Ayano's POV
*A FEW MINUTES AGO…*
"*sigh* Still no luck in finding it." I said as Akari, Hiro, and I were still looking for the booth where the Miracle Cure doujin was being sold at. It's been a full 30 minutes since we left the others and we STILL haven't found it. And nobody we asked seems to know where it is, either.
"You know…you would think they would at least advertise this thing if it's such a big deal." Akari said.
"Yeah, but even then…compared to stuff here like Touhou and Kantai, Miracle Cure is such an obscure series to make a doujin out of." Hiro said. "I'm not entirely surprised that very few people here know what it is."
"Yeah, true…a simple sign would've been enough, though."
"You really think they would put up a sign here?" I asked. "Only for it to get knocked down and trampled over by nerdy virgins rushing to grab their hands on some Touhou porn?"
"Well, it would've been something. I'm getting tired from walking all over Big Sight and having one eye makes it harder than it already is."
"Yeah…you make a good point."
"So, should we call it quits and head back to the others?" Hiro asked.
"Well…"
"No, no, no, no, NOOOOOOO! This CAN'T be happening! What am I gonna do now?!"
As I was about to answer, we heard a voice yelling in a panicked fit. And soon noticed that the voice belonged to a girl with short blonde hair topped with a rainbow-colored beanie.
…
Which, I don't know why…but it's giving me chills down my spine.
"Hey, something's wrong with that girl over there." Akari said.
"You think she's lost?" Hiro asked. "She looks really panicked."
"Makes sense if she's lost. With hair THAT blonde, she's definitely a foreigner."
"Akari…that's racist as hell." I said with a sweatdrop.
"What? I got that joke from Sakurako and she's blonde, too."
"Stop repeating these jokes from Sakurako. She's like a Japanese version of an American middle-aged white guy: oblivious to anything offensive."
"Oh, come on. She's not that bad. I heard that she's trying to change her character for the better."
"Yeah, well…I'll believe it when I see it."
"Uh, guys…what about the girl?" Hiro asked.
"Oh, right. We should probably go help her. I'd hate to see her get even more lost in this hellhole of a convention."
"Be glad Kyoko isn't here to hear that." Hiro said with a sweatdrop.
After finally dropping this conversation, the three of us went over to help out the lost girl…who was still panicking about whatever it is that was troubling her.
That was at least a 10-minute conversation. And she's still freaking out like this? Man, I feel bad…
"Um…excuse me." I spoke out. "You're lost, right? Mind if we help you out?"
"Huh? Well…I'm not exactly lost, but…w-wait, you can speak English?!"
"Oh, yeah. We can totally speak English. Must be a shock since you're not from around here, right?"
"Yeah, definitely. I've been learning this "Japanese" language for a while and yet I'm still not very good at it. Glad to know that I can still use English here."
"I'm sure it's a huge relief from a foreigner's point of view." Hiro said.
"F-Foreigner? What's that?"
…
…
…
"Um…it's not important." Was all we replied with. Leaving the girl more confused than before.
Geez…she must've never left her home country before…
"A-Anyway…" I continued. "…what did you mean by not being lost?"
"Oh, right. I came here with a group of friends. And then me and another girl split from them to look for something around here. But then we got separated and I ended up losing my phone, too…and with it being my first time at this "Comiket" place…*sigh* I guess I really am lost."
"No need to feel too bad about it." Akari said. "Getting lost in a place like this is actually more normal than you think. Remembering the times I had to come here unwillingly…"
"That sounds like a bad thing."
"It is when you think of it in my point of view. With the amount of times I was forgotten, left behind, treated like I didn't even exist…you would find everything to be a bad thing."
"W-Wowie…"
"Akari…you're creeping her out." I said with a sweatdrop.
"Our point is…we could help you find your friend, if you want." Hiro said.
"R-Really? You would? I-I wouldn't want to distract you from what you were doing or anything…"
"It's okay, really. We're not having much luck in what we're looking for, anyway."
"Well…okay, then. The help would totally be wicked right about now. Thanks so much, uh…"
"Oh, right. Names." I said while clearing my throat. "Well…I'm Ayano Sugiura. The purple markings all over my body are normal."
"My name's Akari Akaza. The missing left eye is also normal."
