The next day at university went without issue, not least because Meg only had a single lecture to attend, so she ran back to the sweet shop and up to her flat the moment she was done. Then a quick change into something a little more comfy, followed by an hour’s wait before it was time to meet up with Yasuko.

  She spent the time having something to eat and scanning the news for anything about the previous morning. Nothing so far. Probably a few people went to the hospital to get themselves checked out after waking, but she guessed it wasn’t enough to make the news.

  With any luck her life wouldn’t get too much more complicated and the whole affair was just some strange, one-off event. The problem with this line of thinking was that Meg had more than enough experience with magical girl shows to know that it was never just a one-off event.

  Checking the time, she noted that it was steadily encroaching on 4PM. Yasuko was rarely late for appointments, and Meg had been raised to treat other people’s time as the precious and irreplaceable resource it was, so she got ready, then headed out.

  She arrived a few minutes before the hour and looked around for her friend. This area of Kamogawa was a little further out than she was accustomed to travelling, a bit more upmarket with houses the prices of which made her eyes bulge when she checked them out on her phone.

  “Hey-hey,” came Yasuko’s voice. She had arrived wearing a sexy suit involving white, purple, and lots of curves. Unless she was actively on the pull and therefore dressed to kill, Yasuko rarely wore skirts, and certainly not the type twinned with a business suit. Contrasted with the black hair, she looked quite stunning.

  Meg’s eyes bulged a second time. “H-Hey. Are we getting married and I just wasn’t informed?”

  “Nah, just had some boring meetings to deal with,” Yasuko said with a shrug. “Wouldn’t say no to seeing you in a gorgeous wedding dress, though. As long as I get to be maid of honour.”

  “Eh, one day, maybe,” Meg laughed. “I might meet someone at Starlight City when I move there, who knows?”

  “Still looking to move out there, huh?”

  “If I can, sure. No idea if they really need artists, but I’m remaining hopeful,” Meg said with a firm nod. “Anyway, what’s up?” She gestured at the area around them. “You’re not looking for somewhere new to live, are you?”

  “I might be,” Yasuko said, and produced several sets of keys from one of her blazer pockets. “I like it where I am, but the folks have just bought a few new places to renovate and all that jazz, so I figured I’d take a look.”

  “Your parents are in property development, right?” Meg said.

  Making a move for the opposite side of the quiet street, Yasuko nodded. “Been pretty heavily involved in the Starlight Project, because so many new people were moving in around here and they all needed houses or apartments.”

  Falling in alongside her friend, Meg eyed up the building they now stood before. “You’re not seriously telling me you’re going to buy one of these?”

  The houses around here were all of the 3LDK variety; 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room, and kitchen. If there was one thing Japan loved, it was the use of acronyms and abbreviations for virtually everything. Meg could see the wisdom in this thinking, it was certainly easier to say 3LDK than having to list everything off.

  These houses were the very definition of the term family home. Around the whole area there was a prevalence of what were generally thought of in Japan as Mom Cars, big and boxy affairs which could fit kids, shopping, and quite possibly a small dog. They were always a dead giveaway that you had just entered a family-focused neighbourhood.

  “I only said I’m taking a look,” Yasuko said, sticking her tongue out. “A good look, sure, but still.” She currently lived in Kamogawa’s Grand Tower hotel, which was owned by her parents, who let her rent one of the nicer rooms on a permanent basis. The view over the ocean was great, but it also wasn’t ideal for running her business as a freelance computer-aided designer, with a side line in visual novel character design work.

  “Pretty sure you’re not going to be finding any action around here, either,” Meg added with a low chuckle.

  “I head to Tokyo for that sort of thing,” Yasuko said. She checked the keys she had for the house and stepped forward. “Anyway, I just wanted a second opinion on some of these places, and I value your opinion above most people’s.” Unlocking the door, Yasuko poked her head inside, followed by the rest of her body. It had the vacant home smell all houses seemed to acquire shortly after their previous occupants moved out, but was otherwise empty.

  A wooden floor greeted them in the entrance hall, with a large kitchen directly ahead and a door into a spacious living area to the left. This connected to an open-plan dining room at the rear, which itself merged into the kitchen, giving the whole space a light and airy appearance.

