but the details slip through her mind like water through a sieve, barely remembered from what feels like a lifetime ago. “W-What do you mean? What about our friends? Enormita? Vatz? Utena?”

“That was a long time ago, sweetheart.” Magenta takes her hand again, and Azul doesn’t struggle as she guides her to the small sofa, sitting down together. “All our friends are okay, Utena too. I’m not sure about Enormita, but that’s not our business. We have a family now, Azul. We put all of that behind us, for her.”

Magenta nods her head towards Sulfur as the blonde wobbles unsteadily and trods over like she’s only just getting used to walking. ‘She’s still young, though. Isn’t she?’ The memory is blurry and unclear, but Sayo remembers the day that their daughter had been born not two years ago, their little girl that they’d named Sulfur.

A second set of memories gnaw at her mind, though, of the adorable young girl lying her head down on her lap. Azul remembers the day that she’d met that version of Sulfur, seen the girl her age standing up to Enormita’s forces with little more than the improvised projectiles and bludgeons she’d found lying around when the assault began. That day, she’d received a beautiful yellow heart to call her own, a powerful token bestowed upon them by their patron. Yet, her memories only recall returning two, Magenta’s and her own, when they’d been preparing to welcome their baby girl into their lives. ‘But they can’t both be true, can they?’

“Magenta,” Sayo stares up at her husband, heart racing in her chest as she sees her partner’s fear, “why do you still call me Azul? Why don’t you call me by my name?”

“Why do you still call me Magenta?” She lets out a sigh, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards into a relieved smile. “It’s just what we call one another, sweetheart.”

“Do you know my name?” Even asking the question is a struggle, as though accusing her beloved of the deepest betrayal imaginable.

Her husband flinches at the accusatory tone, horror settling once more as Azul shifts away from her. “Of course I do, Azul. We’re married!”

“Then what is it?” Azul can’t bring herself to raise her voice above a whisper, but even as softly spoken as it was the question has Haruka on the brink of tears. But rather than answer, her husband hesitates. “Tell me, please… So I know that you really are Magenta.”

“She’s really fighting you off?” Venalita hovers just over Korisu’s shoulder, watching as she weaves her magic into the small, beaten-up dollhouse. The diminutive forms of Magia Sulfur and Magia Magenta quickly succumbed to her influence, but Magia Azul simply refuses to succumb to the newly minted magical girl. “Maybe you can get her out of that outfit, she’s using it as a reminder of her real life.”

Korisu turns away from her toys to stare at the mascot in annoyance, as though it had just made the single most obvious suggestion that she’d already tried a half-dozen times before. And indeed, she most certainly had attempted it earlier on, but Magia Azul’s greater mana reserves and control over her powers had been able to protect her to a greater extent than her teammates. Now, her resolve finally seems to be crumbling, but her magic is anything but. Pressed to her mental limits, Azul’s mana glows more potently, buzzing like a thundercloud about to send forth a spark. It roils and surges, like the very death throes of a magical girl, desperately pooling her power as though it would avert her fate, only to inevitably come up lacking and fizzle out in one last pitiful spark.

Only the spark refuses to leap. The impotent clap of thunder never breaks. Mana flows like water, shaping itself to the confines of its container, filling but refusing to spill over and be wasted. Azul hovers at the very edge of her limitations, just like Venalita’s recent experiments with subject eight. Mixed almost seamlessly is Magia Baiser’s magic, blending together into near-perfect symphony, two souls singing together in one beautiful song, a delicate balance that could spiral to ruin in an instant. Push too gently or too harshly, and it’d all slip away. ‘But if I do it perfectly, could she transform further?’

Korisu quickly moves her hands to Magenta, unaware of her mascot’s twisted ideas, focusing instead on further establishing the story in her mind. A kiss should suffice in lieu of a name, surely, play into their beautiful domestic bliss so that they’ll slip ever further into reality as it dances to her strings. Before she can guide Magenta into position, Venalita rests a paw on her wrist. “Have Magenta say her name first, Korisu.”

She shakes her head, a confused frown on her face. She couldn’t possibly compel someone to say something without knowing what she wants them to say, and the only name that the girls had used were Magenta, Sulfur, and Azul, the same names that Venalita had told her earlier. The mascot smiles, eyes glinting as it follows her unspoken thoughts at a glance. “Sayo. Her name is Sayo Minakami.”

“Sayo,” Magenta whispers, cupping her cheeks gently. “My beautiful wife, I could never forget your name, Sayo.” She leans close, guiding their lips together in a gentle kiss. Lips rub against lips in a quick and fleeting kiss, gentle and leaving Sayo expecting more. One hand slides lower, guiding Sayo onto her back and leaning closer, more soft, reserved kisses following. The touch is intimate and full of love, but not passion. There’s no overwhelming desire, no desperate hunger that gnaws at her flesh and sets Sayo’s soul ablaze. Magenta had never done anything like that before, there’s not a hint of doubt in her mind as to her gentle husband’s soft intimacy, but her body and mind are left wanting, as though she’d expected more.

“M-More,” Sayo whimpers, pitiful and weak, an eager plaything for her lover. “Please, don’t stop, Magenta.” Her husband obliges her with a warm smile, leaning down and tugging on Sayo’s shirt. The silk comes apart with ease, slipping away and bearing her bosom for Magenta to stare and smile at.

“Of course, my love.” She shifts her hands lower, gently cradling Sayo’s breasts, fingers sinking into flesh as she kneads them gently. Sayo moans softly, a faint trickle of pleasure filling her, but her body craves more. More pleasure, more contact, more roughness, more pain. Nothing that Magenta would ever do to her, her closest friend, the girl with whom she’d shared her first kiss and who she promised herself to at the altar. The girl with whom she’d had her first beautiful daughter.

“Mommy?” Sulfur shifts closer, her hands joining Magenta’s and awkwardly pawing at Sayo’s chest. “I’m hungry. Can I have more milkies?”

“Of course, baby.” Before Sayo can even speak up, Magenta leaps in, guiding Sulfur’s head lower until her lips latch around Sayo’s breast, suckling on it just like a hungry babe. Her teeth nip at the sensitive flesh and nerves within, bringing the stings of pain that mix with the pleasant gropes and suckling, clumsy and unrefined but still a welcome spark of pain to further draw out the pleasure. Magenta doesn’t hesitate to follow the example of their daughter, craning her head lower as she lies atop her wife, taking Sayo’s other nipple into her mouth and suckling softly, continuing to gently grope exposed skin with one hand while the other dips lower.

Sayo throws her head back as Magenta’s hand finds its way beneath her skirt, dexterous digits slipping into her panties and clumsily tracing over her folds. Even after the years of their marriage, Magenta still retains an almost angelic innocence to her touch, unfamiliar with Sayo’s body, but no less loving and eager than their first time. She carefully guides her index and middle digits into Sayo’s pussy, careful and curious touches drawing another moan as they do.

‘When was our first time?’ They must’ve had one, if indeed they’ve been married for years, and had a child together, yet Sayo can’t recall a moment before where she and Magenta had slept together. They’d kissed before, seen one another naked before, but sexual intimacy? There’s no muscle memory, no real memories that she can recall that involve Magenta. Instead, they’d all involved another girl, a cute girl with purple hair whose image makes Sayo’s heart skip a beat.

‘Utena!’ Her eyes fly open again, and her mind reels with the sensory overload of magic off every surface and the very air itself, the entire world abuzz with a spell unlike anything she’d seen from Utena, Leoparde, or the monsters that’d come before them. It wreaths Sulfur and Magenta as they caress and grope her body, threads of violent red extending from them like the strings of marionettes, effortlessly guiding them through their every rigid motion, her enthralled teammates feeling less lifelike than the creatures that Utena animates.

More important than the magic around her is the power that flows through her veins. With a thought, her wand returns to her hand at last, and she can feel the moisture in the air. The cheap children’s toys that make up the house are devoid of that moisture, the plastic doors and furniture lacking the water contents that would be present in true wood, but the air is rich with enough evaporated water to fight back at last, for however long she can maintain access to her power. Sayo pulls her friends close, focusing on the magic that’d been so far away mere seconds earlier. The air grows dry as a desert in an instant as she conjures up as many frigid spears as she can, then launches them outward. Two sail through the door, penetrating it before returning to a liquid state, flooding the cracks made by the attack while others strike walls, windows, even the roof, aiming at anywhere that could be weak enough to break through. The walls groan, and Sayo freezes the water again, ice expanding and splitting apart more of the building. Plastic splinters, plaster crumbles, and the oppressive building finally rips apart.

Mana hums and Sayo’s doll glows intensely, mana vast as entire forests or the life-giving depths of the oceans themselves. With a flick of her wrist, the power surges outwards, and Korisu slumps to the side, fatigue settling over her as the old dollhouse tears into pieces and scatter across the ground. Venalita’s smile drops away, eyes narrowing into a scornful glare towards Tres Magia, the three heroines launched airborne in the violent rupturing of Korisu’s magic. ‘How disappointing. It felt like she was so much closer than subject eight, and she came up short too. Korisu’s manipulation had seemed to be the perfect environment to replicate the stress that Valkyrie had been placed under. Her friends were threatened, she was helpless, emotions running rampant, and she’s powerful too.’ The mascot quickly brings back its smile, hiding its frustrations beneath the glowing golden grin as Vatz’ magical girls start to recover.

Sayo is the first to recover, righting herself in the air and taking in the surroundings. The sight of her teammates, clad in their uniforms once more, immediately helps her to calm herself. “Girls, are you okay?”

No answer comes from either of them. Magenta simply flees, burning scarlet with shame. Sulfur slows to a stop, leaning her back against the wall on one side of the alleyway while staring off into the void, hands held away from herself as though they were coated in repugnant filth. Her face grows pale, nausea and disgust flooding her while her stomach revolts. A moment later, she turns away and vomits up bile, quivering unsteadily in the air and taking slow breaths to try to regain a measure of control. ‘I guess it’s up to me.’

“Stop right there, villain!” Sayo dives down into the alleyway, leaving her shaken teammates to focus on Enormita. Her piercing eyes dart between the two foes beneath her, one a tiny girl in a fanciful old dress. The other is none other than Venalita itself, mascot and likely mastermind behind Enormita’s villainous rise. While instrumental to the villainous organization, it shouldn’t be a threat. Instead, she focuses on the magical girl stumbling and attempting to flee towards the street.

She cuts in front of the villain with ease and strikes a pose, ice forming on her wand and shaping into a blade that she holds out to the side to bar the girl’s escape. The villain isn’t just small. She’s easily several years younger than Magia Azul and her teammates, but she doesn’t seem afraid as the magical girl corners her. Her eyes are clever and gleam with curiosity. She slows to a stop and shakes her head, fists curling in obvious defiance. Azul sighs, unsurprised by the refusal to yield, before bringing her sword in a slow, horizontal arc. Ice trails across the ground beneath it, spreading outwards before freezing around the young girl’s shoes, locking her in place without so much as an attempt to dodge to the side.

A moment later, a massive feline leaps down into the space between them, the weight of the misshapen creature shattering the ice with ease. The purple monster turns its head up, one button eye dangling just like the stuffed animal earlier.

The creature lunges towards her, razor-sharp claws lashing out. Azul grunts as she catches the attack against her blade, a brief tremor racing through from the impact before pulling her blade back and slashing open its paw before it can pull away. Flesh cuts as easily as old rags, and instead of blood or twisted magical residue, white fluffy stuffing spills out, like carving open a child’s toy with a knife.

