Chapter 10: Adding Contact Information

For the ecstatic, adrenaline-pumped audience members who had braved the fiend attack (and questionable stage performances) to attend the concert today, this event wasn't just good—it was an absolute, legendary jackpot! A story they’d be telling their grandkids (if they survived future fiend attacks)!

After all, they had witnessed the incredibly rare, almost mythical spectacle of the meta-defining, usually-terrifying Magical Girl Black instantly, almost casually, obliterating a fiend with a single, contemptuous wave of her hand! And even more astonishingly, they had been blessed with the long-awaited, almost divine appearance of Strawberry Sweetheart’s legendary, awe-inspiring Sparkling Form! That entire chaotic, life-threatening sequence was, in itself, far more exciting, far more memorable, than any of the actual songs performed at the concert. Furthermore, in a brilliant PR move to appease the rattled (but secretly thrilled) populace, the organization had even generously, almost magnanimously, gifted everyone present a special, limited-edition collaboration ice cream featuring chibi versions of both Strawberry Sweetheart and Black. This particular, highly coveted ice cream, if one were foolish enough to try and obtain it through the concert event’s notoriously rigged gacha normally, would require a investment of roughly 1000 yen to even have a hopeful, statistically improbable chance of pulling it. Of course, if your gacha luck was legendarily terrible, as most people’s was, that was another tragic story entirely.

The ice cream itself was an adorable masterpiece of frozen confectionary art, shaped like two ridiculously cute chibi figures locked in an eternal, sugary embrace. One side was a rich, decadent chocolate flavor (presumably representing Black’s dark and brooding nature), while the other was a sweet, innocent strawberry (obviously Strawberry Sweetheart). It was almost too cute to eat. Almost.

Hana, still buzzing from the excitement, was practically vibrating out of her skin. “Wow! Oh my god, Ren, WOW! I wonder when I’ll ever be as amazingly cool and powerful as them! Just how unbelievably strong is Magical Girl Black to be able to one-shot a fiend like that, like it was swatting a fly?! And Strawberry Sweetheart’s Sparkling Form! It was so holy, so radiant, like a literal goddess descending from the heavens! Do you think… do you think I’ll ever become a proper, awesome magical girl in this lifetime? For real?”

Ren, of course, knew all about Hana’s cherished, if somewhat inconsistently pursued, dream. She wanted, more than anything, to use her own innate, latent magical abilities to become a hero just like the magical girls she idolized with such fervent passion. But her path, the path of a true Mage, required long, arduous, often mind-numbingly boring training, unceasing, unwavering effort, and countless, tedious hours of deep meditation and arcane study.

However, the unfortunate, slightly awkward truth was that Hana wasn’t particularly enthusiastic, or even remotely consistent, about the actual training part. To put it simply, she was like many, many people in the world: full of big, sparkly dreams, but not quite so full of the gritty, day-in-day-out dedication required to put in the hard, unglamorous work to actually achieve them. Perhaps she herself was still wavering, still unsure if she truly had what it took. Or maybe she just preferred playing gacha games.

“Aah~ I’m so incredibly, unbelievably happy today! This is the best day of my entire life!” Hana exclaimed, overcome with a fresh wave of euphoric emotion. She impulsively threw her arms around Ren’s neck and planted an enthusiastic, slightly sticky (from the ice cream) kiss on his cheek.

This, of course, was a fairly common, almost expected sight among the concertgoers today; quite a few young, starry-eyed couples had attended, their romantic spirits undoubtedly amplified by the near-death experience and free ice cream.

