Chapter 16 – To Each Her Own Trouble (2)

I…n

Under a crimson sky, she gripped her claymore with both hands and planted her feet firmly in the air. Her eyes darted around in an attempt to catch her enemy but white steam obscured her vision. Annoyed, she swung her sword wildly, into the swirling fog, hoping to catch her target. And naturally, she hit nothing. Each miss caused her to grow angrier, her attacks got wilder.

“Damn cow, You can’t hide forever!” She shouted in frustration. “Come out and die like a man.”

The steam around her cleared slightly, an unintended side-effect of her random swinging, allowing her to catch the faint shadow of something close. Finally, a target. She replied with her greatsword, easily parrying the incoming attack aside. The enemy had taken a risk by stepping into her range and she would not relinquish this golden opportunity.

She gave chase, her enemy tried to increase their distance by shooting icicles from an outstretched hand, hoping she would spend precious seconds dodging. But she had other ideas and released a wall of fire to counter the incoming ice while trusting in her barrier to block those that made it through. Tanking through the ice barrage, she managed to close the gap and come within melee range.

Raising her claymore above her head, she brought it down with tremendous force. Her enemy brought up the katana to block but to no avail. Her downward swing would have sliced the enemy in half if it was not for some quick reactions to change from blocking to diverting. The enemy angled the katana allowing her greatsword to slide along the edge. The superheated air of her failed attack impacted the ground leaving a strip of charred earth.

Im…n

“Are those saggy jugs using up all your strength to support? Block properly!” She sent another attack, this time an upswing. Her enemy retreated under her onslaught, desperately trying to redirect her attacks. Steam rose from the continued clashes of ice and fire. Each time her attack was deflected, her next slash reached just that bit closer. Soon, her sword would reach its mark and she will stand victorious ove—

A beam slammed into her body causing her to stumble. Using the brief opportunity, her enemy sent a swift slash to her arm. She was forced to retreat instead. Tracing where the beam originated from, she spotted the culprit, a large wolf standing on the ground with its mouth open.

“Annoying mutt.” She wanted to very much run that doggy through with her sword, but before she could move, her enemy attacked. While the damage did not reach her real body, her strength was weakened. She was forced to dodge the attacks.

“Oh, what’s wrong? Escaping? How lucky for you to have no breast weighing you down, so aerodynamic.” She could see her enemy’s infuriating grin. Just as she was about to wipe that grin from the face of the earth, another beam shot towards her forcing her to dive.

“Run! Run! RUN! HAHAHA” Her enemy chased after her before everything faded… Instead of an aerial combat, she now found herself running through darkness, giving it her all.

“Run, Aya, keep running. Don’t... stop for... anythi…” A panting voice slowly faded as it got further away.

“Help, Imai-senpai.”

“Are you afraid? That’s good, that’s delicious. HAHAHA.” A peal of manic laughter chased after her. “That’s it, keep running.”

“Run”

“Ru…”

“R…”

“Imai-san?” A hand shook her shoulder, jolting Aya out of her slumber. She looked around to collect herself only to find the entire class watching her. Standing in front of her was the teacher with a faint frown.

“Ah, sorry, Sensei, I’ll pay more attention next time.” Aya straightened up in her seat.

“You don’t look too good. Don’t push yourself, after all, you’re still recovering from your cold. Please go to the infirmary.” The teacher suggested.

Aya was about to protest when she saw the concerned expression of the teacher. That suggestion seemed to be more like an order. Perhaps, resting in the infirmary would indeed help. She packed up her stationary and headed out. Her friends gave their well-wishes.

The classroom door shut behind her, leaving her in an empty corridor. The school would be over in the next period or two. The hot afternoon sun glared through the corridor windows, as the muted sound of teachers droning on about their subjects drifted through the corridor.

A normal day

And yet, it happened again. She thought she had put it behind her, still, the nightmares haunted her, especially these last few days. The two days off should have helped, but here they are, mocking her efforts.

Aya reached the infirmary and knocked on the door before entering, “Excuse me.”

