Kari waited in the middle of the deserted street, trying to come up with what she should say in explaining the situation. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. She didn't expect Sachi to just take the ring and hiding her from the others wasn't practical. The only logical thing to do now was to bring Sachi into the fold, where at least Candy and Jade would help defend her against Flare if she were to ever find out.

"Yo."

Jade and Gauntlet landed in front of Kari, each with a half-eaten ice cream cone in hand. She transformed into her normal self in a plain, sleeveless tee and ripped jeans. A style which Kari expected from someone who Flare called a delinquent.

"I thought Rie was coming with you?" Kari asked, glancing into the sky for the other magical girl.

"Rie's on her way," she began reluctantly, taking several steps back. "But about that…"

The girl in question arrived infuriated. She stormed up to Kari and slapped her hard across the cheek. A clenched jaw and fists betrayed the emotion in Rie's eyes which were welling with tears.

"I saw you kill all those people… I asked you to stop Yuria and Flare from fighting, not kill one of them! Why? Why? Why?" Rie pounded into Kari's chest for answers but without the same strength as her first strike.

Kari had no answer to give. Not one that would satisfy either her or Jade for that matter. The last two people who confronted her about it died. Ogata and Iori's faces, moments before they died, were burned into her mind. Their grief and manic rage… including their final words hadn't stopped replaying in her head.

Killing all those crowds meant nothing to her. But those two, however, might haunt her forever.

Each hit grew weaker and weaker until Rie's arms gave out. Kari felt the arteries in her chest knot up as the same arms wrapped around her. She couldn't tell if this was a hug or an attempt on her life.

"It looks like you got really hurt yesterday… Will you at least tell me if you're okay?" Rie asked in a quivering voice.

"Yeah. I'll be okay," Kari answered, then thought to put a hand on Rie's head to reassure her

Rie instead put distance between them. Kari had thought the hug was the end of it, that they were going back to the way it was before. Clearly, she was the only one under a misunderstanding. There was no distance between them a second ago, but now it felt like a whole ocean came in their way.

"I'm sorry, Kari. I thought you and Flare were better than this. I can't look at you two the same way after yesterday…" she said, flying off as quickly as she arrived.

Yuyu, Rie's anthem, bowed apologetically. "Candy doesn't hate you at all! She just needs some time to think about everything that happened. I remember her being so happy when you two first met, it's just that now…"

"I get it. Look after her and keep her safe, okay?" Kari said.

The little tanuki bowed once more and followed after her magical girl.

"Whole lotta people are pissed after your little show." Tsubasa scarfed down the rest of her snack, crumpled the paper wrap, and tossed it into a nearby bin.

"Then what the hell was I supposed to do?" Kari lost her cool and yelled now that no one else was around them. "They were going to die anyway! The monster was going to get stronger from killing them!"

"Clearly not that. Videos of you killing Yuria and those folks in the street are going viral faster than an idol found with a boyfriend. They don't care what your reason was. The Messiah and their braindead followers are eating it up," she explained.

Hurricane and Chu Hua. Though they weren't as prolific as Flare, both names were a staple in their country of origin. There was no doubt whatsoever that Kari was in their crosshairs after killing their third. At least that made knowing where they stood on the aisles easier. They weren't exactly allies to begin with. At least not with Flare.

"Why can't we just reveal who The Messiah is to the public and be done with it?" Kari asked. 

"Be honest. Who do you think people are going to trust right now?" she fired back, leaving Kari speechless. "Besides, Flare's got something up her sleeves and doesn't want us saying jack shit."

Flare? She, more than anyone, would have wanted to out them. Kari thought hard on why she would want to sit on this information. The fallout that might come of it in the midst of the upcoming apocalypse might have something to do with it.

"Well, unless you got more to talk about, I'm going to head out. There's some things I wanna take care of before we get caught by surprise again." Tsubasa transformed and was about to take off until Kari stopped her.

