The Mark Of The Phantom

"Magical Mai... if you're going to stuff your face with sweets, at least bring your wallet next time."
I gazed down at my now-empty money clip, feeling immense pain at the sight of my grocery money having disappeared in a single afternoon.

Magical Mai, on the other hand, seemed rather carefree after just robbing me of my precious hard-earned cash.
"It's fine; I'll just pay you back next time we meet."

As we exited the café, I finally let out the seething frustration that I had been holding back since paying both of our bills.
"It's not fine! I won't have any groceries now!"

Her face paled, and a single bead of sweat rolled down her cheek.
"It's... not a big deal! Friends spot each other all the time!"
She pointed her index finger directly in my face, as if I were the one in the wrong.

"Friends?! I just met you like an hour ago! Pay me back, or I'm following you home!"
I grabbed her finger with my palm, clamping down hard enough to keep her from departing.

"Ouch! Help, this pervert is trying to advance on me!"
Magical Mai shouted so loudly that everyone in the vicinity turned their heads.

This was it. My life was over. Soon, I would be dragged away in handcuffs, questioned by the police, and have a permanent mark on my record.
Goodbye journalism. It was fun while it lasted. Wait, what am I saying?!
"That is so not true! I'm not advancing on you! You owe me money!"

Whispers flooded the shopping district, and to no one's surprise, I was labeled the bad guy.

"Oh my, is this a yakuza shakedown?"

"What a crooked man."

"Don't look, honey. Let's just pretend we didn't see this."

"Look at the malice in those eyes of his. Youngsters these days."

Magical Mai gave me a mischievous smirk, narrowing her eyes with a sinful smile.

"Y-you! Ugh, fine! This isn't over!"
Like a supervillain, I spoke those cliché words and released her finger from my grasp.

Like a princess, Magical Mai pranced down the street, completely disregarding the fact that the entire shopping mall now thought that I was a predator.

Despite receiving the answers I had searched for, it was still hard to wrap my head around it. Magical girls are real; I now have the Mark of the Phantom; time warping is possible due to an unknown phenomenon caused by enemies known as the Mërks. Unbelievable, yet I'm forced to believe it. Would I ever see Magical Mai again? Just as those thoughts crossed my mind, a voice called out to me from beyond the crowd of civilians.

"Fine, I'll pay you back. Follow me, but just tell my Papa that we're classmates. He gets weird when I talk to boys."
It was Magical Mai, looking almost remorseful as she waved a shy hand in my direction

"R-right... I'll follow you."
I stepped in line behind her, keeping a safe distance to avoid any more unwanted ridicule.

* * *

Arriving at Magical Mai's home, I was quite blown away by the location. Just a few blocks away resided my own apartment. I could have easily brought up the fact that we're practically neighbors, but on the off-chance that Magical Mai ever wanted to pull another stunt like the shopping mall incident earlier, I decided to keep my apartment's location to myself. It wasn't as if her home was luxurious, but it definitely couldn't be considered low class. Just your average Japanese home in the outskirts of Tokyo.

"We're here!"
She spoke in her usual cheerful voice.
"Remember, you're just a classmate coming over to borrow some notes."

I let out an audible gulp, preparing myself for the introduction of her Terminator father.
"Right, just grabbing some notes."

Magical Mai unlocked the front door, leading me through a small hallway and up the stairs. As we entered her room, I was met with the immediate scent of hibiscus. Overwhelmingly so, the hibiscus scent wafted around my body and penetrated my nose down to my lungs. Actually, it was so overwhelming that I couldn't breathe.
"Magical Mai... why does your room smell so strongly of hibiscus?"

She darted to the window next to her bed, shoving it open as she coughed and gasped for air.
"I... dropped a bottle of expensive perfume before I left to meet you. I didn't have time to clean it up yet, so I guess it kind of... permeated a little."

"A little?! Two things! First, you were four hours late to that café; I'm sure a little cleaning wouldn't have made much of a difference. Second, you shouldn't leave broken glass lying around!"
I gently bopped her head with an open hand, doing my best to give a polite scolding to this overly-clumsy girl.

"Oh, wow. Déjà Vu! Anyway, I'm sorry, okay?! I accidentally set my alarm for 7:00 PM instead of 7:00 AM!"
Magical Mai rubbed the spot on her head where I bumped her, giving me sad puppy-dog eyes as if I were the villain in this situation.

"Whatever, just pay me, and I'll be on my way."
I held out my hand, expectantly.
"We can talk about this whole magical girl and Mark of the Phantom thing another time. I, unlike some people, like to arrive on-time for important matters..."

"Arrive on-time? To where?"
Magical Mai asked as she sifted through her school bag.

"My job... I'm not proud of it, but I work closing shifts at a convenience store by my apartment."
I could feel my cheeks heating up as I revealed that embarrassing piece of information. It was true; I had always hated my job, but I needed something to pay the bills while I ran around aimlessly searching for a scoop that would boost my career in journalism.

"A convenience store job?! That's so cool! You have access to all of the snacks and drinks your heart desires!"
Her eyes seemed to glisten with excitement, completely oblivious to the fact that my job was not at all how she had been describing it.

"That's not how it works. That's stealing; I still have to pay for all of the items that I want to eat or drink. Well, besides when the pre-packaged meals are about to expire... the manager lets us take a few home."
I watched as Magical Mai slipped two thousand yen into my hand. I took a long look at the crumpled cash and then an equally as long look at her.
"What's this?"

"It's part of my payment to you. You know, for the café?"
Her head tilted to the side, seemingly confused by my question.

"Part? What happened to all?! You said you would pay me back, so give me the rest!"
I gripped the cash in my hand, stepping closer to assert some authority to this clueless girl.

"But that's all I have! I'll pay the rest when Papa gives me my allowance next month."
She took a step back, furrowing her eyebrow in fear.

I couldn't believe my ears. This girl, who showed up late, told me a story straight out of a manga, and subsequently emptied my entire wallet, was now only paying me two thousand yen for her expensive meal?!
"If you didn't have enough to cover it in the first place, why did you order so much?!"

Magical Mai took another step back, practically tumbling down on her bed with a soft thud.
"B-because I needed the calories! Plus, isn't it the man's job to pay for a cute girl's meal?!"

My eyes widened. I stepped even closer to her, now standing directly between her legs as she lay sprawled out on her mattress.
"Cute or not, that rule only applies for a date! How do you expect me to buy groceries with two thousand yen?! I can't believe you!"

As if the gods themselves were trying to smite me, the door to her bedroom swung open. If not for my suspicious position, standing directly between her legs as she lay on the mattress, maybe I could have talked my way out of this situation.

None other than Magical Mai's father stood in the doorframe. His eyes narrowed with anger, and I could practically feel the bloodlust radiating from his aura. Tall, masculine, and authoritative; I was in the presence of a demon.

"W-wait! I'm a classmate borrowing notes!"
For some reason, I had chosen the most suspicious sentence I could come up with. But wasn't it Magical Mai's exact idea for me to say those words upon meeting her father? Maybe so, but I definitely didn't plan to meet him in the midst of what seemed like me advancing on his daughter.

I'm screwed. God, if you're real, please let me escape with only a couple broken bones.

Like clockwork, I was dragged by my hair, down the stairs, and through the rose bush that decorated the entrance to Magical Mai's home.

Ouch.

I gazed down at my arms, noticing the many cuts and trickles of blood forming around the areas I was pricked by the thorns. The lens of my Ricoh Theta 360° camera, completely shattered and spilling out of my back pocket.

"What did I do to deserve this?"
I managed to trudge my way down the street, a slight limp in my left leg.
Well... no time to think about it. I have to get to work.