The school nurse was absent and there seems to be no other student around. That is good too, she did not want any company at the moment, not even her friend Keiko. This was her problem to deal with. Aya laid on a bed, spending the next few hours drifting between wakefulness, light sleep, and nightmare.

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The usual chatter of club activities drifted down from open windows to Hikari’s ears. She waited under a hidden eave behind the school building. A popular confession spot that became even more popular after the rooftop closed, for safety reasons. Of course, the staff and students do not know it is for Magical Girls only.

This morning after taking over from Aqua, Hikari arrived at school to find a letter in her shoe locker, asking to meet here alone after school.

A love letter

Despite being a relic, it was not her first time finding one in her shoe locker. In fact, she would receive at least one per week, from boys and even a few girl admirers. She had hoped this week would be an exception, especially this week. There were enough headaches to deal with, mostly stemming from a certain person.

Since that wish obviously did not come through, she needed to do the next best thing. Hikari learnt, after several unsavoury incidents, to firmly reject the sender or else there would be trouble. She even considered doing what Yui did and publicly reject one to scare off any further suitors. But in the end, she decided against it. Those suitors gathered up an enormous amount of courage to confess to her, they deserved a proper reply, even if it was a rejection.

The sender was running late. Bored waiting, Hikari reread the letter. It lacked the usual nauseating flattery she grew to expect from this type of letters. In fact, now that she looked at it again, it conveyed barely more than a place and time.

Her tired eyes flashed with alertness, no sender’s name… Could it be blackmail? Did someone see her transform into a Magical Girl? Her exhausted mind began spinning up conspiracies. The longer she waited, the more elaborate and fanciful they became.

By the time the sender arrived, she was mentally prepared to take drastic measures.

It was first a flicker out of the corner of her eye. Hikari thought she saw a head peek out from behind a wall. Looking closely, it happened again, this time they made eye contact. She waited again until she could not take it any longer and called out in her usual strict voice. “I’ve seen you already. Why don’t you come out.”

Only with her prompting did the person appear. He had short black hair and wore his uniform buttoned up to his collar. He was about the same height as Hikari and his thin body made the normal school uniform look baggy. He approached hesitantly but back straight, must be his upbringing, face blushing as he stood before her.

“You’re Yoshikawa Nobu-san, class president of class 2-2, right?” She asked. She had seen him in student council meetings. They did not have much contact but from their brief interactions, she gathered he was a very proper student, someone she completely ruled out as the sender. His memorable traits would be his slightly higher pitch voice and that he was in the same class as Yui.

“Y-Yes, I-I’m glad you remember me,” he twiddled his thumbs, looking at the floor.

“Of course, you’re always attentively taking notes during meetings. May I ask why were you hiding behind the wall?”

“Ah, b-because Shirokana-kaichou… looked so gorgeous amongst the flowers…" His voice grew softer until she had to use magic to catch what he said. Next to her was a plot of garden tended by the gardening club, luckily, today was not their club day.

Everything about him screamed innocence, Hikari chuckled, as if a heavy weight had been lifted. Her stupid conspiracies, she had almost used her magic to bury whatever secret he uncovered.

When she looked at Yoshikawa, she saw tears of shame welling up in his eyes. She had laughed at his attempted ‘smooth-talking?’. Panicking a little, Hikari soothed his frayed nerves. “Yoshikawa-san, I’m not laughing at you. I’m very glad you’re so truthful, thank you for the compliment.”

Once he had settled down, she notice him remaining silent. Forcing Hikari to get it over with. “So what did you want to tell me?”

He took a deep breath and clapped both cheeks, psyching himself up. Before bowing and spewing his confession, “ShirokanakaichouPleasegooutwithme.”

While Hikari did not catch everything, her experience informed her what he was trying to convey. And with a well-practised speech, she rejected him, “Thank you for your kind feelings, I’ll cherish them. However, I’m not looking for a partner now and I don’t feel the same way towards you.”

Her words were direct and cutting, but it needed to be done.

