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After yet another successful club meeting, the members had decided on a joint activity: Karaoke. There were no vocalists in the group, so they were somewhat curious which of them could actually sing. Even Rinko had agreed to come along. It was heartening to see how comfortable she had gotten with the rest of them.Speaking of comfortable. "I'm pretty confident I'll win, you know," Arisa said."It's not a contest, Ichigaya-san," Sayo said, somewhat exasperated."Oh really?""Well, I can't wait to hear Arisa-chan sing!" Ako certainly seemed eager. "And Sayo-san! And Rin-rin! And everyone!""What about yourself~?" Moca asked.Ako puffed her chest out. "Onee-chan says I'm really good.""Well~, if Tomo-chin says so~."Tsugumi had a feeling Tomoe would say that regardless of Ako's skill, but she decided to not comment on it."Just go easy on me, please," Maya said. Even though she was the newest member of the club, she had fitted in quickly, and seemed as comfortable as anyone. Maybe that was just the kind of person she was.Then suddenly the light seemed to dim. They looked up, thinking maybe a cloud had passed in front of the sun, but it was still a clear sky. Except for one thing. A swirl of darkness, seeming only half-present, hanging low in the sky not too far ahead of them. Then they heard a loud crash. Everyone stopped."Come on," Sayo said.Tsugumi looked at the others, who looked to be various degrees of concerned. "Y-yeah, we should see what's going on," she agreed.While some of them seemed like they wanted to protest, they all ended up following Sayo as she jogged ahead. Not wanting to leave her on her own.As they got closer they heard screaming, and more crash-like noises. But in spite of the sense of growing dread, they kept going until they reached the reached the biggest street in the area. There was some movement behind some buildings up ahead, and everyone stopped again. They couldn't really make out what it was until it stepped out onto the main street, the asphalt cracking beneath it, and rubble flying as it bumped into the corner of a building.Rinko let out a shriek, fell over on her butt, and then promptly vanished from sight."Rin-rin!" Ako got down, and hugged onto something, at which point she also went invisible. Meaning Rinko was still present, at least."W-w-w-what the fuck is that?!" Arisa asked in a loud, shaky voice.Whatever it was, it looked roughly humanoid, with legs, arms, a torso, and a head. However it had to be like 10 metres tall, had too many arms, no mouth, and four eyes that looked like they shone with malice among the dark substance that made up its body. It was hard to make out any clear features beyond that, as it seemed to suck in the light around it, and distort the very air itself. Most of all it looked like it shouldn't exist in our world.People were running for their lives, some of them rushing past the girls, and others going into different streets and roads. Some brave, or perhaps foolish, souls were trying to film what was going on, but most of them broke, and also started running."N-no idea," Tsugumi replied."W-w-we need to run!" Arisa said."No, we need to help people get away," Sayo said in a remarkably calm voice."Are you crazy?! We'll die!""Who else has the ability to do anything?""Ugh..."They looked at the people fleeing. Some of them tripping over. Some seemingly frozen. Some of them just kids."Tsugumi-san, Aoba-san, Ichigaya-san, Yamato-san. Stay as far back as you can, while still helping people get away," Sayo started giving orders. If she was also scared, she wasn't showing it. "Okusawa-san, you and I will go as far ahead as we can, and get anyone who is stuck.""W-what?!" Misaki gave her a wide-eyed look."We're the only ones who can," Sayo said firmly. "And the only ones who can stop or move any more rubble that comes flying.""I... I want to go ahead too," Maya said. Before Sayo could tell her no, she continued: "I may not be as strong as you two, but I'm stronger than anyone else here, and I can recover from anything. Please.""... alright, but be very careful," Sayo said, as there wasn't any time to argue."Got it!""Shirokane-san, Ako-san. You should go home. Stay safe.""B-but..." That was Ako's voice, coming out of thin air."Please.""O-okay... but don't you dare get hurt!"Three more Tsugumis appeared."You should stay furthest back, number one," one of them said. They all knew that number one getting hurt was worse than anything happening to the rest of them."I'll go with Arisa-chan, and look for anyone who's hiding," said another. Arisa could find people by their thoughts, after all. Even if hearing so many terrified people might be a strain."Okay, let's go," Sayo said. She shot off like a bullet, and swooped up a woman who stood frozen on the sidewalk, just staring at the giant being getting closer. If there was one mercy, it was that the thing didn't seem to be in a hurry.Misaki and Maya also ran ahead, towards opposite sides of the street."This is crazy..." Arisa muttered as she and the others rushed for the people closest to them. Hopefully all the chaos would keep people from noticing the strange teens, but honestly their secrets were the last thing to worry about considering the circumstances.* * *Aya was talking to her girlfriend on the phone. Just the thought was making her giddy. Even though they had dated for a while now, she still felt funny about the idea. She had never been with anyone before, yet there she was. Lying on her stomach on the bed, legs kicking up and down, while talking to someone she had fallen in love with. There was a certain magic to it."So how did your audition go, Chisato-chan?""Perfect as always. You know me, Aya-chan."Aya could hear the way Chisato was smiling, even if she couldn't see it. She still felt a little envious of Chisato's fame and workload, but not as much as she used to."I bet you blinded them all with how dazzling you are." Aya giggled."Why, of course."Even if it had only been a few months, it seemed like ages since she felt cautious, or even scared of Chisato being a vampire. If anything she trusted her more now than she had before she knew about it. Maybe that was foolish, but wasn't that what love did to you?"Hey, I was thinking..."
