Emma and Ryouta whiled away the remaining hours until the beginning of the art show cuddling on the couch in the living room. It was a little unexpected. They had fallen into an easy silence, with Ryouta laying across Emma's lap to quietly finish preparations while Emma completed a few assignments for her coursework. It had been weirdly soothing, something that Emma wasn't used to, but something that she had immediately decided she wanted to have more of.
All too soon it was time to head down and prepare to receive the first guests. The art show was eventually to be open to the public, but its initial opening was to be a sort of gala, with various dignitaries from the MSY and wealthy patrons of the arts arriving to partake in the cultural expansion being brought to the people of Earth.
A lot of grand nonsense, Emma thought, as she undressed upstairs while Ryouta waited on the first floor. Her new dress and boots had been sent over via drone, and as a matter of course the material had survived the journey without any wrinkles. It felt a little strange to be changing in a boy's bedroom, but then Emma would hardly be a magical girl worth her soul gem if she let things like that bother her.
"Do you need any help?" Ryouta called up the stairs. He had changed earlier into a tuxedo, with Shizuki-emblem cufflinks.
"No," Emma called back, rolling her eyes. Ryouta would get to see her in her underwear in due course.
"Alright."
Emma rolled her eyes again as she unfolded the dress and watched the fabric sort itself out. The thing about galas, in her opinion, was that they were really all about posturing and not at all about anything material. She'd only really had to attend one in her life, and that had been when she'd been very small, but she'd spent more than enough time listening to her parents go over every detail of the events they'd attended to know she had no interest in the affairs of the rich and monied. Ultimately she had always wanted to just play her football games and do the best she could.
Well, now that had changed a little. She was a magical girl, not a football player. But the sentiment was the same, in the end.
The dress slipped on over her head smoothly, clinking slightly as the metal plates on the front and sides shifted. The material was surprisingly heavy, sitting densely across her shoulders and hips. Moving in it felt unexpectedly similar to moving in her costume. The boots were similar to her costume's as well, with similar heft and a satisfying clunk as she let her foot drop onto the floor.
"You okay up there?"
"I'm fine."
Emma smiled and sniffed in satisfaction. Giovanni and Ayumi did a pretty good job. It was a little weird how on the nose they were, but then again a magical girl's costume was ultimately clothing specially made for her. It didn't really surprise her, in retrospect, that custom designed and stitched clothes ended up feeling the same.
"Alright, I'm ready," Emma said, stepping out and walking down the spiral staircase that led from the first to the second floor. The staircase was made of antique hardwood, resonating with nearly musical qualities as she made her way down the steps.
Emma stopped at the foot of the stairs and self-consciously brushed at her hair. "How um, how do I look?"
"You look amazing," said Ryouta. He had a slightly stunned look on his face. "I— you're beautiful."
Emma went very red. "T-thanks."
"Here, uh, I got you a gift," said Ryouta. He rummaged in his suit pockets briefly before pulling out a small, felt-covered box and clearing his throat. "It's uh, not much, but, you know, it seemed appropriate. I hope you like it."
"If I didn't know better, I'd expect you to be on one knee," said Emma as she took the box. "…this isn't actually a proposal is it?"
"No, uh, I mean, it seems too early," said Ryouta, tucking his hands into his pockets. "But well, you know, we'll see I guess?"
"Let's maybe not think about it too hard," Emma said with a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, I agree. So, uh, anyway…" Ryouta gestured vaguely at the box.
"Oh, right," said Emma.
The box contained a plain, flattened ring of metal, only a few millimeters thick, with a thin notch etched along its perimeter. It seemed entirely unremarkable, except perhaps for the very vaguest haze of magic that seemed to hover on the surface of the metal.
"What is it?"
"It's a particular kind of soul gem ornament," said Ryouta. "You're supposed to put the ring onto the bottom of your soul gem. It's enchanted to stay on automatically and draw a tiny bit of magic from your soul gem. Not enough to matter."
Emma summoned her gem and put the box down on the counter of the minibar, slipping the ring onto the bottom of her gem with a quiet clink of metal on metal. A message blipped onto her interface, giving her instructions on how to activate the ornament.
"Give it a try."
