Wait, How Do You Write One of These Again?

In the midst of all the crazy things that happened over the course of the summer, I had completely forgotten about Obon!

That night, despite the awful things that had happened during the day, the people of Japan came out to celebrate Obon. Nothing, not even the threat of giant monsters, could stop us from celebrating Obon the same way we had done for over 500 years. Singing and dancing, candlelit lanterns in the rivers, the cleaning of graves, returning to our ancestral homes, and offerings to the ancestors filled the night. It was a wonderful time to be alive. Well… except for all the destruction that happened over the last several hours. But the fact that, despite everything, everyone still came out to celebrate the way they did was enough for me.

While the rest of Japan celebrated and danced the night away, Shōko, Sayori, and I met with our Hollows out in the mountainous forests outside of Tokyo. The time had come for us to give up our powers and say our goodbyes.

“So… the Dark Master has been defeated,” Aichi told us. “And in record time, ~woof. It took the Flower Warrior two whole years to learn the magic sufficient to defeat the last Dark Master.”

“You've mentioned this Flower Warrior before,” I told Aichi before asking, “Who exactly was this person?”

“~woof, that is a very long story,” Aichi replied. “That could probably be its own book. Maybe I'll tell you the story for your birthday ~woof!”

“Do we really have to give up our powers now?” Sayori asked. “I mean sure, the Dark Master is defeated, but surely there's other evil that needs its butt kicked?”

“Fumiko, have you got a copy of the rules I can look at?” Aichi asked his snake coworker.

“Oh! I should still have my copy, ~bo peep!” Sachiko replied instead. She reached into her fluffspace pocket, revealing another big, dusty book that looked not too different from the spellbook Aichi had. Actually, this book might have looked even older, even bigger, even dustier, even more tattered than the spellbook.

“~woof, it says here, Rule #611, that the contract term can be extended or shortened at the discretion of the Hollow,” Aichi explained. “We only intended for you to keep the powers until the Dark Master was defeated…”

I at once knew where this was heading. Aichi and the other Hollows were actually having trouble coming to a decision on the matter.

“~bo peep, if I may, I think we should let them keep their powers,” Sachiko suggested.

“~sss… see, I disagree,” Fumiko replied. “The rules are pretty strict about these things.”

“You say that like the six of us haven't been side-skirting the rules all summer long, ~bo peep,” Sachiko countered.

“Well, hm… Let me discuss this with the other Hollows ~woof,” Aichi finally said. “We'll meet back with you once we've come to a decision.” He then grabbed the snake and lamb Hollows and chanted “Picture Perfect Position!” They were gone in a flash.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Sayori finally said, “I say we make a run for it.”

“You do realize they're contracted to us, right?” I asked her. “They can find us, snap their… uh… stomp their little paws, and poof! Powers gone!”

“Yeah, but… I actually liked being a magical girl…” Sayori admitted, unable to prevent her face from blushing. “Growing up, I wanted to be just like Akko-chan and Minky Momo and Sailor Moon.”

“Not Star Soldier?” Shōko asked her.

“Ew, gross,” Sayori instantly replied. “Keep that live-action garbage away from me!”

“Even so…” I had to think long and carefully about what to say next. “Regardless of what happens, friends?” I offered Sayori a hand.

“Friends.” Sayori grabbed a hold of my hand and instantly pulled me into a hug. Goodness, I had no idea sukeban were capable of such emotions. Although… she didn't have to hug so tightly!

“Ooo! Can I join in?” Shōko asked.

“Oh, what the heck,” Sayori relented. “Come here.” The three of us were now in a very awkwardly tight group hug. Little did we know, however…

“Dear Frith, that has got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen, ~bo peep!”

“I hate to admit it, Sachiko, but you aren't wrong ~woof.”

Fumiko said nothing in response.

Those three rascals! They were watching us the entire time!

“I think that settles it, ~woof,” Aichi told us. “We've got no other choice!”

After we broke up the group hug, I asked, “Does that mean we get to keep our powers?”

“The six of us are a team, ~woof,” Aichi replied. “I couldn't break this group up even if I wanted to!”

“I'm still not sure about this, ~sss,” Fumiko replied. “But I was outvoted. The three of you are keeping your powers.”

Another group hug immediately commenced, this time with all six of us. Laughter and various Hollow verbal tics ensued. The hug held together for about a minute when we heard a very deep baritone voice call out to us.

“So… is there room for one more?”

Almost as if on cue, we immediately broke out of the group hug and turned around to see the tabby-haired hunk himself, Kenichi Ishida, the former Dark Master.

“Hello, Kenichi here.”

