Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a sunny afternoon at Sendai Middle School, away from the expected noise from the sports and music clubs there was a Hiiragi Utena heading towards the gardening shed at the back of the school. Technically there are more members of the gardening club, but they were all ghost members. As a norm, Sendai Middle School expected all students to enlist in a club, but the student body was of a different opinion, so it wasn’t rare for students to register in a club a barely ever attend. In the case of the gardening club, their president was too shy and complacent to speak against it and kick off her ghost members, instead of disbanding the entire club Utena found comfort watering the flowers behind the school and daydreaming about her idols, Tres Magia.

That afternoon she was blessed with the sight of Tres Magia flying over the school. Where they headed to battle? A routine Patrol? It was all the same to Utena, she was glad for the sight regardless.

“Beautiful.” Utena muttered.

“You really liked them, don’t you?”

“I always wished I could be like them…” said Utena, not registering she was being talked to.

“Would you like to try? Transforming yourself.”

At the blatant offer, Utena finally realized there was someone else in the conversation. Sharply turning towards her interlocutor, she noticed it wasn’t a person but a white rabbit looking plushie floating in midair. Her mind, still lagging before what was unraveling, could only come up with one answer, thinking it would be rude to clam up and fail to answer the creature.

“Would it be alright…?” Utena answered softly.

"Hiiragi Utena! A chosen power resides within you." Said the creature before flashing a Magia Heart in front of Utena.

As the light of the artifact covered her, Utena started feeling warmth, as if she was being surrounded by light in a protective embrace. By the time the light subsided her clothes had changed, gone were her sailor uniform and long skirt, she now wore a considerably shorter purple skirt with matching long gloves and thigh-high boots, as well as a frilly white shirt with puffed shoulders adorned with a purple heart just beneath her neckline. Sensing the change she just witnessed, Utena did what she could only do and clammed up, failing to give a reaction.

“Is it no good?” asked the creature.

“You can call me Vatz by the way, I’m the manager of Tres Magia.” Said Vatz, hoping to get the conversation rolling.

Utena was still processing the situation, the manager of Tres Magia is right in front of her, her outfit changed, where is the hidden camera? It had to be a prank, such an opportunity didn’t come to just anyone, but what if her dream just came true? It was useless, she didn’t know what to think.

“I-it’s n-not a prank, right?”

“No, I would never! You can be a Magia!”

“R-really? But I’m not worthy, I mean Magias are brave and gracious, they careforeachotherservejusticeandImeanitsnotlikeIshyawayfromthemostmundaneconverationsoranythingbutpeopleusetocallmeawallflowerbehindmybackand…”

“Calm down, I know it’s a bit sudden, but I really think you have what it takes, and the others will help you no matter what, you’re just beginning after all.”

Vatz was having second thoughts on the matter, sure Utena had a lot of potential, but would it be alright? The more she thought about it, the more she thought she should’ve consulted with the others first, but she had her reasons and hoped Tres Magia would understand, especially Sulfur… She messed up, didn’t she?

“If you say so, then I-I’ll be a Magia!”

“G-great! Let’s go then, I'll present you to Tres Magia, have you thought of a name for yourself?" At this point Vatz was letting fate take its course and prayed for the best.

"Y-yes! Porpora, I'll be Magia Porpora!!"

“Ok Porpora, we’ll do some baby steps first, imagine yourself flying and try to lift yourself from the floor, after that we’ll slowly go to where Tres Magia are. If a battle breaks out, keep your distance and watch for the time being, ok?”

Porpora nodded and proceeded to close her eyes to try and focus on floating, after a few seconds she suddenly felt the ground leave her feet, as if a harness was lifting her up, she started having trouble staying upright.

“Porpora, take my hand.” Vatz offered before the vertigo got to her.

Opening her eyes, Porpora saw the mascot in front of her, offering her sleeved hand to the newly minted Magia. Without a second thought, she took it and leaned a bit against Vatz to help with her own balance.

“You’re doing good, now let’s try to go a bit higher, but don’t close your eyes.”

Porpora abided, imagining herself going higher every time while never taking her sight away from the mascot in front, she was a bit scared of heights, specifically when your feet weren’t on the floor.

Eventually Vatz signaled her to stop ascending and letting go of one of Porpora’s hands, went to one side.

“Good! Now let’s try going forward, we don’t need to rush, so go slowly until you get used to it. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”

Porpora was a lot calmer now, Vatz reassurance helped her catch up to her situation, she was flying, she really was a Magia. The happiness she felt was nothing she could describe. As she started moving forward, Porpora caught a glimpse of the city of Sendai beneath her, the buildings seemed smaller and she could just see the people and cars moving around the city, it was unlike any mockup models of cities she saw on documentaries and the Magia museum she frequents from time to time. Entranced by the sight, she didn’t notice when Vatz’s hand had left her own.

“We’e almost there! This way!” Said Vatz, farther away from what Porpora was expecting.

“Uh, y-yes!”

[“I’m really flying!!!”]

Porpora was so happy she could cry, but she also felt anxiety starting to build on her chest the closer she got to her destination. She was going to meet Tres Magia, her idols. Would she really be accepted? Vatz said it’d be fine, but she simply couldn't know, she was afraid. What if they found her a nuisance? Or if they got weirded out and ostracized her from the team when they discovered her hobby? Did she even have the confidence to start a conversation with them? The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to stop, tell Vatz it was all a mistake and run away, but she couldn't, not after all of this.

Tres Magia stood on a rooftop having just finished a demon that had just appeared.

“Damn, after the signal they sent, I thought it would be stronger, but is this the best Enormeeta has? Just a small fry.” Said a somewhat annoyed Sulfur, scratching the back of her head with her yellow glove.

“It’s certainly weird, we shouldn’t let our guard just yet though.” Answered Azul, still on guard for any follow up.

“Always the responsible one, anyways Magenta, has Vatz-han toldya what she wanted, so I can go home?”

“She only told me she had something to discuss with us in person, she should be arriving soon, but it’s weird she hasn’t portaled in. Oh! Here she comes!” Magenta said pointing in the direction of the mascot.

The trio saw their mascot arrive with company trailing just behind her, suddenly the three of them thought it may be more serious than what they initially thought. Why else would she arrive with another Magia in tow? And there was still the thing with the portal, or lack thereof.

“Hello! I hope I didn’t make you wait too long.” Said Vatz as she slowly descended with her companion, still making sure Porpora didn’t crash land by accident.

“So, you’re aware you made us wait.” Said Sulfur with a sarcastic tone. “Just tell us what’s going on and why the theatrics.”

Her two teammates nodded, paying no mind to their friend’s tone.

“Sorry, I had something to do first. On that note let me introduce you to a new Magia I just recruited.”

Feeling it was her cue, Porpora took a step and introduced herself.

“Nice to meet you. My name is P-porpora…” Porpora’s mind froze, what else what she supposed to say? She didn’t have time to practice this.

“Nice to meet you, Poporpora!!” Enthusiastically said Magenta, completely missing the nervousness of the Magia before her.

“Ehhh, Magenta… I think she meant just Porpora, you now, like the color…” whispered Azul on her teammate’s ear, hoping to be as tactful as possible.

“Ah! Sorry Porpora, I misheard you.”

Azul put her glove over her face, tact be dammed.

“So, since when are ya on the business of looking for new members? We’re handling the demons quite well, even dispatched one just now.” Sulfur remarked, suspicious of the mascot’s intentions.

“Since now actually. You three may not understand it since you’ve been Magias from rather recently, but the Magic signal from before is something just a handful of beings can actually be dismissive about.

I was worried so teleported here hoping to get you three out of the city, but it was peaceful, I could also sense your magic, so you were safe.”

“Wait, you make it sound like it was more than the small fry we just defeated, and what does that have to do with that girl?”

Sulfur was starting to panic at the mascot’s grave tone. Magenta and Azul patted her shoulders hoping to calm her down, but they couldn’t deny the gravity of what was being revealed to them.

“I don’t know what caused the signal, but the fact it’s peaceful means whatever it was, is hiding.

As for Porpora, I noticed her while I was investigating, she may be new to all this, but she’s got potential. I thought that by bringing her into the team you could face whatever new threat appears, at least until the guild gets here.

This is a selfish of me, but please, teach her the ropes. She can be a bit awkward, but she will be a great addition to the team.” Vatz bowed her head, pleading with the trio.

“Well, you’re already writing us off, so why not call the guild now and have them investigate?” Spat Sulfur, clearly annoyed at being looked down upon.

Magenta and Azul disapproved of the tone their friend was taking with Vatz, but Sulfur had a point, so they didn’t comment on it. Still, they kept their grip on Sulfur’s shoulders on the off chance she decided to lounge at someone.

“The Magia Guild are only permitted entrance into the country when a crisis is confirmed, a signal only Magia feel is not justification enough. Also, I’m not dismissing your abilities, it’s just that I don’t have enough information and there are also other incidents throughout the country. I simply don’t know what’s going on.”

Vatz’s apologetic tone made Sulfur rethink what the mascot was saying, maybe she was being too harsh. If Vatz was asking them to take a promising member just to be sure, then maybe she shouldn’t make such a fuss, also the candidate in question has remained silent this whole time, she must have nerves of steel to take everything that’s been said.

After some silent pondering from the trio, Azul stepped up.

“If Vatz suggests we take her, I don’t see why we shouldn’t. Regardless of what this new threat is, we have been dealing with the average demon very well, it won’t be an issue to train her.”

“So welcome to the team Porpora!!” Magenta exclaimed, as if the previous revelations had never happened. “You don’t mind, right Sulfur?”

“You’re the leader, I don’t mind.” Sulfur was a bit flustered with Magenta’s unexpected consideration for her, as she was somewhat impulsive, but was also exasperated that she asked after accepting Porpora into the team.

The trio looked expectant towards their new teammate, but with time they as well as Vatz noticed what was going on, Porpora was standing there, at least her body was, none of them knew where her mind had flown off to during this entire exchange.

The four acknowledged the path to Porpora’s training was a long and arduous one.

Chapter Text

[“This was supposed to be the end!”]

Thought Utena, as she saw the dark form Magenta took in front of her. Her previous screams were still ringing in her ears. She'd finally done it; she crossed the line she should've never crossed. She remembered that night in the park where Azul almost broke, the disgust and disapprovement of such a vile route still on her mind. Yet here she was, she lost control of herself and now Magenta has been sullied. Her frilly white dress long gone now replaced by a skimpy black gown, her pink frills now pulsating with dark magic, as if hiding a will of their own, worst of all her vacant face was now contorted into a lascivious smile while impure thoughts flowed into Utena's mind.

[DON'T LIE]

[“Is this what I wanted? No! It can't be!”]

She couldn't believe it; her body was out of control and all she could feel was lust. Endless lust after the girls she'd seen struggle all this time, all her near victories against Demons, all their defeats against her, their growth, all of it now in danger of being sullied by her. This was supposed to be the greatest peak in their career, finally defeating their biggest enemy, the leaderess of Enormeeta non he less. Just what was she doing? What was the ugly flower trying to achieve? The idea of Tres Magia panting on all fours, begging for her ministrations, corrupted and defiled, flashed through Utena's mind.

[“This is wrong”]

[YOU CAN FEEL IT AS WELL]

[LET HER TASTE FREEDOM]

Sulfur and Azul lounged themselves at Baiser, but Magenta stood in between them, moving like a puppet as it got used to moving by itself for the first time. Bewildered, they stopped for a moment, the last mistake Tres Magia ever committed.

The husked Magenta used that opening to swat Azul away and immobilized Sulfur with her empowered Frills, having grown far stronger than any La Verita. Feeling the overwhelming difference in strength Sulfur tried to reason with her teammate while being straddled and looked down upon by a predatory gaze.

"Mage...nta..."

"I'm beggin' ya..."

"Open... Your eyes..."

Those were the last words that left Sulfur's lips before the puppet sealed them with her own. Not bothering on being gentle, it pried open her former teammate’s mouth and penetrated deep within it with her own tongue. Sulfur was stunned, her initial resistance while commendable it was ultimately pointless, the longer the intrusion went on, the more she wanted to melt into a kiss. Still conflicted Sulfur felt her own strength leaving her body and a sinuous hand reaching up her dress.

Sensing its prey defenseless, the Husk placed its knee between Sulfur's legs and, as if following a preordained natural order, prepared to inject its new darkness deep into the wanting mess of a Magia restrained under her weight. Without facing any resistance, the Husk ripped of her victim's qipao. Momentarily separating itself from the Magia and went down on the small, firm breasts under it, slowly kneading them and punctuating her ministrations with a slow yet sensual bite on each of them. Every time injecting small amounts of dark magic into the girl under its restraint. Sensing the switch resulting from the progressing corruption of being beneath it, the Husk lowered its hips, forcing the opposing legs open before maniacally kissing the presence before it on the mouth and plunging one of its cursed pigtails deep into the damp crevice soiling and pressed against its bedeviled gown.

[DONT LOOK AWAY]

[“shut up...”]

How could she not? This rampage had already claimed two of her precious Magias, was she any different to Lord Enorme? Maybe, the fate of a defeated magical girl was better than this. Utena couldn't bear to watch, this wasn't the Magenta she idolized. Magenta stood for justice, not this debauchery. Utena braced herself, an intertwined mess of flesh and fluids marking Sulfur's fall.

[WE'RE NOT DONE]

[“...”]

The ugly flower's body moved with purpose towards the last one remaining of the trio. Yet Utena couldn't stop it as more emotions flowed into her, none of them pure. Utena realized the sinister implication of what laid behind her but didn't have the courage nor the strength to force the rampaging body to look over.

Azul didn't stand a chance, she had taken too much damage from Enormeeta, wasted too much energy. Magenta didn't heal her enough to deal with Baiser's new transformation; a net of darkness captured her swift and tightly. Azul was at a loss, this wasn't the Baiser from before, she was completely different. Baiser respected their roles, took pride in it even, just who was the Magia in front of her? Blissfully ignorant to her teammates’ fate, she addressed the demon.

"Magia Bais-!"

A flurry of slashes impacted Azul, it hurts her, this wasn't Baiser's usual ministrations, she couldn't feel her love, her devotion. It was pain with the only purpose of delivering her body's twisted notion of ectasis. Too late did Azul understand her position, her knees turned weak, but her restraints wouldn't budge, leaving her slightly dangling over the floor, completely defenseless. But the slashes didn't stop, with every impact discovering new points from where to feel pleasure. The dark magic scorched her skin, the lingering heat seared into her mind, not allowing her a moment of rest from the barrage of pain.

[“ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts”]

Azul couldn't comprehend what was happening, she felt pain well beyond what she could imagine as her bottom gushed with unfathomable pleasure. A thought crept into her mind, one she feared on letting out as it would deny what she stands for, the same folly she committed back then on the panda park ['Mistress']. Azul felt truly exposed, her destroyed attire aside, she couldn't defend herself against her foe, couldn't stop nor hide the uncontrollable flood coming from her core, she failed at her role, she wanted for Baiser again. In a fleeting corner of her mind, Azul wanted her old enemy back to scold her for her trespass, but that also wouldn't last.

[SEE? THIS KIND OF PLEASURE CAN ONLY EVER BE CALLED RIGHT]

[“please.... stop...”]

Barely conscious, Azul saw Baiser approach her with a lascivious tongue flexing her unnatural length. As a last show of resistance, Azul tried to stand up to the monster in front of her, tried to break free, but her body failed her, her strength long gone from incessant leaking, fear and expectation washed over her.

Baiser got on her knees and guzzled the leaking Magia, her newly prolongated muscle reaching far into her victim's insides.

"Aaahh..."

As if answering Azul's moans, the ugly flower moved up to seal those wanting lips while mending darkness into the Magia. As Azul battled with the cursed tongue rampaging all the way to her throat, she suddenly felt searing pain from within her skin, tentacles of darkness wrapped around her body and tied to enter her any way possible, penetrating her ears, flooding her nose, forcing her wounds open, injecting themselves through her pores. Azul was defiled from every hole in her body.

Tres Magia ended to a symphony of pain and pleasure.

[YOU FEEL THEM AS WELL, THEIR LUST FLOW INTO US]

[LET'S BE TRUE TO OURSELVES AND LET THE WORLD FEEL THE SAME]

While reveling on her craft, Baiser was reached by a furious explosion.

"BAISER-CHAN!!"

"Seriously what the HECK are you doing? It makes no sense, it's not cute and it's DEFINITELY not cool!"

"This Baiser-chan SUCKS!!"

Utena fixed her gaze towards her bandaged friend, the very first friend she ever made, and despaired.

Would her friends also be defiled by her lust? She didn't want to do something so terrible to Kiwi, she didn't want to sully her relationship with Nemo and Matama, she can't stand doing something to Korisu.

[“NOoooooooo!!”]

The nightmarish battlefield was awash by light.

When Utena came to her senses she was in the middle of a rather familiar sidewalk, the afternoon sun and a familiar school bell forcing her out of her stupor.

"What happened?"

Confused, she remembered the time, had she already watered the flowers from the gardening club?

Was she too tired from school exams? Kiwi had helped her cram a lot of material on top of her usual villain play, maybe it was just a weird daydream, she wouldn't have done something like that regardless. Tres Magia were her idols after all, what higher honor would there be than to be defeated by them after an all-out battle? Yes, this was what she wanted.

Utena walked through the gate inside the school, thinking she had simply dozed off and forgotten part of her routine. She was the only member of the club that did some work, the flowers were her responsibility. As she approached the gardening shed, she noticed someone already watering her flowers. A small lanky girl, with a shy look on her face stood where Utena would normally be. The more Utena watched the more confused she was, why did the girl watering the flowers look so much like her?

"I always wished I could be like them..."

"Would you like to try? Transforming yourself."

Utena recognized this scenario, she had to stop this before it was too late. But could she really stand up to Venalita when she gets like this?

"Hiiragi Utena! A chosen power resides within you."

What did she just say? Just what is that mascot playing at? Calling her by her real name and all.

Utena started walking toward the duo, hoping to get an explanation from the mascot, but before she could be spotted a blinding light covered the school yard. As the light subsided, a newly born Magia stood in the middle of the school yard, her white outfit accentuated by a purple frilly skirt and purple gloves, matching the style Utena was so familiar with, being escorted by a white mascot with a pink heart motive. Instinctively Utena hid herself behind the school building and started running away, her mind not understanding what she just witnessed.

"Let's go then, I'll present you to Tres Magia, have you thought of a name for yourself?"

"Y-yes! Porpora, I'll be Magia Porpora!!"

Those were the last words Utena managed to gather before she followed her feet into the outskirts of the city, unaware of what she would encounter and the effects her presence would have on the fate of everyone she once knew.

Chapter Text

“Are you ok?” asked a mildly concerned Azul.

“Y-yes!”

“Then, from the beginning, do you remember what we were talking about?” Sulfur interjected.

“Huh?”

“We were welcoming you into the team!!” Magenta’s enthusiasm shinning in stark contrast with her teammates’ more reserved attitude.

“Ah.. y-yes, thank you for having me”

“It’s impressive how collected you are, I can only wonder why we had to repeat it three times.” Sulfur spat the words, sarcasm and doubt towards Vatz recommendation clear for anyone to see.

Vatz remained silent, having no way to defend herself, her protégée had to be rebooted three times already.

“Now now, since we’ve come this far, how about we go with introductions!!” Magenta said cheerfully, proceeding to place her hand over her Magia Heart before being forcefully stopped by Azul. “Huh? What’s the matter Azul?”

“Normally I wouldn’t stop you, but since we have a phantom threat on our hands it’s better to be careful, even if you think no one will see you on this rooftop, I suggest to go to our training grounds first.” Azul reasoned, still weary of any attack.

“I concur, it may not be much, but using the forest cover would be best.” Vatz added, hoping to regain some authority in the eyes of Tres Magia.

Magenta lowered her hand dejectedly before rebounding into her cheery personality as it came as natural as breathing. “Ok, Porpora!! Follow us!!”

Magenta flew us, not waiting for her teammates nor the recruit she just invited.

“H-huh? Should I g-go? What about you two?” Porpora stuttered, uncertain as the group just divided thanks to an overexcited Magenta.

“Don’t mind her, we’ll show the way, so go at your own pace, you are new, so we don’t expect you to master flight right off the bat.” Azul reassured her nervous junior.

“Yeah, it’s not like you’ll do much starting out.” Said Sulfur, still taking shots at the apologetic Mascot.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” Porpora bowed her head instinctively.

“We all start somewhere, it took me some time to fly, so please don’t apologize.” Azul sensed her new teammate might be reading too much into what Sulfur was saying and getting depressed about it.

“Sorry…”

It was explicitly not the answer Azul wanted, but as she was about to retort a certain Magia had realized no one had followed her.

“Guys… let’s go….” Magenta was a bit hurt by the fact but still tried her best.

“A-ah Yes!” Porpora took flight hoping to please the Magia, matching her speed without a second thought.

[““She’s fast””]

Both Azul and Sulfur gawked at Porpora flying without any issue, when the norm would be to see Porpora flailing around while fighting the vertigo that came with flight magic, maybe Vatz wasn’t so wrong about her. Remembering they too had to go, they took flight as Sulfur sensed a smug mascot behind her, as if finally, mockingly saying “Told ya”.

After a short flight, the Magia reached a forest area adjacent to the Minakami shrine, as they descended into the forest, Porpora noticed a translucent dome covering her landing spot.

“Huh? What’s that?” asked Porpora hoping it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

“Don’t worry, it’s the barrier hiding our training grounds, it makes it look like a normal forest from the outside.” Azul reassured the concerned Magia.

As they continued their descent, Porpora saw the landscape change before her eyes, beneath her was a clearing next to a waterfall, if she paid attention to the ground, she could distinguish the odd crater, evidence of her teammates’ growth.

Finally landing, Magenta bounced on place. “Now that we are here, we can start with the introductions!!” and proceeded to transform back into her school attire “Hanabishi Haruka, nice to meet you!!!”

[Porpora.exe has stopped responding]

“Not again!!!” Sulfur shot an accusatory glance towards the mascot.

“Huh? Did something happen? Wait Hanabishi? Why are you here?” Porpora asked, her previous crash not letting her make the connection.

“I’m Magia Magenta…” answered Haruka, unsure on how to break the news to her teammate. “Since you know me, we must be in the same school right?”

“We’ll be going at a snail pace at this rate, it’s better to rip the band aid off.” Proposed Azul and transformed back into her school uniform, Sulfur following her beat.

“Tenkawa Kaoruko, nice to meet ya.”

“Minakami Sayo” she acted before Porpora had time to react, or crash. “Now why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“Ah y-yes!” Porpora reached for her Magia Heart, her brain still processing the revelations of the past minute. “Hiiragi Utena, nice to meet y…”

“The wall plant!!!!” Kaoruko shouted almost instinctively.

“Ah yes, sorrytointrudeI’llmakesureyouwon’tevennoticeme…” Porpora muttered as she squatted down and started drawing circles in the ground.

“Don’t take it to heart Utena, it only came as a surprise that you are the new Magia, I’m glad to be working with you.” Sayo reached towards Utena, finally understanding why Porpora acted like she did, it was Utena all along.

“Thank you, Minakami-sa..”

“Sayo” she interrupted “You don’t have to be so formal since we’ll be working together as Magia, call me Sayo.”

“O-of course, Minaka… S-sayo.” Replied Utena, clearly flustered at calling someone by their name.

“You also don’t have to worry about formalities with us, Haruka and Kaoruko is fine!!” Haruka added while Kaoruko just nodded, her input cleanly summarized by her friend.

“Y-yes, nice to be working with you two” Utena somehow managed to catch up on her situation, acknowledging her three classmates as fellow Magia.

“So now that you’re all acquainted, I’ll take my leave, I still need to find a way to reinforce the patrols in other cities with everything going on, maybe I’ll ask Lux to come up with a loophole… anyway, please show Utena the ropes.” Vatz said finally before excusing herself out of the training grounds through a portal.

“Vatz really is busy, isn’t she?” Haruka remarked, wishing the best for their manager.

“Yeah… she even started talking to herself midway through, who even is Lux?” Sulfur wondered, not hoping on receiving any kind of answer of the topic.

“You mean the Magia Lux?!” Utena jumped at the mention of the name.

“You know about her?” questioned Azul, she was aware of the team’s scarce knowledge on the world of Magia, personally she was too focused on defeating the appearing demons and keeping morale on the city through PR campaigns and photo shoots, Kaoruko for her part was more invested in the fighting side of being a Magia, while Haruka enjoyed herself in the team dynamic and seeing kids point at her and smile, they really hadn’t considered the world outside of the city. Any useful information could be critical considering the looming threat Vatz mentioned.

“Magia Lux is the vice-president of the Magia Guild and the longest serving Magia in the world, having persevered through multiple crisis class villains all around the world, she started off i…”

“Maybe we don’t need her entire CV.” Interjected Kaoruko “but how do you know so much on the topic?”

Utena lowered her gaze and muttered: “it’s kinda my hobby…” she messed up, she was overeager to talk about Magias, but any normal person would distance themselves from someone like her, she knew her classmates were otherwise normal, they’ll naturally look at her weird.

“That’s so cool!! So, you know a lot about other Magias, do you also now about their villains, like attacks and stuff??” Haruka was overjoyed, she had been worried ever since Vatz’s announcement, but if a Magia bookworm like Utena was on their team, they could maybe plan something around it.

“Ah, y-yes, I know a little bit about the most notable one’s, mostly how they’re classified, but not their specific movements..” Utena was still cautious, waiting for a stronger rejection down the line.

“How about us? Do you think we could fight off a crisis?” Sayo interjected, she needed a second opinion on Vatz’s assessment of their team.

“Ehhh… objectively speaking…. I… find it unlikely… your longest fight lasted 2 hours and 34 minutes against a mid-level demon, after which Sulfur wasn’t spotted for an entire week….” Utena was afraid to insult her new teammates, but she couldn’t exactly lie to them on this topic.

“Mid-level demon?” Sayo was unaware of such classification “Could you explain what you mean by that?”

“D-demons are strong across the board, but their intelligence varies, the more intelligent they are the more difficult they are to defeat, they are divided amongst fans between lesser, low, middle and high level, a crisis starts being considered when a high-level or above appear… Ah right, after a certain threshold high-level demons start calling themselves daemons as well as using titles alluding to domains such as Baronies or Dukedoms…daemons are the most dangerous alongside witches…” Utena started rapid firing information, clearly passionate having someone to talk about it.

“So we’re supposed to bunker down and wait for some old fart of the guild to bail us out? if I could’ve used my fists back then we could’ve fought some high-level or whatever.” Kaoruko was clearly stumped, realizing how small she was compared to the wider world.

“Now now, I’m sure Utena knows what she’s talking about, but something about those daemons sounds familiar, wasn’t there some story about one coming to Sendai long ago?” Haruka tried to appease Kaoruko while still letting the conversation go on.

All eyes were on Utena, trusting what she would say next, normally she would’ve blacked out, she’d done as much every time she bit her tongue while reading out loud during class, but seeing her idols turning to her for help gave her more courage than she would normally have.

“30 years ago, the Palette Troupe were on charge of this city, they defeated a daemon Duke and were even rumored to be invited by the Guild since not many could achieve such a feat, but they disbanded shortly afterwards. Rumor is, they were heavily injured after the fight and couldn’t continue.”

The inquisitive trio remained silent, the possibility of being maimed during battle dawned on them.

“And the Guild? How long would they take to get here?” Azul followed up, trying to clear the growing despair from her mind.

“Since Magias move through portals the biggest time sinks are assessing and declaring the crisis and setting up the strike team, aside from Magia Lux, who can fight alone, they average 25-30 minutes.”

Vatz’s words echoed in the trio’s mind “[..] the Magic signal from before is something a handful of beings can actually be dismissive about.” Beings not people, if what Vatz’s said was true, they were against a truly dangerous enemy, and they were supposed to delay it by 30 minutes? Was that even possible? If so, what role would’ve played Utena if the fight were to be imminent as Vatz initially feared?

“Utena, you also mentioned witches, what’s with them? They seem unrelated to daemons…” Haruka started grasping the severity of their situation, as such anything would help their chances.

“I.. don’t know… We go by what the villains call themselves, since daemons and witches appearing are rare, the recordings of their fight even more so, we only know their name, it’s likely only a witch know what it means to be one…” Utena was apologetic, she had to disappoint her idols. “I-I could still browse the forums for more information, there are some that will tell you anything for a price, anything to-”

“It’s okay Utena, it’s also our fault for being complacent, you don’t need to burden yourself like that” Sayo tried to calm down her new teammate, knowing her she would shoulder the world’s weight if she didn’t stop her.

"I'm not one for all this doom and gloom" said Kaoruko, hoping to alleviate the mood. "We're going to have to fight regardless, crisis or not, there's still some time, so let's get you some training Utena."

"Either be a front liner or an escape artist!! Pick a lane and STAY in it!!!!"

"Soooorrrrrryyyyyyyy!!!!!"

Screams echoed over the forest clearing, Porpora running away from an enraged Sulfur, donning her fire gauntlets.

Porpora had made a grave mistake, she only knew what she knew from the forums, Sulfur used barriers, any Tres Magia fan would answer the same thing, so when Kaoruko had proposed training, Porpora had assumed she would be trained by either Magenta or Azul, case being, Sulfur didn't take kindly to being dismissed, especially when Porpora justified her assumption with "you fight with barriers so..." And neither Magenta nor Azul dared try and stop Sulfur from forcing Porpora to train with her.

"I must say, I pictured you would be handling training since she's using a naginata, but maybe Sulfur is the best match with how natural she is at running away" Azul remarked, half impressed.

"It'll be a joint effort at best, she's only running away, maybe we'll need to look into some martial arts training since it's such a specific weapon, and we also have to train as well after all, could I trust you to think of something for us, Azul? " Magenta spoke, showing why she's the leader.

"Say it ya CUNT, say I can only use barriers, say Magenta is better, SAY IT!!"

"I'm. sorry. Please. don't. kill. meeee!!!" Said Porpora, desperately evading the flurry of punches.

"Okay girls!! It's already late, so let's wrap it up!!" Announced Magenta, worried Porpora might actually die.

