Magical Girl: Human Rebellion

Nao and I arrived back at our meeting spot just as Saki and Mai got there, both of our pairs having overrun the hour by a few minutes.

“You guys all done with gifts?” Asked Saki

“Yep, we finished just in time. You guys manage too?”

“Just about. Mai took ages picking something out for you, I thought we were gonna be late.”

My curiosity was piqued. If Mai spent that long thinking of something, whatever she got must have had a lot of thought put into it.

“Hmm? I can’t help but notice that only Nao has a bag. Where could you be hiding my present, Mr Nomimoto?”

“The thing I got for you was reasonably small, so Nao offered to put it in her bag to save me carrying it.”

This was a lie. The rings were actually tucked into my pocket, but if I told her that she’d start trying to guess what it was. I wanted to avoid spoiling the surprise if possible.

Saki was holding a small opaque bag, deliberately hiding the logo of the shop she had bought it from. Mai had most likely put her gift in the bag slung over her shoulder. I was once again reminded that she must have looked ridiculous to other people, carrying a heavy bag while wearing something as hard to move in as a kimono.

Just as we were about to start browsing the streets again, Nao called out to the three of us.

“H-Hey… Do you think we should give our gifts now?” She seemed to be struck by a sudden melancholy. “I-I mean… Christmas Eve is three days after the solstice… we don’t know if… if we’ll…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but it was obvious what she was trying to say. It was a harrowing thought: Christmas Eve was less than a week away, but there was every possibility we wouldn’t live to see it. In that sense, giving our gifts now would seem like the logical choice.

“…no.” I said after a long and heavy silence. “Let’s wait until Christmas. Let’s give ourselves something to look forward to after we’ve kicked Baal Zebul’s ass back to the fires of hell. When we’re all out of hell safely and together, that’s when we’ll exchange gifts.”

At first the other three looked sceptical, but one by one their faces slowly turned to smiles.

“Yeah, I like that. Gives us another thing to fight for, right?” Said Mai.

“I-I think that sounds good too…” added Nao.

“Then everyone’s in favour of exchanging gifts together after we’ve shown these demon bastards who they’re messing with?”

“Yeah!” The three of us responded to Saki’s call to action. It was gonna be a good Christmas.

***

Time continued to pass, and eventually the sun dipped below the horizon. That meant just one thing: it was time to watch the Blue Cave Illuminations.

Saki and Nao had left to find a place to change clothes, so Mai and I found a bench to sit on with cover from the gently falling snow. My cheongsam and her kimono were already covered in a thin white coat from walking around for so long

“Hey, Mai. You ever been to see the illuminations?”

“Hmm… yeah, I went once back when I was 7 or 8, I think?”

“Were they as pretty as everyone says?”

“I’d definitely say so. The year I went was not long after that nasty pandemic that shut down most of the world when we were little. I remember them going all out that year as a way to let loose after the world had such an awful time. It was a magical sight to see. But the best thing about it wasn’t just the pretty lights. It was the atmosphere. All those people there to celebrate together, happy couples and loving families, just enjoying the moment and admiring the beauty. It was a sight to behold.”

Part of me lamented the fact that such experiences were stolen from me as a child. That I never got to see the lights and take in the atmosphere with my parents before they were killed. But looking at the nostalgic smile on Mai’s face, I felt that it would all be okay. Life had only just begun for us. We had plenty more memories to make.

The other two returned not long later, now in their formalwear. Nao wore a long red dress that suited her surprisingly well, stopping just short of her ankles and exposing little but her bare arms. Her tomboy of a girlfriend unsurprisingly showed up in a full suit and tuxedo, her hair now down and straight so it stretched most of the way down her back. They looked fit for the ballroom of an old European aristocrat, and I’d be lying if I said that look didn’t suit them startlingly well.

“Sorry to keep you guys waiting!” Her left hand clutching Nao’s, Saki waved at us with her right as she approached. “I had to help Nao into her dress.”

“As opposed to when you normally help her out of it, I suppose.”