"And I'm Hiro Takaoka. I'm…as normal as you can get. Compared to these two, at least."
Wow…screw you too, Hiro…
"I see…well, I'm Amitie. Amitie Rose. Nice to meet you, Ayano, Akari, and Hiro."
"Nice to meet you too, Amitie." The three of us replied.
Amitie Rose…judging by her first name alone, she seems to be French. Maybe Ariana-senpai and Madeleine-senpai know her from somewhere…
"So, Amitie…what were you looking for here that got you lost in the first place?" I asked.
"Oh, well…I was looking for this thing called a "doujin" that was made on my favorite TV show. Have any of you heard of a show called Magical Girl Cute-Pie Erika's Heart-Throbbing Miracle Cure?"
"No way…that's what we were looking for, too!"
"R-Really?! So, you three are fans?!"
"Yep! HUGE ones!"
"To think we would meet a fellow Miracle Cure fan just by pure chance…this made the whole trip here EXTREMELY worth it!" Akari cheered.
"Yeah, it does!" Hiro added. "But…I still wish we could've found where the hell they're selling this thing."
"Well, why don't we look together?" Amitie asked. "The the friend I got separated with is also a fan. So, maybe she continued looking for it, too."
"And that way, we could reunite you two AND grab the doujin. Not a bad idea, Amitie." I said.
"*giggle* Thanks. You know, I always get called out at school for not being all that bright. It's nice to hear someone praising me for my ideas for once."
"I have a friend who's EXACLTY like that. For better or worse." Hiro said with a sweatdrop.
"Well, in any case…let's get on…"
*BAM*
"Ow…"
Just as Amitie was about to rush ahead, she bumped into a guy who was walking towards us from a different direction. And ended up on the floor.
"…Ah! I'm sorry! Uh…I mean…g-gomen na…sai?"
"Tch! Watch where you're going, ya brat!"
"Huh?! B-But I…"
"Hey, why is it her fault?!" Akari shouted. "You were the one not paying attention! Reading and walking at the same time!"
"Don't you know how careless that is?!" I added.
"Th-That doesn't matter! I had the right of way! This girly should've paid more attention!"
"Wow, blaming the girl. No wonder guys like you are forever virgins." Hiro said.
"Th-That's not true! Girls like you don't even acknowledge us! And on the rare you do, it's to call us "losers", "perverts", and "virgins"!"
"That's because you keep reading crap like…Futokutei Tasuu no Otoko to Berochuu Sex Suru Shimakaze Netorase Bon…God, you're disgusting."
"Wh-What? Every guy has their preference!"
"But netorare, though? You're one sick motherfucker to find enjoyment in that shit. I hope you die a virgin, you disgusting bastard."
"Gaaah~! You're too cruel~!" The guy broke into tears.
"W-Wow…I've never heard Hiro curse that much before. Or like…at all." I whispered to Akari.
"From what Aoi told us, Hiro has a HUGE hatred for the netorare genre. It's caused some things that she really wants to forget."
"I see…"
Guess there's more to Hiro than I originally thought for all these years…
"So, why don't you just apologize to our friend already and get your disgusting waste of a human existence out of my sight. You're wasting our oxygen here."
"*sniff* B-But why should I?! It's not my fault! Your friend's just too weak to fall over like that!"
"Weak?!" That was when Amitie shouted in a loud rage as she stood up in a very quick manner.
…
And, uh…I don't know why, but her shouting like that gave me a HUGE chill down my spine.
Something is definitely not normal about this girl…
Chapter 5 – Battle of Magical Girls (Part 1)
Futaba's POV
"So, uh…just how powerful is this Amitie girl?"
"A bit late to be asking that, isn't it?" Feli said to Kyoko as we were making our way to the roof where the commotion with Amitie was happening.
"I just wanna know. I mean…we don't know what we're going up against."
"Which is why I said for you guys to stay behind. This isn't something normal girls should be dealing with."
"Honestly…we're FAR from normal." Chinatsu said. "In fact, you could call us messed-up little freaks due to the stuff we get ourselves into."
"That…sounds like it sucks." I said.
"For the most part, yeah. But there are instances of it actually being entertaining. Never a dull moment in Takaoka."