“I expected as much. Shirokana-kaichou is like a star shining her radiance, and like a star outside my reach. Thank you for hearing my selfish request.” He said in a steady voice, his head still bowed.

But it did not fool her, she saw his clenched fist by his side, and when he straightened up, his red eyes on the verge of tears.

“I won’t bother you anymore.” He turned to leave but Hikari stopped him in his tracks.

“Yoshikawa-san, I believe that this is your first time confessing—He nodded—you’ve shown tremendous courage. Despite knowing you would be rejected. You came and asked me out. No girl would ever dislike that. Be proud of your courage, I sincerely hope you find someone much better than me.” Hikari tried to cheer him up. No matter how futile it might be, she had to try.

He gave a weak smile before walking off.

Hikari watched his back get smaller, now slightly hunched over. It never gets any easier.

-

An hour had passed since classes ended, and Hikari found herself outside the student council room. Her hand rested on the doorknob but she could not bring herself to open it. Who knew what ridiculous things she would be dragged into the moment the door opened.

No, not just the antics, even interacting with Yui made her heart pound. Why was talking with Yoshikawa so different than with Yui. She never stuttered so hard or was so confused when she spoke with her other suitors, but with Yui everything flew out the window.

In the end, all this waiting outside only procrastinated the inevitable. Taking a deep breath and clapping her cheeks (the very same actions Yoshikawa did before he confessed), she entered.

As expected, Yui was inside. But what was unexpected, was Yui crossing her arms on the table and laying her head on them. Her face tilted sideways with her eyes closed.

“Misaki-san… are you awake?” Hikari whispered, her voice tinier than the buzzing of a fly. Yui’s only response was her slow measured breathing. Hikari took a step closer then paused, checking to see if Yui reacted, before taking another step. She repeated this several times until she was next to Yui.

Hikari’s eyes were drawn to Yui’s resting face. “How can you sleep so peacefully after everything you did? I've barely gotten any this week since you walked through these doors.” Hikari complained softly, not wanting to wake Yui. All thoughts of Yoshikawa's confession were gone from her mind1poor Yoshikawa, taken up by the person laying before her.

“Who are you really? Every time I think I figured you out, you do something unpredictable. Are you the Ice Queen who pushes everyone away? Or a mischievous imp who is just toying with me?” Hikari murmured, unconsciously brushing away a lock of hair that fell across Yui’s face.

Hikari’s words grew softer, bending her head forward. “Is this also a ploy just to tease me?”

Now, she was close enough that her hot pants mixed with Yui’s cool steady breaths. “After leaving me so frustrated everyday, it’s my turn to throw your little plans into chaos…”

Hikari closed the small gap and brushed her lips against Yui’s. The brief contact sent shivers through her. Their lips touched for barely a second, before Hikari shot straight up, covering her mouth.

“What am I doing…” With a red face, she quickly left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.

-

The moment the door closed Yui’s eyes snapped open, she licked her lips, enjoying the residue taste of a horny Magical Girl. She did not rise in case someone returned for more.

Several minutes later, Yui sensed a ping from her formation on the rooftop, informing her that a Magical Girl had transformed there, followed by the mana signature of a Magical Girl flying away. Neither her senses nor her demons picked up any demon attack in or around the city. And since, there should be only one Magical Girl in school right now. That only meant a certain someone used her powers to escape. A kiss and run. How rude.

There was a knock on the door.

Yui tidied herself up before calling, “Enter.”

“Excuse me.” A random female student came in. “Misaki-senpai, Shirokana-kaichou asked me to inform you that she had an important matter today and wouldn’t be coming. She said that there’s no need for you to help out with the rest of the work, that she’ll handle it with the other council members when they return.”

“I understand, thank you.” Yui nodded and waited for the student to leave. Yui contemplated the next move, “I must say, Hikari-chan, you’re a woman of your word. You certainly did throw my little plans into chaos... with your running.”

“What to do? What to do? I know…” Yui had a mischievous imp grin when she figured out what she will do next.

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