"This might be their best album yet."
"Holy hell is this what they put out after a nine month hiatus."
"My daughter won't stop playing this album back to back."
"Track five and six are overrated as hell, now track three is where it's at."
The reviews were a mix but the album had 980 million streams on LIME music. Hikari clicked her tongue as she couldn't stop looking at the negative comments from fans. "What would any of them know about making good music? Half of them don't even know they're living next to literal Yokai and Oni."
As she was talking to herself, a notification popped up on her phone from the group chat, "No Filter Zone" and it was a message from Penny.
Hikari smiled softly before opening the group chat.
Rarity ??: So Ari-Chan, how did the chocolates go for your pink haired crush? Did she make out with you as a thank you for your gift~?
Brunette Gyaru: Why should I tell you how it went?
Rarity ??: Because even though I'm an amazing friend, I spent $20 on those chocolates. AND THEY MADE ME PAY AN EXTRA 5 JUST TO GET THEM CUSTOMIZED!!!!
Rarity ??: Can you believe that!? $5 just to get them customized.
Ri: Wait so you're saying you spent like $45 on us just for chocolates for a holiday I barely remember?
Rarity ??: I didn't spend that much on you rina dear, yours was pretty simple and only $15.
Ri: Ahhahhaha Ari you made her spend the most because you're too dense to admit your emotions.
Brunette Gyaru: I'm NOT! I just get lost in my own mind and it makes me very, very nervous.
Ri: ….
Ri: Still sounds like being dense to me.
Brunette Gyaru: I'm ending this conversation.
Rarity ??: WAIT WAIT WAIT! You didn't even tell me what happened!
Brunette Gyaru: Nothing happened Penny. I gave her the chocolates, she smiled, we talked. That's it.
Ri: "That's it" she says. As if her face didn't turn the color of a tomato the second pink hair looked at her.
Brunette Gyaru: RINA I SWEAR TO GOD
Rarity ??: Ohohoho~ Someone's defensive~
Brunette Gyaru: I hate both of you.
Ri: No you don't. You love us. Almost as much as you love Lila~
Brunette Gyaru: I'm blocking both of you.
Rarity ??: You say that every time and you never do it lol
Ri: Because she'd miss us too much. We're the only ones who put up with her brooding.
Brunette Gyaru: I don't brood.
Ri: You literally brood professionally. It's like your second job after being a delinquent.
Rarity ??: RINA LMAOOOOO
Brunette Gyaru: Okay I'm actually leaving now.
Rarity ??: WAIT NO I'M SORRY
Ri: She's not actually leaving. Watch, she'll send another message in like 30 seconds.
Brunette Gyaru: ...
Brunette Gyaru: Fine. You're right. I'm still here.
Ri: CALLED IT
Rarity ??: Ari-chan you're so predictable it's adorable.
Brunette Gyaru: I'm going to telekinetically throw both of your phones into the ocean.
Ri: See? Brooding.
Rarity ??: Anyway! Back to the important topic! Did Lila like the chocolates or not??
Brunette Gyaru: ...She said they were really thoughtful. And that the fox shapes were cute.
Rarity ??: AND???
Brunette Gyaru: And what?
Ri: And did she hold your hand? Look into your eyes? Confess her undying love?
Brunette Gyaru: You two are impossible.
Rarity ??: That's not a no~
Brunette Gyaru: We just... talked. For a while. It was nice.
Ri: "Nice" she says. I bet her heart was doing backflips the entire time.
Brunette Gyaru: Can we please change the subject?
Rarity ??: Nope! Not until you admit you're head over heels for her!
Brunette Gyaru: I'm not admitting anything.
Ri: Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, Ari.
Brunette Gyaru: That joke was terrible and you should feel bad.
Ri: I feel great actually. Unlike someone who's too scared to confess to their crush.
Brunette Gyaru: I'M NOT SCARED
Rarity ??: Then do it! Ask her out properly!
Brunette Gyaru: It's not that simple...
Ri: Why not?
Brunette Gyaru: Because... what if she doesn't feel the same way? What if I ruin everything?
Rarity ??: Ari... honey... she literally lights up every time she sees you.
Ri: Yeah, even I've noticed and I'm oblivious as hell.