"Tch" Sulfur was clearly annoyed, not being able to get a single hit on the newbie was weighing on her, moreover she could picture that mascot sneering at her.

"Now that I remember, Utena, have you told your parents you'd be late today? Training did take a while." Sayo remarked, hoping she could guide Utena in what's common practice among them.

"Ah, yes I'll call them."  Utena took out her phone, almost dropping it in the process. "Huh? My SIM was duplicated?"

"Let me see. " Sayo took a peek, wanting to help "Probably your SIM could be damaged, don't worry, just show your parents, we can use it as an excuse as to why you haven’t contacted them but it may be best if one of us goes with you, that way they won't be worried in the future. I could go with you."

"Where do you live anyway? If it's close to one of us, they could accompany you." asked Haruka, deep down wishing it wasn't Kaoruko.

"Near Panda Park..." shyly answered Utena

"Ah!! That's near the bakery, so I'll walk you home Utena!!" Haruka was overjoyed, she had an opportunity to gain insight on how Utena was at home, that way she could adjust the team according.

Having lost the walking the newbie home lottery, Sayo proceeded to appease Kaoruko as she saw the two of them off, not that she had an actual chance since the training grounds were behind her house.

Utena was growing anxious as she reached the Panda Park alongside Haruka, through the journey home Utena had trouble coming up with a proper explanation she could tell her mother, it’s the first time she had come home late without telling her beforehand, would her mother believe she spent the afternoon with some classmate? The only mercy being that Haruka would only introduce herself; it’s not like she will tour her room and see her copious amount of Magia merchandise.

“So, which way from here?” Haruka was as enthusiastic as normal, only just now reminding Utena she’d have to guide the way from this point onward.

“A-ah, right! T-this way…” Anxiety looming over her.

The two of them finally reached a small black gate among a line of houses, the placard on the postbox reading [Hiiragi], seeing a car parked through the garage door Utena knew her mom was already home, hopefully she wouldn’t scold her right at the door.

Utena got her keys out and proceeded to open the front door. “I’m home…”

“Ah, hello sweety! How was the exhibition, did you found anything you liked?” replied Mrs. Hiiragi, completely unfazed by the late hour.

Just then the idea had dawned in Utena, her mother knew a Magia exhibition opened today, she knew Utena would go, but Utena hadn’t told her that she had won a VIP ticket for an early tour yesterday and had ditched her gardening duties after school, so of course she hadn’t suspected anything.

“A-ah.. n… you see… today I w-was…” Utena muttered having not come up with a proper explanation.

“Nice to meet you Mrs. Hiiragi!! We were spending time together after school!!” Haruka intervened, sensing the conversation wouldn’t go anywhere at this rate.

“…” Mrs. Hiiragi was stunned at the sight of her daughter bringing someone home “A-ah! Sorry, you are one of the Hanabishi’s right? I always pass by your bakery! Nice to meet you!”

“Yes! Thank you for your patronage! Utena is pretty fun to hang with, so I wanted to introduce myself!!” Haruka replied, sensing the two were indeed related.

“I’m glad to know my daughter has someone to hang out with. Sweety! Why don’t you show Hanabishi to your room. I’ll bring you some tea and cookies so make yourself home!” Mrs. Hiiragi offered, knowing full well what that entailed.

“Eeeehhh… I-I don’t think that’s a goo-” Utena was horrified at the idea, but before she could express it-

“Let’s go Utena!! Show me the way!!” Haruka quickly grabbed Utena and whisked her away, contrary to what was said.

[“I know Utena didn’t want to, but she has to open up to someone, thankfully is one of the Hanabishi’s so she’ll be more understanding, I just hope I didn’t rush their relationship…”] Mrs. Hiiragi thought to herself as she prepared tea and fetched the cookie jar [“Maybe I’ll make Utena her favorite dish for dinner tomorrow.”]

Haruka halted upon opening the bedroom door, everything made sense as to why Utena never spoke about herself, but it was still a bit much. Haruka had never seen her face plastered so many times in any room, by the time she turned to face Utena she was already squatted in the far corner of the hallway.

“I’m sorry-y… you won’t have to see me again, it’s a bitlatebutI’msureIcouldtransfersomewher-…”

“No!! You don’t need to! I won’t say it’s not perplexing, but I won’t push you away… I’m not asking you to open yourself to everyone, I understand you have your reservations but…” Haruka had to act fast, Utena wouldn’t integrate into the team otherwise. “You don’t have to be alone anymore! I’ve seen how you passionately water the school flowers every morning and I’m sure you’re just as earnest with your hobby, so I won’t judge you, I won’t shame you nor will Sayo and Kaoruko, so please, don’t shy away from us, because we won’t push you away Utena!”

Haruka wasn’t certain if she had conveyed her message but decided to push forward regardless. “C’mon Utena, let’s enjoy some cookies and tea!”

To Utena, Haruka seemed like a guiding light, once again she realized why she obsessed over Magenta, over Tres Magia, those who embody justice and hope, maybe she also could hope for something else, to be herself for once instead of the ‘wall plant’ she was known as, as Porpora, as Hiiragi Utena, she can be brave.

Utena stood and looking at Haruka in the eye, she proposed “Haruka, would you like to hear me out?”

“Of course!!”

Haruka left the Hiiragi household; her mind filled with the entire lore of the first season of Magical Mimiru, all 39 episodes, but among the overwhelming amount of information she just gained, she was happy, sensing she understood Utena better than the last two years of middle school and reminiscing of a promise she made that afternoon. [“When it comes out, promise me to buy a poster with the four of us”]

Utena stood in her front door, waving farewell to her new friend, not noticing the person behind her. Suddenly she felt a familiar warmth as a couple of arms wrapped around her.

“I’m so happy for you, far from thinking you would bring a friend home, I’m… just so happy… that you finally trusted someone with who you are.” Utena’s mom started sobbing, the weight of her worries finally being lifted from her shoulders. She knew her daughter didn’t connect with people, instead she focused on Magia to quell that loneliness, but she didn’t know what to do when Utena wouldn’t be open even with her. She couldn’t be more grateful to Hanabishi for reaching out to her daughter, even after learning the truth. Though Hiiragi Kana wouldn’t spill to her daughter that she could hear everything from the kitchen, even the fact that there were two more in her friend group, she was too happy for her daughter to tease her at this point.

Utena was startled at first but after a moment she accepted the embrace, when was the last time they had hugged like this? Looking back at the day now ending before her eyes, she had joined Tres Magia, made new friends, discover and cower in fear at Sulfur’s secret, overall, it was pretty hectic, but being embraced by her mom certainly gave her some peace of mind, thinking everything would work itself out no matter what difficulties laid in the future. “Yes mom, I’m… not alone… I’ve… made a friend…” Utena could barely keep herself together, even less so the moment her mom started crying.

“How do you feel about dinner? We have a lot to talk about” Kana said with a smile.

“I would like that too, mom!” Utena acknowledged, sensing it had been a while since the two of them had a proper talk over dinner, no Magical Mimiru nor Magia to be mentioned.

The sun sat as the two of them headed to the cozy dining room, Utena feeling warmth in her chest she had forgotten she used to feel, their laughs resonating throughout the house, hopeful of what tomorrow would bring.

Somewhere in the night two creatures conversed.

“How are things on your end?”

“We’ll be done in a couple of months, have you made contact with the vessel?”

“It’s no good, Vatz got a leg up on us and recruited her, I got some other candidates so it’s not like we lost our strongest, but something just entered the city, and it started moving as well, there’s trouble brewing.”

 “We can’t continue without a vessel, since I can’t stop her now that she’s on a power trip, the guild might step up at any point, better contact your next candidate sooner rather than later.”

“I think we’ll be better off if you try and convince her to stop and gather the legion’s strength before she angers a superior being.”

“She won’t abide by such thing, it’s so unfortunate that she’s drunk on power.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the other side of the negotiations, after all, no one wants the guild on their business.”

Chapter Text

By the time Utena came to her senses, she was standing it was already dusk, she stood in the middle of a deserted park she didn’t recognize. Spotting a bench nearby she took a seat and started going over what happened this afternoon, her panic having subsided.

Going step by step, she lost control of herself, after blanking out she found herself near her school only to see herself watering the flowerbed in the gardening club, and that version of herself became a Magia.

“Porpora… was it?” Utena muttered, the name foreign to her.

[“Maybe this isn’t my world anymore”]

The idea flashed through her mind, she couldn’t wrap her mind around how she managed to end here if that was the case, a doppelganger would be more believable, there was still that giant blank between fighting Tres Magia to stand near the school. Maybe she could research some stuff on her phone, if Kiwi is around, she could figure something out, or maybe everything was an elaborate trick from Korisu, something to help her regain her senses after what she did.

Utena turned on her phone only to receive quite the dire message.

[No Signal]

Upon further scrutiny, Utena noticed she had a notification, after opening it Utena’s jaw dropped.

[Dear customer,

We have detected suspicious activity regarding your SIM card, and as such we have blocked this device’s transmitting function in compliance with our anti-duplication policy.

Please head to one of our centers with your state issued ID and phone contract, for us to issue you a new SIM card.

Kind Regards…]

Utena could barely finish reading the message, if she was inside Alice’s dollhouse, she could grasp why there could be no signal, but this wasn’t it. Her SIM was duplicated? No, she was the duplicate, she truly didn’t belong here.

“C’mon Alice, this game has gone a bit far, I’m ready to talk, so let me out…. Please…”

Utena pleaded to the sky, but the only answer she got was the deafening quietness of the empty park, the violet hush that draped the place and the steadily creeping shadows of nearby trees only accentuating how desolate she felt.

“Pl…ease… I don’t want to be alone…” Utena weakly pleaded, but it went unnoticed by the world.

[“I really messed up, didn’t I?”]

Utena recalled back to when she lost control. She really hurt Tres Magia, so much more than she thought she’d ever would. But she couldn’t feel them, their lust for her and each other, it was just a nasty memory at this point, so maybe they got better by the time she ended up here? Wherever she was.

Looking back, maybe only Kiwi and Korisu should be worried looking for her. Tres Magia should be in no mood to do it and hopefully nothing else. As for Nemo and Matama, are they even friends? Sure, they followed her because she wasn’t Enorme, she just played villain, and they got caught in the crossfire. Matama is more interested in her ever-fleeting idol career and Nemo is there to support her. All in all, it was fun doing that music video even if it failed at the end but, was that enough to call them friends? Right afterwards she remembers Nemo having several complaints for forgetting about them inside the dungeon crawler she bribed Korisu to build. Maybe just more than acquaintances is the right name for it, even if she was shameless in her obsession while she was Baiser, she didn’t really open herself to them.

The more Utena thought about it, she didn’t open herself to anyone. Korisu was clearly lonely and twisted as a result, the last thing she needed was a brazen Baiser acting on all her fetishes in front of her. So, she naturally kept her distance from Korisu, she knew Korisu wanted a playmate over any amount of plushies, she wanted to be one like Kiwi did, but she couldn't.

Then there is Kiwi, her first friend, the one she could trust would want to follow her wherever she went. But that’s it. Kiwi love bombed her constantly, she said in no uncertain terms what she wanted their relationship to be, but Utena didn’t feel the same, she just didn’t have the courage to trample over her feelings, so deep inside her she wanted to reciprocate those feelings, that way she wouldn’t have to be evasive about it or have to be bailed out by Venalita, she wanted it to be true, but it wasn’t.

Kiwi opened herself to her, even though she hated Magias, she accompanied her to the pop-up stores, would hear her retell the 17 seasons and several movies of Magical Mimiru, even partook in their torment of Magenta and told her how much she enjoyed it. But what has she done? Utena simply shielded herself with her hobby so that she wouldn’t have to talk about herself, every damn time, even her mom probably knew more about Magical Mimiru than about her school life. Yes, she was alone at school, anyone could tell, but would they fathom how isolated she truly was? She could count on one hand how many times she spoke a full sentence in a week before becoming Baiser, and not even that was enough for her to attempt to open to others.

She couldn’t blame anyone for it, it is all her fault; being alone, letting Venalita take advantage of her, being such a deplorable friend to Kiwi, losing herself in front of Tres Magia, all of it, that’s what she was.

[“Monster.”]

Yes, she was a monster, deep inside she wanted to force herself to Tres Magia, she was about to force herself on Kiwi, not romantically, like she would’ve wanted. It’s just lust and she wouldn’t have stopped there, eventually she would’ve targeted normal people after running out of Magias and villains to corrupt. Simply because that was her blasphemous yearning, she didn’t dream of love, she craved absolute dominance through lust.

[“I’m a Monster.”]

It didn’t take a heroine of justice to figure out what she felt that time was wrong, she was wrong.

“I’m sorry Mom, I’m defective, I’m a liar, I never trusted you.”

“I’m sorry Kiwi, I was never sincere with you.”

“I’m sorry Korisu, I can’t be that friend you wanted.”

“I’m sorry Matama, Nemo, I wished I could have got to know you better, not as Baiser.”

“I’m sorry everyone, I can’t go back.”

“I’m sorry I’m not worthy for how much you care for me.”

[“Everyone will be better off without me.”]

[“I don’t have anywhere to return to.”]

Utena brought her knees toward her chest and hid her face between her legs, praying for the night to eat her whole.

As the night crept in the streetlamps started to light up with uncaring synchronicity, Utena surmised that eventually a police officer would notice her and ask her what she was doing. Judging by the almost nonexistent foot traffic she must’ve been somewhere near the outskirts of the city.

[“I should leave, if I find a train station I could figure out which direction leads her out of the city”.]

Utena didn’t have anywhere to go in this world, no one would search for her, so it was her duty she wouldn’t be found, even by chance. If she sneaked into a forest reserve without anyone looking for her, she wouldn’t be found for long, and if even if she was, so much time would have passed that even if it traced back to the other her, it would just be treated as a false positive, maybe a statistical wonder, but nothing else.

“Long day, huh?”

Startled by the unknown voice, Utena turned toward the source of the sound. To her left, casually spread over the bench, sat a tall lanky person, donning a yellow jacket, a black T-shirt and jeans, she had a completely forgettable face and held a beer can on her left hand.

“Do you mind?”

Utena didn’t have the mind to deal with the drunkard beside her, if she tried anything with her, Utena could use some of her magic to deal with her. It could bring out Tres Magia to her location, but it’d be over so quickly that she would be long gone.

“Well, in my time I’ve seen plenty of Magias with you same eyes, can’t say it ended well for them.”

Utena was now wary of the person beside her, she found it weird how she hadn’t noticed her approach in the first place, and now she was claiming that Utena was a Magia.

“I’m not a Magia.” Utena flatly denied, maybe then she could figure out if the drunkard really was just that.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you all use a Magia core, fight for some unattainable ideal, tend to break down the moment reality crashes down on them. A Magia is a Magia, regardless of which faction they are in.”

Utena leaped off the bench to that revelation, she wasn’t just a drunkard, was she playing with her? Could Utena even escape? She couldn’t even gauge her opponent’s strength.

“I’m not interested in your squabbles, c’mon, sit down, I won’t bite.”

“What do you want?”

“I just saw a Magia with a pretty grim look to her, and though I could at least hear her out, not like I have anything else to do.”

“It’s none of your business, leave me alone!”

“Sure, but if you would entertain my curiosity for a bit, what will you do then? Disappear somewhere hoping the people that care for you will simply forget?”

Utena was stunned, was she that easy to read? Or maybe it was simply because her Interlocutor had seen it many times before? She wasn’t anything special, her tragedy will only be a number, one of many, but maybe there was still hope, as one among many more.

“What do you know? You haven’t lost what you cherish to your own hands.”

“I don’t know what you may referring, but I do know a bit about loss.”

As the stranger talked, she put the beer down beside her and grabbed her right arm with her left hand, bringing it to her lap, the arm rattling as it moved.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s in your mind? There are things we can’t comprehend until we say them out loud, even if I can’t help you, acknowledging it will help you to move on.”

Utena, sensing she wasn’t in immediate danger, decided to finally take a seat.

“I messed up, I lost control and hurt people I truly respect, not only that, but then I threatened to hurt my friends.”

Utena decided against telling her about being the villain in the situation, or what she saw at school, she just didn’t trust the stranger to be that kindhearted to not have any ulterior motives.

“Well, it’s not that bad, you can always apolo-”

“I enjoyed it!”

“I can’t be trusted near them, I don’t even know if I can keep control if I were to transform again.”

“Hence why you ran away?”

Utena nodded, she must’ve ended up in this world after desperately resisting against hurting her friends.

“Well, only you can help yourself on that matter, but maybe a change of pace could help you find a proper answer.”

“You assume I can’t do that much by myself?”

“Yes, you ran away, remember? And I doubt whatever you where muttering to yourself was any better.”

“And what do you propose?”

“I run a magic shop, on the surface I mostly sell overpriced trinkets to tourist and gullible amateurs, but I also sell proper magic items to the odd sorcerer from time to time.

Point being, I can’t exactly trust the handling of these items to a normal person, there’re also some apartments above the shop that aren’t being used, so it works perfectly for a runaway like you.”

“Why would I work for you?”

“Working helps getting your mind off things, and by meeting customers you get a wider perspective of the world than just your own, you get to afford your own food all the while.”

“I remember saying I lost control of my magic, and you want me to handle magic items?”

“It’s not like they’ll go off by you simply standing besides them. Just don’t poke around them, you know, like when adults tell you, not to press every big red button you see.”

“I-I wouldn’t… besides wouldn’t you get into trouble with the labor office if you were to hire someone like me?”

“Of course, but there’ll be no trouble if I just let you help out around the shop.”

Just how brazen can you get? Not like Utena was one to talk.

“I still don’t know what you win from all of this. What about the apartment lease? Won’t I get in trouble for trespassing?”

“The landlady owes me some favors, so she won’t mind someone living in one of her empty apartments.

As for what I win. I thought I already told you, I need someone to handle magical items, and as a plus I get more free time.”

[“Shameless”]

It was the only thought going through Utena’s head. But thinking back on the offer, it didn’t seem that bad, if she tries to exploit her, Utena can just report her to the labor office, at least if she plays fair, like a Magia would. There was still the issue that she couldn’t gauge how strong the stranger was, but if Tres Magia was anything to go by, she would be able to stand her ground if she went all out like back when she lost control. It was a risk but an acceptable one, maybe she could create an opening if she lured Tres Magia into the fight, it would require quite a lot of collateral damage for her strategy to work, were she to be outmatched by the drunkard. Evidently Utena still had her guard up but couldn’t argue the logic.

“Fine, then show me to your shop… ehhh..”

“Gêl, you can call me Gêl. Also, it’s a pleasure to have you onboard, I don’t expect you to tell me your real name, and since you ran away, your hero name isn’t advisable either, any other name that comes to mind?”

“I don’t care, suit yourself.”

“In that case I’ll call you Irren, nice to meet you.”

As Gêl finished talking she opened a portal in front of the two of them, Utena finally got to sense any magic from her, but it was probably emanating from the portal. Across it, Utena could see it clearly led to a now closed shop, as a further sign of trust, Gêl stood up and headed first towards the gate.

“Let’s go, I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

Utena stepped through the portal, finding herself across an empty narrow street, the shop just a few steps away. From there she could read the yellow placard above its entrance.

[Thousand Year Magic Shop]

The place wasn’t particularly impressive, it was a three-story building, the first one occupied by the magic shop, and the other two just a collection of curtained windows looking into the street, none of which showed any signs of life.

“There really isn’t much foot traffic around these places…” Utena muttered.

“Some would prefer to call it peaceful, not that I mind staying in such an empty place.”

“So, what’s the catch? It’s certainly not normal.” Said Utena in an accusatory tone.

“People can’t help but to be superstitious, apparently the neighborhood is cursed, several people have gone insane in the past, all claiming some sort of supernatural signs and hidden bedeviled regents. But I’ve been around for years, so take that for what it’s worth.” Gêl spoke, as it referring to something as mundane as a Tuesday.

“I-I w-won’t wake up to extra company on the morning, right?” Utena failed to hide her fear.

“Don’t worry, not even the yakuza can convince the homeless to inhabit these buildings. Maybe not the best sales pitch, but it is what it is.”

Utena swore Gêl worked as the creepy head maid of a hunted house every Halloween, at least she hoped all this setup was some sort of cruel joke, but Gêl was really selling the character.

Ignoring the dread her new employee was showing, Gêl proceeded to the side of the shop, where a staircase led up to the apartments.

“I’ll show you the shop tomorrow, as for your apartment, it may be a bit dusty, so be sure to dust off the futon and kitchen appliances before using them.”

Seeing she was being left behind, Utena rushed behind Gêl, hoping she could shove her to the first ghost she spotted, safety first and all.

As they headed to the second floor, Utena noticed how cold the building was, the concrete walls gave it very good insulation, it should be a nice place to live once summer comes around, shame it was apparently cursed.

Gêl stooped in front of the farthest door from the staircase, room 202.

“It should be around here.” She proceeded to lift the entrance mat, taking the door key that laid below and opening the door.

As Utena entered the apartment she noticed it was a 30 sqm, 1 room apartment, with a bath and a kitchenette. It looked like it had internal heating, and besides a closet and a low table, nothing much else.

“Here’s your key, don’t lose it because I don’t know if there are any copies. Also, you haven’t had dinner have you? There should be a conbini two blocks from here, so fetch yourself something.”

As she said this Gêl handed Utena several 10 000-yen bills.

“Your salary will be 400 thousand yen a month, that’s this weeks’ pay, buy what you need.”

“This is a lot… just what are you expecting me to work as?”

“Magic items are dangerous things, think of it as hazard pay, not that I expect you to be hurt too badly as long as you handle them with care.”

It really was one surprise after another with Gêl, so much so, Utena could hardly keep up, did hazard pay include living with ghosts? Maybe that’s why the pay was so good. Also, 'not hurt too badly if handled with care'? Do magic items explode even if you’re careful? Utena was having second thoughts about what she agreed to.

“I’ll be upstairs if you need something, make yourself comfortable.” Just like that, Gêl left Utena as she juggled several questions on her mind.

As Utena finished her instant Noodles, she prepared to lay down the futon in the closet and get some sleep, she had work tomorrow so even if it was a bit early, it was better to avoid oversleeping.

In a moment she found herself on a dim passageway, the low brick ceiling and damp walls, giving the corridor an ominous feel. As if summoned she started walking forward, her every step echoing along her foreboding path.

After a short walk, Baiser entered a large dark hall, too dark to distinguish accurately where the walls or the ceiling started, yet, as if dark forces willed it, the center of the room was clearly visible. On it laid Magia Azul, her lustrous blue hair now disheveled and darkened, her forearms tightly fastened onto her arms, a chain securing her neck through a collar a scant 40 centimeters above the floor, forcing her to rest her weight on her knees and elbows. Clothed only with her signature, now frayed and discolored, blue long-gloves and thigh-high boots, Azul was blindfolded and gagged, leaking from both her lips.

“Did you miss me, my pet?” Baiser asked teasingly, knowing there can only ever be one answer.

Reacting to her Mistress’ voice, the pet made a muffled sound, swinging and thrusting her hips, hoping to convey as much as possible. Baiser didn’t need the answer, she knew perfectly what her pet wanted, all her desires were transmitted directly into Baiser by virtue of the cursed link they now shared.

“Very well, doggy, I will grant you wish and have my way with you.”

Resting her weight against the dog, Baiser circled her arms around Azul’s chest and started painfully pinching and pulling her nipples until dark fluid started flowing out of them, evidence of the darkness circulating inside of the Magia.

“You’ve done so well assimilating it all, let me give you a little reward for this milestone.”

Baiser produced two long needles from its fingers and started horizontally puncturing the dog’s erect nipples, creating a purple flame through its path. Having pierced the nipples from side to side, Baiser morphed her needles into shorter, thicker black barbells with a metallic sheen.

“NGH!!”

 “Continue your good work and I’ll profane your body in new ways, how about a full body tattoo next? Don’t worry I won’t be staining you with ink, that way it’ll hurt more. But right now, we’re still far from done, I’ll pump you full today too.”

Without giving the dog any time to prepare two tentacles materialized and intruded the defenseless holes between the former Magia’s thighs.

“MPHG!!”

“Shhhh, it hurts because your body still has some human in it, but don’t worry, once all your transformations are done I will discard this form myself and reward you, making you bear my spawn.”

As the muffled cacophony developed, the room started lighting up, revealing a girl donning a revealing black gown, long black hair arranged in two drilled pigtails and a sinuous smile that didn’t reach her black eyes and pink irises.

The girl cradled on her lap another, smaller one, her long, blonde hair now dirtied with several dark spots towards the ends, she was completely naked except for a pure white diaper and ripped yellow boots.

“Mam-maa-m.” Said the smaller one, as she hungrily fed from her mother’s exposed chest, black fluid dripping from her mouth.

“You’re doing so good sweetie, I have to reward for being such a good girl.”

The mother slid her long black nails beneath the smaller one’s diaper and with dexterous ability, thrusted two fingers inside the smaller one’s lower lips, knowing what came next. The mother started pumping her fingers, scraping the insides of the smaller one, using the diaper’s elasticity to boost her digits deeper inside.

“Aaamph.”

Feeling the intrusion, the smaller one started feeding more eagerly, while bringing her hand to the mother’s other unmolested breast.

Baiser happily saw the display, it was part of her master work, even if their minds were gone, Baiser treasured her Tres Magia.

[“This isn’t me.”]

The mirage faded as mist being blown away by a fan, leaving Utena standing in the middle of the prairie from that fateful fight, the night sky illuminating the grass beneath her feet.

Scant meters in front of her, on top of a pile of nondescript blackened bodies, sat her.

[YOU FINALLY CAME]

“Were your disgusting fantasies really necessary?” Utena couldn’t hide her hate, there was herself and there was that, since there were two, she wasn’t the monster.

[THEY’RE YOURS TOO, YOU KNOW. I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO TRULY KNOWS YOU.]

“BULLSHIT!!”

The ugly flower descended from her blighted throne, contracting her extruding tentacles into herself, her elongated digits morphing into lanky hands, the low cut long dress shortening, revealing the flower’s black high-heeled boots, the excess darkness wrapping around her forearms into tight finger loop gloves

[Don’t say that, we ARE one, I know what WE want. I accept it, I accept you, even when no one else can] Said the flower, reaching to cope Utena’s cheek with her left.

Utena couldn’t let that thing win, she couldn’t accept it, deep down she didn’t want any of it to be true, even if it was a blatant lie she wouldn’t let that thing say what it wanted.

“Don’t act like you’re all I have, I have Kiwi, and Korisu, there’s also Nemo and Matama, people have accepted me befo-!!”

“This Baiser-chan SUCKS!!”

Utena was startled by the sudden interruption, to one side stood the source of it, a blackened mannequin of Leopard, black bandages covering her body mimicking Utena’s memories of the encounter.

[Are we really? Even our DEAR friend, who professed their love for us SO passionately time AND time again, couldn’t accept US. They never saw us by what we were, only what they wanted us to be. By what WE let them see and know of ourselves. Because WE are not to be understood but worshipped, we’re alone. Face it, I AM everything we have] Said the flower, finally placing her hand on Utena.

Utena’s chest hurt, having no way to refute, she felt the world closing in on her as darkness emanated from the accursed appendage. It was suffocating, the darkness reaching for any entrance to her body. Utena could only look at the bright night sky in despair as it shattered to flashing images of an elongated golden hat flanked by two axes.

Utena woke up drenched in her own sweat, the first lights of early morning illuminating the empty apartment.

“I wished it had been ghosts.”

Chapter Text

<Du sollst den Herrn, deinen Gott, lieben mit deinen ganzen Herzen und mit deiner ganzen Seelen und mit deiner ganzen Verstand.> Dies ist das größte und erste Gebot.

(Mt 22,37-38)

Utena stepped out of the shower and looked at herself on the bathroom mirror, assessing the damage for the first time as she waited for her clothes to dry up after retrieving them from the washing machine beforehand. Addressing what made her most uncomfortable she opened her mouth and noticed her upper canines and tongue to have grown longer than what she remembered, a spiderweb pattern faintly imprinted on the latter. Taking a guess, Utena suspected her mouth opened wider than before. Gazing downwards, all her nails were now a dark shade of purple glimmering under the bathroom light, each one ending in a short, pointed tip. Utena couldn’t be certain, but she felt that her body was more toned than before and had grown taller, whether it was the result of magic or her naturally growing body, she didn’t know.

[“So my body is starting to resemble her… just how long do I have before losing myself completely?”]

Trying to push her negative aside, Utena put on her school uniform, it being the only clothes she had, and went down the stairs to the shop, hoping Gêl would show her around. Noticing the main door to the shop was slightly open, Utena pushed it aside to several aisles of non-descript items, closing her eyes for a moment, she noticed a slight concentration of magic emanating from the shelves, their intensity increasing the further left the shelf was. Looking further into the shop, Utena noticed a body sprawled over the counter, a faint alcohol smell permeating the scene.

“Gêl… good morning… should I have come later?”

“Ah.. Irren, good morning… right I should give you a tour of the shop… trinkets and overpriced items are on your right side, those are for tourist and customers with conspicuously large hats, in the middle there are non-magical ingredients, think frog eyes or whatever… the real stuff is in the back anyway, customers will come to the counter and give you some scientific name so you just fetch it from the back since everything is in alphabetical order, just remember to ask for the volume and concentration… lastly to your left are the different orbs and rune enhanced artifacts, the safety precautions are on the label but the rule of thumb is that gloves and thick rags are your friends when handling them, don’t forget that… You’re free to familiarize yourself with the layout, where is every sort of product and whatnot, any questions I’ll be here.” Gêl recited the script, barely lifting her head from the counter while clearly hungover.

Utena wasn’t particularly fond of her new (drunk) boss, so ignoring her suffering she started asking anything that came to mind as she walked around the store.

“Do I get a uniform? I’ll be troublesome if someone recognizes me from school.”

“There are some clothes in the back… you can also go ahead and buy your own clothes you know?”

“It’s pretty dark in here, mind if I open the curtains?”

“Only if you want to kill me.”

Utena opened the curtains without a second thought.

“The shelves on the far left are behind safety glass; how do you open them?”

