Having solidified her friendship with Emilia, Meg figured it was probably time for her to meet Yasuko. She trusted her best friend to comport herself properly, but that didn’t mean Yasuko couldn’t still be a little overbearing when meeting new people.

  After a relatively sedate day at university on Wednesday, Meg ran home, changed into something comfy, and zipped off to see her new friends at the mansion. With a cup of tea in hand and a minor knot in her stomach, she broached the subject of her visit.

  “Would you like to meet Yacchan today, Emilia?”

  Sitting on the other sofa in the living room and sipping a glass of bubbling lemonade, Emilia nodded. “Sure. That’s the girl you mentioned before, right?”

  “My best friend, yeah. She’s been itching to meet you ever since I told her about you.”

  “This is the one I need to be careful of?” Emilia added, an eyebrow raised.

  “She’s not that bad, but you might find her a bit overpowering at first. I did.”

  “Can’t be worse than fighting monsters,” Emilia said with a shrug.

  At the mention of monsters, Meg winced. She had told her new partners of the man named Tear, but while she didn’t want to cause unnecessary friction by intentionally using the M-word around him, Emilia was considerably less willing. Having spent the last two or three years fighting the creatures in various places around the world, Meg could understand her reticence, at least.

  Draining her tea, Meg stood with the intention of heading out. Unfortunately, Blue had just arrived in the room and was presently engaged in something odd.

  Meg pointed. “Why is Blue eating peppercorns out of the jar…?”

  Emilia glanced across. “He’s been sampling Earth’s foods for a while now. Including things that are, uh… out of the ordinary.”

  “What constitutes ‘ordinary’ for a god?” Meg asked.

  “An interesting question indeed,” Lifa said, nodding once or twice. “We’re still looking for the answer, alas.”

  Blue sneezed, shook his head, then beamed. “I must say, these are delightfully spicy.” He tossed another handful into his mouth, chewing happily as he wandered back through to the kitchen, sneezing as he went.

  “My dad eats raw chillies sometimes, so I guess it’s not that strange,” Meg said. She had to remind herself that Blue wasn’t actually human, and that what she considered normal might not apply to an entity which only looked nominally human.

  “Probably not so different to tunga fruit?” Emilia mused. “It’s a spicy fruit back home, fiery enough to cause heatstroke. Makes really nice wine, though I’ve never tried it personally.”

  “Yeah, my dad would be all over that,” Meg laughed. “He makes chilli mead sometimes, but I prefer the regular stuff.” She took a couple of steps towards the front door. “Ready?”

  “Sure thing,” Emilia said, joining her as Lifa began cleaning up and doing whatever it was that fairies did in their personal time.

  Taking a jog from the city limits over to the seaboard, Meg homed in on the tall building they had seen when shopping previously. The thirty storeys of the Kamogawa Grand Tower now loomed above her, its creamy white structure glittering and gleaming under the springtime sun.

  Winding around several smaller side streets, the two of them arrived at the hotel’s forecourt, neatly paved in small square stones, with the entrance to an underground car park dead ahead. Having no car herself, Meg had never been down there.

  Instead, she turned to the left and made for the entrance foyer, through the glass doors, and asked after her friend at the reception desk. The young lady confirmed that Yasuko was in, so Meg tugged Emilia into the lift just off this spacious reception area and pressed the button for the eighteenth floor, idly humming a tune as they waited.

  Meg’s first visit to her then-new friend’s place after arriving in Japan had been… not what she expected. Learning that Yasuko lived in a high quality apartment-style hotel had surprised this young woman who had grown up in the English countryside. The room Yasuko inhabited belonged to her for as long as she felt like paying the rent, and she worked almost entirely out of her living room.

  Yasuko’s parents had bought the hotel several years back when the Starlight Project had been in one of its really big development phases, correctly predicting that there would be another economic boom for Kamogawa. As a result, rather than mess about renting an apartment, Yasuko’s parents had simply given her the use of a spacious room at the hotel, and ran a permanent tab for all room service, food, drink, and other amenities, paid by Yasuko herself at the end of each month.

  Exiting the lift, they walked the short distance down a pink-carpeted and airy hall to Yasuko’s room. Meg knocked and entered. The room itself was a space roughly four times the size of Meg’s flat, and the pink carpet ran through into here, giving it a warm and cosy feel.

  Dead ahead, two three-seat sofas in a cream colour stood facing each other, with a low coffee table between them. Beyond this, French doors opened out to a balcony overlooking the ocean. A small bar occupied the corner of the room, overlooking both the city and the ocean, boxed in with a pillar and chest high counter on the inner side, plus a fridge beneath the counter top. It was, of course, always stocked with beer.

  To the left on entering the room, a large alcove-like space through a wide archway contained a double bed that had probably seen much enthusiastic use, with a wardrobe and several chests of draws to the sides.

  Before Yasuko’s parents had purchased the hotel, it hadn’t even had high-speed internet available for its customers. After a substantial and costly renovation, the hotel now had modern televisions and streaming in every room, up to date facilities, and ultra high speed transfibre, the latest in internet technology. Yasuko had insisted on that last one.

