Myosotis Arvensis

by TMTO

A what-if of Mariko's civilian life after Primula Farinosa. Contains spoilers for MGRP: Jokers.

Myosotis Arvensis

This story takes place a month after Primula Farinosa.

Mariko Fukuroi

This was bad.

Well, in some ways it was good, but at the same time it felt like the world had just fallen out from under her feet.

It had been a tiring day, and she had thought of taking a power nap. Well, technically she should not have, but it was either take 15 minutes to sleep or pass out face first in a biology exam. Besides, the students had gone home after their exams and she was the only one in class.

Or so she thought.

Mariko looked at the small envelope, written in the familiar, neat handwriting she had come to know well over the past few weeks.

The same handwriting that typically formed the day's date and the duty roster assignment.

Sorry. Didn't want to wake you. the envelope said plainly.

Inside was a letter, covered with more lines in the same script as the envelope, but reading them made Mariko's eyes grow wide.

How could this... why...

She quickly put the letter down down, her cheeks burning and her eyes full. When she glanced down again, she realised the writer had taken the time to carefully draw something on the back of the letter.

It was a picture of a flower. It had been drawn with exquisite, tender skill using color pencil, and it took almost the entire back of the letter.

She recognized it at once. It was a jonquil, the rush daffodil. Narcissus assoanus. A perennial bulbous plant native to Spain and France, now naturalized in Turkey.

Mariko did not connect the dots until she thought about what had been written on the other side of the picture.

Of course. How had she not seen it earlier?

She slammed the letter back down on the table. Then she realised that someone might see it, and so she folded it up (carefully) and put it back into the envelope before throwing it into her drawer, closing it, turning the key and slamming it onto her table.

Then she buried her face in her hands.

"What should I do?" she wailed.

This was a new experience for her; a problem she could not simply punch her way through.

Open confrontation was her first and favorite solution to any problem. However, even as Marika, she knew that going head-on and all-out against someone like that would be disastrous. Marika was reckless, but she was not a rogue.

Wait... as Marika?

An idea came to her.

Hino Teruyuki

His name was Hino Teruyuki.

He was from Okinawa, and it showed in his accent and tanned complexion. He was taller and stronger than most of the other boys, but he rarely spoke, and he seemed a little shy. Probably because of his accent, but nobody had ever given him any grief about it.

To his classmates, he was a quiet, reliable brick; always the first to volunteer for onerous tasks and finishing his duties without quibbling. He paid attention in class and worked hard.

There was something about him which made him very approachable. The air seemed brighter and lighter around him, like the sun was shining directly down from behind him. He could have surrounded himself with friends if he wanted, but instead he chose to fade into the background.

He also had a very meticulous personality; mindful of small details, but so considerate he never came off as being a nitpicker. He was the sort of person who would not worry about small, unimportant mistakes from other people, but who strove to make sure that his share of the work was as perfect as possible so as not to drag the others down.

Teruyuki had always stayed back to help with cleanup after class, but it was only recently that he had begun talking to his new teacher.

It had started simply enough, asking about things in the lessons he did not understand. It had been hard at first, because his teacher was a new transfer, and seemed to have trouble communicating with others.

Unusual, but not a dealbreaker.

They talked until she became more and more comfortable with speaking at length, and then they moved on to more complicated topics.

There was a girl he liked, but he did not know how to approach her. Perhaps Sensei could help him?

He had listened closely, trying not to show how nervous he was. The solution she proposed was simple; ask her flat-out, and either rejoice with her if he got a "yes" or keep at it anyway if the answer was "no".

"But won't it bother her if I keep going after she says no?" he had asked.

"If a simple no is going to stop you, then you don't deserve her," came the reply. "You only lose when you stop fighting."

Of course, things were not that simple. The girl he liked was special (but they always were, were they not?), and he was afraid of damaging her reputation with a face to face confession. That left him with indirect methods.

That was why he had prepared that letter, complete with a carefully chosen drawing from the hanakotoba, and left it on Mariko-sensei's table while she was napping.

After that, he had quietly left the school, hoping and praying the answer would be yes.

However, he had not expected what happened next.

Marika Fukuroi

Marika Fukuroi found her prey walking home along a deserted alley in a run-down residential district.

Her plan was to approach him, present herself as a friend of Mariko's, and question him about his intentions.

If it was a joke, she could at least scare the crap out of him.

She did not want to think about what she would do if it was not.

Marika grabbed him by one shoulder, then spun him on one heel and slammed him back-first into a nearby wall. He was strong, and even when surprised, he reflexively braced himself to minimize the damage taken.

Her mental opinion of him went up a notch.

Marika had not used anything close to her full speed and strength because she just wanted to get his attention, not smear him across the wall. Even so...

Not bad. Oh yeah, he's part of the Karate Club, Marika grinned. That means he'll put up a-

Then the grin fell off her face.

Wait, I'm not supposed to fight him!

She let go of him and recovered into a standing position, only to see that he was collapsed in a heap on the ground. So much for bracing himself.

If this was a real fight you'd be dead... good thing it's just me.

Sighing in relief and exasperation, Marika walked up to Teruyuki, who was still out of it, and pulled him to his feet.

"Hey, you all right?" she asked.

Now that the simple thrill of battle was gone, a complex brew of emotions boiled within her heart. She had so many questions to ask him, but she had already decided what she was going to say.

"Whoa," Teruyuki wobbled. Then he saw Marika, took in her purple outfit, floral theme, amaryllis flower on her head, and stumbled back against the wall.

He winced as his bruised back touched the unforgiving brick.

"Aw hell," he muttered. "Wait, what the heck-"

"Don't worry, you passed," Marika said. "So, tell me. Why'd you leave the letter on Mariko's table?"

"Wait, passed? What-"

Then he realised what Marika said after that, and froze.

"How... how did you know? Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm a friend of Mariko's," Marika replied, in a tone that said, I'm asking the questions, not you.

"A very close friend. And I wanted to see what kind of punk confesses to his own homeroom teacher! What the hell were you thinking!"

"Shhh! Please! Not so loud!" Teruyuki pleaded with his hands together. "People might hear!"

Marika frowned. The kid had a point. She folded her arms and tilted her head before saying:

"Alright, so tell me. Quietly."

"I like Mariko-sensei," Teruyuki whispered. "I really, really do. Ever since she took over from Mrs. Tadakoro I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. I like being around her and I like talking to her after school."

Marika resisted the urge to roll her eyes. God, he was so sappy!

Still, it was not as though she did not enjoy their chats.

"She's ten years older than you, kid," Marika retorted tersely.

The irony of Marika - who was easily a head shorter than Teruyuki and did not have a terribly mature temperament - calling someone else a kid was probably lost on the both of them

"I know she's older than me. I know she's my teacher and I'm her student and that makes it twice as bad. I know if we try anything in school it'll probably get her fired and me expelled. And I'm sorry for that, I really am."

"Hmph, at least you understand the situation a little."

Marika folded her arms.

"So knowing all that, why'd you make trouble for m- uh, Mariko like that?"

"Because …she always looks so distant and alone. She hardly ever smiles. This may sound cheesy, but... I want to make her smile, and then protect it."

Marika had actually thought he was being fairly sensible until that part. What was this, an anime?

"God, if you were any more cheesy you'd be a pizza. Protect her smile, hah! Do you know what she's going through? Do you even understand her problems? You're just a high-school kid! What do you know?!"

Teruyuki winced with every word Marika said. It might have been amusing to see a strapping six-foot high-schooler squirm in front of the shorter Marika, but Marika was not taking joy in this.

She was angry; and not just at him.

She was angry at herself because she had actually been a little swayed by his letter.

"I know I'm just a high-schooler, and I know I sound like a dumb kid with a crush. And yeah, I figure the world of adults is nasty and I don't know anything about it, But still... if I can help in any way... I want to do it."

"Well, you can't. You'd best give up now, kid," Marika replied, shaking her head.

Teruyuki looked away, a pained expression on his face.

"I... wish I could. But... I saw her, every day. And she looks so sad sometimes. I just can't ignore that."

"Dammit, are you listening to me, kid?!" Marika shouted, punching the wall beside him for emphasis. She had been trying to cut him some slack, but he seemed insistent on constantly testing his limits.

Fragments of red brick and dust crumbled out of the hole in the wall.

"Mariko deals with shit of her own and she doesn't need to worry about a punk like you getting involved! She doesn't need to worry about people getting hur- in trouble because they can't handle the crap that gets thrown at her! God, how can you be so damn selfish?!"

Those last words were not directed at him.

Marika's teeth were clenched as she said that. The image of Styler Mimi's body and her tombstone flashed through her mind.

If only I hadn't dragged her along.

If only I'd taken better care of her.

If only...

Marika snapped her head away, her eyes filling up again. She could not let him see her. Not like that.

"Are... are you alright?" Teruyuki ventured.

"No! Yes! I don't know!" Mariko said.

She did not want him to see the tears brimming in her eyes.

He was a good kid. She could feel his the sheer, earnest goodwill radiating from him like the sun's rays. A little misguided, certainly selfish in this particular endeavour… but not a bad sort.

There had been a reason why she had given him all that advice, after all.

