Chapter 2: Chapter 2 – Magical Girl Kari

Several days had passed since the incursion in Akihabara and life resumed as usual. The weekend was over, Monday had come and Office workers filled the streets heading to work. Students marched to school eager to see their friends again. Birds perched on branches sung on the other side of the window from Kari's seat. It was like last friday's Incursion never happened, and people weren't afraid they could be killed at any moment.

53 people died that day before Jade and Candy arrived to put a stop to it. A 'low death count' was what the news called it.

Kari grimaced.

The number of dead was almost 55 if she hadn't transformed into a magical girl.

Two students were missing from class— Gouda and Chie, both of whom were among those who didn't make it. In their place was a small cylindrical glass vase with a single flower on their desk. More to provide comfort to the living students than to honor the deceased ones' passing.

Tetsuo had survived, but he lost his right leg below the knee. Whispers amongst the second years his surgery went well. He even might be discharged sooner than expected, not that she would mourn his loss either if things took a turn for him.

Kari didn't speak a word to her parents about what happened that day. What could she tell them? That their daughter had become a magical girl? She hadn't even checked her new powers yet, too scared to reaffirm for herself what she had become.

Although she already had a constant, incessant reminder in the form of a living stuffed animal kept pestering her.

"Is it really okay for you to be out in the open?" Kari quietly asked the anthem sitting on her desk while she pretended to pay attention to the lesson. No one in class seemed to notice him, but that didn't make her feel any less tense.

"We're fine. We're fine! Just like your parents, no one can see me unless I want them to," he said, brushing aside her concern.

Rocky was his name. Her anthem that had followed her home after the incident and was solid proof that she was a magical girl.

Well…

Him and this black ring set with a red jewel on her left index finger. The design was so gaudy. She would never have worn it if given the choice. What really bothered her was that it couldn't be taken off— as in, it was stuck.

The final bell rang at last, signalling the end of classes for the day.

"Don't forget class: cherish everyday like it is your last. Gouda and Chie would want you all to continue smiling," the teacher said with a smile of his own, nodding to himself like something profound had come out of his mouth.

As if he knew what the dead thought.

The class rose, bowed, and began packing to leave.

"Homeroom is a whole lot quieter without Gouda. Gonna miss him making noise," Minato Hitsugi remarked.

"I dunno. We still got you here," Kari replied.

"Harr, harr."

Minato had been friends with them since middle school. He slowly drifted away after joining the manga club upon entering high school, but they always made an effort to reach out to him. If his club hadn't held one of their silly shounen power scaling debates that friday, he might have been another casualty.

"Mi~ na~ to~!"

He made the mistake of turning to the voice, and Makina flicked his forehead.

"Ow! Shit! What was that for?" he cried, clutching his head in fear of a second attack.

"You promised to hang out with us next time because you couldn't make it," she reminded him.

"This is some weird level of friendship extortion. We have all of summer break, right? Anyway, you need to lay off those legendary forehead flicks. I don't have many brain cells to begin with!" Minato pouted.

"You'll be fine, crybaby." Kari exhaled into her sleeve and rubbed his forehead like shining a bowling ball.

"Makina!"

Several students from the other classes surrounded Makina and threw their arms over her. Ena Mizushima and Sachi Tamura, a pair of third years at the top of the social hierarchy at Suginuma High who normally wouldn't bat an eyelash at them, were among the group.

Makina was mildly popular around school given her bubbly personality and fashion sense that other girls adored. It always surprised Kari when Makina would see someone on the streets and shout their names with familiarity.

However, some of these girls she didn't even know. They were just here to frame themselves for a tweet or IG photo, to act all cutesy and worried for vanity's sake, feigning concern to a fellow classmate for clout.

"We heard you were in Akiba when it happened. Thank goodness you're okay," one girl said.

"It must be hard to lose two friends in one day. We're here if you ever need us," another assured her.

Makina responded to them with genuine, upbeat energy that contrasted their cheap, foundation-deep concern. She was able to make conversations with them so easily. Meanwhile, Kari got a pair of asses in her face from people crowding around them.

"Makina, let's go." Kari slung her bag over one shoulder and gestured for the door. She threw a nod to Minato. "Catch you later."

"Just hit me up next time you want to hang." He nodded.

"Sorry, everyone! Maybe we can talk tomorrow," she said just to get them off her back.

By tomorrow, these girls would just find something else to squeal about anyway.

It was so damn hot outside. The sun beat down on them like it was nobody's business. Kari wanted so much for it to be summer break already. Only two weeks to go. Maybe she could convince her parents to make vacation plans to go north.

As they walked along the riverbank, Kari noticed a rather peculiar absence. Her arm was light. A certain someone wasn't clutching onto her as usual. Makina clutched her bookbag with both hands and gazed at her feet as she walked. 

On second thought, leaving Makina alone in Tokyo might not be the best idea.

Kari lightly bumped into her friend's shoulder.

"S-Sorry! Did you say something?" Makina asked, startled by the gentle push.

"Not a thing. You're the one out of it. Still thinking about what happened on Friday?" Kari stopped walking and pulled Makina aside as a bike rang its bell to alert them. They stepped off the footpath for the rider to speed past, kicking up a gust of wind and dirt in its wake.

"Yeah. I can't stop wondering if we asked them to go anywhere else, they might still be alive," she said, casting her eyes off into the distance.

This was a bust. Kari wasn't good at comforting people. She also hated saying things she didn't mean, unlike their teacher or those girls back in class. What point was there to offer empty words of encouragement? It wouldn't bring Gouda or Chie back. It wouldn't restore Tetsuo's leg.

"Wanna go to my place? I still got a full jar of those wasabi peas you love so much," Kari offered.