Emma gave him a slightly confused look but activated the ornament. There was a brief pause as the ornament charged, before a flash of blue light filled the room. Motes of light spun out from Emma's soul gem, rotating in space slowly as Emma's gem levitated up and out of her hand to hang in the air before her.
"It's the constellation Pisces," Ryouta explained, stepping closer as Emma gazed up at the spinning dots. "The ornament is basically a hologram emitter with a very small antigravity generator inside of it that's providing the lift. By default, it's programmed so that your gem is the brightest star in the constellation, Eta Piscium, but you can change that. You can also make the star change colors, though personally I think it's cooler when it's the same color as your soul gem."
"This is really amazing," said Emma, grinning widely as she walked around the room and poked at a star. Her implants simulated a spark of heat under her finger as it pressed against the surface. "Where did you get this?"
"Oh, my family has a couple of people they know," said Ryouta. "A constellation ornament isn't that common, but when I asked Aunt Sayaka, she said I should get one for you."
"You get a lot of advice from that woman," said Emma, raising an eyebrow at him. "Is that normal?"
"Only for romantic things," said Ryouta dryly. "Obaa-sama is pretty much trying to get us married as fast as possible."
Emma snorted. "That somehow isn't surprising."
"Do you like it?"
"Yes," said Emma. She pulled her gem towards her and turned it back into a ring, the ornament conforming into a tiny silvery band along one of the edges.
"Oh, good, I was afraid it would be too romantic or something," said Ryouta with a relieved sigh. "I'm glad that—"
Emma kissed him.
"You're not wrong, it's pretty romantic," she said with a small smile, pulling back and brushing her hair back. "Your matriarch knows what she's doing, unfortunately. You'll never be able to live it down."
Ryouta grinned. "Well, if it works…"
He shrugged. Emma kissed him again.
They eventually got around to going back downstairs to the art show. The mood shifted as they descended the elevator. Ryouta's mind shifted, sharpening and focusing in a way that Emma hadn't seen before. By the time the elevator reached the ground floor, he was fully focused on the evening's work.
Vira and Motya were in full dress uniform in a small atrium off to the side and hidden from view. It was a space where booths could be put up for things like conferences and tradeshows, but was now walled off with portable screens to give them, and Emma, a modicum of space to prepare before things began. Ryouta dropped Emma off with an apologetic smile, promising to see her later, but he needed to go prepare. Emma kissed him goodbye, then stepped through the screens.
"Senpai!" said Vira with surprised enthusiasm. "They didn' tell us you were comin'!"
"Ah, they didn't tell me you two were coming either," said Emma, smiling as Vira and Motya crowded around her. They both seemed to vibrate on the spot. "…do you want a hug?"
Vira and Motya responded by latching onto Emma tightly.
"We missed you!" Motya exclaimed, stepping back and putting her hands on her hips in mock admonishment. "You should call more!"
"Ah, well, you know," said Emma, shuffling a little on the spot. "I'll uh… I'll make sure to do it more in the future. How have things been?"
"They been tough," said Vira. She shrugged one shoulder. "It's about as expected, all thing's considered, yah?"
"We've been working with the Samsara Militia as part of the Samsaran Garrison," said Motya. She tugged at the hem of her dress uniform's jacket and made a face.
"Motya's been stuck in the labs," said Vira. She grimaced. "Right borin' that, but hey, she's doin' good work."
"I'd prefer to be fighting," said Motya grumpily.
"Eh, I mean, me too, but…"
"Yeah yeah…"
"Well come on, have something to drink," said Emma, ushering her kouhai towards the refreshments table. "You two are doing demon patrol at least, right?"
"Oh, yeah!" Vira said. "I figured out why I hafta to reload my rifle! It turns out I can load different ammo, so when I'm fightin' I can string together a combo all on one mag!"
"That's cool! I'm working with a girl right now who does grenades in a similar way."
"Ah, hey, maybe you could introduce us later then? She sounds cool."
"I was going to ask if you two wanted to come demon hunting tomorrow morning."
"Oh I'm totally down with that!" said Vira. "It's been way too long since I got to shoot somethin'!"
"Quiet down Vira," Motya gently admonished with a smile. "But, yes, Emma, I'd be happy to come too."
"That's great!" said Emma. "You two remember Mikoto right?"
"Eyy, Miko-chan!"
"Vira!"
"It's a great nickname and you know it!"
