Bonus Short Stories

Side: Yurika

To most anyone, Yurika appeared to be an utterly carefree creature. But even she got serious from time to time... and now was one of those times.

“Jeez, Yurika. At least try to do the work you get from Folsaria instead of just letting it pile up.”

“Paperwork just isn’t what magical girls do!”

Yurika was presently working on a write-up with tears in her eyes. She was the only Rainbow agent who’d gone to Forthorthe, so all the follow-up paperwork had fallen squarely on her shoulders.

“Satomi-san, what happened when we fell from orbit to Planet Alaia again?”

“Well, you cried and screamed the whole way down.”

“I can’t write that in my report!”

“And then you kept crying when we got there because you were afraid of wolves.”

“I need something that doesn’t involve me crying!”

Yurika’s memory was terrible, so she was consulting with Koutarou about various events as she worked on her reports. There was so much she didn’t remember that virtually a third of what she wrote down was straight from his mouth. As she faithfully recorded his account, however, she began to grow uneasy.

“Satomi-san... you’re not just pulling my leg because I can’t remember, are you?”

Koutarou was known to joke around on occasion. And it was one thing for him to tease Yurika casually... but if she recorded it in a report, it would be in writing forever.

“What do you think?” he countered.

At that, Yurika fell pensively silent and stared at Koutarou’s face. What would he really do at a time like this?

“I don’t think you’d make any silly jokes over something so serious,” she eventually answered with a confident smile.

Koutarou wasn’t the type to kid when Yurika was doing something important—she knew that better than anyone. She also knew he understood just how important her work as a magical girl was to her, so she couldn’t imagine that he was lying or joking around now.

“You’re exactly right. Now, I’ll let you in on something as a little bonus for getting that right.”

“What?”

“Remember how I told you nata de coco is made the other day?”

“By fermenting coconut water, right?”

“That was a lie.”

“Whaaaaaaaat?! But I already told all my friends that!”

Really, Koutarou’s behavior was far more nuanced than Yurika realized. In truth, he would crack jokes like this and fix snacks whenever he could see that she was tired or overworking herself. Whenever she needed a break, you could say.

“I’m just kidding. You really do make it by fermenting coconut water.”

“Which is it?! Auuugh!”

Yurika tossed a cookie in her mouth and sulkily got back to working on her report. Thanks to Koutarou’s pick-me-up, she was going a little faster now. After another two hours or so, she was finally done.

“Yeah, I think this should be good enough.”

Koutarou looked over her work for her. Her handwriting was a little difficult to read, but the content of her reports was solid. If anything, this gave him a much better understanding of the work she was always doing. He wanted to praise her for it.

“Phew... I can’t believe I managed to finish,” she sighed with a relieved smile.

“Good work, Yurika,” he said, handing the papers back to her.

He didn’t just mean about the reports, either. He was talking about everything she’d done for him and the team in Forthorthe. A lot of her efforts were behind the scenes, so to speak, so he wanted to make sure she got the appreciation she deserved.

“Ooh, yeah. Right there. That feels good.”

“You’re surprisingly stiff, you know?”

“It’s ’cause I’m not used to working like that...”

“That’s your own fault, isn’t it?”

“Heeheehee...”

Koutarou had offered to reward Yurika with a shoulder massage, and she’d happily accepted. The two of them would continue chatting away and joking around with each other for a while yet.

Side: Shizuka

Shizuka’s most prized possession was Corona House itself, as it was a memento of her late parents. So when a certain someone busted a gigantic hole in the wall between rooms 105 and 106, she was understandably enraged. However...

“Sorry for making you help, Satomi-kun.”

“It’s okay. This is my apartment too. Let’s fix it up as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, let’s get to it.”

Shizuka had since come to terms with it. Having the two rooms connected was actually rather convenient, so she and Koutarou were currently in the middle of assessing how to formalize it rather than repair it.

“How do you want it to look? I assume you don’t want any of the insulation showing.”

“I was thinking of evening it out and installing a rectangular frame. You know, so it looks like a normal doorway.”

“Okay. Then I’ll work on getting the frame ready. I’ll leave evening out the hole to you, Landlord-san.”

“Sounds good.”

Fortunately, the hole didn’t compromise the structural integrity of the wall, so Shizuka was able to work with it. Meanwhile, Koutarou measured the dimensions of the hole and the thickness of the wall in order to fashion a frame out of wood in Clan’s workshop. She had plenty of tools and supplies, so the chore was an easy one.

“How’s this?”

“Lift up the left side a little. It looks tilted.”

“How about now?”

“Yeah, that should do.”

After a few hours of work, Koutarou and Shizuka managed to fit the new frame into the hole. It was clearly a DIY job, but it was still far better than having a gaping hole with exposed insulation in the wall.

“I think that covers it for now. Thanks, Satomi-kun.”

Shizuka looked over their work with folded arms, nodding in satisfaction at a job well done. The landlord was pleased.

“You’re welcome... Oh?”

“What is it, Satomi-kun?”

“Come here, Landlord-san.”

Koutarou beckoned Shizuka, who moved closer with a perplexed expression. While working on evening out the hole in the wall, she’d gotten white plaster powder on her face. She was none the wiser, but Koutarou had just noticed it. He thus reached out and gently wiped it away with a towel. Shizuka couldn’t help grinning at the gesture.

“I think that should do it,” he said when he was done.

He carefully looked over her face to see that he’d gotten all the white powder, and more importantly... that Shizuka was smiling at him.

“Thank you, Satomi-kun. Heehee...”

She ran her fingers across her cheek where Koutarou had just touched her, and her smile subtly changed. It was hard to articulate, but it profoundly struck Koutarou. He wanted to know the meaning behind it.

“Is something wrong, Landlord-san?”

“Nothing at all... I was just thinking that it’s been a long time since someone wiped my face off for me.”

She hadn’t said it directly, but in truth, the last anyone had coddled her like that was when her parents were still alive. She recalled both of them lovingly wiping her face for when she got out of the bath or finished exercising.

“But now you’re doing it for me, Satomi-kun... It just made me happy, heehee. That’s all.”

“I’m sure Sanae, Aika-san, or any of the others would do it for you too.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. But...”

There, Shizuka’s smile changed yet again. This time, however, it clearly turned into a playful grin.

“But what?” Koutarou asked.

“But shouldn’t you be saying you’ll always be around to do it for me?” she asked in turn.

“I’ll always be here to wipe your face for you, Landlord-san,” he replied with a playful grin of his own as he touched the towel to Shizuka’s face once more.