“Dammit, Mai, get your head out of the gutter. Don’t worry, you didn’t keep us waiting too long.”

The four of us now reunited, we started making our way towards Yoyogi Park to see the famous lights.

“Those outfits look great on your guys, by the way,” Mai said as we walked. “That dress is surprisingly daring for you, Nao.”

“S-saki helped me pick it out. I wasn’t so sure about it myself but she said it looked good on me…”

“It looks great on you, Nao,” Saki reassured. “You should wear red more often, it suits you.”

“Y’know, I’m almost jealous to how good that suit looks you on, Saki,” said I. “Mai wasn’t joking when she said men’s clothes suit you better than they suit me.”

“I’m dashing, aren’t I? I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my promise of not overshadowing you at your wedding, I’m afraid.”

“That’s fine, I can get a new best man.”

“…I humbly apologise for my transgressions.”

The four of us continued to chatter away as we walked our way across Shibuya, the bright lights of the markets contrasting beautifully against the pitch black sky as we continued to enjoy each other’s company.

It wasn’t look before we found ourselves at the entrance to Yoyogi Park, the stunning sight of the Blue Cave illuminations finally coming into view.

“Woah…” said I

“Pretty…” said Mai

“It’s stunning…” said Saki

“Beautiful…” said Nao

Ahead of us was a sight that I couldn’t compare. There in that snow-capped park in Tokyo was a beauty I had never laid eyes on before. Trees wrapped in blue bulbs that shone in the night. A cave of wood and light that enveloped you more and more the further you walked in. It was truly everything I had been told it would be.

In the moments we spent wandering through that forest of blue and white, every worry I had disappeared. Then and there, there was no heaven nor hell. No life nor death. No sorrow nor anger.

All that existed was myself, the people I loved, and a view that set my heart aflame.

Our walk through the park was over before I even truly processed the beauty in front of my eyes. We must have been in there for quite the while, but no amount of time could be long enough. I had hoped beyond hope that that moment would last for an eternity.

“It was just a beautiful as I remember it being.”

Mai seemed almost as entranced by the sight as me, only breaking her silence after we left. The thousand-watt smile on her face could power my heartbeat for a century.

“I-it really was a lovely sight.”

“Yeah, it was like something out of a fairytale. It was even better than I expected.”

Nao and Saki seemed just as content as Mai, having gazed around in wonder the whole way round.

“It was stunning from beginning to end. But I think any sight could be beautiful if I got to see it with all of you.”

The girls all looked towards me, though I was a little taken aback when Saki stifled a laugh.

“Mai, I think you turned him into a sap.”

“I know, you think I can roll back an update or two and get the snark and cynicism back?”

“Come on, guys, I’m being serious here.”

“We know you are, you big dork.” Mai gently pushed my head with her knuckles. I rolled my eyes, but had to hide a smile. This was pretty much the reaction I was expecting. “Still, I kinda agree. I think the whole gang being here together is what made this evening so special.”

“N-not the whole gang…”

Though the atmosphere had been warm, Nao’s words left us with a bit of an icy chill. We all thought back to the friends we had left at the manor. Even on our last day of freedom before the outbreak of war, Hana and her team were hard at work taking care of their girls. It wasn’t fair on them.

We fell into a bit of a silence, all lamenting the unfortunate circumstances that kept us from celebrating with our friends.

“Gaaah, fuck this man.” Saki was the first to break it. “Ain’t this exactly what we’re fighting for? So we can continue enjoying moments like these with our friends and loved ones?”

“Yeah… Saki’s right. Let’s not get down on ourselves because Hana and the girls aren’t here. Let’s instead make sure we send those demon bastards back where they came from so we can invite them along next year instead.”

The heavy atmosphere lifted, and the girls smiled at my words. Our fighting spirit was stoked once again.

It was Saki who broke the following silence.

“We’ll protect everything humanity holds dear, and we’ll do it without losing anyone. Earth needs no gods!”

“““Earth needs no masters!”””