Night in Minato City was incredibly humid. Tokyo Bay was just due south and east after all, so even after the sun had long set and the blanket of night was pulled across the sky, ambient heat continued to cook the city alive. It wasn't something one could get used to. Kari hated how hot it was despite growing up in it. Eighteen years— eighteen summers didn't make it any less bearable.

Tonight, however, she didn't mind the suffocating heat one bit. Sweat beaded down her face and back, soaking into the magical girl outfit, and sometimes flicking off her forehead whenever she moved fast enough. Everytime she smashed a pest, their yelp followed by the splatter of blood painting the pavement filled her with an indescribable high.

They also served as a good punching bag to relieve her frustration.

Rustling leaves alerted her to the trees above. One of them leapt off the branches, baring its jaws at Kari.

"Quickdraw!"

A concentrated mass of bright energy zipped past her and took off a chunk of the head hound's body. The blast left a star-shaped hole where it had been shot. The monster fell to the ground with a thud, gushing black blood onto the pavement.

Kari kicked aside the creature blocking the way, rejoining Candy at the top of the steps of Nogi Shrine. They had successfully defeated the stray spawns terrorizing the area.

"Our first joint monster-slaying is a success!" the bright magical girl exclaimed triumphantly.

"Feels like you did most of the legwork, but I guess that's about right for someone who's been doing this for over a year." Kari high-fived Candy with both hands. They grinned at each other, faces caked in sweat and panting like they had run a marathon.

"You weren't too shabby yourself, Miss Mysterious Masked Magical Girl!" Candy threw a series of light punches on Kari's shoulder, mimicking her brutish and unrefined fighting style.

Rocky and Yuyu, Candy's anthem, laid on the ground belly up, catching their breaths. It seemed the more a magical girl exerted themselves, the greater the toll the anthems took as well.

"Candy!"

A large group of police officers assembled at the top of the steps, looking just as tired and out of breath. Kari reflexively adjusted her mask even though it remained secured to her face after all the fighting.

"Hi-Hi! Good work, officers! We've taken care of all the head hounds. Doesn't look like it was an Incursion, but there sure were a lot of stray spawns this time around," Candy said.

"It was quite the scare. Moto-Akasaka is just behind Nogi Shrine, and the Prime Minister had several foreign dignitaries residing there this week. They have been evacuated to a more secure location just in case," the lead officer explained.

"Hehe. We're glad we could help!" She pumped her fist into the air.

Twenty-one stray spawns had appeared around Nogi Park leading up to the shrine. Miraculously, no one was injured or killed. A surprise, seeing as one head hound could rack up a kill count in the double digits if left alone for a few minutes.

It was only by chance that Candy was in the area and called Kari up before the monsters could hurt anyone. They should count their lucky stars no one came this way past midnight.

The officer turned to Kari and bowed. "Thank you so much, um…?"

"It's no problem. I live in this city. In a way, it's my responsibility to help protect it." Kari scratched the unmasked side of her cheek.

She wasn't accustomed to praise. Especially when her parents, the two closest adults in her life, felt like strangers in her own house.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. Captain Ogata told me how you saved him and his squad at Tamachi. For that, too, I cannot thank you enough." He bowed even lower this time, putting Kari in an embarrassing spot. An older person normally didn't bow to someone younger than them. She had always been the one doing the bowing.

The officers stayed behind to deal with the aftermath. Kari and Candy transformed back into casual clothes out of sight from the public, then hit up a manga cafe to hang out in.

"Kari, the door! My hands are full!" Candy whispered from the other side of the door.

She wasn't kidding.

Food containers and plastic bags in her arms were stacked up to her chin. Kari helped to unburden her and placed it all on the desk which didn't have much room to begin with. Rocky and Yuyu carried a beverage tray in after her.

"You bought too much. No way in hell we're going to finish it all." Kari, floored by how much junk food Candy had bought, stared in disbelief.

Donuts, mochi, chocolate bars, okonomiyaki, taiyaki, and more. Her cholesterol levels were rising from being in the mere presence of it all.

"Oh, yeah? Just watch me!" The tiny girl rubbed her hands together and licked her lips.

"No, that wasn't an invitation to a challenge…"

As it turned out— and Kari was prepared to be wrong— Candy could not in fact finish everything.

"Uweh… I'm going to be sick, but it was worth it…" Candy laid down, stroking her stomach. Yuyu rested on top of her with a bulging belly of her own.

The slow and quiet moments like these were worth being a magical girl. Killing a couple of monsters and then ending the night stuffing her stomach with junk food wasn't a bad deal. If this was all she had to do, she wouldn't mind one bit.

Something did bug her.

Points from killing monsters weren't shared. Kari earned 9,000 points from defeating nine head hounds, while Candy earned 12,000 from defeating twelve. She found it odd that the system discouraged magical girls from working alongside each other.

"Candy—"

"No, no! Rie! Remember?" She wagged a finger in her face.

"Rie…" Kari rolled her eyes "Do you and the others often fight together?"

"Hmmmmmm. I wouldn't say often," Rie began, rolling onto her side and knocking Yuyu off in the process. "We only team up if it's something dangerous like an Incursion, but mostly stay within our own city to take care of stray spawns."

Made sense. The more spread out they were, the easier time they had to reach places others couldn't in a timely manner. Although… that certainly didn't stop Jade from leaving some to die.

Kari wanted to learn more, but if the Apocalypse System designed points to be awarded that way, then that was just how it was. Levelling up or getting stronger in general appeared to be benchmarked by how often monsters show up. If they worked together too often, they wouldn't become as strong as they have.

Worse, they might even begin to fight over each other for points.

