Your gift, of course, is a kiss.
From a blushing maiden to her dashing knight~
You lean in, one of your hands extending to cup Kaina's warm face. Ah, she's so cute. The way she's blinking owlishly, the confused slant of her eyebrows…
Those lovely eyes of hers' widen as you press forward and deposit a gentle kiss on her soft cheek. Your lips brush up against her porcelain skin, lingering briefly on the delicate surface before you hastily withdraw your face.
For a moment, a spark of heat flashes where your lips make contact with Kaina's face. Your essence surges into this girl's body…
… Only to be completely obliterated. In your mind's eye, you watch as the spike of essence you'd charged up and attempted to implant into Infinity Princess' core breaks upon the wall of her resistances.
Damn. She really is ridiculously overpowered. What insane magical power. There's barely a trace of taint in her system, her monstrous energy just burned your essence right out of her.
Hmm. You're going to have to expend quite a bit of energy if you truly want to corrupt this girl. Probably far more essence than you can handle right now. But it'll all be worth it though. Uuu~! You can't wait to see what her beautiful soul will look like once she's been turned down a darker path. She's such a cutie now, what'll she be like with a bit of darkness in her?
Besides, that wasn't for nothing. There's still a reason why you're blushing right now. There's a reason why you're not even bothering to contain your blush!
Kyah~! You just k-kissed your love! On the cheek! So embarassing! But it's worth it. You'd suffer any kind of embarassment to give this cutie all the kisses in the world~
Ah~!
You love her.
You love her. You love her, you love her, you love her, you love her-
"… Why…?" Kaina asks, a trembling hand reaching up to touch her face where you kissed it.
"It's only natural to kiss someone you like, isn't it?" You reply. Deep breaths Alice, deep breaths. She might… Might think you're uncool if you fangirl over her too much. But you just want to cuddle her, and stroke her head, and give her some more hugs while you catalog all of her microexpressions, feed her, and whisper sweet nothings in her ear…!
"… It's natural to kiss…?" Kaina repeats, in a bit of a daze.
"Yep! So make sure to give me a big smooch when you see me next, okay? And make sure to text me~ I left you my number for a reason!"
Gosh, you're practically hyperventilating now. It can't be helped of course. You just kissed your crush! You can die happily now~!
--
Kaina Shikinami watches the strange pink-haired girl named Alice Takanashi waltz away just as quickly as she'd entered Kaina's life. Her hand trembles where it's still placed right above where… Where…
Kaina closes her eyes, and lowers her hand. There's a streak of pink staining her fingers. Lipstick. Unconsciously, the blonde-haired girl brings her fingers to her lips, inhales deeply.
It still… Smells like Alice. That nice spicy fragrance is heady and intoxicating. The lipstick… Is vaguely fruity, and there's another undertone…
… It tastes like how Kaina imagines Alice's soft lips might taste like...
Huh.
… Huh…
Kaina continues to stand there for a brief moment, mind awhirl for the first time in an age. Then her phone buzzes again and again. She reaches down to check it and sighs after seeing her notifications. Coordinates. Armed robbery, one terrorist attack, one monster attack…
No rest for the weary. No rest for the dead. Not here, in Terminus City, the city of destinations. Kaina Shikinami closes her eyes, taps into her core to channel her mana.
Infinity Princess opens her eyes, her Raiment swirling about her in a shower of rainbow sparks. Terminus City's White Knight, clad in shining armor, wielding the crystal sword Ouroboros.
No lingering thoughts about gorgeous pink-haired girls. No phantom memories about warm hugs, soft breasts pressing against your own, softer lips pressing against your cheek. No more wistful recollections about deliciously greasy shared meals, and remarkably fulfilling shared experiences. Kaina Shikinami must be put away. Infinity Princess must remain.
The Mission stays the same.
Time slows as the most powerful Magical Girl in Terminus City kicks off the pavement to blur through the streets in a streak of white cloth and shining armor. Yes. Work is simpler. Less… Thought required. No time to think or feel.
Only action remains in this state.