Brunette Gyaru: You guys really think so?
Rarity ??: We KNOW so.
Ri: Trust us. Just go for it. What's the worst that could happen?
Brunette Gyaru: She could reject me and then things would be awkward forever and I'd lose one of the most important people in my life?
Rarity ??: Or... she could say yes and you'd finally be happy?
Brunette Gyaru: ...
Brunette Gyaru: I'll think about it.
Ri: That's progress! Character development!
Rarity ??: We're so proud of you Ari-chan! ??
Brunette Gyaru: Don't make it weird.
Ri: Too late. It's already weird.
Rarity ??: Embrace the weird! Anyway I gotta go, my date's picking me up soon!
Ri: Have fun! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!
Rarity ??: That leaves literally everything on the table lol
Ri: Exactly ??
Brunette Gyaru: Be safe Penny.
Rarity ??: Always am! Love you guys! ???
Ri: Love you too! Now Ari, go find your pink-haired princess and sweep her off her feet!
Brunette Gyaru: I'm logging off now.
**Ri:** That's what I thought. Good luck soldier o7
Hikari placed her phone down face first on the bench beside her. As much as Rina made fun of her—a lot, constantly, mercilessly—she couldn't help but feel genuine love for both of them. Her face fell slightly when she realized just how much the supernatural world was pulling her away from her friends. She never really had a social life beyond those two if she were being honest with herself.
Before she'd become an Apostle, before Kairyū, before everything changed, it had just been her, Penny, and Rina. Three girls against the world. Now she had this whole other life—missions, battles, cosmic responsibilities she barely understood—and sometimes it felt like she was living in two separate realities that could never quite touch.
She missed the simplicity. The days when her biggest worry was whether she'd embarrass herself in front of a cute girl, not whether she'd survive the next supernatural catastrophe.
As she was lost in thought, her psychic senses flared up and warned that someone was approaching. But she had long become used to who was approaching though. The person who turned the corner was Lila Kurata.
Hikari's breath caught.
Today Lila was wearing a pink and cyan frilly skirt that went down to her thighs along with mismatched thigh highs, one deep purple with black stripes, the other deep blue with white stripes. She had a pink crop top on that made Hikari immediately tear her eyes away from her midriff and force them up to her azure eyes instead.
Don't stare. Don't be weird. Act normal.
"Oh Hikari-chan, I didn't expect to find you here~" Lila strutted forward and closed the distance in five long strides, each movement fluid and confident in a way that made Hikari's heart do stupid things. She leaned in slightly, taking a deep breath. "You smell good today. Kinda like vanilla~"
Hikari's face went bright red.
The rocks and leaves and debris around her all began to float five inches off the ground, responding to the sudden spike in her psychic energy.
No no no not now—
"Oh t-thank you," Hikari stammered, playing with her bangs as she talked. "I bought a new perfume yesterday..."
Lila thought this was adorable to no end and smiled, that radiant expression that made Hikari feel like the sun had decided to shine specifically on her. "Oh is that so? You're gonna have to let me borrow it for one of our future dates~"
Future dates.
She said future dates.
Multiple dates.
DATES.
The butterflies in Hikari's stomach transformed into a full-blown hurricane. All the debris her telekinetic aura was holding up suddenly got flung into a wall ten feet away with a resounding CRASH.
Several passersby jumped and looked around in confusion.
Hikari wanted to die.
"Did you say..." Hikari's voice came out through hitched breaths. "Future dates...?"
Lila placed a hand over her chest with her eyes closed, her expression shifting to mock disappointment. "Aww, do you not want to go on dates with me?" She opened one eye, peeking at Hikari with a playful glint. "My heart truly hurts, Ari-chan~"
"I-I didn't say that!" Hikari lost her train of thought completely. All she could hear was Rina's voice echoing in her head:
"Too dense to admit your feelings~"
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The words tumbled out before she could stop them.
"I KNOW HOW TO RIDE A MOTORCYCLE!"
Silence.
A crow cawed in the distance.
Hikari wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole.
Lila blinked, then let out a small, delighted chuckle. "What~?" The word came out fond, affectionate, like Hikari had just said the most endearing thing in the world.
