Starlight Dream

Chapter 42

"I can't believe she just ditched us without a word!" Seina said, annoyed.

"..."

"Right?" Seina said, unsure what she'd agreed to. Unlike Emiyo, Seina had little clue about what thoughts ran through Chō's head. Or did the magical girl speak so quietly that Seina hadn't heard?

"She does what she wants. Who cares?" Emiyo's partner said with a shrug. To emphasize this, Nyx flew out a nearby window and vanished.

"They both seem convinced they shouldn't like you." Her bodyguard said. "Hard to change a mindset like that."

"At least you like me, right?" Seina gave Chō an encouraging smile.

"..."

"Yeah." Seina gave a weak smile, unsure what that meant.

"You'll turn her around," Aiko said, giving Seina's hand a comforting squeeze. Mr. Kiyojiro remained unconvinced but didn't voice his opinion. Colten only shrugged.

"Well, whatever. We'll meet up with her later." Seina said, forgetting the other magical girl from now. They enjoyed a bowl of ramen before joining Takako to hang out. Her friend had suggested they visit a new mangaka wanting feedback on his work. It was another welcome sign normality had returned to their world.

Much to their collective surprise, this drew Chō's attention. It seemed she dearly wanted to join them. With a shrug, Seina nodded in assent.

---

"It isn't much, just some doodles." An abashed teenager said, his face showing a half-grown scraggly mustache. He gestured to his collection of storyboards amongst the clutter of his room. It showed a young girl in a fanciful dress fighting an army of horrors with only a magic wand and a trusty fairy.

When Seina recognized the similarities, Izumi flushed. "I suppose I got some inspiration from an outside source."

"It's pretty cool!" Seina said, eyes alight at the half-sketched magical girl.

"It's something." But Takako sounded impressed despite her tone.

"..." Only Chō seemed unimpressed, frowning. Was she offended by a story about a heroic magical girl? Much to Seina's surprise, Chō stretched something on her notepad. When she'd finished, she presented it to Izumi.

"Perfect! Just what I envisioned!" The man nodded with enthusiasm. "You're a great drawer. I'm still learning. By myself, it is difficult to accomplish much."

"..." But Chō pointed at his storyboard, giving an enthusiastic smile. Seina blinked, unsure what the other magical girl meant.

"I think she likes his storyboarding," Takako said, filling in the gaps.

In confirmation, Chō nodded her head emphatically. She encouraged Izumi to continue. The two 'chatted' further about his manga ideas. It soon became awkward as Seina felt like the odd girl out, leaving them to their conversation.

"Seems like someone made a friend," Takako joined her by the railing.

"Yeah, she did," Seina said, smiling. While somewhat disappointed it wasn't her, she was happy for Chō. She wondered how long it'd been since Chō had a normal friend?

When they rejoined the pair, Chō was helping Izumi storyboard a fight scene between the heroine and a garish young man with white face paint and poofy glam hair. Seina also noticed the heroine had become heroines, plural.

"Nice setup you have here," Seina said.

"With Chō on art and me on storyboarding, my manga's really coming together," Izumi said, giving an enthusiastic smile.