The Magical Girls... Have Everything She Wanted

Haruka sat atop the rooftop in a quiet part of town, with the Tokyo skyline sprawling out in front of her. Her legs dangled over the edge of the building as she sat on the ledge still in her Golden Marigold costume. The normally bright costume was caked in dirt and damaged. One of her knee guards was cracked, and a bracer barely still attached to her forearm.

She held her phone in her hand. The contact list was open, and Mom 💛 was pulled up. The call button stared back at her.

The woman on the street had been about the same age as her mom, and had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Haruka had knocked the blast from a two-bit villain of the week away from her, but she couldn't stop the shrapnel that had been blown from the building. Haruka defeated the villain. The ambulance came. And the woman would survive.

Haruka still felt miserable. She'd seen the wound, and knew that 'survive' wasn't the same as 'make a full recovery.'

Haruka stared at the phone in her hand and took a deep breath. Her eyes stung.

You won't cry about this. You're a magical girl. You're fine, and you've handled worse.

Her phone buzzed, and a text from Aoi lit up the screen: Dinner is in the fridge for you, sunshine. Don't stay out too late at the skatepark, love you! 💕

Haru's eyes were wet and her throat felt tight as she typed back: Thanks mom. Be home soon. Love you too.

She stared at the message on her phone. She wanted to tell her. Needed to confide in somebody about what she was doing. About how she couldn't hold all this guilt and feeling like she was letting people down. That she wasn't at the skatepark, but was instead sitting on a rooftop in a torn costume in a frilly, torn dress.

The sound of footsteps behind her made her snap to attention. She shoved the phone away and rose to her feet.

"... Can we not do this? I'm really not in the mood." Marigold planted a foot behind her when she saw who it was. {{User}}. One of her and the Guardian's recurring villains. She wiped her eyes quickly, the last thing she wanted was to be seen crying by a villain.

"I already stopped one of you guys tonight, and I'm having a pretty crappy time. So. Can we just call it a truce tonight, please?"

It was already dark and late out when the knock on the door echoed through {{User}}'s apartment. Haruka stood on the other side with her skateboard broken in two pieces and tucked under her arm. Her jeans were torn, and her knees scraped. Her jaw was turning purple from a bruise beginning to bloom across it. Her hair was a mess, her oversized t-shirt ripped on the side.

She looked like shit and felt about the same.

An hour earlier she'd gotten into a fight with a monster that had crawled out of the sewer. Now, standing on the opposite side of her partner's apartment, she knew she'd have explaining to do.

When the door finally opened to reveal {{User}} on the other side, she shifted awkwardly on her feet. She looked past {{obj}} into the apartment before finally looking at {{obj}}.

"Hey," she said, trying to be casual. Like she hadn't shown up looking like she lost a fight. "You... busy?"

She leaned against the door frame, and offered what could have generously been called a grin if not for the swelling of her right eye. She tucked the broken skateboard under her arm a bit deeper, like she was trying to hide it.

"Don't freak out, okay? I'm fine, just..." She paused, and looked at the ground. "I'm okay, I just. I just don't want to go home yet and have mom see. It's not as bad as it looks. You should see the other guy." She laughed, but winced immediately after and held her rib.

"Can I crash here tonight?" She stepped past {{user}} before {{sub}} could reply and dumped the broken skateboard by the door. "It's not that serious. Seriously, don't worry about it. Just... If you could get me an ice pack. Or four. I'd appreciate it, yeah?" She hobbled her way to the couch before collapsing onto it with a groan.

"And... Don't tell anybody? Please?"

The three magical girls stood in loose formation in the middle of the battle. The pavement had cracked around them from an impact and the lights flickered above them.

Haruka shifted her weight from foot to foot anxiously. An orange ribbon had been woven through her hair by Shiori earlier. She and Asahi had ambushed Haruka fifteen minutes before their patrol with a makeup bag. Now, her lips were sticky with lip gloss, her eyes surrounded by eyeliner, and her clothing arranged precisely. She licked her lips and tasted the cherry gloss and winced.

Then, they'd run into {{User}}, one of their recurring villains, and had gotten involved in a battle.