Okay. Too far in now. Commit to the bit.
Hikari thought she was too far in now to back down, and that wasn't exactly a lie anyway. "I-I said I know how to ride a motorcycle... I used to hang out with this group of delinquents and they taught me how to ride one..."
Lila raised an eyebrow, her smile widening. "Really? I guess you are a rebellious gyaru~" She stepped closer, close enough that Hikari could feel her breath ghost across her face. "So what are you saying~?"
Hikari shivered. Her heart was doing that thing again where it forgot how to beat at a normal rhythm.
"I..." Hikari swallowed hard, looking away because looking directly at Lila right now felt like staring into the sun. "I could take you on a ride. Through Japan..."
"Really!?" Lila's excitement was immediate and genuine, her eyes lighting up in a way that made Hikari's chest feel tight. "I'd love that! I wanna see what the rebellious Hikari can do when she's not fighting." She tilted her head, a small, teasing smile playing at her lips. "Just one question... Do you own a motorcycle?"
Hikari finally got over being flustered enough to place her hands on her hips, channeling every ounce of confidence she could muster. "Worry not, Lila. I have my ways of getting a motorcycle~"
"So your 'way' of getting a motorcycle is literally just stealing one?" Lila whispered, though her eyes sparkled with barely contained amusement.
Hikari crouched behind a vending machine, peeking around the corner like some kind of discount spy. "Listen, you don't hang out with delinquents for three years without picking up a few skills. Plus..." She wiggled her fingers dramatically. "Psychic powers make everything easier. It's basically victimless crime."
"I don't think that's how crime works, Hikari-chan."
"Shh! Do you want to go on this date or not?"
Lila's cheeks flushed pink. "You just called it a date."
"I... no I didn't. You're hearing things. The Tokyo smog is getting to you."
They crept up to the Honda Dream dealership, which sat nestled on a bustling side street like a chrome and glass jewel box. The building practically screamed "modern and expensive" with its sleek white facade and floor-to-ceiling windows that showed off rows of shiny motorcycles inside. The bold red-and-white Honda wing logo stretched across the upper signboard, catching the last rays of sunset, while smaller brand flags fluttered above the entrance like they were celebrating something.
Out front, a neat lineup of bikes waited on the pavement. Super Cubs in classic red, a few glossy CBRs that probably cost more than Hikari's entire wardrobe, and some adventure-ready models that looked like they could survive the apocalypse. Their chrome accents twinkled under the streetlamps, and a large banner in Japanese kanji promised "New Models & Test Rides," swaying in the humid evening breeze. The whole place radiated the kind of quiet efficiency that made Hikari feel slightly guilty about what she was about to do.
Slightly.
"Okay, so which one are we stealing?" Lila asked, way too casually for someone participating in grand theft auto.
"We are not stealing anything. I am borrowing." Hikari held up one hand, palm open, and focused. A mid-sized motorcycle near the window began to glow with a faint purple aura. "And we're taking that one. The CB500X. Good balance, comfortable for two riders, and..."
"And it's pretty?" Lila supplied.
"And it's pretty," Hikari admitted, carefully maneuvering the motorcycle with her telekinesis. It lifted smoothly off its kickstand and floated through the air like the world's most illegal magic trick. She guided it out through the open front area and onto the street in front of them, setting it down with barely a sound.
"Ta-da! Told you I had my ways."
Lila looked at her with that soft, fond expression that made Hikari's brain short-circuit. "You're ridiculous. I love it."
She loves it. She loves... wait, does she mean...
Before Hikari could spiral into a full panic, she swung her leg over the bike and settled into the front seat, trying to look cool and confident and not at all like her heart was attempting to escape her ribcage. "Come on, before someone notices."
Lila climbed on behind her, and then... oh no. Oh *no*. Lila's arms wrapped around Hikari's waist, warm and secure, and suddenly Hikari forgot how breathing worked. She could feel every point of contact where their bodies pressed together, could smell Lila's shampoo (was that vanilla?), could feel Lila's chin almost resting on her shoulder.
"You okay up there, Hikari-chan? You're shaking."
"I'm fine! Totally fine! Just... cold. It's cold."
"It's 25 degrees."
