“I want everyone taking tomorrow off training.”

We had just wrapped up a long session of drills and sparring when Hana told us that out of the blue. It surprised me to hear since we had been training relentlessly every day since Flame showed up. Even more so because the solstice was just a few days away.

“What spurred this on all of a sudden?” Asked Saki.

“Even for a magical girl, constant exercise is taxing on the body. A rest day every now and then is important to keeping yourself in good condition,” Hana explained matter-of-factly. “That, and I want everyone to remember exactly what it is we’re fighting for. We’re going to war in just a few days. I want everyone to take just one day to have fun and spend time with their friends and loved ones. After all, that’s what we’re fighting to protect.”

She had a good point. Behind supply and the chain of command, one of the most important things for leading an army was to keep on top of troop morale.

“So what are you planning to do tomorrow, then? Going somewhere with Kyouma and the twins?” Asked Saki

“Actually, we’re so far from civilisation that Kyouma has to teleport each group individually, which is likely to take a long time and a lot of stamina. The four of us are gonna stay here and try to make the most of it, but since everyone will also need a ride back we can’t do anything that prevents Kyouma getting her stamina back.”

“Yikes. No rest for the weary, I guess. Shame, too. I was gonna ask if you guys wanted to join us for dinner or anything. It’s been all business lately, so we haven’t really had a chance to hang out with you and your girls casually.”

“Yeah, we’ll unfortunately have to take a rain check on that. But after this all over and Earth is safe, I’ll take you up on that offer. Your treat, of course.”

“Ha, nice try, Hana. I know your girlfriend is loaded. She can cover your bill.”

“A senpai who won’t even treat her beloved kouhai to a meal. You disappoint me, Saki.”

While Saki and Hana back-and-forthed like an old married couple (leaving Nao to silently seethe at Saki’s side), I started thinking about what we should do for the day. A grim thought though it may be, I had to consider the possibility that it would be the last free day I would ever have.

“Why don’t we all go to the beach?” Asked Mai stupidly.

“It’s December, hon.”

“Exactly, it’ll be practically empty! We’ll get the whole place to ourselves.”

“Ah yes, to enjoy the -3 Celsius weather and sea water that’s too cold to swim in.”

“I’m glad you understand. If we’re all in agreement, let’s go!”

“No.” Replied myself, Saki and Nao in unison.

“You guys are no fun.” While Mai was huffing over nothing, I was thinking of an idea that actually made sense.

“Hey… it’s nearly Christmas, right? Why don’t we visit the Shibuya Christmas market?”

“That’s… actually a pretty good idea.” Saki seemed on board.

“I-I’d like that, I think.” Nao concurred too.

“Ooh, the blue cave illuminations are on too! Good shout, Shin!” Mai seemed more excited at the prospect than any of us.

“Great, then I think we have a plan. Let’s figure out a meeting time and place over group chat tonight.” Though I didn’t show it much outwardly, I was actually incredibly excited. Turmoil in my witness protection situation had meant that celebrating Christmas had been difficult these last few years. Gen and Kandai had tried their best, but attending big public events like the blue cave illuminations had been a no-go.

“We’ll also have time for some Christmas shopping while we’re out. Ooh, man, now I’m actually getting pumped.” Saki was as enthusiastic as ever, though she showed a trace of guilt on her face when she turned to her kouhai. “Hana, make sure you and your girls keep some time open next December. You’re coming with us next time, whether you like it or not.”

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“Heh. I’ll keep my schedule open for you. And sorry we can’t join you guys this year.”

“Nothing to apologise for. Just gives us another thing to look forward to after we kick Baal Zebul’s ass back to the depths of hell, right?”

Hana smiled at Saki’s attempt to cheer her up, though that smile clearly held some sadness. This was just another reason for us to give everything we had to fight back in this war. Last year, Hana and her friends were just high school girls. Granted, they were high school girls with family issues and irregular circumstances, but they were still just kids trying to live a normal life. Now they were taking responsibility for hundreds of lives.

They had had the last few years of their adolescence stripped away. I was more determined than ever to give it back to them.

***

“It’s nice to see you dress up for once.”

“Well, it is a special occasion.”