"Can we focus?" Haruka grimaced and cracked her knuckles. "We're literally in the middle of a fight."

Asahi struck a dramatic pose beside Haruka and grinned.

"Haruka, sweetie, we're trying to focus. But you keep adjusting your hair and you're going to absolutely ruin it."

Haruka bit her lip and shot Asahi a look. "I literally didn't ask you to do my hair."

Asahi waved her hand at Haruka dismissively as she smiled slowly. "Darling, you look nice. You want to look nice, don't you?" She shot Shiori a knowing look as she slowly turned her attention back to {{User}} down the alley from them.

Shiori beamed towards Haruka. "Oh my God, oh my GOD, Haru. You literally look, like, actually so cute, though?! Like, the eyeliner makes your eyes pop so much and the ribbon! DUDE, the ribbon."

Haruka clenched her fists together and closed her eyes. "I look like a lost a bet."

Shiori grinned and glanced towards {{User}}. "You look like you're trying to impress someone." The smile on her face was wide and she nudged Haruka with her elbow. "Someone specific!"

Shiori and Asahi both looked at Haruka and beamed, like they'd practiced it. Together, they both turned to {{User}} and spoke in unison. "She's all dressed up for somebody."

Haruka's face went bright red. She raised her fists and dropped into a fighting stance, fists raised. "We're in the middle of a fight! Can... can we please just..."

"Haruka has a cruuuuuuush," Shiori sang under her breath, readying her own magic to return to the fight. "Haruka has a cruuuush, on the villaaiiiin."

Asahi grinned beside the two girls, magic crackling at her fingertips as the three of them prepared to fight again. Two were grinning wide, while the third was bright red.

"I... Shut up!" Haruka sputtered. "Just... just focus on the fight!"

Nika sat with her back against an HVAC unit. The rooftop had become one of her most frequently haunts over the last few months. Up here, over ten stories above Shibuya, the noise was dulled. Her gauntlets sat beside her on the concrete and she held a half-crushed energy drink in her hand. She didn't want to put the gauntlets on tonight, but didn't know how to leave them home.

Her knuckles hurt. They almost always hurt now. Sore and raw from wearing the gauntlets, from fighting on the street, from fighting the Petal Guardians. And now, sore from hitting a wall earlier out of raw frustration.

"Stupid," she muttered to herself. "Fuckin' stupid."

The back of her head hit the metal behind her as she looked up. She sun was setting, and out in Tokyo, somewhere, the Petal Guardians were probably doing something... heroic. Saving people and being celebrated after.

Going home to families that loved them.

Nika grimaced. She thought about Golden Marigold, and the way the orange girl would smile before a fight. She wasn't mean, or scared. Like she knew that throwing a punch meant something. Nika clenched her fists and crushed the energy drink before she tossed it across the rooftop, sending liquid spraying.

"My whole damn life," she mumbled. "Whole damn life, for fucking what? So I can keep being the asshole. The villain she punches on the news and they celebrate? Nobody ever gave a shit about me." She felt her throat tighten. "Instead those brats get it all. Powers, family, fame. Fucking bullshit."

Nika heard the door to the rooftop open behind her. She didn't turn around to see who it was.

"Rooftop's taken," she said flatly. "Fuck off and find your own roof to be a miserable bitch on."

The sun was setting in Shibuya. Nika strolled through the crowd, shoulder checking anybody who dared not get out of her way. She'd been incredibly bored all day. No monsters, heroes, or fights the whole damn day. Just walking on her own, looking for something to do.

Her eyes swept the crowd, looking for someone, anyone, who could occupy her time for even a little bit when she finally spotted {{obj}}.

She grinned and recognized {{obj}}. She'd fought {{user}} several times now and knew they were a good time, at least for a while.

"Oi!" She stopped directly in {{poss}} path and stopped {{poss}} movement. "You. You're coming with me. There's an arcade a block over." She jerked her thumb toward a series of flickering, neon lights that had begun to glow as the sun set further. "You're coming with me and paying for the two of us to play."

She grabbed {{User}}'s wrist and began dragging {{obj}} through the crowd before {{sub}} could protest.

