You know that feeling when your life has gone completely off the rails?
Like when your childhood friend suddenly drops from the sky in full magical girl regalia, points at another magical girl, and yells:
"I knew it!"
Yeah. That.
The silhouette I'd seen earlier wasn't just any Mahō Shōjo.
It was Kana Takamine.
My classmate.
My long-time friend.
And apparently, a magical girl in full combat mode, with a sapphire-blue outfit, a silver circlet across her forehead, and long chestnut hair whipping behind her like something out of a high-budget anime opening.
Her boots slammed onto the pavement with authority, cracking the asphalt. Her staff shimmered with icy light. Her eyes burned holes straight through Rika.
Rika, who hovered a few meters above, blinked.
"Kana…?" she muttered, visibly thrown off.
Kana pointed her staff.
"Get away from my battery."
My brain full-on crashed.
"Wait," I said. "What?!"
Kana didn't even glance at me. "Step back, Yuuta."
"You're a Mahō Shōjo?!"
"Apparently," Rika said dryly, "so is your 'normal friend.'"
Kana's voice sharpened. "You've been draining him, haven't you?"
Rika snorted. "Draining? Please. We've just been engaging in light skinship. He consents."
"You have no idea what you're doing! He's unregistered! Unshielded! His levels are unstable!"
"You think I haven't noticed?" Rika snapped back. "Do you know how rare his output is? The girl before me nearly passed out from a hug! I'm the only one who can keep up with his spike rate."
"That's exactly why I hid him from the system."
That made Rika pause.
I did too.
"You what?" Rika said slowly.
Kana lowered her staff, but her voice remained ice.
"I've known for over a year that Yuuta generates LOVE. I monitored it. Hid it. Masked it from the network."
"Why?" I asked.
Kana looked at me. Her expression faltered for a second.
"Because if the Association found out, they'd assign you. Register you. Lock you into a contract. Maybe put you in a lab."
Rika's eyes widened. "Wait. You mean—he's off-grid? Entirely?"
Kana nodded. "No record. No anchor code. No tethering license."
"Holy hell. You hacked the registry?"
"Scrambled it."
"You little criminal."
"Better than draining someone like he's your personal juice box."
"Excuse you—!"
"Girls!" I shouted, throwing my hands up. "Can we not do this here? You know, in public, during a literal monster attack?!"
As if on cue, the ground shook.
A thunderous roar echoed through the buildings. The air shimmered with residual magic. Glass rattled. A streetlamp cracked.
The Chaos Beast wasn't gone.
It was coming back.
Kana glared one last time at Rika.
Then she grabbed my wrist.
Hard.
Pulled me close.
"Stay out of the way," she said through gritted teeth. "And don't kiss anyone until I get back."
She turned and shot into the sky.
Rika hesitated.
Then flew closer to me. Her eyes sparkled with mischief—and defiance.
"Well," she said softly, "I wasn't planning to leave empty-handed."
She leaned in. Lips parted. Her hair shimmered with magic. The heat between us spiked. Her breath was warm against my mouth.
"Rika—"
She got within an inch.
Then—SMACK.
Kana's hand clamped around Rika's face and shoved her sideways in mid-air.
The kiss never landed.
"NOPE," Kana growled as she flew by, dragging Rika with her like a stuffed toy.
"Hey! Let go! I was recharging!"
"I'll show you recharge—"
"Yuuta! Tell her this is unconstitutional—!"
"SHUT UP, RIKA."
They vanished over the rooftops, leaving a faint trail of sparkles, insults, and increasingly vulgar magical threats.
I stood alone in the alley.
Eyes wide. Mouth open.
And then—
I started laughing.
Like, full-on wheezing.
Because my life was a dumpster fire covered in glitter and I had no brakes anymore.
I stayed out of sight, listening to distant explosions and magical impact sounds. Ice and light crackled through the air. Somewhere, a building groaned and collapsed. The battle was serious.
But what stuck with me most wasn't the monster.
It was Kana.
She'd known.
All this time.
She'd hidden it. Protected me. Watched me like a hawk and never said a word.
And now she was out there, risking her neck—with Rika.
It occurred to me, not for the first time, that I might not be as ordinary as I thought.
That I was now officially part of something bigger.
Something dangerous.
Something deeply, painfully, embarrassingly romantic.
And I wasn't ready.
Not even a little.
The sky was glowing when I finally stepped out from the alley.
People were starting to return. Civilians. Drones. A few cleanup teams in white suits.
The battle was over.
And I still had no idea what the hell was going on.
I was just about to call someone—anyone—when a soft voice behind me said:
"Found you."
I turned around.
And there, standing calmly in the middle of the ruined street...
...was another girl.
Floating inches off the ground.
Hair like silver threads, eyes like glassy midnight.
Expression unreadable.
She stepped forward, tilted her head...
And smiled.