In addition to the helicopters, police sirens blared in the distance and were growing ever closer. Wind kicked up by the chopper blades blew dust and leaves into the bathroom. After everything that Kari had done, her sins were finally catching up. All the cold-blooded murder of innocent lives, leaving and leading people to their deaths, and using them to suit her own ends… just like the cacophanous cries of countless souls when she was in imprisoned on that ship, they were coming to collect their due of her.

"What do we do? There's police, JSDF, and people with guns all over the place!" Rocky exclaimed, peeking outside and having his fur blown a mess from the gust.

Kari and Jade traded glances.

"I'm not turning myself in," Kari told them. "Even if the whole world wants me dead, I don't plan on stopping until I get to Flare first. I know I've made mistakes, but I lost too damn much to put the mantle down now."

Jade sucked on her teeth and paced to one end of the bathroom and back. She put both hands over a sink, staring into the drain as though searching for an answer from the abyss.

"Meaning you're gonna kill 'em if they come in guns blazing?" Jade asked.

"If it comes down to that? Yeah," Kari answered curtly.

Heavy footfalls were approaching the bathroom.

Kari was about to transform until Jade grabbed her by the hoodie's collar, pinned her against the wall, and dropped magical girl form.

"What are you—"

"Is your Incognito on?" Tsubasa whispered, the strain in her voice showing. Back in human form, she no longer had the resilience to withstand the pain of a charred stub from her missing arm. Cold sweat broke out all over her face, and her eyes winced with evident agony.

A JSDF soldier with a riot shield entered the bathroom. He was followed by another, who was crouched to his knees behind the barrier and leaning off to the side with a rifle pointed at them.

"Is that them?" the one holding the shield asked, voice filled with urgency.

"Do you guys mind?" Tsubasa glanced over her shoulder and sighed. "Kinda hard to show my girl a good time with an audience."

"The hell? It's just kids out past curfew," his partner said.

[Incognito] was working its magic. Neither JSDF men recognized Kari and Jade.

Still holding the gun raised, he reached for a radio on his chest with the other hand. "We found two girls in the bathroom, not Kari and Jade, but—"

Whatever conversation they were having became one-sided. Both soldiers stopped talking and became as still as statues. They listened quietly to the radio chatter that was inaudible to Kari from across the bathroom.

"They know," Kari whispered.

"No, they don't. Just shut up," Tsubasa hushed her.

"We came out here to search for two magical girls and found two girls instead, so you'll have to bear with us how suspicious this is. I'm going to ask a question, and I want both of you to answer it at the same time— What's her name?" The JSDF officer with the rifle raised the barrel of the gun at Kari.

Easy.

[Kari: Say Rika.]

"Rika," Kari and Tsubasa answered without hesitating.

Both JSDF appeared surprised, almost expecting them to have screwed up instead. A trick like that wasn't going to work since they had the communications app of the Apocalypse System.

"And the other?"

[Jade: Tsuki.]

"Tsuki," they answered together.

Although they succeeded in their test, neither officers seemed particularly convinced.

"Okay, we're going to need you two to step out of the bathroom. Slowly!"

Kari's eyes darted to the two anthems, who had their backs pressed to the ceiling by the door and were likely invisible if the JSDF personnel didn't see them. She caught Tsubasa's gaze and nodded.

The two picked up their bags and slowly followed the JSDF out of the bathroom. What had previously been an empty park was now swarming with police and military. The camo greens of JSDF and dark blues of local law enforcement were leaving no stone in the park unturned, and some were holding the leash to dogs sniffing around. Multiple helicopters in the sky shined giant spotlights to the ground. One blinded Kari and Jade as they were escorted out.

Kari held her breath as they were guided to the north entrance past the tennis courts, currently barricaded by several police cars, an armored personnel carrier, and line of police officers who were keeping both press and the curious public at bay. She let out a sigh of relief when they were brought to the other side of the police tape where civilians were standing.

The JSDF officer lowered his rifle, and in a father tone said, "Try not to stay out too late. If it was the police that found you first instead of us, they would have needed to call your parents. I'm guessing you two are out because your folks don't approve of your relationship, huh? Least you can do is find a hotel."

"We'll keep that in mind," Tsubasa said after clearing her throat and looking up at the helicopter passing overhead. "You guys really called down the cavalry, huh. What's going on that you guys gotta hunt magical girls?"