As a plant-based Magical Girl, she felt stronger just being near him. But because of that, she could not let him get close to her. Keeping her kids at arms' length was fine, because of that separation. It was the same way all Magical Girls worked, after all. You kept the magic business out of your mundane life, and that way you had a way out for when one side got too much to bear.

But still...

If he turned out to be a friend, or maybe more...

She did not want that to happen again.

She did not want to lose someone she cared for again.

She was not strong enough for that.

How did this even happen? I was supposed to be in charge and he's putting me on the back foot.

"Hey," Teruyuki said quietly. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

"I'm not upset!" Marika sniffed through a stuffy nose. How did magical girls even get stuffed noses? That was not supposed to happen.

"Here."

He offered a pack of tissues to Marika. He had the decency to hand it over from behind her so she would not have to turn around.

So considerate. He pays attention to these little details.

"I'd better go," he said. "And... if you're a friend of Marika's... could you do me a favor?"

"What?!"

She was obviously trying to snap at him, but the sheer heartache inside her took a lot of bite out of it.

"Please tell her I'm serious about this. And... I'll be waiting for her answer."

Saying so, Teruyuki turned to leave. But then...

"Hey," Marika said to his retreating back.

"Hm?"

"Give me your number."

It was autumn break now, and Mariko would not officially meet him again for a month. But at the very least...

Dammit. I really do miss hanging around him.

"Wha?"

"I said, give me your number. You don't know shit about Mariko. I'm going to teach you how little you really know."

Marika punched Teruyuki's number into her Magical Phone and began creating a new contact. There were almost no others in there.

Teruyuki seemed quite taken with the device, and asked:

"Say, you're... are you a cosplayer or something?"

Marika glared at him, and he flinched.

Still, normal cosplayers could not punch a two-inch dent into a brick wall. In all honesty, it scared the hell out of Teruyuki... but if Mariko-sensei was friends with a woman like this... well, how could he be frightened by her?

At the very least, if this strange person was her friend, then she was clearly important to Mariko-sensei.

He had to account for that if he wanted to get anywhere with Mariko-sensei.

Teruyuki had thrown his hat over the fence by saying that he would help in any way. As a (young) man, he had to follow through to the very end.

She said he would teach him. But what would she teach him?

Marika finished entering his number, and put away her phone.

"Now get lost, kid," Marika said, sounding a little deflated. "I'll be in touch."

And with that, Marika vanished into a nearby alley, leaving a baffled Teruyuki by himself.

Marika Fukuroi

"Argh."

Marika punched a wall. It crumbled.

There were quite a few abandoned buildings in the city; places where old buildings were left to die.

She liked these places because she could hit them and break them down and nobody would try to stop her.

Another reason why she liked these places was because they were secluded. She could shout as much as she wanted without anyone hearing her.

This one was a small two-story brick building out in the woods. Perhaps it was supposed to be a forestry research facility at some point, but apparently funding had been cut and it had been abandoned after the fittings had been stripped out.

Marika had found it - and other abandoned places - after Snow White's introductory tour of the city. After kicking out the yakuza using it for a hideout, she had turned it into her personal punching bag.

Heaven knew she needed it right now.

"ARGH! GOD DAMMIT! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BLOW HIM OFF BUT I GOT HIS NUMBER INSTEAD!"

A roundhouse kick chopped a support column in half and the ceiling above rumbled. But that was not enough.

Not nearly enough.

There was a restlessness in her heart; not anger, but closer to anticipation and anxiety. It was blended with something else; a new kind of emotion that had only budded recently.

"Why?! Why couldn't he have gone after some other girl instead!"

A series of machinegun punches dug a concave trench along a wall and caused chunks to drop out of the ceiling.

"Why am I thinking about him so much?!"

As Marika, her first instinct was to fight anything that made her feel bad. This did not exactly qualify, but it was new, and thus worrying. She wanted to lash out against it; against this feeling that made her afraid and foolish and embarrassed.

With those thoughts in her mind, she drove a foot into a wall and wrenched it out. There was a piece of bricked metal frame around it; she spun and smashed it against another wall, causing the ceiling above her to collapse.

Marika still remembered the contents of that letter, safely stashed inside her desk. Her anger and frustration as she recalled the words drove her fists into the avalanche of debris falling from above her.

"Dear Mariko-sensei,

In our short time together, I have come to admire and respect you deeply. But more than that, I realized that I like you, very much, and I would be very happy if you could start going out with me.

I understand that this may sound very selfish, and that it might cause a lot of problems for you, and I apologize for that. However, I will do my best to make it work if you want me to.

I look forward to your reply. If you find this distasteful, please let me know and I will not trouble you with the matter any more.

Yours sincerely,

Hino Teruyuki."

As the dust settled, it revealed Marika, hunched over and panting. Her knuckles were covered with blood (nothing a little UV lamp-time and fertilizer would not cure) and she looked like a zombie.

She closed her eyes, as though she had actually been hurt.

Why had he sent it on the last day of school?

Why had he not told her in person?

Why was she feeling so happy about this?

"God dammit," she whispered.

Hino Teruyuki

Teruyuki's encounter with that mysterious flower girl had been bizarre enough that he had almost written it off as a dream. Only his bruised back told him otherwise.

So if the bruise on his back was real, it meant that flower girl was real too. And if she was real, then what about the things she said?

Apparently, Sensei had some kind of personal problem, or a complicated situation, and she didn't want to get people in trouble because of it. And she knew cosplayers who could punch holes in brick walls.

Now, Teruyuki had broken boards and bricks during his promotion tests - here he glanced at the 1st-dan black belt which hung from his wall - but those were under controlled conditions. That tiny flower girl had casually punched a brick wall in annoyance and almost put her entire fist through it.

An amateur might have just written it all off as "oh, she must be skilled", but someone who actually had a measure of skill would understand exactly how difficult it was to pull off such stunts without breaking your wrists or hands.

So she's a black belt karate expert who goes around in a flower outfit and she's Sensei's friend? So Sensei isn't an ordinary high school teacher, then?

He imagined Mariko in a suit, pulling a shotgun out of a bouquet of roses at a funeral and gunning people down.

He imagined Mariko holding onto a helicopter landing skid with one hand and holding that flower girl with the other as they flew over an exploding military base.

He imagined Mariko controlling storms of razor-edged paper and fighting a resurrected villain while riding on top of a cruise missile.

Yeah right, he rolled his eyes. Still...

He lay back, wincing from the pain, and looked at his ceiling.

I hope she's okay.

Then, his phone vibrated - he had a message. It was from an unlisted number.

[01 Aug

Hey, kid. 2pm at Pier 7, at the docks. If you don't want to learn about Mariko, don't bother showing up.]

Teruyuki blinked.

"Wait, learn about Sensei?"

Then the phone vibrated again. Much like the one just now, it was from an unlisted number.

[01 Aug

This is the flower girl from yesterday. Call me Flower. If you don't show, then you'll never hear from me again.]

He looked at the time.

12 noon.

Teruyuki catapulted off the bed, already tearing his sweatshirt and sweatpants off.

"Mom! I'm heading out!" he shouted as he scrambled to throw something on.

Marika Fukuroi

Pier 7 at the docks was one of Marika's favorite places.

The docks themselves had closed down some time back, but the warehouses still remained. One good thing about warehouses was that they had big, spacious roofs where someone could just lie down and soak up the sun while napping.

The sound of seabirds from above and the soft lapping of waves from below combined into a soothing rhythm that lulled her to sleep. Marika had spent entire weekends here before, doing nothing but napping.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.

Her legs whirling like a tornado, she kipped herself up in a sweeping motion designed to clear away any nearby attackers before landing in a crouch, wary of any enemies.

Of course, there were none, but if there had been enemies there, they would be reeling back, and she would have bought herself time to attack or guard.

But she had not done that to fight hypothetical foes. It was because she had heard the sound of a very familiar gate opening - the rusted entrance to the closed-off Pier 7, which made a sound like a cat being beaten to death by a rubber chicken, run through a megaphone.

Marika turned to look in the distance, and a small smile grew on her face.

It's him!

Then she frowned.

No, I'm supposed to be scaring him away!

Hino Teruyuki

"God damn!" Teruyuki exclaimed, wincing as the horrific racket rang out from right beside his head.

The only thing worse than being deafened was being deafened by such a ghastly sound. Teruyuki rubbed his ears to try and get his hearing back, with some success.

So focused was he on doing so that he did not notice the girl who had appeared in front of him.

She was in the same outfit from yesterday, but the flower on her head now was a bluebell.

"Hah, the old intruder alarm. Better than a lock - anyone could bust through that gate, but this way you know they're coming!"

Teruyuki blinked, and looked down at the diminutive damsel.

"Ah... uh, hi. I'm Teruyuki, and you're Flower, right?"

"Damn straight," Marika nodded. "Come, have a seat. Time for questions!"

"Uh, sure," he said, following her to the edge of the pier, overlooking the water. The sea breeze was cool, taking the heat away from Teruyuki's face as he sat down beside her.

Their legs dangled over the water below. Marika kicked hers like a child.

"So, uh, about Sensei-"

"First things first, why did you leave Mariko that letter on the last day of school?"

"Um, I thought I was here to learn about Sensei?"

Marika scowled, and then she punched Teruyuki in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Listen, kid. Ground rules. I'm here on Mariko's behalf to see if you're worthy of going out with her. Which means, you fail my test and you've pretty much failed hers."

