My Normal Life Now Has A Special Power

“…Lavi?”

Sarine sputtered, her confusion met with an empty gaze from the other faerie. Lavi didn’t smile, nor did she cry—she simply left the mystery girl’s side and gestured back.

“Laviele, actually,” she said, “and I’m not from the faerie world. I’m from this one. I actually used to live near here, before humans bulldozed my home over to build a…what was it again? Some stupid government building. Pleasa took me in—she’d been thrown away, too.”

The faerie aimed a nasty look at Chiho’s corpse. “And for the record, I thought her cute innocent justice stuff was nice. If she wasn’t in the way, I would’ve liked to be her actual faerie partner.

“…Just joking.”

‘Pleasa’ tutted. “You tell awful jokes. Let me handle this.”

She jumped off the roof, descending as if floating on the air before she landed before Tama and Sarine. “You two have working ears, don’t you? Work with me. You’ve seen what I can do, and now it should be obvious how little effort it takes for me to kill you all. The only reason I didn’t get rid of the other human was…well, call it a peace offering.”

Tama jolted. She lunged, fist reared back—Pleasa caught her fist and threw the girl away.

“I can take it back,” she hissed. “I don’t need you.”

“But—” Sarine said, head filled with cotton as she blocked out the bloody corpse, ice in her veins begging her to do anything to get them out of this alive. If panic could freeze her into something resembling calm, then she’d cling to it. “—you want Tama because she’s Chosen, don’t you?”

“Chosen? Who cares about a meaningless title with nothing to back it up?”

Pleasa pointed at Sarine. “You. Faerie. Surely you know what you’ve been doing to your ‘partner’ this entire time.”

“I—”

“Trick question. Of course you don’t.” Pleasa snapped her fingers. “But I’ve seen every single one of your fights. If you’re both so good at using your magic together, then why haven’t you been doing that from the start with the stupid magical girl? Why was I able to use your ‘Chosen’ so easily? Lavi told me what you call it—resonation.

“But that’s not correct. That’d imply both parties had equal say—which, you could argue is what you two’ve been doing, but it’s inconvenient and idiotic. What you have, Sarine…”

Pleasa licked her lips. “Is a very special soul. Much better than anything this human you’re stuck with will ever have.”

Sarine heard it. She heard Pleasa speak, running her mouth about something or other. Souls, special ones, magic, whatever. But she thought of the girl who’d never smile again, and nothing else mattered. She darted to Tama’s side, clinging to her, and the other girl hung on in turn.

“Something I’ve dubbed an abnormal soul,” Pleasa continued. “Lavi, do explain what you’ve seen?”

Lavi nodded, like an obedient robot spinning to life. “Strong souls can share their magic with non-magical beings, a little funny loophole around the usual annoying ways people find to channel magic. Buuut, the other way to use your gifts is by taking other people’s energies and making them your living battery! Like, you can achieve some incredible sparklie stuff with that power!”

“The best use for it,” Pleasa said, then grimaced. “But Society Prime disagreed. I researched magic with them once, I was the best they had—but the Head of Society saw my studies on these Special Souls and condemned me. Either I stopped my research, or I’d be stripped of my resources and exiled.”

She held her hands out, and darkness met her embrace. “I’m sure you can admire how hard I’ve worked to build myself up from nothing.

“So? Do you see how persistent I am? I need a Special Soul subject to complete my research, a willing one. I’ll spare the girl, just leave her and come with me. I doubt she’d want anything to do with a being who could use her like a battery, anyways—”

“Shut up!”

Pleasa frowned. Tama stumbled to her feet, and ran. She grabbed a bloodied baton, Yuriko’s weapon which stayed, despite everything, pointing it at the woman.

“Sh…shut up,” she said, hands shaking. “I’ll kill you! I’ll tear you to pieces for what you did! Sarine’s the only friend I have left, I’m not losing her too!”

Lavi launched herself towards Tama, fireball in hand. “Pleasa said she’d spare you, but if you’re going to play victim about this, then I’ll be the one to—!”

The tip of the baton sparkled. Lavi gasped and ducked, avoiding a flash of light as it shot out, curved, and hit Pleasa in the shoulder. The woman stumbled back, fabric burned away as the light ate at her flesh. Lavi flew to her side and began healing as Sarine flew behind Tama, gripping her collar like a lifeline.

Pleasa sneered, her calm confidence shattered. “You useless brat! You’re going to use your dead friend’s magic like that!? How selfish!”

“Just like most humans,” Lavi said, nodding.

A chuckle. “You’re right. And if—you’re going to make this difficult, then I have no choice but to be unfair, myself.

“If I have to torment you both day in and out, then that’s what I’ll do. You’ll never be rid of the nightmares—not until Sarine is mine, in soul, body and mind.”

Pleasa fumbled for her umbrella, holding it up. Tama ran, but she was too late, as a sudden gust caught on and carried the woman away, Lavi at her side. Sarine threw a fireball at the retreating faerie. She knew she couldn’t hit—she could barely see anything in-between tears, but damn it, she needed this.

Just a bit of catharsis, among destruction and dead bodies. Tama clutched Chiho’s baton to her chest, knees giving up on her. She cried.

She cried for hours. Even when a group of Society Prime members came in, looks of horror shared at the cooling body in the center of the chaos, Tama refused to let go of the last remnant of Chiho not doomed to rot.

Sarine wanted to comfort her partner. She wanted to place a hand on her shoulder, to feel the other girl’s heartbeat, but her hand only hovered over Tama’s shoulder, unsure. Unsure if something as simple as a touch might hurt her.

If whatever Sarine was—might take away the life Chiho wanted to protect.

So she stayed away. She watched the sun break the horizon, only an observer to it all.