“I never knew that Tres Magia spent their days picking on schoolgirls.” Venalita’s voice taunts her from just beside her head, and Azul lashes out without a moment’s hesitation. The blade cuts through air and black smoke, a portal fading away where the mascot had been mere moments before. “Too slow, Azul.”

Azul stares at the mascot, eyes narrowing as it hovers just above its magical girl, smiling like it’s already won. “You chose to drag her into this fighting. If anyone is to be blamed for picking on children, it’s you.” She keeps her distance, aiming her sword towards the monster while it bends down carefully shattering the ice coating the magical girl’s feet before lifting her up onto its back. Her hands cling tightly onto the top of its head, her own face poking up between the ears so she can watch on. “You’re a monster, no better than the violent creatures that serve you.”

“Vatz is just as guilty as I am. It just plays the part of a being pitiable better to sway you goody two-shoes heroes.” Its forelimbs rising and falling in a halfhearted shrug, putting on a false look of resignation. “We both know you’re not interested in what I have to say though, so why don’t you go and check on your pals. They seemed a bit shaken.”

“I’m not letting you two slip away.” Azul strides closer, and the mascot floats forward to meet her.

“You’ll just leave them to suffer?” Its eyes expand, mimicking a look of surprise that Azul can’t imagine is genuine. It’s smile curls downwards, and its voice softens to a disappointed tone. “I thought that you were friends. I guess I thought wrong.”

“They’re stronger than you think.” Azul slowly steps closer, and the large toy backs away cautiously. Venalita doesn’t show a hint of concern, floating a bit closer and letting its magical girl behind it. “They’ll be okay, but the two of you are going to pay for what you did to them.”

“What fire. How exactly do you expect to make that happen though?” The mascot’s voice rises with excitement, and it floats closer still, just a few short steps away. “Do you think you can bring us down without your team? Even you aren’t that strong, Magia Azul.”

“How about we find out?” She pushes off the ground, kicking up dust as her flight carries her close enough to aim a thrust towards the head of the mascot. Black smoke obscures the mascot before it can connect, portal flickering into being for a heartbeat. The instant her blade touches the portal it rebounds as though she’d just struck a wall, ice fragmenting from the tip.

The young girl’s doll is already swiping at her as the rift dissipates back into nothingness. Cold metal rakes against her skin, and pain erupts across her senses a moment later as she stumbles back, a shallow cut running down the length of her upper arm. A second swipe from the creature’s front limbs connects with her head and the blunt collision knocks Azul tumbling off her feet and onto her back. It lifts both claws up into the air, but Azul manages to roll out of the way just in time, the creature slamming both limbs into the ground and spreading cracks in the concrete where she’d just been.

Azul pushes herself up onto her knees, then leaps up and focuses her magic, flying further into the air and away from the young girl and her cat. The monster makes no move to follow, planting its feet and turning its head to follow. Azul slows, then hovers entirely still in the air, looking down at the girl, the monster, and the grinning mascot behind. ‘She can’t fly, can she?’ Every magical girl she’d personally interacted with had been able to fly to some degree. Leopard, herself, and her teammates could all simply move in the air with a thought. Baiser could do similar, pulling off feats that seem far more impressive than her small wings would allow, though they did flex and shift based on the exact movements she was making in the air. This girl doesn’t even try to come after Sayo though, staying planted firmly on the ground, still bearing the burdens of gravity.

“Afraid of a few small claws, Azul?” The mascot drifts past its magical girl, greeting Azul’s disapproving scowl with its own smug smile. “I thought even you were better than that.”

“Not afraid, but I wasn’t going to stay still and let her pummel me either.” As she speaks, large lances of frost form above her shoulders, holding them at an angle so her body covers them.

“So you weren’t running away, just a tactical blunder.” The mascot doesn’t even shift, a rift of black smoke opening up behind the trio with little more than a thought. “Better luck next time.”

Azul’s lips twitch as the girl and doll turn away, and she focuses her aim. Two spikes streak forward toward the villain’s legs, aiming to pin her down while the remaining three aim at the center of the large monster accompanying her, intent on destroying it and incapacitating the girl who’d created it in one fell swoop that should leave Enormita’s leader helpless and alone.

With a flick of its wrist, Venalita conjures another portal interposed between itself and the frigid spears streaking downwards. The attack passes through and shatters harmlessly before Venalita lets the portal close, smiling at Azul as her expression falls. It doesn’t bother to taunt her further, turning and ducking for the portal as she calls out in vain for it to wait. Azul dives for the creature, but Venalita and its magical girl both disappear through the portal before she can stop them.

Once Korisu is safely returned to her home, Venalita returns to Nacht Base, mentally bracing itself to deal with the least personable of Enormita’s members. Its eyes trail up to the raised platform where Subject Seven’s gaudy throne rests, golden eyes meeting the wannabe dictator’s angry brown. “Welcome back, Lord Enorme. I trust you’ve brought me what I requested?”

“We were successful.” Enorme pulls out two cracked transformative tokens from her jacket, tossing the priceless objects as though they were simple litter, letting them bounce across the floor. “As expected, there’s nothing left that can oppose us.”

‘How arrogant. Even Valkyrie nearly killing you hasn’t stopped you from over-valuing your borrowed power.’ Venalita’s face remains a golden mask of satisfaction, well-practiced at hiding its annoyance from the Supreme Commander. “I’m not certain that is correct, but I am glad you were successful.” It floats lower, recovering the damaged trinkets, cradling them delicately in its arms. “Is that all you require of me, Lord?”

“You promised me new soldiers.” She leans forward, her hand moving to the whip at her side, the weapon used just as much against enemies as it has been her own team, though the attempt at intimidation doesn’t phase the mascot in the least. “When will you present them?”

“Saturday,” the mascot replies. “You’ll meet them Saturday.”

“Friday,” the woman insists, eyes narrowing. “And you shall provide me with videos of their recent fights.”

“As you command, Lord. I’ll provide them to you by tomorrow.” Venalita bows its head, and after a moment of silence, ducks back through a portal to resume its more important work. The videos will get done, certainly, but it is far from the mascot’s priority.

Chapter Text

Utena nods her head as Sayo finishes explaining how the fight last night had gone, watering the flowers as she listens to her girlfriend’s story. “So, Venalita was really there with her?”

“It wasn’t just there, it got directly involved. When I tried to hit her, Venalita kept my attacks away with portals until the two of them could retreat.” Sayo gently rubs Utena’s shoulders, a soothing smile on her lips as she tries to ease Utena’s tension and worry. “It didn’t seem to want to hurt us, though. She was just toying with us.” Toying with them didn’t quite seem to explain the sheer depths of depravity that she’d dragged them down into. She’d manipulated them and humiliated them. But unlike Utena, she’d forced them to commit horrible acts to one another.

Sayo sighs once again, wrapping her arms around Utena’s sides and clasping them together over her navel. “I have to ask you, dearest,” her tone grows quiet and fierce, not a hint of playfulness or levity to her words. “Did you have any idea that Venalita had another magical girl in this area?”

“I didn’t know that there was a third member of Enormita here,” Utena whispers back quickly, though her thoughts turn towards a conversation that she and Venalita had shared weeks earlier. ‘Venalita mentioned a third magical girl. It was supposed to find three recruits to bring back to the Supreme Commander. If it’s still been looking for a magical girl, maybe that was her first transformation, like mine?’ Toying with them like Sayo had described instead of trying to incapacitate them doesn’t sound like it would be done by the girls who’d caused so many magical girls to disappear. ‘It’s hard to judge without having met them though.’ She sets down her watering can, turning herself to pull Sayo into a tight hug. “How are Sulfur and Magenta holding up?”

“Not well.” That was an understatement as well. It was one thing to be forced to endure Utena’s unwanted advances while they were transformed, but being forced to be the aggressors had shaken both of her teammates, and even though Sayo and Vatz did their best to assure Kaoruko that she wasn’t to blame for what happened, she still felt guilty and blamed herself.

Haruka had simply run. The moment she had control of herself again, she took off into the sky and fled. She wouldn’t answer her phone, messages went unanswered. They’d seen confirmation that she was viewing them, but she wouldn’t answer Sayo or Vatz in private nor their group chat, and the teal-haired girl presumed Kaoruko hadn’t even reached out to her. ‘I don’t even know if she is going to show up to class today.’

“I’m sorry.” She squeezes her girlfriend tighter as guilt clutches her heart. “I’ll try to ease off for a bit so that they can recover. How are you holding up after that?”

“Honestly?” Sayo pauses, reflecting on the experience. “I didn’t mind it as much as my friends, but I don’t want to repeat the experience. Everything just felt wrong.” Utena frowns, but doesn’t interject, letting Sayo continue. “Whenever I’m with you, I feel comfortable, safe. Loved. Even when you hurt me or my friends, you care about us. When we were being controlled, there was no love or adoration, not from the magical girl and not from my friends. It was all fake.” She pauses, thinking through the exact sensation that had been lacking. “Dispassionate. There was pleasure, but there was no passion. Not like with you, my love.” She bends down, cupping her girlfriend’s cheek and pressing their lips together, drawing a soft sigh from Utena as she pulls back. “Definitely not one of my favorite experiences, but I’m feeling pretty much okay now. Just worried about Sulfur and Magenta.”

“I’m glad.” Even as she says the words, Utena doesn’t fully believe them, but she puts on a small smile for Sayo all the same. “But if you ever need to vent, or think of anything I can do to help, I’m never more than a phone call away.”

“I know, sweetheart. And thank you, for being so sweet.” Sayo leans in for another kiss, only to pull back as she hears a voice calling out and heading in their direction.

“Utena-Chan!” Kiwi throws herself towards the duo, and Sayo quickly backs away, letting her collide with Utena in a hug that sends both girls onto the ground once again. “Utena-Chan! Are you excited for our date today? I’ve got all kinds of plans, and I got you a gift too!”

“Date?” Utena wheezes, barely able to speak with Kiwi lying on her chest.

“Date, hangout, outing, whatever you wanna call it as long as it’s just you and me and we get to have a ton of fun together!” Kiwi reluctantly stands, letting Utena take a deep breath.

“On that note,” Sayo helps her girlfriend back to her feet, brushing off the possessive glare that Kiwi directs at her, “I think I should go check in with Kaoruko before class. You two have fun.”

“We will, run along now.” Kiwi throws her arms around Utena and hugs her once again, squeezing possessively and maintaining her glare as Sayo departs, waiting for her to round the corner out of sight before turning back to Utena with a wide smile.

“I’m glad that you’re feeling better,” Utena meets Kiwi’s smile with her own, hugging her teammate nervously. “I’m sorry that I haven’t spent much time with you while we’re not working.”

“It’s fine. At least we can have a ton of fun today.” Kiwi pulls away, setting her backpack down and smiling excitedly. “Also, I got you something, so we can hopefully play together sometime!” She’d bought it the day that they’d first met, after she woke up and recovered at Nacht Base, and brought it with her to their school on her very first day, hoping to pass it off to Utena. She never found the moment to do so thanks to the blue-haired nuisance that had stolen Utena away from her.

Utena stares, dumbfounded as Kiwi digs out a collection of small plastic cases as well as an unopened Switch box. “K-Kiwi,” she stammers over herself in surprise. “This is way too much! How much did this cost you?”

“Dunno. I don’t remember how much it cost, and I got myself a copy of everything too.” She holds her arms out to Utena, offering up the small collection, but Utena keeps her hands down at her sides, a frown on her face. “Do you not like it, Utena-Chan?”

“I can’t take this much from you, Kiwi. Especially since Venalita said it wasn’t paying you, I can’t take your money like this.”

