"So, Kazusa Michiru, we finally meet."
Your somber tone was not what she was expecting, judging by her disconcerted expression.
It only takes her a moment to recover.
"Yeah! It's nice to meet you, miss Sabrina!"
You cross your arms, unimpressed.
"Well..." Michiru drawls, before turning towards your partner. "Hello Miss Tomoe, it's been too long!"
You cut Mami's answer short by stepping between the two of them, staring down at the red eyed girl. You abently notice Umika and Kaoru awkwardy sharing a look in the background, but you ignore them for now.
"So, Kazusa," you do away with all formalities, "you claim to be a friend of Mami's, right?"
To your mild surprise, she doesn't look offended at all. If anything, she stands up straighter, firmer as she answers "Yes!".
Mami squeezes your hand behind your back.
"And yet you haven't called her ever since you parted ways?"
The rethoric question strikes Kazusa like a physical blow. She opens her mouth, looking for words, but you press on.
"And now you come here intending for her to accept you, and not only that, you want to be my sempai?!"
Your accusation seems to finally break through the girl's facade; her head drops, her whole expression turning immediately sad.
You can see the two girls in the back getting angry, and hell, you can feel Mami's hand starting to shake, so you hurry up and bring your plan to a close.
"That is unnacceptable, Kazusa. Unless..." you draw out the word.
Kazusa perks up.
You grin. "Unless you pass my test."
The change is instantaneous.
Michiru's eyes lighten up like christmas lights, her hands clench into fists under her chin, and her smile threatens the split her face in half.
"A TEST?!" She squeals, jumping in place. "Oh, oh, what sort of test? What are we doing? One on one combat? Familiar killing competition? Showing off special attacks? One hundred push-ups, sit-ups and squats and running one kilometer the fastest? A pizza eating competition? A..."
You gape as the excited girls goes on and on, every new idea somehow crazier than the last.
You squeeze Mami's hand in reassurance and let go, stepping closer to Kazusa while making a calming gesture with your hands.
"Easy, easy!" you interrupt her latest idea 'Witch hunting in motorcycles?' and wait a few seconds for the girl to catch her breath. You notice you're smiling now, Kazusa's cheer being infectious, so you cough into your hand, and state gravely:
"No, Kazusa Michiru, none of those will be yout test today. Instead, your test will be..."
Kazusa's body shakes, her red eyes fixed on yours, her breath stopped.
You open your arms.
"Hug me."
Kazusa blinks. Twice. Then again. And again.
"That's it?" she asks.
You nod as gravely as you can manage, making an effort to not blush.
"See, it is a special skill of mine," you explain, or rather, you make shit up as you go, "I can tell the character of any one person by their hugs, so this it the only-"
You have half a second to brace yourself before Kazumi crashes into you-
The shorter magical girl wraps her arms around you tightly, bodily picks up and spins you around three full revolutions.
You find yourself slightly stunned, your arms instinctively clamped around Michiru's shorter frame as she sets you back down on the ground.
A couple of snickers snap you out of it, you send an accusatory glance at Michiru's companions, but you cut that short when you hear a giggle coming from behind you.
Well, you can't be mad if Mami's laughing.
"So, did I pass?"
You bring your attention back to the girl still holding you, pressed against you with her face inches away from yours, her eyes shining and hopeful and...
And god, she's so cute.
"Yes!" You smile. You give her a squeeze and turn so you can look at Mami while still holding her. You feel more than see Kazumi also turning to follow your eyes.
"Mami, can we keep her?" you ask.
The Golden Magical Girl, Goddess of War and Cakes, Most Badass and Awesome Meguca in Japan instantly folds at the sight of yours and Kazumi's combined sheer cuteness.
"Uh- I, Y... Yes, yes we can!" she nods, a hopeful smile blooming from the corner of her lips.
You release Kazusa so you can pull Mami into a hug.
"Wait, wait, wait..." says Umika, her and Kaoru coming to stand at each of Michiru's sides. "This is our Kazumi, you can't have her," she claims, grabbing her by the shoulder. Kaoru nods.
"Magic," you say, letting go of Mami. You turn to see the three girls' puzzled expressions and explain, "with my powers, magic usage is basically free, so we can get megucas with teleporting powers to facilitate visits back and forth. Does that sound good, Mami, Kazumi-sempai, Miss Umika, Miss Kaoru?"
The red eyed girl is already nodding. "Yes, that sounds awesome! Imagine all the things we can do together! Like karaoke, and dancing, and bowling, and hunting, and..."
The other two girls sigh, though not uncontent. "I guess it's decided," says Kaoru.
Umika nods.
Mami presses herself against your side.
This looks like a start of a niiiiice friendship, you muse to yourself, smiling as the whole group starts walking towards Mami's apartment.
"We could have a soccer match!" exclaims Kazumi suddenly. "Pleiades vs... Ribbonettes...?"
"Ribonnettes?" blinks Mami.
"Well, I didn't catch your group's name..." explains the red eyed girl.
"Ah- we don't have a name yet... But I was thinking... Holy Quartet?"
"But there's more than four of you...?
A thought strikes you.
Homura for goalkeeper?
...
Yeah, Homura for goalkeeper.