  “Hmm, not bad, not bad,” Yasuko murmured.

  “Is there some reason you’re looking at a big place like this?” Meg asked, bringing up the rear. “Honestly, I like my flat, it’s small and cosy. And cheap to heat.”

  “Mostly just because my folks own them now,” said Yasuko. “First look privileges and all that.” She made for a flight of stairs in the entrance hall, and bounded up to check out the bedrooms.

  Following a little more sedately, Meg conceded her friend’s point. If you could check a place out before it officially went back on the market, then why not? She poked her head into a big bedroom off the main upstairs hallway. “These are pretty nice.”

  “I could easily turn one into my studio,” Yasuko said. “Another to sleep in. Maybe use the third to have guests or something. You could always move in with me when your current tenancy agreement expires?”

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I’m hoping the city will be accepting people by then, sorry, Yacchan.”

  “Maybe I should think about moving there, too. I could probably get a good gig designing off-world housing or something.”

  “Worth a try.”

  Yasuko nodded thoughtfully, then headed back downstairs. Loitering by the front door, she stared at her friend. “You ever thought of doing concept artwork? You know, the sort of thing you’d see in media coverage when they’re talking about colonising Mars or whatever?”

  “Huh… I hadn’t, actually. That’s a really good idea, though.”

  “Could be your ‘in’ for Starlight City.” Yasuko grinned as another thought popped into mind. “Your mother already has connections there, though, so maybe you can use a bit of the ol’ nepotism?”

  “I’ll get there with my own ability, thank you very much,” Meg said, eyes narrowed.

  “All right, all right, I’m just having a bit of fun.” Yasuko opened the front door. “Let’s head to the next place!”

  “I haven’t given you my opinion yet,” Meg said.

  “You like this place?”

  “Yes?”

  “Works for me.”

  Meg sighed. “You’re way too easy-going, Yacchan.”

  ☆ ☆ ☆

  Once they had checked out the other two properties, which were both much of a muchness with the first, Yasuko sped home to get changed into something comfy so she could enjoy the evening with her favourite friend. A suit and heels weren’t exactly the best combination for this.

  An hour later, a knock at the door of Meg’s flat indicated that her friend had arrived. Meg let her in and they settled down opposite each other at the low, glass-topped coffee table.

  Yasuko grinned, and dropped a plastic bag onto the table. “Here, I bought delicious things.” She produced a six-pack of Asahi light lager, two small tubs of deluxe pecan and maple ice cream, and a thumb drive, no doubt containing music; her love of 90s Britpop meant she was always finding new songs from that era to listen to, and generally assaulted Meg’s ears the first chance she got.

  “What have you got for me tonight?” Meg said, opening a can of the lager and taking a wholly unladylike swig.

  Picking up the thumb drive, Yasuko plugged it into the small stereo system next to the TV, and hit play. Then she opened the loose jacket she had on, revealing a Union Jack print T-shirt. “Today, my dear Meg, we have Suede.”

  Meg raised her beer and tapped it to that of her friend as the dulcet tones of Animal Nitrate washed over them. “Mum loves this album.”

  “Cordy always did have good taste,” Yasuko said, and downed half her can in one go. Listening in silence for a couple of minutes, she eventually turned the volume down a bit and fixed her friend with a stare. “Speaking of your folks, your dad has a bee in his bonnet, right?”

  Meg twitched. “A bee in…?”

  “His bonnet. That’s an English phrase, isn’t it?”

  “It is, but I don’t think it means what you think it means.”

  “So he collects bees?”

  “Keeps, Yacchan, keeps bees. It’s not like collecting stamps.”

  “Close enough.” Yasuko opened her tub of ice cream and tucked in with a little wooden stick provided for this express purpose, entirely unabashed. “So it’s a hobby?”

  “Yeah. He was a movie star for most of his life until an accident left him with a dodgy leg, so he retired and went into bee keeping. Pretty sure he got interested in it when he was a kid living in Japan, though. Didn’t I already tell you this once?”

  Yasuko paused with a dollop of ice cream at her lips. “Maybe?”

  “You might’ve been drunk, now I think about it…”

  “That would explain it,” Yasuko said, nodding and eating her morsel of icy goodness. Her memory could be a little unreliable if she had been drinking. “So your father was an actor, huh? I’d love to act, but I’m probably terrible at it.”