"Huh…" Feli and I both grew sweatdrops.
Note to self: stay away from Takaoka…
"I can't believe Amitie lost her temper again…" Lidelle said. "…she was so excited to get that Miracle Cure book. What would've set her off?"
"If it had to do with those nerdy virgins, then I don't blame her." Feli said.
"So, this has happened before?" Kyoko asked.
"Well, to put it lightly…Amitie was more like us in terms of normality…Probably worse with her magic ability…but after some "events" that happened in the past, she's definitely feared when angry."
"Only when she's angry?"
"A certain four-letter word will set her off in a violent rage and it becomes very difficult to calm her down." Lidelle said. "Which is why we do all we can to not let it happen."
"Wow…"
"This Amitie girl sounds complicated as hell." Chinatsu added.
"Which makes it all the more bizarre when you actually meet her…" I replied with a sweatdrop.
She's the Light Soul and has been to Dream Land…definitely the least normal girl I've ever met…
"So…how are we supposed to calm her down?" Kyoko asked.
"Well, usually all it takes is to hold her down until she eventually calms down." Feli said. "But in cases like this we may have to…"
"Fe~…li~…chan!"
"Gah! F-Famitsu?!" She was then interrupted when Famitsu just…appeared out of NOWHERE and embraced her in what looked like a tight-as-hell hug of eternal glee.
"Feli-chan! It's been FAR too long since we saw each other!"
"F-Famitsu, let go~! Y-Your boobs are making it hard for me to breathe~!" Feli whined as she struggled to break free.
It even triggered her second personality, too…
"Wh-Where the hell did she come from?" Kyoko asked.
"Uh…well…" And as I was about to come up with an answer…
"Famitsu-senpai!"
We then saw two shadowy hands grab the two girls and pulled them apart after a few tugs. One hand placed Feli back on the ground while the other held onto Famitsu.
"W-Were those shadow hands?!" Chinatsu asked.
"Uh…well…"
"Famitsu-senpai, you can't just surprise-hug people like that! You almost suffocated Feli-chan!" And then came Kaori, the owner of the two shadowy hands, scolding her older co-star as if she's done it many times before.
Which, going by what I know about them, she probably does…
"Oops. Sorry, Kaori-chan. I just grew super excited from seeing Feli-chan again. It's been a while since we've seen her, you know."
"You make it sound like she went off to war…" Kaori said with a sweatdrop.
"*pant* *pant* Th-Thanks for that…K-Kaori…" Feli said while still recovering her breath.
"No problem, Feli-chan. Taming Famitsu-senpai has been good training for me to control my powers. I think I'm truly starting to get a hang out it."
"I see…well, that's good to hear."
"W-Wait, tame me?" Famitsu asked. "*whine* I'm not a wild animal, Kaori-chan~!"
"But you sure do act like one, Famitsu." We were then joined by Mao who really took her sweet time in catching up to the other two. Probably either tired or annoyed at being here this long.
…
Or both.
"I don't need you to be cruel too, Mao!"
"O-Okay! Timeout! What just happened?!" Kyoko asked in confusion and frustration.
"W-Well…" Feli began attempting to explain. "…for starters, these are the actresses of the Miracle Cure series. Mao Kuromi, Famitsu Hasumi, and Kaori Saitō."
"W-Woah, really?"
"Kinda ironic that we're the ones to meet them first instead of the fangirl trio." Chinatsu added.
"So, I'm guessing one of these two girls is Rin's cousin, right?" Mao asked.
"Yeah, that's me. Chinatsu Yoshikawa. It's still kinda mid-baffling that Rin knows people from a different world. It's no wonder she's always so excited."
"Knows people from…w-wait, you told them?!" Mao yelled at us two.
"W-We didn't have a choice!" Feli yelled. "Not after Famitsu blurted it out over the phone!"
"I said I was sorry…" Famitsu pouted.
"They both agreed to not tell anyone, Mao." I explained. "So, it should be fine."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Well…" Feli said. "…because they want to help us calm Amitie down and we agreed to teach them how to play Puyo Puyo."
"Y-You did what now?" Lidelle and Floré asked in shock.
"*sigh* You seriously are too carefree, little sis." Mao said with a facepalm.