~AYA.~
Aya dropped her phone, and it bounced lightly on the bed. She knew that voice.She hurriedly picked the phone back up. "I have to go.""Aya-chan?""I'll call you back later, Chisato-chan," Aya said, and hung up.~What is it?~ she thought in response as she got up. ~You contact me after all this time-~
~THERE IS AN INVADER.~
A chill ran down Aya's spine.
~Where?~
~LOOK OUT THE WINDOW.~
She did so, and a beam of light highlighted an area. One that was uncomfortably close. She could just barely make out a swirling darkness she recognised all too well, even with how long it had been since last time.
~HURRY.~
~Got it.~
She found her box as quickly as she could, flipped it open, and took out the rod. Even if it was hidden, she had still kept it where she could easily access it. Out of habit, or instinct, perhaps. A brief transformation later, and she flew out the window.~You told me it was over.~ Her tone was accusatory.
~THE ODDS OF ANY FURTHER INCURSIONS DURING YOUR LIFETIME WERE INCREDIBLY LOW.~
~That isn't what you told me.~
~WE DID NOT WANT TO WORRY YOU.~
~You didn't want to... but you did! If you didn't want to worry me, you could have at least stayed in touch! I was... I wasn't...~ She couldn't find the words.There was a pause.
~WE ARE SORRY. WE MERELY WISHED FOR YOU TO LIVE A NORMAL LIFE.~
She was almost there.
~We will talk more later.~
~UNDERSTOOD.~
People were at risk. Perhaps even people she knew. It was only the second time an invader had showed up in Edogawa City. Why now? All sorts of thoughts went through her head that she never would have worried about four years ago. It didn't feel like an adventure any longer. At least she would wear a mask this time.* * *Maya found a little boy hiding by the side of a car, crying. He couldn't be older than 7 or 8. A convenience store bag was clutched in his hands."H-hey, little one," she said.He looked up at her. "I... I want my mommy..." He was trembling."I know. See that nice girl over there?" Maya pointed at one of the Tsugumis further back. "Go to her, and she'll take you to your mommy.""B-b-but...""Trust me. Please?" She dearly hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. Being closer to that thing made her feel like she had a hollow pit in her stomach.Thankfully the boy nodded, and got up.As he ran away, Maya couldn't help looking towards the giant being. She hadn't heard the thud of its footsteps for a while, and had a bad feeling about it. One of its arms was raised, with the palm facing downwards. A black mist gathered into a ball below the hand, and dropped into the ground. A moment later several... creatures rose from the shadows at the being's feet. Five... no, six. They looked kind of like big dogs, or maybe big cats. Only wrong. There was too much mouth, too much teeth. A jarring white against the black shadow. It seemed to make up half the creature.The urge to run was stronger than ever. If one of those things got her...The being lifted another arm, and dragged it across a nearby building, sending more rubble flying their way. Maya hoped no one was inside, but that was all she had time to think before a large piece of concrete struck the car she was next to, and shoved it onto her foot. There was blinding pain for a second or two, and then she realised she couldn't move."Yamato-san! Get out of there!" It was Sayo's voice shouting at her."I can't! I'm stuck!" Maya shouted back.The shadow beasts had started charging down the street. One was coming directly at Maya. Whether it had simply seen