“The keys are under the counter; I’d give them to you but my ears ring enough already.”

“What if a customer asks for advice?”

“Play the newbie card, recurring customers already know what they need or will come directly to me… you’ll handle the tourists and sham sorcerers, as well as packaging and deliveries.”

“And what do you do?”

“Brave through the hangover a write the occasional receipt.”

[“How does this place stay open? The boss is a lost cause, who gets hungover on a Thursday?"]

“You mention deliveries, but it’s obvious I don’t have a license.”

“Do you know how to ride a bicycle?”

“What if I said no.”

“Then you’ll learn on the job… don’t worry magic will heal any scrapes and bruises, just don’t damage the packages.”

“Just how brazen can you be?”

“You’ve seen nothing. By the way you’ve already circled the shop 4 times, do you notice anything about the items?”

“Aside the magic signature, little else, also why do you sell Magia Merchandise?”

“Needed to diversify, tourists eat anything that has them on it, not that I know much, so I bought in bulk what I could reliably resell even if they got out of fashion, someone would need a clear file at some point regardless of what’s painted on top.”

Seeing the prices of the so-called trinkets, Utena realize how the shop stayed afloat, they were ridiculously overpriced. Over the shelves with the Magia stationery she could see flashcards taped over the shelf reading 'Exclusive' or 'Limited Stock', though technically true, Utena felt it was stretching the truth, the items were also marked up from what she bought them for over a year ago.

Holding one of the clear files up, she could see Tres Magia, they were posing toward her mid-flight, each in their signature pose. Utena reminisced over what Tres Magia meant to her, how much she admired them, now all her memories were stained with debauchery, and it was all her fault.

“You might want to change clothes soon; I’m going to open the shop.” Gêl announced, kicking Utena from her stupor.

“A-ah, yes! Where are the uniforms?”

“There’s a locker marked as such in the back, look for whatever fits.”

Utena passed by the counter, alcohol still lingering on the air, and headed to the dimly lit backroom. She saw several shelves, all marked with letters, [“So that’s where the ingredients are…”] Utena wanted to explore what laid within those shelves, her knowledge about magic being instinctual at best. Looking further into the room, she noticed several unmarked lockers, most with the locks still on.

Hidden away in a corner, Utena saw the placard that read 'Uniforms', noticing it unlocked Utena pulled the door to several plastic bags, each one sealing a white shirt with green stripes, the sizes marked with masking tape. Spotting the small size, she opened the bag to a musty smell, how much time those clothes had spent tucked away, Utena could only wonder.

Utena wandered out of the backroom donning green pants and the aforementioned shirt, she would most likely be confused with that convenience store clerk than a magic shop’s employee.

“Gêl, are you sure this uniform is from this store?”

“Of course, I bought it some time ago, but it’ll make do, considering it's better than your school uniform.”

“Don't even mention it, I have to wait until Saturday to buy some decent clothes.”

“You don't though, I don't expect any customers on Thursday, you can take care of deliveries, if you leave now you'll probably end by midday, so you can go look for some clothes in the afternoon, I don't mind.”

“Are you seriously expecting me to ride across the city and finish before noon?”

“You know you can use the subway as well, don’t you? Just keep the receipt and I’ll reimburse you.” Gêl produced a bag and some papers from beneath the counter “Here are the packages, the bike is besides the front door, fortunately this time are only frequent customers, so I’ve marked all their addresses on this map, everything is paid in advance, so just leave the deliveries in their post box if it fits, any questions?”

“N-not really… do you mind if it’s unrelated? [When did she prepare all of this?]” Utena was flabbergasted at the uncommonly competent drunkard of her boss, was she so eager to dump her on someone else?

“I don’t mind, just don’t drag it out into business hours.”

“When we met… how did you know I was a Magia?” On hindsight, it puzzled Utena since she was untransformed back then.

“You need to be more aware of your surroundings; it looks to me you’re too complacent with only noticing big outbursts of magic. Just like with the orbs, you can feel some measure of magic anywhere, but not from anyone, with some practice, even recognition inhibiting magic becomes pointless unless you’re actively suppressing your signature.”

Utena started piecing together the events from last night, suddenly it made sense how Gêl had managed to approach her without being noticed, even while drunk, Utena couldn’t deny her new boss was a veteran. In that case, the only question would be why someone so strong ‘wasn’t interested in their squabbles’? But maybe that has something to do with the lingering stench to alcohol, so Utena didn’t want to ask.

As Utena reached towards the black bag, following Gêl’s counsel, she sensed a particularly powerful item, near the bottom of the bag, maybe because of the different magic sources in the shop, she couldn’t differentiate any other items. Confirming her suspicions, Gêl didn’t register to her developing magic senses.

“Seems you’re getting the hang of it.”

A bit embarrassed of getting caught following Gêl’s advice, Utena grabbed the bag and made a beeline to the exit. “Is there an hour I must check out from work?” Utena asked, not wanting to make eye contact.

“Not really, I’ll pay you a weekly flat rate regardless, if anything the shop officially closes at 16:00.”

“Ok, I’m going out.”

Finding a folded bike, right where Gêl had told her with a helmet strapped to one side and a bike lock with a note that read [The combination is 0001], checking the map, she noticed she could ride to most of the addresses just fine, they were even numbered letting her form a path on the map. The last address, however, was far from the other ones, she would need to use the subway, I was also near the city center, so she could go shopping right after finishing work.

[“It’s just a coincidence, right?”]

It seemed too convenient, when did that drunk had time to plan all of this? Utena had found her hungover on the shop counter, was her boss this competent while heavily intoxicated? She would probably track Utena down if she didn’t deliver the packages, especially since she can’t suppress her presence yet, so running away wouldn’t be possible until she did her job. There was also yesterday’s nightmare, she recalls Gêl mentioning something about supernatural signs, was that what woke her up? The memory still sending goosebumps down her spine. The only reason she didn’t inquire about them being, her suspicions that Gêl had something to do with them, after all, she was the only other resident in the neighborhood. Just what did she get herself into? Could she really escape? Why would Gêl had given her so many funds if she wasn’t confident Utena would hang around?

Back then, Utena was simply content with having a roof to sleep under, hoping she could organize her thoughts after calming down. Now, rested and fed, she started to realize the bizarre situation she found herself in. Maybe she could gain some information from these ‘frequent customers’, but she would have to be careful not to give her intentions away.

Having decided on a course of action Utena mounted the now unfolded bike and started traveling to her first destination.

Upon reaching the first house, Utena doubled checked the address, making sure she wasn’t mistaken. While house would be the proper way to call it, it was incredibly lavish while still being in the outskirts of the city. The contrast with the surrounding houses was so stark, Utena could only wonder why someone so well off bothered trying magic, or maybe were they just interested in the trinkets? Utena couldn’t know for sure, since she could only sense one strong magic signal from her backpack.

Ringing the intercom at the side of the main gate, Utena was greeted by an electronic voice.

“Hello”

“Hello, I have a package from the thousand-year magic shop.”

“Leave it in the post box”

After that short exchange the intercom shut off. Utena had hoped to make some small talk with her goals in mind, but it had ended so abruptly she could only give up and do her job.

Opening the bag, she found the package for this address was the first one from the top, it was slender and fitted perfectly in the post box, so Utena had no excuse to bring a person to receive it. She also found a lunch box fitted to the side of the packages, marked as such. Utena didn’t know how to feel towards this, the warmth of the discreet show of kindness, the creepiness over her movements being accurately timed and the mystery of what did that drunk considered lunch, all mixed into one moment.

Utena moved on to her next destination, but had no luck, as every package were slim corrugated boxes, and every time she was told to leave it in the post box. After noticing the pattern Utena could only hope in the orb she knew laid on the bottom of the bag, since that package would be near the city center, she’ll most likely deliver it to an apartment, someone would have to receive it. Even though the idea made her a bit anxious, since it was Gêl she was up against, Utena didn’t know what kind of person had been prepared for her to meet.

Locking the bike near the station, Utena packed her helmet in her lightened bag and went to buy a ticket. Utena reminisced when she could still use her phone, the train ticket, route, estimated time were readily available to her with the push of a button, now she’d spent the morning reading maps and hoping she didn’t get lost on the way, time wasn’t a big concern to her, but it still bugged her not knowing when she’d reach her destination. After deciding on the route she’ll take, Utena bought the ticket accordingly.

The subway wasn’t particularly crammed, so Utena found a seat relatively easy, half mindedly seeing the stations flash one after another, Utena started planning on how she would approach this last customer. It would be best to use that name Gêl had decided for her [“Irren, was it?”], she didn’t want to involve the other her and using Baiser made her recall the illusions that thing had showed her last night. As for the conversation itself, Utena would present herself as a new employee of the shop, maybe inquire about their interest in magic, eventually she’d want to know how they met Gêl. Even if unlikely, if they’d slip on a feat or rumor from that shopkeeper, Utena could use it to assess her chances of running away.

Money aside, Utena had no reason to stay working for the shop, Gêl had pushed her into it while vulnerable, she needed to find a proper place to disappear into, the problem laid on figuring out how fixed was Gêl’s eye on her and how far was she willing to go.

Reaching her station, Utena closed her eyes for a moment, like that she could visualize the magic in the train, she saw it accumulate and linger around her backpack, looking outwards, magic lingered in the air, directionless, everyone in the train car appeared as an empty silhouette, ignorant and unable to interact with magic. Certainly, anyone who could detect magic, would know she carries something special, Utena could only wonder how she looked in the eyes of such people, would it be similar to the orb, magic just lingering around? Or would it take the form of that just like her body has now started resembling? Utena could only wish for the existence of magic mirrors.

Stepping out of the train, Utena followed the signs to exit to the street she needed to go. After a 10-minute walk, Utena faced the first ‘normal’ destination, it was a 5-story apartment complex. Reaching the third floor, Utena’s chest pounded, the anxiety of what she’d face ever more present. Standing in front of the door, Utena looked at the placard reading [Hiroi], confirming she was in the right place one last time, and rang the bell.

“Excuse me! I have a package from the thousand-year magic shop.” Utena announced herself, hoping for an answer other than ‘leave it on the door’.

After a moment that felt excruciatingly eternal a voice could be heard from behind the door.

“C-coming!”

The voice was unexpectedly cheery, Utena feared her arrival was something that person waited for, unconsciously she brought her hand to her pocket, faintly grasping the star shape within.

“I wasn’t expecting the boss to send someone with it, normally she just calls me to pick it up.”

As the door opened, Utena saw the person in question, her voice was youthful, a stark difference from the mature electronic voice that greeted her every other time, the person in question was somewhat taller than her, her long reddish hair was messily gathered in a ponytail and wore a dark blue tracksuit. The young girl around three years her senior.

Utena was stunned, she expected a secretive adult woman to answer, not a NEET who immediately revealed this delivery was a setup by Gêl.

Seeing the young girl non-responsive on front of her door, the tenant asked. “You do have something for me, don’t you?”

“A-ah, yes!” Utena quickly scrambled through her bag, taking out her bike helmet to reach the package at the bottom.

“I must say, I would’ve never imagined the boss to send someone, and at your age, you must certainly be talented.” The tenant praised Utena, hoping to calm the nervous delivery girl.

“I don’t know about that, it feels more like she’s dumping her work on me.” Utena answered reflexively, failing to exert the caution she had imagined she needed scant minutes ago.

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself, she doesn’t even let me stand around the left most aisle… I’m Hitomi, by the way, what’s your name?”

“U- Irren, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, you don’t have to be so defensive with me, but I’ll call you that regardless.”

“That’s my name…” Utena sticked to the lie, best not to expose the other her.

“Ah! Sorry! You must be related to the boss, since you have that kind of name, I didn’t realize.” Hitomi bowed, eating the lie hook, line and sinker.

Now holding the package, Utena concentrated, noticing sparse amounts of magic emanating from the person in front of her, a meager amount compared to the packaged orb on her hands. [“Is it okay to give this to her? Gêl did mention at some point that these things could explode, or maybe that was my imagination?”]

“Don’t worry, also… if you don’t mind me asking… what do you intend to use this for?” Somewhat concerned, Utena asked, hoping she could extract more information as the conversation developed.

“I don’t mind, I could even show you, but I suppose you have other things to do, is it okay?”

“Yes, I’m only helping out and there aren’t many customers on Thursdays, I sure the boss wouldn’t mind.”

“Right! In that case come on in, sorry for the mess, I don’t have anyone to show these kinds of things.” Hitomi apologized as she showed Utena into the darkened apartment, her image of being a NEET firmly cemented on Utena’s mind.

“You can leave the package here.” Hitomi pointed as she cleared a table from several scattered papers with several symbols and patterns written over them, none of which Utena understood.

 Utena placed the box on the table, letting Hitomi handle the rest. Upon opening it, Hitomi took out a plastic bag from it, inside which some black cloth could be devised, on top rested a note reading [A gift].

Looking at the bag on her hand Hitomi started shedding some tears as she hugged the bag. “I’m… sorry… I wasn’t expecting this…” wiping her eyes, Hitomi opened the bag and put the cloth on her head, letting it fall over her face before straightening itself into a pointed hat with a large circular brim, the top of which, folded to one side due to its own weight, the only decoration being a simple yellow ribbon wrapped around the base of the crown.

At the sight Utena remembered the scripted tour from this morning [“[…] a customer with a conspicuously large hat, so a ‘sham sorcerer’?”]. She felt conflicted, on one side, considering the hat and the sparce magic around her, Hitomi fitted the description, on the other she seemed acquainted with Gêl and was happy to receive that gift, even if she didn’t realize what it really meant. Utena couldn’t bear to tell her the boss thought of her as nothing more than a fraud, but could Utena trust everything Gêl told her to be true? Just how much deceit where on her words? Regardless, it was dangerous to let her handle the magic item still packaged inside.

“I’m feeling really confident right now, so let’s get this started!” Hitomi remarked, clearly in high spirits. “Ah right, I haven’t told you, I’m going to divine my mid-terms!”

Utena was shocked to hear Hitomi wasn’t a NEET, [“but, predicting the future? Isn’t that really advanced magic? There’s going to be an explosion, isn’t it?”]. “Can you guide me through every step of what you’ll do? I’m kind of new to this…” Utena doubted she could give counsel on the matter, but if she could find some mistake to latch onto, maybe Hitomi would be convinced to not do it.

“There’s not much that I do.” Said Hitomi as she revealed a pale white crystal ball from the box. “Most of the work is from this orb, I just need to input the runes of what I want to see and then set this paper on top for the orb to imprint the answer into. Moreover, with this hat I’m confident I won’t have any typos.”

“The hat? Also, can you see anything you want?” Utena was somewhat relieved at the simple process, furthermore she could get the truth about the hat without second guessing everything Gêl said.

“This hat is an artifact that helps me manipulate magic more accurately, it’s pretty useful but you need to have some level of mastery to be handed one in the first place, so the boss gifting me one feels like I just cleared a major milestone.” Hitomi happily answered, her words conflicting with Gêl’s remarks. “As for the divination itself, I can only see what I can’t directly influence.”

“How so?”

“Simply put, the orb needs time checking for the future and relays it to me, but if I then change the outcome based on what I know, the orb will register the change and retroactively tell me something different, that will lead me to act differently and so on… At the end, all that would be displayed would be a blurry image from all possible futures combined.” Hitomi explained matter-of-factly. “Anyway, let’s start… Ah, yes, I need to start with this…” She proceeded to draw some symbols in the air with her left hand.

“What’s that?” Utena asked, genuinely puzzled at the random action.

“Protection wards from the Clavigula Salomonis, I don’t want evil spirits to meddle with my mid-term results, my peaceful life depends on them.”

Utena could only ponder if that actually worked, she couldn’t detect any magic being weaved from that.

Ignoring the puzzled look of her guest, Hitomi proceeded to give form to the magic around her and making sure her request was accurate enough, injected it into the orb, placing several sheets of paper over it shortly after. The dark room was illuminated for a short moment by a pale light emanating from the crystal ball, before waning again.

“So, it’s done, let’s see…” Hitomi lifted the papers from the orb and took a look, flipping through the pages one after another. “I really need to prepare the material; can I even cram it with the time I have left?”

Utena curious took a look at them from behind Hitomi’s shoulder, the once blank papers now filled with printed questions, far too advanced for her to understand nor answer. “Can anyone do that?”

“A-ah, yes, as long as you know the runes and write them properly, it’s so much easier with an orb though, it’s such an upgrade from trying to decipher vague riddles that scrolls normally show.” Hitomi remembering there was a visit, ended up rambling more than intended.

“Could… I try?” Utena was captured by the idea of seeing the future, maybe then she could figure out what Gêl had in store for her, or even expose Venalita, that scheming mascot was never honest with her, she could give her some payback for blackmailing her even if their reunion never happened this time around.

“Sure, I can guide you through the runes, just be careful not to be too vague or the orb will release the magic back at you.” Hitomi puffed her chest, feeling confident she could assist her junior after pulling her first divination with the orb successfully.

“Then, if you don’t mind…” Utena closed her eyes and started concentrating, like before she could see the magic around the orb but this time around she tried looking further into it, there were small symbols rotating all around the orbs surface, covering more even deeper inside. [“This are the runes…”] As if something had clicked inside her head, Utena tried to reach deeper into the orb with her own magic.

[“So, this is how it is… if I deactivate the feedback, I could lock a single instance of my future without worrying about static noise, I can also forgo the paper and transmit it to myself, best to keep my privacy”] As if enthralled by the orb before her or something much sinister, Utena started manipulating magic in forms she shouldn’t have known possible before inputting her request.

Soon an image started forming in Utena’s mind, before a lake of mist was a being so blaspheme, it couldn’t be called holy, yet you would only pray for in the hopes it wasn’t an evil god. With its long, lustrous purple hair, it stood imposingly. In its suit of darkness and degeneracy, it reached out, its hands delicately sacred yet sinuously inviting, from its head sprouted orthogonal horns imitating a crown. Under a yellow moon, with eyes of madness and deviancy, it revealed its 6 profane sets of wings. The dark god offered a fanged smile at the misguided mooncalf who glimpsed into the sublime.

Chapter Text

*Yawn* A slightly drowsy Haruka walked to school earlier than she accustomed to. The reason? She knew Utena took care of the school garden on the mornings, so she wanted to give her a little surprise.

Spotting the girl in question crouched over one of the flowerbeds, Haruka proceeded with her plan. “Helloooaawn…” accidentally letting out a yawn in the process.

“AH!!” The unsuspecting girl jumped at the sudden interruption of her morning routine, the image of a startled cat flashing before Haruka’s drowsy mind.

“Hana- Haruka! I’m sorry, I must’ve dozed off, school is about to start, right? Let’s go.” Talking a mile a minute, Utena prepared to leave, clearly shaken.

“Stooop!! I came in early, I wanted to see what you normally do.” Haruka grabbed Utena’s shirt before she got any further away.

“Ah, sorry, I overreacted…”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t know you’d freak out that way. If it’s okay, mind if I accompany you for a bit?”

Crouching to one side, Haruka spent her morning learning about irrigation schedules and the name of different flowers, finally knowing how the rumored ‘ghost club’ kept from being shut down for so long.

As the first bell rang, Haruka and Utena made their way to the classroom. Inside sat Sayo among the usual concert of morning greetings and catch up from yesterday’s TV shows and casual gossip.

“Good morning, you two came together?” Said Sayo with a pristine smile, living up to the title of model student.

“Yes, I was learning about the school garden from Utena!!” remarked Haruka with her trademark cheery attitude. “Is Kaoruko not here?”

“No, she’s also not answering her phone, probably sleeping like a baby.”

“She’s never been good with mornings, but she’d been making some headway lately, did she go on patrol last night?”

“Not that I’m aware of, even with yesterday’s warning it’s been awfully quiet.”

Utena took her seat near the window, while discreetly hearing about her new friends.

“Okay, quiet down!” The teacher entered the classroom marking the start of their school day. “I’m going to take attendance no-”

The door to the classroom swung open violently drawing the classroom’s attention to it. Before it stood a short girl, her blonde bed hair clearly noticeable, panting heavily, evidently out of breath.

{"Made it!!"}

The voice rang in Utena’s mind, forcing her to catch her head as if trying to temper a migraine.

Taking advantage of the empty seat besides Utena, Sayo scooped over. *Whisper* “Take it easy, we forgot to teach you about telepathy… sorry” Having noticed Utena’s plight and Sayo leaned towards her. “I have some tea; do you want some?”

“I’ll get yelled at for drinking during classroom, I’ll just brave through it, thank you Sayo.” With a weak smile, Utena declined her friends offer still clenching at her head.

Realizing she was the center of attention, Kaoruko straightened her clothes. “Present.”

“I’ll take note Tenkawa, now take your seat.”

Kaoruko headed to her seat at the back, still bringing attention to herself due to how bizarrely messy her hair was.

{"It’s something wrong with the newbie?"}

At the new wave of pain, Utena ended up hitting her head with the table.

“Are you okay Hiiragi?” The teacher asked somewhat concerned at the sudden reaction of her student.

“She seems to have a bad headache; I’ll take her to the nurse’s office.” Sayo offered unnaturally fast, taking Utena out of the classroom before the teacher had a chance to ask any further questions.

*Whisper* “sorry…” Kaoruko offered a muted apology, realizing what was happening as the two bolted out of the room.

Quickly reaching the nurse’s office, Sayo deftly explained the situation and led Utena to rest over one of the beds, the nurse left them be, seeing how concerned Sayo was for Utena.

“Thank you… you shouldn’t have bothered…” Utena answered weakly, appreciating the lengths her friend went for her.

Sayo sat on the edge of the bed, carefully moving her hand to shift Utena’s bangs to one side, faintly sliding it over her cheek. “Don’t worry about it, focus on resting and when you feel better I’ll help you catch up.” Sayo spoke carefully so that the nurse wouldn’t hear anything weird.

Feeling blessed, Utena fell into unconsciousness with a warm feeling on her chest.

The sky was a gradient of purple and orange, the world stood still, indecisive between dusk or dawn. The ground was pale and desolate, it’s sandy texture, a statement to it’s rejection to life. The landscape, a random collection of hills and craters. On the barren land the living shan’t traverse stood a mirror.

In an oneiric daze, Utena walked in the alien land towards the mirror, as if pulled by some superior providence. The mirror was of irregular form, its borders decorated with countless golden creatures with obsidian eyes, their gaze fixed not at the visitor, but at something beyond.

Utena saw herself on the sandy landscape, the longer she saw herself the more the image morphed, the sky darkened, foliage grew behind her, and a now sitting Utena was on display, her face looking downwards covered by her hands.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“… I’m not worthy.”

The reflection raised her head, covered in dark cross patterns she opened her fanged mouth, lunging itself through the mirror a thought intruded inside Utena’s mind. [because we’re not to be understood]

Before the monster could plunge her fangs into Utena, she was pulled away by a teal flash. The world crumbling before her eyes, Utena was covered by a warm embrace. Behind her, a holy voice spoke in a caring tone.

{To be burdened by such fate, I can only give you my blessing.

The first from the future, the last from the past.

Sleep tight my child, when the time comes, save the errant soul from the king.

As painful feelings swell, it is love that will fill you up.}

From shards of stars, a ring of light formed before Utena. Entering her chest, it filled her with celestial warmth.

[“I don’t know this ceiling.”]

Utena sat up on the infirmary’s bed, remembering how she ended up there, she stretched, her migraine just a bad memory. “I should go meet with Haruka and the rest.”

“How are you feeling? You’ve slept for quite a while.” The nurse asked from her desk.

“I’m fine, thank you. I’ll just go back to class.”

“It’s almost lunch break, if you still feel under the weather I can call your parents.”

“I was just a bit tired, I’m fine now.” Utena insisted, she didn’t want to worry anyone.

Taking her leave, Utena headed towards the classroom as the bell rang, marking the start of lunch. Before reaching the classroom’s door, it bolted open, a worried Sayo standing in the threshold.

“Utena! Are you okay? You were out for quite a bit!”

“A-ah, I’m okay, guess I was a bit sleepy.” Utena tried to appease her friend.

“See? She’s just fine, let’s have lunch.” Kaoruko remarked from behind Sayo.

Bringing their desks together, the four prepared their catch-up meeting. Haruka brought out a conspicuously large box filled with nametake. “I brought extra to share!!” bringing dread to both Kaoruko’s and Sayo’s face.

“Haruka, maybe I’ll pass today…” Sayo gripped her stomach, remembering the mushroom feast she had just the day before.

“Ya know, with how skinny our newbie is, it’s best if she takes my share this time around…” Kaoruko bailed without a second thought.

“Huuh? But it’s not good to eat that many if you’re not used to them… I know!! Utena what are you having for lunch? I’ll make sure to combine it with as many nametake as I can!!”

“Eeeeehh? I mean… I slept through the morning, so I’m not that hu-” before Utena could finish relaying her excuse, her stomach betrayed her. *Growl*

“C’mon, don’t be shy!! You don’t have to hide yourself and eat at the roof anymore!!” Haruka dropped a bombshell in her wake.

“You knew…?” Utena grabbed her head, her confidence in sneaking away completely shattered.

“N-never mind that!! C’mon show me your lunch!!” Haruka’s natural cheeriness betraying the bullish words.

“I-its… embarrassing…” Utena covered her lunch box with her body.

Hoping to give the girl a push, Kaoruko grinned. “Uteenaa~ I’ve been wondering, what was Magia Lux’s biggest feat~?” her devilish intentions clear to everyone but her victim to see.

“Really? You see, just twe-”

Seeing as Utena rose from the desk, leaving her lunch box unprotected, Kaoruko seized the opportunity and took it away.

“Now, what do we have here?” Kaoruko opened the box, unprepared to what its contents hid. Before them was a Tres Magia themed lunchbox, the experienced hand that made it challenged belief to it being homemade, but the customed message on top that read [Enjoy it with your friends, sweetie] begged to differ.

“What’s dis?” Kaoruko couldn’t process what laid before her, did Utena ate her every noon? Where those the strange looks she felt from her yesterday? Hunger?

“A-ah!! You see!!” Haruka freaked out, acknowledging her folly. She had seen Utena’s room, she knew about her obsession, it made sense her lunch box would’ve been Magia themed. “Utena’s just a big fan! No biggie!!” Haruka didn’t know what to say, she wanted to breach the topic with more tact.

“Well, it does say to share, so don’t mind me.” Sayo quickly made sense of the situation and took a blue egg roll from the lunch box. “It’s really good…”

“Y-you don’t have to be so nice…” Utena, red as a tomato, gathered the courage to rip the bandage off. “It’s weird, right? Who would eat a lunch themed with their teammate’s alter egos…”

“It’s not like I mind…” Kaoruko interjected, seeing as she started the entire thing. “You just like keeping tabs on our fights, just like how you know about the Magia Guild and stuff…” Kaoruko placed a hand on Utena’s shoulder, offering her a hearty smile. “You’re not one of those that obsess over knowing our measurements or anything!”

Utena shifted her gaze towards the window, unable to bring herself to look at her new friend.

“You… don’t… do you?” Kaoruko’s complexion shifted to concern at the deafening silence from the suspect. “What. Do. You. Know?”

“…72, 60…79…”

Kaoruko was floored, the scary accuracy of the numbers making her want to cover her body. It made sense, recognition inhibition magic made it so people wouldn’t make the connection between her and who they saw in the poster, but what if knowing her identity wasn’t the intention?

“Utena… I’ll tell you myself, so please don’t look them up anymore…” a clearly embarrassed Sayo pleaded, not knowing what she was promising, hoping to sound understanding towards Utena’s interests.

“Hehehe… I should’ve seen this coming…” Haruka could only laugh it off in the hopes everything would turn fine.

After calming down and savoring what Utena’s mom prepared to share, Sayo proceeded to the main points she wanted to talk about.

“Utena, do you feel like practicing telepathy?”

“S-sure… how do I do it?” Utena was uncertain if she could withstand another migraine, but she’d have to master it eventually.

“You need to image yourself projecting your thoughts into us, it’s a big vague but don’t worry if you can’t do it.”

Utena closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on her task.

[“Hello?”]

[“Maybe like this?”]

In her introspection, a memory intruded into Utena’s mind, a warm, sublime teal voice resonating in her soul.

{“Do you hear me?”] Utena was assaulted by a stinging pain, as if her head was trying to split apart.

“It’s enough for today, we heard part of it, well done.” Sayo stopped Utena before she hurt herself even more. “We should move on to the next point.”

Producing several sheets of paper from her bag, Sayo laid them out in front of the other three. “This will be our afterschool schedule, we’ll switch between individual training sessions and teambuilding exercises.”

“Hmm, individual training sounds a bit vague, what am I even supposed to train?” Kaoruko questioned, seeing as she was already the most aggressive one of the four when she was allowed to go all out.

“Your gauntlets use up a lot of magic, don’t they? Try increasing your endurance, when that fight comes there’ll be no appearances to keep. You’ll need to fight at 100% all the time. If you can, try combining your barriers and gauntlets, that variety could be crucial later down the line.” Sayo answered matter-of-factly, having thought up the training regimen in breakneck time.

“I don’t think Utena would fare well by her own though…” Haruka seem concerned, since focusing on themselves meant ignoring Utena.

“I was thinking of rotating Utena between the three of us, we’ll be training to increase our attack power while sparring.” Sayo looked towards Utena, somewhat worried on how much she would get to learn from it. “During teambuilding we’ll focus on strategy and coordination, this time focusing on integrating our new element to the formula, however, if a demon appear, it’ll be through trial by fire, please be careful.”

“Uh… I still don’t think I can wield my weapon to be sparring with you…” Utena was apprehensive, but she had to say it out loud since her life was on the line.

Sayo flipped through the pages, handing several sheets to both Utena and Haruka. “I found some stuff regarding how to use your weapon, I suggest you to study it so that we can use it in training.”

“Didn’t you forget someone?” Kaoruko remarked, her side of the desk absent of any papers.

“From what I saw yesterday, you were doing just fine, just… don’t kill poor Utena…”

“I’m sorry…”

“I would like to propose something!!” Haruka raised her hand enthusiastically. “Since we need to know Utena better, how about us three joining the gardening club!!”

