Meeting Mac's Merry Band (Part 1)

This is my twenty-third graveyard shift.

“Oh, noooo! I’m gonna craaaash!”

Ding-a-ling-a-ling...

I hear a high-pitched shriek as a pink-colored blur comes barreling into the convenience store on a broom.

“Whoa! What the hell?!”

The broom comes to an abrupt stop as it clears the automatic doors, flinging its rider to the ground. The human (?) figure rolls rapidly across the floor, crashing into the wall at the opposite end.

The person sprawled out on the tile is dressed in pink from head to toe...in what looks like some kind of magical girl costume. Maybe she’s supposed to be a witch? Hard to tell.

“Um... Are you alright?”

“Uuuugh... What does it look like, genius?”

With that mumbled comeback, I figure she’s fine to get up by herself — but the female cosplayer stays flat on the floor instead, giving me the odd meaningful glance.

“There’s a girl! On the floor! The least you could do is offer her a hand, don’t you think?”

...Ugh, seriously?

“Hey, now! Don’t you give me that look!”

Pissed off, the cosplayer hauls herself up, planting her hands on her hips with a huff.

“That isn’t any way to treat a lady! And you’re standing in front of THE pretty witch prodigy, Sacco! Well, I guess you can’t help but gasp in awe in the face of such exquisite beauty and skill! M-hm, makes sense. Of course, you’d be standing around, helpless as can be!”

The pastel pink witch snaps into a pose that reminds me of a certain celestial sailor scout. Sitting atop her mushroom bob is a traditional looking witch’s hat, but her dress is a mass of pink and white fluff, ribbons and frills. It’s, um...oh, that “lolita” style. Except that she’s also got a bunch of pins tacked to it, which are all pictures of like, mandragoras or poisonous mushrooms and other less-cute-more-creepy things. ...Yeah, that’s weird.

Stuck to her back is what looks like a magic wand — only it’s been wrapped in decorative masking tape and covered in stickers. The whole thing’s a questionable clash of colors and designs.

...Is it okay to cover up a wand like that? Will it still work?

And now that I’ve gotten a better look, I can see that she’s decorated her broom with even more tape and...are those bandages? 

“So, you’re some kind of magical gi-... Uh, a witch?”

“Yep, that’s right! Tee-hee-hee!”

She gives me a self-satisfied chuckle, but her aesthetic transcends common sense. She looks like she stepped out of a TV special on the people who wander the streets of Harajuku. 

“So, I’m not all that up on current trends, but...is that normal? Do all witches bling out their wands and stuff like that now?”

“Honestly! You boys just don’t get it, do you? It’s street fashion! It gets me soooo many compliments out in Harajuku, you know! The girls all say my style is so extra! I’m a fashion icon! Isn’t that amazing? Tee-hee-hee!”

I’m really not sure what teenage girls these days are all about, so I can’t tell if that “extra” means that she’s killing it, or that she ought to send that look out to pasture.

All I can say is that this girl’s style is completely over the top, and who knows? Other people might agree with me.

“Well, all this chatting is making me thirsty! Better grab a drink while I’m here.”

...That reminds me. I get the feeling that I’ve heard of a witch called Sacco before. But where?

She sounds like some kind of anime character, that’s for sure. Maybe that’s it?

“Alright! It’s gotta be strawberry milk — ‘cause it’s perfectly pink, like me!☆”

The witch brings it up to the register, plunking the carton down on the counter. She pulls out a kind of creepy looking goblin-shaped purse and takes a couple of coins out from a hidden pocket...in its mouth... Yeah, no, that’s gross.

“And this is for you!”

Whoa, she’s actually paying. In actual yen.

“I’ve been modeling for magazines since we crossed over, so I’ve got plenty! Ehe!”

Hm? “Crossed over”...? Ooooh, hold on...I know who she is!!

“Wait, you’re THAT pink witch, aren’t you?! The one who’s part of the hero’s party!”  

“...‘Hero’? Huh? D’you know Mac?”

I knew it! I’ve got to tell him that I found one of his merry band.

“Where’s the rest of your group?”

I never thought I’d run into these guys so quickly. Man, what a small world. I’d better try and get as much info as I can to pass along to the hero.

“Oh, the three of us are all living together. We stuck together — Mac’s the only one we lost track of.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear it. Mac’ll be thrilled, too. The last time he was here, he asked me to keep an eye out for you guys.”

And since they’ve all kept in touch, telling just one of them is like killing three birds with one stone!

“...Oh, he has? That guy, huh... Well, whatever, I guess...”

The witch glances away, like she couldn’t care less about him. That’s awkward enough, but what really gets me is how quickly she drops her magical girl persona. I guess that whole cutesy thing was all an act, huh...

Ding-a-ling-a-ling...

“Hey, pink for brains! Where the hell’ve you been?!”

A brash female knight dressed in bright red armor comes barging into the store, her rumbling voice at odds with her cropped, bright purple hair.