her, or heard her shout was uncertain. And it didn't really matter. But before it could reach her, it was knocked away. Sayo had come flying, and barrelled into it, sending it crashing into the side of the nearest building.Across the street Misaki had snapped a stop sign pole in half, and wielded it like a large tennis racket as she smacked one of the beasts away. It flew into another one, and knocked the both of them over.Sayo lifted the car off of Maya's foot. "Let's go!"Maya pulled her foot away, but before she could take her hand, a snarling beast was right on top of Sayo. Sayo reacted in time to twist around, and managed to grab it, but it had enough force behind it to push her well away from Maya.Still, Maya managed to get up. Her foot should be good enough to run on. But another beast was closing in. Considering how fast they were, she realised she couldn't outrun it. And even with how fast she healed, it was unlikely she could recover from what that thing was able to do. Ah, so it was true that your life flashed before your eyes at the end. Not that there was a lot to flash. Eve was the very last thing.Then something impacted the thing at high speed. Maya could only make out a blur. There was a sound like a clap, then a pop. A bright light illuminated the whole area, accompanied by the whooshing sound of a wave. When it faded all of the shadow beasts were gone. And a single figure stood between the girls, and the giant being.Though they could only see the back, it looked like a girl with long, flowing pink hair in a twin-tail style. And she appeared to be wearing a white and pink sailor uniform, with pink boots that stretched nearly to her knees. She was holding something in her right hand.The sight was familiar to Maya. Or something very close to it, at least.
Could it be? she wondered.Then a voice rang out across the area."There You Are, Wretched Guardian."While it was definitely making sound, it felt like it spoke to their souls more than their ears. Clawing at their essence. Hating them for being alive."I Was Wondering When You Would Show Up." The being stretched itself out even taller. The girl looked terribly small by comparison. "I Have Even Taken The Trouble Of Learning Your Ugly Language, So You May Know The Name Of The One Who Will Destroy Y-""Oh, shut up," the girl said. She extended her right arm, and there was a bright light again as what looked like a beam shot out from her hand. It hit the being, and there was a brief scream before it was gone. Erased from existence.The swirling darkness vanished too, and daylight was restored. Maya had kinda forgotten it had been dimmed in the first place, until everything was suddenly brighter again.The girl turned around, and came running towards them. "Is everyone alright??" she called out. "I have healing magic if anyone is hurt!" As she got closer, they could see she was wearing a mask. It was also pink, and looked a bit like Kaoru's phantom thief mask. And the uniform was frillier than it had appeared at a distance. Still, Maya couldn't help thinking that she looked kinda familiar.She came right for Maya, who was closest. "Hey, are you hurt? I- M-Maya-chan?!" She skidded to a stop. "W-what are you-" Her head turned. "Sayo-chan?!" Sayo was floating in the air. "Misaki-chan?!" Misaki was still holding the metal pole with the stop sign on the end. In one hand. All three were just staring at the girl.Even with the mask... The way she looked. That voice. The fact that she recognised them. Called them all -chan.