Sayori, ready to fight as always, got in front of me in a defensive stance. “Oh no, we are not doing this. Didn't you just try to conquer the world this morning?”

“Well, I guess I'm never living that one down, huh?” Kenichi asked.

I stepped around Sayori, letting her know it was okay to step down. Getting closer to him, I asked, “I just want to know… Why did you accept the contract with Hideaki?”

“Honestly?” Kenichi answered. “The bunny talked a good game. He told me the world was a messed up place and I had the power to fix it, to rewrite it the way I wanted it. After that, the bunny kinda got into my head. I wasn't quite acting like myself.”

“Tell me about it,” Shōko added. “That whole Dark Master shtick? Totally not like you at all.” Her tone changed suddenly, going from stern to curious. “Although… you did look kinda cute in that magical boy outfit.”

“Shōko, now's not a good time,” I told her. Turning back to Kenichi, I asked, “What do you mean he got in your head?”

“He was kinda always whispering in my ear,” Kenichi explained. The actor in him showed through at times, so I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. “Telling me things about world domination and cleansing the world of all the filth. It was like he was preparing me for some evil plan or something.”

I turned around to ask Aichi, “I was always told The Mesmer doesn't work on magical creatures. What gives?”

“It doesn't,” Aichi replied instantly. “However, I must admit ~woof that it's not completely out of the question for Hideaki to have learned more powerful methods of hypnosis. That will definitely be something we'll have to keep in mind.”

Turning back to Kenichi, I waited for the rest of his explanation.

“I'm sorry I hurt you,” Kenichi continued with a bow. “It was not like me to do such things to you. I hope you are willing to forgive me.”

“~woof, it's too early for a redemption arc,” Aichi told him.

“I have to agree with Aichi,” I told him. “I can forgive you for what happened, but that doesn't mean you're in the clear. You hurt me, you attacked Aichi, you tried your hand at world domination. But worst of all, you almost turned me into a cat! Ah-CHOO!”

“Bless you,” Kenichi told me.

“As I was saying,” I continued after recovering from that sneeze, “I just want to know one thing. Do you actually like me? Or was that another manipulation from Hideaki?”

“Um, hello? Is attempted world domination not considered a crime or something?” Sayori asked.

“We'll have that sorted out later,” I told her.

“I like you, Ayame,” Kenichi told me. “I really like you.” He then got closer to me. “If I may…”

He leaned towards me and kissed me! He! Kissed! Me!! I… I had no idea he was such a good kisser! Tasted oddly like strawberries. Oh dear… there went my heart again. Doki-doki right out of my body and all around the world.

“Gross,” Sayori commented. Shōko acted like she had stars in her eyes. Aichi, Sachiko, and Fumiko whispered amongst themselves, probably spreading gossip.

“Oh my…” was all I could say in response. Aichi dragged my heart back down to Earth by tugging at my new ears. Apparently, that was also a new weakness of mine. “That does not mean we're good, Kenichi! You gotta sort yourself out if you want to earn my… I mean, our… our trust.”

“Again, are we sure we can't lock this guy up for attempted world domination and overall being cringe?” Sayori asked.

Kenichi walked off to who knows where. “I'll see you around, Aya-chan. Maybe once I've earned your trust again.” In no time, he had disappeared into the trees.

“Do you think it is wise to let him go?” Shōko asked me.

“I think he'll be fine,” I replied. “Though, I do think we should be heading home as well.” I turned to Aichi and asked, “Would you like to do the honors?”

“Would I ever, ~woof!” Aichi replied. “Everyone, hand in paw!”

We all did as Aichi asked, holding onto each other hand in paw.

“Picture Perfect Position!” Aichi shouted, and in a flash, we had finally left Tokyo.

•

The next morning, I arrived at work right on time as I always tried to do.

“Morning, everyone!” I told my coworkers.

“Ayame!” everyone shouted in response.

“Ayame!” Mr. Kaneko, my boss, shouted at me. “A whole bunch of crazy things happened yesterday, and we don't have pictures! Today's headline: Magical Girls Save the World, how's that sound?”

As I placed my bag on my desk, I told him, “You know the government was not allowing anyone within fifty kilometers of the downtown district. They were very strict about that evacuation.”

“They let the magical girls in,” Kaneko replied.

“But I will say, I heard some crazy stories from the locals,” I told my coworkers a half-truth. “There's estimates going around that there were at least thirty giant monsters in the city all at once! It was like that one movie, what was it called?”

“The 100 Giant Monsters Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Hate Each Other?” Sakamoto asked.

“I think that's the one, yeah!” I replied. “Anyways, here's what the Mayor of Tokyo said…”