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It was almost midnight by the time Minakami Sayo touched down in the park. The playground was empty as expected, and evening darkness blanketed all but the tiny islands of light from the sporadic lampposts. In the eastern corner of the playground, the panda spring rocker lurked, sitting motionless and unbound.
Even now, the sight of it made her chest tighten.
The chirping of the afternoon cicadas had faded into quiet sounds of nighttime. Only the occasional cry of a night bird and the low hum of the vending machines disturbed the evening stillness.
Sayo walked slowly towards them and fished some change out of her skirt pocket. Her mouth felt dry already from thinking about the oncoming confrontation. Her eyes scanned the selection of drinks. After a few moments of deliberation, Sayo inserted her coins and punched in the numbers. A small bottle of Calpis soda clattered into the tray.
With her in hand, Sayo made her way to the nearby bench. She sat and cracked the lid on the bottle, raising it to her lips. Her throat was tight with anxiety, and swallowing felt thick and reluctant. She took a calming breath through her nose before trying again.
She would come. Sayo was sure of it. The thumping of her heartbeat murmured in her ears, muted and far away. Uncomfortable droplets of sweat trickled down the back of her neck. She swallowed again to no relief. The lump in her throat sat like a knot, tight and unyielding.
A spike of dark magic prickled the back of her neck. Magia Baiser stepped through a portal only a scant few metres from her. A slow, dreamy grin spread across the girl’s face, revealing her fangs as her golden eyes locked on with predatory delight.
“Magia Azul, what a coincidence to meet you here. Out for an evening walk?”
Sayo summoned the barrier she had prepared and cast it into the air without a word. It bubbled outward, swallowing the playground and sealing them inside.
Magia Baiser raised her eyebrows. “Eager to keep me all to yourself tonight, magical girl?”
“I’m not going to fight you, Magia Baiser.”
Magia Baiser’s eyebrows shot up even further, but she quickly regained her composure, artfully twirling her crop in her hand.
“Oh, is this a plea for me to give up my wicked ways? Surrender peacefully without a fight?”
The urge to flee or fight dissolved into the dull void inside her. A tremor ran up her spine, a spark that failed to ignite any real motion. Sayo patted the space on the bench beside her. “Please, this will be easier if you join me.”
The dark magical girl’s expression fell into a smirk, and she subtly shifted her stance before swinging her crop, “Menace Nest!”
Strands of silken web latched onto Sayo’s arms and legs. Her bottle clattered to the ground as she was hoisted into the air by the threads. She hung there limply, arms stretched. Magia Baiser’s heels clicked against the pavement as she approached.
Sayo's heart pounded, but any anticipation she had once felt had deserted her, leaving a sharp ache under her ribs. She could still feel Baiser’s love trickling down the strands into her, but the crushing void that had been growing inside her devoured it all, leaving her untouched, empty.
A flicker of annoyance crossed Magia Baiser’s face. “You haven’t put up a very good fight—”
“I’ve decided I’m going to withdraw from my duties as a magical girl.”
Silence fell over the park. Magia Baiser gaped up at her. It might have been the most devastating blow any of them had landed on her. The girl looked like someone had run over a puppy in front of her.
“Wh-wh-wh-what! You can’t quit! Tres Magia are the heroines of justice, yo-you can’t just give up!”
Even though she had expected the words, the dull spike of pain in her chest pressed just as sharply. Her eyes sank to the concrete path below. It had been obvious that the girl saw them only as toys to play with. Cherished toys, but still discarded all the same when playtime was over.
She wanted to cry. But just like all the other times, the tears refused to surface, settling into a dull ache behind her eyes. All her rigorous training as a shrine maiden to stay composed and calm under any situation. Pushing all her emotions down, until the hollowness inside her swallowed them all.
“If you won’t fight, I’ll have to remind you what you’re fighting against!”
