My Normal Life Now Has Magical Girls Playing Hero

“Yearning Yuriko has arrived to purge the nightmare! You shall bring no more harm onto these innocents, Nacht!”

A clatter. Tama hit the ground, rolling until she sprawled about as a girl in a flashy gold-white dress landed in front of her; hand out as she spun a marching band baton in her left hand. Her outfit shared the color scheme: gold colored epaulets framing a white coat, extending into a cape and fluttering alongside the golden ruffles of the attached skirt, all topped off with high heels; points sharp as daggers. Long black hair and piercing brown eyes framed the girl’s tanned face, a serious gaze prying into the shying form of the monster.

With a huff, Yuriko jumped, twirling and plunging to the ground. Her heels dug into the jaw of the monster as it freed Sarine, who flew to Tama’s side and uttered all the words of healing she remembered.

The ‘Nacht’ screamed and grabbed Yuriko, throwing her away. Yuriko dug her heels into the ground to keep herself on her feet. “Stubborn monster,” she griped, regaining balance as she spun her baton. “Lavi, distract those hands! I’ll take care of the rest.”

A light flew out from behind Yuriko. As it dimmed, the form of a faerie donned in a similarly-coloured dress and bright blonde hair revealed itself. “Gotcha! I’m on it, boss!” she said, saluting as she blinked brighter than any streetlight, stealing the attention of the Nacht while Yuriko grasped her weapon with both hands.

“In the name of all dreamers…” Yuriko began, light gathering around her as she began to hover, “and of the Gods watching over us…”

A beam concentrated at the tip of her baton. She pointed it at the maw of the Nacht. “Erase all nightmares—and free their prayers!”

A tiny pinprick of golden light morphed into an arrow with a pointed tip. It launched, shattering the thin, boney jaw. The creature uttered a single screech before that, too, was taken as brightness swarmed its being, white motes floating from the disintegrated remains and flying into nearby homes.

One pinprick landed on Tama’s head—she shot up, gasping for breath and throwing Sarine off of her. Yuriko landed by the girl’s side, kneeling while feeling for a pulse. “Thank the Gods—I made it in time. Come here, get up, I promise you’ll be fine.”

Tama leaned on Yuriko’s shoulder as she stood up, the tiny faerie Lavi flying back to Yuriko’s side. “I did good, right?” she said.

“You did wonderful,” Yuriko said. “I’ll cook us a good dinner when we get home, okay? But first…sor—”

Yuriko focused on Tama, of course, the civilian in danger. But only when the battle ended did she register the tiny faerie floating at the girl’s side. “…Are you with this lady?”

Sarine snapped back to reality, blinking long and slow. She held out a hand. “…Sarine. I’m her guiding faerie.” She pointed to Tama, as if the ‘her’ needed any explanation. Did that monster knock some sense out of me…? Hey, what was that thing anyways!?

“Ugh—you suck at healing,” Tama spat, Sarine beaming bright red on the spot as she glared at her companion.

“And I only healed you ‘cause it’s part of my job! I hate you—you’re the worst!” She crossed her arms. “You won’t even thank me.”

Tama rolled her eyes. “I don’t care about you. You could get stuck on a windshield and I’d—”

“Excuse me!” Yuriko put her hands up and stepped between the two. “Calm yourselves! If we linger, the villain who made the Nacht might notice the presence of another faerie companion and assume the worst—they may even summon another dreadful monster to eliminate you both.”

She clapped her hands together. “I believe it may be safest for you both to return to my home. We’ll be protected there—since you’re a fellow Chosen, it shall be just as well if you were to discover my true identity.”

“No, it’s not!” Tama shook her head, making a gesture of refusal. “I don’t wanna be involved in all this shit in the first place, that thing dragged me into this mess!”

Sarine fumed, shaking her fists. “Stop calling me that! I have to be here! I! Have! No! Choice!”

“Um, if I may—” Yuriko interjected, “you do have a faerie with you. Some way or another, someone would come to believe you’re involved in something magical. It’s better you come with me. That way, we’ll figure out your situation, and I’ll focus on protecting you both.”

She put a hand to her heart. “It’s my duty, after all.”

Tama pursed her mouth into a thin line. Refusal seemed natural, easy—she wanted nothing to do with the weird, crazy world she crossed into. She never dreamed of becoming someone special or something greater, not even when she consumed tons upon tons of anime her classmates imitated to no end.

It looked cool, yeah. But she liked her place on the other side of the window. She liked gazing at the clouds; Tama never needed to know what the world, with all its biting cold from high above felt like.

She didn’t want anything to do with it—

But she never wanted to feel that way again. The emptiness the Nacht inflicted onto her with only a bite chilled her to the core. “…Fine, let’s go. But I’m not promising anything. I’m normal—completely fucking normal, okay?”

“Okay, okay, I promise, I’m not going to force anything on you.” Yuriko smiled, holding out a hand. “I only want to protect you both. It’s what I’ve sworn to do since I’ve taken up the role of Yearning Yuriko.”

“You’re a saint,” Sarine said, giving Tama a side-eye which screamed unlike this one. Tama missed it completely. Face red with embarrassment, she accepted the other girl’s hand.

Yuriko’s smile faded to a cheeky grin. She scooped the other girl in her arms, ignoring Tama’s panicked cries as she jumped on the nearest building, hopping from one roof to another with Sarine and Lavi on her tail. “I promise, you will not be dropped!”

“That’s not the problem with thiiiiiis!” Tama’s screams echoed throughout the neighborhood; if anyone dared to peak, they’d see a shifting form in the dark, indiscernible, unmemorable…unknowable to all but the right parties, handpicked by cruel indifferent destiny.