"She's scheduled for tomorrow morning as well," Emma continued, rolling her eyes as Motya gave Vira a displeased look that rolled off Vira like water off the back of a tank. "So you can catch up with her too."
"It sounds like it's going to be a good time," said Motya, smiling again. She picked up a pair of champagne glasses and handed them to Emma and Vira. "Champagne?"
The show started. There were a few things that Emma hadn't realized that Ryouta had forgotten to prepare her for.
Most pressing was the sheer number of people. There were seven other artists at the show, something that Emma had forgotten was happening, and each came with their own attendant fanbase. There was handshaking and excited chatter and exclamations of how wonderful it all was, and the noise alone was nearly maddening. Ryouta flitted in and out of the crowd, sometimes visible and sometimes in the cloud of tuxedos and evening-dresses. It was almost enough to make Emma regret coming.
The other thing she hadn't realized was how intensely personal the photographs would be. She had stopped paying attention to the drones Ryouta had been flying around very early, and hadn't realized how close they were and what shots they were taking.
"I don't remember that one," said Motya, sipping from a glass of champagne as she looked at a photo of her helping a civilian after a demon attack. "It sort of blurs together, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," said Emma thoughtfully. "I guess it does. After you save a few civilians, it's pretty routine."
"Eh, senpai, do you really feel that way?" asked Vira.
"A little," said Emma, shrugging. "Especially on big patrols."
Vira made a displeased noise but didn't question Emma further.
The show moved on to the team's failed escort mission, and then its actions in stalling the cephalopod offensive that came after. Ryouta's drones had captured the mundanities leading up to the first hit and the chaos that followed. The most important photographs, however, came from the image feed that Ryouta had pulled from the girls' implants.
"I forgot he was using our eyes to see," Vira muttered, glancing away from a photo of the devastation. It was a shot from her vantage point on the top of the train station during the battle, overseeing half the battleground. It was just after the first nuclear weapon had dropped, vaporizing a chunk of the buildings and forcing open a breach in the line. From Vira's vantage point, it had been possible to see distinctly where the infantry had rallied, where the incoming fire was hitting, and, critically, how the magical girls in the area were responding.
A streak of blue slashed across the scene. Emma didn't need the caption to remember leading that charge.
"Don't be embarrassed," said Emma quietly, nudging Vira with a small smile.
"I know, it's dumb, but…"
Motya huffed a little. "I told you it was creepy."
"Creepy's got nothin' to do with it!" Vira harrumphed. "It's just…"
"It is a little invasive," said Ryouta, appearing behind them from the crowd with champagne and hors d'oeuvres balanced on a tray. "Ladies?"
Vira and Motya accepted the food and drink with thanks.
"I'm good," said Emma with an apologetic smile. "Sorry for making you get extra."
"No worries," said Ryouta breezily. He gave Vira a raised eyebrow as she swallowed her hors d'oeuvre whole. "I imagine it will be taken care of summarily."
"How is the show going?" asked Emma. "I saw you talking to the people. Anything interesting?"
"Oh, no, it's a bit early," said Ryouta. He sipped his champagne. "There's too many fanpeople taking selfies, and nobody wants to get splashed onto the tabloids."
"Does that happen a lot?" asked Vira, picking up the spare hors d'oeuvre and holding it suspended in front of her mouth.
"Unfortunately, yes," said Ryouta. "It can range from being a bit of harmless teasing all the way to career-ending rumors that nobody can stop. So we all avoid it."
The girls pondered this for a moment, the silence broken only by the hors d'oeurve crunching as Vira bit into it. Motya quietly scolded her for getting crostini crumbs across the front of her dress uniform.
"Why does anyone pay attention to that stuff anyway?" Emma asked, brow furrowing. "The tabloids were a problem in football, sure, but everyone knew that what you did on the field was more important than some blogger's opinion. Isn't art the same way?"
"Well, the art world is fickle," sighed Ryouta. "There's a few people doing progressive work and setting trends. All the rest of us—" he smiled self-deprecatingly "—try and follow along as best we can. So unless you can prove that you're the best of the best…"
Emma grimaced. That she had felt before, all too keenly. "I see. I guess it's just less forgiving than football. Or maybe I just got out early enough for it not to matter."
Ryouta shrugged and smiled apologetically. "I can't say for sure, obviously."