  The young woman herself was presently seated on the floor in front of the right-hand sofa, a super thin laptop open on the coffee table before her which was connected to a high-end graphics tablet. She looked up and waved. “A’noon, Meg! Be with you in a sec, just finishing up some shading.”

  Meg wandered over and stood with Emilia hiding behind her back. “How’s it going?”

  “Except for one major annoyance, pretty well,” Yasuko muttered, so absorbed in her work that she hadn’t noticed the new arrival yet.

  “Something wrong?”

  Yasuko used her tablet’s pen to scratch her head, frowning at the laptop’s screen. “Can’t seem to get this design right.” She turned the device around so her friend could see.

  “She looks cute to me,” Meg hazarded, unsure where the problem lay.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Remember how I said I’d just finished the designs for a new game? Well, the client wanted one of the characters adjusted. I don’t normally have this many problems, but I’m on my fifth design now and still can’t seem to nail it.”

  “Not doing your usual CAD work?”

  “I’m between projects right now.” Yasuko tapped the graphics tablet a few times with her index finger, her mind blank. “Since I’ve got some time, I wanted to get this redesign done, but as you can see, my treasonous brain ain’t playing ball.”

  “Would a break help?”

  “Already behind schedule as it is, but… sure, I guess taking a break won’t hurt.” Yasuko pushed the laptop to one side and lifted herself up to sit on the sofa. She pointed to the sofa opposite. “Gonna sit or what?”

  “Sure, but first,” Meg said, and stepped to the side to reveal a very nervous Emilia. She held her hand for some measure of reassurance, feeling almost like she was giving someone a boost before a job interview or something. Her best friend often had that effect on people.

  Yasuko gasped. “Hold still, don’t move, don’t move! Wow…” She jumped to her feet and rushed over, circling Emilia like a lioness and her prey. “Small, cute, really long hair, you’re perfect!”

  This made Emilia blush like mad, though mostly with happiness. “Um… thank you?”

  Coming to a halt in front of her, Yasuko beamed. “Lovely to meet you finally, Emicchi!”

  The newly christened Emicchi felt inclined to take a few steps back. Meg really hadn’t been joking in how overpowering her best friend could be; Yasuko occupied all of the space in the immediate vicinity, her overall level of curiosity and interest making her seem larger than life.

  Emilia edged ever so slightly closer to Meg. “S-S-So what do you do normally, Yasuko?”

  “You can call me Yacchan! And right now I’m struggling to design a character for a new visual novel game,” Yasuko said, eyes sparkling with naughty mischief. “Sometimes I design buildings and interiors, but that’s just my day job.”

  Meg was presently pouting. “Why don’t I get a cute nickname, Yacchan?”

  “Because your name’s super cute as it is.”

  Emilia spied an opportunity to join in. “You mean my name isn’t?”

  “Er…” Yasuko paused, thinking she had just made a tactical error.

  “Looks like Emilia’ll fit right in,” Meg said, laughing at her best friend’s glowing cheeks. It took a lot to trip Yasuko up or embarrass her, and their friend from Ereth had just managed both without trying.

  Feeling a bit more relaxed, Emilia bobbed her head. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Yasu… um, Yacchan.”

  “Likewise!” Yasuko said. She dropped back down to the sofa and motioned for her guests to sit opposite.

  Emilia did so, then nodded at the laptop. “You draw art for games?”

  “Concept designs for characters mostly,” Yasuko murmured, focusing on the laptop’s screen.

  “I love games, they’re one of my favourite things about your world! Uh…” Emilia realised far too late she might’ve just made her own tactical error.

  Meg returned with three beers and placed them on the table, then sat next to Emilia. “I told her about Ereth as well. I hope that’s okay?”

  “No problem,” Emilia said, taking one of the bottles and sniffing it suspiciously.

  Yasuko grinned. “Maybe I can visit your house one day?”

  “Sure, I don’t mind. Assuming I ever make it home,” Emilia said. She took a small mouthful of beer and made a face. “This stuff’s… odd. Kind of sour? Or bitter? Mm…”

  “Have you never had beer before?” Meg asked, aghast.

  “No. We normally don’t drink alcohol that much, it’s dangerous because we can lose control of our powers.”

  Meg’s expression turned worried. “Remind me not to accidentally get you drunk.” She thought for a moment. “Actually, I should probably be more worried about myself. Wouldn’t want to lose control and blow something up.”

  “I think there’s a bottle of lemonade in the cupboard, maybe shandy would be more palatable?” Yasuko suggested.

  Emilia’s face lit up. “Lemonade’s one of my favourite drinks.” A brief flurry of activity later and she had a glass of shandy in her hands. She sipped it. “Much better, thanks!” She downed half the glass in one go.

  “Steady on, it may be diluted, but it’ll still get you drunk,” Meg laughed. While her friend enjoyed her drink, Meg sniffed the air, closing her eyes and inhaling a wonderfully fragrant scene she hadn’t noticed initially, something floral yet sexy. “What’s that smell? It’s gorgeous…”

  “Mm?” Yasuko looked up. “Oh, a new fragrance I bought last week. I’m heading over to Tokyo next week for a meeting with some clients. Fancied tarting myself up a bit, first impressions and all that.”

