Chapter 28 – Prepare For Trouble And Make It Double (3)

Thanks for the good loophole suggestions, I might use them at some point.

Sorry it’s late. The topics in this and the next chapter require some proper handling, I delayed them to get them right.

For this chapter, prepare some insulin or you might get diabetes

On their way to the outskirts of the shopping district where the exhibition venue was located, Yui and Keiko chatted some small talk with 'school' as their common ground. The two had a good atmosphere, Keiko who was all tense when they first met, relaxed greatly, their lively greetings must have helped.

“Hara-san, what exactly is this exhibition we’re headed to about?” Yui asked amidst their casual conversation. Despite her meticulous nature of preparing, Yui did not search for any information about the exhibit, for fear of spoiling the fun.

“It’s a gallery!” Keiko replied with sparkling eyes. “A photo gallery that shows the true scope of the magical war!”

She went on to explain that after the gallery toured several other countries, it garnered much praise and controversy. And finally, it was here!

Apparently, many brave photographers and journalists, most of whom were never war correspondents, collaborated to produce it. Travelling around the world to dangerous locations where they would tag along with various militaries or even go solo to get the photos.

Seeing Keiko so excited, Yui could not stop herself from reaching up and patting Keiko. Keiko ceased her rambling, sneakily glancing at Yui out of the corner of her eyes, she asked, “Misaki-san, does it sound interesting?”

‘Not really. . .' Yui could not say that. She did keep up-to-date with the news but the perpetual information control by the government of only reporting victories and the rhetoric of humanity’s certain victory doused any desire to know more.

Still, she must not disappoint her cute little bunny.

With practised ease, Yui slipped her hand into Keiko’s and interlaced their fingers, “I like that you like it. An enthusiastic Hara-san is the best.”

“Eep?!” Keiko stupefied by Yui’s smooth moves, let out a surprised squeak. She felt her heart beat a thousand times a minute sending a torrent of blood to her cheeks. Subconsciously, Keiko started to walk awkwardly. She stiffly swung her same arm and leg together while keeping her back extremely straight and rigid. She looked like a robot from the outside.

'Chaos' barely described what state her mind was in. She was h*lding h*nds with Misaki-san in public! A date, a date!! What should she do!?!

Yui came to the rescue, giving Keiko an encouraging squeeze, she distracted Keiko by asking for more information about the photo gallery.

Hesitantly at first, Keiko spoke of the interesting things she found out. Like there being a must-see Black-and-White section, about some photographers who sacrificed themselves to convey the conditions on the ground, the controversy of some countries banning the exhibition from their shores unless they remove some displays, and the exhibition rejecting the terms.

Yui’s ploy worked, talking about things Keiko was passionate about had diverted her attention. She no longer walked strangely nor was she conscious of the many stares directed at the two beautiful highschool girls h*lding h*nds, naturally accepting Yui’s grasp. In fact, her effusive enthusiasm transmitted over to Yui, causing Yui to begin to warm up to the idea of the gallery.

Time passed quickly when they were having fun and they soon reached their destination, a large exhibition hall. The path leading up to the hall was lined by knee-high shrubs while advertisement posters of the gallery hung off its street lights.

Along the path were metal barricades that form a single winding file to control the flow of a crowd. However, several barricades were pushed aside to carve out a lane to the exhibition hall. Judging by the vacant facade and the rare person entering or leaving the building, there was no need to control any crowd.

“Hara-san, is this the right place? It’s quite empty.”

“It should be. . . All the posters are of the gallery.” Keiko looked around confused. Tiptoeing as if she would find a crowd hiding behind the shrubbery, unsurprisingly, she found none. “There should be many people here to see the closing ceremony.”

“Well, it’s still early. The ceremony would be in the evening, perhaps they’ll arrive later.” Yui concluded and led them into the exhibition hall.

Gentle air-conditioning staved off the late-spring heat when they entered. They were allowed entry to the main hall after showing their tickets to the receptionist, though they did get a curious look when he saw their joined hands, not that Keiko noticed.

The entrance to the main hall was blocked by thick curtains. As they passed through, their eyes took a moment to adjust to the drop in lighting. Evidently, the gallery decided to highlight each display by only lighting them, while the soft reflected light and non-intrusive classical music created a tranquil ambience.

They found themselves in a corridor that ended at a T-junction. On the wall before them, flaunting itself prominently was the first display. The photograph, as long as Yui’s and Keiko’s combined arm span, depicted 8 men smiling and together carrying a dead crocodile-like demon. It took the combined strength of all of the men to lift the demon and must have been taken down by the tank in the background.

The caption read: [French 3rd defence force, 1st kill after two days of deployment] Dated 2 years ago when the war just began.