“I don’t mind, since both Haruka and I are excused from joining clubs because of family business we can apply rather easily, but what about you Kaoruko? The judo team will raise hell would they lose their ace.”

“I’ll just shut them up.” Kaoruko smiled, sensing a chance to let off some steam.

“A-are you sure? There’s a lot of work because I’m the only active member, I wouldn’t want to burden your patrols with it…”

“Utena, we’ll be fine!! Besides, didn’t you skip gardening two days ago?”

“H-how did you-”

“It slipped out when you told me about that new poster on your room.” Haruka smiled, knowing she couldn’t let any room for Utena to escape into if she wanted her to open up.

Utena gave up to her fate as the bell rang, marking the end of lunch break.

Shortly before the school day ended, Utena felt a sharp pain in her head, it wasn’t as bad as the pain she got from telepathy but carried with it an ominous feel.

“““Sensei may we go to the bathroom?””” In cue her three friends stood up from their seats and proceeded to leave the classroom with practiced choreography.

Sensing it had to do with something about her new job, Utena raised her hand. “U-uhm, may I go as well?”

“I can’t believe even Hiiragi has fallen…” The teacher lamented herself as Utena made a quick exit, catching up to the other three.

“This time it isn’t such a strong signal, so it’s unlikely it is the one from yesterday, still be careful Utena, this time we won’t be using telepathy as much.” Haruka warned Utena as they headed to the rooftop.

Upon opening the door, the four chanted, transforming themselves into their Magia personas “Trans Magia.”

Porpora felt light-footed, maybe she was getting used to being transformed or maybe something else, a passing fragment from her dream attempted to intrude into her mind. As if the world had revealed itself before her, Porpora noticed several lines across the sky, all of them leading to a point outside the school, in the same direction her friends were already flying towards.

[“It’s this how they see the world?”] Porpora was fascinated, she could only wonder how she couldn’t see them the day before, she must be quite the newbie.

Following behind her friends Porpora arrived at an old, seemingly abandoned warehouse. Before them was a being with red skin, horns, and pattered wings, wearing a blank mask with hollowed eye sockets and mouth, eyes of light drifted behind the former, locking into the Magia. A demon.

Sensing the arrival of an antagonistic force, the demon lunged itself toward the four of them before crashing headfirst into a yellow-colored barrier.

“Porpora! Stop gazing and move away!!” Sulfur commanded as she struggled keeping the demon from breaking through.

“S-sorry!”

As Porpora moved away, Azul and Magenta flanked the demon, using the opening Sulfur had provided. Sensing the two approaching the demon backed away, avoiding a fatal wound.

“Porpora! Use this chance to attack!!” Azul gave instructions to her junior, since the demon had back away, there was still a window to attack without risking a counter.

Porpora rushed forward, as she approaches the demon she noticed several lines drawn in the space between, what they did or meant, she didn’t know. Copying Magenta, Porpora lunged her weaponed forward, knowing little else on how to handle it.

The demon managed to cover itself with its arms, resulting in only one of them being pierced by the now stuck naginata. It flailed it’s pierced arm with the ownerless weapon, not noticing a speeding Azul coming from the side.

Too late did the demon protect itself, resulting in the loss of it’s good arm. It tried to counter, using the extruding pole from it’s only arm to reach the Magia, but it was stopped mid-way by a yellow disk that materialized just above Azul’s head, resulting in the weapon to spin away in the opposite direction. At a loss, the demon didn’t notice before its exposed back was pierced by a pink spear, marking the end of the battle.

“We were lucky it wasn’t that though.” Sulfur spat, somewhat annoyed.

“It can’t be helped Sulfur, our formula only accounts for us three, it’ll take some effort to add another frontliner” Azul calmly remarked, understanding where Sulfur was coming from.

“There’s also the issue of training, I think it’s best if you stay behind until you can use that correctly.” Magenta added, concerned over her teammate’s poor proficiency.

Porpora was downtrodden, she had wished to be a Magia like them, but she was just no good in combat. Why was she chosen? What was this ‘potential’ Vatz had talked so highly of? How could she be of use in a crisis if she was a barely any use against a weak demon? Questions flooded Porpora’s mind.

On the corner of her eye, Porpora noticed a red line, falling conspicuously close to Azul, still unsure she could only wonder why no one had reacted to it. Before she could ask about it a portal opened, revealing a demon with grey skin instead.

Caught off guard, Azul could only shield herself with her arms, Porpora wished she her weapon, but she had lost it. Before the demon could reach Azul, however, it was struck on the back by a purple polearm with a blade attached on one end. The assault ended shortly after starting.

Porpora was perplexed; she couldn’t understand why her weapon had struck the demon. She could faintly feel it as a part of herself, but she certainly couldn’t control it remotely. [“Maybe someone threw it our way”] Porpora looked around for any source of magic, but she found none. The mystery of her weapon only deepening.

“Did you do that?” Magenta asked, hoping to piece together what had just transpired.

“N-no, at least, I don’t think so…”

“Regardless its best if ya stay behind and train, can’t have ya pulling unknown stuff on us.”

“Sorry Porpora, I know you wanted to join us in battle, but you’re going to have to grasp your own strength first. My training program still stands, and we’ll count on you when the crisis arrives, so just focus on getting stronger.” Azul added, closing the distance between them before whispering into her ear. “Also, thank you, your feelings saved me, even if you didn’t know what you were doing, so hold your head high and keep at it, I’m counting on you.”

Porpora’s mind was a mess, on one side, she had messed up her debut fight, quite badly at that, but on the other hand, one of the people she deeply respected had told her she counted on her. Being a bashful mess, Porpora couldn’t articulate a word.

“Well, school’s almost over, why don’t we get our bags and make our way to the training grounds? It’s going to be a long afternoon!!” Magenta announced, hoping to get Porpora moving before her mind started flashing error signs.

The four of them started making their way back, blissfully unaware of the wine-red eyes looking in their direction.

To Porpora it seemed like a rather okay day, the good canceling out the bad, little did she know that behind the Minakami shrine awaited several repetitions of swings and forms with a polearm, well after callouses had starting forming on her hands, all while being occasionally attacked by the leader of her favorite Magia group.

Right then and there, Porpora promised to train hard, even if just to avoid any more ‘extra training snacks’ Magenta smilingly convinced her to shove down her throat, a mushroomy flavor now permeating her mouth.

That night Utena fell into her bed, the mental and physical exhaustion from the day catching up to her. Having had a light dinner Utena reached out to her favorite Magenta plushie, “you gave me too many mushrooms…” she whispered with a smile, before hugging it and going to sleep.

Barely conscious, the same words echoed on her mind of a time that never came, in a place that never existed, from a beautiful voice that always did.

{…I can only give you my blessing.

The first from the future, the last from the past.}

Utena slept comfortably, a ring of light barely visible on her chest.

Chapter Text

Utena was yanked away from her tranced stupor, falling flat on her back as something loomed over her.

“Shit! I messed up! Of course the boss wouldn’t let you use them.”

“A-ah…AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Utena clawed her head, despair filling her eyes.

“Irren! It’s fine! You’re okay. You’re safe!!”

Hitomi shoved Utena’s hands away and hugged the scared girl tightly, petting her on the back of her head hoping she would calm down.

Hitomi knew her own limitations, she knew the girl before her to be more talented than her, she should’ve suspected something when that same prodigy showed no knowledge on how to use an orb. The jealousy she had felt when she saw Irren manipulate runes far more dexterous than her was now gone, instead, she could only feel bad for the genius that was too curious for her own good. The first warning she had gotten when she started practicing magic resonated in her mind. [Beware of what you wish for.]

The two of them laid there on the apartment’s floor, time itself seemingly extending into eternity. Hitomi wouldn’t let go of her junior as she cried inconsolably.

After enough time had passed Hitomi lifted herself up from on top her junior, seeing her outburst reduced to a light sobbing, Hitomi sat upright besides Irren and brought her head to her lap. Ever since she learned about them, Hitomi had looked up to sorcerers, she thought of them as masters of the occult, capable of manipulating the world around them on a whim. The boss had never showed much of her abilities besides teleporting her to the other side of the store every time she tried to sneak a peek at the locked orbs, from her Hitomi had heard that sorcerers tend to keep to themselves, only gathering for important work. As such she never properly met another sorcerer, at least, not one this human.

For the first time, she noticed that on her lap rested not a prodigy but a young girl, not fueled by greed or hedonism, just a girl making a youthful mistake. Hitomi couldn’t know what Irren had seen, and seeing her reaction it was for the better, she could only surmise it must’ve been an elder spirit, those that defy human understanding. She felt guilty for Irren, the image will haunt her for the rest of her life, and it was her fault for letting her. Still, whose fate did she so desperately divined to have encountered one? It was probably best not to meddle in the boss’ family matters.

“I’m…sorry…” A weak voice grabbed the attention of Hitomi, with sunken eyes and pale complexion, Irren slowly rose from Hitomi’s lap.

“Irren… would you like some lunch? If you didn’t bring any, let’s go out! I’ll treat you!”

“I… have… some…” Irren weakly pointed to her bag, where a lunch box could be devised.

Hitomi went to grab it, feeling it cold, she decided to heat it up in the microwave alongside heating some water on the kettle. “I have Tea and Dr. Pepper, would you like some? I can always run to the convenience store if you’d like something specific.”

“Tea… is ok… sorry… to impose”

Taking note of her situation, Irren looked around, she was back at the darkened apartment, in fact, she never left. Looking towards the table, Irren gave a terrified look at the pale crystal on last time before it was covered by a kitchen towel and put away by an attentive Hitomi.

“Don’t worry about it, it was just a bad dream. You know, sometimes evil spirits will interfere with your divination and show you horrible things, some must’ve pushed through my barrier, so don’t worry about it.” Hitomi lied as easily as she breathed. She knew if something broke through her barriers, she would suffer from a severe headache, it was written in her grimoire, but nothing had happened.

“Right…I’m…sorry”

“It’s not your fault, magic is a dangerous business, we have to take care of each other.” Hearing the ping on the microwave Hitomi pulled out the lunchbox and set it in front of Irren.

“What… about you?”

“Don’t worry, I’m just waiting for the water to boil and then I’ll have some instant ramen, for now I can offer some company.” Hitomi opened her fridge, taking out some bottled tea and Dr. Pepper, then poured them on a glass and set them both on the Table, taking a seat herself.

“You… like that?” Irren asked inquisitively over Hitomi’s choice of drink.

“It’s an intellectual drink, for the chosen ones, don’t you know?” Hitomi remarked sarcastically, hoping to alleviate the mood.

Not quite getting it, Irren ignored it and opened her lunch box, seeing it’s contents for the first time. Before her were a box filled with salted vegetables, steamed rice and shredded chicken, a basic lunch but weirdly normal considering it was Gêl’s craft.

“Thank you… for the meal.” Irren started eating, hoping the food would distract her from the maelstrom in her mind, maybe even wish her unnatural fatigue away. [“It’s just plain, does that drunkard even knows what condiments are?”]

Seeing her junior eagerly eat away at that plain looking lunch, Hitomi poured the steaming water over her cup noodles and started a 3-minute counter.

“Is it good?”

“I’ve… had better.”

“The boss prepared it right? I kinda expected her to cheat the flavor with magic.”

“Is… there… anything she… can’t do?”

“Dunno, she strikes me as one wise beyond her years, not that I know her age. I’d say you have quite the mentor, so don’t rush things, I’m sure you’ll be a great sorcerer.”

“Are they… that… impressive?”

“Of course they are! Controlling phenomena to your will puts you on the top of the world, anyone would want such kind of power, it’s no wonder some cosplay as Magia’s so that the public will think they can’t do the same.”

“Huh?”

“Sorry, it must’ve come as a surprise, but think about it, if it’d be known that anyone can learn magic, like divination, then no one could predict the future since all the futures would be changing constantly. It would make sense to make up this narrative about a chosen few who can use magic to fight the evils of the world, they even added small golems to act as supernatural representatives.” Hitomi confidently declared, acting as if she knew the truth of the world. “I would even bet the Magia Guild is just a front for the most powerful sorcerers to do their business in private and I’m sure you’ll end up there someday.”

[“Is this girl alright?”] While Irren couldn’t discard the idea of Venalita being an actual puppet, a mouthpiece for something more sinister, she knew by experience that Magias didn’t fight for show. This was also her first exposure to these so-called sorcerers, even Gêl recognized Magias as those who ‘use a Magia core’. How did she get such a conspiracy? “Did… Gêl… tell you that?”

“I mean, even I can read between the lines.” Hearing the timer go off, Hitomi set out to eat her ramen. “By the way, do you have any plans today? We can hang out a bit, as a change of pace.”

Irren couldn’t sense any malice from Hitomi, in fact, how easily she could extract information from her, even if erroneous, was a breeze of fresh air compared to Gêl. It wouldn’t hurt to stick around if she could get more insight on this new side of the world that presented itself before her. “I… wanted to… buy some clothes.”

“We are close to a mall…” Hitomi took a quick glance at what Irren was wearing. “How would you like a change in look?”

“This is… a uniform from… the store.” Irren quickly tried to set the record straight.

“That makes more sense, how much do you have on you?”

“I… should have enough… for a couple of outfits.” Irren tried to be vague, not wanting to reveal she made more per hour than plenty of adults.

“Then let’s go once we finish eating!” Hitomi proposed enthusiastically, glad Irren seemed to have recovered while eating.

“You look really good like that!”

Somewhat flustered wearing slim jeans, a purple blouse and a black jacket, Irren stood in the fitting room. “I don’t know about that, I’d prefer something more conservative…”

“I’m not letting you buy another long skirt and shirt, you already will be wearing a bunch of basic underwear, add some spice to your life!” Hitomi was at her wit’s end, she wasn’t one to talk about other’s fashion choices but seeing Irren buy plain clothes after plain clothes had struck a nerve, even she wore something more appealing beneath her tracksuits, not that she intended to show anyone.

“I can just change them with magic like you did…” Irren pointed towards her senior, who had used her hat to change her look from that of a NEET to more appealing black shorts, white T-shirt, bomber jacket combo, the hat itself turning into a baseball cap.

“How are you going to know what to change them into with your fashion sense? You need to be able to visualize yourself in those clothes before you go trying anything funny!” Hitomi wouldn’t let Irren cheat this time around, she’d have to be thorough, lest another accident happened.

“F-fine, but just this one!” Irren ceded, not that she planned on actually wearing it any time soon.

“Good, I’ll let the attendant know you want to leave with those clothes on, just wait until she collects the tags and I’ll go to the register.”

“Wait! That wasn’t what I agreed to!”

“Too late!”

Irren was at a loss, from the outside it looked like an older sister wanting the younger one to be more outgoing, so her protests fell on deaf ears. The worst part of it all, Hitomi had her money, so she couldn’t just say that it was too expensive, as it was obvious she was loaded.

“I don’t know what you like of this look.” Having left the store, Irren could only try and hide in the shadow of her ‘sister’, clearly uncomfortable with how the clothes let her figure show.

“I’ll give a tip Irren, you should go about as if you have secret admirers, have them melt in adoration, that’s the secret to every pretty girl’s success.”

“Where do you even learn this stuff?” Irren quipped back, not letting her mind stray back toward the only person she knew would’ve melted over her new look.

“C’mon Irren! If the boss gave you this much money it’s because she wants you to spend it on yourself, what’s the harm on looking pretty?”

“You sure think highly of her.”

“I get she might be a bit too friendly with the bottle, but she’s still really attentive and capable, I can’t even sneak around the shop when she’s too drunk to raise her head.”

[“Don’t you think she gets that drunk because she can still pull it off?”] Irren left it unsaid, as it seemed clear Hitomi was too convinced of her own interpretation.

“It’s gotten late, let me accompany you to the station.” Hitomi offered, relieved to see her newfound ‘little sister’ better off than earlier today. “You know, magic can be a little isolating, if you ever feel like you need to talk with someone I’ll be here for you. I know the boss isn’t kind in the conventional way.”

“Thank you, I really liked spending time with you, even with… everything that happened.”

“Don’t mention it, it’s best if you just forget about it. I think there are things that are better not to know, kinda letting the world do its thing, take it as sign and don’t think too much about it.”

“Yes, thank you, for everything.” Irren approached the station near the mall, a bag on each hand.

During the ride home Irren started compiling everything she had learned about the mysterious shopkeeper. All she could get from Hitomi was that Gêl could teleport herself and others on a whim, predict the future with a high level of accuracy, had a lot of knowledge on magic, runes and artifacts while never been seen using the latter, once fought a bear with nothing but a bottle of scotch, was a practiced snake oil merchant and a highly functional alcoholic. Some of it she already knew, but some information left her with plenty of questions.

It was clear she had been setup to meet Hitomi, if Gêl had predicted the future, she would’ve known about the divination she’d make. Why have her see that? Was it even real or a nasty prank like Hitomi had suggested? Given how she mixed magic and legend, Irren couldn’t trust completely on Hitomi’s assessment. Moreover, Gêl would’ve known Irren would not only dig information about her but even draw more suspicions her way. Was she being played with, like a mildly amusing pawn? Likely, but what would Gêl even gain from it? Everything went back to that vision from the orb, she couldn’t discern what would lead her down that path except Gêl or a design from before she traveled here. [“Venalita… was I setup to loose control from the very beginning?”]

Irren couldn’t side-step the issue any longer, if Gêl was involved then there was no use in running, she could manipulate space as she saw fit. In a fight, Irren would most likely lose, not only had the drunk the larger magic repertoire and enhanced awareness, but her physical strength surpassed the standard magical muscle enhancement. As Baiser she could be thrown around and suffer little damage, but if Gêl fought a bear untransformed, that’s another level entirely. Her best option would be to cause as big of a commotion as possible, the faster both Tres Magia and the Guild got involved the better. She would take down Gêl along with herself.

Having decided to confront Gêl, Irren got off at her station, finding the bike where she left it and loading her bags onto it. Retracing her steps, Irren found herself in front of the shop, Gêl already preparing to close for today.

“I didn’t expect you’d come back so soon.”

“Did you enjoy setting me up like that?”

“Did you enjoy yourself, made a new friend maybe?”

“Just what are you playing at, why did I have to see that?”

“I don’t know what you mean, I’ve already told you, I just want someone to dump my work into, how much you fool around with customers is up to you.”

“… Fooling around?” Irren was livid. “Is THAT what you call seeing the worst version of yourself? You KNEW this would happen, that’s why you sent me to Hitomi with that DAMMED orb. WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING PLAN!!”

“You seem to be working on a misconception.”

“AM I? How I SEE it, I can still doom us both, your divination be dammed!” Irren lifted up her star, magic pooling around it, threatening to destroy everything on its wake.

Unfazed, Gêl answered. “Your hand is shaking.”

“…”

“I don’t know how your meeting with that kid went, I also don’t need to. My guess would be that you just saw her as a means to an end, even convinced her to lend you the divination orb, and now you’re upset that you saw yourself reflected back on that thing.”

“THAT ISN’T ME!!”

“Then what are you so afraid of?”

[“Me”] The answered left unsaid, Irren didn’t want to admit she was afraid of turning back into that thing. She was afraid of Baiser, of everything that had laid dormant within herself until Venalita came along, of everything Utena was and would become.

“Regardless of what you think of me, I’m only honoring my part of the deal.”

“Huh?”

“Remember what I told you yesterday? Meeting customers might help you see things from different perspectives; did you ever ask that kid why she was so alone?”

“I…”

“You were too busy with yourself, whatever is going through your head keeps you blind to the world around you, love yourself a bit more and you’ll love the world as a result.”

“Love?” Irren spat, mockingly. “That’s the source of all my problems, my love ruins lives, it’s evil, I can’t even stand beside those I care about.” As a dam breaking open, she revealed more than she ever intended.

“You do like redundancies, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’ll take a while to explain, why don’t we take a seat inside?” Gêl casually went inside and pulled out two chairs, the looming threat of the Magia behind her, barely registering.

Having taken a seat, Gêl continued. “How I see it, you’re conflating to types of love. On the one side you think of love as something that involves care and kindness but also mention your love, which is rooted in desire.”

“Then it’s me that’s wrong…”

“I suggest you don’t jump to conclusions just yet. On the former, it refers to unconditional love, it’s goal being the well-being of the other person, you give everything of yourself and expect nothing in exchange, because that other person is an end in itself. Such devotion in it’s absolute can only be attributed to the Goddess herself.”

“Don’t expect me to make hefty donations to your cult.”

Gêl laughed. “Don’t worry, my Goddess is not one to be preached about. The point being that if you take such a sublime form of love as a reference, then any feelings of love, temporary as they may be, that are not directed towards her are only fake and misguided. Hence why you can only see desire as such.”

Gêl reached to one side producing a mirror from thin air and offering it to Utena. “Then there’s your love, you won’t give everything of yourself away, you also want to take, even if it hurts others. Unlike with absolute love, which can be seen as a moral maxim to imitate, you can’t help but feel, you treat people differently based on how much you love, hate or are indifferent to them. What would you call that if not a form of evil?”

“Even if it’s redundant, doesn’t my point stand? I’m evil.”

“What about it? If you want to live the moral maxim you need to discard yourself from the equation, not anyone can do such a thing. So be evil, Venalita chose you because you are.”

“Weren’t you a Magia?”

“Do I strike as one to fight for justice?”

“Then, will you take me back with her? Venalita, I mean.”

“No, you ran for a reason, let the puppet figure it out herself.”

“Can I ask one more question?”

“Go ahead.”

“What… Am I supposed to do?”

“You should listen more often, from what you’ve told me the issue lies within you. You can’t accept what you want and have done in the name of love but still look for someone to blame, because blaming yourself equates to admitting it was you who wants it.” Gêl rose up from her seat, preparing to leave. “When we learn something, we do it through our senses, consequently there is no such thing as an objective understanding of the world. I can’t give you the perfect medicine, all I can say is go out and find your own definition of love, accept yourself for who you are and continue forward. ‘We never advance one step beyond ourselves.’* Remember that.”

“How will I know if I’m looking in the right place.”

“Most people won’t know, in your case, you can cheat with a little bit of magic. Give me your map.”

Opening the map over the chair, Gêl produced a nail and threw it upwards, letting it fall over the map. Utena couldn’t feel anything coming from the nail, instead she noticed magic pooling around it, entering it, dictating it’s trajectory. Finally, the nail incrusted itself upright on a spot of the map, changing color from its standard metallic grey exterior and a number burning on its head.

“I was planning to leave you manning the store since I have to meet with a client, but you need this more than anything. Tomorrow at 9 o’clock go to that point in the map, look for black and gold, that’s all I can tell you.”

“Black and gold… don’t you mean-”

“You can’t predict that doll’s future with something this basic, whatever you’ll find, it’s not her.”

“Couldn’t you be more specific?”

“I’ve made the choice to not pry any further, if you want to know learn how to do it yourself.”

“Do you attend costumers 1 minute before closing?”

“The aisle to my right, magic for dummies and divination 101. I’ll discount it from your pay; do you want a receipt?”

“No, thank you.”

On a barren land, marked by death and the unlikely, sat a flower, its hair singed, its dress frayed. On a lonely hill, the flower sulked as it reminisced.

…

-Those will be the terms of our deal

[You call it a deal, even after bringing me to this state.] said the flower, talking to the nothingness before her.

A golden orb being produced was sent on the flowers way.

-Your first test. Don’t disappoint me and more of those will go your way.

[At least take me to dinner before inserting this huge thing in me.]

It vanished paying no mind to the flower’s retort.

…

[How bothersome, she was so close, I could just about grasp her soul, I can’t even entertain myself. My pawns are no more, even though thanks to it I managed to find an alternate, she is being protected by something even more terrifying. It’s a miracle I’ve lived as long as I have.] The flower thought about the time she tried to enter the world through another exit. [Even if I’m forbidden from exiting, I felt the past of my vessel, I could try reaching to my pawns to be. It won’t accomplish much, but it would battle the boredom, at least until the next test arrives.]

The flower sat back and extended her tentacles across the barren landscape, looking for a toy. [Don’t worry my dear Utena, it’ll be a dry season between us, but I’ll moisten things up the next time we meet, to the point you’ll yearn for me night after night. I’ll make sure our future comes to be.]

Finding her target, the flower smiled [I certainly couldn’t have given myself such small luxuries back in that subconscious prison. It is at least aware of labor standards.]

Azul woke up on her bed, the morning breeze faintly noticeable through the sheets. Her exposed skin shriveled at the idea of rising from the comfortable warmth of her bed, she knew she had to eventually get out of bed, but it wouldn’t hurt if she waited for the room to get warmer. Azul didn’t want to risk getting a cold because she walked around naked searching for her long-discarded clothes, not that she minded wearing someone else’s, that particular someone still asleep beside her.

Azul contemplated her lover’s sleeping face, reaching out to her cheek, Azul caressed her, moving her bangs to one side. Seeing the unobstructed face, Azul’s gaze was drawn to her partner’s lips, remembering how she was kissed in all the right places just the night before, her naked slit started slowly dripping again, perpetuating the stain beneath the covers.

Losing to lust, Azul got closer to her lover’s naked figure and placed a kiss on those tempting lips. Feeling their bodies touch, she couldn’t help but remember how they had brought their bodies together, never getting enough of each other, wanting to explore every crevasse, drinking each other dry with ravenous passion, wishing they would never come apart.

“Good morning, *****.” Sensing her other half waking up, Azul pulled her head slightly backwards, her pungent breath, evidence of the debauchery they had engaged in.

“Good morning love, I see you’re eager this early in the morning.” The figure placed her hand over Azul’s sex, a tempting reminder of what they were capable of.

“I can’t help it; I don’t want to wait for you to make me feel that way again.” Azul answered, lightly rubbing herself on the placed hand.

Needing no follow-up, the figure closed the short distance between the two and kissed Azul on the lips. What had started as a light kiss quickly devolved into a messy French kiss as she spread Azul’s slit with her hand, ghosting the entrance with her middle finger.

The figure pulled herself apart from her aroused partner, a string of saliva still binding them together. “I was hoping to receive your mothers in a more proper state but seeing how you aren’t shooting blanks any time soon, let’s give them a show.” The figure stated with a playful smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you wanting until they arrive.”

“Then I trust you’ll fuck me senseless again, dear.” Azul added, wrapping one of her legs around her lover.

“Do you even have to ask?” The figure started kissing Azul once more, their tongues connected in a lewd dance, this time inserting two of her digits into the sprawled pussy.

Azul couldn’t help but moaned into the kiss, the fingers scraping awfully close to where it feels best, teasing her, building up pressure inside of her. Wanting to reciprocate, Azul wrapped her arm around her lover, bringing her hand over her butt and inserting her middle finger deep inside.

“Mhm, you’ve learned so well my love, but that won’t do, it’s you who I want to hear scream after all.” The figure wrapped her free hand around Azul’s back, pulling on the foreign object incrusted deep in her asshole.

“Haaah!”

“That’s more like it, but I’m not done.” The figure went inside the covers, aligning her mouth with Azul’s sex and started sucking as she displaced her hand to the now unplugged asshole.

Feeling the a damp heat sucking on her slit as well as her favorite long tongue intruding deep inside her core and four digits buried in her behind, Azul started seeing stars. “Dear…please… let me suck you.” Azul barely managed to let out her wish before she lost herself to ectasis.

Without stopping her ministrations, the figure shifted her body, placing her legs on either side of Azul’s head.

With unrestraint haste, Azul placed her mouth over her partner’s slit and started eating her out, panting heavily. Hoping to reach deeper, she placed both hands over the figure’s butt cheeks and pushed them towards herself, all the while sliding a finger into the spread rectum.

Failing to imitate the ravenous display she was the target of, Azul gritted her teeth preparing to cum.

“Not so fast my love…” Stopping abruptly the figure denied her partners release. “Let’s cum together, like we always do.”

Acknowledging her lover’s demand, Azul started hungrily licking on her sex, like a dog hoping for the promised reward.

As the cacophony of wet sounds and muffled moans continued, the tangled mess of flesh and lust got ever closer to their collective release. Azul was kept constantly on the edge as she struggled to bring the same mind-melting pleasure to the one she adored, the one she couldn’t imagine living away from.

Their climax arriving, both lovers opened their mouths wide and started drinking each other thirstily, making sure to draw their gushing fluids for the longest possible.

Struggling to stay conscious, Azul recognized her lover shifting position, bringing her face closer to her own and kissing her, exchanging the fluids each of them had collected from the other to mix and drink, as their obscene routine commanded.

“Haah… you were amazing as always, dear.”

“What are you saying, I’m still not done with you, I did promise to have you cum in from of your mothers.” Not waiting for Azul to recover her composure, the figure reached to the side of a bed, producing a phallic object and inserting one end into herself. Looming over Azul, the figure placed her waist between Azul’s legs and started rapidly thrusting inside the swollen sex.

“Hng!! Wait. I. Just. Came.”

“You say that, but we both know how much you love it when I make you cum relentlessly.” Making a point, the figure started kneading Azul’s perked up breasts, slowly but firmly building pressure towards the tips.

“Ahhh, if you do that I’m-”

Not letting her finish, the figure brought her mouth to one of the erect nipples, biting it, milk flowing out.

“Aaahhhh… that’s not for youuuu!!”

Answering her protest, the figure kissed Azul again, this time pushing the milk into Azul’s throat.

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave enough for her, I just figured I might get a drink after that salty treat.” The figure enunciated every word with a thrust from her hips. “I think you’re loose enough for us to continue were we left of last night.”

The figure reached out again to the side of the bed, producing and even longer and more flexible double ended dildo. Placing one end in her asshole, she sat upright and pushed the other end inside Azul. Having connected both of them through both holes, the figure started moving up and down, pushing the dildos deeper insider both of them.

Azul was overjoyed, having trained for so long to fill herself with those large dildos, so that only scant centimeters were visible between herself and her lover. She felt full on her insides, full of love.

“Har…der…”

Answering to Azul’s plea the figure started moving faster, more recklessly, knowing Azul would accept everything she sent her way.

Azul, as the special form of the dildos grabbed onto and scraped every inch inside of her, intertwined her hands with those of her lover, wrapping her legs around her waist, Azul synced her partner’s thrusts with her leg’s movements. Feeling the increase on intensity, Azul dug her nails on the figure’s clenched hands.

