Kari waited for what must have been an hour. If they only wanted to hear her account of what happened, making her wait in an interrogation room was a little suspicious. This could have easily been done back at the plaza, but Captain Ogata insisted they return to the precinct and left his unit to handle the mess at Roppongi.

At least being ferried away by the police saved her from dealing with the crowds, as well as away from Flare's burning glare. There was so much to think about after Jade's revelation, that coming down to the police station felt more like a bothersome chore.

She chewed on her fingernail until it became rigid. Digesting what Jade had told her was difficult. It changed nothing that she had left her and Makina for dead.

Another, more pressing question troubled her yet— What game was that nutjob Flare playing at?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Captain Ogata entering the room with two paper cups in hand and apologizing for making her wait. He took a seat across the small table and slid to her one of the steaming cups that smelled of coffee.

"Best I got is black. Sorry there's no sugar or cream. I'm not really a fan of sugary things," he said, clearing the awkward silence between them.

"Thanks. Neither am I, so this is fine for me." Kari took a sip that only really moistened her lips.

Now wasn't the time to be nervous. She had to keep up appearances even to the police, lest they suspect foul play at the park.

"I'm sure you must be dying to get home after a tough day. Thank you. Seriously. Without you magical girls, the body counts would surely be much higher," he said.

"A certain superhero's uncle did say with great power, comes great responsibility. We're just out here doing what's right like you guys." Kari thought to butter him up and it seemed to work. He flashed a wide grin, belching a laugh that echoed in the room.

The police captain scooted his drink aside and clasped two meaty hands together on the table. "Well, we're nothing compared to you brave ladies. Which leads me to why I asked you to come by, as there's only so much that we know and need you to fill in."

Kari knew it would come to this no matter how much either of them stalled with small talk. She went to explain what she had prepared beforehand to say. It was similar to Minato's explanation, but tweaked from her perspective and careful not to embellish too much that would arouse suspicions. The man in front of her listened so intently, she was afraid to reveal too much that he might fixate onto.

"I see," Captain Ogata said, long after she had finished explaining. "It's always terrible to hear of young people's deaths. One of the deceased, Tetsuo, belongs to the Katsuragi family. They had already lost their eldest son Gouda in Akihabara a few weeks ago."

"My friend Chie died that day, too." She swallowed hard and cast her eyes down to the coffee, but an uncaring reflection stared back.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He sighed.

The deflection seemed to work. Whether in respect for the dead or to mourn them, Captain Ogata fell silent. The hardest part had passed. She shouldn't have to say anymore after this and would be free to leave, closing the matter for good.

"One thing is bugging me though. When I asked the only survivor of the park attack, the boy had no idea either." Captain Ogata's seat creaked as he leaned forward and shut his eyes in thought. One hand scratched his scruffy salt and pepper hair. "We found every victim's personal belongings except Tetsuo Katsuragi's phone which I find odd."

Kari glanced up at the police captain and waited for him to continue, yet his pause seemed like a chance for her to answer instead. She selected to remain quiet.

"The sole survivor was apparently a victim of bullying, and he distinctly told me they were all 'filming me while beating me up'. You kids are all so in love with the latest tech, I find it hard to believe Tetsuo didn't have his phone on him," he said, opening one eye at Kari.

It was fine. Flare melted the phone into sludge. Whatever secrets it contained were hers alone now.

Kari did think it strange that he mentioned Tetsuo by name, but withheld identifying Minato. Not that it mattered. He doesn't appear to know she and Minato were friends, thus there was no tying her to the mischief. As far as the police knew, they were just a bunch of high schoolers in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Maybe it got lost." Kari shrugged, trying not to let her growing impatient show.

Captain Ogata heaved another sigh. "Poor kids deserved better."

Her eyes twitched briefly in response. She rubbed them as if an eyelash was irritating her.

No one could think they deserved better knowing what she knew.

"To be sure, was it too late by the time you arrived?" he asked.

She wondered if there was truly a right or wrong answer to this. It was easy to forget that police officers were also investigators, and a man as seasoned as a police captain did not ask questions just to make small talk.

"Yeah. If only I was faster," Kari answered. "Can I leave now? Kind of want to shower up after today."

"Don't let me keep you! Thanks again for coming." Captain Ogata leaned back on the seat and folded his thick arms across the barrel of a chest.

Kari grabbed the cup of coffee and was about to leave until he cleared his throat.

"Ah. I just remembered."

She paused with her hand on the door knob.

"Kari Tachibana. Your father put in a missing person's report. Don't worry, it won't go past my desk. I know you're a magical girl, but try not to forget your family. I have a daughter myself. If she turned into one, I'd be worried sick!" He chuckled.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Rocky was waiting in the lobby, trying to cheer up a crying child who had just lost her parents in the attack at Roppongi. She arrived at the same time they did, and the police had been trying to contact her extended family ever since.

"Time to go," Kari said to her anthem.

He flew up to her but hesitated to leave. "Maybe you can say something to her? You know, as a magical girl?"

"Why should I?" she asked, only to get a dirty look from Rocky.

What should she say? Maybe something that might come out of the other three's mouths.