Mai immediately commented on my unusually fancy outfit as soon as she and I met at the station. Being that I was publicly still “Sora,” not “Shin,” I was still wearing women’s clothes and makeup to public events. I had a long black cheongsam that I had been itching to wear for a while but had never found the time.

I hated to admit it, but crossdressing had grown on me. I still felt most comfortable wearing men’s clothes, but there were times when I appreciated the more versatile female wardrobe.

On the subject of clothes, Mai had shown up in a cyan kimono. Considering this was supposed to be an all day affair I was a tad worried about how she’d fair in such restrictive dresswear, but she waved off my concerns immediately.

“It’s not the easiest to walk around in, but it’s not like it’s one of those huge ones that drapes along the floor or something. Besides, the obi is great for holding a hot water bottle close to my chest.”

“Where are you gonna get a refill of hot water in the middle of Shibuya?”

“Oh, I brought spares in insulative flasks. Should last me the whole day.”

“…how many spares did you bring?”

“If I didn’t have superhuman strength, the answer would be 'way too god damn many.'"

She had a rather large bag slung across her back, and by the clinking sound that it made when she walked I assumed she had a fair few of those flasks in there.

On the one hand, I wanted to praise her commitment to such an inconvenient way of dressing.

On the other, I wanted to scold her for her commitment to such an inconvenient way of dressing.

“Saki and Nao got here a little while ago, we had best not keep them waiting.” While I was thinking about my fiancée's habitual pain-in-the-assery, she reminded me that we weren’t alone and were probably inconveniencing our friends by standing around.

“Oops, my bad. Ahem.” I made a show of loudly clearing my throat, before holding my arm out to Mai. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

Mai wrapped my arm in hers and we left Shibuya train station.

***

“What took you guys so long?” Saki asked, predictably.

“Mai choosing the most creative ways to be an inconvenience.”

“Shin trying too hard to play the Straight Man and forgetting to actually be the sensible one.”

“Both of those are completely believable answers so I’m just gonna assume they’re both correct. But more importantly, why the formal dress? Won’t those both be a pain to walk around in all day?”

“Probably, but we wanted to look out best for the illuminations tonight. Make it feel like a real important event, y’know?” I replied.

“Yeah, but… Nao and I are just gonna change clothes later in the evening.”

Mai and I stopped and looked at each other in stunned silence. Over 300 combined IQ between us and we still didn’t have the common sense to just bring a change of clothes.

“We may be a pair of imbeciles.” I said bluntly.

“…at least we’re imbeciles together?”

Both Saki and Nao stifled laughs at our stupidity, though I myself barely contained a smile. Stupid though we may have been, today was about celebrating the lives we had spent together thus far. Mai and I being idiots when together was an integral part of that.

“Shin and I being lobotomites aside, it’s nice to see you wearing something so girly for once, Nao.”

“A-ah, thank you…” Nao responded nervously to Mai’s compliment, though the slight redness of her cheeks told me that she was happy to hear it. “I-I don’t get a chance to wear casual clothes much these days, so I just threw together whatever I had… I don’t think it’s all that girly though.”

She was wearing an oversized white hoodie, a frilly skirt and white leggings, which was a surprisingly good look for her. It occurred to me that I had probably seen her casualwear far less than I had for either of the other two girls.

“It’s at least a damn sight better than what your girlfriend’s wearing, that’s for sure.” Mai teased

“Hey, I resent that.”

“I’ve literally seen forty year old men wearing your exact outfit, Saki.”

Mai’s assessment was pretty on the money. Though somewhat unisex, Saki’s outfit definitely screamed ‘male’ more than ‘female.’ She wore a casual t-shirt which was decorated with some anime I had never seen, and a pair of ripped jeans that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the ‘70s. With her hair tied back and her naturally somewhat androgynous features, you’d be forgiven for thinking she was a man at first glance.

“Hey, men’s clothing is convenient, okay? It has pockets! Pockets!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” said Mai as she waved away Saki’s protests. “I just think it’s incredible that male clothes suit you more than they suit Shin, and female clothes suit Shin more than they suit you. You two are like a waking sociology case study.”

“That’s fair.” Said me and Saki in unison.

“Either way, we don’t got all day to stand around talking about clothes. Let’s get to shoppin’, people!”

With Mai’s excited words and hilariously awkward run, our day in the Shibuya Christmas market began.