THIS AIN'T WHAT YOU WANT (2)

The drive over was quiet. Rifa-sensei knows I usually listen to music on my phone to calm my nerves when we're about to go on a mission, so she's left me to my devices while driving us over. ...I feel bad that she's driving in silence, but I can never figure out how to connect my phone to her stereo-- especially with it being such an old model.

...It's one of those old phones with a keyboard that pops out, to be clear. I can't really afford a smartphone, and I'd feel too bad accepting one as a gift. But, I don't mind it. I appreciate the retro vibes-- even if I was just a toddler when sliders were the phone of choice. There's a charm in loading up your favorite songs from your computer and listening to it that way-- not that I don't see the benefits to streaming, of course. I just like the sense of ownership that comes from having a limited, hand-curated music library.

I usually only really listen to the same few artists anyway; mainly just hyperpop artists, so it's not like I really have any incentive to spend money on a subscription service.

After a few songs in, we finally make it to our destination-- the abandoned shopping mall on the edge of town. I'd heard it was once a great hangout spot, but that was before my time. Nowadays it just sits vacant, waiting to either be repopulated or demolished. It's... kinda depressing.

Regardless, the two of us step out of the car, eyeing the other two at the entrance. Neither of them are in their magical girl outfits-- but to be fair neither are us. We'd both transformed back into civilian clothes on the way here for convenience sake-- as well as not wanting to draw any attention to ourselves if anyone else was on the road.

"Took y'all long enough, jeez!" Chuckles the eyepatched, blue-haired girl in fishnets, a torn-up shirt and torn-up jean shorts, and a teal jacket draped over her shoulders. Wantus-sensei.

She folds her arms and leans forward, baring her fangs in a toothy grin. "Y'all get lost on the way here?"

"We needed to stop for gas on the way." Rifa-sensei bows her head, lying to cover me. "I was trying to be as quick as was safely possible-- sorry."

"Always with those gas problems, eh?" Wantus-sensei laughs some more. "Ya gotta save up for a new car at that point, y'anno? Kick the old one away if it ain't working anymore."

"Cars are expensive, Mi-chan." Seco-sensei-- curly white and red hair with a ribbon on top, dressed in a simple unzipped hoodie, t-shirt and jeans --quietly speaks up, elbowing Wantus-sensei as she does. "And besides, it's not like you can just get rid of something that meant something to you." She shifts her posture slightly, looking away. "God forbid someone be sentimental."

...Is it alright to say I'm jealous of everyone's appearances? I'm just standing here, overalls, t-shirt and scarf, meanwhile everyone else just looks so cute~! Rifa-sensei's sense of fashion isn't one to be trifled with, either; sporting an unbuttoned overshirt with a striped t-shirt underneath, as well as short shorts and striped leg and tail warmers... Oh right. If it wasn't obvious before, she's a dragon. A lime green one, to be exact. But yeah, she's very pretty. Maybe I'll ask her later if I can borrow some of her necklaces or fingerless gloves.

pek pek

Hmm? I feel a light pecking on the top of my head.

"Hey, hey. Earth to Martel-sama." A younger, bird-like voice chimes in-- silent to all but me. Ah, that would be Shiko-- my familiar. Or, perhaps, mascot? A white raven, to be specific. Each of us have our own animal companion-- fitting to the magical girl theming. Though, they're only able to talk to the one who summoned them, unfortunately. Limitations of the magic used to summon them. Speaking of, though...

"Y-yes...?" I telepathically respond.

"Wantus-sama was asking you something."

"O-oh...! Oh..." I laugh nervously, turning to face Wantus-sensei. "Sorry, you were saying something?"

Wantus-sensei squints at me, before speaking up. "...I was just asking how you were feelin'."

"Mmm. I'm uh... I'm fine." I rub the back of my neck, dodging eye contact with her. She... she has an intimidating aura about her. I don't want to be prejudiced and say it's because of her eyepatch, but... she has a very 'don't fuck with me' aura to her, like she's been in several rough fights-- and won every time. So, I give a quick response.

"Yer' nervous... ain'tcha?" She speaks up-- seemingly prodding me. I look back to her-- jumping back a bit as I realize she approached me without my noticing. I nod in response. She chuckles a bit, lightly placing a hand on my shoulder. "Don't sweat it, kid. ...Pun unintended." She lifts her hand, realizing she's getting a bit of sweat on me. "Fuckin' water witch bullshit... Anyway. What I'm tryin' ta say is, I was nervous workin' in a group, too. But, you'll do fine. If it gets too much for ya, don't feel bad about fallin' back and lettin' the rest of us handle it." She punctuates her speech with a thumbs up.

"R-right... thank you." I smile a bit. I'll admit, that wasn't what I expected her to say-- but I guess being the new one here, it doesn't exactly make sense for me to have any expectations or make any assumptions. Wantus-sensei nods in response, before moving back to summon their own familiar-- a chibi alligator --and holding them like a plush doll. Honestly, with how lackadaisical they seem, no one would blame you for thinking they were a plush doll.

"C'mon, lazy freak." Wantus-sensei lightly shakes them. "It's time fer' us to kick some ass again." The gator barely reacts, mustering up as much energy as they can to... yawn, much to her chagrin.

Seco-sensei speaks up again, summoning her familiar-- a chibi hen. "We should get going soon, before they break out."

"What are we looking at, by the way?" Rifa-sensei chimes in, already holding her familiar-- a depressed-looking chibi tiger.

"A monster anxi-- taking residence in this mall." Seco-sensei lowers her head. "...Must've been a runaway kid who got overpowered by some of the mindless beasts." Referring to the more feral types, like the one I was fighting earlier.

"How do you know that...?" I ask.

"They're... hanging around the One P██ pop-up."

"...Ah."

"Poor thing." Rifa-sensei shakes her head. "Let's make this quick."

She presses a hand to her heart, green runes manifesting as currents of wind begin to surround her. The gusts rapidly speed up, hair flowing like crazy as her body becomes enveloped in a brilliant green light. In a sense, you could say she herself becomes wind.

Once the wind subsides, so too does the glow that envelops her-- as she appears once more in her magical girl outfit. She snaps her fingers, and her tiger mascot undergoes a similar-- though abbreviated --transformation, morphing into her signature rifle. God, she's so cool.

...Is it weird that our mascots transform into our weapons? I'm used to it, so I don't actually know.

Regardless, the rest of us follow suit-- transforming into our magical girl outfits. Wantus-sensei, witch of water, has a blue outfit with... an inordinate amount of patches adorned to cover up tears. I keep offering to do some repair work for her, but she insists it adds character. Her mascot transforms into two steel-clawed gauntlets, fingers glowing a bright blue.

Seco-sensei, witch of fire, has a red outfit with her hair ribbon cutely placed atop the side of her witch hat. Her mascot, in sharp contrast to her cutesy demeanor, transforms into an entire chainsaw-- teeth ablaze as they await being spun up.

Lastly, my outfit is a dim gold, and my mascot-- as you could guess--transforms into a massive warhammer. I'm a witch of earth, by the way-- if that wasn't clear.

"How do you carry something that big, anyway?" Seco-sensei asks quizzically. "I've always been wondering."

I laugh a bit, not sure how to respond. "I-I'm just that strong, I guess? I think it's because of my witch element, or something."

"Hmmm. Right." I can't see her face anymore, but she seems amused by my answer. I almost make an apology for giving such a boring answer, but she speaks up before I can. "Anyway, I'll lead the way." Flicking her head in the direction of the door, she enters the mall, the rest of us following suit.