Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – Bitter & Sweet

Kari made sure to keep at a distance to stay out of Makina and Tetsuo's notice. She ducked behind store signs and alleys, trailed behind, and wore a baseball cap low to remain out of their radar.

"Are you sure we should be doing this? Sneaking usually implies we shouldn't be doing this!" Rocky complained, flying close behind.

"Doesn't matter if we should or shouldn't. I'm doing it. A week ago Makina couldn't give two shits about Tetsuo. So the kid loses a leg and she's going with his every whim? Give me a fucking break." She scoffed, then bent down to a row of gacha machines when Makina and Tetsuo stopped walking. They went into a cake shop several stores down and emerged a few minutes later, carrying small pastries in a plastic bag.

It boggled her mind that Makina even dressed up for this. She wore a plaid overall dress and even did her make up today.

They began to move again, but Kari bumped into someone as she tried to catch up. A small girl staggered back, rubbing her nose in pain. A painter's hat fell off her head and to their feet. 

"Sorry about that." Kari picked up the hat, brushed the dirt away, and was shocked to see who it belonged to.

The girl had yellow and orange ribbons that held her black pigtails up. Perched on her shoulder was a tanuki— an anthem. While Kari stared at the tanuki, the girl stared past her to Rocky who should be invisible right now.

"You're the fourth ma—!"

Kari put a hand over the girl's mouth before she could say another word.

There were many serendipitous and coincidental events that could happen in life. For some people the stars aligned, they won the lottery and were set for life. On the opposite end, luck would have them killed by a freak lightning strike. Most get the short end of the stick and get through life without any earth-shattering surprises, they were the people in-between.

Kari wasn't sure where she fell on the spectrum, because bumping into the one and only Candy in a city of over two-hundred thousand was the last thing she thought would happen today. Any other time and she would be starstruck by possibly the most adored magical girl on the planet.

"Mmmmm! Dropping by was the best decision of my life!" Candy squealed after putting a mouthful of cake into her mouth. She handed her anthem a plate and watched it dive under the table to dine inconspicuously with Rocky.

Rie Natsume was her real name, and the tanuki anthem was called Yuyu. Candy was a seventeen year old magical girl living in Nagoya. Her favorite things were foods as sweet as her name implied, akitas and spitz, and watching anime. All of which were public information that Candy herself divulged to the public on multiple occasions.

Details Kari wasn't ready to reveal about herself to the rest of the world.

However, she had been found by one of the trio. That privacy would soon be gone.

A piece of cake, heavy on the frosting, lingered in Kari's face. Candy waved her fork around like a mother tempting her child with sweets.

"I feel bad if I'm the only one eating. You're not going to order anything?" Candy asked.

"I usually order a coffee cake, but they sold out," Kari answered.

"In that case, take a bite! Come on, come on!" the pint-sized girl urged. Kari hesitantly bit down on the piece of cake. It was way too sweet for her liking, but she swallowed it nonetheless. "Let's clear the air first— your secret's safe with me."

"You're not going to try and convince me to join you guys?" Kari asked.

Candy shook her head. "I can tell at first glance you want to stay out of the limelight. What good does it do anyone if I force you?"

The weight on her shoulder lifted. However, another problem presented itself. If Kari was seen in public with magical girl Candy, people would suspect something. Strangely enough, no one recognized her despite the signature ribbons in her hair.

"I'm not going crazy am I? No one seems to know who you are, and you're pretty recognizable even in that," Kari remarked about Candy's clothes.

"It's a purchasable skill called [Incognito]. It stays active for as long as I want, and no one can recognize me unless it's another magical girl. Count on it, that the moment I disable the effects, everyone here will be asking for autographs." She smirked.

Purchasable skills and items. Rocky had mentioned something along those lines. She had checked the shop and was appalled to see healing and magic sigils worth upwards of 20,000 points. It was outrageous to think a magical girl would spend that much as opposed to increasing their stats, especially when they healed up at the end of the day.

At the same time, the price paid was one for precaution.