“But I want you to,” Kiwi insists, a pleading note to her words. “I bought this for you, because I thought you would enjoy it, and so we could play together.”

Utena stares at the bundle, guilt creeping into her chest. It’s so much money for Kiwi to spend on her, more than Sayo ever did. At the same time, the thought of turning Kiwi away again doesn’t make her feel any less guilty. “Are you sure, Kiwi? It’s so much money.”

“I’m sure, Utena-Chan. I bought it for you, so the two of us can always have something to do together.” She takes a step closer, shifting the weight into one arm while the other reaches forward, gently taking hold of Utena’s hand. “I promise, if it makes you a fraction as happy as you’ve made me, it’ll be worth every last yen I spent on it.”

Utena nods, a soft smile breaking out on her face as she squeezes Kiwi’s hand. “Alright. If you’re certain, then.”

“Positive.” Kiwi leans in, planting a quick peck on Utena’s cheek before pulling back with a smile as bright as the morning sun. “Want help getting it set up?”

‘I need to talk to her.’ Kiwi’s quick kiss makes Utena’s heart ache, guilt clawing at her core. ‘Today, this afternoon.’ She nods her head, covering up the pang of guilt with a smile. “That’d be nice, Kiwi. Want to head inside and find a seat first?”

“Let’s stay out here,” Kiwi replies with a smile. ‘Far, far away from Sayo, so I have you all to myself.’ “Just for a bit longer.”

“I'm heading to the office, sweetheart. Be safe, I love you.” Doctor Morino shuts the door behind herself, and the young girl turns back to the black mascot resting beside her at the kitchen table.

“I believe that is our sign to head out for today as well.” The young girl leaps off her chair, determined grin on her face as the mascot flicks its wrist, opening a portal up beside her. “One last field test should do you some good. And to facilitate,” Venalita’s arms dip into the small rift, withdrawing a small toy house to replace the one that had been broken in their earlier fighting, “I’ve prepared a gift for you.” The mascot sets the toy down on the corner of the table, where Korisu eyes it suspiciously.

It’s not the same. There’s none of the memories that Korisu associates with her old playset. The walls are smooth and pristine, none of the flecks of paint, no plaster beginning to peel after years of loving treatment. The rooms are unfamiliar, and as she pokes and prods the expensive wood and felt used in the furnishing of the little home, it feels wrong. It’s a nice dollhouse. It isn’t her dollhouse.

Venalita’s smile wavers as it sees Korisu’s face fall in disappointment. “Do you think that will work?” The girl shakes her head, carefully setting everything back in place before leaning back in her seat and away from the new dollhouse. “I can find another one, if you would prefer? Maybe one that is more similar to your old one?”

Again, Korisu shakes her head, frowning more deeply and sulking in her seat. Another dollhouse would just be another nice, but meaningless thing, unimportant to her. Venalita’s eyes finally gleam brightly, and its wavering smile returns to its full splendor. “You want me to fix your old one, don’t you?” The young girl finally gives it a smile.

‘She’s not Baiser. Her power lets her imbue something like life into her toys, but her power stops there.’ No matter how nice a dollhouse it could make, it must be hers. ‘Her own weapon, like Frusta Dominazione, Leopard’s gun, or Subject Eight’s spear.’ Of course, the dollhouse seems much more fragile than a dedicated and more traditional weapon. With a disappointed sigh, Venalita waves its hand through the air, black smoke spawning beside its diminutive frame and halfway across town in the alleyway where their fight had taken place. “I’ll go put the pieces back together, then.

“So,” Kiwi leans over the table in the café to rest a hand on Utena’s, smiling at the adorable villainess. “What do you want to do to start? There are some nice stores, we could get some pretty swimsuits for the beach season if you’d like?”

“I’m not sure I really need any new swimsuits, but I’ll tag along.”

“Yay, bikini shopping!” Kiwi cheers, and Utena chokes on her latte, inhaling whipped cream and coffee as Kiwi cheers while she is in the middle of drinking.

After a few seconds of coughing and regaining her breath, Utena stares meekly across the table, a blush creeping across her face. “I-I don’t think that I want to wear something that revealing, Kiwi.”

“Your magical girl getup is way more revealing than most bikinis though.”

“That’s different! Nobody else knows that’s me except you and,” she catches herself, biting her tongue before she accidentally lets Sayo’s name slip through her lips. “A-and, I didn’t choose to wear that either, it’s just the outfit that I had after I transformed. You wouldn’t wear your magical girl outfit out in public if you could help it, would you?”

“Would you be around?” Kiwi leans forward, pressing her breasts against the table and smiling at Utena. “Because, if it got you to look my way and call me cute again, I’d wear that out in an instant.”

Her words only make Utena blush more fiercely and look down at her latte, gripping it tightly as Kiwi takes another sip of her own drink. “What if I wasn’t there? Would you still like the attention?”

“A little. I still like getting attention from others.” Kiwi admits before dropping her tone lower. “But I wouldn’t dress like that for anyone else. Just you, Utena-Chan.”

“Kiwi…” Utena sighs, reaching across the table to rest a hand atop Kiwi’s. “Do you really like me that much?”

“Yes.” There’s not a moment of hesitation before she answers, and there’s no doubt in her words nor her expression. “I love you, Utena.” Kiwi squeezes her hand back, thumb rubbing against the back of Utena’s own as she stares at the purple-haired girl’s guilt-stricken expression.

“Why?”

Kiwi barely hears the word slip from Utena’s lips, but she doesn’t waste a moment answering it. “Because you’re amazing.” Kiwi’s tone softens, dropping any last bit of sexual pretense as she speaks. “After we fought, you just had your way with me. You wanted me, so you just ravaged me and didn’t let anything stop you. It was incredibly hot, but you kept going further. You took care of me even though we'd just met, even though I was rude and aggressive. You made me feel cared for and wanted. You tended to the burns while I was asleep, too. You cared. You weren’t just pretty, just commanding, or just sweet, you were pretty much perfect in every way.”

“That was all Magia Baiser, though. The confidence, the aggression, those things aren’t me.”

“I don’t think that is true. You might not act on it as much when you don’t transform, but you always seem excited at the prospect of transforming and driving those dumb magical girls you like mad. Baiser is you, even if you don’t transform.” Her seriousness is finally washed away with a goofy smile and a kind-hearted tease. “Besides, last time you started kissing me you weren't transformed, and you were pretty into it.”

"I guess so,” Utena admits in a whisper, brushing her fingers against Kiwi’s palm, tracing them down to her wrist. “Aren’t you mad at me for what I put you though, though? The scars I left when we met, or the danger I put you in during our fights.”

“No. I’ve never been mad at you for that. I like the little marks you left behind, the bites, the scars, all of it.” She gives Utena’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I've gotten mad at you before though, and yesterday…” Yesterday she’d let it show with that outburst of anger at Sayo stealing away Utena yet again. “I’m sorry for what I said yesterday.”

“About Sayo?” Kiwi nods, biting her cheek and gazing glumly at her drink. “It’s okay. I’m sorry that I haven’t spent as much time with you as I could have, either. You wanted to see me more, and I kept ignoring chances to spend time with you.” She gives Kiwi a small smile, trying to cheer up her friend. “I’m going to try to spend more time with you, if you still want to, Kiwi.”

“Really?” Kiwi’s sullen expression is washed away, voice trembling with excitement as she tightens her grip on Utena’s hand. “I’d love to, Utena-chan!”

“I’m glad,” Utena whispers, swallowing nervously as her heart beats faster in her chest. “But, if we spend time together, I need it to be as friends, Kiwi. Not girlfriends. Not yet.”

Kiwi doesn’t respond for a long time. Instead she winces, letting out a breath though her nose before a look of resignation settles on her face, and she pulls her hand away. Utena lets her withdraw, fingers slipping away before Kiwi leans back into her seat and lets her hands fall to her lap, squeezing her knees tightly. “Yet?” There’s still a sliver of hope left, a fleeting flicker of light. “Not as long as you are with Sayo?”

“No, she’s not the problem, Kiwi. She said she would be fine with me dating you as well.”

“Then, what is the issue. She’s fine with it, I'm into you, and you’re into me.” She takes a pause, doubt creeping into her words as she stares at Utena. “Aren’t you?”

“I do like you. You’re attractive, and kind, and I do enjoy the time that we spend together, Kiwi, but I can't dive into another relationship overnight. We can move more slowly, be friends, spend time together, try going on a date and see where it takes us, but I can’t give you a dramatic confession today, Kiwi.”

“I would like that.” Finally, a smile returns to Kiwi’s face as she lets out a relieved laugh. It’s not the grand, sweeping kiss that she’d longed for, but it’s a chance. “I don’t mind starting slower and just being friends for a little while, Baiser-Chan, as long as I get to be with you.” She reaches back out, past the drink she’d long since forgotten to rest her fingers atop Utena’s, eyes damp with tears.

“Thank you, Kiwi.” Utena slips from her booth, circling around the table to sit beside Kiwi, wrapping her arms around the relieved girl and squeezing her tight, and a moment later, Kiwi returns the embrace and leans her head against Utena’s shoulder, face pressed against the girl’s delicate neck.

Venalita floats down the staircase secluded within the prison beneath Nacht Base, arms cradling the rubble of Korisu’s dollhouse. Behind it, golems work quickly to reconstruct the wall and hide away its secluded laboratory, and down below two sources of mana burn brightly, one steady and another volatile, flaring and surging like a wildfire.

Subject Eight had not fared well in captivity. New scars adorn her body from needles used to administer drugs to her body and extract samples of blood. Precise scalpel wounds are left behind from more intrusive examinations. Her struggles against her binds caused her wrists and ankles to blister, then bleed as she continued to fight early on in her imprisonment. She’d stopped trying to tear herself free when her wounds began to mount, but her resolve hadn’t fully faded despite everything, the shackles, the bleeding, and being forced to imbibe samples of magic extracted from the minions created by Subject Seven, and more recently, remnants of Magia Baiser’s magic.

The physical wounds of her time in captivity are plain to see on her body, but the mental strain is most readily apparent to Venalita when it looks upon her tarnished transformative token, resting on a table well out of her reach. Each time she’d been compelled to transform so it could take further measurements of her power, her pain had left a mark on the transformative item. The gemstone had long since blackened, with a lattice of cracks running through the crystalline surface. It’s a twisted parody of the once vibrant cameo, as sickly as the girl bound in the middle of the chamber. Even after everything that they’d put her through, she still remains aware of her surroundings, bloodshot eyes staring in utter terror as Venalita enters her horrid prison, her mind reeling as she imagines what fresh torments lie in her future.

“Venalita-Sama.” Beside her and far more functional, Venalita spots its closest confidant. The purple-haired woman kneels as she spots the mascot, bowing her head towards the floor. “Lord has been displeased with the videos that you provided to her. Her impression of Leopard and Magia Baiser does not appear to be positive.”

“How bad do you think her response will be?” Venalita deposits the bundle of broken boards on a table beside Valkyrie’s ichor-stained spear and corrupted transformative, sorting the chunks of wall and ceiling like puzzle pieces.

“She will not seek to harm them, but I suspect she will be provocative.” Gigant rises to her feet, joining her mascot at the table and watching on as it presses pieces together and binds them in place with the same magic the golems use to rebuild damaged rooms in the base. “Much of her disgust is directed at Magia Baiser and her desire to play with the opposition rather than truly defeat them. She may demand that Baiser bring her proof of a true victory before being allowed to remain within Enormita. I suspect Baiser will be unwilling to do so.”