Naturally, no one in the cheering, sugar-fueled crowd noticed that, in that precise, fateful instant, a certain magical girl on stage named Black, who was attempting to deliver a heartfelt (and slightly off-key) closing ballad, suddenly went so spectacularly, painfully off-key that several nearby pigeons spontaneously combusted—she wasn’t, after all, a professional singer by any stretch of the imagination, and in fact, instances of her voice cracking or her going completely, unrecoverably off-tune were regrettably, almost comically frequent. But, she was, in her own uniquely terrifying sort of way, undeniably cute (at least according to a niche segment of the internet), and her combat prowess was incredibly, indisputably high. Not to mention, everyone was slightly, justifiably terrified of being on the receiving end of a swift, bone-shattering kick from the notoriously irritable magical girl, so they were generally very, very forgiving of her minor (and sometimes major) vocal imperfections. A little off-key singing, or even a complete melodic meltdown, was perfectly permissible when the alternative was a trip to the emergency room.

Ren, at that moment, felt a wave of pure, unadulterated, almost dizzying happiness wash over him. She kissed me! Hana kissed me! In public! This is amazing!

How incredibly, unbelievably lucky am I? To be dating someone as wonderful as Hana! She’s so cute, so lively, so… so Hana! The young man’s eyes were practically overflowing with blissful, sappy adoration.

And then, as if summoned by his romantic reverie, his thoughts drifted inexorably back to the earlier battle. He remembered, with a sudden jolt of analytical clarity, the faint, almost invisible, web-like cracks he thought he’d glimpsed appearing on Black’s shadowy form during the intense moments of the fight, just before Strawberry Sweetheart’s divine intervention. If he wasn’t mistaken, if his Supporter senses weren’t deceiving him, that was perhaps… the precursor to a different form. Almost certainly, it had to be some kind of "Inverted" or dark, berserker-type form. The kind that usually involved a lot of screaming and property damage.

But… Magical Girl Black? Does she actually enter an Inverted state that easily? That quickly? That would be… highly problematic from a public safety standpoint. And a paperwork standpoint.

No, perhaps I don’t fully understand the insidious nature of those cursed dark flames well enough. The organization’s R&D department should have specialists analyzing that unique fiend power by now. I should definitely request a copy of their preliminary report. For… professional reasons, of course.

The concert, despite the fiendish interruption and the subsequent property damage (mostly caused by Strawberry Sweetheart, to be fair), eventually concluded successfully, with a rousing, if slightly shaky, encore.

“Hana, let’s go! We should try to get a photo with Strawberry Sweetheart or Black! Didn’t they say we could get extra gacha pulls for it if we post it on social media with the event hashtag?” Ren urged, ever the pragmatist.

“Of course! Let’s do it!” Hana was all fired up, her gacha-loving eyes gleaming with determination. “Forget Strawberry Sweetheart, though! The line to get a photo with her will be a mile long, at least! We’d be here all night! But for Black… it should just be us true connoisseurs, us like-minded comrades in arms! We need to hurry! I’ve already prepared all the rare leveling resources for Black in the game! As soon as I pull her SSR card, I’ll max her out immediately! That way, I should definitely be able to secure a coveted spot in the top tier of the upcoming Power Level Championship PvP tournament! My victory is assured!”

The two of them, fueled by gacha dreams and teenage enthusiasm, immediately headed towards where Magical Girl Black was stationed for the post-concert photo-op session.

Normally, Ren, in his official capacity as her Supporter, would have been right there beside Black, diligently helping to manage the (surprisingly small) crowd and maintain a semblance of order. After all, that was part of his ever-expanding list of responsibilities. However, since Ren had technically taken leave for the day (to, ironically, attend the concert with Black performing), the organization had dispatched a pretty, efficient-looking young woman, who looked to be in her early twenties and probably dreamed of a less chaotic career, to guide the photo session.

Just as Hana had predicted with uncanny accuracy, the crowd gathered around Magical Girl Black consisted almost entirely of intense-looking individuals clutching their smartphones, all of which were prominently displaying the "Magical Girl Brawl" game screen. These dedicated (and slightly obsessive) people were clearly planning to snap their precious photos and immediately upload them via the in-game event link to get their coveted lottery draw qualification and try their luck at the gacha on the spot, hoping to pull the elusive Black.

