Work Text:
Minakami Sayo was stunned. There wasn't any other word for it. As the young woman sat at her desk, all she could do was stare at the cheap, laminated wood.
How was it possible? Of course, the magic that protected her identity also protected everyone else. A type of ward that you could look exactly like yourself, but the magic kept onlookers from forming any connection.
"This is seriously becoming annoying!" Tenkawa Kaoruko snarled as her fist came down on her desk. Sayo jumped and so did their pink haired friend Hanabishi Haruka.
"Kaoruko-chan," Haruka said softly. "Class is about to start."
"How long have we been at this? Two years? We can keep Enormeeta at bay but she keeps making a mockery of us," The girl also known as Magia Sulfur continued.
"There is nothing we can do," Haruka said patting her friend's hand. "It's not like we know who she is. We just need to be ready to stop her when we have our chance."
'It's not like we know who she is.'
Those words bounced around Sayo...Magia Azul's mind. She looked up and towards her.
Hiiragi Utena.
***
Lunch was the usual bustling affair with everyone happily chatting coalescing with the scrap of chairs and the ringing of dishes. Sayo had sat down with her friends, but she was not paying attention to their conversation.
Utena had vanished into the stairwell where she always went to hide and eat. Sayo had originally pitied the girl for being so alone but had cheered up knowing she made friends with the strange girl Kiwi.
Now it made more sense. Sayo could not look at Kiwi without seeing Magia Leopard. That meant the nine-year-old that they met and played with at the park on their way back from school had to be Nero Alice. Sayo knew exactly who each of them was and this was the first time Trias Magia had the upper hand.
Why wasn't she reporting it? Why hadn't she gone directly to her friends and told them that she had witnessed Utena de-transform from Magia Baiser to herself in that alley? It was totally an accident that Sayo had been there. She got lost trying to find her friends after the last fiasco fight. She had just come around the corner when she saw Magia Baiser flash purple and be replaced with little, meek Utena Hiiragi.
Something had clicked at that point, probably the magical ward failing because she had seen it. She was able to guess Leopard and Nero Alice with ease. Sayo could finally get revenge for the way she was treated.
But was it the revenge she wanted? The fight inside her had been strong. Magia Baiser had to be the bad guy, she was part of Enormeeta but every action Baiser took was never in the furtherance of global domination. In short, Baiser was a pervert and nothing more.
Seeing the sweet Utena taking care of the school flowers, the way she fawned over Magical Girls at the expo, it was hard to understand how this dark-haired nerd was one of the most difficult villains Tres Magia had ever faced.
What really stung was the realization that when they had first encountered Magia Baiser, she had claimed that she was forced to become a villain. Seeing Utena now, Sayo realized that it had been the truth.
'We made her what she is now,' Sayo thought to herself.
"Minakami-san," the voice of the teacher broke into Sayo's thoughts. "Please pay attention."
Sayo blushed in embarrassment and bowed her head. "Yes, sensei."
***
It was something that she loved about her friends. Without having to say anything, they gave her space knowing that something was bothering her. The nod from Kaoruko and the gentle touch of Haruka's hand against her own as they left for the day told Sayo that they were there for her when she wanted to talk.
Sayo found herself wandering the streets of her city that she spent so long protecting lost and confused. Her emotions were churning inside her. She knew that New Enormeeta were supposed to be villains, but they never really did anything villainess except embarrass the Tres Magia. Magia Baiser would always attack, give them a good run for their money and then retreat pronouncing that she would return as if she was some sort of TV bad guy.
Knowing Magia Baiser was Utena also explained that thinking. The strange girl was obsessed with Magical Girls and just wanted to have fun.
'Fun.'
Sayo's stomach did a little flip flop at the thought of fun. Though Baiser was rough, a part of Sayo enjoyed being messed with by the evil villain. Now, after so long, Sayo had learned that she had a masochistic kink which she channeled into her La Verita. She never spoke of it but she was confident that Kaoruko knew and Haruka had an inkling.
The young woman did not mind Baiser being rough, it was the fact she never asked. Would it be more enjoyable if Sayo had a chance to consent?
'What am I thinking?' Sayo said to herself. 'She's a villain. Of course she's going to take advantage of me.’
Magia Baiser loved to take. But what about Utena?
'No, no. I can't think like that.'
Why not?
Looking up Sayo found herself on the street that she knew Utena lived on and mentally slapped herself for letting her heart betray her.
'I can't just keep going around not confronting this,' Sayo thought. 'I need to talk to her.'
Pulling together what shred of her will was left, Sayo slung her purse over her shoulder and marched down the street until she stood in front of the gate to her enemy's house.
'I'm going to tell her I know the truth and she needs to surrender to the Tres Magia.'
Depressing the doorbell, it ran, and a moment alter, an older woman came out of the house looked slightly confused but smiled.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Hiiragi-san. I'm Minakami Sayo. I'm a friend of Utena's. I was wondering if she was here?"
"Oh!" Her mom said very surprised. "Utena's friends usually never stop by! She's not here right now but if you'd like to come in and wait. Is everything okay?"