"I run cold! Are you ready or are you going to keep questioning my body temperature?"
Lila giggled, the sound vibrating against Hikari's back. "Ready when you are, my rebellious gyaru."
My. She said my.
Hikari took a deep breath, placed her hands on the handlebars, and used her psychic abilities to forcibly start the engine. It roared to life beneath them, and she pulled out onto the street. They started slow, maybe 12 MPH while Hikari got used to the weight and balance, but after five minutes of weaving through Tokyo traffic, she'd worked up to a comfortable 30 MPH.
The city lights blurred past them in streaks of neon and gold, and Lila's arms tightened around her waist.
"This is amazing!" Lila shouted over the wind.
Hikari grinned, her earlier nervousness melting away into pure exhilaration. "Just wait! I haven't even shown you the good parts yet!"
The throttle twisted beneath Hikari's palm. The engine growled deeper. 40 MPH. 50 MPH. The city lights stretched into neon rivers flowing past them in amber and violet and electric blue.
55 MPH.
Hikari leaned into the first turn. The bike responded like an extension of her will, psychic energy threading through its mechanics, smoothing every shift and acceleration beyond what the machine should be capable of. They carved through traffic with surgical precision. A taxi honked. Hikari grinned and accelerated past it, the bike's engine singing.
60 MPH.
Red lights became suggestions. Hikari didn't stop. She couldn't stop. The thrill was a living thing in her chest, bright and wild and perfect. She swerved between a delivery truck and a sedan with centimeters to spare. Lila's grip tightened around her waist, not in fear but in exhilaration, her laughter bright against the wind.
Hikari glanced at the side mirror. Lila's face was flushed, her eyes wide and sparkling with joy. Her pink curls whipped in the wind like captured starlight. For a moment, Hikari forgot how to breathe.
She's so beautiful.
The thought hit her harder than any psychic backlash ever had.
62 MPH.
They pushed through Shibuya, past the scramble crossing where thousands of pedestrians blurred into a single mass of motion. The bike tilted into another turn. Lila leaned with her instinctively, their bodies moving in perfect synchronization. The warmth of Lila's chest pressed against her back. The softness of her breath against Hikari's neck.
Focus. Focus on the road. Not on how close she is. Not on how warm she feels. Not on—
"Ari-chan, this is incredible!" Lila's voice was pure joy, unfiltered and bright.
Hikari's heart did something complicated in her chest. "Told you I'd show you a good time!"
They accelerated past 65 MPH. The world became motion and light and the feeling of Lila's arms wrapped around her like she belonged there, like she'd always belonged there.
Then Hikari saw the flashing lights in the mirror.
Red and blue. Unmistakable.
A Tokyo Metropolitan Police cruiser, three cars back, lights spinning.
"Uh, Hikari-chan?" Lila's voice carried a note of concern now. "I think we might want to pull over."
Hikari looked at the mirror again. The cop car was weaving through traffic, closing the distance. Her pulse quickened. Not from fear. From something else entirely. Something reckless and alive and absolutely terrible as a decision.
She grinned.
"Pull over?" She revved the engine. The bike roared. "I'm a gyaru, remember?"
"Hikari, no—"
"Hikari YES!"
The throttle twisted all the way. The bike surged forward like a living thing. 70 MPH. 75 MPH. The city became a blur of light and motion. Hikari wove between cars with psychic-enhanced precision, her telekinesis reading the flow of traffic before her conscious mind could process it. Left. Right. Through a gap that shouldn't exist. The bike responded to thought as much as touch.
Behind them, the police cruiser's siren wailed.
Inside the patrol car, Officer Tuner gripped the steering wheel and reached for his radio. "Shirei, this is Unit 3. Vehicle speeding. Black and red motorcycle, heading south on Route 246. Pursuit initiated."
The radio crackled. "Unit 3, this is Shirei. We have visual on cameras. Confirm pursuit, but maintain safe distance. Do not engage directly. We're dispatching a motorcycle unit."
"Understood. Disengaging close pursuit."
The cruiser fell back slightly, but the lights kept flashing. Hikari watched it in the mirror, her grin widening.
"Unit 7 here." A new voice on the police frequency, crisp and professional. "I can engage. I'm two blocks east on a bike."