The girl stopped crying and looked up. Her eyes were red and cheeks stained with tears.

"You didn't save my mom and dad…" she said, causing Kari to choke down her own words.

"Sweetheart, come here. We've got a hold of your grandma!" a dispatcher called from the other side of the counter.

Kari couldn't get a word in and only watched the girl's back until she exited the lobby.

Flying over the sky, Kari could make out the smoking wreck left behind at Roppongi Hills. The destruction somehow made her homesick.

For once after a long while, she thought of her parents. Makina's mother and Captain Ogata, both adults with families of their own, encouraged her to reach out to them. That kid just now reminded her how easily one's life could shatter. With little else to do, Kari flew straight home.

She looked through the window and saw her dad in his usual spot on the couch. A laptop was open in front of him. It was the weekend, which meant he continued to work even though he should be resting.

Kari rang the doorbell and waited with bated breath. When the door opened, her mom was there under the doorway.

"Hiya, Mrs. Tachibana!" Rocky waved.

She collapsed to her knees. "Kari, Rocky? Oh, my god!"

"Okay, mom. You don't have to be that dramatic." Kari rolled her eyes, but was relieved that she was able to make such a reaction.

"Who's at the door— Kari?" Her dad gawked from the hallway.

Both of them were excited to have her home. They urged her to come inside, but she was hesitant and only relented due to their insistence.

"You had us so worried," Mom began. "We only knew you were alright from the clips they show on TV of you fighting. You're not hurt, are you?"

"No. I'm a lot stronger than that. Even started fighting with… with the other girls." Kari swallowed the lump in her throat.

Although the two of them had a lot to say, it wasn't the same case with her dad. He sat there awkwardly in silence, listening to them until her mom nudged him.

"Don't you have something to tell Kari?" his wife asked.

Kari glanced over expectantly. Their eyes met, only the second time since coming back.

"I'm… I'm sorry about the way I acted. I should have been more supportive of you becoming a magical girl," he said at last.

A pre-recording hidden under the table would have been more believable. Yet there it was. An apology. Maybe there was a chance for them to be a family again.

She lowered her head apologetically. "It's alright. I also said too much."

"Okay." Dad nodded with relief.

Mom echoed his line and nodded as well to clear the air.

"We should go out and eat together as a family tonight. Just the three of us. How's korean barbecue sound?" he suggested.

"You know it's going to be hard when everyone knows my name now," Kari remarked.

"Oh, once they hear who's coming, I'm sure we'll get seated instantly," Mom said.

"Our little girl can fly, remember? We can skip traffic and head straight to the restaurant if she flies us there."

"I… I could use a bath first…" She tried to get a word in but was promptly ignored.

"That's true! With her around, we wouldn't even need plane tickets for an Okinawa trip either!"

"Actually, my company wants you to sponsor our product like you did with the plushies—"

"—my friends will be so jealous that I have a magical girl for a daughter."

"Maybe I can quit my job and live off of Kari's royalties—"

What's going on? Kari asked herself.

She stopped existing to them again. She had once again become canvas they wanted to paint over.

Kari slammed her fists on the dinner table, breaking it completely and silencing her parents. They staggered away and pressed their backs against the far wall.

"You know what? I want nothing to do with this family. Take my college funds and put it into your retirement savings, I don't care." She left her phone on the counter and stormed out of the house.

Why?

Why did that hurt to say? She told herself not to look back. Not while her eyes were hot.

That wasn't family, but eighteen years of being asked to dance like a marionette. With these words repeating in her head, she convinced herself that her parents were wrong by the time she reached the door.

"I don't get it! You three were getting along just now. What happened?" Rocky asked, following her out, dumbfounded how it turned out this way. An anthem couldn't understand. They didn't have familial relationships like humans did.

The anthem flew in her way again. It felt as though this had been happening a lot lately. However, he was astonished to see tears rolling down her cheeks. His shoulders slackened and hugged her instead of demanding an answer.

"I'm so tired, Rocky. It hasn't been a week, and I almost died twice. I just wanted to take a bath…" she said, choking up.

Rocky reached up to wipe a tear away with his paw. "I know."

The two of them sat at the top of the Tokyo Tower until night fell, and Kari wept until there were no tears left.

"It's getting late. Should we go back to the manga cafe?" Rocky asked.

If they did, [Incognito] would have to be on all day long.

"I got a better idea," she said.

They arrived at Nekomura just as employees were closing up for the evening. The cats had already been put away and the kitchen closed, but she wasn't here for either of those.

"Sorry, we're closing up." The male employee had his back turned, too busy wiping down a table to notice.

"Shuu," Kari called into the cafe.

Startled, Shuu dropped the towel and gasped. "Holy shit! K-Kari? Weren't you just at Roppongi?"

"I need a place to stay," she said.

Kari pulled the hoodie down as she entered Shuu's apartment after him.

"Sorry for the intrusion!" Rocky said on the way in. "Do you have anything to eat in the fridge?"

"Make yourselves at home, I guess?" He switched on the lights to a very messy one-room studio. The kitchen was directly to the left as she walked in, and the bathroom was through an opened door to the right. Unwashed dishes filled the sink, clothes laid strewn on the ground, and the ceiling creaked to every footstep.

