Pastel*Rangers

Chapter 3.5 - Home Street

That smells delicious!

Lynn walks around downtown, letting her sense of smell guide her. She winds up at a small meat store. "Welcome to Kitazawa meats!" A cheerful orange-haired girl greets her. She buys some croquettes and makes her way to her next destination. Where that is, nobody knows. Lynn has been spending the day walking around without much of a plan. That's how she's always preferred doing things. Although she did have a few places recommended to her by her coworkers, most of them were restaurants and cafes, and doing more than one of those a day would not be easy on her figure.

Speaking of living without a plan. Lynn was enjoying her time, humming the tune playing downtown, so she didn't notice her phone exploding with text messages and missed calls.

This downtown theme is so catchy!  A local girl's band wrote it, huh? Amazing!

She takes a seat and gets ready to eat when she finally feels the vibration of her phone in her pocket.

Oh crap. It's the boss.

She calls the café.

"Hello?"

"Lynn! I was so worried about you! Where are you?"

"Huh?" Lynn sounds confused. "I'm downtown, about to enjoy a nice, warm, crispy croquette. Did something happen?"

"Oh what a relief. So, remember you were telling us about the radar yesterday?"

"Yeah. Did something happen to it?"

"No, it's fine. But we detected a spike in Negative energy in Tokyo. The readings are gone now, so it seems they were taken care of. Did you see anything suspicious today?"

"What? No. I didn't. How long ago was this?"

"They disappeared about half an hour ago."

"Hm. 30 minutes ago... I think I was still at that live house."

"Live house?"

"Yeah! I got a cool explanation about the girl band craze that's been spreading all over Japan. Apparently a local band wrote a theme that plays downtown here."

"Lynn, I'm glad you're really having fun on your vacation, but I need you to focus. You arrive in Japan. Soon after, Negatives start appearing in Japan. We're unsure if this is a coincidence or if somehow your arrival brought them there. If you're somehow the cause of this, I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to return sooner than expected. For the safety of Japan."

Lynn's mouth opens, her croquette falling onto her lap.

"B-but I just got here! That's unfair!"

"I'm sorry, but your vacation might be cut short."

"That's not fair!" Lynn picks her croquette back up.

Lynn thinks about the situation. There's no denying that her arriving in Japan and the Negatives showing up at the same time is too coincidental. Proving that it isn't her fault would be pretty hard, if not impossible. However, her boss' reasoning for ending her vacation is to keep Japan safe. So what if...

"What if someone else keeps Japan safe in my stead?" Lynn says before she can stop herself.

"Are you referring to the girl you saw last night?"

"Uh-huh."

"Sigh. Well, you did say that she was shaking and shivering out of nervousness. Are you sure we can leave everything to someone like her?"

She's right. She didn't seem to know what she was doing. But with the proper guidance...

"What if I trained her?"

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes. I'm serious. What if I trained her to be a better fighter? Then I'd be able to enjoy my vacation."

"Lynn, do you even realize what you're saying?"

Lynn had not, in fact, thought about what she was saying, but then again, she rarely does when she enters improvisation mode. Her natural improvisational instincts kicked in and were in full gear.

"Yes. I know exactly what I'm saying. Think of it this way. If I just sit here and relax the entire time I'm here, when I get back home, I'll be incredibly rusty. Some light sparring with Negatives here and there will keep me in shape. And to make sure I don't focus too much on fighting them and enjoy a proper vacation, the girl I saw can help me fight them too. The workload is split in two, Japan stays safe, I don't get rusty, and there's always a chance that me being here didn't being the Negatives, and if that's the case, abandoning a fledgling magical girl would be very irresponsible of us!"

There is a long silence before Lynn's boss finally responds.

"Alright. You've made your point. Fine. You may train her up for a bit. But if I find strong enough evidence to prove that the Negatives followed you to Japan, you're coming home immediately. Also, you are not to seek out Negatives, but you may fight them if you happen to come across one. Your vacation is still a top priority. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" Lynn salutes, however she puts her hand over her mouth while holding a croquette and takes a bite out of it instead of on her forehead like a normal salute.

"Alright. Oh, and I understand wanting to enjoy your time there, but please pay more attention to your phone. I was so worried when we detected negative energy on the radar and you wouldn't pick up."

"Oh. Haha. Sorry!"

"You're not sorry, are you?"

"Heh heh. Not really."

"Sigh. Alright. Well, call us if anything happens. We'll call you if we find out anything. Enjoy your vacation. Bye!"

"Bye!" Lynn hangs up and put her phone in her pocket.

Wait. Pink haired girl. Where do I even begin to look for her!?!?!?