“She won’t, but if she is clever, she might buy herself a few more days to grow before coming to a direct confrontation.” Venalita doesn’t believe the words even as it says it. ‘Baiser is far too invested in the back and forth with Tres Magia, always taking the bait and fighting back. Coupled with Sayo being threatened, she will try to fight.’

The mascot doesn’t need to vocalize its suspicions to Gigant, the woman coming to a similar conclusion on her own. “Should a fight break out, what side will I fight for, my lord?”

“If Enorme doesn’t give them a chance to, protect them. If they squander the opportunity, remain by her side and follow her instructions.”

“How much magic shall I use to fight?”

Venalita presses another large chunk of the dollhouse into position, sealing it in place and buying a few more moments before answering. “Don’t hold back any more than usual. If they instigate a fight, then it will be up to them to survive.”

Sister Gigant doesn’t immediately respond, contemplating Venalita’s answer as the mascot finishes reassembling the larger chunks of the dollhouse and begins to focus on the smaller fragments of plaster and pain that need to be replaced. Magia Baiser especially was a significant investment of time, and her continued activity provided unique opportunities to study the effects of her magic. An all-out fight would jeopardize that. “Are you certain, Venalita-Sama?”

“I believe that is the best route. If they can’t at least retreat from the four of you, then they wouldn’t be ready for a true confrontation against Enorme. Best to cut our losses with Subject Nine early in that case.” Refering to Baiser with her number makes it easier to be impartial, but the thought of her dying is still upsetting to Venalita. ‘It’d be wasteful. Baiser is just as unique as Subject Seven, with greater potential for growth and far more pleasant to engage with.’ The mascot turns its attention fully to Korisu’s toy, nodding its head at the stairs. “It won’t be much longer now, whatever fate lies ahead of us. Make your preparations. However things play out, I don’t want Enorme to be suspicious.”

“As you command, my lord.” Gigant bows deeply once more before departing, silently striding across the cold stone floor and ascending the stairs, leaving the mascot to finish its work in relative peace.

Kiwi eventually shifts, and Utena slips from the booth to allow her up. With a brilliant smile and newfound exuberance, Kiwi takes her crush’s hand in her own and guides Utena from the café and hurries toward the clothing store she’d picked out to visit the night prior when she’d laid out plans for where she could take her beloved Utena-chan.

As she leads Utena to where swimsuits are kept, Kiwi pauses, giving a concerned glance over at Utena. “Would it be okay to ask for your opinions on some of the swimsuits here?”

“I think it’d be okay. I’ve already seen you naked before, after all. It’s just the romantic stuff I’d like to try to take slower for now, going further with announcing anything or calling ourselves a couple.” She lets Kiwi’s hand slip free from hers, letting Kiwi take off to look at the more revealing two-piece swimsuits and bikinis while she looks at one-piece swimsuits more similar to the two she has at home. ‘I probably don’t need a new one yet. I’ve grown a centimeter or two but I'd hardly call it a growth spurt.’ She traces her fingers over a purple swimsuit before putting on a small smile and picking it off the rack to try on all the same. ‘I might as well. Kiwi would probably enjoy it more if we both pick something up anyway.’

She carries the swimsuit towards the changing rooms, pausing as Kiwi rushes to her side with a bright smile. “Utena-chan, would you try on a swimsuit for me, too?”

“I don’t mind modelling a little. You’ll see my swimsuit at the beach someday anyway.”

“Perfect! I’ll pick my favorite, and we can show each other then!” Brimming with excitement, Kiwi rushes ahead to a fitting room, and Utena follows with a nervous smile.

Valkyrie watches in silence as her warden floats around the children’s toy, giving it a few final touches. “That will have to be sufficient.” For as long as she’d been held since watching her friends fall, the creature had always been calm. Its voice never wavered, never showed a hint of anything but pride and curiosity. Its every movement seemed precise and effortless, as if the whole world was merely a background for the spectacle of its life. More than anything, it exuded power in how it controlled the most twisted and dangerous people Valkyrie had ever encountered.

For perhaps the first time, Venalita seems impatient. The progenitor of every horror she’d stared down and slain, and it seems genuinely worried. No smiles twist its face into a cheshire parody, and its actions all seem hurried and imperfect, everything save for its uncertain responses to the older woman. ‘Gigant, it called her. Enorme’s strongest servant.’

“I’ll be back to check in when this is done.” Shadows swallow up the playset, spiriting it away or simply absorbing it into the monster. “Rest. You need it.”

“Water?” Even speaking feels like swallowing knives, throat parched and irritated after however long she slept and hours more of simply waiting, curled up and shackled to the unyielding stone floor. It’s far from the worst of the constant pain wearing at her mind and body. Her stiff muscles ache and the wounds from more invasive examination scream like fire. If she had the fluids to spare, Valkyrie would have wept every waking moment.

“Right, you haven’t had anything today.” It floats nearer, picking up a metallic bottle from one of its shelves, pressing it against Valkyrie’s lips.

The lukewarm water, mixed with the scent of dust and stale air in her cell, tastes better than anything the heroine can recall. Each desperate gulp sends a wave of relief down her throat, sweet as ambrosia, and she draws out the moment of each desperate swallow until the flow ceases as the bottle runs dry and the mascot pulls away. “Thank you.”

“Cute!” Kiwi’s grin is practically infectious as she paces around Utena, looking at the conservative swimsuit that she’d picked out. Pretty and purple, but nowhere near as revealing as her attire while transformed. Even so, having Kiwi circle around her and take in the view is enough to make Utena blush and lift her arms up to shield her body.

“Thanks. Yours is really nice, too. A little bit…” Kiwi had chosen a green bikini, tightly clinging to her ample bust and pressing into shapely thighs tightly, drawing attention to the supple flesh of Kiwi’s thighs. Rather than a full band, only three thin strings cover her hips, windows showcasing more tantalizing skin that other swimsuits would cover. ‘Any mark left behind would be so obvious in that.’ Her lips curl into a lustful smile at the thought of leaving a mark on Kiwi while they’re transformed, seeing it mirrored on her body at the beach. “You look beautiful, Kiwi. I like it.”

The moment she says those words, Kiwi’s smile widens and she takes a step forward, breasts bouncing, hips swaying from side to side as she shifts her weight playfully. “I’ll definitely get it then, Utena-chan! If you think it’s cute, that’s what matters the most.”

“Are you sure?” Utena asks meekly. “It’s super pretty, but it’s a bit small too, would you be okay wearing that around strangers?”

“Of course.” Kiwi takes another step closer, resting her hand on Utena’s chin and guiding her eyes lower. “It doesn’t matter who else is staring as long as you are, Utena-chan. So if you like it, no matter how revealing, that’s good enough for me.”

The shorter girl’s smile grows, resistance crumbling as Kiwi continues to show off her body and flirt without restraint. Utena reaches out at last, resting a hand on Kiwi’s hip and squeezing softly, sensitive and tender flesh warm between her fingers. “Is that so, Kiwi? What if I wanted to make some changes to that uniform of yours then? Bare a bit more skin, make you more eye-catching as we fight.”

“Just say the word, Baiser-chan.” Kiwi leans closer, dipping lower as her breaths tickle Utena’s cheeks, lips centimeters apart.

Utena’s cheeks burn bright, but she doesn’t pull away as her heart races. “You should be careful, my cute Leopard. You don’t know what kind of order I might give you if you keep that up.” Any thought of backing down crumbles away, eyes focused on Kiwi’s barely-covered body, her soft lips, the passionate light in her deep red eyes and the warmth of Kiwi’s touch. “You don’t know what I might do to you.”

“Whatever you want, Baiser-chan.” Kiwi’s voice lowers, lust bleeding into her words. “Make me squirm, make me hurt, make me fall in love deeper.”

“Kiwi…” Utena’s voice dies in her throat as she sees her teammate’s eyes flutter shut and lust sets her mana ablaze. She leans closer, the distance between their lips shrinking by the moment until she can almost taste Kiwi.

“There you are.” Both magical girls stumble away from one another the second Venalita speaks up, Kiwi’s eyes flying open and Utena letting out a shocked shout, tripping over her own feet and falling onto her backside, landing mere moments before the portal Venalita had taken fades to nothingness behind it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to interrupt you.”

“Well, you did. What do you want this time?” Kiwi crosses her arms and glares at the floating creature, words venomous. Utena groans, rubbing her butt with one hand as she pulls herself up to her feet while she blushes even more fiercely after being walked in on by Venalita.

“I needed to find you both. Is everything okay between the two of you?” The mascot glances between the duo, brow raised inquisitively. Finding them moments away from a kiss hadn’t been expected, though it’s certainly an improvement over constantly avoiding Leopard like Baiser had been doing prior.

“We finally talked about everything. We’re not exactly dating, but we sat down and discussed everything.” Utena confirms the mascot’s suspicions, confusion creeping into her voice as she wonders why Venalita had sought them out. There’s no trace of Sayo or her teammates’ mana in the air, no obvious indication as to why the mascot would need them so immediately a text wouldn’t suffice. “Did you come all this way just to check in on that?”

“I’m afraid not. The Supreme Commander wishes to see you both.”

“Right now?” Utena asks, but the mascot’s tone doesn’t leave her much room to imagine otherwise.

“No way!” Kiwi pulls her closer, glaring at Venalita as she holds Utena possessively. “Today is my day with Baiser-chan! You’re not taking this away!”

Utena flinches at Kiwi’s furious tone, but Venalita simply looks weary and resigned. “I’m sorry, Kiwi. I’ve bought you as much time as I could. Enorme made her position clear.”

“Well, I'm not going. Neither is Utena-chan.” She softly squeezes her leader’s sides, but her smile fades as she glances back at Utena. “Y-you’re staying, right, Utena?”

“If you don’t meet her, you’ll be considered deserters or traitors. Enorme will focus her attention on this town, all the creatures she can conjure and the full might of the older members will come down on you and on Tres Magia.” Utena shrinks back and Kiwi squeezes her tighter as they listen, Venalita’s voice uncomfortably steady and calm. “You would draw all of her anger directly at yourselves. Your town, your families, your friends, they would all be in danger if you don’t go.”

“So we don’t have a choice?” Kiwi huffs, letting Utena free and balling her hands into fists at her side. “So much for being a team, I guess. Now it’s ‘do as I say, or else’?”

“I’m sorry, but it is,” Venalita snaps back, before letting out a soft sigh, voice lowering once again. “I didn’t intend for this to interrupt the two of you, but I’ve bought you as much time as I can.”

“Whatever, fine. Let’s just get this over with, then.” Kiwi grabs her clothes, bundling her things up before stuffing them into her backpack. “Give me the stupid portal, and let’s go.”

“W-We should change first! I don’t really want to have their first impression of me be in a swimsuit.”

Utena steps back into the fitting room to change, but Venalita cuts in before she can. “I’d prefer if you both transformed first, actually. The founding members of the organization will be transformed, it’d be best if you all met them in uniform as well.” With a flick of its wrist, a black portal spills open beside the fitting rooms. “You should still bring your bags though, I don’t want anyone to take your things while you’re gone.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

Kiwi slips her star out from her bag and shoots a glare at it as though her anger would be enough for the enchanted gemstone to transform her without so much as an incantation. Utena retrieves her own star from her pack, one hand holding onto it while the other gives Kiwi a small squeeze on the shoulder. “Trans Magia.” With just her words, mana erupts from both cameos, swimsuits consumed by light and their uniforms beginning to take shape.

The second after her horns form and Baiser adjusts to her slightly higher line of sight, anger washes over her, raw and primal. Her heart races in her chest, muscles tensing as the emotions radiating from Leopard threaten to consume her own. At the heart of the fiery rage shines both envy and love, blurring together to feed into the girl’s mounting frustration.