The sharp clack of heels on the pavement pulled her gaze upward. Magia Baiser strode forward, crop raised, indignation burning in her golden eyes.
Sayo forced her words past the tightness in her throat and the dry edge of her lips. “If you strike me, I’ll de-transform right here in front of you.”
Baiser stumbled, her eyes bulging. “Wh-no-no! You can’t do that!”
No, of course not, it would ruin all the girls’ fun. Bitterness washed into the hollow in her chest like salt ground into an open wound, driving the venom in her next words.
“And if you flee now, you will never see Magia Azul again.”
The girl’s eyes had been darting around, but now they locked on her in terror. Sayo felt a contemptuous chuckle rise in her chest. How much pain could she have been spared if she had figured all this out earlier?
“Oh-okay, I won’t! I won’t—I swear.” Magia Baiser took a hesitant step forward, wringing her hands in front of her.
“Get me down from here, please.”
The crop sliced through the air again, and the webs holding her went slack before unwinding and shrinking away. Sayo let out a sigh and sat back down on the bench. Her Calpis lay where it had fallen. She picked it up and took another drink. It did little to ease the tension she felt.
“Um…” Baiser shuffled hesitantly. Her shoulders hunched, and she clasped her crop awkwardly. It reminded her of their first meeting.
“Sit down, please.” Sayo gestured to the spot next to her again.
Hesitantly, Baiser shuffled forward. She looked at Sayo warily before finally sitting down in an awkward hunch.
Silence fell over the park again, and Sayo savoured her victory. She couldn’t find any of the joy that it would have once brought her. A rain that had arrived long after everything had burned to ash.
“Wh-why don’t you want to be a magical girl anymore?”
Magia Baiser’s voice was unusually soft. She stared up at Sayo with tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. Sparks of anger jumped in her chest at the sight, only to fizzle against the emptiness inside. Sayo wanted to feel it—wanted to feel anything. She had been so, so angry. How could this girl not know? But she… just didn’t care anymore.
“It’s because of you.”
The girl let out a strangled gasp. An expression of stunned horror was plastered on her face. “M-me? But I haven’t—I know I messed up when I lost control of my magic and corrupted Magenta, but we fixed—I mean, that’s fixed now!”
Sayo shook her head, her bangs gently swaying in motion. “You have no idea, do you? Just how much pain you’ve caused me.”
“But, every time you get beaten, you always come back so much stronger! I know sometimes we haven’t held back at each other, but Magia Magenta’s so good at healing.” Magia Baiser’s eyes cast around her body. “Are you injured?”
“I don’t mean physically, Magia Baiser.” Sayo raised her hand and tapped her chest through her white blouse. “I mean here. In here.”
Baiser’s gaze flicked down to where Sayo’s fingertips had touched, before refocusing back up on her. “I don’t understand…”
Sayo swallowed the bitterness rising at Baiser’s words. Truly, the role of callous villainess suited her. “It’s because you think of us as nothing more than your playthings, don’t you. Not real people who have wants, needs, or emotions.”
“What…?” Baiser’s mouth fell open. Her gaze darted left and right, but instead of running, she shuffled further in on herself. “It’s not… I didn’t…”
It was a strange sight—the girl who had terrorised her for so long, reduced to this pathetic and anxious mess. Sayo couldn’t stop the bitter laughter that bubbled up. Forcing its way through the tightness of her throat and rattling painfully in her chest. She lifted her head and let her resentment, disappointment, and disillusionment pour out into the night sky.
The drink was almost empty, contents swirling inside at the roll of her fingers. She raised the rim of it to her lips again. The liquid had warmed and did little to ease her raw throat. It was painful, but she had to press on. “At first, in a way, I was grateful. You pushed me to become the Verglas Maiden. Someone who I thought could balance the strange new desires that were unfolding in me with both my personal and magical girl duties. When we fought, I could feel the love you have for Tres Magia. I thought perhaps that it might not be such a twisted love after all…”
The rest of her breath escaped in a soft sigh. She had waited so long for this confrontation. To finally have her chance to spill the buried emotions that had long turned to rot in her chest. She inhaled deeply, drawing in the cool scent of the evening air.