"O-Okay, I know this sounds really REALLY bad. And stupid." Kyoko said. "But our friends are still over in that same area that Amitie's in. One of them even went after her."
"We just want to help our friends." Chinatsu added. "And if playing a game involving rainbow-colored emotional jelly blobs and gaining magic from them is the only way, then so be it. So, please just teach us already."
"Onegaishimasu! Watashitachi wa anata ni onegai shite imasu!" Both girls then shouted loudly as they frantically bowed in front of us. Basically begging us all to teach them how to play the game known as Puyo Puyo.
…
…
…
"*sigh* Fine." Mao said. "If it's THAT important to you…then I guess I can turn a blind eye to this."
"Th-Thank you so much! Arigatōgozaimasu!"
"You sure have gotten soft, Mao." Famitsu said with a smirk on her face. "I guess that no nonsense back bone you once had in high school is now long gone, huh~?"
"Sh-Shut up, Famitsu!" Mao said with a faint blush.
"So…what do we do now?" Kyoko asked.
"Well…seeing as actual magic isn't a thing in this world, you guys will have to settle with using your favorite hobbies as a substitute." I said. "Got any in particular?"
Chinatsu and Kyoko thought hard about the concept. A favorite hobby to use for magic abilities sounds simple on paper. But when actually thinking about it, it's a lot harder than it sounds.
I kinda got lucky when I brought up my Shorinji Kenpō skills after not using them for a while…
"Okay, I got one." Kyoko said.
"Yeah, me too." Chinatsu added.
Well, that was fast!
"Okay, then. Let's go." Feli said. "We'll explain the rules one the way there. So, try to keep up."
"Right." The two girls agreed as we began making our way to the roof of one of the most famous buildings of Tokyo.
…
Wait…how the hell are we gonna get up there?!
Chinatsu's POV
Once we eventually found a way to the roof, we were met with an incredible (and honestly frightening) sight. Up in the air was Amitie…with her demonic wings and creepy rainbow aura from before…fighting against a girl with short turquoise hair who I'm assuming is Yu from the phone call earlier.
"Red Wisp Come On!"
*BOOM*
"Silent Step!"
*BOOM*
"Eternity!"
*BOOM*
"Grrr~…Get out of my way already~! Plasma Laser~!"
"Gah! S-Salvation!"
*BOOM*
And it looked like she was losing. Hard.
"*cough* *cough* *cough* Damn…that nearly did it for me…"
"Yu!" Feli called out to her.
"F-Feli! Geez, you guys sure took your sweet time!"
"S-Sorry! We ran into Mao and the others on the way here and we had to bring Rin's cousin and her friend along…"
"Huh? Rin's cousin?"
"I'm Chinatsu Yoshikawa and she's Kyoko Toshinio." I said. "We know what's going on and wanted to help out."
"Huh…" Yu went silent for a bit. "…w-wait, now's not the time for this! Amitie's still in the middle of her demented rampage!"
"You really couldn't stop her?" Lidelle asked.
"No! I already told you that I can't do much without Rei! The powers I DO have didn't even slow her down."
"*sigh* Geez…then it sounds like we have a lot of work to do."
"Hey, Yu. Did you see that purple-haired girl anywhere here?" Kyoko asked. "She's our friend."
"Purple-haired girl?" Yu thought for a moment. "Oh, yeah…I saw here chase after Amitie. But when I got up here, she was nowhere to be found. It was just Amitie here."
"Nowhere to be found? Where could she have…"
"Violaceous Sphere!"
*BOOM*
"W-Woah! What was that?!" Futaba yelled after a purple ball of dark energy flew right past us and blasted Amitie from the sky.
"Violaceous Sphere? Wait, that was…"
"Hey! Amitie!"
And then, climbing from the side of the building, we saw the source of the energy ball jump onto the roof with a serious look of anger on her face.
"Amitie! Cut this crap already! You're really going let that loser's words get to you like this?!"
"Ayano!" Kyoko and I both called out to her.
"Huh? Kyoko and Chinatsu? Why are you guys still here? Didn't you evacuate with the others?"
"No. We came looking for you." Kyoko said. "We heard you chased after Amitie and wanted to make sure you guys were okay."