"But didn't you say I passed yes-"

"Quiet! That was then, this is now. Anyway, got it?"

Teruyuki still seemed a little confused, but he reasoned that anyone who knew so much about Mariko-sensei was... probably reliable.

Part of him wondered if he could trust this "Flower" person. She might just be a costumed weirdo fucking with him, after all.

Then again, she did know things nobody else should have any business knowing. So she was probably telling the truth about being Mariko-sensei's friend.

Also, he had heard of this thing called a "go-between" from his parents when they had arranged marriage meetings for his big sister. Maybe she worked like that.

In short, it was probably best to take her words at face value.

"Y-yes, Flower-san."

"Don't -san me, kid. Anyway. Why didn't you ask her in person? It was the last day of school and you two were the only people there. Why drop a letter like a coward? Why did you want to wait so long to be rejected?"

Teruyuki blushed, and he averted his gaze.

"Well, uh... um... I was kind of worried someone might see or overhear us talking. And I didn't want to put Sensei on the spot right away. I wanted to, you know, give Sensei time to decide. I don't want to hustle her into anything!"

Flower looked away, her hands bunching up into fists. She seemed to be breathing heavily, like she was having trouble reining in her anger. Teruyuki cringed.

Crap, did I make her mad?

Marika Fukuroi

Her chest was feeling tight, and it was getting hard to breathe. It was getting really hard to fight the urge to punch or kick something; the old reflex she fell into when she felt uncomfortable or dealt with stress.

For some reason, hearing him say all that made her very happy. It was like punching, but without the punching. It made her want to punch something to keep feeling it.

Ahhhhh, dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit, you're supposed to be in charge here!

After what seemed like forever, Marika managed to reorder her breathing, though her face still felt like it was on fire. She scowled to try and reassert dominance, and poked Teruyuki's firm belly.

"Yeah, right, you hustling her into anything. I guess that works as a reason. Next up! Don't you have some other girls in your class to be chasing?"

Teruyuki looked at Marika with a puzzled expression on his face, and then sighed quietly.

"They're... not like her."

"They're not awkward slobs who don't take care of themselves and have trouble talking to people?"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean..."

Teruyuki looked at Marika grinning at him and his face flushed red.

"Aw, come on!"

"Gahaha, you look so damn stupid!"

Marika laughed loudly as Teruyuki sighed.

"Hahhh... Well... "

Teruyuki looked up to the sky, a distant, wistful smile on his face.

"Sensei... she strikes me as something like a flower bud, you know. Like, there's someone great inside, waiting to come out. I don't see it in the other girls. They're all hurr, mobile game this and durr, did you hear about Kaori-chan and so on. But there's really nothing to them, when you think about it. I mean, I don't want to judge them, but they just don't interest me."

"And so you're interested in some expired woman with a permanent case of bed head."

"...Yes. Though, expired woman? I wouldn't put it that way. More like... I don't know, a fixer-upper?"

"You think she's a house or something, you little punk?!" Marika said, jabbing him again. "Still, you're one hell of a flatterer... so what's your endgame? If you just want to get in her pants, you're going to have to start by swimming back in to shore!"

Marika stood up. She looked like she was about to throw him bodily into the ocean if she did not get an answer which satisfied her.

"What? No! No... Well..."

Teruyuki looked down, his cheeks burning.

"It... it's not like the thought didn't occur to me, but..."

"You disgusting little perv! Well, I suppose that's men for you. Spit it out, but what?"

"...I mean, that's for later, right? After getting married?"

Marika froze.

Marriage?

Getting married?

To him?!

Now it was her turn to blush, largely because she was not entirely opposed to the idea either.

Marika sat back down, kicking her legs furiously. She did not dare meet his eyes lest he see her face.

"...So you'd be happy with a wife 10 years older than you?"

"I'd be happy with Mariko-sensei," Teruyuki replied calmly.

There was no embarrassment in those words; he spoke them, and owned them.

"I don't think age matters if we end up together," he continued.

"Age matters to society, though. You want her to be seen as a cradle-snatcher?"

That was a term she had picked up while trawling the internet about this situation. Cradle-snatcher, sugar mommy...

"Well, no... but I figured that the gap in years becomes less important the older you get. I know there's nothing I can do until I'm 18, at the very least... though I'd have more options by then, and I don't really think anyone can talk about what two adults decide to do of their own free will."

He had a point.

Marika sighed internally. Why was she going along with all this?

"Alright, so... fine, I guess you've earned a question. Ask."

"I... was wondering. I know she has a lot of flower accessories and she's part of the Garden Club, so... does she have a favorite flower?"

"Sunflower, dur," Marika replied without thinking.

"I see," Teruyuki smiled. "Yeah, she looks like she'd perk up if she got a bit more sun."

"So you're saying she's an indoors-dwelling light-phobe?!"

"Hey! You said that, not me!" Teruyuki said as he tried (and failed) to dodge more jabs from Flower.

And so they talked, and they talked.

The sun was setting by the time Teruyuki left. Marika looked down at the water, between her kicking legs.

Where had the time gone? Over three hours had passed before she knew it.

She imagined him sitting beside her again, and closed her eyes.

"Dammit," she whispered, and punched the pier.

Hino Teruyuki

[16 Aug

7pm, roof of the Daifuku Building. Use the fire escape. Be there OR ELSE. - Flower]

"What the fuck am I doing..." Teruyuki muttered as he climbed up through the cage of the ladder which led to the roof.

Flower had called him out to all sorts of exotic, secluded locales within the city over the past couple of weeks, but this was the first one - on top of the abandoned Daifuku building that overlooked the expressway - that actually seemed dangerous.

The cold night wind lashed him and made his body tremble. He was glad he'd dressed warmly, but now he regretted picking cotton gloves instead of leather gloves.

"Yo," Flower said, poking her head out above him.

Teruyuki jumped.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, but before he could fall, Flower reached down and grabbed his wrist

He could feel incredible strength in that tiny hand of hers.

She slowly pulled him up through the cage, and then he grabbed onto the edge of the roof and scrabbled fully on before throwing himself spreadeagled onto the roof.

"Dammit, I almost fell because of you!"

"Would you rather I hadn't caught you, then?"

Teruyuki thought about the uncovered fire escape stairs below and the twenty-odd floors between the roof and the ground.

The image of a watermelon splatting against the ground came to mind, and he frantically shook his head.

"Thank you for saving my life, Flower-sama!" he shouted with exaggerated pomp.

"Damn straight," she smiled, folding her arms.

As Teruyuki sat up, he noticed a daisy on her head.

"Say, those flowers on your head... I notice they change from time to time. What's with them?"

"They're none of your damn business," Flower pouted. "Come, sit with me!"

Teruyuki very nearly did not. After all, the place Flower indicated was the roof's parapet.

He did not consider himself to be afraid of heights, but looking down on twenty floors with nothing between oneself and a watermelony fate went a long way towards instilling fear in people.

However, Flower was Mariko-sensei's representative and besides, if he could not overcome his fear, he did not deserve to be with Mariko-sensei.

Every day was a struggle to be better than one's past self. He had to be the best he could be, for her.

Still, that did not mean he sat easily on the parapet. He leaned back as much as possible, trying to focus on the skies above instead of the light flashing by on the expressway below.

"You're such a scaredy-cat. Honestly, how do you expect to win over Mariko like that?" Marika frowned.

"Hey, I'm sitting here, aren't I?" Teruyuki replied testily. Then he sighed. "Yeah, I've got a long way to go."

"Yes, you do. Like, you won't be able to date her unless you can swim a mile out to sea to punch a whale."

"What. Seriously? She wants that out of a boyfriend?"

"Hah, scared? Then you'd better give up now!"

"No! I mean... wait, you're messing with me, aren't you?"

"That dumb face of yours never gets old," Marika smirked. "Okay, serious question. What would you do for Mariko? What would you give up for her?"

Teruyuki fell silent and looked out over the city. He had given that question some thought. He could say he was willing to dedicate his life to her, but that sort of hyperbole probably would not fly in front of Flower.

She was the sort of person who would gladly chop off someone's head if they said, "I'd rather die!"

Still, he was willing to give Mariko-sensei his life. He was willing to work for her and support her and stay with her. Of that he was certain.

Perhaps some might laugh at lifelong pledges of loyalty being born out of a mere month of acquaintance, but all lifelong pledges started with a single month, did they not?

If those people sneered at the idea that a lasting bond could form after only knowing for a month, then he would have to make them eat their words by seeing how devoted he could be.

...Well, provided she wanted it. Otherwise, he would just be inconveniencing her.

"That's a bit hard to answer, but I'd say; anything, within reason."

Flower fell silent.

"What if she told you to chop off your dick? What if she told you to die?"

"Wouldn't do it," Teruyuki replied simply.

"So you wouldn't do anything for her, then?"

"Anything, within reason."

"But that's not anything, is it?"

"Look, I know promising anything can lead to people asking for everything. I'll do as much as I can for her, but if she's just messing with me or using me, then she's not the Mariko-sensei I like."

"What if she were really like that? What if she were a reckless woman who dragged people into fights and got them hurt or killed? Could you go out with someone like that?"

Teruyuki sighed.

"Is it you saying that, or her?"

"Huh?"