In a way, Kari crippled her potential to gain as many points as possible due to Rie's presence. It sucked to miss out on points, but hanging out with someone like herself was a lot of fun.

She reached into the bag and found a pack of wasabi peas which reminded her of Makina. The taste of cola in her mouth turned sour.

Was being out here really okay?

Makina was suffering at home, and here she was having a grand old time with her friend's favorite magical girl.

"Watcha looking all bothered about?" Rie asked, fishing out a bag of cotton candy.

"Oh, nothing. My friend, Makina, the one I was following that day, she's a big fan of yours. Think I can get you to autograph this for her?" Kari handed Rie the bag of wasabi peas, who stared at it dumbfounded.

"Sure! But… you want me to sign wasabi peas for her? I could get some paper," she offered.

"Nah. This is her favorite snack. It'll be funny seeing her mull over keeping it or eating it." Kari grinned, imagining Makina's reaction.

Rie wrote her signature as Candy, and included a small note which she then encircled with a giant star. She always went the extra mile for her fans. While the other two enjoyed the spotlight and fame, neither of them were as talkative as Candy.

Could some of it be forced?

The girl before her was so bright and full of energy, and yet…

"Ahhh! I wish I had a friend looking out for me like you do with Makina. It makes me jellier than this jelly-filled donut!" She frowned at the last one in the box.

"Aren't you super popular at school since everyone knows who you are?" Kari asked, then realized too late the land mine she had stepped on.

The lively magical girl's demeanor became sullen. It seemed Kari wasn't the only one wearing a mask after all. Behind Rie's cheerful facade was a meek little girl.

"It's hard to know who the people around me really like. Rie or Candy? Even my parents stopped treating me like Rie. I'm just Magical Girl Candy to them. I feel like I can only really be myself around Kanae and Tsubasa."

Kanae Hashimoto and Tsubasa Shibusawa were the real names of Flare and Jade respectively. Unlike Kari, their identities weren't a secret. Maybe fame wasn't all it was cut out to be.

"They aren't the only ones. You got me now, too. Or are we not friends yet even after fighting together and sharing all that junk food?" Kari smirked.

"Oh… We're friends. Ehehe… I don't know why I'm getting all embarrassed over it. Right. We're friends!" Rie giggled and returned to her usual, bubbly self.

That's right. This person was Rie Natsume first, then Magical Girl Candy.

Flare had said the same thing when calling out to Kari on the news.

Because before you're a magical girl, you're just a girl.

Guess Flare wasn't just pulling shit out of her ass. There was a deeper meaning behind that simple statement.

"So, what do magical girls talk about when they hang out? You've got to be at least level 3 since you have your weapon, right? I wonder what mine's going to be," Kari said, trying to make small talk to clear the air.

"Uhm… Flare doesn't like when we share each other's stats. She calls it an invasion of privacy." Rie squirmed uncomfortably, like this was a touchy subject for her.

Was it supposed to be?

"I didn't mean to put you on the spot! We can talk about something else instead?" she offered.

"It's okay! Well… It's just the two of us, and Flare doesn't have to know." She glanced around the booth as if scared it had been bugged, then gestured to come closer. Kari scooted closer in the already cramped space, and Rie cupped her hands over her mouth. "I'm a level 3 Gunslinger class and level 2 Mage subclass."

Gunslinger explained Rie's hand cannon. The skill names she shouted in battle were also firearm-themed. Then there was her subclass, Mage. It must have given Magical Girl Candy some kind of boost in skills and mana capacity. A potent combination, seeing as she was able to fire off a lot of skills in quick succession.

Meanwhile, Kari could only use her skills so many times before needing to rely on swinging her fists.

Going home became an afterthought. They talked well into the night, revealing each other's skills and stats, including coming up with strategies that might synergize in battle together.

The Apocalypse System and magical girls weren't the only things they talked about. Kari learned a lot about Rie from just listening to her ramble. She gushed about Flare's chivalric personality, but it was clear she had a soft spot for Jade. Their friendship could best be described as sibling-like.

It bothered Kari that someone like Rie spoke so highly of the magical girl who could leave people to die. Maybe she didn't know that about her colleague.

She was about to bring it up when a chill ran up Kari's spine. The strange sensation was akin to fingers running up the length of her back. Rie felt it, too. Their anthems sprung into the air and tensed up.

"Yuyu, is that what I think it is?" Rie asked.

"Umu! Something big, very big! The Apocalypse System raised a Malevolent Domain," she answered.

Rie's phone buzzed with a notification.

"I gotta go," Rie said. She began to pack her stuff as she read the message on her phone. "It looks like a Malevolent Domain appeared in Fukuyama,"

"Malevolent Domain? Wait, let me help!" Kari also got to her feet, but was faced with a hand in her face.

"Fukuyama's far, and it's not like you can fly yet. Malevolent Domains also aren't something a level 2 can deal with. Leave it to me, Jade, and Flare!" She struck a pose as she said that.

So, still too weak to help. Catching up to them was going to take ages if all she fought were stray spawns. If tonight was any indication, she remained miles away from the likes of the established magical girls.

A part of her was worried for Rie's well being. They had only just met, but Kari felt a strong sense of justice from her. More so than Jade who was themed after the concept.

She thought of something to give her a boost.

"Rie!"

The young girl stopped with one foot out the door and turned around.

"Good luck. Let's hang out again sometime," Kari said.

Rie's eyes glistened with joy. She returned to the booth and threw her arms around Kari for a squeezing hug. This was only their second time meeting, yet they were already like the best of pals. That cutsie personality reminded her a little of Makina.

"For sure! Makina's really lucky to have a friend like you. Maybe one day we can all hang out together." She skipped out the door, waved with both hands like an idol and took off.