Makina was looking worse with each passing day. Didn't matter how many stink-eyes Kari gave to people, it couldn't stop the photo from being passed around in school. It was one thing for guys to stare lecherously at her, but at least they kept to themselves and stayed quiet. Girls were especially vicious. At their core, they all had a piece of Ena Mizushima in them.

'Whore' and 'slut' weren't the worst Makina was called. Dead rats were found in her shoe locker, her desk continued to be drawn on every morning and no student was willing to out their fellows, and to make things worse, the teachers did nothing to stop the bullying.

Instead…

"Makina. Makina Oikawa, please report to the faculty office after school," Principal Nishida requested from the intercom.

They knew this was coming from a mile away. With how often the picture was sent between students, it was a matter of time before a teacher caught on and reported it to the principal. Next would be her parents.

"Stay strong," Kari said, reluctant to let go of Makina's hand.

She smiled weakly and entered the office while Kari waited outside. Teachers were leaving a lot sooner today than usual. They often stayed for up to two hour going over student paperwork before going home.

There might not have been much to do. It was already Thursday. One more day of school tomorrow and then summer vacation. She should come up with something to take Makina's mind off all that's been going on.

"Kari? What are you doing still hanging around?" Ms. Wakana came walking down the hallway.

She appeared to be among the last faculty who hadn't left yet who wasn't a club advisor or sports coach. Thinking about it, the nurse staying to look after potential injuries made sense. This woman took her job way too seriously even when she didn't need to.

"Makina got called by the principal, so I'm just waiting for her. Ms. Wakana, don't you have a boyfriend or someone to be with? You're always staying late," Kari teased.

"As if finding a boyfriend is at the top of my priorities…" The nurse heaved a sigh, then wagged a finger in Kari's face. "We're so close in age, you don't have to call me by my last name. Other students already call me by my first name. Feel free to call me Iori, too!"

She was about to do just that until the nurse opened the faculty office door and the dull sound of struggling could be heard clear as day. Both of them traded glances, then ran to the end of the room where the principal's office was.

"Principal Nishida? Is everything alright?" Iori rapped her knuckles on the door.

Kari clicked her tongue and assumed the worst. She kicked the door to the side of the knob, breaking it open and tearing off the lower hinge.

"Wh-What is the meaning of this?" The principal cried, gawking at the broken door and wiping the sweat from his fat neck with a handkerchief.

She pushed past him, making a beeline to Makina. "What did he do to you?"

Her friend had no answer to give.

"Kari Tachibana!" Principal Nishida put a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Destruction of school property is a serious matter. Your parents will hear of—"

Rationality slipped her mind. She grabbed the principal by the tie and pushed him into a bookshelf, knocking off several books and decorations in the process.

"I'm at the edge of my fucking mind. Destruction of school property? That's about to be the least of your worries," Kari snarled quietly.

"Kari!" Iori, Makina, and even Rocky's words echoed in her head, just in time to prevent her from making an irreversible decision.

She let go of the principal, took Makina by the hand, and raced out of the room. They got as far as the shoe lockers when Makina couldn't run anymore. She sat on the ground, burying her head between her knees and back pressed to the lockers.

"I don't want to do this anymore…" Her words came out lifeless and meek.

"What did Principal Nishida do to you?" Kari asked again after swallowing her hesitation.

"He showed me the picture. Said if I didn't want my parents to know, I had to give him… a blowjob," Makina gagged as she answered.

The same anger Kari felt when she was enraged in the fight against the broken lady filled her entire being. So blinded with fury, her hand crushed the metal door of the locker she had opened.

Tetsuo and his friends were just entering from the hallway. They locked eyes, and Kari lost control. She shoved the others aside, lifted the cripple off his feet by the collar, and shoved him up against the lockers.

"You sent everyone that picture, didn't you?" Kari growled.

One of Tetsuo's larger friends tried to put her into a chokehold. Another came to his aid, prying vainly at her fingers. Each one of them were surprised they couldn't budge her.

"I...I can't get this bitch off you!" his friend cried.

