Chapter 6: Chapter 6 – Japan’s Fourth

It seemed like ages since Kari had a good night's sleep. Even though she had woken up in the middle of the night to fight those strays, it was like she got a full eight hours and then some. Restlessness had been plaguing her since that Friday's incursion. The thought that head hounds could appear anywhere and anytime had terrified her.

Not anymore.

Hard to believe people died left and right to those monsters when they were tissue paper in her hands, the same two which used to tremble at the sight of them. The difference between her now and then was night and day, yet she didn't feel too… different. 

Kari was still Kari Tachibana, a third year student at Suginuma High.

She was now also a magical girl.

"Nnn… When's breakfast?" Rocky asked, rubbing his eyes and floating listlessly over her sightline.

Her phone buzzed with a string of notifications. It wasn't the alarm. She had that disabled over the weekends to sleep in. Makina was spamming her phone with short texts, telling her to wake up and check the news.

Kari threw on a sleeveless hoodie and went downstairs. Her parents were already up. Dad was on the couch, staring past his newspaper and at the television. Mom was doing the same, her hands idled over the sink as she watched the morning news.

The headlines cut right to the chase: JAPAN'S FOURTH MAGICAL GIRL?

"The bodies of five homeless men were found inside a construction site in Minato City this morning. They are believed to have been taking shelter there when they were killed by head hounds also found dead at the scene. Who could have done it? Flare, Candy, and Jade have come forward, saying they had no hand in defeating the monsters. Which begs the question: Is there a fourth magical girl?"

What was shown next turned the blood in Kari's veins to ice. A blurry image, likely from a street camera had captured her crossing the street to the construction site. Fortunately, she was too far for anyone to have recognized her face.

"Instead of more magical girls, how about less monsters to deal with?" Dad remarked, returning to his papers. It, too, had the blurry shot on the front page with the very same headline from the television.

"First Akihabara, now Minato City… Maybe we should start ordering groceries to be delivered to us?" Mom mused thoughtfully.

As if staying at home is supposed to be safe.

Kari scoffed at the notion.

The news segment wasn't over yet. It transitioned to the trio of magical girls in front of a municipal office building. Flare spoke to a bouquet of microphones while Jade and Candy stood behind her like backup dancers. Journalists swarmed her with questions, asking about her personal life from topics as mundane as her favorite shampoo to how many meals she has in one day.

Flare, however, didn't appear the least bit interested in humoring them. She raised a hand and everyone fell silent.

At this point, Kari had no other reason to stay in the living room. Her identity was still a secret and the public was more interested in the existing ones than a possible fourth.

"I wanted to take this opportunity to speak to the fourth magical girl," Flare began, as if seeing through to Kari on the other side of the cameras and television to give her pause. "Whoever you are, I understand how you must feel. Because before you're a magical girl, you're just a girl. Alone, scared, unsure of how to handle your new powers. I encourage you to reach out to us. We can help you— I can help you. There's no need to fight this alone."

Flare's words resonated with something inside her. 

Was I ready to shoulder the responsibility of becoming a full-fledged magical girl?

"I…" Kari swallowed the lump in her throat, thinking to respond to the television screen. It wasn't as if Flare could hear her from here. But the invitation had been given. She needed only to reach out to them.

Their fame and adoration could be hers, too. Killing head hounds was as easy as swatting a fly. She would lose her anonymity in exchange for being someone in life.

"Since you're up early for once, could you take the trash out?" Mom asked from the kitchen, eyes cast down to the sink now that the interesting segment of the news was over.

Kari begrudgingly hauled the two trash bags out of the house. She threw a little too hard against the collection area and caused the plastic to tear open, spilling its contents to the asphalt. A mess like this would end up attracting vermin.

"Ugh. Whatever," she remarked, returning back to the house and leaving the trash untended to.

Makina wanted to meet up at a cat cafe in the afternoon. Today was a Saturday, so they could take it easy and leave the schoolwork for tomorrow. Then one more week of classes and summer break would begin. Going somewhere for vacation sounded nice. Okinawa was high on Kari's list, but her parents explicitly said they wouldn't be going anywhere for summer.

Which was fine. At least she could stay with Makina.

Both of them arrived at Nekomura. They  had come here many times in the past, and in retrospect, should have paid a visit much sooner to get some therapy cuddles after the traumatic incursion. Cat trees rose up to the ceiling, tunnels and bridges hung above people's heads, and treats were given to customers free of charge if they ordered something to eat and drink.

Right through the door, Rocky choked up and began to sweat. Several cats appeared to have detected his presence despite being invisible and chased him around the cafe.

As soon as Makina took a seat, she became free real estate and was swarmed by three kittens. One claimed her lap, another laid snug between her outstretched legs, and she cradled the third in her arm.

On the other hand, none of the cats approached Kari. A stark contrast to the last time she visited. When she reached out to pet one of the cats on Makina, it hissed at her.

Even Rocky was having better luck with cats. A pack of four managed to catch him midair and dogpiled on him.