“Take a breath.” Venalita’s voice is barely above a whisper as it lands atop her shoulder, soft arms pressing against the back of her neck with surprising force. “You need to keep a level head today, Baiser.” She takes a breath in through her mouth, then out through her nose, the building frustration in her mind easing. “Don’t let Kiwi’s emotions get the best of you.”

“Thank you, Vena.” There’s still no sensation from the mascot on her back, no emotions that project outwards nor even the simple hum of mana that every living being encountered had possessed when she’d been transformed, but Kiwi burns brilliantly like a sun, solar flares and all as she bites back her rage and tries to push it down. “Are you okay, Kiwi?”

“Yeah, just a bit disappointed.” Kiwi gives a bright smile, but with her horns picking up the hurt in Kiwi’s heart the otherwise-convincing grin feels hollow. “I’ll be fine though, Utena. Can we make some time this weekend to spend together instead of today?”

“I-I have plans with Sayo.” The moment the name slips through Utena’s lips, the sickly glow of envy flares brightly, and heartache follows a moment later. The emotions wash across Utena like water, but it’s guilt that fills her mind as she sees Kiwi hiding away the pain. ‘Is she hurting this much because of the interruption? Or was this building the whole time I ignored her?’

Utena steps closer to her friend, brushing her fingers against Kiwi’s and offering a reassuring smile. “I can get away before two tomorrow if you’d like? We could have a nice morning? Get some breakfast together, go for a walk in the park or maybe we could go flying together and explore outside of town? I don’t have anywhere to be until a little bit past noon.”

A wave of muted excitement washes out from Kiwi, dulling the oppressive aura of anger and hurt as she intertwines her fingers with Utena’s. “Yeah… Yeah, I don’t have any plans in the morning.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Utena gives her hand a small squeeze, smiling a bit more easily as Kiwi’s pain dulls, a flicker of hope in her soul. “We’ll save some of the other plans you’d made today for some time next week.”

“Okay,” Kiwi whispers, her smile more genuine with each moment. “That sounds nice. Thank you, Utena-chan.”

“Always.” She turns her attention to the swirling portal, heart still racing as she heads towards it, following Venalita as it dives through and returns to the space surrounding Nacht Base.

The eternal night of Nacht Base is just the same as when she’d been there last, but Baiser’s heart races as she surveys her surroundings, focusing on the greatest source of magic that cuts through the ambient magic. Her eyes settle on a young girl, years younger than her and Kiwi, stood in an adorable wonderland dress with Venalita cradled firmly in her arms like a precious toy one was worried about dropping on the dirty ground. It takes all of Baiser’s focus just to not let herself slip into being awestruck by the girl’s cute, innocent costume, the only indication of impropriety being the three star markings upon her forehead. ‘She’s adorable!’ An aura of excitement emanates from the girl, carefree and eager as she smiles up at Baiser.

“Before you go inside,” Venalita chimes in before Baiser can, “there’s one last person that I want you both to meet. This is Nero Alice. She’s the last of the magical girl recruits that I found during the past few months, and the third member of your team.”

“Excuse me?” Leopard’s jaw drops, shocked at first, then anger erupts from her, voice rising louder as her emotions flare wildly. “No way, not happening. We work better as a duo! Baiser and Leopard against the dummies in Trash Magic, we don’t need some kid weighing us down.”

“It’s alright, Leopard.” Baiser rests a hand on her teammate’s shoulder and gives a gentle squeeze before turning her attention back to the girl and trying to push aside Kiwi’s anger for the moment. ‘Nero Alice. She’s just about the age of the girl Sayo and Tres Magia fought again.’ She bends down, setting her hands on her knees to put herself at eye level with the young girl. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I was wondering what Tres Magia encountered yesterday. I guess it must have been you that I sensed, right?”

Alice nods. Just a firm, quick bounce of the head with a serious expression, not so much as a single word uttered. ‘That’s odd.’ The girl doesn’t seem to be shy or nervous. If anything, Baiser’s horns pick up excitement and enthusiasm radiating from her alongside potent magical power, but all the girl manages is that single quick nod while keeping her eyes on Baiser, with only a hint of disappointment from Leopard’s outright rejection of her joining them. “It’s nice to meet you, Alice. My name is Magia Baiser, and this is Leopard.”

“Not nice to meet you.” Leopard narrows her eyes, straightening her back and crossing her arms below her chest, putting on something almost approaching a menacing look as she and Alice stare at one another for several long seconds, before Alice’s patience wanes and she turns back to Baiser. “H-Hey! Don’t just ignore me, rookie!”

“Leopard, she’s just a kid. You don’t need to be mean to her.” Baiser turns her focus back to the mascot in Alice’s arms, a small frown on her face. “And Vena, can I talk to you real quick?”

“I’d love to, but I’m presently indisposed.”

“Alice, could you please let go of the Vena so I can talk to them in private?” Her response comes in the form of another curt nod, and the little girl loosening her grip, allowing Venalita to float up and regain its freedom. “Thank you, Alice.” Alice offers her a small smile, and Baiser beckons Venalita away, taking to the sky and floating a dozen meters from Kiwi and Alice.

“What’s the matter, Baiser?” The mascot asks, tone of voice seeming genuinely curious as though Baiser’s discomfort wasn’t immediately obvious.

“Why did you drag her into this? She’s a kid! You can’t just abduct her and have her fight for you. Someone’s going to notice that she’s missing, or she’ll get hurt fighting Tres Magia!”

“I didn’t trick her into anything!” The mascot interjects, hurrying to defend itself. “I invited her to Enormita to be one of your teammates, and she was happy to join.”

“And you didn’t trick her into this? She knew you were inviting her to be a magical girl to fight other magical girls?”

“She did. I showed her videos of your fights, pointed out who she would be fighting against and how, and she was willing to do it. No tricks, no threats. She wanted to help.”

“Why did you have to recruit a kid, though? She’s what, eight?”

“Nine!” The mascot replies, voice higher pitched and more insistent. “As for why, it’s straight-forward. I was curious about her, as I thought she noticed me while I was masking my presence. After following her for some time, she walked up to me in an alleyway and grabbed me while I was still hiding myself and should’ve been intangible to most everything except a magical girl. So I decided to recruit her, and she said yes.” It pauses for a beat before shrugging. “Well, she nodded. I’m not sure if she can speak.”

“Your recruitment standards are terrible.” She floats back towards her teammates, Leopard still staring at Alice and being met with a blank expression back. “How does she transform, then? Doesn’t she need to speak for that?”

“So far, I’ve transformed her myself both times. I’m curious to find out if she can transform on her own though, it should be pretty interesting!”

Leopard crashes into Baiser’s body the moment she lands, hugging her midsection tightly and hiding so that Baiser winds up between Leopard and Alice. “She’s scary! She doesn’t even flinch, and her clothes are all spooky and old.”

“They aren’t old, Kiwi. They’re adorable! Every girl loves a real wonderland dress!” Baiser slips free of Leopard’s arms, giggling at her friend’s antics and kneeling down in front of Alice. “And the big timepiece is a cute touch too. These cute ruffles, the long apron, they make you look absolutely adorable, Alice!” Her hands trace over the girl’s uniform, gently brushing against each article as she mentions it before working their way up to the big bow atop her head, gently patting her young teammate. “It suits you!”

“What about me, Baiser-chan? Am I cute too?” Her antics inspire a pang of jealousy from Leopard, and Baiser is quick to turn and hug her friend tightly, letting her hands wander lower and brush against Leo’s bottom.

“Absolutely, Kiwi. Military uniforms are outstanding, you look breathtaking too! Both of you are prefect, adorable, ten out of ten, no notes!” She leans closer, whispering to Leopard to try to spare Alice from overhearing her. “And when we’re done here, we can get back to showing you just how cute you are, Leopard.” A lovely glow of arousal and adoration washes out from Leopard as Baiser pulls back from her and begins to march towards the doors to Nacht Base. “Alright, let’s get this over with, Vena.”

“Wait.” The mascot’s firm tone makes Baiser pause mid-stride, and it uses the opportunity to dive past her to the door. “When we get inside, I need you to be careful with what you say. No names. Alice, Baiser, and Leopard. Don’t volunteer any personal information.”

“Doesn’t the commander already know our names?”

Venalita shakes its head in response to Leopard’s question. “She’s never asked, and your identities haven’t been in any of the reports. You are only recorded by Magia Baiser, Leopard, and Nero Alice, as are the founding members other than the Supreme Commander. I manage your bank accounts and salaries on my own as well. Speaking of which, I’m not sure if you checked, Baiser, but I’ve added some funds to your account this morning earlier.”

“Right. Well, I’ll be careful then.” The mascot nods, and Utena pushes open the front door, nerves only growing as her two teammates fall in line behind her. Alice doesn’t say a word, but she seems determined and helpful, with a vaguely familiar fondness and appreciation emanating from her. Leopard still seems frustrated to have been interrupted, and the longer Baiser focuses, the more deep-seated the girl’s hurt and frustration seems to have been, but all centered around genuine love for her. A whole world away from them, Sayo is out there with her teammates, no doubt taking care of some sort of branding or photo session with Magenta and Sulfur beside her.

She pushes open the doors to the room Venalita had guided her to weeks ago, the throne room. Immediately, magic crashes into her senses, roaring like thunder, blinding as the sun. Her eyes follow the guidance of the horns atop her head, focusing on a woman standing by a rectangular platform, suspended weightless in the air. Her head is downturned as she stands, hands folded together in front of her bare stomach to gently cradle the golden star hanging on a white sash around her neck. She wears a long black dress, with a patch of innocent white between her shoulders that spans from just above her breasts up to her collar. The dress hugs her sides with a large opening on the front that leaves the lower part of her sizeable bust exposed as well as her entire abdomen down to several centimeters below the navel. The skirt of her dress sits high on her hips, long slits running almost the full length of the garment. Her legs and feet are left bare while the too-long garment pools on the ground around her, while her arms are covered by a pair of tight, white gloves that extend from her wrists up above her elbows, where they disappear beneath the sleeves of her dress. A black headdress with white accents reminiscent of a western nun adorns her head, long enough to cover her shoulders. Her bright purple hair comes down past her hips, and below her aquamarine eyes, a mere three purple stars mark her skin.

The raw wave of power doesn’t feel like a three-star magical girl, however. Alice’s power doesn’t feel as intense as hers, not even the faintest bit as strong as the woman standing above her, and her power seems greater than Sayo’s as well, probably more than capable of taking on Tres Magia all on her own. Nothing but pure, overwhelming adoration radiates out from the woman, love as intense as anything Utena had ever felt in another soul.

“Hey!” As Baiser reels from the sudden wave of power and emotion that crashes into her mind, Leopard calls out into the room, eyes sweeping over the empty floor, frown deepening as she finds it deserted. “What the hell, Vena? It’s as empty as usual.”

“Wanna look a little closer? We’re up top, rookie!” The sing-song tone of the voice makes Leopard’s eye twitch, but she follows her gaze up, and Baiser shrugs off the wave of shock to focus on the other two girls, each of them wielding magic far less intense than the others, far closer to the glow of mana around Leopard and Alice. “Honestly, what kind of rookies don’t even bother to introduce themselves?”