  “Have you ever tried?”

  “No… well, I did try it once at school. I was forced into doing a play. That didn’t go so well for my confidence at the time.”

  “What happened?”

  “I was kind of clumsy as a kid, so I ended up breaking a tree on the set and… yeah, that was that.”

  Meg stifled a giggle. “I can’t even imagine you being clumsy.”

  Yasuko shrugged. “I’m a different person now.”

  “Maybe you should try again? You won’t know if you’re any good unless you give it another go.”

  “Eh, I’m happy with my current career.”

  “Make it a hobby, then.”

  “I’m already busy with my existing hobby.”

  “Still doing artwork for visual novels?”

  “When I have the time. Just finished doing the character designs for a new game, so I’ve been pretty busy with that.”

  Meg sat back, sipping her lager and privately thinking that it really didn’t go very well with ice cream. She fidgeted for a time, enjoying the music but also thinking that she really wanted to change subject to the previous morning’s crazy events.

  Despite the wholly carefree exterior, Yasuko was a perceptive woman, so she opened a fresh can of beer and leaned back on an arm. “You ready to talk about whatever happened yesterday? We’ve got beer, ice cream, and great music. No time like the present, right?”

  Meg agreed that there probably wasn’t a better time, all things considered, and did her best to relay what had happened. Her friend remained quiet and periodically sipped her drink, nodding once in a while. Sitting back, a concerned expression occupying her face, Meg raised her eyebrows. “Well? Pretty crazy, huh?”

  “I’m sure I bought regular beer…” Yasuko muttered, peering into her can.

  “I know it sounds totally insane, but it really happened! I even ran into the same girl on the way home from the gym last night!”

  Yasuko held a hand up. “Relax, relax! I believe you, don’t worry. I’ve known you long enough to know you wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

  Meg did as requested, and relaxed a little. “I have no idea what to even do about it. I mean, what can I do? Is there anything I should do? I’m not a magical girl or anything, so it’s not like I’d be any use even if I did meet her again.”

  Yasuko tilted her can towards her friend. “You don’t have to be a superhero to be useful to someone.” She finished the can and placed it on the table, taking another mouthful of ice cream directly after.

  “Well… no, but…”

  “Do you want to help her? Despite the terrifying experience yesterday, despite not being sure if you can help, despite having no super powers? You still want to help her?”

  “Yes!”

  Yasuko gave a lopsided smile. “Isn’t that enough? You don’t need a reason to help people.”

  “Mm…” Meg mumbled, fiddling with her ice cream, poking the wooden stick in and out and leaving a circular pattern of oblong holes.

  “You seem unusually adamant about helping this girl. Any particular reason?”

  “Probably just because I spent so much time as a kid watching magical girl shows. This is real life and all, but… I dunno, maybe I’m just reading too much into it,” Meg said with a shrug. “Maybe she doesn’t want or need any help. But she saved my life, Yacchan, that’s not something I can just ignore. I need to at least ask.”

  “Have at it, then. Just be careful, please, I’d hate to see anything bad happen to you.”

  “I’m not about to try fighting one of those things, Yacchan, trust me.” Meg ate some more ice cream, possibly the ultimate comfort food. “She seemed to handle herself okay, and it’s clear she’s got some amazing powers. But wouldn’t doing something like that put you in a situation where you have to avoid people?”

  “Best way to find out would be to ask her.”

  “Yeah…”

  “You said she’s got dark skin? Like she was from India or somewhere?”

  “Yep.”

  “I wonder if she’s from another world? If she’s using magic and all…”

  “That raises some uncomfortable questions about our place in the universe, Yacchan.”

  Yasuko’s face split into an enormous grin. “Can’t deny that.” She sat forward. “Feeling better?”

  “A bit. Talking about it helps. I’ll just have to hope I see her again.”

  “These things generally work themselves out,” Yasuko said, standing. She enjoyed a languid stretch and made for the door. “Righto, I still have some things to do tonight. I’ll pick up my USB drive tomorrow. Thanks for the company, Meg.”

  “No problem, see you in a day or two.” Meg escorted her out, gave a wave and a farewell, and headed back inside.