"Copy that, Unit 7. Be advised, the motorcycle was just reported stolen five minutes ago from Honda Dream dealership in Shinjuku."
"Understood. Engaging now."
The cruiser peeled off at the next intersection. For three seconds, Hikari thought they were clear.
Then a new set of lights appeared in the mirror. Closer. Faster. A TMPD officer on a police motorcycle, leaning into the turn with professional precision.
Lila looked back. "Hikari..."
Hikari's grin turned feral. "Hold on tight, Lila-chan."
She didn't wait for a response. The bike surged forward. 80 MPH. The engine screamed. Hikari's psychic energy wrapped around the motorcycle's frame, stabilizing it, enhancing it, turning it into something more than metal and mechanics. She felt every vibration, every shift in weight, every microsecond of motion.
The police bike accelerated behind them. The officer was good. Trained. Professional.
Hikari was better.
She cut left through an intersection, threading between a bus and a taxi with centimeters to spare. The police bike followed, but slower, more cautious. Hikari didn't do cautious. She did impossible.
Right turn. The bike tilted at an angle that should have sent them skidding. Psychic energy held them stable. Left turn. A delivery truck honked. Hikari laughed and accelerated past it.
"Unit 7 to Shirei. Suspects are two young females. Highly skilled rider. Requesting additional units."
"Copy that. Dispatching backup now."
The chase carved through Tokyo like a knife through silk. Every red light they passed, every intersection they blurred through, cameras mounted on streetlights and buildings captured them from multiple angles. Hikari's face. Lila's pink hair streaming in the wind. The stolen motorcycle's license plate.
None of it mattered. Not right now. Right now there was only motion and adrenaline and Lila's arms around her waist and the feeling of being absolutely, perfectly alive.
Three more police motorcycles joined the pursuit. Four officers now, coordinating through radio chatter, trying to box them in.
"Hikari, we have five cops after us!" Lila's voice carried excitement now instead of worry.
"I know!" Hikari's laugh was bright and wild. "This is so much fun!"
She meant it. Every word. The danger, the speed, the impossible precision required to stay ahead—it was intoxicating. She felt more present, more real, than she had in weeks. No supernatural threats. No cosmic responsibilities. Just her and Lila and a stolen motorcycle and the entire Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department trying and failing to catch them.
Lila's concern melted into matching exhilaration. She threw her arms wide, releasing her grip on Hikari's waist, and leaned back. The wind hit her full force. Her pink curls whipped around her face. She laughed, bright and unrestrained, and used her telekinesis to anchor herself to the bike.
"You're right!" Lila shouted over the wind. "This really is fun!"
Hikari's heart soared.
She's enjoying this. She's not scared. She's—
A police bike cut in from the left. Another from the right. They were trying to force her toward a roadblock being set up three blocks ahead. Hikari could see it on the traffic cameras her psychic senses brushed against. Spike strips. Patrol cars. Officers ready to intercept.
"Alright, Lila-chan." Hikari's voice carried absolute confidence. "I need you to pull us over a building so we can get out of here."
Lila's hands came back to Hikari's waist. Her grip tightened. "Say no more, Ari-chan!"
They were approaching a tunnel. The roadblock waited on the other side. The police bikes closed in from both flanks. The trap was perfect.
Hikari accelerated directly toward it.
75 MPH. 80 MPH. 85 MPH.
The tunnel entrance loomed ahead, a dark mouth ready to swallow them into the ambush waiting beyond.
Lila's hands left Hikari's waist. She threw both arms forward, palms open. Pink psychic energy erupted from her fingertips, massive translucent hands materializing in the air ahead of them. The hands reached forward and gripped the tunnel's upper edge, fingers of pure psionic force finding purchase on concrete and steel.
"Ready?" Lila's voice was breathless with excitement.
"ABSOLUTELY!"
Lila pulled.
The psychic hands contracted with impossible force. The motorcycle lurched forward like it had been fired from a cannon. 90 MPH. 100 MPH. 120 MPH. The acceleration pressed Hikari back against Lila. The world became a blur of motion and light and speed.
135 MPH.
They hit the tunnel entrance at an angle. Instead of entering, they launched upward. The motorcycle left the ground. For one perfect, impossible moment, they were flying.