Unlike her two compatriots, the girl isn’t standing, instead sitting on the edge of the cube with her feet dangling in the air, letting Baiser catch glimpses up the teal pencil skirt, garment starting just beneath her bust and only not coming down enough to cover rather boring white-and-teal striped panties given her elevated position. A black bikini top is all that covers her breasts. A white coat covers her arms and back, flaring out to either side behind her back and giving her a more noticeable silhouette, but not doing a thing to preserve her modesty, reaching just below her knees. A short black cape rests atop the coat, held in place by a thin strip of fabric looping over her collarbone as well as a teal sailor tie not too different from the ones on Kiwi and Utena’s school uniforms, though bearing a four-point star pinned to it, while two more stars rest on either corner of the cape. A pair of skintight black socks come up over her knees, while teal, heeled boots come up just below her knees, black-and-white cuff at the top that matches the ones on her sleeves and the bottom hem of her coat.

A white navy hat with a black brim is precariously balanced atop her head, with a fourth star that glows with the same magic as Baiser and her friends’ own transformative items. ‘A navy girl? Cute, and she definitely looks eye-catching.’ Baiser’s eyes trace over the girl’s body, three teal stars inscribed on the girl’s neck. Her power is eclipsed by the nun’s own, but she feels far more manageable, less like an impossible foe than an equal. Throughout it all, a smug smile rests on her lips, matching the confident glow radiating from her, though buried deeper than that Baiser can feel notes of genuine dread that the girl tries her best to ignore.

The last of the girls has nothing like that confident glow. Instead, a miasma clings to her like a dark shadow, fear and regret and guilt swirling in her mind, only held together by the affection and a flicker of hope that swells each time she glances over at the navy girl. A blue, sleeveless robe with lighter trim covers her front and back with her transformation star pinned to the top of the garment, on the right side of her neck. The sides of her robe are entirely open, only kept from shifting thanks to a few thin yellow bands. A matching pair of boots and gloves come up past her elbows and knees, and beneath the girl’s hood, Baiser can see messy turquoise hair with a few dashes of pink that extends down to the girl’s chin. Three purple stars are marked on her right shoulder, and just like the last magical girl, her power seems far more approachable. Dangerous undoubtedly, but not so vast as to eclipse Baiser and her teammates’ strength.

The hooded girl’s pale purple eyes quickly take in the details of the three girls, and even though she can’t see her hands beneath the robe, Baiser’s horns reveal the presence of a weapon clutched tightly in her hand, aglow with magic. ‘That’s not a good sign.’ Baiser keeps her eyes on the knife-wielding girl, hand by her side ready to conjure Frusta Dominazione the instant she does anything to indicate hostility. “Jeez, Loco.” The girl weaves false confidence into her words, hiding her worry behind a laugh and a smile that bares her sharp teeth. “Trying to act like you’re their boss already?”

“Excuse you?” The sailor-looking girl, Loco, scrambles to her feet, calm confidence replaced with indignation. “I quite literally am their boss, Leberblume!”

“You’re their senior, I don’t believe that either of us are their boss.”

“It makes me so sad, seeing you two fight.” The older nun’s voice doesn’t carry authority. It’s soft, demure, like a maid might speak to a master more than anything that would sound like the so-called Supreme Commander.

‘If it isn’t her, who would be in charge?’ Baiser’s eyes dart up to Venalita, the mascot’s presence still not betraying even a hint of emotion or magic as it hovers above her shoulder.  Noticing her gaze, Venalita offers a small smile, but it doesn’t weigh in as Loco and Leberblume bicker over whether or not Loco holds any actual authority over them.

Instead, Leopard is the first one to interrupt their arguing. “Who exactly are you all?”

“Excuse you? Do you not recognize me from my albums?” The sailor puts her hands on her hips, focusing her anger on Enormita’s mascot. “Vena, didn’t you include them in the welcome packages?”

“Our financials don’t exactly support that kind of expense.”

‘I don’t recognize her either. If she’s supposed to be a musician, I don’t think it’s gotten popular even on magical girl forums.’

“It seems like there’s a lot that you haven’t done, Vena. Weren’t you supposed to be teaching them everything they need to know about us?”

“I’ve taught them how to fight and the goals of the Supreme Commander. Your personal lives haven’t been a focus of our discussions, Leberblume.”

“Didn’t you use the recordings of our fights to teach them?”

“I’m afraid not,” the mascot replies, keeping its voice steady, not a hint of actual remorse. “I’ve found that the best teacher is experience and a healthy dose of life-or-death pressure with members of the opposition local to their territory.”

“Yeah, we learned to kick ass and blow away the dummies around town, not your weird get-ups.” Leopard strides forwards, wrapping an arm around Baiser and smiling brightly. “While you’ve been off on vacation or whatever, we’ve been putting in the work.”

“Sure you have, Starless.” The musician puts on a mocking smirk as she stares down at Leopard, a wave of amusement washing through her. “Vena, why don’t you tell these newbies where we were while they were getting driven off by the same group over and over again?”

“The founding members of Enormita only just returned from a magical girl hunt, Leopard. They haven’t been slacking, they’ve been ensuring that some of the magical girls across Japan are permanently put out of commission.”

Baiser’s breath catches in her throat. Venalita doesn’t even have the decency to pretend to feel remorse at what the other magical girls were doing. The words are said with the same level of sheer indifference as someone would use when talking about the weather. ‘And these girls aren’t any better. Do they think it’s a sport? Taking away magical girls from the world?” Her lips part, baring her teeth as rage floods her mind. Alice grabs her hand, and Leopard glances back at her, a wave of concern rushing through both girls.

“And how many girls have you three beaten, Starless?” The musician puts more emphasis on the word again.

“Three.”

“So Baiser does speak,” Leberblume says, feigning shock. “But you haven’t beaten three. From what Vena showed us, you didn’t even beat one.”

“The three of us have come out on top multiple times. Alice and I have both taken down all three while we were alone.” Baiser marches forward, voice low as she stares up at the three monsters who’d snuffed out the irreplaceable light of far too many of her magical girls. “Maybe you need to take a better look at whatever videos Venalita showed you.”

“Not getting knocked on your butt isn’t a win, Baiser. You need to pin them down and make sure they won’t be a threat again.” Loco reaches up to her hat, pulling out a small trinket in a flash of white light before tossing it off her floating platform. “Until you earn one of these, you haven’t beaten anybody.”

The heart-shaped token bounces across the ground, fragments chipping off it before it comes to a stop at Baiser’s feet. The demonic girl stares down at it, rage and disgust swelling, bile stinging her throat as she looks down at her horrified face, reflected in the cracked purple gemstone. The villain doesn’t respond, swallowing down the curses that leap to the forefront of her mind and instead kneeling down, carefully picking up the gemstone.

“You were supposed to give me all of those for examination, Loco Musica.” Anger finally trickles into Venalita’s words. ‘Anger for all the wrong reasons. Hunting magical girls is unforgivable.’ The mascot floats up to her, holding its arms out expectantly. “Have you taken any other transformation items without telling me?”

“No, everyone else always snags them before I get a chance.” Her eyes flit down in time to see Baiser tuck away the ruined item, her cheeks puffing up as she pouts in anger. “Hey, give that back! It’s mine, go get your own!”

“It makes me so sad when you all fight, Loco Musica. You shouldn’t have had it to begin with, perhaps it is best to let Magia Baiser keep it and move on.” The nun’s eyes follow Venalita as it floats down to the demonic girl, horns straining with the sheer intensity of magic that still flow through the older woman. “Unless of course Venalita requires it?”

“Try to take it,” Baiser practically growls, Frusta Dominazione appearing in her hand a moment later. “And I’ll have a shiny star to hold onto with it.”

“Don’t threaten her, Magia Baiser.” Leberblume bends her knees, ready to leap down from her platform as Loco Musica shifts a step back.

“Baiser, remember what I said earlier?” Venalita whispers in her ear, concern in its voice that Baiser doesn’t believe for an instant. “You need to keep your emotions in check.”

“Or else?”

“This won’t go well, Baiser. For you, or your teammates.”

“Enough.” Even Venalita goes silent as the last woman speaks up, and Baiser glances up towards the unfamiliar voice. ‘How did I miss another woman?’ When she’d been transformed, nobody had ever managed to truly sneak up on Baiser. Her horns would always pick up their emotions if not their mana. And yet, had she not spoken aloud, Baiser wouldn’t have noticed the presence of the fourth magical girl waiting for them. “You can continue your pointless bickering when we are done.”

Unlike the others, there’s no wave of immense power that emanates from her. Even turning to face her head-on, Baiser’s horns barely manage to detect the faintest flicker of mana, faded and stagnant in abject defiance of the four stars arranged vertically on her forehead. Baiser narrows her eyes as she takes in the sight of the woman sitting upon the strange throne she’d seen almost a lifetime ago, when she and Kiwi first met. She’d always imagined that this Supreme Commander, should they ever meet, would be an incredible font of magic, powerful like nothing she’d seen before. ‘But she’s in charge? Is this some kind of joke?’

Instead of coursing through her body with every breath like electricity in a circuit, her mana is stagnant and unchanging like the debris left behind when Tres Magia destroys one of Baiser’s own minions. There’s no flicker with the subtle shifts in her emotional state, no potent glow, nothing that would make her stand out. Even the star clasped to the collar of her uniform is dull and weak. Her whip seems just as strange and sickly, energy stagnant and so faint that were she to not draw attention, Baiser’s ability to detect magic wouldn’t notice the transformed woman even if they were within reach of one another.

Just like her mana, there’s no glow that betrays her emotions. She’s visibly disgusted as she looks down on Baiser and her teammates, and the scowl on her face appears to be the only expression she’s ever held in a lifetime, but Baiser can’t sense them, forced instead to rely on her appearance and the disappointed note in her words.

“I instructed Venalita to show me some of your previous fights.” She leans forward, waving a hand as images spring into existence around her, projections in the air of Baiser’s past fights, most recorded by her own phone risen as a demon under her service. “Utterly ridiculous. Stripping, taunting, fondling your foes as though this is some kind of game to you. Explain yourself at once, Magia Baiser.”

Baiser squares her shoulders, putting more force than needed so that her shoulder hits Venalita in the side and shoves it off her. “It’s how I fight. If you saw the videos, you’d know that it is effective.”

“It may be effect in the short term,” the woman admits, gloved fingers taping the front of her throne. “But you’ve proven utterly worthless when it comes to disposing of magical girls. Either your preferred method of combat is ineffective, or you are unwilling to destroy our foes. Which is it, Baiser?”

“Neither, Lord Enorme.” Venalita rights itself in the air, shooting Baiser a quick glare before resuming its defense. “Magia Baiser and her team were not instructed to eliminate Tres Magia. Their numeric match made them well-suited to train against, and their repeated interactions have led to Tres Magia no longer attempting to outright kill Magia Baiser and Leopard. I suspect that some of their number will still attempt to kill Nero Alice however.”

“And why, Venalita, would you undermine my instructions? You’ve already lied to me if Loco Musica is telling the truth and Leopard is indeed starless.” Enorme leans forward, fingers gripping the angular edges of her throne. “The magical girls are the last obstacle we face towards world domination. My orders were clear. All members of Enormita are to attempt to eliminate them.”

“They needed to grow stronger, Tres Magia’s presence was best suited to reach that goal. World domination is not without your reach yet. You must build up more strength.”

“Our power is ample. Of the magical girls we faced, none have threatened us in multiple months. Their strongest members are gone and our strength has only continued to grow.” Enorme finally rises from her throne, raising one hand up as she drones on, but it takes all of Baiser’s strength to even focus on her boring speech. “The time is ripe. There exists no threat to our reign, save perhaps for your insistence on undermining me.”

