If you've never been physically yanked between two girls in the middle of third period… I envy you.
Because my arms? They were going to fall off.
"Yuuta, you promised to be my gym partner today," Kana said, dragging my right arm.
"I'm sure he told me he'd help me carry my books, right, Yuuta-kun?" Rika said sweetly, dragging my left.
I wasn't sure what my face looked like, but judging by the other students staring at us like we were an improv comedy routine, it wasn't dignified.
"Kana," I hissed. "Please let go."
"Not until she does."
"She pulled first."
"I was closer."
"He was already talking to me!"
"I was talking to the air!"
"Lies!"
"Excuse me?!"
I groaned. "This is a classroom. Not a tug-of-war tournament!"
Apparently, that logic didn't apply to magical girls.
By the end of the day, I was the most gossiped-about student in school.
I heard it all.
"Did you see him walking with both of them?"
"Kana's always been popular, but that transfer girl—she's insane."
"How the hell does he know them?"
"Maybe he's rich?"
"Or cursed."
I tried to keep my head down. Didn't help. Rika sat beside me in every class. Kana sat behind me. Both of them kept whispering comments like "you're mine today" and "he looks cuter when flustered."
Even the teacher gave me weird looks.
At lunch, I tried to run.
Didn't work.
Kana blocked me at the door. "You're eating with me."
Rika popped up behind me. "Great! All three of us!"
"Not what I meant," Kana growled.
Five minutes later, I was sandwiched between the two of them at a table outside. They glared at each other over my head while I ate my sandwich in existential terror.
It was like being caught between a laser beam and an ice spell.
After school, Kana cornered me again.
This time, there was no Rika. Just the quiet breeze in the hallway and her eyes—sharp, serious, and definitely not in teasing mode.
"Yuuta," she said. "We need to talk."
My stomach did a somersault. "About?"
"The alley. Yesterday."
My heart stopped.
"W-What about it?"
"I told you to wait for me," she said, voice tight. "You nodded. Then I got there and you were gone."
"I—uh—well, see—"
She folded her arms. "Don't lie."
"I wasn't going to."
"You're definitely going to."
I swallowed.
I couldn't tell her the truth. The girl with white hair—who descended like a divine ghost—had told me to keep quiet. Her voice had echoed in my mind after she landed, sharp and cold: "Do not tell anyone we met. Not even them."
So now I had to lie.
Badly.
"I… uh… tripped."
Kana raised an eyebrow. "Tripped."
"Yeah. I tripped on, uh, a loose can."
"And rolled away?"
"Down a slope."
"There was no slope."
"Well, it was a spiritual slope. In my soul."
Silence.
Then: "Yuuta."
"Yes?"
"You're a terrible liar."
"I'm an honest terrible liar."
She sighed and rubbed her temple.
"I don't know what you're hiding. But if it's dangerous—"
"It's not," I said quickly.
She looked at me. Really looked. Like she was searching for something behind my eyes.
"I trust you," she said at last. "I just don't trust her."
"Rika?"
"She's reckless. Flirty. And clearly doesn't follow protocol. If she's using your energy carelessly—"
"She's not. I mean, she's annoying, yeah. But she knows what she's doing."
Kana stared at me a moment longer.
Then, quietly: "Just… be careful."
I nodded.
The final bell rang like salvation.
I'd survived a full day of being caught between two magical girls with opinions—on everything from who got to sit next to me to which of them I "liked more" (for the record, I never said anything of the sort).
By the time class ended, my body was intact, but my soul had entered a fugue state.
So I did what any self-respecting coward in my position would do:
I ran.
I sprinted through the hallway, zigzagging past students, skipped two steps at a time down the stairs, and bolted out the side gate.
Destination: the public bathroom behind the train station.
Classy, I know.
But it wasn't my idea. It was hers.
The girl with the white hair.
I still didn't know her name. Just her presence—sharp, commanding, and deeply unsettling. Her voice echoed in my head:
"Don't let anyone follow you. Change your clothes. Meet me at the place I told you. And don't tell anyone about me."
The kind of voice that didn't suggest things.
It issued commands.
I ducked into the small public restroom. It was mostly empty—thank god.
I opened my backpack, revealing the change of clothes I'd packed that morning, just in case: plain jeans, a gray hoodie, and a black cap.
The perfect disguise for "anonymous high school boy with questionable life choices."
Inside the stall, I stripped out of my uniform and into my "stealth casual" getup. When I stepped out, I looked just like any other student on his way to nowhere.
Hopefully.
The city center was already lit with sunset hues and flickering street lamps. People buzzed around in motion, totally unaware that magical girls walked among them—or that monsters could show up any day of the week.
I found the little plaza with the fountain and sat on the edge.
And waited.
Sometimes I glanced up at the sky.
Part of me expected her to descend from the clouds again. Hair glowing. Eyes burning.
The other part wasn't sure she'd come at all.
Then—
"You came alone. Good."
I spun around.
She stood there. Not floating. Not glowing.
Just… standing.
Wearing a white hoodie, black leggings, and a backpack slung over one shoulder. Her silver hair was tied in a high ponytail. Her eyes, still that unsettling pale shade, locked onto mine.
It was definitely her.
But also... not.
The magical pressure I'd felt before wasn't there. She seemed normal. Casual. Like any other girl in the crowd—if you ignored the fact that she didn't blink for an uncomfortably long time.
"No one followed you?" she asked.
I shook my head. "Pretty sure."
"Good."
She stepped closer, stopping just a meter from me.
Then she tilted her head, studying me like I was a mildly interesting insect.
"Then we can begin."