"I do," she began, "but there's somewhere I want to go first."

The two of them entered Nekoyama to find Shuu tidying up files and dishware behind the counter. He was trying to shoo a cat away from messing with the papers until the store bell chimed, surprising him that anyone would still be around. No one was more shocked than he was upon laying eyes on Kari.

"Shuu! You're okay!" Rocky exclaimed, gently landing on his head.

"Everytime you guys show up, it's always something new and somehow things get worse." Shuu sighed.

After he seated his only customers, Kari worked away the shame while he was making their drinks to speak with him.

"How come you stuck around?" she asked.

"Someone's got to take care of these buggers. All of my coworkers, including my boss, took the first train out when they heard the news. I was supposed to open today and still had the key, so… I came here," Shuu answered as a matter of factly.

"You're kinda cute." Tsubasa leaned forward on the table with her chin propped up on her hand. "I dig a guy with that attitude. But if you got a wheelbarrow, I suggest you roll your massive balls and these cats outta this city while you still can. It ain't gonna be pretty."

"If Jade herself was flirting with me a week ago, I'd go nuts. I'm not an idiot. My friend's coming down with a van later this afternoon to pick me and these little guys up. We're leaving for Nagoya tonight to stay with her cousin," he explained, putting both coffee drinks on the table.

That was a relief. Then everyone that was worth a damn would be out of the city.

If Kari's parents were alive, now would have been the time to inevitably confess that she was a magical girl. Would they have wished her well, or begged her to leave with them? 

Tsubasa was on her phone and sipping quietly until she spat coffee all over the table.

"Turn on the television!"

Shuu fumbled for the remote behind the counter and flipped the T.V. on to the news, where their prime minister, Naoki Ishida, was speaking from the National Diet.

"A difficult choice was made yesterday afternoon. An evacuation was ordered for Minato City when it was made clear to us that it was no longer safe. The JSDF and police force are working together to help those who need it to leave the city in a timely manner."

In addition to other political theatrics, he proceeded to explain that the surrounding cities would also be evacuated as a precaution. Nothing of this scale had ever been done before. Everyone remembered the devastation that faced South Africa and on top of the latest incursion, people were more receptive to escaping with their lives. Even with four magical girls in the city, it wasn't enough to convince people they would be safe and sound here.

The real kicker came when he handed the mic over to Flare. More surprisingly was the 90 degree bow neither Kari nor Tsubasa expected her to do.

"Don't let her fool you. She's pissed the fuck off because of the evacuations. The only reason she's keeping a lid on is because you told her who the Messiah really are," Tsubasa explained and was probably right.

"No amount of apologies will make up for our failures yesterday or bring back the loved ones that were lost. I take responsibility for that. A lone, deranged magical girl, unknown to us and the public, took advantage of the chaos from an Incursion to attack us. That distraction resulted in the loss of many innocent lives."

Flare raised her head and flashed a triumphant, reassuring smile.

"Even so, we persevered! One of our own, magical girl Kari, slew the menace. But we have a lot of work ahead of us. An Apocalyptic Incursion is coming to Minato City. It threatens to swallow all of Japan just like it did South Africa. That is why I'm here now, calling on our strongest allies from across the sea— Hurricane, Chu Hua. I'm asking you two to lend us your strength. We can face this together, and then take the fight to South Africa to show those monsters what magical girls are really made of."

Both of them heard every word tearing through their skulls with a shudder.

"That bitch didn't even talk with us first?" Tsubasa smashed through the table with her bare hand, scaring away the cats around them. "We really aren't a team anymore. Tch. Guess we never were to begin with."

"She really asked them to drop by after broadcasting that I killed Yuria. I think Flare's using me as bait to get them to come," Kari said, chewing on her lower lip.

Those two might not be as strong as Flare, but they were skilled enough magical girls to protect their own countries which were many times larger than Japan.