“Your hubris does you no favors, Lord Enorme. Four people, no matter how strong, cannot maintain control of territory. Your numbers are insufficient.” The mascot smiles, cheerful as ever. Enorme stares down at it, eyes narrowed, face a mask of rage. The nun doesn’t even flinch, simply waiting, heart still aglow with nothing but genuine love and the faintest flicker of amusement, while Loco Musica and Leberblume cast worried glances between one another.

“This debate is a fool’s errand.” Enorme steps up to the edge of her raised platform where her throne rests, heels echoing through the mostly empty chamber. “Will you no longer provide us with demons and magical girls, Venalita?”

“I will remain loyal to Enormita, for so long as you uphold our arrangement, Lord.” Venalita crosses one arm over its chest, bowing its head with a smile. “And my counsel will remain available to you as well, whether or not you wish to follow my advice.”

“Good. Then we shall conquest this world with all due haste.” Enorme turns her focus back to Baiser, cloak fluttering behind her as she lifts an arm out to the side, a twisted smile on her lips. “As for you three, I will offer you a second chance, since Venalita bears much of the blame of your failure. Destroy Tres Magia and bring me proof. In return, you will be permitted to join us and share in the honor of ruling this world.”

“Not a chance.”

A moment after the words leave Baiser’s lips and Enorme pauses, Leopard crashes into Baiser, pulling her into a tight hug. “And if Baiser’s out, then I am too.”

“Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Yup!” Leopard leans in, giving Baiser a quick kiss on the cheek before giggling as Alice wraps her arms around her waist. “Alice is going to pass on joining those losers too. World domination doesn’t really sound that fun.”

“Excuse me?” Loco Musica shouts down at them, vein on her cheek pulsing. “Why are you even a part of this org then? Did you not realize that was the whole point?”

“Sister.” The nun glances back as Enorme addresses her, not shouting but utterly full of rage. “Crush them. Insubordination will not be tolerated.”

The nun hesitates for just a moment before leaping over the edge, magic flaring around her, body starting to rapidly grow along with her dress. The stonework cracks beneath her feet as she lands, brushing off bits of rubble before marching forward, body growing until her head has risen past the platforms raised at least five meters above Baiser’s head. “I’m so sad it has come to this, but this is Lord’s decree, and I shall obey.”

“Alice, stay back. Leopard, blow Enorme away, don’t hold back. I’ll buy time. Vena, get us out of here.” Baiser’s wings beat, pulling her into the air. It wouldn’t bring her out of reach of the enlarged woman but being airborne at least promises better mobility to try to dodge the woman’s attacks. Frusta Dominazione swings upwards in an arc, and a crescent-shaped wave of energy streaks outward. The projectile collides with Sister’s bare abdomen, erupting with as much force as Baiser could put into the attack, but it barely leaves the smallest bruise on the much more powerful foe.

Leopard’s own attack streaks past the pair with a chorus of cannons roaring to life, heavy shells raining down on Enorme and the throne where she sits. A flick of the wrist is all it takes for a dull purple bubble to expand around her, thin, viscous, and aglow with far more magic than the woman seemed to possess. ‘So she really is a four star. I just can’t sense it somehow?’

Sister lunges for her, and Baiser’s wings beat quicker, ascending out of the path of the deadly giant and closer to the lights haphazardly strung about the ceiling. Without slowing, Baiser strikes the electrical cables powering the lights, sending mana through the wires. The insulation expands, tearing free of the ceiling as it thickens large enough to a diameter as wide as Baiser is tall. The lights attached to it shatter as the animated wire writhes and coils around itself like a serpent. Its rear end connects to the corner of the room and disappears into the wall, but at its front, thick wires extend outwards, violently sparking with electricity. “Vena? Where’s our portal?”

“Venalita is loyal to me, Magia Baiser. It will not assist you in fleeing.” Enorme cracks her whip in the air, and a half-dozen blobs of slime and magic burst into being around her, rising into the air, sprouting wings and clawed limbs, then horns and demonic, smiling faces. “You have nowhere to run.”

‘Baiser is outclassed.’ Even against Sister Gigant, alone and restraining herself, Baiser and Leopard would’ve struggled. As Enorme conjures forth six demons and sends them into the fray, the situation only worsens. Leopard’s cannons roar out again, this time focused on the newest threats. Dozens of heavy shells tear through the poorly constructed creatures like fragile tissue paper, punching open holes in their bodies, splattering ichor and sludge onto the floor and the walls until enough of mass has been torn out that the creatures lose their shape and melt apart onto the ground. ‘It’s not a solution, though. Kiwi doesn’t have the power to kill them.’ The demons start to pull themselves back together, slime flowing across the ground and bunching together before reforming. Another hail of bullets scatters them again, but each time Leopard tries to delay the monsters, her mana reserves diminish more substantially. ‘And Enorme isn’t going to run dry. They need a plan.’

“How about you stop hiding and come down here yourself, idiot!” Leopard backs away as the demons reconstitute once again. Her confidence wavers as she sees another six demons join the first wave, twelve monsters barely smaller than herself standing shoulder-to-shoulder, two ranks deep, claws glinting in the dim light of the serpent wrestling against Sister Gigant’s grip. “More targets? Perfect.” Leopard lifts her sidearm again, more small portals opening above either shoulder, but before she can fire off another volley form her conjured weapons, Alice grabs her free hand and tugs her back, pointing toward the door insistently, to where Venalita’s portal had been left open outside of the base.

Baiser grimaces as her serpentine monster bites into Sister’s side, cables pressing into her skin. The outfit smolders and the woman lets out a delightful moan before grabbing the creature, hand squeezing its neck and ripping it off her body. The serpentine cable strains in the woman’s grip, the insulation that is its skin beginning to tear. With a final exertion, the nun tears it fully in two, purple residue spilling from both ends of the fatal injury the monster had sustained. ‘This isn’t working. Kiwi’s outnumbered, I can’t bring this woman down, and the other two haven’t even done anything yet!’ Frusta Dominazione feels like a toy in her hand, but she flicks it at the giant anyway. Another lash of raw magic leaps from the tip and explodes against Sister’s arm. A moment later, Sister finally manages to connect a blow, swatting Baiser with the back of her hand like she was a gnat.

Pain erupts across her side, and the world turns into a blur as Baiser tumbles through the air, spinning twice-over before hitting the wall. Her body makes a revolting crunch, and so does the stonework of Nacht Base, debris raining down alongside her. Baiser’s vision flickers as she lands, then drags herself back to her feet, griping the wall with her left hand. Her right arm refuses to move.

Adrenaline and fear numb the pain slightly, but her whole body aches. Every movement sends fresh fire rushing through her veins, and her heart sinks as the nun strides closer to her. “It’s not too late to surrender, Magia Baiser. Lord may yet show you mercy.”

‘Mercy?’ Baiser can’t even stifle her laughter at the sheer absurdity of the thought. Enorme had just commanded her to kill her girlfriend, and the love-struck nun suggests there would be mercy in surrendering to her. “Never.”

“That makes me so sad, Magia Baiser.” Genuine regret flows through the nun, alongside a flicker of doubt before she lifts her leg, and Baiser seizes the moment. Her intact wing beats, and mana fuels her ascent into the air. A moment later, the nun stomps downward, the impact shaking the earth and shattering the floor, cracks running up the walls. A moment later, she lifts her leg again, driving her knee upwards to catch Baiser between herself and the wall. Baiser ducks to the right, lifting her good arm to try in vain to shield herself.

The wall shatters, and Utena screams wordlessly in agony. Her arm still hurts, the injury only worsened after her body was crushed against the incoherent stonework. Her ribs hurt as if there were fire in her chest. Every breath makes it worse. Her face is wet with tears, or blood, or maybe both as she lies atop large chunks of stone, no wings, no horns, no magic left to defend herself.

The nun steps close. Utena doesn’t hear her move, or the distant sounds of fighting, but she can see through her watery eyes and blurry vision as the woman slowly approaching with a frown on her face, size steadily shrinking back down to normal. Still tall, but no longer inhumanly so. Her lips part, but Utena can’t make out a single thing the woman says through the mind-numbing, thought-devouring pain. “Please.” Even her own words are inaudible, and Utena can’t tell if she even manages to make a sound. “Don’t hurt my Mom.” Her mother would be hurt enough, losing her so suddenly. ‘At least Sayo knew I might be hurt.’

Sayo. Just the thought of her being wounded makes Utena sob once again, this time with guilt. Her perfect girlfriend, sweet, gentle, full of hope and love, more beautiful than the sunrise. ‘I’m sorry, Sayo.’ The nun bows her head, and lifts an arm, readying one final blow. Utena squeezes her eyes shut. ‘I love you, Sayo.’

Leopard throws herself at the back of the nun, putting to use every bit of physical strength in her transformed body. One arm wraps around the woman’s raised hand to try to stop her from hurting Utena any further, while the other simply wraps around her side. “Alice, get Baiser out of here!”

The weight of Leopard's body slam, coupled with the uneven ground upon which she stands, is enough to pull Sister Gigant off her feet. The pair tumble off the mound of rubble and onto the rough stone ground, Leopard landing atop the nun. “You’re gonna die for hurting her!” Her voice is filled with rage, nothing short of manic hatred flowing through her as she grabs the older woman’s throat with both hands and digs deep into the reservoir of magic within her core. Then, she erupts.

Explosions engulf her and the nun, tremors racing through the ground as both uniforms turn to ashes, consumed by the firestorm of magic. Shadowy claws burst from Leopard’s body, feline ears and tail forming from smoke as well, and she doesn’t waste a moment before carving into the momentarily-stunned bitch that dared to lay a hand on her Baiser. Fueled with rage, she claws into the woman, first striking at her neck and chest before she recovers, then her forearms as the nun shields herself and limits Leopard’s access to her vital areas.

With each slash, shadows peel off Leopard’s form and detonate, engulfing them both in further explosions. Her mana still plummets, burning through her strength like a sprinter. Her body aches as she draws on power far too great to actually endure, bones threatening to break under the strength of her own muscles, hearing lost in the explosive transformation, and already injured from the demons that simply refused to die.

None of that matters to her as she continues her attack, teeth rattling with each explosion that engulfs the pair of them, until eventually she has to stop just to gasp for breath.

The moment that Kiwi pauses, the size-shifter strikes. Gigant rolls to the side, pressing Leopard’s back to the ground before punching the panting girl in the throat, buying another moment to scramble to her feet and back away. Magic flows more intensely through her, and she starts to grow once again, muscles growing exponentially stronger as she does. Leopard bends down, ready to leap back at the horrid woman.

A soft appendage wraps around Leopard, and a purple-furred cat the size of a small car wrenches her off her feet without so much as a word of warning. The magical girl struggles in its grip, but it runs, racing on its three free limbs towards the portal. The ground heaves, and Leopard’s wine-red eyes watch as the nun takes off after them, but neither her pursuit nor Leopard’s struggling can stop it from reaching the portal, and a moment later Venalita closes it behind them.

“No!” The portal closes, and Kiwi’s magic ebbs. Her transformed body parts shift back to normal as she reaches out to where the portal once roiled, and the large stuffed doll drops her onto the grass roughly. “I said get her out, not me!” Anger continues to rush through Kiwi’s head as she imagines the woman who’d assaulted Utena, and she glares over to where Alice is knelt.

Just beneath the girl in her bloody, wonderland dress, Utena lies slumped over, gasping for breath. Her body is stained in blood, with multiple broken bones and tears streaming down her cheeks. Wherever her transformation trinket wound up, Kiwi doesn’t see it but clutched in her less-injured hand she has the stupid, broken heart squeezed in a death grip.