"Wait, so…you two know Amitie? And who are these girls with you?"
"Well, you see…"
*ONE EXPLANATION LATER…*
"I-I see…" Ayano said with a look of pure shock. "…so, these are your cousin's friends and they're from a different world. Now a lot of this is starting to make sense."
"You know…it's strange how you're rather calm about this." Feli said.
"I've seen a lot of things in my 16 years of life. Meeting people from another world isn't all that mind-shattering to me."
"Huh…"
"Now…despite that being said, I still don't understand what's going on with Amitie. She was just a normal girl one minute and then the next she looked like…THAT."
"To put a very long and complicated story short…" Lidelle said. "…Amitie's this thing called the Light Soul and her powers are based on the Copy Abilities that Kirby uses."
"W-Wait…Kirby?" Kyoko asked. "As in the video game character from the Hoshi no Kābī series?"
"Y-You mean he's REAL?!" I asked in shock.
"I had the EXACT same reaction." Futaba said with a sweatdrop.
"Look, never mind that!" Mao yelled. "We need to get Amitie calmed down before she…"
"*agitated groan* Damn you~…damn you all~!" We all looked at Amitie as she was getting up from the floor.
"Crap! We're too late!"
"You asswipes will PAY with your lives for what you did~! You will ALL face eternal suffering~! AND YOU WILL REGRET CALLING ME WEAK~!"
"Weak? Wait, is that the "four-lettered word" you guys were talking about earlier?" I asked.
"Yeah…that's the word." Feli said. "Whenever someone calls Amitie weak…whether as an insult or completely accidental…she gets so mad that she loses control of her powers and grows a desire to kill the person who said that word."
"Really? Over one word?"
"That one word has caused some traumatic stuff for her." Lidelle said. "So, her being easily offended by it kinda makes sense."
"Now, that I think about it…she did start acting that way after a guy called her weak for bumping into him." Ayano said.
"So, that's what trigged it." Futaba said. "Geez…these nerdy virgins can be real assholes over the littlest things."
"After sensing the strange aura around her, I grew concerned. So, I took Akari and Hiro to the front of the building and told them to escape. Then I went after Amitie."
"At least Akari and Hiro are safe." Kyoko said.
"Hey~! Quit ignoring me~!" Amitie shouted in rage. "Pay attention to me as I make you all suffer a soulless nightmare~!"
"A-Amitie-san sounds REALLY angry…" Kaori said.
"I know…it's actually unnerving." Famitsu added.
"Well, let's hurry and calm her down before that fear you have gets any worse." Mao said as her hands glowed a dark purple aura.
"Yeah, yeah. We hear you." Feli said as she took out these bent metal rods from her back pocket.
"*sigh* So, I really gotta fight her again." Yu said in a disgruntled tone. "I'm really gonna make Amitie pay for this once she calms down."
"Just don't go overboard with it, Yu." Floré responded.
"You guys ready for this?" Lidelle asked us two. "It'll be your first battle…and a pretty hard one, too."
"Yeah. We're ready." I said.
"Hey, Ayano…" Kyoko said to her. "…what you're about to see is going to be considered "way out there" in terms of Yuru Yuri insanity. But you're gonna have to keep up with it for now, alright?"
"Huh? Well…okay, then. Not sure what you mean by that…but I'll take your word for it."
After hearing that confirmation, I felt Kyoko grab my hand and squeeze it tightly. I could tell that she was scared. And I was, too. Both of us fighting against a girl from another world with powers similar to that of Copy Abilities from Kirby…it's a lot to handle.
But…with us at each other's side…we were confident enough that we'll make it out of here alive. And learn some pretty cool powers from the end of it all, too.
"Alright…let's do this." I said. "Let's begin our very first…"
"PUYO BATTLE!" The others shouted after me.
Author's Note: The Puyo Battle of a lifetime is about to begin! From skilled veterans to first-time newbies…the fight against Amitie will be one they surely won't forget.
Yeah, so decided to split this part. The entirety of this chapter was rewritten because I didn't really like the first version of it. And it took longer than it should've because I kept pushing it off. So, this story's going to have 7 chapters instead of the originally planned 6. Hopefully, I'll get them done quickly.
Thanks for reading. Later.