Messiah. They must be who that giant eyeball was talking about. Maybe their coming here was a good thing. There might be a chance to ally with them to kill Flare, then—

"Nngh…" A sharp pain pricked at the back of her head.

"Hey, you good?" Tsubasa asked, but Kari waved off her concern.

Shuu returned to the floor to see their broken table and terrified cats at the corner of the room.

"Really, guys? Well, this place better be destroyed by the apocalypse when I get back. Otherwise, I'm getting an earful from my boss." He gave them additional iced coffee drinks free of charge on the unbroken side of the table.

Rocky and gauntlet drank what looked like sugar-filled, diabetes-inducing beverages that made Kari gag.

The broadcast ended with Flare handing the mic back to Prime Minister Naoki, but not before advertising her latest collaboration film with a toy manufacturing company. Even in these circumstances, she didn't have any filters regarding her status.

Yet the fact that she even showed up at the highest stage of politics, next to the prime minister himself and in front of the National Diet, was proof that her influence ran deeper than what could be seen on the surface.

One by one, Shuu began to corral each cat into a separate cage. A van had parked outside where his friend waited. Instead of carrying the last two cats out, he scratched his head over something while scanning every nook and cranny of the store.

"I feel like I'm missing a cat," Shuu said.

Kari glanced under her broken table just in case. "Maybe it ran away?"

"Maybe… Well, I've done all I can here." He picked up both cats and paused at the door. "Kari, I still can't believe you're a magical girl. Take care of yourself, alright?"

"Thanks, Shuu." She pursed her lips, ashamed that she didn't have more to say.

Before leaving, he shouted from the passenger seat, "If you and that girl still need a place to stay, feel free to trash my place because screw that landlord!"

The van drove off, leaving them to their own devices in the now-empty cat cafe. They spent an hour lounging around and were about to take their leave, too, until a cat meowed somewhere in the back of the store. Tsubasa and Kari traded glances, then walked into the back where they found a black kitten on the table in the employee's break room.

The collar on the kitten had its name. Aba. It looked to be at least nine months old. The black coat of fur still had some thin baby hairs 

"Poor thing probably followed him into the back earlier and didn't even know." Tsubasa picked the kitten up and cradled it in her arms. "You have his number?"

"For your or for the cat? Either case, I don't have his number," Kari answered, keeping a distance.

"What? You kill monsters on a daily basis but get scared of a cat?" she asked.

The kitten's hazel eyes were fixed on Kari. It was well-behaved in Tsubasa's arms and didn't struggle like the others when people tried to pick them up.

"It's the cats that don't like me."

"And I don't like them!" Rocky added.

Gauntlet floated up to the kitten to pet its head. "I think it's kind of cute."

"So, we killed enough time. What's this thing you need to tell me?" Tsubasa asked.

Kari led Tsubasa to the love hotel, who stared up at the sign with a scowl.

"Didn't know you feel that way about me, but I'm not into eating clams," Tsubasa remarked.

"Shut up and just follow me." Kari rolled her eyes, then noticed she was still holding the kitten. "You're really bringing that with us?"

"He needs a home. I'm not going to leave it there in that cafe to die," she said.

They went to the most lavish room available where Sachi was inside watching television. She stood up with a start as soon as they entered.

"Kari! And… is that Jade?" Sachi looked like she had met a celebrity.

"I still have no clue what's going on. Are you coming out to me as a lesbo or something?" Tsubasa folded her arms.

Kari groaned. "Sachi?"

"Right— Transform!" In a flash of light, Sachi changed into her magical girl form. The butterfly anthem flew circles on the ceiling and landed atop her head.

"Iggy!" Gauntlet flew straight to his friend while his own magical girl was speechless. "Is that really you? I thought you died?"

"Aha… I know it's my name, but I have no memories of you guys. It sounds like we used to be friends, so I hope we can get along again!" Iggy said.