Biting her lip, Azul could only see stars as her composure lost itself in pleasure, wave after wave of ectasis filling her brain, a torrent below, further staining her bed.

Minakami Sayo woke up early in the morning, the sun yet to come out. She felt incredibly hot in the gelid room, a wet spot staining her pajamas.

“What was that dream?” She wondered, only recalling a lustrous head of purple hair.

Chapter Text

“Araga! Where are you going to have lunch today~ I would love to accompany you!”

“Have you seen the new restaurant that opened nearby? We should totally go see it.”

“But there aren’t any renown chefs in that place! I have this place with an amazing cook, they even got a Michelin star, let’s go visit it!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, I have to go talk about my credits, I’ll go to the teacher’s office, don’t follow me.”

The first period had just ended, and Araga Kiwi was fed up with her orbiter’s antics, like usual, she would sneak out of school for the rest of the day. Being the top student, she had little care for what classes she missed, she had already memorized the material and as long as her grades stayed there no one would care either.

Being from the Lodensteyn middle school, Araga Kiwi was considered an elite, in fact if you considered the power the Araga name held, she would rank in the top spots of the country. As such, she had grown used to the constant self-interested praise from suck-ups, she was acutely aware she had no friends, only people she could trust would stab her on the back the moment she showed any sign of weakness. That was the world she knew, even at her young age.

Kiwi could do anything, youth counselors would leave her be when she visited arcades during school hours, if not at the mere sight of her, then with her simply saying her name. Every high-end restaurant would offer her the very best of their menu if not whatever she wanted to eat at that moment, even eating sushi at an Italian restaurant. Yet there is something she couldn’t attain no matter what she tried, genuine praise. From her so-called friends to master tailors would tell her she was beautiful in whatever style she chose that particular day, yet Kiwi could tell it was all to get something out of her, she had never heard someone say it without ulterior motives.

[“Guess it’s just another day at the arcade. It’s about time I call their manager and tell them I want to book it for the rest of the day, it’s annoying when those no-lifers think they can breathe the same air as me and actually stand a chance.”]

Kiwi was unfazed by walking around the city or encountering the occasional reject in her game marathon, even if she sneaked out of school she knew there was a security detail following wherever she went. One of them even stopped a creep before she could do anything to her, Kiwi didn’t know where they were hiding or how a person could move that fast, but she knew they were around.

[“Next up would be Latin, the teacher would talk about the difference between active and passive sentences and have us build some ourselves, bet someone would come up with memento amari or amare or some bullshit, like the pseudo philosophical posers that they are, and tangent into its importance throughout history or something like that. I really can’t stand it.

Thinking about it, maybe is a vacuous speech like that what those walking disappointments need to hear to get their shit together, not that I particularly care.”]

Walking to her destination, Kiwi kept on rambling on her mind eventually wondering; how was it possible for her to never encounter a red light, no matter how random her path was? [“I really want to test it and try to make a traffic jam by just running in circles, but mom already scolded me for telling that sushi restaurant that I wanted to try some giant squid.”]

Kiwi sulked at the memory of the only person who had talked her down. [“She’s the only one I can have an honest talk with, but she’s always like ‘how was school?’, when she knows full well I’m out here ditching class. That security detail must’ve given her exhaustingly detailed reports; I wouldn’t put it past them to even document my win streak on SF.”] Kiwi couldn’t recall with how many variations of the word ‘Fine’ she had answered her mom’s most frequent query.

[“I guess it really is another dull day at the arcade. Now that I think about it, the only thing I haven’t played is air hockey, but I doubt my bodyguards will let me play with anyone. Maybe if I book the place and tell one of them to come out? I’m so bored, I’m willing to try and play with those no-bullshit workaholics.”] Kiwi shook her head. [“Mom probably told them to stay hidden, and I’ll get scolded if I do something crazy to draw them out.”]

Kiwi continued her walk, barely anyone batting an eye in her direction. While she may be revered in high-society, normal, day to day people were barely aware of her or the power the Araga group held over the country, they weren’t public figures after all, which allowed Kiwi to walk around without making too much of a fuss. In a way, Kiwi mixed in with the bottom-feeders of the arcade because, as pathetic as their attempts at flirting may be, their ignorance towards the sheer difference between their social status was weirdly refreshing.

Stopping on her tracks, Kiwi thought of a better way to fight boredom, her mother didn’t exactly approve of it, but it’s not like it did any harm. Pulling out her phone, she dialed the only number that wasn’t in her contact’s list.

“Hello Auntie!!”

“Hello Kiwi, it’s weird enough for you to call me. Ditching school again?”

“You said it. Are you in town? I’m bored…”

“Have you tried making a traffic jam by running around an intersection?”

“Mom would yell at me if I did.”

“She would, I wouldn’t hear the end of it when I took you drag racing last time.”

“Can we do it again?”

“No, she got my membership revoked. Give her a year or so to cool off and you could talk her into letting you get one yourself.”

“Would you lend me that car if I did?”

“Of course, it would be a shame to leave that little beast gathering dust. Say, how about we meet at the horse races? I should be free until noon.”

“Ehhh~ inviting a minor to bet on horses? You’ll get yelled at~’”

“I’ll get yelled at for answering your call!”

Kiwi laughed, she knew she had to keep her guard up as her ‘auntie’ was the only person she couldn’t get a read on, even her mom had warned her as much. She wasn’t someone you could call an ally, but if there was as much as a suspicion of foul play between her mom and her, Kiwi’s call would’ve been long cut off, maybe even redirected to a message from her mom telling Kiwi not to contact ‘auntie’. Even though the relationships between members of the Araga group were always tense, Kiwi couldn’t help but laugh at the levity her ‘auntie’ brought to her otherwise dull day.

“I suppose you are far from the hippodrome. I’ll send a ride your way.”

“Wait, why are you close to it?”

“Because I’m an adult.”

“I’ll get yelled at if I ever came up with that excuse.”

“You could turn thirty tomorrow and you’ll still be Sendai’s little princess; you take the good with the bad.”

“You know I hate that title.”

“It’ll take time to wear off, until then; May I offer you a ride, princess?”

Kiwi jumped at the sudden voice directed towards her from the driver seat of a black SUV. Seeing their mocking grin, Kiwi answered with a mix of anger and excitement.

“Auntie!!”

“Poor little princess, did some bad gal scare you?”

“Weren’t you by the hippodrome?”

“No, you thought I was, I just played along.”

“How did you even sneak up on me?”

“Saw you in the distance, turned off the engine and let the car roll while you weren’t paying attention.”

“You’re awful.”

“Love you too, Kiwi. Anyway, let’s go, my bets won’t win themselves.”

Wasting no more time, Kiwi rushed around into the copilot’s seat and closed the door.

“I still wonder, how much do you know about horses?”

“Nothing. I also don’t need to since you’ll be my golden goose.”

“You know I’m still a middle-schooler.”

“That’s right! And middle-schoolers should be at school, so think of it as a pop-quiz in statistics. Here are the last two months’ worth of records, good luck.”

“Had I known I would’ve bought out the arcade.”

“Haven’t you played everything in there? Except maybe air hockey. Believe me, this is more fun.”

“What do you know? I could’ve played with a friend once.”

“…”

“Say something!!”

Having rambled all the way to the hippodrome alongside occasionally looking at the win/loss ratios of every horse, Kiwi got out of the car, directly into an elevator that took her to the VIP area.

Seeing the two arriving guests, the staff immediately greeted and guided them to a separate room, where no one could interrupt them as they watch the races, a designated maid to be called whenever they wanted to place a bet or order something.

“I’ll have a lucky parfait”

“For me a black coffee. Kiwi, what is your guess for the next race?”

“I say, 5-1-7, let’s start low with 300k yen.”

“Very well, 300 thousand on 5-1-7, I’ll bring your order shortly.” The maid bowed, having received the money from Kiwi’s companion.

“They really go all out, you almost expect something to happen with how short her skirt is.”

“It’s 5 million if you want something to happen.”

“What?”

“Interested?”

“N-no… should you really be having this conversation with me?”

“You’re at that age; I wouldn’t stop you if you wanted to take her to the Marriott nearby. It’ll cost you 50 million though.”

“I’m not one to talk, but isn’t that extremely expensive?”

“Speaks volume on the quality you’ll be getting.”

“Have you…?”

“Not my type, but several senior partners have rated her highly, called her addictive.”

“And you still brought me here.”

“It’s not a brothel, you know? You don’t have to pay the staff to service you.”

*Knock* “I have brought your orders.”

“Come inside.”

As the maid placed her parfait on the table, Kiwi couldn’t help but be acutely conscious of the staff member: her teasingly short, frilled skirt, the cleavage she expertly showed while leaning on the table, the contrast of the black fabric with her white skin, the smell of her perfume, not too strong instead just subtle enough. Without going into detail on her figure and how her skimpy uniform stuck just right to her body, Kiwi could imagine why she was considered addictive.

“Having second thoughts?”

Sensing the smug grin of her ‘auntie’, Kiwi could only deny it. “No, stop imagining things.” Her blush betraying her words.

“If you say so.” Paying no mind to her hormonal companion, the ‘auntie’ pulled out a chocolate cigarette and started eating it alongside the coffee.

“You treat me like a child, yet you still eat those…”

“It’s not my fault they go down surprisingly well with black coffee; you should try it.”

“I’m not at war with sweets, thank you very much.”

“Your loss. Let’s see how the race is going.”

Not particularly engaged with the race itself, both of them watched aimlessly, waiting for the final results.

[5-2-1]

“You did predict the victor, but it seems 2 exceeded your expectations, leaving 7 in fourth.”

“H-how? They’ve never gotten higher than fifth!”

“Think of it as a lesson on the school of life, sometimes unpredictable stuff happens, also you’re playing against the house not the horses, don’t expect everything to go according to your calculations.”

“But the house isn’t playing against me, rather the general public, so if I plan around that I could win.”

“Look at you, all hyped up at the challenge. Wanna try again?”

“You BET I’m gonna!” Kiwi rose from her seat, ready to announce her pick for the next race. [“If I’m paying 50 million, it’s going to be with this place’s money!”]

“Your mom would despair seeing your impure motives written all over your face.”

Kiwi continued her gambling spree, sometimes guessing correctly and getting a big payout, sometimes losing either by bad luck or she just overthinking it. Still, she was happy to call the maid every time to make her bet, unfortunately only raising 10 million at the end.

“I’m done for today; my mind can’t take it anymore.”

“What did I tell you? It better than the arcade.”

“I hate to agree with you, but I can’t believe the house caught on midway through. I was so close!” Kiwi was so mentally exhausted, she didn’t register what she just admitted to.

As Kiwi sat back into her seat, having won many battles but ultimately losing the war, she spotted an ad on the racetrack.

[To celebrate our collaboration with Tres Magia, log in into our app and enjoy 5% better payouts]

“Tsk”

“Something wrong?”

“I just hate how those fuckers permeate every ad spot in the city.” Kiwi hated Tres Magia. Every time she opened social media, went to a vending machine, even her usual arcade had tried bringing in Tres Magia themed games (which Kiwi strong armed them not to) it was always Tres Magia this, Tres Magia that. People would clamor in the comments and on the street about how beautiful and noble they were, yet Kiwi had never heard such genuine praise headed her way, not even when she opened an alt account to post pictures of herself.

It was ridiculous, she held more influence than those nobodies, then why couldn’t she be acknowledged as such? “Weren’t you working on a replacement to those Magi-whatever? Can I join?”

“First of all, you’re lucky this room is private. Secondly, I’ll just guess what your mother might say, something along the lines of: ABSOLUTELY fucking not.”

“C’mon, it’s not the worst I’ve done, besides, why have other people in it instead of having such kind of physical power all to ourselves? You’ve both taught me how money isn’t everything.”

“Kiwi, the prototypes aren’t stable, I can’t even let you near one.”

“As in…they explode a bit? I promise to be careful.”

“As in every test subject has gone insane within a week of using it. Honestly, there is no need for you to join the fight, it’s better if you grow up to be the one behind those fighting for you.”

“I don’t wanna, it just feels like all the praise goes to those phonies.”

“That’s just because you have too much free time, not like school is doing you any favors. Tell you what, I’ll convince your mother to involve you in the business, maybe give you some people to lord over and in the meantime you’ll learn what my work is all about, deal?”

“Why would I agree to that?”

“Don’t be so stubborn and think about it. In time you’ll present an initiative to wipe out all the vigilantes on the country with new private corps, which every city would employ, in a way you’ll be even more famous than whatever group is active at the time.”

“Deal. Now do the impossible and convince my mom.”

“Don’t underestimate me kid.” She said with a wicked smile on her face.

Scared, thinking she just let her guard down, Kiwi saw her companion type something on their phone before tucking it away in their pocket.

“I just asked for your books to be delivered here. It’s unfortunate but I’m out of time, so I’ll be leaving. Remember to collect your earnings and here, a gift from ‘auntie’.” She said, placing a check for 40 million yen on the table.

Kiwi could feel the temptation rising up from her lower stomach, before steeling herself and pushing the check on the direction of her companion. “I’m not one of those girls you love to play with.”

“Your loss.” She said, ripping apart the piece of paper right then and there. “See you around Kiwi, try to not stay awake too late tonight, you won’t be getting through those books like you do Latin.”

Kiwi was floored as her companion left the room.

Reflecting on the events of this morning, Kiwi was being played against, but she didn’t play against her, all while being taught that exact same thing. Several issues remained, how much of it was planned? What did she gained by involving Kiwi on this project? [“AAAGHHH!!! I can’t read her at all!!!”]

Shortly after the maid came in carrying the books that were promised to her. It was the right decision to have rejected the check, even more, it was good fortune it had been torn apart. Being alone in that private room with the maid, Kiwi feared she would’ve paid the 50 million right then and there, she didn’t know if she had it in her to wait to get to the hotel, she would’ve gladly paid the extra cleaning fee. Trying to keep her focus away from the cleavage in front of her, towards the books she had to review, Kiwi noticed they pretty big. [“Not something that would fit my ha… that I could read in one night.”]

“Are these everything that cam… that were sent to me?”

“Yes, considering their size, may I offer you a bag to carry them on? They’re pretty big.”

“Y-yes, please.”

“Anything else I may service you on?” Said the maid, crossing her arms tightly under her chest, slightly bringing her already short skirt upwards.

“…N-no… just the bag… th-thank you.”

After the bag was brought over, Kiwi packed her books and rushed out the door. As the fresh air invaded her nostrils, Kiwi noticed for the first time just how she had been swimming for the last hours on that delectable perfume. [“It’s no wonder, the room was sealed for privacy, the only one going in and out being that beautiful maid with her perfume. Was it all part of her plan? I really can’t tell.”]

Kiwi wandered around the city for a while longer, she could’ve called a private car from the Araga group, but she wanted to completely clean her senses with the fresh air. Unconsciously avoiding every hotel that came in her path, as well as the occasional maid café, Kiwi looked for a place to have lunch, as she had had only half a parfait before going in her gambling spree.

Finding a fancy steak house, she ordered ‘the chef’s recommendation’ whatever that meant, to which the staff rushed to bring her the fanciest course they could manage. Kiwi was used to this charade, but it was refreshing as she wasn’t worried about losing her virginity to that (gorgeous) wretched temptress dressed up as a maid.

[“I’ll pay twice for the meal, I didn’t know how good I had it.”]

Little did she know, her good mood ended up with the restaurant’s staff jumping in tears of joy.

Walking around, Kiwi heard orders of evacuation on the distance. The usual procedure when a demon was spotted. [“Those fuckers sure keep themselves busy, normally I would stay away as I can’t stomach everyone that ignores the evacuation and gathers to gush over them, but maybe a change of pace could help me figure out what she’s up to.”]

Reaching the place where the evacuation was ordered; Kiwi beheld a harrowing sight.

“Oh my god. Is she new?”

“She still has a lot to learn but she’s already my fav~”

“Does she already have a name? I have so many ideas on what to call her.”

“Bet they’ll announce a poll for their new group name, I can’t wait!!”

“Such a timid cutie, you just want to hold her and tell her everything’s alright~”

There were four of them, moreover, one was new. [“As if three of them weren’t enough, heck, even when Pinkette over there was the only one, she was annoying enough. Now there are four?!”] Kiwi saw them fly away, not even recognizing the crowd beneath them, Kiwi cursed at them internally with all her heart.

Steeling her resolve, Kiwi went back to school just in time for the last bell to ring and finding a black car with polarized windows waiting for her outside.

[“It’s time I get serious with my studies.”]

A package of papers were slammed on a wooden desk.

“You really expect me to sign this off? Have you finally gone fucking senile?”

“I admit it’s not the kind of thing I would normally propose, but things have changed from our usual projections. It would be dangerous if we stay with our arms crossed.”

“You don’t get it, do you? The board is already concerned over the progress of your little project, and instead of addressing the issue, you go ahead and try to start another one?!”

“I’ve already reported on what our technological limitations entail. There’s little to be done unless we can successfully integrate Albedo and Rubedo phases into the production chain, using individual sorcerers every time is creating several issues due to the mental strain and natural human error.”

“And using my daughter will resolve everything? You’re a fool if you think that’s sound reasoning, Ur.”

“It’s possible because she’s your daughter. I can’t comprehend your human rationale when building things and there are enough sorcerer-filled psych wards to prove you can’t mine either. But your daughter may be the perfect middle ground, she’ll become a natural if you just let her.”

“NO. Those things are fueled by emotions and she’s still a kid, unstable. I’m aware of how she was eating up that demon maid of yours with her eyes and you expect me to believe she’ll handle a core without hurting herself?”

“What other way out is there? Normally I would’ve upheld my part of the deal and left your daughter out of all this, but the pulse yesterday have put many things in motion that shouldn’t have for at least a century. Even she made a move.”

“What? When?!”

“Earlier today, she manifested on a sub-plain for a couple of seconds, I can’t confirm what she did.”

“What about that disturbing mascot? The black one. Is it going to continue to bring attention to itself and it’s group?”

“That’s yet to be seen, I have reason to believe she’s involved in yesterday’s pulse, to what extent and what exactly was it, it’s difficult to tell.”

“I thought you were the purveyor of all knowledge, yet you’ve only said that you don’t know.”

“Of course I don’t, this is unprecedented. Nothing like this has happened since the song of time was first sung. Whatever it is, the potential behind it is truly destructive.”

“And since it’s an unknown you’ll follow company policy and destroy it?”

“Hence why I need your daughter.”

“There’s still an issue you haven’t addressed.”

“For now, I want her to acquire knowledge on her own accord, by the time she touches a core, it’ll be under my direct supervision. Neither of us can afford to break her.”

“You sure take your time on an issue you make sound urgent.”

“Venalita isn’t one to make fuss and then stay quiet without anything in between. The fact there’s no follow up means she can’t just yet, let’s just hope that’s enough time.”

“Hope? So… you as well?”

“Unfortunately.”

“I think it’s best to intensify our efforts into Albedo for now, secure twice as much Manatite for next month at the latest. As for Kiwi… let me think about it.”

“As you wish, now if you’ll excuse me.”

“Not so fast. I still want to talk to you about having my daughter bet on horse races and seducing her with a demon.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Chapter Text

On the dead of night, a black and gold mascot flew over Sendai.

[“I knew I said I would talk with it, but I’m not exactly looking forward to this meeting.”]

-Well, well, well… look at what the wind brought my way. I must say, you have quite the death wish to roam around my turf.

A sinuous hand firmly grabbed the mascot from behind its head, never triggering any of its developed magic senses. The mascot, grown wise to never try to wrestle out of the grasp or try to look behind her, stood still.

“Long time no see, O’Great One. I actually wanted to ask-”

Venalita was forced to stop mid-sentence, every sense in her body screaming in unison.

-I’ll be the one asking the questions. I know you have a deal with the crawling one. What are you up to?

Venalita couldn’t lie, she knew her best outcome would be to be killed on the spot if she did, still, she didn’t want to talk about her plans. “Nothing that would concern such a wise, laudable being like yourself.”

-Spare me the praise Puppet. You know exactly what I’m referring to.

“I’m afraid not, if it’s about yesterday’s occurrences, I’d like to know as well.”

The hand left Venalita’s head, however she still wouldn’t dare turn around.

-It’s that why you came?

“No, while I’ll gladly take any information on what has forced a halt to my business, I’m here to ask you for your help.”

-And why would I help you after all the issues your group causes?

“Its precisely about that, the leader of the group hasn’t taken lightly my orders to wait and see. I was hoping you could offer her a bit of attitude readjustment.”

-So, you expect me to clean after your mess? You aren’t even funny enough to get to be this brazen.

Venalita started sweating bullets, knowing whatever she says next might as well cost her life.

“I acknowledge Enormeeta has been acting in a rather uncouth manner as of lately, creating stress towards the normal operation of your great plans. As such I have prepared proper payment for any damages incurred as well as for this favor I’m shamelessly asking. If your Highness think of it as insufficient, I’m willing to concede whatever terms you deem appropriate.”

-You did learn corporate speak after all, how amusing. Very well, Jester, I’ll take your payment as well as one of your Magia cores, in return, I’ll make sure that toy of yours doesn’t bother me anymore. For your own good I suggest you don’t push your luck.

“I’m grateful for your magnanimity.”

-Leave.

Sensing the danger pass, Venalita turned around to an empty sky and proceeded to fly back, looking for her next candidate.

[“Long live the king and let him sleep soundly, for he has yet to imagine who might wake him. Long live Ur███”] The puppet grinned at the starry night; a crown firmly placed in her mind.

Utena unwillingly decided to wake up to the sound of the alarm on her phone, it not being used for much else.

[“I should start getting ready if I want to be there on time”]

She drowsily raised herself from the futon, the dark circles under her eyes clearly visible.

[“I thought I could learn some magic yesterday, but that supposedly ‘book for dummies’ kept me up until late at night. It’s too complicated.”]

Utena spotted the book lazily dropped near her and put in on top of another titled ‘Divination 101’, still unopened.

[“Maybe I should ask Gêl for some advice, it just feels like I’m doing too much effort for things on a smaller scale than my usual antics.”]

Utena went to the bathroom, striping her pajamas on the process and leaving them in the washing machine, on the way looking at her naked body in the mirror.

[“Still damaged…”]

Upon further inspection, Utena noticed several disorderly lines tattooed on her back, she could feel some magic emanating from there but little else.

[“Is it progressing or maybe something else? Did my meddling with the future have something to do with it? I really don’t know how I handled that thing when I can’t understand an introductory book.”]

Utena went to take a shower, feeling the warm water wash away some of her fatigue, Utena felt blessed having had a normal dream, Gêl would be complaining over her water bill if she had to wash her bed after every dream.

[“Odd, I thought that thing would appear again. I wonder what it is up to, can it even do anything outside tormenting my sleep? It just lives on my mind or something, right?”]

Utena found no answer to her questions and since she couldn’t exactly ask anyone about that outside maybe Venalita or Gêl, she certainly wouldn’t for a long time.

[“Why are the most knowledgeable people I know so sketchy?”]

Light minded, Utena happily rambled on in the shower, for a moment forgetting she had to look for something in the city.

Getting ready to leave, Utena saw herself at the mirror. She was wearing a long black skirt and a long-sleeved white shirt; she just needed a cross and people would think she was a preacher. Utena had chosen these clothes as they resembled the most her usual style, but looking at herself now she couldn’t help but remember at Hitomi’s outburst the day before.

[“Maybe I could be a bit bolder”]

Closing her eyes, Utena started moving magic around herself, hoping to replicate what Hitomi had shown her before going shopping. Her skirt shortened from her ankles to her knees, her sleeves, midway down her arms. Utena used the remaining fabric to make a light, grey jacket.

[“I’m just copying her, aren’t I? Still not as embarrassing as what she made me wear yesterday.”]

Taking her helmet and bag, Utena went down the stairs to the front of the shop, where she left her bike. Once there she noticed the shop was closed with a letter taped on front.

[Closed for the day]

“Guess Gêl can get busy when she needs to, but what kind of shopkeeper closes business for a single client? Or maybe I should ask, what kind of client closes a business?”

Not giving it much thought, Utena opened the lock on her bike and got ready to travel to the closest subway station. Having familiarized herself with this part of the city, Utena didn’t have to rely on her map until she arrived at the subway. She compared the metro lines with the punctured spot on her map and devised the route she had to take.

Getting a whiff of the morning rush, Utena used this chance to practice her magic senses, like before the crowd around her turned into empty silhouettes, incapable of interacting with magic.

[“It still bothers me how Gêl disappears whenever I try to sense her, but its comforting knowing there are no conspicuously empty spaces in the train car.”]

The more she practiced, the more Utena tried devising the details around her. Through experimenting Utena noticed that if she tried broadening her senses, the less detailed the world became, the human-formed silhouettes becoming disturbingly blurry. On the flip side, the more constrained her view was, the richer the world became, she could notice the seats and handrails around her, the bags everyone carried, she could even tell which passengers wore a cap.

This new detailed vision of hers spanned a radius of 5 meters around her, unlike with her eyes, she didn’t have any blind spots, if she wanted she could look at the rails beneath her or above the train car, her only limitation being how much of it she could take at once. Utena opened her eyes, feeling a headache in its way.

[“I should stop for now, next time I should practice visualizing magic with my eyes open, that way I shouldn’t be taken by surprise or see Venalita before she gets a chance to spot me.”]

Utena tried keeping her guard up, it was true that Gêl told her she wouldn’t meet the mascot, but black and gold was a weirdly specific combination and too much of a coincidence.

[“Again this, is it really sincere that she doesn’t know who I’ll be meeting? I can’t tell what she’s thinking.”]

Reaching the general area on her map, Utena noticed she got there with 30 minutes to spare.

[“Gêl did say I would meet someone at 9’ but she didn’t mention if she was wearing black and gold or I’d find her near something black and gold. Better to look around.”]

Utena wandered around, checking she was indeed in the right place while scouring for any hints of black and gold in billboards, shop logos, products on display, randoms stickers on lamp posts, even closed her eyes for a bit hoping magic to gain color, but found nothing. Utena approached an electronics shop with several TV’s on display, all of them transmitting the news.

[‘A NEW Magia in Town? Here’s what experts think at Sendai’s group silence on the topic’]

Utena saw her face plastered all over the screens, she could tell as much through the quality of the cam recorder the ‘experts’ were talking over. Both her appearance and her movements, or lack thereof, open to scrutiny.

[“C’mon, that was your debut, get your head out of the gutter and stop appreciating Sulfur’s back, so what if she’s got more muscle than the other two?”]

Utena couldn’t help but be concerned for her other self, to her, Porpora was the shy wall-plant she used to be. The more direct, shameless side of her not loosened at all by the Magia Heart.

[“Will she be okay? She should still have around a month before Lord shows up, will they be okay? Will any of them manage to pull a ‘La Verita’?]

Utena started to worry, her absence as Baiser clearly showing its ugly consequences.

[“Even if I wanted to help, to transform into Baiser once more, Gêl noticed it yesterday, I’m afraid. If I lose control now they stand no chance at surviving, it’ll be a worse tragedy.”]

Taking her sight away from the screens, Utena noticed a girl strolling through the city loosely wearing a black sailor uniform with a golden outline on the lapel and shirt, the hallmark uniform of the Lodensteyn schools, under a light-yellow, oversized cardigan. Her long, ashen hair neatly organized into two large buns behind her head, her big wine-red eyes slightly bored and sleep deprived, the girl casually entered a café across the street.

“Kiwi….” Utena blurted out, her composure lost over the sight of her friend.

[“It makes sense, Gêl said I needed to find my own definition of love, confronting her was inevitable, but will she be the same Kiwi I knew? There’s no way.”] Utena had grown used to the side of Kiwi that showered her in love, her accomplice in tormenting Tres Magia, her friend, but all of that was gone, or rather, it never existed.

Steeling her resolve, Utena crossed to the other side, entering the café as well. [“Even if it gets awkward since she doesn’t even know me, I need to talk to her, I need to know the real Kiwi.”]

Passing through the door, Utena was greeted by a nearly empty café, Kiwi sat on a table with a book on her hand, waiting for her order to arrive. Utena approached the counter greeting the shopkeeper on the other side. Looking at the menu on the wall above the counter, Utena quickly realized why there were only two people in this shop besides herself.

[“These prices are outrageous; I could buy a full meal for the price of one of these coffees.”] Utena could afford it given Gêl’s distorted sense of hazard pay, but she questioned if Kiwi understood the worth of money.

“Can I have a medium latte?”

“Anything else?”

“No, just the latte.”

The shopkeeper gave her an inquisitive look before heading to the register and taking the money Utena had placed beforehand.

Taking her receipt, Utena took a seat on a bar against the one-sided window looking at the street. Utena decided to start by seating somewhere near Kiwi instead of beside her, to not creep her out.

“What a waste coming here just for a coffee.” Kiwi retorted. “At least try the snacks, it’s the only thing worth the price.”

[“What kind of snacks are worth that much? I’d rather buy a ¼ scale Magia figurine!”] Utena was surprised Kiwi started the conversation all of the sudden, still, she tried to answer as normally as she could. “I just felt like wanting a coffee, do you come often?”

“Often enough to know you’re not a regular around here, are you skipping school? Coming to a fancy shop so that youth counselors don’t catch you?”

“Something like that, you?”

“I am, school’s too noisy to read in peace.”

“Do you like reading?”

“Not really, I’m just reading this because I have to. Not that you would understand what it’s about”

Utena turned, looking at the book on Kiwi’s hand. Trying to hide her shock, she decided to continue the conversation, her many questions could wait. “Te..le..metry, is it? Yeah there’s no way I can understand what’s written there even if I read it.” Utena tried to keep a relaxed composure, even after translating the runes on that book’s cover. If anything, she was grateful to have learned basic runes just the day before.

Kiwi opened her eyes on disbelief. “You… can read it?”

“Just a bit, I have just dabbled in the topic.”

“It’s not something just anyone can learn, who are you?”

“I’m Irren, nice to meet you.”

“You really expect me to believe that?”

“Huh?”

