A disillusioned Magical Girl.

If Snow’s thoughts were a jumbled mess, then Mariko’s were a trainwreck.

“Uh–” she paused. “Y’know, I’m not really good at that kinda stuff, haha. Never really had anybody like me, pretty sure.”

There were definitely people Mariko had liked in the past, but–

Thoughts of Mimi were flooding back to her. Her stomach unsettled. She needed to turn her thoughts away, or Snow could hear them. She briskly freed her hand.

If Snow’s thoughts were a jumbled mess, then Mariko’s were a trainwreck.

“Uh–” she paused. “Y’know, I’m not really good at that kinda stuff, haha. Never really had anybody like me, pretty sure.”

There were definitely people Mariko had liked in the past, but–

Thoughts of Mimi were flooding back to her. Her stomach unsettled. She needed to turn her thoughts away, or Snow could hear them. She briskly freed her hand.

It pained Koyuki to do this, it really did. She had received a love letter from one of her classmates but not for herself, but rather to pass onto Mariko, the target of affection. She didn’t want to give up her teacher that easily…she may not display it, but Koyuki had become extremely reliant on her teacher as she validated her need of having to take care of someone. “Sensei, someone asked me…to give this letter for you.” She begrudgingly handed it over, looking down at her feet while doing so.

In the passing months, Mariko had become something of a celebrity icon at the school.

At first, she was the talk of rumors and idle chattering, which wasn’t surprising. That usually happened, because she was usually quickly painted out to be the loner type. Mariko typically found a few close friends she liked and was disinterested in everyone else. 

After meeting Snow White, Mariko felt like things were really changing for the better.  She found her confidence. She started taking showers more often, and her hair was no longer thin threads of grease. For once, she actually started to smell like flowers. She loved her students dearly, despite only being a substitute, and worked hard to help them pass. Suffice to say, she quickly became the center of the student gossip.

Perhaps she should have figured something like this would happen. “Ah? For me?” She took the parchment from Snow, flipping it over in her hands once or twice. It lacked a sender’s name.

Opening it revealed incredibly curly handwriting–a female student, probably. She took little notice to Snow’s lowering gaze and read the contents partially allowed, stopping to mumble every few seconds.

At first, she wondered what was so important it needed to be sent in a letter. Then, as she mulled over the contents, her face flushed. “Oh. Ah, um…” She stuttered, feeling somewhat exposed for what felt like the first time in a long time.

“Well, that’s sweet of her, but…” Mariko handed the letter back. “I’m a teacher, so I can’t exactly return her feelings, haha. And I don’t even know her, to boot.” She’d never… been the object of someone’s affections like this before. Was it proper to write a rejection letter? It would be kind of cruel to just send Snow back to give the bad news, wouldn’t it? But it would be inappropriate to meet with her like this, too, right?

By the time the last bell had rung, Mariko could feel her bun, frazzled at the edges, trying to escape its scrunchie. She pulled her hair back and redid the knot while the students–her students–filed out one by one, chatting about one thing or another. What they wanted to do for the weekend, complaining about homework. It was a nostalgic sight that brought happy, memorable feelings. Mariko envied them, to some extent: being carefree, without worries of responsibilities, just being able to have fun with friends. Being a teenager really was great.

That only served to remind Mariko how old she was exactly. She sighed and pulled her things together, barely catching a stack of papers when she saw–not heard, she didn’t hear her light footsteps–Snow White–or rather, Koyuki Himekawa–walk up to her desk with her bag. She wasn’t on cleaning duty?

That’s when she asked her if they could meet after school. This usually meant the roof, and Mariko was the only one of them who could get the key without raising suspicion. She didn’t even let her nod or say “okay” before walking off, and Mariko watched her, confused. She didn’t let it stay long and shrugged her shoulders, gathering her materials.

After soliciting the keys from the gardening club, she unlocked the roof and stepped outside. Mariko had somehow become a temporary supervisor in the short time she’d been there, most likely because she was incredibly knowledgeable about the subject, and frequently tended to the plants when nobody else could. She decided to check the petunias while she waited for Snow to show up and crouched down by the flowerbeds. Her lab coat scrunched around her ankles as she delicately fixed their supports.