  “I thought being tarted up was your default state?” Meg said with a wink.

  “Meg… I’m hurt.”

  “You know it’s true!”

  Yasuko laughed. “To a degree, I’ll admit. Have to be prepared for any situation, after all. Anyway, tell me about yourself, Emicchi.”

  “What did you call yourself again? Gal… something?” Meg said.

  “Galaisin. I trained from a young age to become one.” Emilia explained some of what she had told Meg, then drained her drink and licked her lips. “Mm, I could get used to this.”

  Meg went to get her another refill, though she was careful to avoid putting too much beer in.

  “Where was I?” Emilia said with a frown. “Oh right, when I got to Earth and met Lifa, we moved around a lot, so it’s not like we had much chance to settle down and pay attention to this world.”

  “Fighting those creatures you mentioned?” Yasuko said.

  “Elementals. They were appearing in areas with a lot of war at first, not sure why. Eventually they stopped and it took us a while to figure out where they’d gone. Then they started popping up in Japan about a month ago and we’ve been here ever since.”

  Meg returned and handed over a fresh glass. “You’ve been living in warzones?” Her expression dropped.

  “Yes… well, near them,” Emilia said, her expression indifferent.

  “Is that why you said what you did before about preferring living places like the city?”

  Emilia nodded, accepting her drink and taking a sip.

  Meg gave her a hug. “I can’t imagine the sort of things you must’ve seen. I’m so sorry…!”

  “Ah, Meg…!” Emilia struggled a moment, doing her best to avoid spilling her drink, then gave in and accepted the embrace. “It’s okay, I was trained to deal with this kind of thing. But I appreciate your concern all the same.”

  Meg composed herself and sat upright, just in time for her best friend to do exactly as she had expected. It was only a matter of time.

  “Would you mind if I drew you, Emicchi?” Yasuko asked.

  “M-Me?” Emilia said, pointing at herself. “What for?”

  “I’ve been having trouble with this design and I reckon you can help fix that.” Yasuko pointed both index fingers at her.

  “This isn’t one of those games, is it?” Meg said, glaring once more.

  “No-no, nothing ero, don’t worry!” Yasuko replied, waving her hands about.

  Emilia thought for a moment. “It won’t actually be me, right? Just based on me? I try to keep a low profile in your world.”

  “Here, it’ll look something like this.” Yasuko showed her the other designs she had already completed.

  “That’s pretty similar to some of the games I’ve played. Yeah, that’s okay!” Emilia said with an energetic nod.

  Yasuko rubbed her hands together. “Wonderful, just sit where you are and I’ll be done in a tick.” She ran to a cupboard in the rear corner of the room, grabbed an A4 pad and a mechanical pencil, and returned.

  An hour ticked past as they continued chatting, this time about matters not relating to monsters and war, until eventually Yasuko was done. She held up the pad, upon which several thousand rough grey scratches painted a picture so beautiful that Meg felt she might cry a second time.

  Emilia took the proffered pad. “How can you make something this nice in just an hour?”

  “Lots of practice,” Yasuko said, making an okay symbol. She retrieved the pad. “You’re happy with it?” A blushing nod from Emilia confirmed this, so she scanned the paper and sent it off via email. A few minutes later she received a response. “Sweet, they love it, thanks, Emicchi!”

  “Does this mean you can stop agonising over that final design?” Meg said.

  “Sure does. I owe you a few drinks for this,” Yasuko said, beaming all over.

  “I’m glad I could help,” Emilia said.

  “We should let you get on, now you’ve figured it out,” Meg said, and stood.

  “Oh… speaking of leaving, your mum’s off to the city soon, isn’t she?” Yasuko said.

  “Next week,” Meg said.

  “How you feeling?”

  “Okay. It’ll be weird not having her around so much, but she’s not going that far.” Meg figured that if worst came to worst, she could always transform and fly across to Starlight City…

  No… no, best not abuse the power she had been bestowed. She had seen enough anime, TV, and movies to know where that sort of thing generally ended up.

  “You’re a big girl now, you can look after yourself, right?” Yasuko said, receiving a mild thump from Meg for her troubles. Chuckling at this, she went back to her work as the other two left.

  Outside, they wandered in the general direction of the mansion.

  As they strolled through the near-deserted evening streets, Lifa arrived a little out of breath. “Ah, there you both are. Two elementals have appeared! Separate from one another, one near the old lighthouse, the other is at Sea World.”

  “You can handle yourself now, right?” Emilia said to her partner.

  Meg puffed her chest out. “I won’t let you down!”

  “I know you won’t, but be careful, all right? You’re still new to this.”

  “Come along, you two, there’s work to be done!” Lifa said, placing her hands on her hips in that matronly way of hers. “Honestly, if I wasn’t around, nothing would get done.”

  Meg’s vocal chords strained, wanting nothing more than to say ‘yes, matron’, but she overruled them. Instead she said, “I’ll take Sea World!” and transformed, bounding away into the night, her braided ponytail fluttering behind her.