"Because I get it, I really do. You drag me out to these places and keep needling me about being devoted and so on, and you say that if I don't show up I can forget about her. You say all that crap to make me feel inadequate so I'll give up. In other words, you don't want me around her. Fine, I can deal with that. But this is between me and Sensei, not you. And I'll tell you this right now; I won't give up, not until she tells me herself. And you can poison my name in front of her as much as you like, but I'm sure that she's a better judge of character than that."

"...And if she isn't?"

"Then she's not the Mariko-sensei I like."

Teruyuki got up and headed across the roof to the ladder. Flower stood on the parapet and shouted:

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Home. I've been coming to meet you to prove my sincerity and because you're saying you're a go-between. But if all you're doing is trying to scare me off and you won't give me a fair shake, then there's really no point going to all this trouble. Honestly, I'm starting to question her taste in friends at this point. See you, Flower. Or not."

"So you're just giving up?"

"On you."

"Wait. Wait!"

The sound of feet pattering across the roof, followed by a strong little hand seizing his wrist.

"What now?"

"Don't go. Please. Mariko would never forgive me if I drove you off. I'm sorry."

Teruyuki turned to look at Flower.

She seemed terribly small now. The hand holding his wrist was trembling, and she did not meet his gaze.

"I'm sorry. It's just... I don't want her to end up with a flake. I thought testing you and stuff was the way to go but… "

"Me neither," Teruyuki sighed. "I guess I can't blame you for being overprotective. Mariko-sensei must be really something if you're willing to go this far for her, huh?"

"Yeah," Marika nodded. She looked terribly vulnerable for a moment. Teruyuki reflexively patted her head... and then he froze as he heard her snarling.

"Don't push it," Marika growled.

But she did not let go of him.

Marika Fukuroi

They talked a bit more, mostly Marika sharing harmless details about Mariko. Those seemed to delight him. At Teruyuki's request, they sat down in the middle of the roof, where he would not need to look down.

When it was time to go, she helped Teruyuki down the cage.

She wanted to walk him down the fire escape ladders too, but he refused, saying, "If I don't overcome this myself, I won't be good enough for her."

So she let him go, watching him like a hawk every step of the way until he reached the ground safely.

He seemed to have noticed her looking, because he waved up to her.

She waved back.

And then, when he was on his way, Marika went back up to the roof and leaned against a wall, letting out the breath she had been holding until then.

Her body shuddered, her knees went weak, and she slid down the wall until she sat on the ground, taking big panting breaths of the cool night air.

She had been so afraid.

For some reason, the thought of Teruyuki hating her was now one of the most frightening things in the world.

He had called her bluff and she had lost. At this point, she was not sure how to scare him off any more.

I should just go with it, she thought. He really does have it together.

She lay back as she made that decision. It felt like a great weight had lifted off her shoulders.

[21 Aug

1pm. Hiratsuka Lake - Flower]

Hiratsuka Lake was a secluded place with hardly any visitors. Marika had apparently found a battered but serviceable two-man boat that they had rowed out into the center, and when they lay down, looking up at the sky, it seemed as though they were the only two people in the world.

After that night on the Daifuku building, scaring him off had turned into just hanging out with him, and hanging out with him had become a lot more fun.

Both of them seemed to enjoy that change.

"So where do you find all these weird places, anyway?"

"Exploring. Dur. Lots of places to see if you don't hang around places with people."

"Yeah, people are overrated," Teruyuki replied. "Best to just have two people sharing each other's' company."

"You mean like us?" Marika giggled, making the yellow camellia on her head shake.

Being around Teruyuki brought a strange calm to her heart. Sure, she could punch things, but... she didn't want to.

Spending the afternoon idling with him would be so much better.

"I suppose you wouldn't be too bad if I didn't already have Mariko-sensei in my heart... "

"You know, that line is corny as all hell, but coming from you, I could almost believe it."

"You can call me the popcorn man, then. Do you like it salty or sweet?' Teruyuki grinned.

Marika did not answer. Instead, she stood up, and, walked over him.

Teruyuki was polite enough to look away so he did not see up her legs.

"What do you want?"

"Scooch over. I want to lie down next to you."

"...Could you not? Please?"

"Why?"

"I want to date Mariko-sensei. It would get weird if I got between the two of you."

"Why not date both of us?"

"Would either of you be able to accept that? Wouldn't you get jealous?"

Marika pouted.

"You really are a goody-two-shoes, aren't you?"

"Just trying to do right by you guys."

"It'll be our little secret. Nobody would know but you and me."

"You'd know. I'd know. Heaven would know. The Earth would know. Besides, I don't want to cheat on Mariko-sensei with a close friend of hers. Especially someone she trusts enough to vet me."

Marika was silent. She walked back to her side of the boat and buried her burning cheeks in her knees.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Hm?"

"Is there anything you can do with me that wouldn't count as cheating?"

"Well, I can't touch you, I can't give you anything, I can't promise you anything either, meeting you at these places aside..."

Teruyuki's voice trailed off, and Marika sighed.

"...A song, then?"

"Hm? Would that be alright?" Marika asked.

Weren't you supposed to sing to your beloved?

"If talking were against the rules I'd be cheating on her twenty times over. Besides, I suppose it should be okay if I do it for the purpose of showing you that I can sing."

"...Huh, I guess that works. What song is it?"

"Something simple. Let me think."

Teruyuki was silent for a while. Then:

"You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are grey

You'll never know dear

How much I love you

Please don't take

My sunshine away..."

Marika closed her eyes. It felt as though there were a little sun in her heart. pumping warmth through her veins with every beat. She lay back to fully relax herself, and she had no idea how much time passed before she asked:

"...That sounded like something you'd sing to her."

"Yeah," Teruyuki replied. "Sorry, I ended up thinking of her instead."

"No, no, that's fine. If she were here, I'm sure she'd be overjoyed."

Marika was glad that they were lying down with their heads pointing at each other.

That way he would not see the beaming smile on her face.

Himekawa Koyuki

Koyuki sighed.

She had gotten herself all dressed up for tea with the girls, and at the last minute they had all cancelled at the same time.

[27 Aug

Sorry, I can't make it, my grandma just got warded!]

[27 Aug

I'm not feeling too good, I've got to give today a miss. Sorry.]

[27 Aug

My aunt paid a surprise visit from H-city and I've been roped in to welcome her! I can't make it, sorry!]

She looked at her watch: 2:50pm.

I guess I'll just have a drink and-

"...Himekawa-san? "

"Hm?"

Koyuki looked up from her table, and saw a tall, dark-skinned boy in casual dress. He looked quite athletic under his clothes, but his face was unremarkable as it looked down at her.

She had no idea who he was, however.

"...Yes, I'm Himekawa Koyuki. And you might be?"

"Ah! Sorry about that. I'm Hino Teruyuki, from the same school as you, second year. I heard from a friend of a friend that you're totally into Magical Girls..."

"I suppose I was, at one point..."

"Does that mean you could identify a Magical Girl if I gave you a description? Been reading about them recently, and I think I know one..."

Koyuki raised an eyebrow. Big guy like him, into Magical Girls?

Still, if it was just identifying one, it probably would not hurt. No harm indulging him.

"I suppose I could, yes."

"Thank you! Anyway..."

It was a good thing that Koyuki had not taken a sip of her ice coffee before listening to Teruyuki. Otherwise she would have wasted it in a spit-take.

Marika!

There was nobody else it could be, and apparently she had been talking to Teruyuki for nearly a month now. And if he was asking people on the street about her...

This is bad. I need to find out more.

Of course, she did not out Marika. Her identity was so close to her Magical Girl name that it might cause problems if Teruyuki started blabbing about her.

Instead, she carefully probed about "Flower", and she resisted the urge to palm her face when Teruyuki revealed that they had been talking regularly.

But why would she do that?

Koyuki had the feeling that Snow White would need to do some sleuthing.

Snow White

After Teruyuki left, Himekawa Koyuki took on the form of Snow White, and began stalking him.

It was… informative, to say the least.

Of course, to Snow White, it was a big problem.

Marika was dangerously close to breaking the laws of secrecy that prohibited the revelation of Magical Girls to the world.

Lawbreakers were rogues.

Snow White, the Magical Girl Hunter, hunted rogues.

If they judged Marika guilty, then in all likelihood, they would have Snow White try to bring Marika in.

Emphasis on try.

Even underground, in a sealed concrete bunker far from water and soil, Marika had been strong enough to cut a swathe through hordes of Shufflin, and she had managed to obliterate entire suits and the deadly Ace of Spades by herself near the end.

Fal himself had summed it up perfectly the first time they had met on the school rooftop - "In the event of a fight, you lose every time-pon!"

So Snow White wanted to avoid fighting, as much as possible.

[28 Aug

We need to talk. 7pm. School Rooftop.]

Snow White had sent that message three hours ago.

Fal had been vehemently against it.

"I don't think Marika is a bad person-pon. But, around this Hino guy... she might be unstable-pon. Maybe even less stable than normal-pon."

Keek, for all her flaws, deserved praise for redesigning Fal.

Even if she had somehow been unable to hear his mental distress about her walking into potential danger, Snow White would still be able to hear the plaintive notes in his electronic voice,

"We don't have a choice, Fal. If we stand aside now, something worse might happen. And if she ends up breaking the laws of the Land of Magic..."