“This picture is so. . .” Keiko said.

Seeing the photograph, it would be a lie to say Yui was not disappointed. Keiko had spent their journey here hyping up the gallery as something that illuminated the true devastation of the war. Yet here its first display was expounded on human dominance.

If she wanted propaganda, she just needed to switch on the news. Hopefully, the rest lived up to Keiko’s tales or Keiko might need to entertain her with her body. On second thought, that did not sound too bad. . .

“So amazing!” Keiko exclaimed, tugging Yui along to get a closer look.

“Eh. . . Hara-san likes it?” Yui asked.

“How could I not? Everyone says that it’s impossible for ordinary people to kill a demon but this proves otherwise. If we work together, anything is possible!” Keiko said with a bright smile. She knew, better than most, how difficult it was for soldiers with non-magical weapons to achieve that feat.

“Ah, I see,” Yui gave a half-hearted reply. Considering Keiko’s straightforward and optimistic nature, it was an inevitability that Keiko would be tricked by the propaganda.

They moved on, the left and right paths both led into the same large room where only a few scattered individuals stood about, viewing the displays intently. Lining the walls were framed pictures, not as big as the first but still large enough that Yui would struggle to grip the long ends.

A cursory glance around the room proved to Yui that her initial disappointment was well-founded. All of the photographs portrayed some sort of heroism or achievement. One had soldiers charging across a field, another the thankful faces of liberated civilians, and another still presented a parade of armed airships with a floating ship at the fore.

Just another thinly veiled attempt at promoting victory.

On the contrary, Keiko was ecstatic, like an excited puppy, she dragged Yui all over the place to investigate whatever interested her. They spent an astounding amount of time on each photograph as Keiko marvelled over not just its contents but also its technicalities. How the photo was shot, which camera or lens was used, what edits they did, the texture, lighting, colour, angle, basically anything and everything under the scope of photography.

Safe to say, Yui did not understand a thing and simply nodded along as the technical speech flowed in one ear and out the other. Channelling her attention, instead, towards adoring her bubbly bunny where she watched Keiko bounce merrily between the displays.

Keiko's lengthy spew went on for some time and when it finally came to a pause, she looked up at Yui with big anxious eyes for approval.

"It's—" Yui was prepared to give a half-hearted compliment but stopped herself, feeling like she must not brush it off so lightly. Questioning why Keiko acted in such a way caused realisation to dawn upon her.

"There's too much to process but I somewhat understand its appeal. When I'm ready, I'd ask Hara-san to teach me again. But for now, I'll like to hear more about your passion." Yui said as a warm fuzzy feeling blossomed. It turned out that Keiko was trying to impart her photography knowledge such that they could share the exhilaration of exploring the gallery together.

"En, anytime," Keiko nodded, continuing her teachings with renewed vigour.

The two highschool girls wandered further into the gallery. The dim lighting, gentle music, and gradual decrease of the people around them fanned the warmth in Yui until it was a raging fire. Keiko's earnest attempt, childish it may be, sparked Yui's deepest desires.

She wanted Keiko.

She wanted her badly.

Fortunately for Keiko, they had stumbled into a different gallery section where a couple was browsing the displays while their child ran about, playing. The presence of these three saved Keiko, unbeknownst to the person herself.

Yui closed her eyes and calmed her lust, now was not the time to blow her cover. Breathe in. Hold it. Breathe out. Phew, she opened her eyes to take in the new area they were in, expecting more biased photos similar to the last few rooms, only to be surprised by the much more compelling theme of this section.

Magical Girls!

[Magical Girls repels Godzilla from San Fransico, USA] A close-up shot of three Magical Girls, flying around and flinging magic at an enormous Demon. The girls looked too alike to not be related. The Demon they were fighting walked on its two hind legs and the water that surrounded it reached up to its waist. In the distance, obscured by fog was the famous Golden Gate Bridge.

[Magical Girl heals people that were trapped under rubble, Italy] Depicted was an emergency triage area. It seems like the photo was taken soon after the disaster happened as a proper tent had not been erected yet. Tens of bandaged people laid on the floor, and amid the devastation, a girl in a nun habit drew the focus of the picture. She had her hands clasped and eyes closed as a golden glow surrounded her, giving her a holy aura. Tendrils of golden light linked the injured people to the nun. From the relieved look on their faces, it must be healing them.

All along the walls were similar photos of a multitude of Magical Girls in action. Yet, whether they were flying across the sky, protecting civilians, or battling Demons, those girls shone brilliantly.

Ahh~ Paradise~ This photo gallery isn't so disappointing after all. Still biased though.

Yui was tempted to steal the photos for her collection. Particularly those that zoomed in on the girls’ struggling faces, she got aroused just seeing those valiant girls in anguish.