Cars. Dodge, weave. Jump through the intersection, duck underneath a truck. Deflect off the walls of a building. First coordinates coming up on the right. Armed robbery. Three assailants. Jade Tigers. Minor gang. Scum. Milcor assault rifles. Menacing the tellers, taking civilian hostages. Unacceptable.
Crash through the bank windows. Hard right to the first assailant's face. Spinning kick sends the second into the bank's walls. Sword. Cut gun in half. Apply sword pommel to jaw, knock the third assailant out. Time to unconsciousness, three seconds. Acceptable.
Hostages unharmed. Bank tellers unharmed. Still, call TCPD. Response time five minutes. All targets accounted for. Good.
Speed out of bank, and vault onto the roof. Jump onto the other roofs, rooftop travel more efficient. Second set of coordinates coming up on the left. Terrorists. Bombs being placed in city hall. TCPD set up a cordon, no need to worry about bystanders. Fifteen assailants. Small-arms, body armor. Perhaps some surprises. Lethal force not authorized.
Lethal force not needed. Parameters acceptable.
Send text to TCPD, inform them of arrival. Crash through city hall's skylights. Throw sword, destroy first terrorist's gun. Gunfire. Terrorist reaction time above average. Unimportant, bullets deflect off armor and skin. Throat punch. Elbow to the face. Break knees. Bruise spine. Four targets down.
Pick up sword. Duck under shots. Enhance strength, swing. Air pressure wave knocks five terrorists off their feet. Subpar, compensate. Kick debris. Bruises, broken bones. Acceptable injuries. Eleven terrorists accounted for. Track final four. Fingers on the detonator. Throw sword, sword pommel breaks detonator. Close in.
Elbow. Elbow. Knee to the crotch. Last terrorist pulls a knife. Dodge, grapple. Strangle into unconsciousness. Drop body. Survey scene for hidden surprises. None found. Time to unconsciousness, three minutes. Acceptable. TCPD moving in to clear the scene. Bomb disposal squad on site. Good. No more work needed here.
Final location. Monster attack, Eastview district. Imps. Easily handled. Jump out of the roof. Enhance legs, apply speed. Flying jump. Track the streets. No mistakes, no collateral. Targets below. Minor demons, fleeing civilians. Chaotic crowd. Unfortunate. Risk of high collateral.
Compensating.
Standing MGA order, lethal force for monsters. Recalculate combat conditions while airborne. Calculate trajectory, angle body. Brace for impact, extend legs, ready sword.
Foot smashes imp skull. Impact craters ground. Unfortunate. Pay for collateral damage later. Civilians not retreating now. Taking photos instead. Cameras, phones. Foolish. They're only getting in the way. Compensating.
Seven imps. Red-skinned, rotund. Disgusting. First three charge at once. Decapitate. Kick corpse into the next. Turn, cut down imp approaching from behind. Finishers. Bisect. Impale. Crush skull. Time to destruction, fifteen seconds.
More coordinates being sent. Check phone. Do not stand for photographs. The Mission must be upheld. Any deviation will result in civilian casualties. Unacceptable. Promised Mitsuko to make a world with her where everybody would be happy and nobody would cry.
Must keep that promise.
New coordinates. Monster attack, monster attack, monster attack. All in Eastview. Closest Magical Girl on scene, responding. Enhance legs. Jump. Calculate trajectories, brace for impact…
… Steele's on the phone. Irregular. Angle body, recalculate landing.
Land on rooftop. Roll to a stop. Take out phone. Respond.
Tirade. Consternation. Informed other Magical Girls enroute. Told to stand down for the day. Told to turn off phone, even. Message terminated.
Confusion. Infinity Princess is Terminus City's greatest combat asset. Why does Steele refuse to deploy that asset? Why does Luminous Libromancer let her?
… Emotions beginning to well up. Dislike those. Do not… Understand them. Never have.
Mitsuko understood. Mitsuko understood for Infinity Princess.
… Mitsuko isn't here anymore.
… Return to dwelling for the day. Await further instructions. Jump. Burst of speed. Dash through streets. Stop at Megabuilding 15. Duck into alley. Detransform. Close eyes…
As Infinity Princess closes her eyes, Kaina Shikinami reopens her own… And allows herself to breathe.