If she went rogue…

Snow White closed her eyes.

She had to believe.

Marika had lived as Marika Fukuroi for most of her life. And why not? Marika was strong. Marika was fun. Marika could do all the things Mariko could not do.

Mariko had become Marika at a very young age. Children were not known for their self-control. Obviously, Mariko ran wild as Marika. She was very experienced at being Marika. See a problem, punch it! See a friend, punch them! They're friends, after all! They can take a ribbing, can't they?

But of course, there was a price for that.

Marika had lived as Marika Fukuroi for most of her life. She was very experienced at being Marika.

In exchange, she was very bad at being Mariko. She did not function well in normal human society; either missing social cues which would otherwise have been natural, or showing the wrong ones and subtly upsetting others.

That much was obvious from the first time she had grabbed Koyuki's arm in the hallway. She did not know how to talk to people in ways that did not involve punching them. Well, she was trying, and to some extent, it was working. It helped that she had a class and she was observant.

However, human interaction also included the possibility of falling in love, something which Marika was ill-equipped to deal with.

Snow White was out of the question, of course. But the only other person that Marika had connected to was... Hino Teruyuki. After talking to him, she immediately understood why Marika had fallen for him. He was so pleasant to be around that it was unreal. Just talking to him - just being near him lifted one's spirits.

Snow White had the sinking feeling that whatever she did, she was going to hurt someone.

Worse, imagining the two of them together reminded her of herself and Sou-chan, and what could have been.

Did she have the right to break them up?

She had asked herself that question countless times on the way in, but the only answer she could think of was a photograph of herself and Sou-chan, and a pair of hands tearing it in half.

Snow White felt the back of her nose filling up with a bitterness which came from the core of her heart.

"Snow White, are you alright-pon?" Fal asked. She was breathing heavily all of a sudden and her heart was racing, but she had not been exerting herself.

"I'm fine, Fal," she said quietly.

Fal

That was a lie. Even Fal could tell that.

Her voice was pained, yet Fal did not detect any injury.

For whatever reason, Snow White hurt in a way that no physical method could detect.

That made him angry. Snow White gave so much of herself. She gave and gave and gave until there was nothing left. Like a pile of breadcrumbs, she threw herself into a pond and let the koi tear her apart until there was nothing left.

It was not fair. She deserved to be happy.

And now, there was this.

Fal did not understand why Snow White was doing this. If she wanted to tell Marika to cease and desist, she could have just sent a text message. Why did she have to make such a risky move like this?

Some things were beyond Fal's comprehension. All he could do was trust in his Mistress to do the right thing.

"We're close-pon," Fal said.

It was an entirely meaningless statement. Snow White had eyes, and this was her school. There was no way she would not know that she was approaching it.

Still, he wanted to break the silence.

However, his mistress' response was a whispered, "Oh dear."

Fal panicked for a moment. However, that was only in human terms. For an electronic being like Fal, who operated on nanosecond timeframes, that moment passed like an eternity.

"What is it-pon?' he managed to ask.

"She's singing."

Marika Fukuroi

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine / You make me happy, when skies are gray..."

Marika hummed the rest as she twirled on the roof. The flower on her head was... different.

It had six yellow petals under a central yellow cup, almost like a teacup on a saucer. It seemed to glow in the moonlight, and it radiated an enchanting lemony fragrance.

Jonquil, the rush daffodil. Narcissus assoanus. A perennial bulbous plant native to Spain and France, now naturalized in Turkey.

In some cultures, it represented the feeling of desire. Specifically, the desire for affection to be returned... and for requited love.

"Ah, Magical Girl Hunter!" Marika beamed as the other magical girl touched down on the roof. "Hey, what's up?"

Marika was usually the one who chatted up Snow White, but she had not done so since the last day of the semester.

At first, it was simply because she did not know how to approach Snow White about it. How could she tell a student that one of her students had a crush on her, and worse, she actually felt partial to him?

Snow White would surely be disgusted. She would be labelled a sex maniac in addition to a regular battle maniac. She did not mind the latter title, but the former might even drive Teruyuki away from her.

Ahhh, I'm calling him Teruyuki~

For some reason, that made her very happy. In fact, she had been very happy ever since she had started chatting with him in the persona of Flower. Even her mother had noticed when her hitherto shut-in daughter started asking for advice on makeup and clothing and spas. It delighted her to no end, and Mariko was sincerely glad that she might be able to introduce someone to her for once.

However...

He really is too young, huh. I want to make it work, and so does he... but I guess the problem is whether or not society will let it work...

"Ah, what am I thinking! Anyway! What's up, Magical Girl Hunter~"

That sobering thought was what she needed to cool her head. She would not have done so otherwise.

"Hello, Marika. I know what you're thinking, and I have to tell you right now that you need to stop."

Snow White's words were cold and sharp. Much like the edge of her halberd, Ruler.

Which, Marika noted, she was not carrying.

The fact that she even noticed that was because what Snow White had said to her was like up-ending a bucket of ice water over her head. It snapped her completely out of her daze, and allowed her to focus.

"Say what?"

"I spoke with Hino-san yesterday. He told me about meeting a certain magical girl called Flower-san, and given the description, it could not be anyone else but you."

"Wait, you-"

"I followed him for a while after that, and I picked up his thoughts."

"You spoke with-"

Koyuki Himekawa.

Snow White.

Spoke With.

Hino Teruyuki.

Marika's vision went blank for a moment. Her hands balled into fists and she bared her teeth in a savage snarl.

How dare she!

How dare she touch her Teruyuki!

Even Fal could sense the wave of aggression rolling out from Marika. It was an almost tangible distortion in the air that emanated from where Marika was trembling in place, every muscle in her body tensed and straining.

For a moment, she looked less like a magical girl than a monster.

Snow White winced against the onslaught of emotion that boiled out of Marika. Anger, jealousy, resentment... and fear.

Fear that she would have to part with Teruyuki.

Fear that someone else would take him away.

Fear that she would never find someone else like him again.

"Snow White, this is bad-pon! You should get-"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

The jonquil petals fell from Marika's head like a rain of gold, and a new flower bloomed in its place.

Ever since the battle in the underground facility, Marika had been researching flowers. Mimi, Filuru, Cherry, so many had died because she had been weak.

She needed sunlight, water and earth to reach her full potential. Without it, she had let her team members down, and they had paid the ultimate price for her weakness.

She owed it to them to come through, but she had been too weak.

Complaining about the circumstances was also weakness.

She would never be weak again.

This was one of the new flowers she had come up with. It was less dramatic than the Sunflower Cannon, Genocide Orca, Blazing Gerbera and so on; but it was very effective, and it did not drain her as much as the other "finishing move" flowers she had.

"Tiger Lily!"

Lilium bulbiferum. A herbaceous European lily with underground bulbs, belonging to the Liliaceae family.

In the Japanese hanakotoba, it meant: hatred, and revenge.

The flower which bloomed on her head sprouted long vines which extended down her head and body and twined around her 's forearms and legs changed color, striping like a tiger's coloration as the vines wove themselves around her limbs like gloves and boots.

However, the vines throbbed with barely restrained power, and then the tips of her fingers and toes sprouted razor-sharp thorns, like animal claws

The Tiger Lily served both as a striking weapon, and as a powered exoskeleton; boosting Marika's strength, speed and toughness in general rather than producing a single powerful attack like her other flowers. This ensured she could fight more effectively and for a longer duration.

With a throaty roar that sounded like a tiger's, Marika sprang at Snow White.

Fal

So fast.

Marika did not seem to cover the intervening space between them so much as just flash into existence beside Snow White.

For a moment Fal wondered if the Tiger Lily flower allowed Marika to teleport, but judging by the changes it had made to her body, it seemed to be a general-purpose close-combat flower that boosted physical attributes and conferred claws on its user.

Marika was already insanely fast and strong, and this flower doubled down on it.

Snow White did not even have Ruler out.

There was no way Snow White could win this battle.

Fal had to do something. He could not let her die here.

Not over something is pointless as this.

However, he was a digital avatar in a magical phone. What could he do?

A couple of options presented themselves.

1. Call for external help.

2. Try to help Snow White.

Option 1 would blow things up, and in all likelihood they would all be taken in by the Land of Magic. That would be bad. There would most likely be memory wipes all around, which was about as bad as death. Plus, it would not actually do anything to keep Snow White from getting hurt right now.

Option 2 was... well, it seemed like a good one. Fal might not have a body, but that did not imply he was completely useless in a fight.

Even a digital fairy had things which they (and only they) could do.

More to the point, he had promised himself to trust his mistress before this.

He had to trust that his Mistress knew when talking was pointless.

Marika Fukuroi

Marika's Magical Phone rang.

She ignored it. She had helped Cranberry develop that signature move of hers. She had watched Cranberry distract Mao Pam with it.

Even if the user was different, even if the methodology was different, the principle was still the same.

Being hoist by her own petard would be a shame that would live in infamy.

Anger doubled and redoubled her speed, and she clawed-

-And struck air.

Well, not quite. Her upper arm hit Snow White in the shoulder, drawing a squeak of pain, but Snow White had managed to slip inside Marika's reach and get a hold on her.

Marika was stunned.

She had stepped in at maximum speed, maximum power, and then gone even faster and harder than that, with a strike that should have cleaved straight through a half-meter concrete wall.