"Sorry for the wait! Here's your tri-layered lemon cake with extra frosting and whipped cream!" A waiter put down a slice of the cake, as golden as Candy's hair. The sight of it reminded Kari why she had come out into the city.

Candy lit up like a christmas tree, but her grin flipped over when Kari stood up.

"I remembered I had something to do," she said.

"Where are you going? I'll come with you!" the magical girl offered.

Kari was reluctant to bring Candy along, given she was tailing her friend. For now, she could spin a story.

"M-My friend is on a date with some guy. I'm following her to make sure she's okay," Kari answered.

It was the truth. Just not the whole truth.

Candy stuffed the entire slice of cake into her mouth and sighed delightfully. Then she stuck out a hand. "Let's drop the formalities from now on. Just call me Rie. Hope we can get along, Kari!"

Finding Makina again wasn't difficult due to how often she posted to her social media accounts. Not surprisingly, she kept Tetsuo out of pictures and mostly took shots of foods, animals, and landmarks. Right now, they were at a supermall. Kari could tell by the clothing store they liked going to behind Makina's latest upload.

"Is that the friend you're following? She's really pretty!" Rie exclaimed.

"Yeah… She really is," Kari replied adoringly, but realized a second later how that might have sounded. "Er— Makina's really good with makeup and style. Always keeping up with those fashion trends."

Rie giggled at Kari's expense. The girl might be a year younger, but that didn't mean she was obtuse to the sorts of things.

"Flare has that same look when she meets someone she likes. Hahhhh! I wish I had someone to like, too!" She hugged herself, swaying back and forth.

Kari swallowed the urge to pat the little ball of energy and had to remind herself that they weren't far apart in age. They were also strangers, yet Rie was so easy to get along with that it was like they had always been friends. For her to gush about a topic as innocent as romance was a pleasant reminder that these girls really were just girls after all.

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The mall was packed with junior high and high schoolers with nowhere else to go during a Sunday. They flocked to outlets with what little allowance they got from part-time jobs and allowances from their parents, walking around in large groups with friends blocking the walkways, and filling the food court to the brim like a school cafeteria.

Girls like Rie used to be among them before they became a magical girl. Who knew if one day someone in the crowd might find themselves in a similar situation as Kari.

"What are Flare and Jade like?" Kari asked as they entered the mall and began searching for Makina's location.

"Hmmmmmm!" Rie pressed two fingers to her head to probe through her memories. "First of all, I love them both! Flare's like a magical girl right out of an anime. She's so heroic, a real team leader when it comes down to it. Jade's one of the nicest people I've ever met. I heard she used to fall in with the wrong crowds at school. Doesn't like talking about it though."

Jade? Nice? Yeah right, Kari thought.

The delinquent part sounded about right. Jade was always scowling like she had a bone to pick with someone.

"Is that them?"

Kari followed Rie's finger across the food court where Makina and Tetsuo waited side by side. They glanced around as though expecting someone, and sure enough, a group of four with even girls and boys around their age approached them. That was undoubtedly a mixer if Kari had ever seen one.

She recognized them all from school. The two girls were Ena and Sachi. The two boys were Daisuke, captain of the basketball club, and Sougo, the vice-captain. All four of them were on the top of the social hierarchy at Suginuma.

They, of all people, were hanging out with Makina and Tetsuo? Something seemed fishy.

The group of six turned their way. Kari yanked Rie into a comic book store to avoid being seen and prayed they weren't going in here. Fortunately, they passed right by. Makina looked troubled. She did say it was a date and must not have expected company.

They had gone into a karaoke place. A bigger place than she and Makina had gone to previously, for much larger groups with party-sized rooms. Kari followed them in after they entered a private room. She wanted to eavesdrop against the door, but Rie was already one step ahead.

"I got us a room!" Rie pulled her by the arm into an adjacent room. She was gung-ho about this despite how obviously like a stalker Kari had been acting.

The two of them pressed an ear to the wall. No one was singing. Low music from the speakers made inaudible what little they could hear from the conversations.