“But then, with every new battle, every perverted new game you drew us into, you left me wanting. Before I could find any sense of release or relief, you would abandon me. Leaving alone with nothing but my longing and my shame. Over and over and over again. I fought harder, hoping that you might reward me with something… with anything really, but I see it was naive of me to think you understood anything about me.” She turned and met Magia Baiser’s gaze head-on, unflinching. “I touched myself, thinking about you. Thinking about all the things I wanted you to do to me. But my fumbling hands could not compare to your love.”
“Wha—Bu-but magical girls—”
“THIS IS NOT ABOUT MAGICAL GIRLS!” Sayo exploded, her hands leaping out and shoving Magia Baiser off the bench. “It’s about me! Not Magia Azul—she isn’t real! It’s me! The person underneath. WHY CAN’T YOU SEE ME!”
Her voice had reached a screaming pitch. She had leapt off the bench and loomed over Baiser before she had even realised it. Her nails dug deep into her palms, and her breath came in short, ragged huffs. It was pointless; why had she even bothered? The bitter truth had been in front of her all along. She was nothing but a plaything in Baiser’s twisted fantasies.
Sayo turned away, unwilling to let the girl see any further cracks in her composure. Her feet felt heavy, but she forced them to move.
“Wh-wait! Please wait, Magia Azul”
The sound of scuffled shuffling footsteps came from behind her, but she ignored it, walking further into the darkness of the park.
“Please, I’m sorry. I’m so so-sorry, I never meant to hurt you like that!”
The words, accompanied by Baiser’s stumbling steps, brought Sayo to a halt. Regret filled her chest. Foolish, why was she giving her another chance just to torment her? Sayo couldn’t bring herself to turn around.
“I didn’t think—I couldn’t…” The girl tripped over her words. “I’ll do whatever you want! Please, just please don’t give up being a magical girl. The city needs you!”
It was a lie. Another manipulation to draw her back into Baiser’s sadistic games. The raw desperation in the girl’s voice was an act. Cursing herself, Sayo turned around. Magia Baiser stood a short distance away. Her hands clasped in front of her, and her head bowed. Why... what was it about this girl that drew her in like a moth to flame? Deep in the hollow of her chest, her heart—bruised and aching—beat stubbornly against reason.
“Whatever I want?”
Baiser nodded her head furiously without looking up. “Wh-whatever you want! I promise.”
The words felt sincere. Sayo hesitated, lips parted, but her words caught on the lump in her throat. Could she withstand the bitter disappointment of Baiser letting her down again? Briefly, she glanced up at the stars. She didn’t have an answer, but the thought of giving up ached even more.
“Look at me.” She said, staring down at the girl. Baiser lifted her head and met her gaze with wide eyes. “What I want is to be left alone. No more fights, no more games. If you really mean it, I need… time to figure things out.”
Baiser looked crestfallen, but she nodded. “Okay, I understand. I’ll make sure all of Enormita knows.”
Sayo stared at the girl in front of her. So different from the confident dominatrix that had teased and tormented her. Perhaps there was a person capable of understanding and keeping their promises underneath after all.
“Goodbye, Magia Baiser.”
Sayo leapt, soaring into the night sky and dispelling the barrier as she passed through it. The cool air wrapped around her like a cocoon. She breathed deeply, filling her lungs and letting the tension release with the exhale. She had done it. She had finally made Baiser listen to her. Her whole body felt lighter, like stepping out from a frigid waterfall. The toll of their confrontation was quickly catching up to her, however. Exhaustion was settling into her limbs. Home was not far away, and the call of sleep swept away the lingering thoughts of what might unfold.
Only the coming dawn would reveal what paths they would walk.