Such a long series failures

The letter contained the exact details of Aki’s challenge, in no uncertain terms.

Midnight. One week from the opera house fight. On the top floor of Tokyo’s largest skyscraper.

Winner takes all.

It gave us enough time to recuperate after our last fight, but not nearly enough to make significant preparations. Something I’m certain was intentional. Make it seem like an act of mercy when really it’s just a way to lure us into false hope.

Still, we had to make the most of the time we did have. Which is why I spent the next few days mostly in the house, giving my body as much of a chance to recover as possible. It was on the third day that I entered the living room to find Ryou tinkering with her cybernetic arm.

“I thought you were done with repairs on that thing?” I asked, coming to sit down next to her.

“You’d be correct, dear girl. Currently I’m making a… certain modification.”

“Modification? What, you gonna turn it into a guided rocket or something?”

“As entertaining as it would be to strangle someone from the opposite end of the room, no, that’s not what I had in mind. This is… more of a last resort. One that I hope never to have to use.” As if scrambling for a change of subject, Ryou quickly looked me up and down. “You seem to be in better condition. I can hardly tell you were harmed at all.”

“Well, we magical girls do heal fast. And besides, my ribs have been shattered so many times at this point that I’m pretty much used to it.”

“Ah- my apologies. I seem to remember contributing to that a tad.” To my surprise, there seemed to be genuine remorse in Ryou’s tone. Didn’t even know she was capable of it honestly.

“Eh, water under the bridge, innit. You’re saved my hide enough times to make up for it at this point so far as I’m concerned.”

Ryou raised an eyebrow at me before turning her gaze back to her arm.

“You are truly a strange individual, my dear. I’ve never known someone to so easily shrug off attempts on their own life. From multiple people, in fact.”

“Just the way it goes in this business, right? Who hasn’t tried to kill me at this point. It’s like the national magical girl pastime at this point.” I stretched and put my hands behind my head. Now that I thought about it, I had literally never met a magical girl who hadn’t tried to kill me at least once. I’m not sure if my luck was insanely good to still be alive, or insanely bad to have almost died so many times. Didn’t bother me much though. “I will admit, though. If you’d told me that night that it’d take less than two months for me to trust you with my life against the most dangerous magical girl on the planet, I’d have called you a bloody lunatic.”

“Oh? And yet you do trust me so much?”

“At this point? Just be stubborn not to, right? I mean, think of the shit you and I have been through together. Survived a massacre, invaded the JSDF, butchered half the city’s corporate elite and faced down the most psychotic magical girls on planet Earth. After all that, I think trust is more or less implicit.”

“I suppose I can’t argue with that. And you’ve certainly proven yourself both capable and reliable enough to afford the same trust in return.”

“Oh, stop, you’ll make me blush,” I said dryly, earning an eye roll from my companion.

Though, as we sank into silence, I found myself dwelling on her words a little. Not just her, but all of my comrades seemed to put a good deal of faith in me. But looking back on our time together, I didn’t feel I’d really earned it.

In fact, I felt like I had failed at damn near every turn.

We lost tonnes of expensive loot in the freight train explosion. I almost got myself killed in the opera house massacre. I failed to stop Fuji from destroying the databank. Kageno got to Kurogaisha first and scapegoated us for the building collapse. The CEO abduction plan was a trap. Nabiki almost died against W.

Could so much faith really be built up over such a long series of failures?

“…hey, Ryou?” I called out, not even certain what I wanted to ask.

“Yes, dear girl?”

“…you really think I’ve got a chance of taking down Aki?”

Ryou sat with the question for a moment. Her distant look told me she was thinking through her answer carefully. A rarity for someone usually so quick-thinking.

“…Dear girl, do you know the commonality of every fight you’ve had since I met you?”

“Uhh… no? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“There’s one thing each fight has had in common. In each instance, you were placed at a distinct disadvantage. And yet, each time you’ve managed to come out on top.”

“Really? I’m not sure I get what you mean.”

“Think of each case, dear girl. I planned an ambush in the dark. Ms Denka lured us to an arena built specifically around her power. Ms Aino almost cut you down before you even had a fighting chance. Yet, against all three of us, you not only won, but established yourself as our leader. There are few alive capable of such a feat.”

“Am I really even a leader though? You’re normally the one coming up with the plans and stuff.”

“And yet, when we need someone to rally to, your back is the one we choose to follow. Do not take that achievement lightly. I cannot say I know everything Aki is capable of, but if there is one person I believe could have a fighting chance against her, it would be you.”

I almost cursed how hard this girl was to read. So unemotive, so unwavering. I couldn’t tell if she truly meant it all, or if she was just trying to push me in the right direction with kind but empty words.

Though, if I’m being honest with myself, I appreciated it all the same. For whatever that’s worth, anyway.

“…I’m really gonna have to do this, aren’t I?”

“We are going to have to do this. We may be unable to fight this one foe with you, but Ms Denka and I will be with you for every step on your way there.”

“Heh. Guess that does make me feel better. Who better to rely on than the people who’ve taken me this far, right? With Fuji as my sword and you as my shield, what else could I possibly need?”

“How about me as your bow?”

The front door of the house swung open, and through it walked a girl who shouldn’t have even been walking yet.

Aino Nabiki was back on her feet.