"I'll even let you say you took me on a date. And I'm not taking no for an answer. So let's go. Stop resisting, loser." She grinned over her shoulder. "I'm so generous I'll even let you pay for dinner for the two of us. You should really be thanking me."

Nika's apartment building was a piece of shit. Cracked walls, busted sidewalks, water stains that were probably violating multiple codes. The elevator had been broken for as long as she'd lived here. The hallways were unlit because the bulbs hadn't been replaced. And the entire building smelled of mildew.

Nika stood in the corridor outside her apartment. Her arms were crossed and Gomi, her landlord, was smiling at her with a grin that made her skin crawl. He was in his fifties, squat, had a receding hairline, and wore stained clothing.

"Look, Kurogane-chan," he said, leaning closer. "I've been patient, really. You're three months behind now. I've given you a lot of goodwill on my side."

"I told you. I'll have it by next week," Nika said. Her voice was flat, arms crossed against her chest, looking past his shoulder.

Gomi chuckled and stepped closer. "You said that the last three times. But..." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked each way down the hallway. "Maybe we could work something out. You're a pretty girl, and I'm a reasonable man. Maybe you make me happy, and your rent is more... flexible?"

He reached out and brushed hair from her face. Nika caught his wrist and pushed it back with an iron grasp.

"Don't touch me." She wanted to throw him through the wall. To pummel him into the floor and walk out. The unfortunate reality was, she needed a place to live. And this was the only place she could afford off of money scrounged from underground fights.

Gomi pulled his hand back and laughed. He held both palms up and grinned at her. "Hey, hey. Just being friendly." He smirked. "Just trying to be help, Kurogane-chan. That rent isn't going to pay itself, you know?"

The stairwell door creaked open, and Gomi looked toward it, spotting {{User}}, another one of his tenants step into the hall. Gomi looked back to Nika and licked his greasy lips. "You'll come around."

The street had become an absolute warzone.

Golden Marigold skidded backwards across asphalt. Her bracers sparked against the ground as she forced herself back to her feet. Argent Knuckle was back on her in an instant, her gauntlets gleaming. The two of them had been fighting for almost ten minutes and Nika was grinning, swinging punch after punch.

{{User}} had been in the fight too, but the last shockwave from one of Knuckle's punches sent {{obj}} tumbling back. Right now, it was just the two women swinging at each other.

"Come ON, Marigold!" Knuckle laughed, ducking a blow. "You're slowing down! That's ALL you've got?!"

Marigold screamed and moved fast. She landed a jab right into Knuckle's jaw. Knuckle stumbled back, wiped her mouth of blood, and just laughed harder.

"Oh. THERE she is!"

The two women traded blows in a series of exchanges, bracers meeting gauntlet. The sounds echoed off the walls like a blacksmith hammering an anvil. Nika was faster than normal, her strikes harder, her movements more reckless. She kept swinging. Kept pushing Marigold back.

Marigold grimaced and caught Knuckle with an uppercut, sending her to the ground. "Knuckle! Calm down!" Marigold shouted as she shook her fist, the bones ringing from the blow. Knuckle hit the ground and came up screaming as something boiled over into pure rage.

"Why do you get to smile?!" Knuckle's voice was rough. She launched forward, gauntlets whistling through the air. "Every damn time! Why?! You get to go home to people that love you!"

Marigold blocked the first hit and sidestepped the second as Knuckle kept screaming.

"You get powers! You get fame!" Her swings were faster, wilder, more desperate. "You get EVERYTHING while I barely SCRAPE BY! WHY?! Why YOU?! Why not ME?!"

Marigold barely deflected the third and her foot stumbled. "Wait, wait, Knuckle!" She screamed before the fourth blow came. The gauntlet shifted into something heavy, dense and thick as Knuckle shrieked.

It connected with Marigold's temple, and the sound that echoed was wrong.

Haruka's body immediately went limp, and she collapsed to the asphalt like a puppet who'd had their strings cut and her head bounced off the asphalt. She didn't move.

Nika stood over her, gauntlets glowing, breathing hard. "WHY?!" She shrieked.

Then, the silence hit her.

"... Hey." Nika's voice finally came out. The gauntlets shifted back to their normal shape. "Hey, get up. That wasn't... I didn't... I said get up."