“Utena?” Kiwi’s voice cracks as she rushes to her side, dropping onto her knees and staring in abject shock. ‘What do I do? Where’s Vena? Venalita is supposed to handle injuries like this!’ Kiwi rests a hand on Utena’s shoulder, helpless as she stares at the bleeding wounds left in behind by the nun’s assault. “Please,” Kiwi whispers, heart sinking in her chest, “please get up, Utena? You have to be okay.” Tears start to spill down her face, and a choked sob escapes her lips.

Alice rises to her feet, setting down her dollhouse beside Utena. Leopard doesn’t even notice, too stricken by grief and shock to even notice as the young girl weaves a silent spell. A moment later, red threads of magic engulf all three of them, and the world shifts.

Alice stands at the foot of Utena’s bed, dressed in her doctor’s uniform, cold stethoscope wrapped around her neck with a thermometer in her hands. Utena’s blood-soaked bathing suit that she’d for some reason been wearing is replaced with a more fitting outfit, a thin medical robe draped over her form as well as bandages along every bit of her body that is injured.

“Is she going to be okay, doctor?” Alice glances down at Leopard, her body taller and much more mature than the schoolgirl staring helplessly at her friend. The young doctor doesn’t have an answer to offer to her, however. Instead, she lifts her stethoscope to her ears, placing the other end against the unconscious girl’s body, listening to Utena’s shallow and labored breaths, flickers of red magic flowing through the air as Alice tends to her patient. The girl groans out in pain, but deep down Alice is sure that Utena will be okay. She’d be okay because Alice decided that she would be.

“You lost them?” Enorme cocks an eyebrow as she stares down at Sister Gigant. “How exactly did you lose them? A two-star, a child, and a starless. How did they manage to beat you?” Her voice grows louder until she is outright shouting, but Gigant doesn’t even fight back, pushing down her disdain and bowing her head deeper.

“Forgive me, Lord. I’ve failed you.”

“You have, and you will be punished later. What happened to Baiser’s transformative star?”

Gigant hesitates, and Venalita chimes in with its honeyed words, lying with ease to the wretched woman. “I believe that Nero Alice recovered Magia Baiser’s star, as well as the broken transformative that Loco Musica had.” Enorme takes the bait, shooting a glare at the cowering idol. A satisfied smirk spreads over Vena’s lips at that. Immediately after Alice got Magia Baiser and Leopard to safety, Venalita had recovered Baiser’s transformation star and tucked it within its sleeve.

“That is disappointing, but of little concern.” Enorme’s eyes turn back to Venalita, Loco letting out a relieved sigh as her wrathful leader turns her focus elsewhere. “I would like their names, addresses, and the names of their immediate families. We will dispose of them before they can make a further mockery of this organization.”

“I will not do that, Ma’am.” Loco Musica gasps and Leberblume crunches low to the ground, magic buzzing in preparation to disappear into the shadows. Gigant doesn’t move from her knelt-forward bow.

Enorme’s jaw drops, eyes wide with disbelief and shock. ‘It’s been too long since I’ve outright refused her orders,’ It’d deflected, lied, and mislead her frequently, but Venalita couldn’t recall off the top of its head the last time it outright defied her instructions and made her aware that it was doing so. Enorme’s mouth opens and closes like a fish, stammering indignantly. Her face goes red before she manages to respond, stomping her foot on the ground and snarling. “I am the Supreme Commander of Enormita. I gave you an order, and you are going to follow it.”

“No, Lord, I will not. My loyalty is to the organization, not to you.” Venalita keeps its tone level as it speaks.

Enorme does not, words filled with fury at being defied. “I run the organization. I am in charge, so you obey me.”

“I will not give you their personal information, Enorme. If you wish to look for it yourself, you are welcome to, but that is not something I share. I don’t share their information with you, I don’t share your information with them. You asked me to handle reports, finances, and personnel records on my own.” Venalita had been the one to request the responsibility of those roles, considering Enorme’s lack of both capability and loyalty to it, but the mascot was confident the details had long since been forgotten by the Supreme Commander. “If you want to find their personal information, I suggest you use the tools at your disposal. You have three loyal soldiers and as many demons as you can effectively maintain, as well as access to all reports involving Magia Baiser, Leopard, and Nero Alice. I can gather any such reports you desire, as well as financial records of our budgetary spending on personnel. If that doesn’t satisfy, then I’m afraid I cannot help you any further.” Venalita ends its speech with a genuine sense of satisfaction and a wide smile as Enorme grinds her teeth together.

“And what if I decide you have no place within this organization?”

“Then I will take my leave. However, it bears reminding you that the only way to this world is a portal created by myself or by Vatz in Japan.”

Enorme frowns, confusion flashing across her face. “How did they escape, then? Are they still in this world?”

“I’m unsure, actually. Leopard is able to open small-scale portals when conjuring attacks. I suspect that she was able to open a larger one out of pure desperation, but I am unable to confirm that.” The mascot weaves the lie without a moment’s pause. “Is there anything else that you require of me, Lord? Or may I depart to begin some important business.”

“Do you intend to assist the traitors, Venalita?” Enorme asks, narrowing her eyes at the mascot.

Venalita doesn’t flinch from her displeased glare, nodding its head. “I will continue to provide them the same baseline of assistance that I would give to all magical girls I awaken. I will not provide them access to Nacht Base however, nor will I provide them with any financial resources.”

“And if Enormita comes to blows with them?”

“If your legion fight against them, I will recluse myself from the matter. I hope that will be acceptable to you, Lord.”

The Supreme Commander of Enormita lets out an annoyed sigh, gloved hands balling into fists before she leans back and turns her gaze to her underlings. “So be it. Those weaklings are no threat to our rule. If they disturb us again, kill them. Otherwise, our task remains the same. Focus on eliminating the remaining magical girls in the country.” She rises to her full height, looping her whip around one hand and letting her gaze flick between Gigant and Loco Musica, each of the magical girls having displeased her likely to find themselves at her twisted mercy once again.

Leberblume speaks up, Venalita glancing over to her in surprise as she clears her throat and kneels down. “Lord, if I may make a suggestion?” A curt nod from the Supreme Commander spurs her onward. “I believe that Loco Musica and I should be capable of eliminating Tres Magia, the local magical girls in the city that the traitors came from. With your permission, I would like to lead a two-person assault and eliminate them.” Venalita picks up the hint of desperation in her voice, and smiles. ‘She’s trying to keep her friend from Enorme’s whip. How sweet.’

“You have my permission. Go forth, Leberblume and Loco Musica, show them the power of the Lord Squad.”

“I’ll take them to the commercial district. Once you are done, text me and I’ll pick you up as soon as possible.” Venalita conjures a pair of portals before crossing an arm in front of itself and bowing the head. “A pleasure as always, Lord Enorme.” Before she can respond, the mascot ducks through the smaller of the portals, letting it close behind itself.

The longer Alice spends with Utena, the more draining it is to keep treating her. Threads of red magic that were once so easy to maintain now seem difficult, bordering on impossible to maintain, and Alice’s eyes grow heavier with each passing minute. The threads binding Kiwi are already gone, only the faintest flicker of magic still surrounding Utena as Alice pushes through fatigue to keep trying to help.

“How’s our patient, Doctor Morino?” Venalita’s words immediately put a smile on the young woman’s face, and the mascot hovers over the foot of Utena’s bed, smile slowly fading. “That’s not great, but she could be worse.”

“Vena?” Kiwi stares, then wraps her arms around the creature, hugging it uncomfortably tightly. “She’s gonna be okay, right?”

“Possibly, but her injuries are going to take time to heal.” It squirms in the girl’s grip, struggling against her and eventually slipping out of Kiwi’s arms, darting over to Alice as her mana dips dangerously low. On its own, Alice’s magic isn’t enough to mend Baiser’s injuries. They are simply too severe, internal and external bleeding resulting from severe blunt force and multiple broken bones.

The spell is still helping, though. The threads of magic wrapping around Utena’s unconscious body slow her blood loss and buy her more time to stay alive, and Venalita more time to tend to her wounds to the extent it is physically capable of. ‘But if Alice runs dry, I might lose Baiser.’

The mascot quickly darts to Alice’s shoulder, pulling a vial of light purple ichor from its pocket. “Alice, I never intended for you to be in this situation, but I need you to hold onto the spell a little bit longer. Just enough time for me to stitch Utena back up.” The young girl, body resembling a slightly younger version of her mother more than her true self, nods her head in understanding, but she seems full of doubt as to whether she can actually achieve the task. “I’d like you to drink this for me, Alice. It will sting, but it might give you enough strength to hold onto this spell for a few more minutes.”

The girl nods, reaching out and taking the vial from Venalita’s hands, before pulling the class lid off the vial. She cautiously sniffs the caustic substance, making a face at the unpalatable scent before glancing at Utena, and swallowing down the magical residue that Venalita had collected. The moment it touches her tongue, she squeezes her eyes shut, lips curling like she’d just eaten something painfully bitter, but she doesn’t stop taking slow sips until the small vial is entirely gone.

Her face takes on a green hue a moment later as the horrid mixture reaches her stomach. A moment later, her throat recoils, and her cheeks puff up as she fights to swallow down bile and overcome her stomach’s attempt to protect her from the potion, but she keeps it down, and the mana within starts to diffuse into her body, giving her the strength to hold on just a little bit longer. ‘I just hope there’s no long-lasting damage because of that.’

“What do I do, Vena? How can I help?” Kiwi steps up beside the mascot as it opens another small portal, extracting a case of cutting implements, suturing tools, and medical stitches.

“I’m afraid there isn’t much that you can do, Kiwi. You don’t have any healing magic and you don’t have any powers that can substitute that. Just keep your distance if you can, and I’ll try my best to get her patched up.” ‘Hopefully it will be enough.’ The mascot doesn’t verbalize that final thought aloud, only floating lower to begin its work.

Utena shifts, a groan escaping her as she rolls her head to the other side, eyes not even fluttering open for an instant. With what little strength she has, she whispers out a single word. “Azul.” Utena’s lips barely move as she says the name, and Venalita pauses for a moment, mind whirling. ‘She’s a powerful magical girl, she might be capable of healing magic. She knows Utena is Baiser already so there is no risk of compromising her identity.’

“New plan, Kiwi.” Venalita doesn’t turn to face her, instead settling beside Utena on the mattress and picking up a surgical implement in both hands. “Go find Tres Magia, convince Magia Azul to come help Baiser. It shouldn’t be too hard to convince her of that. The moment that you find her, call me and I will open a portal to retrieve you both.”

“Why? Can’t Alice and I take care of her ourselves?”

“No, you can’t, Kiwi. Tres Magia know how to heal wounds with magic. Alice can control things, but she’s burning way too much mana for simple healing magic. She won’t be able to hold this up forever, and if I don’t stay and tend to Utena’s wounds, her condition is going to worsen.” Its serious tone eases up slightly, adding a sympathetic note to its words. “I know that you don’t like them, but Utena asked for Azul. If there’s any chance that girl can help her right now, we need her.”

Kiwi sighs, bobbing her head up and down before digging into her backpack and pulling out her phone. “Fine. I’ll do it, but you’d better have a good explanation for everything that we just went through, Vena. And if you let anything happen to her, I will never forgive you.”

“Me too, Kiwi.” With a wave of its hand, Venalita opens a portal for her, a kilometer away from where it had dropped off Leber and Loco. ‘If Tres Magia is going to be anywhere, it’s probably right where those two start to make noise.’ Venalita begins its work with a frown, Kiwi’s last words echoing in its mind as Alice sits on her knees and the senior magical girl races through the portal, Utena’s whimpering breaths and metallic click of its tools echoing in Venalita’s increasingly guilty mind as it tends to the broken magical girl.