"Help… me…!" he pleaded.

"Do I have a bad smell on me or something?" Kari asked, hurt by the lack of feline attention and ignoring Rocky's pleas for help.

Makina leaned in to sniff and shrugged. "You smell fine to me."

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"That… wasn't an invitation for you to sniff me…"

A waiter came by with two iced lattes and a small bag of cat treats. "Cats are fickle. One day they'll like someone, another day they'll hate you like their worst enemy." 

"Of course, you'd know, Shuu. You're around these cats so much, they see you as one of them." Kari rolled her eyes and reached for her drink, only to have a cat swat at her hand.

Shuu Hasegawa was a college kid with black hair slicked back and shaped with hairspray. Whenever they visited, he'd always be here like there wasn't any other place for him to be.

"I can't tell if that's an insult or a compliment coming from you. This the part where I feel insulted?" He looked to Makina for confirmation, to which she turned away and giggled at his expense. A calico at his feet rubbed its head against his leg, purring for attention. What they were really after were the treats he had just delivered.

Kiko was the name of the cat by Shuu's legs. Everyone crowned her as the idol of Nekomura for her behavior and friendliness. She allowed Makina to reach down and scratch her chin, purring affectionately from the attention.

"The kitties seem fine with me whenever I come by," Makina said.

"Try feeding the gluttons to get on their good side," Shuu suggested.

"Worth a try, I guess." Kari ripped open the cat treats and held the piece of dried salmon morsel to the cat at Shuu's legs. She kept a distance to allow it to approach her, recalling that some cats didn't like it when things were shoved in their faces.

The cat, to everyone's surprise, detached itself from Shuu's leg and crept closer to Kari's treat— and bit her hand instead.

She dropped it, and the cat snatched it off the floor before running away.

"Are you okay?" Makina asked.

"Oh, god. Kari, I'm so sorry!" Shuu apologized profusely, horrified that one of their cats bit a customer. "She's never done that before. I'll talk to the manager and see if I can—" 

"No, don't sweat it." She brushed off Shuu's and Makina's concern.

Fortunately, Nekomura carried antiseptic cream and first aid in the very slim chance that this happened. The seal was broken from the tube for the very first time, a testament to how rare this occurrence was. Her index finger hardly stung. It was neither a deep wound nor did it bleed in spite of how sharp Kiko's teeth were.

Shuu returned later frowning. "I had to put Kiko away in the back. She wasn't happy, but it's store policy if something like that ever happens."

"Maybe Kiko was having a bad day?" Makina wondered aloud as she put the finishing touches of wrapping the bandage on Kari's finger.

The one silver lining— Kari and Makina were promised a free drink the next time they visited. Less of an apologetic gesture, and more of a bribe to keep them quiet about the incident. Business in the store went on as usual. It wouldn't stop just because one customer's finger got nipped.

Adjacent from their seating booth, a group of students from another school were talking up a storm about the magical girls. The possible existence of a fourth became the topic of the country in a single morning, and the day wasn't even over yet.

"A magical girl in Minato City? That's so cool! I wonder if she's adorable like Candy?" one girl asked her friends.

"I hope she's a babe like Flare and Jade. Do you think they have boyfriends?"

"Even if they don't, they're way outta your league."

"I'm just glad there's another one. I feel safer already."

"Yeah, but the new girl is staying hidden. I wonder why?"

"For real. I'd be flaunting if I became one!"

Kari ducked her head. Not out of embarrassment or to hide her identity in case someone recognized that photo, certainly not out of shame, but in indignation. Protecting people simply wasn't her problem.

Why should she reveal herself? It was her life to live.

"Everyone expects so much from the magical girls, but I kind of feel bad for them." Shuu grimaced from having also eavesdropped on the conversation.

Before you're a magical girl, you're just a girl. Flare's words echoed back and forth in Kari's mind.

The two of them were left alone again, and Makina shooed the cats away to sit closer. She had a smile that could melt the ice caps. Surviving last night's encounter to live another day for this was all Kari could ask for.

"So, this morning on the news, Flare was definitely talking to you! " she managed to exclaim quietly and loudly at the same time.

"Yeah. Gave me a real shock. I still don't know what to think of it. Definitely don't want to reach out to them yet. Maybe give it some thought during summer break," Kari replied. More importantly, meeting up with the magical girls meant she would come face to face with the bitch who left them to die. She wasn't mentally prepared for that yet.

"You're always looking out for me, so I think you'd make a great magical girl. You should totally be going out and saving people, buuuut I wouldn't mind hogging you to myself for a while longer. My personal magical girl. Hehe!" Makina grinned.

"God, how the hell do you say all that without feeling embarrassed?" Kari muttered, turning the other cheek to hide her blush. "Anyway… What do you say we drag Minato along to the mall tomorrow after a study sesh?"

A shadow fell over Makina's face. Kari wondered if she said something wrong, but that didn't appear to be the case.

"I, uhm… Don't be angry, okay? I promised to go on a date with Tetsuo tomorrow."