"You kids should turn on the news for once instead of checking your tweets. Magical girl Kari and Hurricane are wanted. No idea about Jade, but she was last seen with Kari on a train that derailed out of Okayama. All anyone knows is that none of the magical girls are who they say anymore," he said.

"What about Flare?" Kari suddenly asked.

The question drew the attention of a couple of policemen, and both JSDF officers took a hard look at Kari.

"You don't know?" a police officer asked from behind the partition tape. "Flare willingly turned herself in at Sendai this morning."

"What?" Tsubasa and Kari uttered at the same time.

"Happened this morning. Flare walked right into the Miyagi Prefectural. Heard she's going to be transferred over to the JGSDF at Camp Sendai though," he explained.

"What about Mak— Muse?!" Kari startled the policeman with her distress.

"Muse? Who's Muse?" His genuine confusion baffled Kari. She quietly backed away and stared at the ground.

Makina should have been with her. Did that mean she turned herself in, too?

"I know Muse," another police officer chimed in. "My brother in law saw her out of Okinawa. Plays music as her powers, right? Last I heard, she went to take care of that giant snake monster off the coast of Tosashimizu after it destroyed an American Fleet. Haven't seen or heard from her since."

Tsubasa put a hand on Kari's shoulder and gestured that they should get going. Thanking their lucky stars that it didn't end in a bloody fight, they walked away before any more attention could be drawn to them. Her outbursts had already caught the eyes of the crowd gathered behind the police tape.

They stopped under a streetlight some ways away from the park. Many people were looking out the windows of their houses or standing just beyond the door to see what was happening.

Kari's thoughts were in far too much disarray to respond. After Flare and Makina left her on that beach, they must have stopped at Sendai on the way to Hokkaido.

Could Makina have died? Or Flare had killed her for points or in a bout of hunger for souls?

Kari quickly checked the communications app and brought up the list of magical girls in Japan. Most of the magical girls were dead, contacting them wouldn't get a response. Makina's name was among them, listed as Muse.

[Kari: Makina! Where are you? Tell me you're alive, please! If you see this message, ask your anthem to show you the communications app. Just say something to me. Anything!]

Nothing.

[Kari: Come on… I know you're angry with me. That's fine. I just want to know if you're okay.]

Still nothing.

Kari's eyes began to sting and her nose wrinkled.

"Oh, no. Kari! Get your emotions in order— you're about to transform in public again!" Rocky whispered.

Yes, give in. Become an avatar of destruction and take revenge. Let your anger be your strength as it has in the past.

"Just be quiet already… Stop talking… I don't want you creeping in my fucking head again," Kari growled.

"Kari…" Rocky floated down to hug her arm. The gentle touch pulled her back from the brink of losing herself again.

With every steady and controlled breath, Kari got herself back under control. That damn voice again, coming out when she needed quiet the most.

"You good?" Tsubasa asked, extending a hand to her.

Kari realized now that she was leaning slumped against the utility pole. She brushed Tsubasa's hand away, then noticed the emerald frills underneath her multiple layers of clothing. Jade had transformed, probably thinking that she was going to go berserk.

"Until I see for myself, Makina isn't dead," Kari said.

"What's the plan now? Do we go to Hokkaido and take the fight to Hurricane?" Gauntlet asked the group. "If she really did beat Flare, she must have gotten really strong."

Kari didn't believe Flare would turn herself in just for the hell of it. It had to be a trick.

Some people were looking their way. If Kari had transformed right then and there, she would have been found out immediately.

"For now, let's—"

"Wait, over there! That's Shuu!" Rocky pointed to a lone minivan parked by the curb.

Kari recognized it as the same one Shuu's friend had driven up to Nekomura to pick him up with. Shuu was alone, sitting in the driver's seat and leaning out the window, eyes tracking the helicopters flying above that were searching for them.

"You think he sold us out after you called him?" Jade asked.

"Don't know, but I'm going to find out," Kari said, storming over to the vehicle.

Before Shuu realized what was going on, Kari had entered the passenger's seat and Jade in the backseat behind him.

"Uh. Excuse me, ladies. You got the wrong rideshare," Shuu said.

As soon as they switched off [Incognito] and the anthems lost their invisibility, Shuu recoiled from shock.

"Holy shit— Kari?" Shuu murmured her name in disbelief.

What the hell, Shuu? I asked you for help, so you call the police and military on me? I'm not going to do anything to you. I just want to know why," Kari said.