"I'm here to help tutor her," Sayo lied.
"Oh, thank god. That girl is sweet but dense and obsessed way too much about magical Girls. Maybe you can talk some sense into her."
"I'd be more than happy to try," Sayo said distracted as she followed the mother into the house. Taking her shoes off and making sure to point them towards the door as polite, the girl found herself inside Utena's bedroom.
"Please wait here, she should be home soon. I would make tea, but I have to leave for my shift at work."
"Please don't worry on my account. My arrival was unannounced, so I totally understand," Sayo quickly said trying to stay polite. "I can come back another time?"
"No!" senior Hirragi said with a laugh. "I don't want my daughter to get out of this. Matane!"
And then Sayo was alone. She pulled out the chair and sat at the desk not wanting to risk sitting on the bed and risking impure thoughts. She needed to be bold and face Magia Baiser.
Her eyes roamed around the room and took in the tons of Tres Magia merch in the room. The statues, the manga, even an autographed poster.
'I cannot believe I don't remember seeing Utena in line.' Sayo thought but the quiet flower girl was easy to miss.
Sayo's mind began to drift about her life and career and how Utena's love of magical girls wound up making her a villain. It was the opening and closing of the door that made her realize the person she was waiting for had arrived.
Sayo stood and opened the door and called down the stairs not to scare her.
"Utena-chan, I don't want to startle you."
There she was. fluffy dark hair with a strange out of control, the large expressive eyes and adorable face. She was clutching a shopping bag close to her chest and her eyes grew wide.
"M...Ma...Minakami-san! Wha..what are you doing here?" she said in her meek and stuttering voice.
'How could this be the forward Magia Baiser?'
Sayo would have never believed it if she hadn't seen her de-transform herself.
"Please, call me Sayo. We are classmates."
"S..Sayo-san."
Better. The girl was so shy.
"I...I came here to talk to you."
How the hell was one supposed to start this conversation? Come out and just say it? Demand her surrender? Just capture her now?
"Oh? Is everything alright?"
"Can we...speak in your room?"
Utena slowly continued up the stairs and passed Sayo and led her back into the room. The blush getting even redder.
"I apologize for my room."
"You love magical girls. You've told me," Sayo said gently trying to put her at ease. How weird was this? She was trying to keep Utena from bursting in to tears for having a surprise visit when she was about to confront her about being the leader of the terrorizers of the city.
"Yes, very much!" Utena said with bright eyes.
Utena sat down on the bed and Sayo took the chair. The room had become silent.
"What...can I help you with, Sayo-san?" Utena asked, breaking the silence.
How does one start this?
"I came for your advice."
That caught the other girl off guard. Her eyes grew wide, and she stuttered. "M...my ad...advice?"
"I learned a secret about someone, and I don't know what to do."
"A secret?"
"Yes. It's a secret about their other life and I don't know how to handle it. Half of me feels it's responsible to tell someone but on the other hand, I consider myself friends with this person and don't want to betray them."
"Is their secret something bad?"
"Not like super bad but inappropriate and could get them in trouble."
Utena nodded thinking. She put her hand to her chin and held it in that cute way when she was thinking.
"If they did something bad, wouldn't it be appropriate to tell? Are others getting hurt?"
Were they? There was always a bit of violence between them, but Enormeeta went out of their way never to hurt civilians.
"Not...really?"
"Huh. that is a puzzle. I don't know how I can help. Why don't you want to turn her in?"
'Because you love her.'
Sayo's mouth fell open as her brain betrayed her yet again and said what she was trying to avoid. In a way, she loved Baiser but now even more knowing it was Utena. The evil turned into an understanding of a young woman exploring who she was through the power of a villain.
"Utena-chan,...Utena."
Utena's eyes grew wide as Sayo dropped the suffix making her words extremely personal. It was really presumptuous, but Sayo's heart was now leading the way.
"I...know."
"You know what?" Utena asked her eyes somehow even wider.
"I know you are Magia Baiser."
Silence.
Even more silence.
Sayo could see the thoughts racing in Utena's mind. The desperation, the shock, how she was going to spin a lie to protect herself.
"I..don't know wh...what you are talking about?"
Sayo chose to break the cardinal rule. Reaching into her purse, she gripped her talisman and spoke the words.
"Trans magia."
The light was soft and blue. From Utena's point of view, Sayo had been engulfed in it, but Sayo could feel her clothes change and her body fill with power as she became Magia Azul.
She stood there, in her blue dress, smiling at the shocked woman.
"YOU'RE MAGIA AZUL!!" Utena shrieked, falling back and moving to the farthest corner of her bed.
"Yes," Magia Azul said feeling much more confident. Magia Azul was always confident.
"I know your secret, Baiser," Azul said folding her arms across her chest.
"Noooooo!" Utena shrieked and Sayo hesitated. There was terror in her voice.
"Baiser...Utena...please relax. I'm not going to hurt you."
"No, no, no!" Utena screamed in a fit, tears running down her face. "I don't want this to end now!"
Was the girl terrified of losing her?