"A... Aya-san?" Maya guessed."Huh?!" Probably-Aya jumped. "W-what? N-no, of course not. No no no. W-who is this Aya you speak of? Ahaha..." She tried to distort her voice with very little success.Sayo finally landed. "That mask is not much of a disguise, Maruyama-san. At least not to someone who sees you every day," she said."Yeah, you're pretty obvious, Aya-senpai." Misaki had wandered closer."B-b-but I'm telling you I'm not Aya...""Aya-san... you're not fooling us," Maya said."Urk..." Aya's shoulders slumped.Maya looked at the item in Aya's hand. It was without a doubt the same rod she had brought to practice that one time. To think it was the real deal."Would you care to explain all of this?" Sayo asked."Uh...""Hey, what happened?!" It was Tsugumi running towards them. Followed by Arisa and Moca. At least there was only one Tsugumi. "W-wait, who's that?!""It's obviously Aya-senpai, duh," Arisa said, then froze. "W-wait, Aya-senpai?!" She had probably read it from everyone's minds, and just said it before actually thinking it through."What is everyone doing here?" Aya asked."Uh... we were helping out," Tsugumi said.Aya's eyes went wide, and the mask wasn't fully able to hide it. "But that's dangerous! You need to leave that to professionals!""Like you~?" Moca asked."Yes! Uh... I mean...""What is going on, Aya-senpai?" Arisa asked."Sorry, but I can't stay long. Is everyone alright? Anyone hurt?""Everyone's gone, except us," Tsugumi said. "And they only seemed to have some scrapes and bruises from falling over, at most."Aya breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good.""Are you going to tell us what's going on, or not?" Sayo asked. She sounded a bit impatient. "I think you owe us an explanation."Aya winced. "I can't. I'm really sorry, but I can't. And you can't tell anyone about this, okay? Let no one know. I... wait, how were you..." She looked at Sayo and Misaki again, then quickly shook her head. "No, I... listen, I really have to go. I can't stay. Don't worry, the magic is going to start restoring things soon. And please don't do anything that reckless ever again.""Hey, wait!"But it was too late. Aya kicked off from the ground, and was out of sight immediately. They couldn't even tell which direction she went, so there was no point in Sayo trying to follow her."What did she mean by the magic?" Misaki asked, breaking the stunned silence they had been left in. Then the stop sign faded from her hand.They all looked around, and the area seemed to be covered in a slight glow. In front of their eyes, the whole area returned to how it had been. The giant's footprints gone. Cars put back in their place with no signs of damage. The stop sign Misaki had snapped off was whole again. All the buildings fixed. Once the glow was gone, there was no sign that anything had happened there at all. Even Maya's shoe, and Sayo's ripped jacket had been fixed."What the hell..." Arisa voiced what everyone was thinking, though perhaps a bit more crudely than they would have."I-is it over?"They turned around to see Ako and Rinko."I thought I told you to go home," Sayo said. She wasn't loud, but she was clearly not happy."I-I'm sorry!" Ako said. "But Rin-rin refused to leave you behind. Said she would take you all home if she had to."Rinko stared shamefully at the ground. "Sorry...""I agree with her decision," Ako said as confidently as she could, and squeezed Rinko's hand.Sayo sighed, and let the matter drop."But... was that really Aya-senpai?" Ako asked.Everyone agreed it was hard to believe. It was hard to process what they had just seen, and learned.* * *Aya sat down on her bed again.
~It was after me.~
~YES.~
~Why?~
~THEY KNOW YOU ARE IN THEIR WAY. YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE STRONGEST OF THEM. THAT ONE WAS FOOLHARDY ENOUGH TO THINK IT COULD GET YOU OUT OF THE WAY.~
~Are more coming?~
~UNLIKELY.~
~But not impossible.~
There was a pause.
~CORRECT.~
~Great. Just great.~
~AYA. THEY FEAR YOU. THE CLEVER ONES KNOW THIS DIMENSION IS A LOST CAUSE SO LONG AS YOU EXIST. AND VERY FEW OF THE NOT CLEVER ONES REMAIN.~
~How do you know?~
~WE SIMPLY KNOW. AS WE CAN TELL WHEN THEY INVADE. THEIR INTENTIONS RADIATE LIKE THEIR HATRED FOR OUR WORLD.~
Aya sagged.
~Now what? Are you going to abandon me again?~
She felt too tired to hide her bitterness.
~WE ARE TRULY SORRY. WE THOUGHT IT WAS FOR THE BEST. IT IS POSSIBLE WE WERE WRONG.~
Aya looked up at the ceiling.
~So...~
~IF YOU CALL, WE WILL ANSWER.~
She couldn't help smiling. Even if she hadn't forgiven them.
~BUT YOU ARE HAPPY NOW, YES?~
~Huh? I...~ She thought about it. Her life as it was at the moment. Pastel*Palettes. The other bands. Chisato. ~I guess so. Yes.~
~GOOD.~
~Ugh... but those girls saw me. Recognised me. What do I do?~
~TALK TO THEM.~
Aya blinked. ~Huh? But...~
~WE BELIEVE IT MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR YOU. THEY HAVE SOMETHING THEY WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU AS WELL.~
She fell over on her side. Whatever happened to 'you can't let anyone know'? Her phone was still there. Three missed calls. She should call Chisato back. Wait, did the Guardians also know about Chisato?
~YES.~
The answer came even though she hadn't directly posed a question to them. Everything suddenly felt a lot more complicated.