The drop rate for this particular event gacha was actually surprisingly, almost suspiciously, high; after all, the concert tickets themselves weren’t exactly cheap. It was essentially a thinly veiled "buy an expensive ticket, get a (mostly) free character" kind of promotion. Of course, even if they didn’t manage to pull the ultra-rare Magical Girl Black, they could still potentially get other powerful magical girl characters from the general pool, who weren’t necessarily weak by any means. It was just that Black, as the newest, shiniest magical girl on the block, was the heavily featured, rate-up character in the current gacha pool, and moreover, she was already being hailed by the meta-analysts as the new generation’s undisputed, game-breakingly overpowered queen.

For the photos, Black, looking thoroughly unimpressed and radiating an aura of ‘I’d rather be anywhere else but here,’ defaulted to a very classic, if somewhat stiff and unenthusiastic, peace sign. She wore a very formulaic, almost painted-on smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, maintaining the rigid peace sign pose like a slightly disgruntled, gothic statue. She clearly, profoundly, wasn’t enjoying this particular part of the job. Fortunately for everyone involved, most people weren’t actually looking for any kind of warm, fuzzy, intimate contact with the terrifying Magical Girl Black. The last perverted, overzealous otaku who had foolishly tried to get a little too close, a little too friendly, with Black during a previous event was probably still a couple of agonizing days away from being discharged from the intensive care unit of the local hospital. This particular magical girl actually hit people, and she hit them hard. She wasn't like the sweet, accommodating Strawberry Sweetheart, who might occasionally dispense a bit of harmless fan service, like a hug or a head pat. No one in their right mind dared to provoke Magical Girl Black lightly. So, everyone just dutifully, and with a healthy dose of fear, took their perfunctory, formulaic photos from a safe distance.

Because of this… efficient… approach, however, the photo-taking process was incredibly, almost alarmingly, swift. Although the line was a bit long, filled with eager gacha addicts, it took less than twenty minutes for Hana and Ren’s turn to finally, mercifully, arrive.

Ren, being the diligent Supporter that he was, had already spoken to Black about this beforehand, briefing her on their little charade. So, their current, carefully constructed cover story was that they were complete strangers, just two ordinary, star-struck fans.

So, after Black had posed for a suitably awkward photo with a beaming, star-struck Hana—

“Um, excuse me, you two,” Black began, her voice surprisingly gentle, almost… kind? She put on an expression of sudden, dawning realization, as if she’d just noticed them for the first time. “I couldn’t help but notice during the… ah… unpleasantness… earlier, during the battle, you were both bravely helping to guide the crowd and maintain order, weren’t you?” Her voice was surprisingly, almost shockingly, gentle. “Thanks to your quick thinking and courageous assistance, the fiend’s nefarious, dastardly plot was successfully thwarted. I was wondering… if you two would perhaps be willing to wait a little longer? The organization has a small, token gift they’d like to present to you both as a heartfelt token of our immense gratitude for your bravery.”

Ren frowned slightly, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. A gift from the organization? How come I haven’t heard anything about this? Is it because I’m just a lowly intern? Or is she making this up on the spot? But… why?

“Really?! Oh my god, that’s amazing! Ren! You’re the best! Your quick thinking saved the day!” Hana, of course, was overjoyed and completely oblivious to Ren’s internal suspicions. After all, it was Ren who had reacted so quickly and decisively during the attack. Everything that had happened today, from the concert to the fiend fight to the free ice cream, had been absolutely wonderful! Could today possibly be her officially designated lucky day? It had to be!

“Then let’s go wait over there, by the merchandise booth,” Ren suggested, quickly recovering his composure. “We can come back after Miss Black is finished with the rest of the photo-op. That should be fine, right? I’ll send a quick message to my parents to let them know we’ll be a bit late. Do you need to tell your father, Hana?”