"When the hell did you get so strong?" he asked, wincing in pain.

"Wrong answer." She shoved him harder against the lockers, causing the metal to echo down the halls.

"I didn't send that picture. I swear to god… it wasn't me…"

She was about to slam him again, but a familiar touch wrapped around her from behind. Makina pressed her face between Kari's shoulder blades. Tears began to soak the back of her shirt.

After letting Tetsuo down, the others also let go of Kari.

"It was Daisuke…" Tetsuo said, rubbing his neck as two friends helped him up.

She and Makina left without saying another word. It wasn't until they reached the point where they split that Kari was afraid to let Makina out of her sight. She took Makina's hand and held it tightly. It seemed like she was doing that a lot lately.

"You're scared to go home, right? Sleep over at my place tonight. We can face your parents together tomorrow instead," Kari suggested.

Makina sniffled and nodded.

When they got to Kari's home, her parents weren't there. It was still too early in the afternoon for either of them to be back, so she sent a text asking if Makina could stay over for the night.

Thankfully, they were both alright with it as long as Makina's parents were informed. Hopefully that bastard of a principal hadn't called them about her circumstances yet.

Makina slipped into Kari's bed as soon as they entered her room and threw the covers over herself. She was about to offer the bed anyway. Saved a few words was all.

"Is she going to be okay?" Rocky asked quietly.

"I hope so," Kari answered, although she wasn't sure herself.

Anyone else and this amount of stress would have killed them. Makina was strong. Much stronger than Kari could ever be. But a person could only take so much before breaking.

Something had to be done.

"Dinner's ready, you two!" Mom shouted from downstairs.

Kari stirred from her nap. Her back ached from sitting on the floor with her back to the foot of the bed.

Night had rolled around, and Makina's parents still hadn't called her. Which meant Principal Nishida was keeping quiet regarding the assault and photo. He was probably afraid of risking his position.

Just the thought of him, Tetsuo, Ena, and Daisuke doing anything to Makina made her tremble with rage.

"If you don't want to go downstairs, I can bring some food up," Kari offered but received no answer aside from rhythmic and shallow breathing. She pulled the covers away to find Makina asleep. Her lips were slightly parted, breathing quietly through her mouth.

Kari poked at Makina's cheek, causing her to stir.

The covers slipped away and Kari came face to face with Rocky, trapped in Makina's arms and sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Help… I've been stuck like this for an hour, and it doesn't look like she's waking up anytime soon…" the anthem groaned.

"Keep an eye on her. I'm stepping out for a bit," she said.

Downstairs, Mom and Dad ate silently together. A fourth chair had been pulled out for the guest who wouldn't be joining.

"Oh? Makina isn't coming down?" Mom asked.

"Fell asleep studying too hard," Kari answered.

"If only you could give that amount of effort into your schoolwork." Dad's offhand remark only served to curb her appetite.

Maybe it was a good thing Makina fell asleep. They didn't have to sit through being compared to one another.

"I just remembered. I need to go buy some pads," she said.

Her parents didn't even try to stop her from leaving. She had become the child they simply tolerated and only occasionally tried to get along with. It was better this way. Nothing short of her becoming a CEO of a tech company would make them happy.

Kari threw on a hoodie and took the long way into the city. Street lights flickered on even though there was plenty of sunlight to go around. Minato City was bustling in the early evening. People were shoulder to shoulder. Salarymen got off work looking for izakayas to crash at. Students who stayed late at school came down to play before going home.

Coming out to buy pads was a lie. She still had plenty. What she really needed was to clear her mind. The surface of her skin hadn't stopped boiling. Anger continued to rage like a violent storm within her heart. But it was nothing compared to what Makina was going through. If she could take that pain from her, she would do it in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately, things weren't that simple. For all the power she had as a magical girl, there was only so much she could do.

Dwelling on it wasn't going to do anything either.

She came up to the entrance of a SEGA center, thinking to take a load off by shooting some zombies when a group of rowdy boys from Suginuma emerged from the arcade. Daisuke, the fucker who leaked the photo all over school, and three other boys from the basketball team were with him.