Kari could send Rocky into the other room and have him stay invisible so even Makina wouldn't see him. But how far was she willing to go? Sitting on a comfy couch after chasing two people around all day made her realize how tired she was.

If only she wasn't such a coward. If only Tetsuo died that day. If only she had just gone in for a kiss. So many if onlys. Kari wanted to tell Makina outright that she liked her but was afraid of what that might do to their friendship. The status quo was nice, but it wasn't enough anymore.

An hour had passed and the group wasn't showing any signs of slowing down. It was already well into the afternoon. By her side, Rie was nodding off with Yuyu in her arms. This girl came all the way from Nagoya to eat cake and play, but Kari wasted her day with a foolish endeavor.

Nothing happened to Makina all day. She was perfectly enjoying her date and mixer. Kari felt stupid, hoping that her best friend would have a shitty day just because she didn't like Tetsuo. All the pictures posted on Makina's socials showed she was having the time of her life.

"Let's get you to the station. Sorry for taking up your day…" Kari said, giving Rie a piggyback ride.

"Mm… Leaving already?" she asked groggily and rubbed her face into Kari's back.

On the way out, Kari saw Ena and Sachi's backs as they exited the karaoke place, not looking particularly pleased with their day. Was it just her imagination or did their mixer end? She distinctly heard chattering in the other room before leaving. 

They reached the station in time for Rie to board the train back to Nagoya. The girl awoke to the sound of rumbling tracks and gave Kari a bear hug before hopping off her back.

"Thanks for carrying me. I don't usually get sleepy around this time." Rie twiddled her thumbs in embarrassment.

"All that sugary cake put you into a food coma." Kari grinned.

"Hehe— ah! The cakes! I wanted to bring some home, but I think I left it back at the karaoke place." She groaned as though she had tragically lost a friend.

The mall and karaoke place wasn't too far from the station. If they made a run for it now, Rie might be able to catch the next train.

"You know what? Why don't you take them as thanks for letting me hang out with you today?" Rie suggested, taking Kari's hands in hers.

She couldn't exactly say she didn't like the cakes. If it was up to her, she would just leave it there to be thrown away if the attendant hasn't already.

"See ya later, Rocky!" Yuyu cupped her hands over her mouth to shout.

"Let's fight together one day!" Rocky said in return.

Rie put a finger over her lips and winked. Kari knew for sure then that her secret was safe.

Once the train departed, she returned to the karaoke place and explained to the attendant that something was left behind. The man was kind enough to let her check, but it was more like he had been too lazy to clean the rooms so the stuff might still be there. Sure enough, Rie's overly sweet, tri-layered lemon cake slices were on the table neatly stacked in a plastic bag. No way in hell was she going to eat this if she had a choice. Maybe she could give it to Makina at school tomorrow.

As Kari left the room a second time, she paused in front of the door where Makina had been inside earlier. It was quiet now. Only the ambient static from an idle karaoke machine and… crying?

The blood in her veins turned to ice, colder than when she came face to face with head hounds for the first time. Kari checked her phone. Makina's last upload was an hour and a half ago of an image of her strawberry smoothie.

Makina couldn't still be in there, could she? And if she was, why was there crying inside?

Kari turned the handle and the door swung open. She grimaced at the rank, musty smell of sweat mixed in with ashes from cigarettes filling her nostrils. Someone was sniffling, pressed up at the corner of the L-shaped couch. Her heart sank when she realized it was Makina, trembling, hair disheveled, and mumbling to herself.

"Makina…?" she choked out her best friend's name, unsure whether the cruel sight before her was an illusion or joke.

Both of them locked eyes. Makina's eyes, however, were filled with shame first, then overflowed with tears. Her body jolted to life upon remembering something, and grabbed the plastic bag out of the mess on the table, the same one from the cake shop. However, her hands grasped an empty bag and crinkled it into a small ball.

Makina's smile was forced and strained. "I...I bought your favorite coffee cake, but I think someone took it. I'm sorry…" 

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