“Let me take a guess, you learned some German on school and thought it’d be clever to call yourself a stray anytime you wanted to skip class.”

[“Is that what Gêl has been calling me all this time? Does she see me as a dog she rescued of the street?!... On second thought, that may not be inaccurate.”] Utena was still reticent at giving her real name, especially now that the other her just made her debut. It could spell a lot of trouble, since Kiwi would eventually become Leopard.

“It’s not that, it’s just… you could say my guardian has a particular naming sense.” Utena blurted out, stretching the definition of the word ‘guardian’ as far as she could to include that drunkard.

“Your guardian… Oh! I’m sorry. My name is Kiwi, Araga Kiwi.”

“Nice to meet you, Kiwi!” Utena could hear a pin drop, for some reason she felt several eyes looking over her, even the shopkeeper glared her way. On a panic, Utena activated her senses for just a moment, coming to a harrowing realization.

The shop wasn’t as empty as she thought it was, on each corner, in between the walls, in the ceiling, even sitting nearby, Utena could see human silhouettes, all of them interacting in some way or another with magic. [“They seem to be watching over her, protecting her, were they always there during our time together?”]

“Aren’t you a friendly one, Irren? Why don’t you tell me how someone like you came to ‘dabble’ in magic?”

[“I’m a Magia that came from the future, of course I can’t say that, but then what? Her bodyguards are ready to tackle me.”] Utena knew her Kiwi could easily tell when she was hiding something or lying, there’s no reason this one is any different.

“You could say that my sister is a bit obsessed with magic, and I caught on some of the things she does.” Utena stretched the truth as much as possible. “Then my guardian (sold) gave me some books to practice.”

“So, it’s a family thing? Guess we are not that different you and I.”

“Your mother is knowledgeable about this stuff?”

“Are you that interested on the Araga secrets.”

“N-not really, I was just wondering out loud, I’m sorry.” Utena apologized feeling the danger creep closer.

“You do know who you’re talking with?”

“You’ve just told me you’re Kiwi, that’s all I know.”

“Huh? You’re quite the weird one, if I didn’t know any better I would’ve thought you wanted to charm me with your mysterious act.”

“I-I wouldn’t, I mean, you’re cute and all but it’s not why I’m here for.”

“…”

“Kiwi? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing, why are you here then?”

“Self-discovery I’d say.”

Kiwi laughed in a way Utena hadn’t seen before, it wasn’t her malicious sneer whenever she tormented Sulfur, or her overenergetic laugh that she made whenever Utena conceded to something during her love-bombing. It was just Kiwi.

“So, to discover yourself you skipped school and spent your lunch money on an overpriced coffee?”

[“You do know these prices are outrageous then?”] Utena contained the thought on her mind, not knowing how the bodyguards would react. “That’s a way to sum it up, yes.”

“Say, can you do any magic? You know, like actual practical stuff.”

“Yes, can’t you?”

“I’m not allowed unless it’s under direct supervision, so I can read and understand all this structures and stuff, but I don’t have a sense of how it’s actually done.”

“I can do some small stuff, but it feels like I’m bending over backwards.”

“Can you show me?”

“Is it okay? I mean, the public setting and all.”

“It’s fine, no one ever comes here because of its reputation.”

[“Yet you still walked in and paid some ridiculous price.”]

“Then I’ll try something, maybe a droplet of water.” Utena closed her eyes, remembering the book she read the night before, imagining the rune for water, she pooled magic around her finger and let it drop on a nearby napkin.

“Is that how it works?”

“Aah!” Utena didn’t realize when Kiwi had closed the distance between them, sitting beside her on the bar.

“Sorry, I moved while you focused, I wanted to see it up close.”

“Don’t worry, you just caught me a bit for surprise.”

“Irren, don’t you usually have to say something to conjure magic?”

“Is that so? To my understanding it’s enough to visualize it.”

“From what I read, saying something related to what you want helps you visualize it, since you’re a rookie I thought you’d say ‘water’ or something.”

“I can do this much, anything more complex and I might as well recite a paragraph.”

“You’re a funny one, say, how about we exchange numbers?”

“Ah…that’s…”

“Am I being too annoying?”

Utena saw Kiwi lowering her voice and opening her eyes like a dejected puppy, she knew it was all an act Kiwi pulled whenever she wanted to have something fancy after school with her, but that didn’t make it any easier to reject her.

“No, you see… I… don’t have a phone.”

“Wha? How do you survive without one?”

“It… broke…” Utena didn’t think she was telling too much of a lie, especially since she couldn’t say her SIM card was deactivated for being the same as the other her.

“In that case, to celebrate our reunion, how about I get you one?” Kiwi raised her hands in an exaggerated manner.

“It’s okay, I wouldn’t want to impose on you, we just met.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here on a flash, I’ll just finish sending this message.”

Utena felt somewhat refreshed seeing Kiwi’s brazen antics, doing whatever she wanted at record speed. It took her mind off for a bit of every hidden bodyguard that was looking daggers at her.

While Utena was trying to articulate an excuse to decline Kiwi’s offer, the shopkeeper came around with both of the girls orders. Kiwi beamed at the sight of her parfait and cake slice, while Utena gave up and took a drink of her latte. [“This is not worth an entire meal.”]

“Told ya, you should’ve ordered something else.” Said Kiwi with a smug grin, reading Utena’s mind.

“I still feel like drinking coffee.” Utena lied, not wanting to admit defeat to the smug Kiwi.

“You say that, but your face says it needs more milk and sugar.”

“Then your eyes are wrong.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say~”

“Changing topic, do you skip often? You strike me as the one who would be popular at school.” Utena reminisced at her time with Kiwi, she was swarmed when she introduced herself in class, the only reason why that didn’t last was because Kiwi clung to her like a jealous house cat. The only other person that talked to her was Kaoruko, and it was always fighting words.

“Don’t mention it, its so suffocating I’d rather miss school entirely.”

“That bad, huh?”

“What about you, you strike me as the one they forget exists in the back of the classroom.”

“I’d bet they haven’t found out I’m not there.”

“You really are a strange one, Irren.” Said Kiwi mid-laugh, clearly enjoying herself.

The shop’s door opened and in entered a short haired woman, donning a black suit and tie with a white shirt and sunglasses, clearly a bodyguard. She approached the two of them a placed a white box with a series of numbers written on top. The bodyguard then proceeded to whisper something into Kiwi’s ear.

“Here Irren! A gift from me! Your phone number is written on top of the box, I’ve also asked them to add my number to your contacts, let’s keep our future meetings a little secret between us.” Kiwi placed a finger over her mouth with a mischievous smile.

“You really shouldn’t have bothered.”

“It’s fine! Besides, what is more exciting than having a secret friend nobody knows about? It’s just you and me~”

[“And at least 20 other bodyguards, seriously, you study magic, how haven’t you noticed?”] Utena kept her complaints to herself, letting sleeping lions lie and all that.

“Anyway, something came up, so I have to go, make sure to buy it a cute phone case and panzer glass. I wouldn’t want our friendship to end over a broken phone.”

“I’ll buy it something cuter than yours, then next time we’ll compare.”

“You’re so on! I’m not losing to you!”

“See ya, Kiwi!”

“See ya~”

Being left alone with her overpriced coffee, Utena was glad she met Kiwi once more. It made her realize how much Kiwi had left behind for her, she was an elite, had enough money to waste on a shop like this, they were from two different worlds, yet she transferred mid-term to Sendai’s middle school, reviewing classes she had long aced, eating cheap school lunch or whatever quality of sushi Utena could afford to offer her that one time. All because she loved her. [“Kiwi really is amazing, yet I couldn’t reciprocate… is this what Gêl was talking about yesterday? In that case, what is my love? Do I love magical girls? I need some fresh air, maybe a stroll would help me get my thoughts in order. I also need to find a case for this phone, how chaotic.”]

Entering the car waiting for her, Kiwi was greeted by a grown woman in formal business attire, holding a laptop.

“Did you find anything?” Kiwi didn’t bother with pleasantries.

“Indeed, but first, is there somewhere you would like to go, we can talk on the way.”

“Anywhere I won’t be followed.”

“As you wish,” the woman gave a sign to the driver, and the car started to move. “We have confirmed there’s no one called Irren neither on the registration office nor in immigration records, but we have a 99,97% match on her face.”

“So, it was a fake name…”

“Not quite, we have identified her as Hiiragi Utena, a student in Sendai’s middle school with no connections to any magic association, no siblings and two living mothers.”

“Just how much did she lie about?”

“There’s still something else,” the woman turned around the computer so that Kiwi could see what was being displayed in screen. “This is a live feed of the aforementioned Hiiragi Utena, as you can see she’s currently in class and has been for the entirety of your meeting with this Irren.”

“Did she copy a random girl’s face to walk around the city? This stinks of a ploy of ‘Auntie’, has my mother said anything?”

“We have reported on the issue, but she has yet to answer, we suggest you talk with her personally.”

“Anything else?”

“Given her unknown nature we suggest for her to be eliminated immediately, do you wish us to proceed?”

“No, I want to know where she goes with that phone, I can’t let any information go unnoticed now that I’m involved in this business.”

“Very well, we’ll let waste management know about your decision.”

Kiwi laid back on the car’s seat, she was more at ease now that she had some authority and someone under her charge (and it wasn’t a slutty maid). Her mother hadn’t completely agreed to her ‘Auntie’s’ idea but convincing her enough for a compromise was a feat all on its own. Still, she wanted to know who had sent a doppelganger her way, maybe then she could be allowed to touch a core. It was all a matter of accumulating feats.

[“It’s a shame, the first person to genuinely call me cute ended up being a demon.”]

Chapter Text

“It seems we’re done here.”

“I…. can…s-still…”

Lord shot a dismissive glance at the defeated Magia at her feet before turning away.

“Lord, I must insist that we-”

“Again with that sister? I don’t appreciate that mascot’s evaluation of me. Leberblume! Loco Musica!”

““Yes!!””

“Go scout the next city like usual, Sister and I will be returning to Nacht Base, I want to talk with Venalita.”

““On it!!””

Her two lieutenants gone in a flash, Lord was left in the middle of the destruction her group caused, several Magia Hearts laid scattered, broken, around her, the only exception being a crawling Magia, too weak to consider a threat.

“Let’s go Sister and call Venalita to us, I don’t want to wait for that supposedly busy mascot.”

“As you wish Lord.” Said the nun as she opened a portal to a place which now only knows eternal night.

Feeling the characteristically chilly wind, Lord Enorme took a step forward, appreciating the majesty of her fortress in the distance.

Under a waning moon, an orthogonal castle loomed in the distance, it’s alien structure and size, reminiscent of a time of grandeur few remain to remember, Lord not being one of them.

“Couldn’t you have opened the portal inside? It’s the only warm place in this wasteland.”

“I’m truly sorry Lord; there seems to be some interference that doesn’t let me open it any closer.” The nun apologized, having left the city behind and closing the portal behind her.

[“Is this a ploy by that mascot? Wanting to scare me with mythical beings and such.”] Lord scuffed, not liking being taken by a fool. “When is that mascot coming? I won’t stand being on this cold for too long.”

“She says she’ll be here shortly.”

“Very well, for now let’s fly near the base, I swear the wind is picking up.”

-Isn’t that the best part of the scenery?

“As i-” Lord was tackled to the side by Sister, an explosive crash missing them just barely.

-Must say, I would’ve never imagined you’d use this decrepit place as a base, it’s laughably disgusting.

Quick on her feet, Enorme didn’t waste time on summoning her slime soldiers, signaling Sister to go on the Vanguard. The nun grew several meters towering over the barely visible silhouette among the dust from the crash, swinging her massive fists, closely followed up by a wave of slime soldiers.

As if reality had betrayed them, Sister laid in the ground on her back, her momentum completely lost and the wave of soldiers crashing on her from above. Hovering over Sister’s head, the silhouette stood.

-Hope you don’t mind, this one is personal, witch.

/Hëllenvüer/

/Agape/

The crash site came ablaze with dark flames; Lord could feel all her constructs evaporating in the intense heat.

-What a killjoy.

Lord couldn’t understand what was going on. Before a sea of black flames, a figure was illuminated, a figure her brain refused to understand. Covered in static as if the world wanted to conceal what laid within, the figure approached.

-You’d expect more from the self-proclaimed future queen of the world.

Lord didn’t have time to hesitate, she pooled as much magic as she could and sent a massive wave of slime soldiers, all strengthened to its maximum power, no Magia she’d encountered had experienced half of what she was launching its way. [“I’ve defeated countless who’ve fancied themselves bigger than the world, using their power for their self-righteous justice, I will prevail!!”]

Again, reality betrayed her eyes, the wave of soldiers crashing over Lord with mere inertia. [“A misfire? No, it did it again.”]

Still with fight in her eyes, Lord Enorme rose once more, sending her soldiers stampeding towards her target.

-You don’t learn, do you?

The black flames moved on their own accord, evaporating every soldier that came its way. Lord felt through the limited shared senses with her soldiers how the magic she had gathered screamed and disappeared before her very eyes. [“It’s hopeless.”]

/Grovel/

At the order, Lord’s body pressed itself in the ground. Lord found impossible to raise her head, breathing in the dusty ground beneath her. Feeling a boot being pressed over her head, she despaired at the incomprehensible being looming over her.

-Guess I won’t leave until you remember your lesson, all the way to your bones

/Pûrlære/

The world turned black. Lord stood from the ground, now a solid polished rock, feeling the cold over her exposed skin, she noticed she wore no clothes. Lost in eternal darkness, she looked around. [“Where am I?”]

Lord tried to cast a light with her magic, with her arm extended, she achieved nothing. She walked aimlessly, hoping to find anything, be it a way back or to cover herself, the stone cold floor, a reminder of her exposure. Having lost the passage of time, Lord Enorme walked the empty plane, tirelessly walking, she found nothing. [“What am I even doing? Why didn’t the mascot warn me of that thing? It even killed Sister.”] Along the way she tried casting multiple things, her soldiers, a portal, even her whip, but nothing ever came of it.

Walking further, she spotted a single speck of light. [“That must be it”] She sprinted, failing to notice the slight slope from the rock beneath her. The more she ran the closer she got, hope building in her chest all the way there. [“I haven’t fallen yet; I will take my revenge on it.”]

Reaching towards the light, Lord found herself on a barren wasteland, dark silhouettes with empty white eyes limping and staggering around her, the clouded sky gave the landscape a grey look. [“Where have I been sent? Why is my magic not working?”]

She started to worry, seeing as her magical capabilities where sealed off completely. Defenseless, she was assaulted by sudden winds, to strong to even keep her feet on the ground, Lord was flung away by the tempestuous wind. In her naked state, she shivered, the winds cooling her body even more than the cold stone, while gashing her skin, the warmth of her blood being the only consolation in her sorry state. She never imagined flying to be this torturous, every new wind that flung her in a new direction, not letting her rest, making new wounds throughout her body.

Eventually the winds ceased as fast as they appeared and Lord Enorme fell, she couldn’t see the floor, only capable of bracing herself for impact, whenever that may come. [“Is this how I die? No! there must still be something I can do.”]

[Lang]

Lord heard a strange muttering on her mind, forgetting what she was about to do.

Plunging into a pit of mud, she clawed herself to the top, trying not to drown. Once above, she was greeted by the same grey sky and an endless sea of filth. The ‘mud’ she could barely stay above of, much less stand, reminded her of her slime soldiers, it resembled an inconsistent slush over which she could only crawl over, lest she sank even further, the foul stench making it difficult to breathe.

Looking around she wasn’t alone, several silhouettes, like the ones she’d seen before, were struggling in the cold slush, even more so as hail pelted her skin with rain accentuating the cold Lord felt. [“I need to get out of here.”] Lord struggled, trying to stay afloat, trying to find a patch of firm land.

{“Sister! Leberblume! Loco Musica! Venalita!! Does anyone hear me?!”} She tried to call for help, deafening silence being her only answer. [“I won’t be reduced to this! I’m the grea-”]

[Kuning]

Again, the muttering interrupted her thoughts.

She felt ripples building along the slush, heavy steps making waves in the filth. In the distance with three heads and fourteen eyes, a five legged monster approached. It’s paws donned with steel claws; the monster occasionally flung the silhouettes around with its mouths, mauling and clawing everything in its path.

Lord tried to crawl away, sensing the monster approach, she even tried to dive into the filth to escape the physics defying calamity, but it was too little too late as the massive monster had her in its sights. [“Is this what all my pride’s worth?”]

The monster plunged one of its plague ridden mouths into the slush, biting deep inside of her and launching her upwards before being caught again by those razor sharp teeth. Like a dog testing out a new toy, the monster continued to fling Lord’s body around, sometimes sending her from one mouth to another, other times smashing her against the slush before scooping her back up with its claws, leaving deep wound on her once pristine skin. [“Why won’t I die?”]

Seeing its toy laying limp in its mouth, having played with it to it’s content, the monster threw it away and walked away, letting it sink in the filth it didn’t want to emerge from. [“What did I ever achieve? Torment middle-schoolers?”]

Drowning but not dying, Lord let herself be carried away by the undercurrent of the slush, as she sank, she felt mysterious tendrils entering her ears, pulling away at her, pieces drifting away in the filth.

[Libe]

[“Why am I here again?”]

Confused, Lord was taken away to shallower depths where her consciousness was kicked back into her new reality by the stomping of dark silhouettes, each of them clawing and punching each other.

Laying on the shallow riverbed, she was on the receiving end of all the unintended abuse, her body being constantly stomped onto the riverbed below, she attempted to stand up only to be kicked on the side and punched in the head by the uncaring crowd of shadows, barely managing to move with the current, she rose to fight the silhouettes in her way. Naked, barehanded, her body bruised, slashed and battered, she clawed and ripped her way forward. The unending fight breaking her knuckles, popping off her nails, fracturing her teeth, Lord fell to be stomped and slowly carried away by the current.

[“Why am I even fighting for?”]

Barely conscious she devised a waterfall ahead and dragged her broken body through the forest of feet, kicking and stomping over her body. White pieces leaking from her ears.

[“I’m so cold, even my blood can’t warm me anymore, when will this end. Where was I before?”]

Lord fell to the depths beyond, sensing a warm light waiting for her beneath. She smashed face first into a burning red iron plate, her bones creaking from the change in temperature, Lord stood on her blistering feet and ran aimlessly in the hope to find some sort of release. Yet she found none. The smoke rose from her burning feet, unnaturally accumulating around her face and entering her ears and nostrils.

[Kuning]

Her feet charred, Lord noticed her still flowing blood pooling around her, eventually flowing in a specific direction. In excruciating pain, yet not burning away, she followed her boiling river of blood, a murder flying around her. Defenseless, the crows endlessly picked away at her skin with her peaks and pointed talons. No matter the torture, neither flesh nor blood ran out, in endless pain, the false queen wasn’t allowed to die.

Reaching a cliff, she fell once more, the gelid wind relieving the searing pain she felt. In a frozen tundra, she noticed uncountable ice statues, all of them resembling the silhouettes she’d seen all along, all of them pointing in the same direction with grim expressions full of pain and hope. Looking ahead, she noticed a valley, the statues all concentrically organized, as if gathering around, all pointed to the many-faced titan in its center. It’s face frozen in pure bliss, there laid the slain colossal, split in two by a glimmering golden axe which promised relief from this world.

[“My mind scatters, yet I can sense hope.”]

Lord started her descent to the valley, each step she took colder than the one before, ice crystals staring to form on her skin. The more she descended the grimmer the expressions of the statues, as if time slowed down the deeper they were on the tundra, their cold torture extending towards infinity. Frost bitten, Lord’s fingers and nose fell off, the skin of her feet ripping apart as it glued itself on the frozen floor, leaving a red trail behind her. [“It doesn’t matter, as long as I reach the axe, I will be free from this suffering.”] Lord continued down the frozen path, ignoring her own pain, washing them with the hope of death. Her skin cracked, taking away larger pieces of her body as she approached the slain god, now in eternal bliss. Just ahead of her, the last statues on her path donned crowns, all short of reaching the tip of the protruding golden edge. Lord Enorme reached out before falling apart in frozen pieces.

She woke up, a black stone floor in a black world cooling her back, Lord noticed her body was whole again before she saw a light approaching as the floor sloped.

…

[“How much must I endure this torture, no matter how close I get; I never get close to the axe, no matter where I run; I can’t escape the winds, no matter how fiercely I fight; I always fall, even giving up won’t help me die.”]

Thought Lord before being launched into the bile by the three headed monster.

…

[“What did I do to deserve this? That thing attacked first”]

She ceased to think, laying in a boiling pool of her own blood.

…

[“My name… I wanted to exalt my own greatness, but even that titan fell, what am I in comparison? I’m not Lord Enorme”] She said, painfully admiring the frozen tundra.

….

“Who am I? Why am I here? Why does it feel so familiar?” She said, flying across the grey sky.

…

Tanaka Michiko woke up in a daze, as if everything she just experienced had just been an awful nightmare, she look down at herself. She had no bruises or other wounds and had her day clothes on, a warm sunset visible from the window nearby.

Standing up from the couch she had fallen asleep on, she stretched her limbs as she scoured her surroundings. [“This is my mothers home…”]

Seeing the old dining table she knew so well, the various family photos placed around the living room, the old TV that had to be wrapped with a blanket during winter. Michiko felt she would start crying in the comfortable atmosphere, a stark contrast with the nightmare she just lived. The nightmare where she called herself **** ******.

[Lang]

“Ah, Michiko! You’re still here? Anyway, move, we’re bringing in the cake.”

Michiko was stunned by her mother hectic demeanor, clearly preparing for something important she is unaware of.

“C-cake? Who are we celebrating?”

“Your sister! She just graduated law school! Ah, here they are!!”

In cue, through the entrance door a 7 floor cake could be seen as several people struggled to get it inside the apartment. Several employees came through the door first, decorations in hand, and started adorning the apartment, balloons were inflated, a new mantle placed over the old dining table and lastly the cake was placed just in time for the celebrated one to appear.

“Mom~ you didn’t have to do all this!”

“But I wanted to celebrate my daughter’s achievement, and there’s still something more for you Niina.”

At the sound of a clap, a musical group came up from behind the door lead by her other mom, clearly hired to liven up the celebration.

Michiko saw her two mothers and sister dance in the small apartment and decided to just watch, taking in the sight she never thought she’d see of her family dancing and celebrating together.

After the musical group ended their ballad, Michiko approached her sister.

“Congratulations, Sis.”

“Thank you~” she said, punching Michiko hard on the stomach.

“Gah! Why… did you do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I can do anything I want with you, after all, who would care for a failure?”

The bending Michiko was kicked dropping her to the floor. [“A failure?”]

“Didn’t you hear, I graduated, I’m a lawyer. But what are you? Don’t tell me you still dream on conquering the world?”

The kicks didn’t stop, Michiko, being surrounded by every person that came to the celebration, could not escape the abuse.

“You are, aren’t you? How pathetic, a dropout thinking she’ll rule the world. You’re a disgrace to the Tanaka household and you still dare come here and celebrate!!”

“She really is, glad you’re nothing like her, Niina.”

“I wonder if she got swapped at the hospital, I can’t believe she has my genes.”

The voices multiplied as so did the kicks, all the faces around her darkened with a bright malicious grin, making sure to hit Michiko were it hurt.

“Please…sto-GAH!!”

“I have the perfect idea for entertainment, all for this special day.”

“You always have the best ideas, mom!!”

“Let’s drag her out.”

Michiko sat on the side of a plaza, her body dirtied and bruised from all the kicks and punches it took to get her there, her clothes torn, strapped to a light pole a sign hung from her neck reading: [Tanaka Michiko, Queen of the World.]

“Look, this is all this trash is worth!”

“Don’t be so loud, they’ll fine you for littering.”

“HAHAHAHAHA”

Her family melded into the ever increasing crowd, all of them gathering to mock her, throw trash at her, all her hopes and dreams ridiculed by the mob. Under the scorching sun, Michiko was the public spectacle, a reject with dreams of grandeur, a long, brimless, white hat placed over her head.

[“That’s right. I’m a failure, a dropout, that’s why I left my name and chose… what did I call myself again?”]

“Look!! This town’s idiot!!”

[“That’s right, I’m ‘the idiot’”]

The mockery continued until late afternoon, where the crowd dispersed, stomachs hurting from all the laughter, ‘the idiot’ was left safely secured to the pole.

[Libe]

A new day came, no one cared for the bounded dunce. ‘The idiot’, frostbitten, covered in trash and cheap beer, scratched by the wildlife, broken yet barely conscious, flinched at the sound of laughter. [“Will someone save me? Have mercy on me!”] She prayed to the heavens.

Four kids came into the plaza laughing and throwing a rubber ball at each other. Noticing her, they started to walk around her, all while passing the rubber ball among themselves.

““Hehehehe””

““Gott ist tot, Gott ist tot.””

They said in their high-pitched voices. The ball being received by a kid before her, it was smashed against ‘the idiot’s’ face. Repeating the same motions, the kids continued walking around her, as their progressively whiter eyes sunk deeper in their skull. More children came into view, all making concentric circles around her, all chanting in their mindless ritual.

[“*ave I al*ays been in this p*le? I d*n’t rem*m*er. I f*el thin, <like butter spread over too much bread.> W**t am * ev*n sa*ing? H*w d* I *se *****?”]

The empty doll, helpless, raised its head to the yellow sky, as cursed words promising salvation plagued and occupied its mind. Not needing to remember anything else.

[Lang Libe der Kuning]

“Long live, U-”

{/I know it’s a tangled fight.

You’ve hit bottom, lost the light.

Grasp the phrase I happened to be humming.

Spread secret words of the heart into the sky.

You’ll guide the forsaken lamb into my altar. /}

Lord Enorme saw the sky break under a blue-green light.

-As you wish I’ll leave it at that, my job’s done anyway.

Lord woke up sniffing the dusty ground as she had been doing before the nightmare started. Feeling no weight over her head, no stiffness in her limbs, she stood up to the sight of an empty, barren landscape, illuminated by waning red flames. On the distance she could see someone rise from them, wearing a seared, disheveled nun outfit and pink hair scorched at the ends, the figure approached Lord.

“It’s good to see you’re okay, Sister.”

“How about you Lord? From the distance I noticed terrible magic being cast upon you.”

Lord looked up at the eternal night, reminiscing of what to her are now simply bad memories. “I’m fine, I haven’t been forsaken.”

Lord remembered the beautiful voice that pulled her out of the nightmare, the soothing light cast upon her manifested in her mind like a warmth that cruised her body, it filled her with love and admiration to what she could only call divine, sacred, yet no words she spoke would properly describe it. For Lord, there was no longer torture cruel nor long enough to shaken her newfound purpose, as long as the memory of her remained in her soul, Lord will hope, knowing she watches over her. [“I died on that yellow sky and was reborn on her grace.”]

“Are you sure, you’re speaking weirdly.”

“Worry not Sister, let’s pray so that next time we’ll be victorious against those cursed creatures.”

“I-if you say so…”

A portal opened nearby, a black and gold mascot emerging from it.

“Sorry for the delay, mind telling me what happened?”

“Venalita! Thank the heavens you’re okay, it seems we encountered one of the beings you warned us about, fortunately we’ve been spared.” Lord enthusiastically answered.

{“What the fuck is wrong with her?”}

{“I don’t know, she woke up like that from Pûrlære.”}

{“I see it took the personality adjustment part quite literal, but that doesn’t explain Lord’s behavior”}

{“I don’t know either, it stopped midway and left. I was honestly expecting her to be a mindless doll after this.”}

“Is anything the matter, Venalita?” Lord questioned the suddenly quiet mascot.

“A-ah, no… I see.. You were spared… Regarding my suggestion, would you hear me out?”

“Of course, it was my folly to attempt to go against such godless calamity, how do you suggest we pool our strength?”

{“I don’t know if to laugh or cry.”}

{“I wasn’t like that back in the convent, was I?”}

“It’s nothing out of the ordinary, the Legion should train, seeing the landscape I can imagine what caused it, I also have brought a recruit that could help us defeat it.”

On cue, someone crossed the still opened portal, wearing a long, blue Victorian dress underneath a white apron, a small girl appeared. Her pearl white skin paired with long, blonde hair in striking contrast with her bright red eyes and four crimson stars on her forehead.

“This is Nero Alice, she is powerful but is also young, simply put, I want you to train her so that she can engage in battle, you’ll see her magic is quite useful, especially against that enemy of ours.”

Lord crouched to match Alice’s eye-line while spreading her arms in a welcoming gesture.

“Welcome to our cause, Alice. Whether you realize it or not, we’ve been chosen by fate for a goal greater than ourselves. I shall raise you to reach your full potential.”

Nero Alice half closed her eyes, clearly not amused nor interested in the attitude the person in front of her had displayed. She crossed her arms while directing her gaze to the mascot above her.

“Lord, are you feeling alright? Why don’t you rest inside Nacht Base while we sort things out?” said Venalita, quite concerned by the fervor Lord Enorme is suddenly displaying.

“I don’t blame you for your concern Venalita, you see, we’ve been chosen by sacred design, you just don’t see it yet. In time all eyes will open to the truth.”

“Out of curiosity, what did you see that motivates you so much?”

“Such thing is not for me to preach! I’ve simply witnessed the truth and during our crusade, I pray for you to do as well.”

“Are you suggesting we change plans?”

“Not at all! I wrongly thought to conquer for my own benefit, now that my eyes have been opened, I’ll conquer as part of our holy duty.”

Alice grabbed the mascot from behind and used it to cover her face, not wanting to meet ‘the leader’s’ feverish gaze.

“Alice, I don’t ask you to share in my fervor. I’ve been tasked to help you grow, let fate decide in which direction. I’m not your enemy.” She said, a faint, honest smile visible on her face.

Alice peeked from behind Venalita, clearly at a loss on what to think of the person in front of her. Keeping her guard up, she nodded.