"On second thought, I'm going to a manga cafe." She spun around to Shuu, blocking the way.

"Give me a break!" He threw his hands in the air. "You dropped in on me out of nowhere. I'll clean up right now, but if you want to leave, don't let me stop you."

Kari threw her duffle bag to the only corner that wasn't a mess, then dug for a change of clothes and towel.

"Is this a don't ask situation? Because I've got a lot of questions right now," Shuu said, leaning against the kitchen's half-wall.

"You get three as thanks for letting me stay," she replied.

It didn't take him long to come up with three questions. "How long? Why not Makina's place? What color underwear will you change into?"

"Until I find a new place, I can't face her right now, and…" Kari unfurled a plain white panty in her hands and heard him boo as she entered the bathroom.

After a back and forth exchange, Kari finally relented in accepting the futon on Shuu's insistence, and he settled for the floor with a rolled up jacket as his pillow. Rocky was already sound asleep beside her with a googly-eyed sleep mask on.

"You awake?" Shuu whispered.

"If I say no, will you pretend to be asleep?" she asked.

"Seriously. How you became a magical girl over Makina is beyond me…" He groaned.

Kari looked at the ring on her finger and thought it had gotten tighter since she first put it on. What if she was the mistake, and the ring originally wanted Makina? How much differently things would have turned out.

No. That was loser's talk. She had these powers now, and it was up to her to save the ones who mattered.

"You should start looking to move out of Tokyo— Hell, just get out of the prefecture for a few months," Kari warned.

Shuu rolled over on his side to face her. "Wait, what? Where is all this coming from?"

"After today's attack in Roppongi Hills, Jade mentioned something about here being ground zero. I think the next Incursion is going to be a big one; it's not safe to stay," she said.

He laid flat on his back, put both hands behind his head, and sighed through his nose. There was no surprise or urgency. Shuu simply stared at the ceiling as though wondering what to have for breakfast in the morning.

"If it isn't safe in the one of few cities that has a magical girl, is there anywhere else that is safe?" he asked.

Kari opened her mouth, but she had no answer to give.

The next few days were spent bumming off of Shuu while searching for an affordable apartment to live in Minato City, an endeavor akin to looking for a needle in the haystack. Kari scorned the fact that she used Flare's charity to buy a new phone, wanting nothing to do with her if she could help it.

As magical girls living in such a small country in comparison to others in the world, seeing and fighting alongside her again was an inevitability she wasn't looking forward to. Even discarding her old phone didn't sever their connection. As soon as she reinstalled the LINE app, her account remained unchanged with every contact still there.

Among her recent chats, a message had been sent to her from Kanae three days ago— the same day as the attack.

Kari scowled at the message containing an animated sticker of Flare giving a thumb's up and read: Let's continue working together!

Fake. Never in her life had she met someone, not even Ena, so fake.

Maybe it was time to look for new allies. While trying to bring Kari into the fold, Flare made a big deal about keeping an eye on Jade together. But that turned out to be a farce. Flare was powerful enough to keep magical girls' mouths shut and follow orders, but crazy enough that Jade turned on her the moment they could speak without being heard.

Does Flare… have eyes and ears in places that forced Jade and Candy to keep quiet about things? Kari asked herself.

How?

Kari sighed into the empty apartment after Shuu had gone to work, then turned on [Incognito] before stepping out into the exterior walkway. She leaned over the stone railing to a five-story drop. The urge to drop Makina a message was hard to resist.

An idea suddenly came to her.

"Rocky, does the Apocalypse System have a message system?" Kari asked.

"It does for 50,000 points! But no one buys it because you guys all have phones and computers." He shrugged.

"50— holy shit. Just who the hell designed this stupid system?" She activated the Apocalypse System and navigated to the shop menu.

"Hey, don't rag on the thing that's helping us save your world! We may not know who or what made it, but they certainly don't want us to lose," he said.

"If that's the case, then level us up to max…"

Purchasing the messaging system opened a text box, along with a list— longer than she expected— of magical girls who were available to be contacted. None of them she recognized. All were foreigners from other countries. She sorted by nation and the nine faces showed up

Nine?

There are five other magical girls besides them?

Not right now. Kari would have to investigate that later. For now, she tried sending a message to Jade.

[Kari: If you received this message, we need to talk. Meet me at the top of Tokyo Tower.

Jade: ]

Without waiting for a reply, Kari and Rocky flew to the Tokyo Tower. Twenty minutes later, Jade and Gauntlet arrived.

[Jade: You're fucking nuts. What if Flare can see this? And even if she can't, she might know we're meeting up.

Kari: Then throw her off. I want to know more about ground zero. Tell me in person.]

Jade gestured to the observation deck's rooftop. The two of them landed on it, voices of tourists and visitors could be heard from underneath as they gazed across Tokyo.

"Ground zero is where shit starts spawning like crazy and anomalies like a Malevolent Domain error happens more often. Same thing that happened in Cape Town, South Africa and kicked off the apocalyptic Incursion. In short, Kari— your city's fucked."