"You— What? Okay, I know how it looks, but I'm serious when I say it wasn't me!" he insisted.

"We just gotta accept it was pure coincidence?" Jade chimed in, causing Shuu to make a double-take over his shoulder.

"Geez! Jade is here, too? My frail heart can't take anymore surprises… Look, there's no way in hell they could have mobilized a force that big so quickly after the call. I came here to pick you guys up, but I ran into a police barricade."

The three of them fell silent to give it some thought.

"Guy gives a compelling argument," Jade said.

"Screw off. You just want to get in his pants." Kari groaned.

"I'm sorry? Alright, I think I'm the one who deserves answers here! I know those guys are looking for you. Did you really kill all those people?" Shuu quietly asked.

"Whatever you heard about me is probably true," she answered after a pause.

"Wow." He sighed. "Not even going to deny it."

"If you were the one who called us in, I don't blame you. So I get it if you want me gone. After all the shit that's happened, I just wanted to say I'm glad you're doing alright." When Kari reached for the door to leave, Shuu started the car.

"I already let the people I'm staying with know that you were coming over and were okay with it. Both of you look like shit, so why don't you come by, wash up, and grab something to eat before leaving?" Shuu suggested.

"Brave of you, champ. You ain't part of the camp that thinks magical girls are out for blood?" Jade asked, making herself comfortable by reclining the seat.

"If you were, a whole lot more people would be dead."

They drove into the heart of Nagoya, one of the biggest urban cities in Japan. It was one of few metropolises that was spared from the apocalypse, as evidenced by the bustling streets and crowded intersections, and likely a lot more populous now after people from destroyed cities flooded in to seek refuge.

Sports centers and larger parks were converted into temporary shelters in the form of tents, small modular houses, and sleeping bags laid out on the ground for those who lost their homes. JSDF and police patrolled every avenue, their many vehicles parked nearby and ready to respond to a potential monster attack. Apparently, for magical girl attacks, too.

Shuu pulled into a narrow red asphalt street, sandwiched in by rows of modern two-story townhouses. It was mostly bikes here, which leaned against the back of houses. He parked under a wooden awning at the back of a home that looks no different than the others. How anyone living here could know which house belonged to whom was beyond Kari.

As they exited the car, they were greeted by a woman smoking at the back door. She sported shoulder-length black hair, bags under her eyes behind tarnished glasses in need of replacing, and dressed in light blue scrubs.

"Yo." The woman jerked her head up at them.

"This is Yuuko's cousin, Chiyo," Shuu introduced her. "Yuuko is my friend who you saw picking me up at Nekomura."

"You guys fine with magical girls staying at your place? Even with the news of us going around?" Jade asked.

Chiyo took a long drag of the cigarette. "I think the news is feeding us a crock of shit if you ask me. You're welcome to stay a few days. Hope you don't mind the cats."

She let drop the cigarette butt into a round container at her feet that was originally meant for incense. When Chiyo opened the door for them to enter, a dozen cats strewn about the living room perked up.

"Oh… not again…" Rocky shivered.

Rocky and Gauntlet were immediately pounced upon by the cats. It didn't matter if they were as high as the ceiling. Cats would always find a way.

Chiyo's place, although absent of any decorations, was well-furnished, with two couches surrounding a glass coffee table and facing a flat-screen TV. Beyond the living room was the kitchen, partitioned off by a half wall, and a door leading out front where cars were zooming by. To the right was a flight of stairs that led up to three rooms and a shared bathroom.

Another woman, this one with long, dark brown hair and dressed comfortably in her ivory blouse and brown skirt, paused at the top of the stairs upon seeing them. She shook away the initial surprise and briskly descended the stairs.

"I-I'm Yuuko. It's nice to meet you two." Yuuko bowed.

"Well, shit." Jade snorted. "Must be a dream living with two babes."

Shuu groaned. "It's not like that. Chiyo's married. Her husband's also a nurse, and he's been called to lend a hand to an understaffed hospital in Shizuuoka. Yuuko's got a boyfriend in—"

"Had," Yuuko somberly corrected him. "My boyfriend died in Osaka…"

"Right… Sorry, Yuuko. I forgot," he apologized.

Osaka? That was the place where they had fought the Hundun seraph, and it was also where the entire region was blanketed in fleshy growths.

As though sensing the tension, several of the cats stopped playing with Rocky and Gauntlet in favor of rubbing their heads against Yuuko's leg to console her.