{“Gigant… normally this fanaticism would be a symptom from meeting that witch, but she would never mess with it… I can only think of one being capable of such a thing.”}

{“I didn’t feel anything suggesting she manifested, but the more I hear the more likely it seems. Is she going to interfere with our plans?”}

{“I don’t know, she has allowed a lot of things up to now. One can only wonder what the song of fate has in store for us, especially now that the song of time has been muddled.”}

{“Is such a thing even possible?”}

{“I would’ve laughed in the face of anyone who suggested such a thing, but too many divinations have failed for it to be a coincidence.”}

{“What kind of being would challenge the constants?”}

{“It doesn't matter; our plan remains the same. If we want to have a place in this redress of balance, we need our seed to bloom.”}

“Sister, could you please call Leberblume and Loco Musica back? I would like to adjust our fighting formation. We also have to test Alice’s power.”

“E-eh? I mean… yes… of course…” A baffled Sister answered to the abnormally kind Lord Enorme before opening a portal elsewhere, quickly getting away from the oddity.

“I’ll leave you to it, I just remembered I have something to check on. Please don’t forget to rest, even if your body doesn't feel it, your mind must be exhausted.”

“Thank you for your concern Venalita, I will once I’ve assessed our new recruit’s potential.”

“Y-yeah… don’t forget to send her home before 6, see ya!” The mascot made her escape, slipping away from Alice’s firm grasp and foiling her subsequent attempt to flee alongside her.

Lord laughed. “Don’t worry Alice, I’m sure you’ll grow fonder of the other two, they are nice people, just beware of the singing one.”

Nero Alice opened her eyes like platters, dreading the kind of group she was being left in the care of. Summoning a giant, mostly purple and heavily patched, Cheshire cat, Alice assumed a defensive stance from whomever may come her way.

Lord smiled at the guarded newbie.

[“She has a lot to learn. First she must trust us, maybe Leberblume will be the best pick for that, if I recall correctly her hobby would help close the distance.

It’ll take time, weeks or months even, but it doesn’t matter. Even if the entire world arms itself against me, I can’t bear to see how her name has been forgotten. I’ll conquer the world and place her on every banner as an offering. No, that’s hubris, the world is already hers, I’ll just remind them of their heresy. I entrust myself to the fate she’s written for me, for all of us.”]

Lord looked up to the blackened sky, not minding the cat plushie practicing boxing moves in front of her, and smiled, imagining a speck of light in the distance.

[“All hail the ever-present Empress.”]

“Thank you.” She whispered, leaving Nero Alice confused and slightly creeped out.

Chapter Text

A small figure sat behind a large oak desk, dark circles faintly noticeable under her eyes. Buried in a mountain of paperwork, she sighed.

The reinforced door leading to her office was slammed open.

“What the FUCK is classified supposed to mean? Why give me authority in the first place?”

“SIT.”

The intruder instinctively took a seat at the commanding tone of the smaller one.

“It’s Ur’s jurisdiction, I can’t tell you much.”

“Wha-What am I supposed to do about the demon then?”

“Officially? Drop it.” The small figure closed her laptop and leaned forward. “But neither of us would be satisfied with that, would we?”

The intruder smiled. “What do you propose?”

“Ur has been helping the Araga Group for decades; it’s no exaggeration to say it built and raised the Group to its current standing. But if there is something my grandma was scared off, it was Ur, she warned both my mother and I about Ur’s agenda. I say it’s time to figure out what it is.”

“The Araga way of finding out?”

The two figures smiled devilishly inside the soundproofed office.

Utena rose up from her bed, the echoing of her recurring dream still bouncing inside her head. Drowzy, she stood up, staggering her way to the bath, feeling the muscle pain she’s had for the last week.

Seeing her horrible bed hair in the bathroom’s mirror, she noticed how muscular she had gotten.

[“Guess exercising pays off…”]

She took a quick shower, rinsing off the sweat she had accumulated during her sleep and proceeded to get ready to her ‘meeting’ with her friends.

She put on a beige cardigan over a white shirt and a long grey skirt.

Seeing the time, she walked downstairs with a slight limp from her aching legs, hungry for breakfast.

“Hi mom!”

“Good morning sweetie! Going out with your friends?”

“Yes. Sayo said she could help me with my math homework.”

“That’s good to hear. I don’t mind you spending so much time with your friends, just don’t let your grades drop, ok?”

“Ok, mom!”

“On a more cheerful note, I made pancakes! Just like you like them!”

“Thank you mom!!”

Utena walked out of her home having fully enjoyed her favorite Magia-themed pancakes.

Reaching panda park, she met with one of her friends, Hanabishi Haruka. She seemed a bit flustered, her drilled pigtails not as well-kept as before, mumbling something to herself like Utena had seen her do days prior.

“Haruka!! Good morning! How are you?” Said the uncharacteristically loud Utena.

“Ah! Utena, good morning!” Haruka answered in her normally cheery tone, as if a switch had flipped and all her troubles ceased to exist. “It’s nothing, more importantly, did you sleep well?”

“You know how it is, same as always.” Utena said dismissively, both of them deciding not stopping to talk, rather chatting their way to their destination.

“Sorry about that, I’ve asked my cousin about this ‘qing’ you mentioned, but so far I’ve got nothing useful, she did talk about someone knowledgeable, but I suspect it’s not really what we’re looking for.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s… a bit weird, talks about conspiracies and secret societies, whoever she recommends it’s probably more of the same.”

“In that case don’t worry about it, maybe it’s nothing, just the stress of being a Magia.” Said Utena while mindlessly sidestepping a line in her sight.

A bicycle passed between the two, nearly hitting one of them.

“Utena… don’t tell me…”

“Ah? It’s not what you think, I just heard it and stepped aside.”

“You’re seeing it on your daily life aren’t you?”

“S-sorry… I meant to tell you but, I don’t want to worry you all more than I already have… I mean, you’ve all got this weird expression this last few days, even Sayo seems to avoid being alone with me.”

“It’s not whatyou think!” Haruka rushed her answer. “I just have a lot on my mind since I help at the bakery, and Sayo has her shrine duties, Kao also has had the judo club nagging her since she dropped out, it’s nothing serious!!”

“Kaoruko’s problem is because she joined the gardening club…”

“But it’s nothing!! You aren’t a burden, I’ve seen how hard you train and you’re already part of the team! We’re friends Utena, if there’s something happening to you, you can tell us!”

“S-sorry…” Utena looked down, her apologetic side showing once more.

Haruka smiled. “You’re still you, Utena. Don’t try and face everything alone, it’s been a week, but I miss your shy and scared side from time to time.”

“How am I supposed to feel better about that?”

“Because no matter what, we’ll be there for you, protecting our cute and easily scared teammate.” Haruka placed a hand over Utena’s head, petting her like she would one of her younger sisters.

Flustered, Utena tried to change the topic. “Has Vatz said anything about, y’know…”

“I’ve been following the news lately, apparently her appearances at the national diet haven’t been going well. Something about using the disappearances of the Magia groups to increase international presence in the country.”

“She must be busy, after all, she also needs to find more Magias to patrol the cities.” Utena cast her gaze down. ["More Magias... simply replacing the old ones..."]

Utena loved Magias, she followed their fights, memorized their debut anniversaries, and learned about their favorite foods. She knew that Magias didn't win every fight the fought, Lux being the exception, but she hadn't stopped to consider what it meant to loose. All those dreams, all that hope they represented, everything cast aside to make room for the next one. She didn't like thinking like that, but that was her reality over the last few days and the endless reports of the disappeared Magia groups. She would've spiraled if not for a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, we won't lose. Besides, Vatz is already doing everything she can to bring the Guild in, you know better than me how strong they are!!"

"Yeah... I'm sure Vatz will bring them in, she did seem to trust Lux with it... and I'm sure she'll have an answer to what's happening to me..."

“I'm sure she will… let’s just talk to her in the next press event, after all, we have to announce your official debut.”

“Ah… right… my debut….”

“How are you braver when training with Kao over the prospect of a meet ’n greet?”

“Too… many people… looking at me…”

“But you look cute in your dress!!”

“The skirt is too short!”

“Yours is too long!!”

The couple of friends rambled not noticing when they reached the back of the Minakami shrine.

“You two know we could hear you all the way here?”

“A-ah, Sayo, Kaoruko, good morning.”

“Morning!!”

“Good morning, Haruka, Utena” said Sayo, a faint blush noticeable on her face.

“Y-yeah… morning…” replied Kaoruko, not wanting to make eye contact.

“Did something happen? You’ve all been acting weird.”

“““It’s nothing!!”””

Azul crashed into the ground, air exiting her lungs from the impact.

“Are you okay?” asked a concerned Porpora.

“Do you really have time to look away?” Sulfur rushed in, gauntlets drawn out, trying to hit the flying Magia.

Porpora twisted her body away from the drawn line and timed her counter, hitting Sulfur on the back of her head.

“GAH!!” Sulfur staggered, risking losing her balance mid-air. “I’m not done!!” She accelerated in an unusual trajectory, hoping her movements not to be read.

Seeing the new line, Porpora stood still, extending the pole of her naginata on a specific point. A moment later Sulfur’s forehead impacted with the pole, knocking her out.

“That’s a match!” Shouted the already eliminated Magenta.

“Porpora has really grown strong in a short time, but I’m worried she’s too dependent on her eyesight.” Murmured the recovering Azul.

“I’ve tried having her practice being blindfolded, but apparently she can also sense those lines, so her overreliance on them is kinda inevitable.” Answered Magenta.

“Let’s just hope those lines are actually reliable. I can’t tell how or when they’ll appear, that last strike wasn’t predicting Sulfur’s movement, rather the movement of the naginata. It’s worrisome how her eyes tend to telegraph her movements, not that we can do much against it.”

“Sulfur is gonna be pissed when she recovers from that hit.”

“It bypassed her shield, and she’s been working on keeping it stable alongside her gauntlets. Her pride will be the one hurting the most.”

Porpora descended toward her two teammates. “Azul! I didn’t hit you to hard did I?”

“Don’t worry about it! It was my fault. I left my back open when finishing Magenta, it’s natural for you to take that chance.”

“But, I didn’t hit you too hard, did I?”

“It’s nothing my magical form can’t handle, I’ll be fine.”

“It’s already midday~!! Let’s eat something before we switch the teams, Sulfur should be waking up soon!!”

“FUUUUUUCK!!!” Almost on cue, a shout could be heard nearby.

“Seems she’s awake.” Remarked Azul sarcastically.

“Sulfur~ Lunch!” Said Magenta while revealing her suspiciously large lunch box. “I’ve got for everyone!!” she said enthusiastically.

{“Porpora, you won so eat as much as ya want.”}

{“It was my turn yesterday. Azul!!!”}

{“You know how it is, by majority rule, you may have the honor.”}

{“Not you too!!”}

The four Magia sat around, each of them revealing their lunch boxes, Porpora begrudgingly picking a large serving of mushrooms.

“I hope Azul and Sulfur follow your example; all these mushrooms must’ve help you be this strong in only a week!”

“Y-yes… I wish they did…”

Azul and Sulfur avoided their gaze, unable to see their sacrificed teammate in the eye.

“A-anyway… have you found anything regarding ‘that’? I’ve asked a novelist that frequents the shrine, but it was the first time she heard the word.”

“No, apparently there’s someone knowledgeable in obscure circles, but I doubt it will lead to something.”

“Might as well try!! I can always shut their trap if they start talking nonsense!”

“Sulfur, remember we are Magias. We don’t attack people.”

“Why don’t we leave it at that?” a soft murmur could be heard on the group.

“Huh? Why would we? It’s been a week, and you still hear it, don’tcha?”

“And no one has found anything! It might as well be an invented word. I must be imagining it, same with the lines, it’s just that I’m not used to being a Magia! It’ll go away with time…”

“Porpora… please don’t shoulder it all on your own. We are friends, even if it is all in your imagination we want to help you… I’m sure Vatz has an answer! I’ll try contacting her, even if she’s busy I’ll make her come so please…”

“Magenta is right. At least let us use up every lead.”

“That’s what friends are for, ya know?”

“Sorry… It’s just… you’ve done so much for me, I feel guilty for always being on the receiving end…”

The other three Magia looked at each other, almost as if they were communicating with each other, their gaze fixed on Azul.

Sensing the newly elected sacrifice Porpora remained quiet, still sour over her recent betrayal.

“You know… my back is a bit stiff from that last team battle… could you, give me a… massage?” Azul offered a strained smile.

“I’d love to, but I’ve heard shiitake can help with back pain, you should also have some.”

“Don’t. Push it.”

“What are you to talking about? Azul, if you wanted some more you should’ve just told me~.”

“I’m fine! It’s just Porpora being silly…”

“Then I’m glad we can joke normally again. I know!! Why don’t we go through this battle’s feedback while you have your massage?”

“Seems like a perfect idea, c’mon, lay down.” Sulfur added, feigning ignorance over her involvement in the situation.

Azul laid over her stomach on the grass below, not bothering if her dress got dirty, she kept her gaze fixed on Sulfur, ‘I’ll remember this!’ written all over her face.

Porpora timidly approached her friend, straddling her back, she placed her hands over Azul’s shoulders and applied some pressure.

“Is this good?”

“You can apply some more force.” Said Azul, feeling some of her stiffness unexpectedly melting away.

“As for feedback, I’d say Sulfur has made significant progress with her energy usage, keeping your gauntlets and barriers up simultaneously, allowed you to keep Porpora pinned during most of the match.” Magenta started speaking.

“Yeah… I can keep up as long as I stay in close quarters, the moment she slipped away and created some distance it was my loss.”

“I’m thinking we’ll double Porpora’s CQC lessons.”

“Can I at least be allowed to use my weapon? Sulfur likes to blow some steam every time we practice.”

““No!””

“Ahh, right there… As for the team exercise, it was thanks to Sulfur keeping Porpora busy that I managed to defeat you Magenta, you also need to learn how to deal with magical attacks, not everything will be using a solid weapon… a bit lower, to the right….”

“I’d say you’ve made the most progress with how your strategy evolved from attacking with and ice sword to freezing your opponent as they clash with you, maybe this next round we have Sulfur and Porpora against us both.”

“Could bee~…. But I want to see how those lines react to my freezing field…”

{“I know I offered her, but isn’t she enjoying it a bit too much?”}

{“As long as it dispels the idea that Azul is avoiding her, I’d say it was a good idea.”}

{“I agree, but still, I can’t blame her. Her dreams in particular are the most extreme.”}

{“She told you!?”}

{“No, I did manage to get some words outta her and, judging by her reactions, it was pretty out there.”}

{“She refuses to tell me, c’mon, give me a hint.”}

{“Why would you blush to the mention of a fishing hook?”}

{“Forget it, I don’t want to know, I already can’t drink milk tea.”}

{“Tell me about it, I can’t even look at my childhood dog the same way anymore.”}

{“Do you think it has to do with the crisis?”}

{“Porpora was the first one with a weird dream, just the day after joining, then came Azul, then you and lastly me. I’d say it’s too much of a coincidence.”}

{“To be fair, Porpora’s dream is a different kind of weird, she’s also caught on that something is wrong with us. I just hope Vatz has an answer for everything.”}

{“If it’s a daemon, its better if we find it sooner rather than later, I want to kill that bastard for the dog food.”}

“Is it a bad suggestion? It’s weird for both of you to fall quiet so suddenly.” Said Porpora.

“No, I had it planned some other way, but Azul’s idea is pretty good.”

“How’s the massage anyway?”

“Ahh… I didn’t know you had a talent for this… Magenta, you should try it…”

“Haha… maybe I wi-“

The four Magia felt an ominous pulse of magic, like a lion roaring over their territory.

Azul stood up suddenly from the massage on her lower back, inadvertently sliding Porpora’s hand somewhere lower and forbidden. Azul felt a familiar intrusion, it was thick with a particular silken texture to it, looming over her back entrance with a promise of pleasure Azul had never experienced in real life.

“Ahhn!”

“S-sorry!” Porpora yanked away her hands, taking her mind off the warm sensation on one of her thumbs.

“You two! It’s no time to mess around, let’s go!” Said a concerned Magenta.

The four of them swiftly took flight, their path taking them directly to the city center.

{“It’s strong. I blasted the emergency signal Vatz gave me, she’s on it so remember, thirty minutes.”}

{“““Roger”””}

Overflying the city was a girl, donning black shoes and socks, paired with a dark yellow military shirt and a short, black skirt. She sat on top of a building while playing with her peaked cap, two cat ears made of smoke protruding from her head.

*Yawn* “When are those posers coming here?” She said while lazily stretching her back. “I’m so bored, can’t wait to shoot them down.”

She took a glance towards the p38 hanging from her belt and pointed it towards the sky, lazily putting her finger on the trigger. “Does it really take them this long? I could’ve destroyed a building or two by now.”

She glanced at her right hand holding the gun, her black glove melding with the handle. Shifting her gaze towards her left, gloveless, hand, she noticed one black star sitting prominently on the back of her hand. “This is supposed to be my output, right? It makes sense that it’s at one since I’m not doing anything, but how do I increase it? I was at two when I first transformed and ‘get excited’ isn’t exactly a detailed explanation…”

Feeling something approaching, she glanced westwards, noticing for figures approaching at high speeds. “There they are, I wonder if I can snipe them, this gun doesn’t have the aim nor the reach, if it was a regular one anyway.”

Focusing her yellow, feline eyes, she put on her black cap, a four-pointed red star with golden edges adorning a side of it, the girl pointed her gun toward the horizon. “Let them have a taste of the mighty Leopard.” *click*

A magical projectile shot out of the p38, creating several sonic booms on it’s accelerated trajectory towards the group of four before exploding.

“Tch. That yellow bitch blocked it. How do you like this?” On cue several golden portals appeared around Leopard, guns of different calibers emerging through them. *Click* A sea of magical bullets covered Leopard’s sight of the Magias she despised.

“Gotta hand it to ‘Auntie’, she has an eye for aesthetics, and my output is back on two, please survive long enough for me to go to three…”

Leopard saw a purple light rush from the dust cloud her explosive bullets formed, moving in an erratic trajectory and evading all of the bullets. [“Is she trying to lure my attention her way? That way the other three could close the distance since I haven’t since a single one fall… But she is making her way through all of those bullets, I can’t exactly ignore her.”]

Keeping her suppressing fire on the three remaining Magias, Leopard holstered her gun. Concentrating she willed a golden portal besides her, a RPzB 54 rocket launcher peeking through. Placing the long tube over her shoulder she took aim at the purple speck approaching her position and fired.

A ball of fire shot out of the tube leaving a trial behind it, exploding on command once it got near enough to the Magia. Leopard saw the purple speck fall from the cloud of dust before it regained its stance midair to continue her advance. “How unfortunate, for you that is, I don’t even need to waste time reloading…” Leopard offered a vicious smile.

[“It's been a difficult fight since the beginning; we spotted her on the distance before I urged Sulfur to raise a barrier. Who would’ve expected to get sniped from that distance? And the follow up is even worse. Bullets as far as the eye can see and now that I’m approaching there are explosions everywhere. Why did it have to be me the only one who can avoid it?”] Porpora lamented as she distanced herself from several explosions, all while avoiding endless projectiles in an erratic trajectory.

{“Am ready! How are you doing?”}

{“I need to get a bit closer, otherwise she’ll see you coming!”}

{“Got it, but hurry up, that smoke trail won’t last for long.”}

Porpora looked around, trying to devise a line that would take her to her enemy in the shortest time possible. [“I’ll have to force it, let’s just hope these things don’t fail me.”]

Porpora rushed forward, bracing herself to withstand some explosion in the process. She felt the ash cinder her clothes and hair, a little distraction from the ever growing number of lines signaling her to retreat, instead Porpora pushed, abiding by the route that would minimize as much damage as she could. Sensing her enemy close by she came out of the last ash cloud in an upwards trajectory, making sure their sight would be completely on her.

{“NOW!”}

Porpora looked at her opponent for the first time. She was awestruck by the girl in front of her, the military style she adopted, the adorable cat ears and the contrast with the violent aura she exuded, in Porpora’s mind there was no mistake, that was a Magia, one she didn’t know about.

“Cute….” She couldn’t help but mutter.

Sensing her mistake mid-battle, Porpora looked again at the Magia in front of her, wary of her next movement. Instead she was greeted by the sight of the aggressing Magia equally stunned by the words she’d just heard.

Time stopped for the two Magias as they contemplated one another before a gauntlet of yellow fire shot out from the smoke that permeated the battlefield, taking the unknown Magia by surprise.

Porpora saw the yellow and black figure fly backwards and smash into a nearby building having received Sulfur’s full force.

“Did that kill it? There’s too much ash in my eyes!!”

“Sulfur, look over here!” Said Azul as she splashed some water over her teammate.

“Porpora! With me! Azul, Sulfur flank the building!”

 The four proceeded without another word, wary of the violent nature of their adversary. Approaching the crash site, Magenta could devise a human figure emerging from the rubble. Wearing a black, frayed skirt and yellow shirt, two trails of smoke resembling cat ears on top of her head, stood up a Magia. Magenta shivered at the pure anger she felt from her opponent’s yellow, feline eyes. “T-this is your only warning, you’re surrounded, surrender now!”

“Agh… that hurt, you…”

Magenta’s brain froze the moment the unknown Magia vanished from her sight, not registering when Porpora rushed to the side with frantic eyes.

“BITCH!!” The Magia reappeared to Sulfur’s side, this time wearing cat paws on her hands made from the same smoke of her ears. Three stars shining through the left one. Upon contact, an ear shattering explosion could be heard accompanied by a smoke cloud, Sulfur propelling out of the other side leaving a trail of smoke directed straight to the ground.

“For once I’m glad I studied all that jargon…” The Magia smiled devilishly before disappearing once more, this time appearing behind Azul, the cats paws also covering her feet.

“Azul!!” Porpora shouted before crashing into her, moving her out of the way and receiving the full force of the explosive kick on her side.

Azul flew backwards from the shockwave, her ears ringing.

“Surrounded? You won’t contain the great Leopard!!” She laughed before staggering mid-flight, barely keeping her balance. “Dammit, teleporting takes too much…”

Seeing an opening, an enraged Magenta shot forward thrusting her spear towards Leopard. The Magia sidestepped the reckless attack, not noticing the frozen blade reaching from behind her.

Her fatigue and the pain from the slash combined with the numbness from her body due to the added frostbite made Leopard fall from the sky and crash on a rooftop.

Seeing the unconscious Leopard, Azul and Magenta started their descent to restrain her before she woke up.

{“Porpora! Sulfur! Are you okay?”}

{“Aside from leaving some exclusive art on the pavement, I’ll live. I could use one of your massages Porpora.”}

{“I could use one of my massages…”}

Magenta let out a sigh of relief hearing her team was just bruised from the vicious encounter.

“Let’s finish this Azul!”

“…”

{“Azul are you okay?”}

{Ah? Yeah, sorry, my ears are still ringing.”}

Deciding on not wasting anymore time, Magenta accelerated her descent, not wanting her team to suffer more damage.

As she approached the rooftop she noticed another figure looking in Leopard’s direction.

{“Fly away!!!”}

Magenta couldn’t react on time to Porpora’s warning before being engulfed in a dome of vines.

Chapter Text

“I’ll leave you to it, just don’t burn the shop while I’m away.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep the flare orbs locked behind the shelves and use the thick gloves beneath the counter if someone is insane enough to actually buy one…”

Utena saw her drunkard boss leave through a portal, cool air coming out of it.

“Spring is coming to an end, and somehow she opens a freezing portal and walks through without even needing a jacket…”

Utena put her hand in her black leather jacket, grasping for any trapped heat in her pockets. “Maybe I should grab one of the blankets from the back until the sun is properly up.”

Opening the main door, Utena made herself comfortable behind the counter, a blanket drawn across her legs. “I should warm up the shop before I catch a cold.” Placing her hand over the lain star over the counter, Utena summoned several small purple flames, gradually melting the slight frost on the windows and shelves. “To think I tried doing all this by hand… this core is more useful than my phone.”

Feeling the warmth, Utena placed her hands over the counter and rested her head, waiting for the almost inexistent amount costumers the shop received.

“Saturday morning, no deliveries, even less costumers, I could fall asleep right here… let’s just hope that thing remains quiet like it has all week.”

A relaxed Utena prepared herself to take a nap, not worried on being caught by her absent boss.

“Ah, Irren? Good morning! Why is it so cold in here?”

Utena cursed her luck. “I know, right? It’s almost as if someone walked inside a snowstorm and left the door open.”

“I can’t possibly know what you are referencing. Anyway, what’s that on the table? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Hitomi pointed to the golden star.

“An advanced water heater.” Utena remarked, sarcasm hidden in her reply.

“Do you have in stock? The flare orb setup seems too dangerous to me.”

“No, only this one.”

“Huh… having a magic shop sure brings several luxuries… by the way, is the boss around? I want to talk with her.”

“Just left, something about personal business. She’ll be back on Monday.”

“You sure seem relaxed for someone who has to attend customers for two days straight…”

“A certain someone predicted that today would be a slow day, even gave me permission to close at noon.”

“It must be nice not having to worry about much, meanwhile I have to go back to study since my predictions have been all over the place lately.”

“Sounds rough, trouble with the Orb?”

“I don’t know, that’s what I wanted to talk to the boss about. Also, I heard about a leather bound book that tells you everything you want to know, please tell me you have them in stock.”

“You should stop looking for ways to cheat your way through college, however…” Utena tried to remember all the books on the shop, setting the magazines aside, most books worked as manuals or reading material, none of them having leather covers. “I can’t say we have, the only leather books I’ve seen are the ones Gêl keeps stored away with most receipts.”

“Can you check? Please, I’m desperate.” Hitomi pleaded.

“Fine, but I don’t even know if they’re for sale.” Utena reluctantly parted ways with her blanket and walked up to a shelf on the wall behind her, her star in hand. Checking the drawer was indeed locked, she placed her star over it, a ‘click’ being heard clearly.

“Seriously, what is that thing?”

“What I heat most my meals with. I think it can also make ice cream, but I haven’t tried.”

“From what I’ve seen, there has to be a better use for it.”

“You wouldn’t believe it even if I told you.”

Utena brought the books over the counter, their blue tinted leather and golden numbering on the covering, naturally sorted by year and trimester disappointing Hitomi.

“They really are just accounting books…”

“Now I’m curious; with how many costumers I get, I wonder how this place keeps running. Hitomi, do you know how to read these?”

“We really shouldn’t, but I suppose I owe you one for helping me with my request…” Hitomi opened a book on a random page, the spreadsheet within filling her eyes.

“Operation costs are really low, only listing rent, I don’t even see a salary. As for the sales themselves, most items are marked up to account for shipping and customs… She bought 100 flare orbs?! Is the boss insane?”

“Maybe they’re cheaper on summer?”

“Why is there demand for those in the first place?”

“Hell I know.”

“As for the rest it’s pretty standard, the only thing that shouldn’t be listed here is the bulk purchases of Belgian beer but with these numbers the shop should survive with a generous profit marg-” Hitomi stopped herself, unsure if she should comment on what she was seeing.

“Is something the matter?” Utena asked inquisitively.

“How do I put this… there are some really big sales. Do you happen to know what’s Article 39?”

“No.”

“I don’t see it listed on the purchases but it’s being sold by the thousands, and these prices are enough to buy an apartment. Do you really don’t know what I’m referring to?”

“No clue, I suppose it’s something Gêl oversees personally?”

“Maybe it’s best if we don’t pry further, also don’t tell the boss about this.”

“Roger.” Utena decided to abide by Hitomi’s suggestion, seeing the concern written all over her face.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s probably nothing. Also, you really liked those clothes didn’t you?” Said Hitomi, pointing to Utena’s leather jacket and jeans in the hope of changing the topic.

“Ah, you see… I… they grew on me…” Utena blushed, not wanting to admit on her change of attitude.

“My poor, shy Irren! I’m glad you’re finally wearing something that doesn’t make you look like a preacher. Say, how about we go on a shopping trip tomorrow, I can’t wait to dress you on so many unique styles~!”

“Please go easy on me… I don’t want to show much skin…”

“But you’ve changed so much already! You even grew your hair into a ponytail, and it’s been a week! How did you manage?”

“Eh… it kinda bundles up, so my hair looks shorter than it actually is…” Utena lied, not wanting to talk about the changes she’d been experiencing for over a week.

“Is that soo~” Hitomi’s disbelief clear as day. “Ah! Look at the hour, I need to go to meet my study group! Anyway, see you tomorrow! Text me once you are free!”

“Bye!” Utena felt relieved, having been spared the interrogatory even for one day, that way she’ll have time to come up with every excuse she could.

Reflecting on Hitomi’s words Utena went to the back of the shop, standing before a mirror nearby the lockers, taking off her jacket she admired herself for a minute, her purple blouse leaving her arms bare under the artificial light of the backroom.

Seeing the dark purple lines originally contained on her back now wrapping themselves around her torso and extending all the way to her forearms, Utena sighed. “I’ve changed so much already, haven’t I?”

Opening her mouth she gazed at her elongated canines and pattered tongue, the former sharper than ever. “How am I going to excuse all of this? ‘My hair bundles up~’ How ridiculous.”

Utena had tried once bringing her concerns about it to Gêl, but she got dismissed with ‘your body adapts to your magic, if you lost control then your body will show it.’

[“I convinced myself not to worry, but will I ever look like myself again? It wasn’t until Hitomi pointed it out, that I noticed I had changed my entire wardrobe with magic.”]

Utena feared how even her way of thinking was changing without she even noticing. [“Can I call myself Hiiragi Utena anymore?”]

She reminisced about Porpora, she’d heard a bit about her appearances in the last week, a newbie that had yet to make her formal debut, the real Hiiragi Utena, shy, inexperienced in battle, the textbook definition of a wall flower.

Utena knew herself perfectly well, so why was she acting so differently? She wouldn’t have slacked on the job, no matter how boring. Back in the gardening club she’d just lose herself on her fantasies to entertain herself while watering the plants. She wouldn’t have been snooping around the shop’s accounting books, she was never given permission to do so, the old her would’ve been scared to do so. She wouldn’t dress so daringly, the jeans accentuating her figure and the jacket hinting at a wilder side of her.

[“Is it that thing’s doing? Why did it go quiet all of the sudden…? After that night… why didn’t it take over me? Or maybe it already did…”] Utena glanced towards her dark purple nails, the only sign of her corruption she couldn’t hide without looking suspicious. She had tried nail polish before, but after a few minutes it’d darken and fall off as if her body instinctively rejected it.