"You mean it?" Makina beamed.

When they got home, she had Makina go upstairs to her room first. A cabinet above the utensils was stocked full of wasabi peas for this very occasion. She managed to convince her parents it was her favorite snack when in actuality she was indifferent. What mattered was that Makina loved snacking on them, and Kari adored seeing her squeal delightfully with every bite.

"Is that supposed to be tasty? Can I try some?" Rocky asked, flying into Kari's field of vision.

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"Nope. These are for Makina alone." Kari turned away and poured the entire can into a bowl, then tossed a single pea in the anthem's direction. He caught it in his paws but hesitated to eat it. "Don't you have anything better to do than hang around me?"

"I have to be around you as your system's assistant. Speaking of which, can you start familiarizing yourself with the Apocalypse System already? I'm getting antsy that you might not be prepared if an incursion or stray spawns appear! Or worse… a Malevolent Domain!" he cried.

True enough.

Kari would rather forget about it if she could. Saying she didn't ask for this would be a lie, since she put on the ring. It shimmered under sunlight, the red gem appeared to almost… contain liquid?

"Fine. If it makes you happy, I'll take a look at it tonight. After Makina is gone," she relented.

Rocky was ecstatic. He threw the pea into his mouth and regretted it as his face contorted with disgust.

"I brought your candy, O princess." Kari entered the room to Makina lying on her bed, kicking her feet as she read something on her phone.

"About time!" Makina hopped off the bed and parked herself at the table to feast on the wasabi peas. The anthem, who had just discovered how disgusting it was, grimaced at the sight of her happily munching on them. When she noticed Rocky watching, scooped a handful and offered some to him. "Don't be shy, Rocky~"

"No, no! More for you… ahaha…" he said, wiping the sweat from his furry forehead.

Makina was the only other person who knew Kari's secret about being a magical girl. As such, the anthem had no reason to hide himself from her. How long would that last? Magical girls weren't exactly private figures.

"It still feels unreal, but we were saved thanks to your power. That makes you some sort of hero like the others," she said, staring up at Kari.

Hero.

That word somehow tasted sour in her mouth. Makina was passed out and didn't see it, but Jade had left them for dead. What part of that was heroic?

"I don't know about hero. All I'm going to use this power for is to protect you and myself. I'll leave the saving to the real magical girls," Kari said.

"But you are a real magical girl!" Rocky exclaimed, buzzing around her head like a fly.

"He's right. If it were me, I wouldn't want to waste it. Don't you think becoming one was fate?" Makina asked.

Kari scoffed at the notion as an itching feeling in the back of her mind told her this had nothing to do with fate. Accident sounded about right to her but that also wasn't quite it either.

Fate. Hero. Magical girl. These words occupied Kari's mind well into the night long after Makina had gone home.

More concerningly was the final part of the message the Apocalypse System had left her: Apocalypse is coming.

"Hey, Furball—"

"Rocky!" he pouted.

"The system told me that an apocalypse is coming. What do you know about it?" Kari asked.

"It could mean anything. Like what happened in South Africa. You know about that, don't you?"

The country that got overrun with monsters. It became so dangerous, magical girls and other countries were told to stay away so as to not disturb the hornet's nest.

"You're telling me Japan's next on the chopping block, huh? It's not you guys causing this apocalypse stuff, is it?" she continued to inquire.

"No, of course not! The system is only named the way it is in response to potential apocalypses," he explained.

She somehow doubted that was the entire truth. 

If she lived in any other country and was told the apocalypse was coming, there might have been a reason to panic. The magical girl trio of Japan were among the strongest in the world. Circumstances were much better here compared to places like South Africa.

Saving Japan, much less the world, wasn't of any interest to Kari. She was fine just protecting her own neighborhood block.

Mom and Dad brought sushi home for dinner. It looked like they had something to say, and were having trouble finding the right way to broach whatever subject was on their minds.

"By the way, sweetheart," her dad began, which she knew a serious conversation about her future was always prefaced by the use of a pet name. "Your mom and I have been meaning to ask about your plans after high school."

Kari swallowed the urge to laugh in their face. This would have been the tenth discussion this month.

"I thought we talked about this already. I'm aiming for a public university," she reminded them, hoping that would be the end of it.

Mom threw Dad a glance and took over the conversation for him. "Well, it's just your grades…"

Here we go again, Kari thought. Fortunately, she was used to this and learned to tune them out while offering satisfactory replies. Her parents would drone on for as long as she remained at the dinner table. Leaving would be rude, and she didn't want to be rude when they're the ones feeding her.

"We can help you… career counselling… become a housewife… grandpa's farm… civil servant…" Those were among the things Kari picked up— for the hundredth time—  but every suggestion chipped away at her patience.

Leave me alone, was what she wanted to say. I just want to do my own thing.

She had become a canvas for them to paint over. Maybe she should consider herself lucky she had a choice in the matter. Most people didn't.

But that didn't make her feel any better.

As her nails dug deeper into her palm, she couldn't take it anymore.

"How about I become a magical girl instead?" Kari blurted out. Her chest knotted as she realized the gravity of what was said. Rocky, who had snuck away with a piece of unagi sushi, gawked in horror with the morsel halfway in his mouth.

Her parents burst into laughter. It was the loudest this house had ever been in years. They laughed so hard tears streamed down their cheeks and pieces of rice fell out of their mouths.

"You know… she might have a future in stand-up!" Dad said, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Oh, sweetheart. Those young ladies risk their lives every other day, but you can't bring home an exam score over 60 for the life of you," Mom added while giggling uncontrollably.

Kari hung her head and listened absentmindedly without another word for the rest of dinner.

She was a joke to them.

Why did she even bother?

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