They all arrive at the ice cream shop, setting themselves up in the corner bar. Ishimoto takes out his journal and pen, ready to discuss.

“Oi, what are you journaling? Can’t say I imagine you were the type to be doodling and writing little words for fun.” Usagi lightly hits his shoulder.

“H-hey. That hurt.” He rubs his shoulder.

“Actually, that’s strange. It does hurt. Perhaps our base strength is more amplified now? That wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities, would it?”

“Hey, I think you’re on to something. This morning, I was throwing hands on the punching bag, and it started to rip. Wasn’t even going full force on it,” confirms Okazaki.

Keiko brought something as well. She pulls out a new deck of cards and smirks.

“Since everyone else here has had the opportunity to show their awesome powers except Shoji. Shoji w—” Shoji is asleep.

“I-I’m starting to think his power is sleeping. Maybe he’s always had it. Anyway, besides the point, it’s time for me to showcase it! Don’t worry, it’s super subtle, so it won’t draw attention.” She reveals the deck of cards, all of which are smiling anime girls from her favorite anime.

“You can be such a nerdy girl at times, Keiko. Is that from the anime you’re always watching? Where do you even get those? Are those official?” Usagi is dumbfounded.

“Yes, they’re all official, but even if they weren’t, I’d support the artist that supports my favorite anime, Tati Tati Kingdom!” The girl lifts herself up into the air, drawing the attention of those around her. The pose she emits is from the main character, a cute and charming one.

“I do believe this isn’t subtle, Keiko.” Takei chuckles.

“Oh right, right, I totally forgot about that.” She sets back down, waiting for all the prying eyes to turn back to their own devices.

“Okay, okay, everyone is looking away now. So anyway, take this card, for instance.” The first card she pulls is an ace. It holds the main character in her signature style and poses. “See this ace? Okay, so I’m going to do something really cool with it. Just keep staring at it for me.” With a flick of her wrist, the back of the card shows its stripes as always. “All right, you guys saw it, right? Now watch this; something cool is gonna happen.” She flicks it back, but on the other side, there is nothing.

“Uh, Keiko, there’s nothin’ different about that card.”

“H-huh?” She is surprised, turning to see the card.

“W-what!? I did it last night. How did it not work!? That doesn’t make any sense. Everyone else is able to use their powers!”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Keiko!” Usagi’s eyes widen, concerned for others to hear. Then a man walks over. It’s the ice cream man Takei and Keiko spoke to the other day.

“Can I take your or—oh. It’s you two again. I hope you aren’t all trying to scam me out of more ice cream for all your friends. We don’t have that much stock left today.”

“No, no, this time is different. I brought some money for all of us.” She shows her wallet containing the same characters on her cards. Needless to say, she is a mega fan of the series. Inside is enough to get everyone ice cream.

“Keiko. I didn’t know you had such a large amount of yen. Where did you get all of it?” asks Takei, impressed by the staggering pack of money.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I’ll explain that in a bit. Why don’t all of you get some ice cream? We’ll continue our conversation once we get it. Yeah?” She hints, not wanting to tell yet. The ice cream man raises an eyebrow, an almost growing suspicious overwhelming his face. A pen clicks and taps on the table.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say you’re a bank thief like one of those western movies by the amount of money you have. Wouldn’t put it past you, little freeloader,” he accuses.

“What!? No, I would never steal from anyone. That’s something only bad people do! I’m not bad! Well, not mostly anyway, I’ve been on a naughty list maybe once, but I’m not a thief!” she almost wants to burst out and show just how she did it, but she knows she can’t. If she does, they’ll all be compromised.

“Hmm. You’re right. I don’t think you’re a thief, too uppity. Anyway. Go ahead, all of you order. I’ll leave your check here whenever you’re all done.” They all find it strange; his wanting to leave a check isn’t customary. The only time anyone has seen this is when Usagi was in America. Nevertheless, they all order their favorite ice creams. A sundae, strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, cookie dough, banana split and sherbet. He leaves to go make them.

“All right, anyway, now that he’s gone, let me show you all what I can do!” She tries again using the same formula, but it fails. Ishimoto rubs his chin.

“Are you positive that you performed this trick last night? Perhaps it was a fluke?” he suggests.

“No, no, absolutely not. I did it perfectly last night! I mean, the first time, it was an accident, but it started to become easy after a while. I don’t know what could be holding me back.” Her head follows down onto the table in defeat.

“It’s all right, Keiko,” Takei reassures with a healthy pat on the shoulder. “You’ll remember soon. Let’s all just relax for a while. We’ve been through so much.”

They all agree; however, Ishimoto documents everything he remembers from last night. Scribbling the seen powers, abilities, and even fighting style. There seems to be a fighting style in the way Usagi went about it. He has never seen it before; she could hold her own in a fight before, but the added powers of hers make it all the more devastating. It is almost a mix between kickboxing and an animal.

“I believe I’ve got everything down. The only thing is that we haven’t displayed everything we’re capable of. We’ll surely need to do that at some point.” There is a thought popping into his head that is starting to spread throughout the group.

“Hey, do you guys think t—”

“Here’s your ice cream. Don’t go eating it like you’re excavator-like friend over there.”

“Hey! I’m not no construction equipment! It’s not my fault ice cream is so yummy!” She takes an angry bite, her face instantly squelching in pain. “Ah! Brain freeze!”

“See? Wouldn’t happen if you weren’t so greedy.” He places the check downward on the table. “Be sure to check that once you’re done. Don’t be skipping out on it.” He says in a more serious tone. Leaving them to be, Keiko sticks her tongue out at his back.

“Whatever, big old meanie. Least he’s good at making ice cream, the best.”

“Right.” Ishimoto stares blankly down at his ice cream.