If Snow White had done anything but what she did - if she had stepped back, or to the sides, or wasted a precious moment drawing Ruler - her entire torso would have been ripped open in a fountain of gore.

Instead-

She had lunged in with all her strength, put her arms around Marika's chest, so her hands met behind the other Magical Girl's back, and - hugged her.

"He loves you," Snow White whispered. "And he's worried for you."

Marika's mind went blank. Her body went limp. It was as though her brain had crashed, and it was slowly rebooting.

"He knows it's foolhardy. He's worried his parents will disapprove; that his friends will mock him for it. But he doesn't care. He really is that devoted to you. He's planned it all out, he's worrying about even the smallest details. He will do it. He will give everything for you."

That's... just like him... Marika thought.

She recalled their conversations, the ones where "Flower's" eyes had glazed over as he narrated all those details to him and she had to actually ask him to stop and enjoy the sunrise.

And then she realised what she had done.

She had attacked Snow White.

She had almost killed Snow White.

She had almost killed the only other friend she had made in the world besides Mimi.

Despair closed over Marika like a tidal wave, and her rage drowned in it.

The Tiger Lily on her head crumbled, and her limbs returned to normal. The hand sticking out past Snow White's shoulder trembled, and then it too, reverted to how it had originally been.

Mariko Fukuroi

"I'm sorry," Mariko sobbed into Snow White's hair. "I'm so sorry."

Their positions were a little awkward now that Snow White was embracing Mariko instead of Marika Fukuroi. Where Marika was shorter than Snow White, Mariko was taller, so Snow White's face was buried in Mariko's chest instead.

Snow White breathed a sigh of relief.

She had made a series of gambles back there.

She had chosen to go in without Ruler, both as a friendly gesture... and to allow her to shorten her reach.

She had chosen to step into the swing of the fastest attack she had ever seen in all her combat experience, knowing that a single mistake meant serious injury or death.

She had trusted in the better nature of Marika Fukuroi, that she was merely lashing out in desperate fear instead of genuine bloodlust.

And it had all paid off.

Well, being able to listen to Marika's thought processes had helped, but all the information in the world did not help unless one was willing to act on it.

And in all honesty, Marika's thoughts were basically worrying for Teruyuki - and then, even more worry for Snow White.

Snow White smiled to herself. Marika came off as so abrasive... but she was still Mariko deep down, and Mariko was one of the kindest people she knew.

After all, who else but a kind person could raise all those flowers, even if it was just to study them?

"Please don't hate me," Mariko whispered.

"I won't." Snow White replied in soothing tones. "There, there."

If either of them found it strange that Snow White was patting a woman a decade older than herself on the back like she was a distraught child, neither of them showed it.

"But... you know, right? Just thinking of him with someone else can set you off now. And this is just during the holidays. Can you imagine how bad it'll be when the next semester starts?"

Mariko froze. The thought of Teruyuki talking to other girls, being attracted to other girls, girls who were his age, whom his parents and peers would approve of, who were prettier and more articulate and charming than she was...

She squeezed her eyes shut, and twin rills of tears leaked from the corner of her eyes.

"It won't happen," Snow White said, as she read Mariko's thoughts. "He won't stray. He will never stray. I've never seen such a fierce and steady will before. But... it doesn't matter what he thinks in this case, does it? You're not a bad person, but you can be reckless at times. You know what happens when you're reckless."

Mariko shuddered, and Snow White saw inside her mind. Snow White. Styler Mimi. Prism Cherry - all covered in blood.

It overlapped with her own nightmares: Sou-chan's monochrome portrait at his closed-casket funeral. Hatoda Ako - Hardgore Alice - dying in the rain.

"And then, there's the fact that we're Magical Girls, and he's just a regular human being. We can't... we shouldn't involve them in what we do. Help them, yes. Watch and protect from the shadows, yes. But if we get them involved..."

"I know that..." Mariko whispered.

Snow White squeezed Mariko, and Mariko hugged Snow White back.

"You know we need to draw a line between ourselves as humans and ourselves as Magical Girls."

Marika understood. Her choleric attitude had made her enemies, many of whom were weaker than her. They could not beat her in face to face combat, so they would surely try unconventional tactics.

If they knew she had a thing for Teruyuki, and if they went after her through him...

"I don't want to hurt him," Mariko said.

"I know you don't. But the world isn't as kind as you are."

"I don't care about the world if I can be with him."

"And I know he feels the same way. But like it or not, you two have to live in the world. He does, at the very least."

"I'm afraid that I won't be strong enough to protect him. I couldn't even protect Mimi, and she was a Magical Girl. And I know for sure that I'm not strong enough to cope with losing him."

"Be that as it may, that may happen someday."

"I don't know if I can tell him, not like this. I've always been talking to him as Flower. Flower is strong. Flower can say all the things Mariko can't."

"And Flower is Mariko's friend, to him, at least. He won't get any closure, unless you tell him. And you won't get any closure either, unless you tell him."

"But I love him so much," Mariko breathed.

She sounded like she was squeezing those last two words out.

"And that's why you have to let him go," Snow White answered.

Mariko's only answer was a silent sob.

Fal

"I don't believe it-pon," Fal said as they bounced from tree to tree on the way home. "You beat Marika-pon."

"I didn't beat her," Snow White replied. "I helped a friend. She was just... confused, that's all."

"But... she was so fast-pon. I didn't think she'd be capable of such speed, even..."

"Fal, you did that thing with her Magical Phone, right?"

There was a brief silence, and then an embarrassed reply.

"...Yes-pon."

"You did the right thing. Thank you."

"But she sped up after the ring tone-pon! I made it worse-pon! I could have gotten you killed-pon!"

"No, first of all, you kept this between two friends instead of exposing it to the Land of Magic. That's one thing. Another is that by making her speed up, you forced her to commit completely to the attack so she couldn't respond to my hug with anything else."

Snow White had seen pictures of the Ace of Spades Shufflin after Marika had gone through it with the Genocide Orca.

She was no stranger to bloody battles, but even that sent chills down her spine.

"And finally... I know you did it because you believed in me. Thank you, Fal."

"...I'm ashamed-pon. I'm just glad you're okay-pon."

"And I will be, as long as you're with me."

Snow White smiled. It was such a cheesy line! Yet it felt so appropriate here.

"Let's go back. There's one last thing we have to do before it's over."

Hino Teruyuki

Teruyuki took a deep breath, drawing the chill air into his lungs, and then he exhaled in a plume of vapor.

He did this a few more times, trying to vent the nervous energy and tension inside himself.

It worked. A little.

His face felt incredibly hot, and he was pretty confident it was not because he was wearing the school's full winter uniform. His heart was pounding hard enough that he could feel it in his fingers and toes.

A message had come from Flower today.

[29 Aug

8 tonight at the park. The flower clock. Dress up. - Flower.]

Teruyuki was puzzled. He understood the time and the directions, but what did dressing up mean?

In all their meetings before this, Flower had never asked him to dress up.

That implied today was important. But what could it mean?

Did she have something to tell him?

Truth to be told, she was a pretty nice person. While his heart already belonged to Mariko-sensei, he still enjoyed their chats.

Hopefully they could all go on those chats together if things worked out with Mariko-sensei.

His thoughts went back to the "dressing up" part. Fancy dress? Something branded? Full western suit?

The first seemed right out for the park, and he did not have a suit. Still, he was clearly expected to be well-dressed, so obviously he needed something that could pass muster at a black tie event.

He looked through his scant wardrobe, wondering if he should use some of his savings to buy better clothes.

In the end, he decided against it. It was a longshot, but if Mariko-sensei said yes, they might need all the money they could get for a new home or expenses. Yes, he was being entirely premature, but all the same, every little bit counted.

And so, Teruyuki had gotten out of the train and walked up to the surface exit next to the park, dressed in the school's winter uniform. He had removed his badge and his school tie, replacing it with a generic black tie and a small flower in his breast pocket.

Since he could not afford a formal tuxedo, he had instead chosen the next best thing; the school uniform, complete with blazer, but with enough identifying marks removed that nobody would be able to easily identify him.

Several people seemed to be commenting on his appearance as they milled around him, but he paid them no heed.

The only other thing which existed in this world was the entrance to the park, less than a hundred meters away.

A heavy silence seemed to settle around the world, muffling sounds and random snatches of conversation until the only thing he could hear was a heavy pounding in his chest.

It got faster when he thought about why he was here.

Okay. You can do this.

He was never very good at lying to himself.

Still, whether or not he managed to make himself comfortable about it, he was going to do it anyway.

The soles of his loafers clicked on the cold stone floor as he walked into the park.

For some reason there were few visitors, and nobody looked at him as he stalked purposefully into its depths.

He passed bushes, benches, went over a small bridge, under an arched vine trellis, and then he was within the park's garden area.

The garden was walled off from the rest of the park by high hedges. Within it were concentric rings of flower beds, planted by color and separated by type, with footpaths running through them for access to the center of the garden, where a small hillock was decorated by an elaborate flower clock.

The clock read: 7:55.

Oh good, I'm early.

Teruyuki sighed in relief, and then walked up to the clock, past rows and rows of multicolored blossoms

In truth, he was beginning to feel a little light-headed. All this was quite unusual, and the stress was starting to get to him.