“Nah, just tell your parents, it’s fine. My old man is off on some boring business trip anyway, who cares what he’s doing?” Hana said dismissively, already dreaming of what her "gift" might be. Maybe it’s a super rare, event-exclusive Black character skin for the game!

Miss Black, hearing these casually dismissive words about her "boring" self, felt a small, sharp pang of sadness pierce through her carefully constructed magical girl facade. But, alas, there was nothing she could do about it—she had to continue her work, maintain the illusion. One day, Hana, one day you’ll appreciate your boring old dad… maybe.

Many people who witnessed this seemingly impromptu exchange looked over with envious, slightly resentful eyes. They knew, however, deep down, that the performance of these two young people during the terrifying fiend attack had been truly outstanding. Many of them had been utterly terrified at the time, frozen in panic, and although they had eventually calmed down, upon later reflection, they weren’t entirely sure they could have reacted so correctly, so bravely, if it happened again.

Black’s photo session, thankfully, ended relatively quickly, and the remaining people in the now-darkened venue gradually began to disperse, their gacha cravings temporarily sated. At that point, Black, looking slightly less murderous than usual, approached the two of them.

“You two, thank you so much for waiting. I apologize for the delay. May I ask your names, for the official report?” she asked, her voice still surprisingly polite.

Hana looked at Black with a puzzled, slightly suspicious expression. This magical girl’s polite, almost deferential demeanor now was completely, jarringly different from her ferocious, almost feral attitude during the battle earlier. She knew, from extensive research (i.e., playing "Magical Girl Brawl" for hours on end), that Black’s in-game lines were all delightfully aggressive things like, “Damn it, I’m gonna blow you all to kingdom come, you pathetic fiend scum!” and “Get out of my sight before I rearrange your internal organs!” Could it be… could it possibly be that her usual terrifying persona was just… an act? A carefully crafted character? No way!

“My name is Ren Akiyama, and this is my friend, Hana Tanaka,” Ren had already answered for Hana, smoothly stepping in. “Miss Black, you mentioned a reward from the organization. Specifically, if I may be so bold as to ask, what exactly is it?”

Black had seen the confused, almost bewildered look on her daughter’s face. She also knew, with a sinking feeling, that she had instinctively become gentler, softer, because she was speaking directly to Hana, her precious daughter. But Ren, bless his perceptive (and sometimes overly suspicious) soul, had helped smooth things over, covering for her awkwardness. Good kid.

“Come with me,” she said, trying to keep her words to a minimum to avoid any further uncharacteristic slips in her persona. She then led the two of them directly backstage, to a quiet, secluded area, and then, with a theatrical flourish that felt entirely out of place for her usual grim demeanor, she took out two surprisingly thick stacks of cash from… somewhere. (It was best not to ask where magical girls kept their wallets.) Each stack contained exactly 200,000 yen. Not a huge, life-changing amount, but certainly not insignificant for a couple of high school students.

“This is a… uh… special commendation bonus from the organization,” Black announced, trying to sound official, “for your courageous, public-spirited actions during the recent fiend incident.” This was, of course, a complete and utter lie. It was actually her own personal money, a bit of pocket money she was surreptitiously giving to the two kids. Their performance today, their bravery and quick thinking, had indeed been outstanding, both Ren and her own beloved daughter. Black felt deeply, profoundly proud of them both.

“This—is it… is it really okay for us to take this?!” Hana gasped, her eyes wide as dinner plates.

For Hana, this was practically a king’s ransom. Her monthly allowance, while already quite generous by high school standards, was still only 60,000 yen. For a typical high school student, she was relatively well-off, but for certain expensive hobbies (like gacha games and limited-edition magical girl merchandise), it still often wasn’t enough. But if she had this extra 200,000 yen… the possibilities were endless! So many gacha pulls! So many cute keychains!

Ren, however, was a bit more bewildered, a suspicious frown creasing his brow. He looked at Black with a confused, searching expression. This doesn’t make any sense. The organization doesn’t just hand out cash rewards like this, especially not without a mountain of paperwork. What’s her angle?