Combat really is so much simpler. No emotion. No sense of loss, no sense of disappointment. No happiness or sadness. No thought required. Just pure action.
Just… Action. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing else is needed.
It's so very hard, being Kaina Shikinami. Not… Not knowing how to talk to people properly. People are complicated. Conversations are… Complicated.
It's so easy, being Infinity Princess. Steele handles the PR side of things. Scriptwriters assign canned lines to read out. Infinity Princess is stoic and cool. If she doesn't say anything, it's because she doesn't feel the need to say anything. Infinity Princess is the greatest Magical Girl in Terminus City. By far the most powerful. Capable of handling hundreds of incidents every day, each of them tracked by Steele's satellites high up in orbit. Infinity Princess can do anything. The world seems so much brighter as Infinity Princess.
Infinity Princess is the perfect hero Mitsuko envisioned.
Kaina Shikinami isn't perfect. Kaina Shikinami doesn't know how to respond when Steele makes a 'joke'. Doesn't know how to reply, when Steele makes comments about having sleepovers. Doesn't know how to respond, when one of her juniors breaks down into a sobbing fit for no apparent reason.
Kaina Shikinami can't create a world where everybody's happy and nobody cries. Only Infinity Princess can.
Every day, the world feels… Cold and empty as Kaina Shikinami. There's nothing for her to do, really, except stay in her small apartment and wait for more orders to come in. Kaina Shikinami's extraneous. She doesn't matter.
… But Kaina Shikinami also received a… A kiss… On the cheek today…
Kaina walks into her megabuilding complex and studies herself in a nearby mirror. With her new clothes… She really does look unrecognizable. Crisp white blouse, navy skirt… She feels her skin burn warm as she lays eyes on the light lipstick mark on her cheek. The remnants of where Alice Takanashi Ki… Kissed…
… Was that still there when Kaina became Infinity Princess?
What is this emotion Kaina's feeling right now? Heart pounding, face flushed. Pupils probably dilated. Kaina sees phantom memories now, of a pretty pink-haired girl who shines so brightly in a world that feels so cold all of a sudden. Her laugh, her smile, how her eyelashes flutter when she coyly bats her eyelids. The way her hand extends, as she hands Kaina…
Oh.
Right. There was something Kaina was supposed to do… The blonde-haired girl pulls out the slip of paper Alice handed her earlier. Alice's phone number is inscribed on the strip of flimsy. It trembles in Kaina's hands, shakes as she contemplates that number.
… Maybe… Maybe Kaina shouldn't call Alice. Shouldn't reach out. There's a reason why Kaina doesn't have friends, only coworkers. A reason why Kaina moved cities five times before coming to Terminus City. Sooner or later, Kaina – Infinity Princess will have to leave. Move on to cities that need a perfect, invincible hero. Cities all across the Pacific need Magical Girls to defend from the ever-encroaching monster threat.
There's no point in establishing relationships with people you'll have to leave. There's no point in establishing relationships with people who leave you forever. You don't have to understand people to save them.
Everybody leaves. Kaina's personality puts them off… That or Kaina's work schedule puts them off.
That or they die.
Barrier after barrier, wall after wall…
… It's so very hard to understand people when they keep leaving you...
… But for the first time in a long time, Kaina wants.
She wants so, so very badly. She wants, she wants…
Kaina Shikinami shouldn't want anything. Besides, Alice… Alice Takanashi doesn't need Kaina. Not really. Alice Takanashi shines so very brightly. Her presence was enough to make Kaina feel… The emptiness, the heavy void in Kaina's stomach went away when she was with Alice. Alice… Probably has better friends too. More interesting friends.
… But Alice is the one who called Kaina… C- Cute…
Kaina bites her lip, staring down at her phone.
Text? Don't text? Is it worth taking this risk?
What if Alice leaves too? What if Alice grows to despise Kaina? What if Alice was just… Being cruel? Having a laugh at Kaina's expense, like all her old schoolmates. Like all her old coworkers. Poor, dumb, friendless Kaina. Kaina the robot. Kaina the nobody. Kaina-can't-do-anything.
