Mao Kisaragi's POV:

Be yourself.

It was easier said than done.

Laying yourself bare, emotions and all, to the scrutiny of the public. Allowing them judge you—make assumptions about you—when, in truth, they hardly knew a thing.

I couldn't handle that.

I didn't have the courage.

It was easier pretending to be somebody I wasn't.

Pretending I had no flaws. Pretending side-eyes and snarky comments didn't bother me.

My whole life, I hated being the odd one out. I hated not belonging.

It wasn't until middle school that I realized I was different from the halfwits around me who abided by the status quo—who lived day to day in a boring, formulaic routine.

I realized I was special.

Any day now, I would properly awaken and regain my powers from my previous life. And, as a full-fledged witch, nobody would think to cross me. If they did, they would perish! Until then, these earth-born dwellers could laugh and snub their noses at me if they so wished.

"Mao, you're crushing me. You're li-ter-al-ly crush-ing me."

"Put your back into it, Ryota," I hissed.

He wobbled, gripping my feet and ankles for dear life. Propped up on his shoulders as I was, I peered over the tall wall of the Hoshizaki Private Academy school building.

We'd skipped class—I-I mean, due to an unforeseen attack, we had no choice but to flee the premises and take cover at this random high school.

By no means were we skipping.

We were on a mission that would save Earth as we know it.

Yep, that sounded believable.

"Do you see her?"

I positioned my binoculars above my nose, following the trails of students moving to and fro the building. So this was a so-called, "high school." There were so many students. More than our middle school.

"Just boring mortals," I replied.

I glanced downwards.

"Your master orders you to move further to the right."

Grunting, Ryota complied. As my witchly familiar of darkness, he was used to our usual exchanges. "I highly doubt we'll catch Shiina and her boyfriend together."

"Mao disagrees. According to the magazine Mao read at the convenience store, high school students are ravenous beasts. Couples especially can't bear to be apart and will indulge in. . . indecent activities when given the opportunity."

"Shiina and indecent? In the same sentence?" Ryota deadpanned.

"Mao doesn't believe Shiina will do those things either," I stated. "However. . . the Dark Lord can tempt even a soul as pure as Shiina's. Steadfast as Shiina is to her morals, she is gullible. She will easily fall prey to sin if her boyfriend wills it."

"I doubt she's that stupid." He sighed. "All right. So? What do you see now?"

"Mortals chatting. Eating. Participating in physical recreation. Wait!"

"What? Did you see—"

Hastily, I met his eyes. "Enemy! Enemy!"

"W—wai— Mao— Mao!?"

My shakiness had caused him to lose his footing. We crumpled to the ground. My whole body burned. Groaning beside me, Ryota hauled himself upwards, dusting the grass out of his hair.

"What was that for?"

As I hoisted myself onto my knees, wincing, I hadn't needed to answer. He saw it for himself. The foreboding black cloud that rolled in, hovering over us and leaving us frozen solid.

"Excuse me," the teacher snarled. "May I ask what you two are doing here? Those are middle school uniforms, aren't they?"

A terrified Ryota and I locked eyes.

"Enemy!" we hissed simultaneously.

I tugged my hat which had fallen during the fall. Ryota grabbed our bags and the binocular. Quick on my feet, I hurled a handful of sand to blind her.

"Fool! How dare you stand in Mao's path!"

Straightaway, the woman coughed. Waved frantically—desperately—to keep it out of her eyes. "Wha— Wait just a second, you—"

Right as she took a step, her foot collided against the rope Ryota had strategically wrapped around the nearest tree during her moment of distraction, making it a perfect weapon for tripping. She collapsed face-first onto the grass.

"No hard feelings." The corner of his lip quirked upwards. "Master's orders."

Securing his bag on one shoulder and my bag on his other, he jerked my wrist forward.

"Abort mission!"

"Hold on." I accidentally stepped on my elaborate cloak in my attempt to stop him. "Ryota didn't give Mao the chance to cast a spell."

"No time. More enemies, three o'clock," he answered. At a greater distance than my magical eye could detect, two other adults headed this way. They'd heard the noise.

Swallowing my pride, I clicked my tongue and relented to Ryota's tugs. We were out of an earshot before our pursuers could catch us. Our legs moved faster than the speed of light. Down secluded roads, through empty parks, across fields. When we were far enough and could no longer adequately fill our lungs with oxygen, we took cover behind a nearby building.