“I’ve changed, Ripple. I’m not…I’m not the same person you used to know.” Snow White replied with a downcast expression, before placing a hand on her own chest, emphasizing her next statement. “Let’s stop her together, Ripple. With our abilities combined, I’m sure we…we’ll be unstoppable!”

Ripple would never believe that. No matter what happened, Snow White would never change in her mind. By this point, Ripple honestly didn’t think there was anything she could do to make her think differently about her. Even though she said she was different… all Ripple saw when she looked at her was the girl that she’d fought alongside so long ago.

“I can’t.” The thought of letting Frederica near Snow terrified Ripple, “You don’t understand. You wouldn’t be safe. There’s a better chance of her being defeated if I go alone.”

“Backstory? Ah, I understand.” Snow White nodded. Some Magical Girls were given established backstories, such was the nature of the phone app game they were playing. “I’m kind of looking for ways to increase popularity as a magical girl. It’s quite rough to get recognition if no one’s around.”

@aliceinhardgoreland

“Ah, so this is where all the valuable time that could’ve been used for lesson planning went?” Koyuki sarcastically replied back at her, before sitting right next to her in the cramped, tiny chair that the arcade provided for players. “Well then, shall we?”

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS THAT I LOVE:

44-Marika Fukuroi (And Styler Mimi)

“I’m mostly kidding. I understand your position, teacher.” Koyuki replied before following inside the arcade. It certainly was most lively, filled with people of all kinds that are mostly there for some late night gaming. “I’ll have you know, I’m quite formidable when it comes to games.”

Mariko laughed nervously, but made no further comment on the supposed joke. She was already feeling a little out of place–a thirty-year-old woman in a space occupied mostly by ten to nineteen year olds, with a few older adults playing for tickets rather than fun. With little else to save than her dignity, Mariko surrendered and sighed.

“Well, I’m pretty tough too, y’know. Hey, why don’t we try out that one?” Mariko pointed to a shoot-em-up with space for two players. “See who can get the highest score. But, don’t be too upset if you lose–I’ve been practicing longer than you’ve been alive.”

It was a trap, of course. Snow White herself was acting as a fool who wanted information in order to catch Magicaloid44 red-handed in the act. “Ah, you must be the magical girl from the future?” Snow White asked the android, trying to play as nice as she could.

“That leader? She’s gone. Long gone.” Snow White looked down, before her eyes widening at Ripple’s comment. This was not how their first reunion should go, but yet she felt her emotions boiling over… “I do not trust anyone with that job. I do not trust…anyone at all, Ripple. I’ve learned that I have to take things into my own accord. I…refuse to allow her to have more victims ever again.”

That leader may be gone, but it was clear that her impact on Snow White lived on. 

This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t who Snow White was supposed to be. Of course, Ripple would care for her friend no matter who she turned into, but despite that- or perhaps because of it- she would hate everyone who had changed her. Everyone who had tried to use her, everyone who had shattered her faith in others.

“Stop.” Words had never been Ripple’s strong point. She didn’t know how to make things better. “You aren’t a murderer. You can’t be the one to kill her. You don’t need to get involved with this anymore.”

Koyuki Himekawa, rather, Snow White was playing vigilante again today. She’s heard various rumors of a Magical Girl who was supposedly selling useless products to other magical girls in order to gain some coin, As a magical girl of justice, she clearly couldn’t let this slide, right…? Immediately, Snow White surveyed the area, hoping to catch this magical girl in the act.

Today was a day like any other for Magicaloid: moving from place to place looking for new magical girls to meet. Not all of them were going to be as easy to fool as her former golden goose, Sister Nana, but she really only had one goal: to earn a little money. How she achieved this goal could vary from person to person; some could be enticed through one of her many futuristic gadgets (most of which were more or less pointless; this fact was something she personally used to justify her use of the magical skill that was otherwise mostly unhelpful), and some could be in want of information. Being as savvy as she was, Magicloid could usually provide genuine information… admittedly, she knew that she probably charged more than she should, but as the expression goes, “that’s how the cookie crumbles”.