Flower usually asked to meet him in secluded places where they would talk. The middle of the park garden was anything but secluded, though.

What on earth did she have in mind?

Flower had never played him false. She looked weird, she was mysterious, she had even been a jerk at first, but she had always been where she said she would be.

All the same, Teruyuki could not help but think that there was something she had not told him.

"Teruyuki."

His breath caught in his throat.

That voice!

Could it be?

Teruyuki whirled, so quickly the flower in his breast pocket nearly fell off from the force of his turning.

What he saw there was beyond his wildest imaginations.

Mariko Fukuroi

She had spent all day preparing for this.

Spa in the morning. Manicure in the afternoon. Hairstyling in the evening. Coincidentally enough, all three of them were located in the same building, just one block away from the park.

The idea was that she would walk right out of the salon and to her meeting, before time and the world could wreak havoc on the facade she was taking so much effort to craft.

She had already bought new clothes for this, spent an entire afternoon trying on new pieces to make sure she looked good.

She had even borrowed an ultrasonic cleaner to ensure what few pieces of jewellery she did have were polished to immaculate cleanliness.

Mariko lamented Mimi's passing, even more than before. Mimi would surely know how to make her look good. In lieu of that, she had to rely on her mom (who was only too glad to help change her daughter's self-image) and several fashion magazines.

Deep inside, she worried that it was not enough. It seemed strange, considering the ultimate objective of what she intended to do here, but since she had told Teruyuki that they would be meeting in this place, she wanted to give this everything she had.

Mariko Fukuroi was a weak-willed woman. Clothes, makeup and accessories were the armor and weapons which would bolster her flagging spirit. It was not to nurture her pride, but to ensure she could say what she could say without breaking down on the spot.

It was also to show the man she loved the lengths she was willing to go to for him.

The effect of her makeover was immediate and dramatic. When she stepped out of the salon, every single person on the street, man and woman both, turned to look at her as she strode down the sidewalk, resplendent in her final decisive battle panoply. There were gasps, winces as girlfriends pinched gawking boyfriends, whispers of awe, and shutters clicking as people took pictures of the goddess that had deigned to briefly grace their streets. There were even a couple of brake screeches as distracted motorists nearly crashed into other vehicles because they had their eyes on her instead of on the road.

Mariko paid them all no heed. She was grappling with a more fearsome foe - herself. The pounding of her heart echoed in her ears and the rarely-felt feeling of anxiety now raged full force in the pit of her stomach.

Struggling to keep her treacherous body under control, she walked into the park, and toward the garden.

Teruyuki was there, just like he said he would be.

Mariko called his name.

Hino Teruyuki

She's beautiful.

That was the first and only thought which looped through Teruyuki's mind for what seemed like an eternity before he realised that he was goggling at her like some lovestruck idiot.

Mariko's messy long hair was typically tangled and a little frizzy with split ends. By that definition, he was not looking at Mariko's hair. Whatever had been done to it had rendered it almost perfectly straight, with a slight wave, and a lustrous shine like that of a black pearl.

It flowed free behind her, framing a face which seemed to have been completely retextured with a perfect complexion, her pale skin graced by just a hint of blush and enough red lipstick to make her thin lips stand out against the rest of her face.

Her brown eyes were highlighted by a faint purple eyeshadow, and her eyebrows had been neatly pencilled. A lick of mascara ensured that her eyelashes were suitably feathered.

Mariko Fukuroi normally wore glasses, but not today. Her new contact lenses were uncomfortable, but she bore with them.

Her simple diamond earrings glittered like stars against the endless black depths of her hair, and her gold necklace patterned after leaves and vines) adorned her slender neck as though it had been painted on.

And then, there was her clothing.

Under normal circumstances, Mariko would be considered lanky, perhaps awkward. Most of that came from the fact that she typically threw on a shapeless blouse and a frumpy skirt which made her look like a potato.

Tonight, however, she had transformed from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan. She wore a long-sleeved grey polo neck which accentuated the slimness of her limbs and the curves of her waist and her upper body. She had a long black skirt on below that which clung to her long, coltish legs, ending in a pair of high heels.

It was as though someone had taken a chisel to the lump of marble that was Mariko Fukuroi and uncovered a statue of Undine Rising From The Waters.

Teruyuki had always known something like this lay within the facade his homeroom teacher put up, but seeing it in the flesh took his breath away. It was the difference between seeing pictures of a waterfall and standing above a roaring waterfall which traced rainbows in the sunlight.

"Flower set this meeting up," she began, "And I'm glad you came here today."

"Sensei-"

"Call me Mariko," she replied in a quiet, somewhat hoarse voice. "Right here, right now, I am Mariko, and you are Teruyuki."

Teruyuki swallowed. Surely that meant-

She wanted to talk to him as an equal. That meant that she now recognized him as a man who could speak on even terms to herself as a woman.

True love was a partnership between equals.

Was that what she had in mind?

"Yes... Mariko."

"Flower has been telling me a bit about what you two have been talking about, but I want you to tell me with your own mouth. That letter you put on my desk on the last day of the semester... Were you serious about what you said back then?"

His tongue seemed to swell in his mouth. Of course he meant it! Every day had passed like a decade and he had longed for the next semester to start just to catch another glimpse of her.

He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, how much he wanted to hold her hand and see her smile and make everything right.

But... it would do him no good to lose control here. He was not an impulsive lovesick kid (alright, maybe he was, a little). He had to be more than that to be worthy of her.

That meant a calm, rational, mature answer, saying exactly what was needed, without gushing like a fountain.

"Yes. I meant every word."

And cut.

Now, he had to wait.

Mariko Fukuroi

She could not do it.

She had been psyching herself up all day for this and she still could not do it.

Teruyuki was not the most handsome of men - if a high school junior could be considered a man - but his earnest face and forthright demeanor counted for a lot. He was clearly wearing their school's uniform - how many people must have stared at him for it? - but he had clearly gone to great lengths to ensure that it would pass inspection by even the strictest of discipline masters.

After all, there was no harsher inquisitor than oneself when one sought to impress their beloved.

And on his breast pocket -

No. He didn't...

Mariko closed her eyes and took a breath.

Sunflower. Helianthus annuus, of the family Asteraceae. A genus of around 70 species, all native to North America except for 3 species, which had come from South America.

In hanakotoba, it meant: respect, passionate love, and radiance.

She felt her cheeks burning, and her eyes begin to swell.

This was too much for her. How could she do this? How could she reject that conviction, those hopeful eyes of his?

Snow White had confirmed it, and she had felt it, both as Mariko and Marika Fukuroi.

He loved her, just as she did him.

How many people went through life without ever finding love? How many people missed their chance to connect thanks to the vagaries of fate? Finding one's partner was as miraculous as two floating acorns bumping to each other when thrown into the ocean.

And now that she had found someone who was right for her, she had to tell him to leave?

It was not fair.

Life was not fair.

Good people died, bad people lived, and there was no rhyme or reason to it.

Sometimes, you ran through a battlefield, trailing people behind you, and then you looked back and found that they had fallen.

Marika was tough… but the same could not be said of the people she dragged in her wake.

And then, she thought of Mimi.

What would she have said?

Probably the same thing as Snow White, Mariko thought, and then, she sighed deeply.

If she truly wanted to keep him safe, she would not involve him with herself.

"Teruyuki," she said, and he immediately straightened up. "I am flattered, and honored that you have decided to devote your attention to me. I want you to know that I feel the same way about you."

Someone took a breath.

Someone gulped.

Was it him, or her?

"I wish... I wish I had met someone like you earlier. I really do. And even now, I am very happy that I have met you now. I want you to understand that I am not doing this because I dislike you. On the contrary, it hurts me to say this. However, my situation is... complicated, and I cannot involve you in it. It would not be fair."

Teruyuki closed his eyes, like he was in pain. Then he nodded.

Speaking to him as a man... also meant that she could reject him as a woman. She was not dismissing him because he was an impertinent schoolboy, but because she had taken a long, hard look at their respective situations, factored in their mutual attraction, and then decided that it would not work out.

That did not make it hurt any less, though.

"Yes, Mariko. I understand."

"We cannot be together. Not while we are teacher and student. And perhaps not even when we are not. I am so sorry to have to tell you this, Teruyuki. I really am."

Every breath Mariko took was like freezing razors down the furnace of her throat. Her eyes felt like she had gone a dozen rounds with a heavyweight boxer.

Tears were welling inside, waiting to flow.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Not in front of him. I can't show him that part of me.

Because if I cry, and he comes to hold me... I may never be able to push him away again.

Mariko turned aside, unable to look directly at Teruyuki. This exposed the floral ornament behind her ear that had been hidden by her lush black hair.

Teruyuki sighed as he saw it. He had known this would happen, but for some reason, seeing it seemed to officially signal the end of the wonderful dream he had enjoyed for nearly two months.

Red Spider Lily. Lycoris radiata, in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Originally from China, Korea and Nepal, it was later introduced to Japan and the United States.

In hanakotoba, it meant: never to meet again, lost memory and abandonment.

"Thank you for telling me, Mariko. I hope your situation changes someday."

Teruyuki exhaled the tension within him in a plume of steam, and bowed deeply to Mariko.

Mariko breathed out as well, and did the same to Teruyuki.

They stayed like that for a while, and then they straightened up.