Stepping away from the mirror, Utena put on her jacket once more, trying to dispel the dark thoughts from her mind. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to a Magia café, Kiwi did say she was busy this afternoon but that never stopped me from going myself, I deserve a treat after a week of hard work~” Utena tried cheering herself up, ignoring all the questions she purposefully left unanswered.

Walking around the city, Utena was in deep thought, considering which of the Magia café’s to go to. She wasn’t hurting for money, so she could go to the most expensive one, but she couldn’t forget the palpable dedication some of the smaller restaurants showed even though they were on the cheaper side.

Utena scouted different buildings until settling for one that sent a jolt of nostalgia up her spine. ‘Schwarz Café,’ the first themed restaurant she ever went to, Utena remembered how much fun she had that one time her mother had taken her there.

Back then Utena was already a fan of magical girls, specially magical Mimiru, though she didn’t have anyone to talk about it since most girls her age had already ‘grown up’ from it. It was an unsuspecting Saturday that her mother came into her room and told her to come out since they were going to eat outside. Utena expected the normal family restaurant, not a themed café after one of the members of the missing Palette Troupe.

Utena entered the desolated café, business wasn’t doing great when she came years ago and it didn’t seem it got any better. “Welcome! Please take a seat where you like!”

Utena looked at the cosplaying clerk, she wore a frilly black and grey dress with thigh-high boots and longs black gloves. Given her silken long hair, someone could unknowingly make the comparison with a dark version of Magia Sulfur, but not Utena.

Utena nodded and took a seat at the bar, not feeling comfortable with having lunch facing an empty seat by one of the tables. The clerk swiftly handing her the menu and a glass of water. “Thank you. Could I have the Schwarz ramen and a Magi smoothie?”

“Of course, a Schwarz ramen and Magi smoothie coming right up!” The clerk smiled, surprised that Utena didn’t bother on looking at the menu.

Seeing that she was left alone in the establishment, the old Magia Schwarz album still playing in the background, Utena opened the menu, confirming it hadn’t changed from all those years ago. Utena remembered how scared she was back then, all the black decorations giving her the first impression that it was a dangerous place. It was the servers that played with her and gave her riddles that dispelled that first notion. It was the first time that Utena got to speak her head off with someone that wasn’t her mother. [“Yes… that’s Hiiragi Utena…”]

Looking around, Utena noticed the place was remarkably clean, not a speck of dust or covert spiderweb to be seen. Even if empty, Utena could feel the love placed on maintaining the restaurant.

Utena looked at the big screen on the other side of the restaurant, it replaying some of the interviews and battles from the missing Magia Schwarz. She remembers when she first looked at the footage, the sight of the Magia wielding her shapeshifting lantern, her personal favorite being when it transformed into a blazing katana. She remembers the optimism and strong values she displayed no matter what the challenge was, in a way, the same kind of values that drew her so much into Magenta when she was just starting.

“Your ramen and Magi smoothie!” A voice brought Utena back to reality.

“Thank you.” Utena started eating as the clerk positioned herself at the other side of the counter.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but have you come here before?”

“Hmm? Yes, years ago, I was kinda surprised when I saw this place was still open.”

“I see, you must’ve had some fond memories to come back. Might I ask your name?”

“Hiiragi Utena, I came here first with my mother, I’ve just been remembering how the place hasn’t changed much from back then.”

“Was your mother also saved by Magia Schwarz? I don’t mean to pry, but most of my costumers come because of what she did 30 years ago.”

“I don’t know, she never told me any stories like that. Schwarz must’ve been popular back in the day if there’s still a fanbase.”

“Not really, it’s just the people that feel grateful towards her that come every so often, the proper fanbase has long since dissolved.”

“I’m sorry if it sound a bit rude, but why keep the Schwarz theme? Surely you’d get more costumers if you included others, even the rest of the Troupe.”

“I don’t keep this place open for profits; I made enough as a lawyer already. Like I said, it’s gratefulness. Schwarz was different, she wore black but instead of a moody Magia, she was the most upbeat and optimist of all. Unlike Anrancio, Blu, Rosa, and Verde, she didn’t adhere to the Troupe’s convention. When you saw her fly through the sky, you simply knew she wasn’t like the others. Her brutish strength gave away at which construction sites she worked, though I doubt she realized everyone knew about it.”

“I didn’t know she had given her identity away.”

“Those were other times, she looked clearly underaged but that didn’t stop anyone from overlooking her fake ID. Her strength was a treasured aid during construction, even avoided several accidents. She saved me when I was struggling for money.” The clerk smiled at the memories. “She also struggled, she worked with me after all, but she never let that show on her face, instead she’d just smile and thanked us every time we shared our lunch.”

“It must’ve been quite the shock after the duke attacked.”

“At the beginning, yes, but I still have hope she’s still out there, fighting her own fights. Sometimes I’d see a woman with her same hair, smiling the same way she did and imagine her walking among us, not worrying about money and instead having built a family.”

“You really like her…”

“Of course, that’s what I think a fan is. We love something so that when it’s gone, their memory, the ideas they represented, help them move into the future. Eventually I wont be able to continue this café, but I’m sure someone else will continue to preserve her memory, it’ll just take another form.”

Utena looked around once more, the impeccable state of the restaurant evidence of gratefulness to a Magia which gave it her all to the very end. Her earnest attitude clear to see on the interviews, her hard work and dedication lingering on people’s mind even decades later. Utena remembered what she liked about Magia, it wasn’t the frilly outfits and cute speeches. Utena loved how they never gave up on their noble objectives. She pondered on the words of the clerk, ‘help move their memories into the future.’ [“When did I stop being a proper fan? Was I so dissatisfied that I ended up wanting to place my hands on them?”]

“Sorry, if I’ve said something that’d upset you.”

“Oh no, it’s nothing, I’ve just been a bit lost with myself lately. If anything I appreciate the chat.”

The couple continued talking until Utena’s ramen had turned soggy.

Utena walked away from the building, a somber note on her face. [“Just what have I been doing all these years? Jumping from excitement at every sight of Magia, never genuinely caring for any one of them, it was that carelessness that almost broke Azul… that threatened to corrupt everyone… just what am I doing?”] Utena walked aimlessly around the city center, her mind wondering if all the damage she’d caused was truly undone by being in the past, going back to her changed body and recognizing it for what it was. [“The price for my mistakes, everyone I’ve disregarded while high in my delusions, my sin.”]

Utena’s mind wandered to the star in her pocket, to her time in Enormeeta. She reminisced about every time she had avoided making a connection with the lonely Alice, every time she had ignored Leopard’s feelings, how awfully little she knew about Leberblume and Loco Musica, yet all of them got along like friends. The sight of Korisu playing videogames or toying with the robot figure, Kiwi and Nemo cheering up Matama to take off her panties, they laughed together yet she seemed to be the only one to not fit in the friend group. Her head filled with Tres Magia and their La Verita.

[“In the end I didn’t care about making them stronger, fit to face whatever crisis might end up their way, I just cared for their outfits. The pride that came with them changing under my influence… I’m an awful fan.”]

Utena grasped the golden star in her pocket. [“It was thanks to this that I did so much wrong, I had the chance to change, bond with my team, lose to Tres Magia and leave, like a proper villainess. Instead I clung to those awful feelings, my unhealthy love for them, maybe it’s time to end it for good.”] Utena gathered strength in her arm, readying herself to throw the star away so that she couldn’t hurt anyone.

“Excuse me!” A voice brought her back from her daze. “Have you seen her? She used to play in this park!”

Utena turned to see a gaunt, blonde woman in a light blue suit. Several missing posters coming out of her bag. She froze looking at the picture in the poster, she recognized the long blonde hair, the big red eyes, the neutral, almost angelic expression. The name in bold red letters at the top leaving no room for doubt. ‘Morino Korisu’

Utena felt her heart clench, her sight tunneled as her mind couldn’t process what was presented in front of her. She felt cold sweat run down her back, her pulse quickening as her face turned pale.

“You know something? Please! She hasn’t been home in two days!”

“I-I-I’m sorry, I-I don’t know… I’ve seen her around but… sorry…” Utena blurted out, barely containing her panic before darting away, not registering the poster firmly in her grasp.

“Please, if you see her contact me or the police! Please!!”

The shout behind her echoed in Utena’s mind as a single culprit made itself clear to her. [“Venalita”]

[“If she really kidnapped Korisu, then she must be with Enorme right now… should I plea with Tres Magia to rescue her? But how would I explain Nero Alice? Moreover, would Korisu want to be rescued? There’s no way the four of them could fight against Enorme’s full force, more so if Korisu is using her dollhouse…”] Utena’s mind raced through the possibilities not noticing she was hyperventilating. [“Leopard doesn’t exist so Loco Musica would be my best bet, I’d have to convince her on defecting and taking Leberblume and Alice with her, but how? I can’t exactly tell Matama to sing naked in front of Nemo, I don’t even know which city they’ll be striking next…”]

Utena stumbled on the street, her hands shaking and head hurting, noticing her panicked state, she walked inside the nearest alleyway, slumping against a wall, trying to calm herself down. [“I feel so powerless, I fear my own strength, I fear sending Tres Magia to their doom, I can’t do anything… I feel everything is my fault…”]

Utena braced herself, not knowing if she had it in her to stand up once more. She wanted to bring Korisu back, she knew how empty her home normally was but even then, she couldn’t bare the idea of leaving her with Enorme. Still, her biggest fear lingered in her mind. [“What if I lose control again? I’ll put everyone in danger, but can I really leave them be?”]

Utena knew how dangerous Enormeeta could be, thinking back on it, she wouldn’t have won if she wasn’t dueling Enorme. Leopard even got severely hurt fighting Gigant. Worst part of it all, no one in Tres Magia could stop Alice, if she fought seriously the battle was already lost. [“There was a reason I relegated her as the team’s medic…”]

Utena was at a loss, there was no negotiating with Enorme, no way to even reach her without hurting Alice if at all possible. A possibility crossed her mind, but she discarded it immediately, not wanting to resort to such ill conceived notion. [“I’ll reach out to Tres Magia, Sulfur and Azul will probably rush for my head, but I’ll figure out a way for them to hear me out, convince them to train to reach La Verita, hopefully Korisu doesn’t piss off Enorme in the meantime.”]

Utena stood up once more, a path to her goal, rushed as it may have been, clear on her mind. She walked outside the alley thinking on a favorable meeting spot before feeling an intense wave of magic, like a lion claiming sovereignty over their territory.

Utena ran to the origin of the magic blast, having to evade some waves of running people as they followed the evacuation order. By the time she finally got close enough, the sky was greyed out with innumerable explosion, closing her eyes for a moment she felt the five Magias in the sky, three of them trapped under a barrage of exploding bullets, clearly preparing to push forward while a familiar feeling fourth danced forward in an erratic trajectory, trying to reach the perpetrator.

[“Is Enorme attacking? But who is that girl? I don’t recognize her outfit…”] Utena marveled at her other self’s performance, the way she drew the attention from the unknown Magia on the precise moment Sulfur left the makeshift ice shield in front of her and rushed forward. She remembered that feeling she used to have every time she saw them defeat a demon, she felt like cheering but didn’t want to bring attention to herself being the only bystander. [“I need to wait until they’re done if I want to approach them, can’t distract them from their actual enemy.”]

She saw them surround the building their enemy had crashed against, in Utena’s mind it was just a matter of waiting before feeling an even stronger, hate filled wave of magic. She felt as Sulfur’s presence speeded towards the street nearby, she felt Porpora being blasted away and crashing on a rooftop away from the battlefield. [“She’s strong! I need to intervene but, would they really believe I’m on their side?”] Utena wavered.

“You won’t contain the great Leopard!!”

Something clicked in Utena’s mind, like a veil being lifted, she saw the situation for what it was. She realized what it was that occupied Kiwi’s schedule, even though she looked different from what Utena remembered her, Leopard had finally decided to pick a fight with Tres Magia.

Yet her brain couldn’t quite keep up with the fast developing events before her, she saw the typical evade and switch tactic from when it was Dos Magia, Azul slashing Leopard cleanly along her back.

Utena’s body moved on it’s own, not hesitating to pool magic into her star she opened a portal on the roof Leopard crashed into, rushing to save her would have been teammate.

The sight was too much for Baiser, she felt Leopard’s magic waning either from exhaustion or the damage she’d received, Baiser couldn’t tell. Leopard lay on her stomach with a prominent gash running through her back, the fabric from her teared shirt frozen solid.

But the battle hadn’t ended. Baiser felt Magenta’s presence approaching, she directed her magic to some weed growing within the roof’s floor hoping to buy some time, enough to get Leopard out of there.

“YOU!!!”

Baiser flinched at the scream directed at her from an enraged Magenta, the dome of vines she had summoned failing to close in time.

Baiser stepped back, avoiding Magenta’s rush with practiced ease. Knowing what came next, Baiser summoned her riding crop, ready to parry the flurry of attacks Magenta usually followed up with. Despite knowing what came next, Baiser was kept on the defensive, Magenta’s spear pointing towards every weak point in her defense. [“She’s better than I remember, but why is she so mad?”]

“YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT?! HAVE SOME SHAME!!”

“I don’t think we’ve met.” Baiser eked out the words before a spear tried shutting her up.

Baiser was getting desperate; she needed to create some space and was running out of time. She tried gathering her magic on any object nearby but most of her concentration was spent trying to evade the raging Magia. Just as she was about to try something, Baiser felt her dome explode in several frozen chunks, locking eyes with Azul up above.

It was a moment that took Azul to process the scene below and, as if a switch had been flipped in her mind, her expression shifted to that of a raging bull. Baiser noticing every second of it.

“YOU!!!”

[“Shit.”]

Baiser needed to make more exaggerated moves, retreating further back as the livid Magia joined the fight. She was getting cornered, it being a matter of time before ending up like Leopard.

“Stop!” she shouted extending her arms towards the Magia, dark tentacles sprouting from the earth beneath them.

Azul and Magenta took a step back, wary of the follow up.

Baiser was stunned, the tentacles being awfully familiar. Looking at her hands before her, she noticed her left hand covered in a grid like star pattern, a clear sign of the corrupting magic within her.

“N-No… this… isn’t me… I don’t…” Baiser trembled at the prospect of losing control right then and there. She felt her power surging, the all too familiar heat rising from her lower abdomen, she braced herself hoping to stop it from coming out.

The Magia were confused at what they were witnessing, their enemy trembling at their own strength, though they didn’t get to appreciate it for long as they were flanked by a shower of bullets. Barely conscious, Leopard summoned a couple of portals, aiming at the distracted Magias.

Momentarily snapping out of it, Baiser used the distraction and rushed in creating a portal to move beside Leopard, and finally making a last portal beneath them both, exiting the battlefield.

“Let’s meet later.” Being the last words Baiser could utter before disappearing from the Magias sight.

Chapter Text

[“Deep breaths… one…. two….one….”]
Baiser sat beside her futon trying to calm herself, the darkness from her hand slowly receding.
“I appreciate the gesture of putting on a futon, but shouldn’t you be getting me some magical first aid or something? My back is killing me.”
“I’m sorry! It’s just, it’d be dangerous if I don’t calm down first…” Concentrating on her wounded companion Baiser pooled magic around with the help of her star hoping to heal Leopard’s back wound. Small purple flames spreading through the open gash.
“Hng!!”
“Ah! Sorry! It’s the first time I do this; I’ll try to be gentler!” said Baiser, the flames reducing in intensity. “I should present myself; my name is-”
“Irren. I know, your magic feels the same.”
“I feel like I’ve heard something similar before, hahaha…” Baiser scratched the back of her head, eventually deciding it’d be safer if she untransformed. “Soo… you’re part of Enormeeta now?”
“Huh? What’s dat?”
“Nevermind… though I’m surprised you almost won that 4v1, how did you do that?”
“I just remembered some of the stuff I learned, I didn’t expect to get this tired…” Leopard relaxed into the futon, trying to fight her sudden urge to sleep.
The two of them remained silent as the purple flames closed the wounds on Leopard’s back.
“How are you doing?”
“Well, the pain has subsided but I’m so tired I feel I could sleep like a log.”
“That’s good, transforming for the first time is always taxing.”
“You could tell?”
“Kinda. With the spectacle you put on, I can at least tell that you don’t like holding back.”
“Guilty as charged, but I must ask, why did you save me?”
Utena looked towards the window, the evening sun illuminating her small apartment. “Because… we’re friends and all, before I knew it I had already jumped in…”
“Don’t lie to me! Only a handful of people know I’m Leopard, I didn’t even show you my magic in the week we’ve known each other! How would you know?!”
“I didn’t at first. It was just until before you got knocked down that something clicked in my mind… whether as Kiwi or Leopard you always carry yourself in the same way, it’s awfully obvious looking back on it.” Utena mixed truth and lies so that Leopard wouldn’t inquire further.
“Is that so? Still… I don’t understand why a demon would want to help me.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“C’mon~ Don’t try to hide it, you copied a random girl’s face to walk around the city!”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about. I admit my circumstances are extremely uncommon and difficult to explain… but I’m human! And aren’t you being a bit too casual with the idea of talking to demons? They’re dangerous you know?”
“Is that soo~?” Said Leopard incredulously, finally deciding to drop her transformation as a sign of trust. “Well, at least I can tell you’re being honest. Why don’t you tell me more about yourself? It’s not like anyone knows I’m here.”
“Actually… there’s a car coming to pick you up.” Said Utena.
“Why did you tell them?!”
“I didn’t! I meant… there’s… probably a car coming to pick you up, y’know, since you’re a never actually alone…” Utena blurted out an excuse trying not to look at the invisible bodyguards signing her to ‘shut up or else’.
“What do you mean? It’s just the two of us here!” Kiwi raised her voice. “Just spit it out! What department do you work in? What orders were you given?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I just help out at the store downstairs, that’s all!” Utena buckled under pressure, not being able to stop herself. “It’s not my fault you don’t see all the pe-
*HONK!!*
A loud horn could be heard just outside the window before a woman in a business attire entered the small apartment. 
“Miss Araga, we’ve come to pick you up for further medical examination, do you require assistance standing up?”
“If I said ‘no’, would you bring the doctor here?” Kiwi remarked defiantly, not having finished with Irren just yet.
“We have a stretcher prepared in case you may need it.”
“Fine, then she’s coming with me.”
“I’m afraid your friend doesn’t count with proper clearance to enter company’s ground.”
“I’m giving her clearance, just name the company!” Kiwi stood to try and match the woman’s gaze.
“It’s outside of your jurisdiction, please refrain from starting a conflict of interests.”
“Then bring her here, I better hear what her interests are!” Kiwi rose her voice, trying to mask the clear fatigue on her face.
“You will, once your examination is done. Even your mother signed on the orders.” The woman produced a sheet of paper from her pocket, silencing Kiwi.
 With a grim expression, Kiwi walked through the open door, leaving quietly the apartment complex.
“Sorry for the intrusion, please refrain from making unnecessary comments on the future. This is your only warning.” The woman warned Utena, signaling the bodyguards to lower their weapons before catching up to Kiwi as she entered the vehicle.
Utena let out a sigh of relief before her legs gave out like a puppet whose strings had been cut. “Didn’t I lock the door before going out? What just happened?” she murmured.
She tried making sense of how 20 more invisible bodyguards and a car had suddenly appeared on the apartment the moment she let her mouth run.
“I’m so lost, whose interests? Jurisdiction? Also, ‘name the company’? Maybe I’ve underestimated who Kiwi was…” Utena placed her head between her hands. [“If she has this much influence, why could she transform into Leopard before without this much drama? No company came to retrieve her after she got hurt, even after fighting Sister Gigant… I just don’t get it.”]
Utena lay on the futon she treated Kiwi on, noticing the lingering warmth on it. “She didn’t know what Enormeeta was, why would Vena hide that from her…”
Utena rustled the sheets trying to make sense of it all. “Maybe it’s best if I don’t involve her, there seems to be more to this city than what I originally thought.”
Placing her face against the pillow, Utena got nostalgic over the lingering scent, Kiwi’s scent. [“Before I try anything, I have to fix this…”] she thought looking at her hand and her purple nails.
Turning to lay on her back, Utena closed her eyes and concentrated. [“We need to talk.”] she felt the world closing in on her.
Utena woke up in a desert like plain, the sky in perpetual dawn. Instinctively she walked towards the castle she could see in the distance. 
Made from obsidian-like black stone, it’s gate stood 5 meters tall, surrounded by tall, broken walls. Several towers rose from behind the walls, a faint memory of their attempt to pierce the sky still palpable in their ruined remains.
Utena pushed the gate open revealing small courtyard where the scars of battle were splayed out across the walls and the once polished floor. 
“Just what happened here?”
Looking ahead, the inner palace, while standing, was missing several chunks, a major diagonal cut clearly visible. The ruined door to the palace discarded on the side.
Utena entered a dark hallway, dimly lit by purple flames. She imagined how it would’ve looked when every candle holder was there. Walking deeper into the structure, she saw it. Sitting on a ruined throne with a tattered black dress it smiled.
Utena felt those godforsaken black and purple eyes looking to her very soul with depraved glee. [I’m sorry I couldn’t organize a proper welcome~]
“I can’t express how glad I’m seeing you like that.”
[I see you still reject me. You break my heart my dearest Utena]
“Stop with the theatrics, what is it that you want?”
[The same thing as you, we’re the same person, remember?]
“I don’t defile Magias!”
[Are you sure?]
Behind the flower a mannequin rose from the shadows, in cue it opened it’s mouth. “Because I wanted to mess with those faces with my own hands… How do you like that?! Quite stimulating, right?! Feels good, right?! Me too! I’m feeling… Soooo! Gooood!”
[Do you know why someone so out of your league would ever look your way?]
“Shut up!”
[Admit it! She’s quite simple minded, it only took you one try to break her]
“It’s not what happened!”
[She followed you around like a faithful dog, asked you constantly to love her, how is that any different from what I did?]
“I won’t fall for your tricks! I saw how the light extinguished from their eyes! You aren’t me!”
[You don’t see it, do you? I exist thanks to magic, but I was born from you, from your insatiable lust. Whether you admit it or not, that’s what you, no, what we want]
“You just want to confuse me. It seems you’ve been through a lot, how about I finish the job?”
The flower, amused, rose from the pile of rubble that was once her throne. With a marked limp she descended the steps leading to it before disappearing from Utena’s sight.
[Such threats are unbecoming of us, you can’t kill me and I…] the flower wrapped her arms from behind Utena, whispering her next words in her ear. [know you better than anyone]
Utena felt a pair of cold hands intruding beneath her jeans, carefully threading beneath her panties and gently resting over her most private part. Before Utena could protest, her mind was filled with images.
She could see Magenta sitting at a dining table, topless, as she squeezed milk from the Magia’s breasts only to feed it back to her. She saw Magenta at a kitchen counter completely naked except for a white apron, her belly bulging. She saw herself hugging Magenta from behind, a black dildo securely strapped around her waist.
The flower started grinding her hips against Utena’s butt, her hands slightly teasing the slit before them as a promise of what could have been.
Utena felt the pressure as she penetrated Magenta’s ass, she heard her pleasurable moan and loving confession. She grew more excited at the Magia’s contradictory words, urging caution for the live sprouting within her all the while asking her to fuck her harder. ‘My dear’ resounded in Utena’s ears as a loving memory from her claim over Magenta. She saw as Magenta convulsed against the counter, the air around them filling itself with the stench of sex. 
Utena felt the ghost of Magenta’s touch on her cheek, the loving words of the Magia in the middle of her afterglow. Utena instinctively pressed her hips forward, hoping to feel once more the pressure from that memory, the flower’s hands being the only thing that contained her from her grasp. 
Utena saw herself smiling and thrusting once more inside Magenta’s ass, her own lust being far from satisfied. ‘I…just…’ Magenta would struggle to utter as a new wave of pleasure flooded her mind. 
Utena felt a warmth surging in her lower abdomen.
She saw Sulfur, bound and blindfolded, forced to walk on her knees and elbows, a tail plugging her asshole. She saw herself with her legs sprawled on a red leather chair, inviting Sulfur to come near.
She’d heard her struggle as Sulfur blindily moved forward, only to be lazily stopped by Utena’s foot pressing against the Magia’s forehead. ‘Lick it’ she’d say. She felt a sadistic smile form in her face, looking at the defiant Sulfur obeying her every command, she felt the Magia crouch ever closer, licking her way up her leg. Utena felt Sulfur’s tongue licking her crotch with wanting ease.
In queue, the flower inserted her finger on Utena’s pussy as her other hand made way beneath Utena’s blouse, massaging her breast. Utena couldn’t help but moan at the assault on her senses.
Utena’s vision shifted, she stood on a desolated park at night while holding a leash. Sulfur, bound and naked, crawl on all fours ahead of her. She felt the tingling sensation on her hand as she slapped Sulfur on the ass. ‘Faster’ she’d shouted. She remembered laying the defenseless dog on her back, she’d produce her double sided dildo and force it down Sulfur’s insides, she’d smile at the Magia’s pleas for rest, yet she’d continue leading the helpless dog to the limit before her climax and stop there. ‘Please’ she’d hear, ‘just a bit more’ Sulfur would continue, but Utena wouldn’t give her what she wanted, ‘Say it’ she’d demand at the defiant dog, but Sulfur would refuse. Utena would keep fucking her without release time and time again, the Magia becoming a sobbing mess as the ectasis of cumming was once again denied from her.
‘Master… please…’ Utena would smile at Sulfur’s utterance, finally declaring victory over the Magia, Utena would place the other side of the dildo in herself and start thrusting her hips with reckless desire, filling both their minds with nothing but pleasure.
‘Good dog’ she’d whispered in the clarity of the afterglow.
Once more, Utena’s memories shifted.
She saw Azul bounded to a cross, spreading her arms and legs wide apart. She felt the weight of her black whip as she flogged Azul, the latter’s expression lost in pleasure.  
The flower placed another finger inside of Utena as she pumped her hand faster, teasing around that one spot she knew would make Utena cum.
Utena found herself on a dimly lit room, several ropes hanging from the ceiling securing the gagged Azul a meter off the ground. The Magia hanged looking upwards, her body drenched in sweat from the torturous wait she’d been subjected to.
She heard Azul’s moans as she pierced her nipples and vulva with metal hooks attached to metal wires and proceeded to tense them, attaching them to the ceiling, creating a beautiful pyramid between the three.
Utena felt the pleasure rising inside of her body, like liquid fire. She couldn’t control her urge to moan at every pump from the flower’s hand.
Utena remembered the warm sensation on her fist as she penetrated all the way to Azul’s core, the slight tingling from the electricity in the hooks, how Azul’s insides hugged her arm even tighter the moment she added a metal prod in Azul’s rear. Utena rejoiced at Azul’s uncontrollable moans, the taste of the resulting torrent of piss lingering in her mouth.
A wish formed inside of Utena’s mind. ‘More’
“S-stop…”
[You despise me for what could’ve been, why don’t we see what was?] The flower whispered in a sweet voice to the panting Utena.
Utena’s memories shifted once more, she found herself on a bed with white sheets, an artificial white light looming over her. 
*cough*
Looking around, there were book filled shelves besides a table with a computer and a chest X-ray hanging just above.
‘This… this is… Alice chan’s…’
“Please… stop!!” Utena pleaded, the unwanted memory surfacing in her mind.
She saw a woman beside her on the bed, with beautiful, long blonde hair and striking red eyes behind a slim pair of glasses. Wearing a lab coat that barely hid the short, black leather skirt and low cut shirt paired with black stockings.
‘Eh?... Ah… Doctor… I think… I have a cold…’
“No… nothing happened… it wasn’t me…” Utena tried to wish away the memory, to ignore what was transpiring before her, until she heard those fateful words.
‘Doctor… Please… Check me…’
The cold feeling of the stethoscope paired with Alice’s intrigued expression was burned in Utena’s mind. She wanted to deny the electrifying feeling through her senses as Alice played with her nipple and how much she yearned for her to continue.
‘Doc…tor…’ Utena held herself from pleading what she wanted once Alice retreated the first time.
‘A… Shot…? Doctor… I’m scared…’ Utena trashed around in her mind, not wanting to see where the memory inevitably led. She felt Alice crouch ever closer, placing one of her knees in front of Utena’s crotch to encourage her to spread her legs. The sensual, soft mint-like scent from Alice permeating her nostrils, her gaze squarely placed over Alice’s thin red lips.
‘Please… Be gentle…’
Utena remembered Alice’s warm body, the softness of her lips, the earnest movements of her fingers inside of her. She couldn’t forget Alice’s passionate display, wanting to please her by imitating Baiser. She remembered how Alice looked at her, a gaze filled with the need of acknowledgement, of acceptance. She remembers how she could only avoid her gaze at the end, even as they came, Utena could only act as if nothing had ever happened.
[You already defiled a Magia]
Tears filled Utena’s eyes, her denial a stark contrast with the wave of pleasure threatening to gush out against her will. She tried to move away from the flower, but her body wouldn’t respond, instead succumbing to the ever increasing heat within her.
“NOOO!!” She screamed feeling hopeless, feeling that she just lost against the darker side of herself, Utena screamed as her climax drew near.
The flower abruptly took her hands from Utena, taking several steps away from her.
[We’re not the brightest, but you should have enough of a clue by now] The flower spoke from behind Utena. [We won’t see each other for a long time, so use that to figure out who we really are, my dearest Utena]
Utena woke up in her apartment, the night having already fallen outside her window. She felt the chill of the night in her skin despite no window being open, evidence of all the sweat drenching her body. Utena felt vulnerable and alone in the deafening stillness of her apartment. Bracing herself, Utena cried, she cried over her weakness, over her sin. The images of every time she avoided Korisu fresh in her mind, she couldn’t bare look at her in the eye, not after what they’ve done. Utena remembered how she’d forsaken the lonely Korisu, hoping Kiwi would take care of her in one way or another, never wanting to involve herself on their games.
“Am I even the right person to save her?” she lamented as the desolate neighborhood washed away any evidence of the girl’s melancholy.