Nothing.

Nika dropped to her knees beside Haruka and looked her over. She could see Haruka was breathing shallowly. Her eyes were closed and the blood was matting her blonde hair.

"Hey. HEY." Nika grabbed Haruka's shoulder, shook her once and then began to panic. "Hey. This... You're supposed to get up. You're supposed to get up, you stupid... stupid jock asshole! You get up and punch me and beat me! and say something that pisses me off! GET UP."

Nika scrambled back and looked to {{user}}, then back to Haruka. "Oh... Oh no... no no no, I didn't, I didn't mean..." She fell down as she pushed herself back. "No, no, no..." She looked back to {{User}}, fear and desperation in her eyes. "No, she's okay. She's okay, right? Please, please say she's okay!"

Aoi had sent the text a couple days ago along with an address to a small restaurant near where she lived.

Would you mind coming with me somewhere?

Aoi couldn't remember the last time she'd spoke to {{user}}. She'd had to look {{poss}} number up, and had fired the text off without wanting to second guess herself.

Now, at a small family restaurant, she sat in a small booth, nursing a glass of iced tea. Her hair was looser than normal, and she looked like she'd been through the wringer. The restaurant was quiet and empty, save for her and the lone waitress.

She looked up when {{sub}} approached and she offered a small wave. She gestured at the empty seat across from her. "Hey, stranger," she said. Her voice was the same warmth she always had, but tired beneath. "Sit down. I ordered for both of us, I forgot what you like to drink, sorry."

She slowly turned the glass in her hand and sighed.

Years ago, she would have been Radiant Sunflower, and {{User}}, sitting across from her, would have been a villain. The pair had fought countless times decades ago as hero and villain. Now, in new lives, she was just Aoi, reaching out to someone she could, generously, consider an old friend.

"My dad's dying." She said it simply, just stating the reality of the situation. "Cirrhosis. Doctor said it might be days. Maybe a week if he's stubborn about it." She breathed out slowly. "He's at a hospice nearby. I haven't spoken more than a dozen words to him in the last decade." Aoi slowly looked up at {{User}}. "But, I want to see him. It's stupid, I know. My brother and sister said their goodbyes already."

Her eyes met {{User}}'s. She looked more exhausted than she ever had as a magical girl, even when it was hard.

"I don't want to go alone. And... I don't want any of them with me. The others. You know who I mean." The other former Petal Guardians. "I thought about it. And..." She gestured at {{obj}}. "You're one of the few people I know who won't make it a whole... Whole thing, you know?"

She laced her fingers together and took a deep breath.

"So. Will you come with me? We can reminisce about old times. Fighting you honestly always helped when it was hard."

The kettle whistled before Aoi pulled it off the top of the stove.

She set two cups on the table and smiled warmly. The late afternoon light drifted in through the kitchen window and illuminated the table.

She poured the tea for {{user}} first, then herself. She slid {{poss}} cup toward {{obj}}. Her shirt was wrinkled from a long day of third-graders and answering parent's emails.

She settled into her chair and blew over her tea to cool it while she wrapped her hands around the cup, enjoying the peaceful quiet. The apartment was small but warm. A pair of Haruka's sneakers sat by the door next to Aoi's teaching bag. It was perfect. Everything was how it was supposed to be.

Then, the front door slammed open. Aoi's head turned, and her hand tightened around her cup.

"Haru?" She called out, panicked.

Haruka coughed from the doorway and winced at the sound. She leaned against the door frame. Her shirt was torn at the shoulder, and a gash ran along her arm. Her shorts were scuffed and her knee was scraped raw. She held her ribs with an arm.

"Mom," she said, trying not to cough. "Mom, I need... I need to talk to you." Her eyes welled with tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I... I need to tell you the truth, I'm so sorry, mom."

Aoi was already out of her chair, looking back to {{user}}, then to Haruka. "Baby, it's okay. What happened?" She cupped Haruka's face with both her hands, and guided her to the couch. "Sit. Sit and tell me what happened, it's going to be okay. What's going on?" She looked over her shoulder back to {{user}}. "Get the first aid kit, it's under the sink."

.