Kari began to follow them without even realizing it.

Why? To what end and what good would that do?

She did so nonetheless, and thanks to the crowds, was able to stalk them without attracting notice. Her hoodie was loose and large enough to cover most of her head and not look out of place. Just a girl bundling up as the sun was going down and night took over the city.

Daisuke and his friends didn't have any particular destination in mind. They wandered the city, hitting up manga stores and arcades for a bit, then moved onto the next.

"Hold on, I got a text." The captain of the basketball team stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and pulled out his phone.

"Who is it? Ena?" vice-captain Shougo, the other guy who was with Tetsuo that day, asked.

Kari faced a vending machine and pretended to browse the selection.

"Yeah. Ena's been texting me non-stop since that pic of me is going around," he answered.

"Man, you're always getting the girls. Spare some for us," one of his friends pleaded jokingly.

"Hey, I'll take used goods. Introduce us to that girl in the picture," another said, elbowing Daisuke in the arm.

It took every ounce of willpower not to blow a lid right then and there. She selected red bean soup to continue eavesdropping and hid on the opposite side of the vending machines to avoid being seen.

"Who? Makina?" Daisuke scoffed. "You can try if you want. No skin off my back. I only did her because Tetsuo had a little something for her. She's too much of a prude for my taste, but hey, at least her pussy was tight as fuck."

Her fist crushed the can like it was made of paper. Fortunately, she had already drunk it all and only got a little on her hand.

"Why'd you send that picture to people anyway? Not afraid it's gonna bite your ass later?" his vice-captain asked.

"Pfft. Coach letting me go before the Summer Invitationals?" He sneered at the thought of being punished.

Seriously? This guy was the captain of the basketball team? Blessed with good genes and popularity, but didn't have enough sense to be remorseful about what he did. And what was that bit about Tetsuo? So he did play a bigger part after all.

What made these shits any different from soulless head hounds? Kari wondered.

The boys were beginning to move again. They talked a while longer and went their separate ways. Daisuke turned the corner into a park absent of a single soul now that it was getting late save for two— herself and one of the causes of Makina's suffering himself.

She could confront him, but what should she say? Nothing she did would change anything. People still called Makina a whore. Men who couldn't get their dick wet still saw her as an easy target. Her desk continued to be drawn on and the locker filled with unwanted refuse.

Before Kari knew it, she was standing in Daisuke's way, spooking him as she emerged from the bushes.

"Geez! Fucking scared me. Who the hell are you?" Daisuke asked, adjusting the duffel bag on his shoulder.

She was just as stunned, speechless even.

"Weirdo." He tried to walk past, but she grabbed his wrist and twisted.

"What the fuck— let go, bitch!" Daisuke threw a punch. She blocked it with ease and slammed him face first into the ground.

Kill him.

The image of Makina crying flitted through her mind.

Kill him! He raped Makina. The piece of shit deserves it. Put him in his place.

Terrible thoughts replaced Makina's face and whispered louder than Daisuke's pleas for help. She couldn't shake it. Couldn't extinguish this inexplicable anger clawing at her being.

You promised to protect her. Do it. Teach him a lesson. What is he to you anyway? He doesn't know who you are. You're strong. You can get away with it.

No one will know.

A hero is supposed to fight evil… right?

"Whatever I did to you, I'm sorry! Please, just let me go!" Pinned under an indomitable strength he couldn't fight back against, he began to beg for mercy— of which Kari realized she had none.

She put her foot on his shin. All it took was a little bit of weight and…

Crk!

A dull snap. Quieter than she expected, like a twig or toothpick breaking in two.

"AAAARRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH! MY LEG! YOU BROKE MY FUCKING LEG— HELP ME, SOMEBODY!" He cried so loud, it shocked her back to her senses.

Kari ran. She ran as fast as she could before anyone saw. All the while laughing to herself. No regret. Only relief.

A single thought raced across her mind, was human bone always that fragile?