"Utena!" Sayo said sharply causing the girl to stop her rant.
The woman stopped, shocked and staring.
"Let's have this conversation properly. Please transform."
Utena seemed to hesitate, probably clinging to what shred of denial she had left but she didn't appear to have a choice. The purple glow around her had gotten stronger until there was a flash and curled up on the bed was the horned succubus herself.
It seemed to inspire confidence of her own as the concern seemed to melt off and that smile came on her face. Magia Azul knew it was an act because tears were still running down her cheeks.
"Magia Azul. After so long, you have finally gotten the upper hand. I knew someone would defeat me one day. I didn't think it would be you. How did you find out?"
"I saw you de-transform in our last battle," Azul said watching the crop that was in her hand. Just in case the girl in front of her panicked and tried to use it.
"I don’t' want to fight," Azul said raising her hands to show they were empty. "I want to talk."
"About?"
"Us."
Magia Baiser hesitated at that point. A bit of Utena was filtering through.
"Utena-chan," Azul started making it clear she still knew. "Since our first battle, you have awoken something in me. I didn't fully understand until I got my La Verita."
"You were beautiful," Baiser crooned. Azul flushed slightly.
"But I realized that...I am in love with you, Baiser. I also am...in love with Utena."
"What?" Baiser said shocked. "You...you aren't falling again, are you?"
"No!"
Sayo was firm on that. She was not going to fall to the dark side. The magical girl did glance down at her heart medallion and saw there still were no cracks in it. Magia Baiser’s eyes followed suit. Both appeared relieved how clean it was.
“I’m a villain,” Magia Baiser continued eyeing Azul waiting for the ice blade to appear. “The thing I have done to you.”
“Was with my consent,” Azul said with a shrug. “Maybe it wasn’t the first few times but I reached the point that I was severely conflicted. It was only when I learned more about myself that I realized that I kinda liked being captured.”
“I hurt you.”
“Pain isn’t a bad thing. Plus you never pushed it past what I could handle. A true villain would have tortured me. You...you made me tingle all over.”
Azul was blushing a lot now saying this but the words were already flooding out. There was no stopping it and she had to say it all before the moment died.
The magic wore away and with a flash both of them were standing in the room, wearing their school uniforms. Sayo had her arms hanging limp around her waist while Utena’s eyes were downcast and her hands clutched to her chest. She looked so timid in that moment and Sayo just wanted to hug her.
“You...you don’t hate me?”
“No. I never have.”
“And...you...love me?”
Utena said it as if it was a strange thought and it actually was. Utena hung out with her in the summer when they ran into each other at the beach or the mall. That was when Kiwi wasn’t trying to steal all the attention.
“I understand it sounds weird,” Sayo offered. “It’s sudden and out of nowhere.”
“I...think I’ve always loved you,” Utena said but then her eyes widened. “Oh! And Kiwi really loves me too. I mean...A LOT!”
“I’m not opposed to...sharing.”
Sayo blushed deeply as the words escaped before her brains caught up. Had she just offered to let Utena have two girl friends? In a way, Sayo felt a pang of jealousy about how much Kiwi was able to hang out with the girl but if Magia Baiser and Magia Leopard were any proof, they were inseparable too.
“It’s...a lot.”
“I know. I hit you with a lot. I understand if you want to refuse me.”
‘That would be the epitome of my shame,’ Sayo thought to her self. ‘to be turned down on your first love confession.’
“No! I don’t want to refuse you,” Utena added quickly and that warm, meek smile that had captured Sayo’s heart broke over the girl’s face. “I just have to figure out how to break the news to, Kiwi. She’s...uh...excitable.”
“As I would expect from Magia Leopard.”
“Oh...you knew that to.”
Sayo smiled. “I extrapolated. Which I assume you can do with Magia Magenta and Magia Sulfur.”
Hirragi Utena blinked a few times and then her eyes grew wide. She hadn’t actually figured it out which caused Sayo to laugh.
“Oh, you silly girl. This is why I love you.”
The magical girl reached out and took Utena’s hand, her voice dropping. “If..you’d like to date me. May I...kiss you?”
“Yeah.”
Utena stepped forward as Sayo pulled the girl to her and wrapped her arms gently around the dark magical girl. Leaning forward, Magia Azul closed her eyes and felt the warm lips of her ex-nemesis press against her own. Sayo instinctively kissed deeper and felt Utena start and try to pull away.
Sayo pulled the girl closer, her arms tight around Utena’s waist making sure she couldn’t escape. The squeak barely escaped between her lips as Sayo captured her and had her way with Utena’s mouth. After a few moments, Sayo released the girl who was out of breath.
“Oh...wow….Kiwi doesn’t kiss like that.”
“I’m glad to hear I have something up on her,” Sayo mused.
The door banged open downstairs and Sayo heard Utena’s mom call up checking on them having returned from wherever she had gone. Utena gave her hand a little squeeze and smile and skipped out of the room leaving Sayo to her own thoughts.
‘I’m so happy...but how do I explain this to the others?’
That was a problem for a different day. Right now, she was with her new girlfriend.