"Did we make it? Did we lose the Dark Lord's minions?"

Ryota panted, slumped against the wall. "I—I think so," he replied.

My fingers curled into fists. "Shiina's school had such a tough barrier around it. We were careless."

"There weren't any cameras in that area, though. They shouldn't be able to catch us so long as we don't go anywhere near there for a while."

That didn't change the fact that our plans were foiled. What were we supposed to do now? World peace was at stake and I still didn't know who Shiina's boyfriend was.

Ryota's warm hand settled on top of my head. "Chin up, Mao. Onto Plan B."

On cue, I tilted my chin. His kindhearted grin set my heart at ease. My stomach fluttered and a smile split my cheeks.

"Roger," I answered.

We glanced both ways to ensure that the coast was clear, then tip-toed out into the open. We didn't get far before our path was blocked.

A trotting puppy.

Ryota extended his arm to stop me in my tracks.

"Any chance it's an enemy spy?" I gulped.

"Zero percent. But, just in case, we should exercise caution." Cautiously, he crouched. The puppy, seeing that as an invitation, sprung into his arms with unequivocal enthusiasm. Ryota could hardly keep it from trying to lick his cheek. Busting a gut, he drew it away. "Okay, okay! We're good."

Watching the endearing scene unfold melted my black heart.

Truth be told, the two of us were never this close until this year. Rin and Shiina were. In comparison, Ryota and I would only see each other at school or on rare occasions when we went to each other's houses. When I first started dressing like a witch, and our classmates mocked me for it, he asked me what I was up to. From there, with the biggest interest, he listened to and believed whatever outlandish stories I told him. Then, went along with them.

Since then, we'd gotten into our fair share of trouble. Made it out of countless sticky situations. Sealed many monsters and formed a sacred contract.

For the sake of protecting our peace.

"Ryota's reward for rescuing Mao." Once we saluted off the puppy, and it disappeared into the neighbourhood it scampered out from, I offered Ryota the bottle I'd retrieved from my bag. "A magical potion to restore strength."

"'Super Sweet Peach Juice'," he read off the label, spinning the bottle around with his thumb. He pulled a face. "This amount of sugar'll restore my strength, all right. Or kill me."

His Adam's apple bobbed.

"Permission to chug it?"

"Permission granted," I responded.

Squeezing his eyes, Ryota knocked his head back. His expression contorted with aversion, but he got about 25% down before he removed it from his lips.

He beckoned it to me.

"Here."

I shook my head. "Mao used the last of her allowan— Mao obtained it from a gruelling battle and nearly perished in the act. Receive her kindness."

"So, this was originally for you? It's okay if you want to try it."

"Mao does not. Now, it belongs to Ryota. Besides, a potion that strong cannot be shared. By not finishing it, its effectiveness will be reduced."

Possibly able to detect my lie—and likely aware of how desperately I wanted to find out how that peculiar drink tasted—he sighed.

"Magical Witch Mao!" The bass of his voice caught me off guard. "As familiar and master, our souls are bound together, and have been for as long as we've been alive. In our previous lives, we were soulmates. And in this life, we've found each other yet again. If neither of us had recalled our memories from before our reincarnation, we surely wouldn't be here now."

Everything in my field of view sparkled.

On the contrary, Ryota's embarrassment caught up to him. His complexion turned scarlet, but he carried on, "Er. . . what I'm saying is! With our souls connected as they are, this potion can be divided equally between us and still maintain its potency. In fact, unless it's divided equally, it will not work! By the power vested in our contract, let us regain our strength together, and deepen our bonds!"

Let's go halfsies.

That was the point he was trying to get across. However, his fancy declaration shot like an arrow through my heart.

Unable to keep from grinning, I nodded vehemently. "Mao understands."

The drink in hand, I gulped a good 50% of it.

Then, passed it back.

Hesitating, Ryota chugged the rest.

Silence elapsed between us.

Our faces soured.

"Mao should've chosen a less potent potion," I coughed.

"Yes, you should've," Ryota agreed, bobbing his head in furious motions.

We made a trip to the nearest water fountain to rinse the sickly sweet aftertaste from our mouths.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

As expected, Plans B, C, D, E, and F all ended in failure. With Shiina ignoring me, and her best friends Tsumugi and Kiharu being of no help—not to mention Chie and Dad's ignorance towards all this—Ryota and I were stuck in a rut.

