Chapter 34: Let’s Achieve the Fusion, Part 3 Physical Training and Dodgeball Game

12:00 – Lunchtime
It was already lunchtime, and we were hungry after everything we had done, so we went to the Guild’s dining hall. When we arrived, we saw a line of people waiting for the cook to serve them.

The cook shouted:
—Please, one at a time! I don’t have six arms, only two. For heaven’s sake, wait in line. When it’s your turn, I’ll serve you. Understand that I’m a busy woman all day long.

I saw several girls standing in line. Akane, Mizuki, Rem, Mizu, and I joined them. The line moved forward little by little, and after about ten minutes, it was finally my turn.

The cook said to me:
—Here you go, sweetheart: potato pie with egg. Eat well, you’ll need it for the rest of the day.

Happily, I replied:
—Thank you for the meal, miss.

Akane asked me to save us a table, so I went ahead to find one. After a minute, I spotted an empty table, sat down, and waited. Two minutes later, the others joined me. While we ate, we started talking.

—So, Taiyaki… now that we know it’s possible to fuse elements, what are we going to do to create the fusion you plan to use against the Demon Queen and her army? —Rem asked, curious.

—I think I have an idea of how the five of us could fuse. I believe we could create something special, like that attack I launched with the four of you. If we perform a specific sequence of steps and balance our magical energy to the same level, we should be able to make the fusion work.

I explained, then took a bite of the potato pie and drank some water.

—Do you think we might have to do some kind of dance steps, like a sports team? —Mizu suggested.

Akane proposed an idea:
—What if we try a dance as a group of five, with certain movements that end with us joining hands in a circle?

We all thought about it, and honestly, it didn’t sound like a bad idea. Mizuki continued:
—Alright, I think we’re almost ready. We know it’s possible to mix the Magical Girls’ elements… but how do we actually do the steps?

I remembered several anime series that showed fusion techniques, and one detail stood out: at the end of the process, everyone always shouted the word Fusion at the same time.

So I said:
—I’ve got it! We’ll do the dance, and when we join hands at the end, we’ll shout Fusion! out loud. That way, our elemental energies will merge into one. I’m sure it’ll work.

The others agreed, and we all got excited about the idea. By then, it was 12:45, almost time for physical training. After finishing our meal, we carried our dishes to the cook and left for the gym on the fifth floor.

We had to climb a lot of stairs, but after five minutes, we finally arrived. Inside stood a young man, about 24 years old, with blond hair, black glasses, and the muscular body of a boxer, toned all the way down to his legs.

When he saw us, he shouted:
—Alright, listen up, Magical Girls! In my training, I don’t accept crybabies. I expect you to give 150% of your abilities, or else I’ll get really angry. I’m your instructor, Jack Blue Pink, and I won’t go easy on you. You’re faster, stronger, and more skilled than the average human without magic. First, warm up with 10 laps around the gym. Move, move, move!

We started running. The gym’s perimeter was about a kilometer, so ten laps meant ten kilometers. The more I ran, the more exhausted I felt, but I pushed through. I had to improve my physical endurance to increase my chances of defeating the Demon Queen.

After fifteen minutes, we finally finished, panting for breath. The instructor then announced:
—That was just the warm-up. Now, form teams of five for a magical dodgeball game.

I froze, and so did Akane, Rem, Mizuki, and Mizu. We decided to team up.

—The first match will be Taiyaki and her friends against Tobi’s team, the green-haired girl. Each side, take your positions! —the instructor ordered.

We took the right side, and they took the left. Tobi smirked and said:
—I hope you can give us a fight, newbies. You’ve only been here a short while, unlike us. We’ll crush you. Good luck, though.

The game began. A flaming metal ball appeared, and I grabbed it quickly. My friends understood what to do. I pretended to aim at Tobi, but purposely dropped the ball. She and her team laughed, but Akane seized the chance, grabbed the ball, and knocked out two of Tobi’s teammates. The ball bounced back to our side.

Mizu caught it, leapt into the air, and knocked out the rest, leaving only Tobi. She was clearly annoyed but regained her composure, caught the ball, and hurled it with all her strength, knocking out all my friends except me.

Now it was just her and me. The instructor declared:
—The winning team gets one hour of free time. The losers will clean the bathrooms for a month.

I knew I had to win. We needed that time to practice the fusion. Tobi shouted:
—Take this, brat! Enjoy scrubbing toilets for a month!

She launched the ball at incredible speed. It was just inches away from hitting me, but at the last second, I moved my hands and caught it—by sheer luck, or maybe by the goddess’s grace.

The instructor blew his whistle and said:
—Game over! The winners are Taiyaki and her friends. Tobi, you and your team will clean the bathrooms for a month. Taiyaki, your team can rest.

Akane ran to me and said:
—Well done, Taiyaki. You won!

—Yes, you did it! You won! —Mizuki cheered.

I smiled and replied:
—I didn’t do it alone. I didn’t win by myself. We won together, as friends.

We left the gym and headed to a quiet place to start practicing the fusion steps.