The city spread out beneath them. Tokyo at night, a galaxy of lights stretching to every horizon. Neon signs and streetlights and the glow of millions of lives happening simultaneously. The police bikes fell away below, their sirens dopplering into the distance.
Lila looked up.
The night sky opened above her. No light pollution could hide it completely. Stars scattered across the darkness like diamonds on black velvet. Distant. Ancient. Eternal. The universe looking down at her with a billion eyes.
She looked down.
Hikari's profile, illuminated by the city lights below. The determined set of her jaw. The wild joy in her expression. The way her brown hair whipped in the wind. And her eyes—bright azure, sparkling with reflected starlight and something else, something that made Lila's chest feel too small to contain what was building inside it.
She's beautiful.
The thought was so simple and so overwhelming that Lila forgot to breathe.
They arced through the night sky. The motorcycle's engine roared. The wind screamed past them. Gravity began to reassert itself. They started to fall.
Below them, a beach. Empty. Dark. Perfect.
They descended. The sand rushed up to meet them. Hikari twisted the handlebars. The bike hit the beach at an angle, rear wheel touching first. Sand erupted in a massive plume. The motorcycle slid sideways, carving a deep crescent through the beach. Hikari's psychic energy held them stable through the impossible physics of it. The bike spun, twisted, and finally ground to a stop in a cloud of displaced sand that hung in the air like fog.
Silence.
Just the sound of the ocean. Waves rolling in. The distant hum of the city behind them. Their breathing, hard and fast and synchronized.
Lila broke the silence first. "That... WAS SO AMAZING ARI-CHAN!"
She threw her arms around Hikari from behind and pulled. They tumbled off the bike together, landing in the soft sand in a tangle of limbs and laughter. They rolled once, twice, and came to rest lying side by side, staring up at the sky.
Their breathing was ragged. Adrenaline still pumped through their veins. Hikari's heart hammered against her ribs so hard she was sure Lila could hear it.
They turned their heads at the same moment. Their eyes met. Wide. Bright. Parted lips. Flushed cheeks. The space between them was measured in centimeters.
Hikari's breath caught. Lila's eyes were so blue. Had they always been that blue? Like the sky during the day, like the ocean at its deepest point, like something Hikari could fall into and never find the bottom of.
"Wanna stargaze?" The words left Hikari's mouth before her brain approved them. Her voice came out softer than she intended. Almost tender.
Lila's expression shifted. The wild excitement mellowed into something gentler. Warmer. Her smile was soft and genuine and directed entirely at Hikari. "I'd love that."
They turned onto their backs. The sky spread above them, vast and infinite. Stars scattered across the darkness in patterns that had existed long before they were born and would continue long after they were gone.
Their hands rested in the sand between them. Hikari's pinky finger moved first. Just a centimeter. Barely noticeable. Lila's pinky moved in response. Another centimeter. The distance closed.
Their fingers touched.
Neither of them pulled away.
The ocean rolled in. The waves whispered against the shore. The city hummed in the distance. Above them, the universe watched with patient, ancient eyes.
Hikari's pinky curled slightly. Lila's curled in response. Not quite holding hands. Not quite not holding hands. Something in between. Something that made Hikari's chest feel too full and too empty at the same time.
"Ari-chan?" Lila's voice was quiet. Thoughtful.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For tonight. For... all of this."
Hikari turned her head slightly. Lila was still looking at the stars, but there was something in her expression that Hikari couldn't quite name. Something soft and vulnerable and precious.
"Anytime, Lila-chan." Hikari's voice came out barely above a whisper. "Anytime you want."
Their pinkies pressed together more firmly. Still not quite holding hands. Still something more than not touching.
The stars watched. The ocean whispered. Two girls lay in the sand on a stolen motorcycle date, fingers barely touching, hearts racing for reasons that had nothing to do with the police chase and everything to do with the impossible, terrifying, beautiful thing building between them that neither of them had the courage to name yet.
But they would. Eventually.
For now, this was enough. The stars. The sand. The sound of each other's breathing. The warmth of almost-touching.
It was more than enough.
It was perfect.
Created by Figures
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