"Maybe you should just apologize."

His suggestion was blasphemy to my ears.

I pulled his cheeks. "Mao surrenders to nobody!"

Ryota yelped, flailing to get me off him. "I'm jush saying, we're out of options! Plus, this all started because you bwoke her phone—!"

I pinched him harder, glare until tow. He cried out mercy.

We were in our secret lair—aka Ryota's basement, which was decorated fittingly for unearthly beings such as ourselves. With nothing but candles to illuminate the dark room, I flopped onto the sofa.

"Surrender!" he said.

"Never!" I remarked. "Shiina should be the one apologizing! Mao did nothing wrong! Besides, Mao doesn't care if Shiina ignores her forever. If—if Mao just figures out who Shiina is dating, if Mao proves to Shiina that she was right about her boyfriend being bad for her, this all will end!"

Ripping free, Ryota kept me at a reasonable distance.

"Mao," he started.

My heart squeezed at his tone. His pitying look. "What? Is Ryota not on Mao's side anymore?"

"I am," he said. "But. . . We can't do anything, no matter how much you hate it. Besides, it's not like we've ever told anyone about us."

Heat seared my cheeks. "Ryota and Mao's contract is different from regular mortals! Ordinary labels like boyfriend or girlfriend don't apply. As servants of darkness, it is our motto to fade into the shadows—into mystery. Our secrets—"

"And what's wrong with Shiina having secrets of her own, too?"

I gnawed the inside of my cheek.

He heaved a breath. "You're super against Shiina having a boyfriend, I get that, but how about if he isn't that bad of a guy? What if—"

"He is bad."

My fingers balled into fists tight enough to cut off my blood flow. At a loss, Ryota frowned at me.

"Shiina needs someone perfect," I said, my voice now wobbling. "Someone who'll treat her like she deserves. Mao doesn't— I don't want to give someone less than that to my sister."

My throat closed up. Tears swelled in my eyes. The pit in my gut, the ugly sentiments I'd buried behind my delusions of grandeur, spilled to the forefront. Until I returned to being the thing I hated most: a flawed human being.

"But I know Shiina better than anyone. She never confides in me. Even when she's sad. So, every day, when she had trouble in school, when she went on that date with that guy who hurt her, when Mom got in that accident. . . She just gave me fake smiles, and false reassurance, then she would cry alone. All because she can't rely on me. All because I'm weak and can't protect her."

She tried so hard to be the perfect sister. It made me insecure, and I hated it. Because unlike her, I couldn't be "the perfect sister."

I couldn't have a heart-to-heart conversation without having to pretend to be a magical witch.

I couldn't ask her if she was okay when I knew, for a fact, she wasn't.

I couldn't even apologize when I did something wrong.

"Shiina is happier now." My vision blurred and blurred as if I were crying up a storm. "A lot happier now. But, it's because of this boyfriend and not me. It was at her lowest, she relied on them, not me. They're the reason she can smile so happily nowadays. But, but Shiina's already been through enough sad things. If they hurt her again—"

"Mao." The moment I glanced upwards, Ryota flicked me between the eyebrows. I flinched. "You're showing your weaknesses. Demons take advantage of weak hearts and possess them, remember?"

I clasped my hands over my mouth, frozen. "Oh, no."

A gentle smile curved his lips. "If you aren't strong enough to protect Shiina as you are, that just means you have to get stronger. Until then, it might be hard to let somebody else protect her. It might be impossible to trust that they won't ever hurt her. But like you mentioned, they make her happy. Isn't that enough for now?"

I chewed my bottom lip, rubbing my forehead where the pain was. "Ryota is such a know-it-all."

"I am?"

He squared his shoulders, taking direct offence.

I wiped the. . . sweat (not tears, strictly not tears) that had dribbled down the sides of my face.

"That was close. Starting tomorrow, Ryota and Mao are going to have to train to get much, much stronger!"

"After you apologize, right?"

"What are you taking about? Magical Witch Mao neither surrenders nor bows her head to anybody. Especially not to mortals."

He cocked an eyebrow.

I recoiled. Then, pouted.

"Fine. Just for today, Mao will apologize. Only today!"

THE END