Best Friends and Girlfriends

The Friend Group

Hanazuki, Kiazuki, Kiyoshi, and Maroshi were sitting in Maroshi's house, enjoying Mary Moo's Brand Ice Cream to unwind after the events of the day.

"I'm telling you guys, Hanazuki was awesome!" Kiazuki said. "She was all like bam! And pow! And flower! Woo!"

"We know, Kiazuki." Kiyoshi said. "We were all there."

Kiazuki snorted. "What's with you? You're her boyfriend; Shouldn't you of all people be singing her praises?"

"Not even I can do that for a whole hour."

"Really?" She said with a teasing grin. "But I thought Hanazuki was your perfect angel~"

Kiyoshi said. "Kiazuki, stop. That kind of thinking led to me ruining my relationships with the two most important people in my life. I'm stepping away from all that. No more lovey-dovey stuff. And we're gonna give each other a little space."

Maroshi smiled. "Does this mean you're coming to the New Bloom Surfing Competition re-do? It's March 14! Pi day!"

Kiyoshi nodded. "Absolutely. And if I'm not there, you have my full permission to yell at me."

"I'm holding you to that."

Kiazuki slumped down in her chair. "Well, good for you, then. But, what am I gonna laugh at now?"

Hanazuki shrugged. "There's always those good 'bad' movies that you love so much."

"I guess so." Suddenly, Kiazuki's eyes lit up with an idea. "Hey, speaking of good 'bad' movies, Maroshi, you're a hydrokinetic, right? Can you—"

"—I cannot and will not use my powers to create a real life sharknado for you."

"Boo."

"You should've asked evil-me. He might've obliged."

"That reminds me." Kiyoshi dug around in his pocket, eventually pulling out the Cataclysm Bracelet. "We might have to do some investigating on this thing. The box you found it in is supposed to be magically sealed, but for some reason the seal broke."

Kiazuki picked the bracelet up. "Can't you just do your object reading thingy and find out who it was?"

"Can't. There's some sort of weird interference blocking me. Luckily, I know another psychic. Hopefully she can help us."

Maroshi nodded, taking another lick of his ice cream cone. "So, by 'us', you mean you, me, and..." His gaze drifted over to Hanazuki, who blushed.

Kiyoshi paused a bit. "Yeah. And Hanazuki."

Hanazuki's eyes lit up. "Really? You mean it?"

Kiyoshi nodded. "It's like you said. Equals. Plus, you already know Sia, so Mystery can come too."

Hanazuki cocked her head. "Who's 'Mystery'?"

"'The Mysterious Lady Hydrangea is kinda a mouthful, so that's your nickname. Do you like it?"

"It's nice but..." She played with her spoon a bit. "I dunno. It doesn't have anything to do with flowers!"

Kiyoshi gave a reassuring smile. "We'll workshop the nickname. Or the name-name."

"And the costume." Maroshi piped up. "Don't forget about the costume."

"Yeah, definitely workshopping the costume."

Hanazuki looked over at Maroshi hopefully. "You're okay with this too? You're not worried that I'll..."

Maroshi nodded. "I think I can trust you guys not to go overboard again. And if you don't," he gave a pleased little grin to himself, "I think I can handle pointing it out this time."

She pumped her fist. "Yes!"

"That reminds me, Hanazuki." Kiazuki said between licks. "How long have you been able to do the whole 'grow magic flowers' thing anyway?"

"Since shortly after Mom and Dad divorced. It's a long story. I'll explain later."

"You'd better."

"Say," Kiyoshi said, looking around. He raised his glass. "Should we make a toast? To the mysterious duo turned trio?"

Hanazuki raised her glass. "I'll drink... err, eat ice cream to that."

Maroshi did the same. "Me three. Unless..." He turned to Kiazuki. "Unless somebody wants to make it a quartet? Kiazuki? You want in on this?"

Kiazuki rolled her eyes. "Oh no, I know how this goes. I'm already connected to all you three, I'll have to 'get in on it' eventually. Forget it. I'm staying your secret-keeper until the universe forces me to join." She smiled. "But yeah. Let's raise a glass."

The four teenagers looked around at one another. No longer separated by separate divisions; the sisters, the best friends, the new friends, the couple— they were all one group. They were all friends.

"Then it's settled!" Kiyoshi said. "To the new group of heroes which I just realized we'll actually have to come up with a real name for and it's going to take forever to actually choose one isn't it!" He giggled.

"CHEERS!"