Automatically, her mind turned to Keiko again. A sudden throb reverberated from her womb, an overwhelming desire to ravage Keiko. She wanted her little bunny to squirm tearfully under her touch, for Keiko's face to twist like those in the photos as her fingers explored hidden crevices that only she knew.

Yui tightened her grip on Keiko’s hand and discretely wiped away the drool with her other hand. Not now. Focus. She needed to focus.

Luckily, Keiko did not notice Yui’s lewd thoughts. Ever since entering the section, she seemed more subdued. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on the floor and did not drag Yui around to check out the photographs. Perhaps she was embarrassed by the portrayal of Magical Girls.

“For love and justice, I punish you!” A little girl chanted as she swung down her colourful heart-tipped wand, mimicking a picture of a Magical Girl cleaving apart a horde of demons with her massive sword.

Keiko faced away when she heard the unknown girl. Yui, however, did not miss the small smile that crept across Keiko's face.

A nefarious plan wormed its way into Yui’s mind. She needed to relieve her pent-up desire. While this definitely would not, it certainly stroked her sadistic side.

After what was perhaps the shortest deliberation in human history, Yui squatted down such that she was at eye level with the girl. She asked the girl, who seemed to be no older than six, “Do you want to be a Magical Girl?”

“Yup, Magical Onee-chan are so strong and beautiful!” The girl declared, nodding vigorously, but slowly she became crestfallen. “Mama and Papa said Hiyori can't. Magical Onee-chan has to do dangerous things like fighting bad Demons."

“That they do. They selflessly protect everyone." Yui patted Hiyori’s head to cheer her up. "If Hiyori-chan remembers to fight for love and justice, I’m sure Hiyori-chan would make a fine Magical Girl when she grows up.”

"Thanks, pretty Onee-chan," Hiyori smiled brightly, regaining her positivity. "Does pretty Onee-chan like them too?”

“Yes, Onee-chan loves them very much~” Yui agreed.

“Eep!” Keiko, who was still standing, squeaked and tried to run away but Yui held her hand firmly.

"Hiyori-chan, I just thought of something," Yui clapped her hands together, “Since there're so many Magical Onee-chan around, let's give them our thanks. Try saying ‘Thank you, Magical Onee-chan~!’”

“Magical Onee-chan! Thank you~!” Hiyori said.

“Ahh!” Keiko desperately hid her red face.

“Those Magical Onee-chan can't hear you if you’re that soft,” Yui urged.

“Thank you, Magical Onee-chan~!!” Hiyori said a little louder.

“Mmmnn!!” Keiko once again tried to run, this time using slight physical enhancing magic. But somehow, she was still locked in place and made to suffer.

“One more time~”

“Thank you for everything, Magical Onee-chan~!!!”

“Hnnn!!!”

“Good girl,” Yui praised, patting Hiyori's head.

“Hiyori, we're going. Say ‘bye’ to Onee-chan,” The girl’s mother called.

“Ok~! Bye-bye pretty Onee-chan, bye strange Onee-chan~!” Hiyori waved to Yui and Keiko, who was now crouching down alongside Yui with her free hand covering her face, and she ran back to her parents.

“Such a cute kid,” Yui commented. Standing back up and pulling a reluctant Keiko with her, she waved back to Hiyori while dusting off her skirt.

“Nn” Keiko acknowledged half-heartedly. She was a little too preoccupied with trying to hide her embarrassment.

“How about you, Hara-san? Do you want **** one too?” Yui asked, murmuring some words such that Keiko did not hear them.

Keiko's agonizing mind did not have a chance to recover before it was plunged into another storm.

“Eeep! Want? One? EEEHHH?!” Keiko panicked, not even in her first battle did she panic this hard. Poking her index fingers together, she struggled to form a cohesive sentence, “Erm, I guess it’s. . . I don’t know Misaki-san that well. . . and, er, we’re girls. . . So, perhaps, maybe, possibly—”

"What's Hara-san talking about?” Yui asked, her smile as innocent as an angel. “I was asking if you wanted to be a Magical Girl too.”

“Eh? I, it was, waa, it’s, it’s. . .”

Keiko melted down. Just as she was about to ball up in the fetal position, Yui swooped Keiko into her embrace and gave her bunny a quick peck on the lips.

“Eeep!” Keiko jumped out of the hug immediately as if struck by lightning. She lifted a hand to her mouth, absentmindedly stroking where Yui kissed her.

“Didn’t I say before,” Yui chuckled and licked her lips, "It’s the thought that counts."

It took Keiko a while before she realised Yui purposely made her mishear the question.

“Misaki-san! You bully!” Keiko cried, pounding the laughing Yui with soft fists.

The next chapter will be out on Fri.

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