“Please, accept it! You both deserve it!” Black insisted, perhaps a little too forcefully. “Oh, right, and you can also apply for an official reward from the police department. If you need any video evidence of your actions, we can transfer the security footage to you… Say, why don’t you… why don’t you add me as a contact? For… official follow-up purposes, of course.” She tried to sound casual, but her voice was a little too eager.

“Wow! Thank you so, so much, Miss Black! You’re the best!” Hana exclaimed, already whipping out her phone, completely oblivious to any underlying strangeness.

Ren watched, a growing sense of unease prickling at the back of his neck, as the two of them enthusiastically exchanged contact information. He couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was distinctly… off… about this whole situation. It felt as if Black had orchestrated this entire elaborate charade, the "reward," the offer of video evidence, all just to get Hana’s contact details. But why? She already has my contact information… she could have just asked me to pass on a message… Unless…

Could it be! Oh no! Not again!

Ren suddenly, vividly remembered the collaboration ice cream he’d gotten earlier, the two chibi figures hugging. He thought of Strawberry Sweetheart, the epitome of cute, girly charm! He thought of Black’s completely dismissive, almost hostile attitude when he had first become her Supporter! Her aversion to him, a male!

No way! It can’t be! Could it possibly be that Miss Magical Girl Black is actually… not interested in men at all, but, in fact, prefers women?! And she’s… she’s taken a romantic liking to Hana?! My Hana?!

He knew, intellectually, that this thought was incredibly rude, wildly speculative, and probably completely unfounded. But as a man, as Hana’s devoted, slightly insecure boyfriend, he couldn’t help but consider this alarming, terrifying possibility. His protective instincts went into overdrive.

So, with a sudden, decisive movement, he grabbed Hana’s hand firmly. “Miss Black! Thank you so much for everything today, you’ve been incredibly generous, but we’ve troubled you enough already. We’re still students, as you know, so we should probably be heading back home now! It’s getting quite late, and it’ll be hard to explain to our families if we’re out too much longer!”

Just like that, effectively preventing Hana from engaging in any further potentially dangerous (in his mind) conversation with the possibly predatory Magical Girl Black, he pulled a slightly bewildered Hana away, practically dragging her towards the exit.

Hana, to her credit, didn’t really mind all that much; she hadn’t intended to take up too much of the famous Magical Girl Black’s precious time anyway. Plus, she now had 200,000 yen and Black’s contact info! Best day ever!

Walking home, the cool night air doing little to dampen her spirits, Hana said happily, her voice bubbling with excitement, “You know, Ren, I think I totally misunderstood Miss Black before! She’s actually a super nice, really kind person! Magical Girl Black! From now on, she’s my new oshi! My absolute favorite! She’s the best! So cool! And she gave us money!”

Ren sighed, a weary but fond smile on his face. “You’re only saying that because of the generous cash reward, aren’t you, you mercenary little creature!” he teased gently.

“Wow! You! What kind of horrible person do you take me for, Ren Akiyama!” Hana exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks in mock indignation. “Am I really the type of shallow, materialistic woman who only cares about money? How could you say such a cruel thing?”

Ren chuckled, shaking his head. “Let’s see… just a week ago, a certain someone was passionately declaring that they’d only ever stan the adorable Strawberry Sweetheart for their entire, devoted life, and today, you’ve already completely changed your tune and switched allegiances. Woman, thy name is fickleness! You still say you’re not easily swayed by cold, hard cash!”

“Hey! I still stan Strawberry Sweetheart too, okay!” Hana retorted hotly. “I’m not a solo stan! I’m a multi-stan! What’s wrong with stanning two amazing, incredible magical girls at the same time! Can’t I just love them both equally? Is that a crime now?”

Ren laughed. “Alright, alright. Fair enough. I guess I can’t argue with that kind of irrefutable logic. You win this round, Hana.”