After that, they parted in silence.

Snow White

Snow White had been watching the events from the shadows of a tree branch. She sighed as Mariko and Teruyuki left.

She would really rather not things have come to this.

She and Fal were not just here for moral support, but to serve as witnesses. This way, she had concrete proof that Mariko was actively trying to keep her identity secret in case someone from the Land of Magic tried to use this against Marika.

Even so, it hurt to watch them part.

"Did you get that on record, Fal?"

"Yes-pon. Insurance against blackmail-pon. And I think you qualify as an expert witness if it comes down to it-pon."

"Thank you, Fal. Let's give Marika some time to be alone before we join her."

"Join her-pon?'

"We're her friends, aren't we?"

Himekawa Koyuki

After sending the message, Snow White and Fal leapt off the tree and quickly circled around to their next stop.

Said stop was a shaded alcove where she could become Koyuki. It also put them in a perfect position to "accidentally" run into Teruyuki, who was walking slowly through the park, his hands in his pockets and his head held high.

He was looking up so the tears would not spill out of his eyes, and whistling "Sukiyaki" through a stuffy nose.

Therefore, it took him a few seconds before he realised there was a girl standing in front of him.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Miss… oh, Himekawa-san! Hey..."

"Good evening, Hino-kun. Is… something wrong?"

Idle pleasantries, but she had to go through them lest he get suspicious.

"Actually... yes," Teruyuki nodded. "I just got rejected by the most wonderful woman in the world. Well, I guess it was unavoidable. I'm just a random kid, it's not like it would ever have worked out."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Koyuki asked. "I'm sorry if it isn't any of my business."

Teruyuki was silent for a while, still looking up. Eventually, he replied:

"Nah, it's okay. Well, maybe I can talk a little. See, she dumped me because she said she had a complicated situation. She didn't tell me the details, but it sounded like it was really hard on her. I wish I could help with it."

"Even after she dumped you?"

"Himekawa-san, I'm not going to stop loving her just because of that. I know she's doing this because she either doesn't want to hurt me, or she doesn't want me to regret this. She's free to do that, because it's a two-way street, you know? But at the same time, she spoke to me as an equal. And it's up to me to decide when I stop loving her. Granted, I'm not going to rub it into her face from now on. She's in pain, I can tell, and I wish I could help. But I'm just a kid and I don't know if I can even do anything. Even so... even so..."

He clenched his fists and scrunched up his face.

"When I think about how Mariko-sensei was about to cry back there, it just makes me mad that I'm so powerless. Dammit."

He stomped quietly.

"Dammit."

"Mariko-sensei, huh," Koyuki said quietly.

Teruyuki's eyes went wide, as thought to say oh crap.

He looked down, eyes full of fear, and pleaded with her.

"...Himekawa, I'm begging you here. Please, please keep this a secret. There's nothing between us and there won't be anything between us, but if the rumors get out, it might cost Sensei her job. She's a good lady and she doesn't deserve that. Please, can you promise me?"

"Of course," Koyuki replied. Then, she continued in a somewhat chiding tone. "But you have to do your part too, you know. You can't go around blabbing something like that to people."

"Yes, Himekawa-san! Thank you, Himekawa-san!"

"My lips are sealed, then," Koyuki said, pressing her fingers to them. "Although… I hope you don't mind if I ask a question that sounds a little strange. If you could do it, would you wipe away your bad memories and go back to how you were before all this?"

Teruyuki fell silent for a while, and then he closed his eyes, as though trying to recall something.

Then he replied:

"Well, I can't say it's not a tempting offer. I feel like someone just ran my heart over with a truck. And yeah, it'd feel better if someone could make me forget. But... it only hurts so much because I care so much. And I don't want to lose the memories of the time we had together. They aren't bad memories. Sad memories, maybe. But still memories. And maybe someday, I'll look back at them and smile. Besides, she said she felt the same way I did, about us. That's... well, I want more, but just knowing that is enough for me. I had hope for the past two months and it was answered. I never want to forget that."

He opened his eyes. The tears spilled out at last, but Teruyuki was smiling.

"So... no. I'd rather hang on to them. Good or bad, they'll be a part of me forever. "

"Thank you for telling me," Koyuki said quietly. "And… I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong."

The words twisted in Koyuki's heart like a knife.

"Now if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a while to get all the tears out of me. And… thank you for listening."

Teruyuki bowed, deeply and formally.

Koyuki nodded.

By the time he straightened up, she was gone.

Marika Fukuroi

After sneaking off into a shadowed part of the park, Mariko Fukuroi transformed into Marika Fukuroi.

It almost seemed a shame to ruin a good makeover by taking her Magical Girl form, but Mariko needed to be Marika to deal with her emotions now.

Sure enough, the aching in her heart faded to a dull, throbbing sensation, and she made the trip back to the school rooftop considerably less troubled than how she had been earlier that evening.

Snow White had asked to meet her here at 10 tonight, to "talk".

"Hah, talk!' she laughed. "Talk! What's there to talk about?"

All the talking had been done in the garden.

She did not know words could hurt worse than punches.

Still, she knew that the offer meant Snow White would be there, and in all honesty she was glad to have the company of a friend.

Marika hopped onto the roof and laid herself spreadeagled there, soaking up the rays of the moon. It was hardly sunlight, but it was still light.

Absorbing sunlight made her feel better. Maybe moonlight would help with that. In the meantime, she could wait for Snow White.

Marika covered her eyes with the back of her hand. She hummed a few bars of a song, but vocalized the last two lines.

"...You'll never know dear, how much I love you / Please don't take my sunshine away..."

After that, she finally allowed herself to cry.

Snow White

"Hello, Marika."

"Yo, Magical Girl Hunter," Marika said from where she was on the ground. Judging by the sound of her voice, she seemed really out of it.

"You know, when I said 'talk', I actually meant 'fight'. You up for it?"

"I don't know," Marika said, still covering her eyes. "It all seems meaningless now. I don't want to fight. I just want him."

Snow White's eyes went wide.

Marika declining a fight? Was the sun going to rise in the west next?

Just how out of it was she?

"Hey, Marika. Marika!" Snow White said, a hint of worry in her voice as she leaned in to check on her. "Are you-"

Then Snow White jumped back as Marika snapped her arms out and kipped up so hard she launched into the air, like she had wires attached to her body. She somersaulted in mid-air, landing heavily on the ground with her hands on her hips.

Her face was silhouetted by the moon, rendering the tear streaks invisible, but she was clearly grinning broadly.

"Hah! Look at that face of yours! You totally fell for it, Magical Girl Hunter!"

"You-" Snow White blinked, and then she smiled. "Yeah, you got me there."

"Sure did, Magical Girl Hunter! Hey... what are you doing?"

Snow White had pulled out a bottle of pills from her 4D bag and had just swallowed one of them. She exhaled heavily, a sign of the heat building within her body, and then looked at Marika.

"Offer still stands, Marika. You and me. Hand to hand only. Ruler stays in the bag, and... please don't use that flower from yesterday night again, okay? Even with these pills and without Ruler weighing me down, I'm not sure if I can keep up with that speed."

"Tiger Lily? Yeah, I... I won't use it against a friend. Not again. Sorry about that. But first..."

Marika produced a seed from somewhere and ate it. The flower on top of her head blossomed into a bright blue bloom. It had five petals, and a bright yellow heart.

"What's that one?" Snow White asked.

"Oh, it's just one of the flowers whose powers I haven't unlocked yet."

Marika looked up wistfully, as its petals swayed in the wind.

If this were an anime, there would be evanescent sparkles from her eyes as her tears vanished into the night air.

"It's a field forget-me-not. Myosotis arvensis, a herbaceous annual to short-lived perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. In hanakotoba it means..."

Marika's voice trailed off. There was a faint smile on her face.

"It means...?"

"Means I'm going to kick your ass! Here I come, Magical Girl Hunter!"

With a grin on her face, Marika leapt at Snow White.

They ended up fighting for just under half an hour, before the effect of the pills wore off.

Even with Snow White's physical abilities augmented, and even with Marika fighting in an effectively "generic" state, Marika still held the upper hand throughout the fight. However, she never revelled in her dominance, never bullied or toyed with her to show how strong she was. It felt more like she just wanted to punch and punch and punch to let the bitterness in her heart out through her fists.

The more they fought, the quieter Marika's heart became, until she seemed at peace, for some measure of peace.

Snow White smiled secretly at this.

On her part, Snow White decided to try it Marika's way, exorcising the dark emotions within her with vigorous physical activity.

It helped. A little.

There was no prearranged signal, but Marika suddenly flopped to the ground on her back, with her arms and legs spread. Snow White took a step back, and then sat down beside Marika, supporting herself with her hands.

They stayed there like that for a while, panting from their exertion.

"Thanks, Magical Girl Hunter. I really needed that. But tell me… why go to all that trouble for me?"

"You were sad, Marika. I thought you needed some cheering up."

Marika was silent for a while. Then-

"Thank you for everything, Snow White," Marika suddenly replied in a calm, quiet voice. "I don't deserve a friend like you."

Snow White sighed. Then she shook her head and smiled.

"Then you'd better work on earning me as a friend, then."

Marika smiled back up to her.

Still on the ground, she lightly bumped Snow White's fist, and the two of them looked up to the moon.