"I had a little too hot of a bath, so I'm going to take a walk outside," Yuuko said, hastily leaving from the front door.

"Don't mind her. Everyone's lost someone at this point." Chiyo expelled a sigh, then went into the kitchen to open the fridge. "You girls hungry? We got… leftover barbecue."

Yuuko never did come back, but Chiyo assured them that she disappeared from time to time and always wound up back home before morning. Kari and Jade welcomed their hospitality, and were able to have a filling meal after ages of eating junk food and instant noodles on the go.

By the time midnight rolled around, Chiyo had turned in early. Kari and Shuu stayed in the living room. Jade was taking a shower upstairs, and the anthems were fast asleep at one corner of the couch.

"I'm surprised. The cats aren't afraid of you this time," Shuu said of a white and black cat having taken residence on Kari's lap.

Kari brushed a hand across the cat's back, causing it to arch up to her touch. Soft and fuzzy, warm to the touch, it reminded her of Makina's hair.

"Maybe they should be. I don't know if I deserve it." Kari frowned, gently stroking beneath the cat's chin.

"That's for the cats to decide, not you." He raised a can of beer to his lips and was disappointed to find it empty. "Say, I'm actually missing a cat. It was my manager's favorite. Tiny little bean, black. Don't suppose you came across him when I left?"

Aba. Kari had forgotten all about it. They had forgotten. Sachi was in love with that thing. Then the apocalypse went full throttle. Poor thing was probably buried under rubble somewhere or was already dead.

"Yeah," Kari answered. "But I wasn't able to save him. I'm sorry."

Shuu sighed and got to his feet. "I see… Well, don't be sorry. You can't save everyone and everything, so don't try to shoulder it all on yourself. Get some sleep. Save what you can tomorrow, alright?"

He gave her a pat on the back, then went upstairs to turn in.

When Kari glanced down at the stretched out cat on her lap, she was reminded of Aba, and then of Sachi. What happened to her?

As she thought to make contact through the communications app again, holding out hope that Sachi would respond, a message came through first.

[Sachi: I hear you're in Nagoya. Wanna meet up?]

It was like seeing a paranormal phenomenon. Before answering, Kari checked for active incursions in Japan, and unlike what happened with Candy, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Only Hokkaido was in an active state. So that meant Sachi wasn't being controlled.

[Kari: You scared me half to death. Where have you been all this time?]

[Sachi: Long story. Let's talk in person instead. I'll send you my coordinates.]

The Apocalypse System generated a map of Nagoya's entirety, and a red blip appeared several miles away from this house. Not wanting to waste time, Kari left to go find Sachi alone and stayed out of the air to avoid being seen by helicopters.

Sachi's coordinates led her to the bridge of a riverbank. Murky water rushed past and grass here hadn't been mowed in ages.

[Kari: I'm here. Where are you?]

No answer.

A chill ran up Kari's spine. She transformed and spun around in time to catch a flying dagger by the handle that came just inches away from her face. The weapon was familiar. There was only one person she knew who had such a skill.

"Sachi?" Kari called out.

"Been a while, hasn't it?" Emerging from the cloak of darkness and holding another shiv by the tip of its blade was Sachi, clad in her magical girl form.

The forlornness written all over Sachi's demeanor gave Kari pause. The excitement from seeing her alive and well vanished when it became clear the other magical girl didn't share the same sentiments about their reunion.

The dagger that Kari had caught vanished from sight and reappeared in Sachi's free hand.

"I'm guessing you're not here to catch up?" Kari asked.

"I didn't want things to turn out this way either, but a lot can change in a month. I'm sorry I have to do this." Sachi flung both daggers at Kari, who braced herself to be hit.

However, both weapons curved hard. One plunged in front of Kari's feet and the other behind her. They moved on their own, carving a circle around her, then formed a dome around. The skill imprisoned her, but more than that— she was unable to move.

"Why? Just because I didn't help you fight Flare?" Kari shouted. "I thought we were friends!"

Pain briefly flashed across Sachi's face, but she shook it away. "I was the only one who thought that! You didn't. I went to the only one who could kill Flare, and Hurricane only asked me to do one thing. I'm sorry, Kari, but I need your soul-weapon— Assassin's Blade!"

Both daggers returned to Sachi's hands and their blades grew to the length of longswords. They glowed intensely with magic, skittering up and down the metal like sparks of electricity. Magic, which Kari feared, was strong enough to bring her down.