There was another moment of silence.
"What's with the doom and gloom, girls?" asked someone at Emma's elbow. The group collectively jumped at the sight of the girl who had appeared next to them in a dress of fluttering, sheer silk that was modest only by virtue of the layers that wrapped around her.
"Aunt Sayaka!" said Ryouta, setting the tray on a passing drone and reaching out to hug the head of his matriarchy. "Ah, girls, this is Aunt Sayaka, head of the Shizuki Matriarchy. Aunt Sayaka, this is Vira, Motya, and Emma, who I was working with out in Samsara."
"No bowing!" said Sayaka quickly, holding out a proclamatory finger, before grinning cheerfully when nobody moved. "Good! You young ones always make me feel old when you do that. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Vira and Motya made vague, slightly dazed noises, while Emma remained unimpressed but replied politely. Sayaka seemed used to the interaction, though Emma thought she saw a momentary raised eyebrow sent her way.
"Now as I said, what's with the doom and gloom?" Sayaka asked, waving a gloved arm that sparkled with gems. "This is a grand occasion, is it not?"
"We were talking about the tabloids," said Ryouta.
"Ah, that explains it," said Sayaka with a sympathetic nod. "Tabloid journalism is always depressing to talk about. Come, let's talk about something happier. I want to introduce you all to someone."
The person turned out to be a minor celebrity of some kind that Emma didn't recognize but everyone else did. She smiled and nodded politely, but couldn't honestly say that she was terribly interested.
"Not into films then, Emma?" asked Sayaka over private telepathy.
"It's never been my thing," said Emma.
"Ryouta says that your 'thing', so to speak, is football?"
"That's correct…"
"A pity that there aren't any football players here tonight," said Sayaka breezily, "and Ryouta-kun is very busy. You must be bored."
"It's not so bad," said Emma, shrugging mentally. "Ryouta seems to be doing well."
"It is a good night for him," said Sayaka. "The exhibits will be staying for a few months in each of the cities, but opening night is always the most important."
"What happens afterwards?"
"Oh, different artists do different things," said Sayaka. She sipped her champagne. "Ryouta-kun is a photojournalist though, and if he gets good reviews he'll be in demand. It will be important to capitalize; strike while the iron is hot, so to speak. If things work out right, maybe you two will be able to spend more time together."
Emma blinked, and turned to Sayaka. The Ancient winked at her.
"What's the catch?" Emma asked.
"Catch?" asked Sayaka. "I'm not sure what you mean. I'm just saying that it'd be perfectly reasonable for you to go back into combat with Ryouta attached to your unit as a journalist."
"Maybe," said Emma. "But I have a suspicion that it's not that easy."
"Generally speaking, artists of Ryouta's age don't get the chance to go into a warzone," agreed Sayaka. "Samsara was a fluke. If he wants to go down this career path, he will be competing with some genuinely great journalists. The more prestigious someone is, the more likely it is that they'll have the chance to see the big events in human history. It's just how it is."
Emma sipped her champagne and grimaced. There was a lot that was said about the Shizuki Matriarchy, both good and bad. Most magical girls under the matriarchy had a tendency of getting nice jobs behind the frontlines, or if they were in combat, ascending a little more quickly than their peers. It wasn't that they were exactly getting favoritism, so to speak, especially with so much on the line. They worked hard, same as everyone else, but…
"This isn't really a social visit."
"Oh it is," said Sayaka, a frisson of amusement bubbling over telepathy. "I may be a smug, conniving matriarch, but I do genuinely want my descendants to have good romantic relationships. It just also happens that you can help me help him, which will help you. It's all very mutually beneficial."
"Uh huh. And I don't suppose that my family has any influence on your thinking here."
"Well, it's true that it'd be nice for HSIS to be more reasonable about things," said Sayaka. "But, well, I'm also sure that we can come to some sort of agreement."
Emma suppressed a sigh. "Is that an offer?"
"I suppose."
"Then you'll have to talk to my sister about the details," said Emma. "This isn't my playing field."
"Yes, I've gathered," said Sayaka with a laugh. "Very well, here are my contact details—" a message passed through the corner of Emma's interface "—for later, when you want to talk."
Emma was tempted to roll her eyes, but sipped her champagne instead.
"Sure."