Kari was suddenly picked up by her shirt and slammed against the wall. The impact left her dazed for a second, and when she opened her eyes, saw a pissed off Jade whose anthem was vainly trying to pull her away.

"The hell is going on? Why does this chick have Yuria's anthem?" Tsubasa tightened her grasp and bared her teeth.

"I gave her the ring… I don't know why Iggy came back to life…" Kari couldn't so much as struggle. Despite how strong she had gotten, she was still no match for her. All she could muster was to clutch onto Tsubasa's wrists and be dissected by furious eyes.

"No, she didn't give me the ring!" Sachi exclaimed in her defense. "I took it from Kari for myself!"

"Flare was after her life. That house fire a while back? She did it. Killed Sachi's parents, including the two high schoolers who jumped off the hospital and hung herself. I figured the only way to protect her was for her to protect herself, and we have an extra hand in the Apocalypse," Kari explained, swallowing hard.

"I bet you didn't even tell her that she loses her soul in exchange," Jade whispered, letting Kari back down after saying her peace.

Kari fixed her clothes and frowned. When she got up, a chill crept up everyone's spines.

The anthems in the room tensed up. Something akin to wind blew against them, but they shouldn't have felt that inside a building. It was like a gust of malicious energy that came and went.

"Did you guys feel that?" Kari asked.

Sachi clutched herself and shuddered on her knees. It was her first time sensing something like that, so she was understandably spooked.

"It might be a Malevolent Domain. I'll go check. You're name's Sachi, right? Hold Aba for me," Jade said, passing the kitten into her hands.

As Kari was about to follow Jade to check outside, Sachi grabbed her arm.

"Please, don't leave me!" she begged.

Kari was taken back, thinking that she had seen Makina in Sachi's place. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"You're safer here. If you come outside, Flare will see you. I'll have Rocky stay inside to look after you." Kari nodded to Rocky who saluted her in return.

They ran out of the building thinking a Malevolent Domain had opened, but there was no such indication of that. No warning or error from their systems either.

"Could have been an abnormality." Jade summoned her golden javelin and gazed from building to building for any signs of stray spawns. "If all of us felt it, I doubt it was a coincidence."

Kar transformed and summoned her weapon, too.

Few people were out and about. A drunkard was leaning against the entrance of an alleyway between two tall apartment complexes. Three stragglers were loading luggages into the back of their car on the curb. Other than them, no monsters.

"Where'd the drunk go?" Tsubasa squinted at the alley where the man was no longer there.

"Maybe we're just imagining things—"

A horrified shriek snapped their eyes back to the car.

The men who were packing things into the car trunk stumbled to the ground. One of them went missing. Both quickly got to their feet and made a beeline to Kari and Jade.

"Help us—"

A blur zipped past them, and the cry for help was cut short. Whatever it was was too fast for either of them to make out. Only one man remained, who was booking it as fast as he could across the street.

"Gauntlet, go!" Jade ordered. "I'll cover you!"

The armored panda flew into action with Jade commanding the javelin to move alongside him. However, before either could reach the man, an unknown force caught him first.

They finally saw it. The creature stood still having eaten its final victim.

Gauntlet, frozen in terror, stopped his advance.

"What… is that?" Kari gulped.

Standing there was a naked human being with no genitals, facial features, or hair. It had a masculine build but was no taller than an average man. The head was split down the middle and revealed a venus-fly trap of a mouth, inside of which were bloodied, twitching hands that were swallowed into its gaping chasm.

It turned to face them, then vanished.

"Kari, fly!" Jade shouted.

She was too slow to react and saw the glint of its gnashing teeth.

"Stand Firm!" Kari braced herself and was knocked through multiple buildings. She landed in a pile of rubble with her weapon gone and head aching.

[200/200] ⇒ [121/200]

"It took… that much out of me…?" She coughed up blood and struggled to get up.

The monster wrapped its hands around her throat, forcing Kari to stare into its grinning, blood-soaked maws.