What if it was all a lie? A terrible, terrible lie.
But…
Kaina's thumbs blur across her phone as she inputs Alice's number, logs into her text-messaging app.
… Even if it might be a lie…
Kaina wants Alice, so very desperately...
17:56
Kaina: This is Kaina Shikinami.
Kaina: Is this Alice Takanashi's phone?
Kaina: You told me to text this number after we met.
Kaina bites down on her lip, drawing a bead of blood as she waits for Alice's response. Seconds pass to minutes. Time seems to slow to a crawl, almost like it does when Kaina transforms into Infinity Princess.
… What if she doesn't respond? What if Kaina just texted the wrong number? What if this is too soon? What if, what if…
Kaina's phone pings. She glances down at the screen…
17:56
Kaina -This is Kaina Shikinami.
Kaina - Is this Alice Takanashi's phone?
Kaina - You told me to text this number after we met.
17:58
oh my gosh - Alice
its really u! - Alice
eeeee! - Alice
I'm so happy you called!!! - Alice
Texted w/e - Alice
Unconsciously, Kaina feels her lips twitch up into a soft smile.
17:58
Kaina - I am glad I texted you too.
Kaina - I… enjoyed the day we had today
17:59
Yeah, no girl - Alice
I totally enjoyed hanging with you today too!! - Alice
When did you want to schedule our next meetup?! - Alice
17:59
Kaina - I will have to consult with my coworkers to find an appropriate date.
Kaina - The nature of my work means that I'm forced to work at inconvenient times.
Kaina - My workplace is also short-staffed, so I am currently unable to take time off…
That's when Kaina's phone buzzes again. The blonde winces as another message scrolls across her screen. Steele again, huh…?
18:00
Kaina - I stand corrected. I have been informed that I do not need to head to work next week.
Kaina - My coworker is forcing me into more leave.
Kaina - I am available next week. Please let me know what times are most convenient for you.
18:00
yeah I'll have to get back to you on that - Alice
I'm pretty busy myself too! - Alice
But I'll definitely text you whenever I can - Alice
And you can call me too!! - Alice
As a matter of fact - Alice
There's something I wanted to send you ~! - Alice
(img) - Alice
An… Image? Kaina tilts her head, stares down at her phone, and clicks the link. Then blinks again.
And again.
"… Oh my," she finds herself whispering.
That… Is quite the image…
Alice's posing in the mirror, taking a selfie… But her shirt's pulled up. Her bottoms are pulled down. She'd be completely exposing herself, if it wasn't for the single finger across the photo perfectly placed to cover her naughtiest bits.
… It's something Kaina wasn't really prepared to handle soon after her encounter with Alice. For some reason, the lewd photo, it… Entrances Kaina. Hypnotizes her, really. Her eyes rove all across her phone's screen, drinking in every detail of Alice's perfectly sculpted body…
18:05
anywho - Alice
I hope you enjoyed that photo~! - Alice
I enjoyed taking it - Alice
And sending it to you - Alice
lmk if you want me to keep sending photos like that to you~! - Alice
But don't share! I only send selfies to people I like! - Alice
And only to cuties who're totally adorable like you - Alice
Okay?!?! - Alice
18:07
Kaina - Okay.
Kaina - I look forward to meeting you again soon.
Kaina - Have a pleasant evening.
Kaina puts her phone away, goes to sit on a bench in the lobby of her Megabuilding. She exhales, lets out a sharp breath, tries to calm herself.
She can't. Her heart's pounding, pulse elevated. She groans, pressing an arm to her all too warm forehead. Phantom images of that damnable selfie dance inside her head…
Yeah. That's totally something Alice'd do. Kaina hasn't known the girl for that long, and even knows that selfie is just... So exuberantly Alice.
Alice Takanashi, huh?
… What a girl.
... For the first time, in a long time, when Kaina Shikinami returns to her small apartment... There's hope in her heart. Something to look forward to beyond the interminable waits in between work assignments.
Maybe...
... Maybe this thing with Alice'll turn out alright after all...
--
Infinity Princess' corruption - 10/100 (Stage 1)