Chapter Text
The voice was familiar, almost with a hint of joy that seemed to light up the entire hallway. Juno looked up and met a pair of brown eyes sparkling with excitement, plump cheeks, and a smile that could only belong to one person.
"Auntie Mei?" Juno blinked, still in amazement. "What are you doing here?"
Mei Ling Zhou, her mother's best friend and one of China's most respected climatologists, stood before her wearing a light blue coat and a blue scarf. Her brown hair was pulled back in a bun secured with a pin-shaped hair clip, and in her hands she held a digital tablet with plans and diagrams that Juno couldn't quite read.
"Work, work, and more work!" Mei replied, hugging her and lifting her slightly into the air. "Oh, it's been so long! How long has it been since we last saw each other? Three months? Four? You're taller! And thinner? Are you eating well? Your mother told me you've been very busy lately!"
"Auntie Mei..." Juno broke free from the hug with a nervous laugh. "You're suffocating me."
"Oh, sorry!" Mei pulled away, but her hands remained on Juno's shoulders, as if she couldn't believe she was there. "It's just that I'm so glad to see you. And what are you doing here? Don't tell me you want to be an archaeologist too."
Juno felt panic creeping up her spine. She couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't tell him that she was investigating a magical heist to stop a corrupt former heroine and an organization that wanted to plunge the world into despair.
"It's a university project," she improvised, at least having stayed up all night had prepared her. "About... about urban art. My friends and I want references for the works in the museum. For... for a project. A class project."
Mei, a little curious, blinked with each word spoken by her niece, finally turning off her tablet and thinking for a brief moment.
"How... interesting," she said finally, her smile wider than ever. "Well, look, I'm here for the museum's work too. Well, more accurately, helping a friend. An art expert who's doing some... research."
Juno noticed how Mei's voice became a little more reserved on that last word. Investigations. It sounded like more than just a simple job.
"A friend?" she asked, unable to suppress her curiosity.
“He’s very intelligent,” Mei replied, and for a moment, her gaze drifted off into the distance. “But anyway, that doesn’t matter now. What’s important is that you need information, right? About the museum’s artwork. And those police cordons are preventing you from getting it.”
" Well, yes, but...
"Then I can help you," Mei winked conspiratorially. "I have connections, believe it or not. I'll send you an email tonight with everything you need."
Juno opened her mouth to thank her, but Mei was already looking past her shoulder, toward the hallway they had come through. She noticed two girls just as young as Juno.
"Are they your friends?" she asked, pointing at Brigitte and Kiriko, who were in the armor room taking pictures as if they were real tourists.
Juno turned her head. She saw Brigitte with a helmet on her head, pretending to be a brave knight. And next to her, Kiriko was laughing as she took the picture, focusing on the Swedish girl so as not to draw attention to herself.
"Yes," she replied, with a lump in her throat that she didn't know where it came from. "They are my friends."
Mei watched the two girls for a moment longer. Then she quickly glanced back at Juno as if she recognized something with that single look.
But he said nothing.
"How lovely," she murmured, her smile returning to its usual warm and reassuring form. "I'm glad you have good friends, Juno. Take care of them. And I hope they take care of you."
They said goodbye with another hug, this one shorter, and Mei disappeared down the opposite corridor with hurried steps; work was hounding her, according to her.
Juno stood for a moment in the middle of the hallway, processing what had just happened. She had arrived at the museum without a plan, without hope, and now she had Aunt Mei, one of the most connected people in academia, willing to send her all the information she needed.
A triumphant smile spread across her face.
She returned with the girls, walking faster than she had gone to the bathroom, her feet practically leaping with joy. She found them right where she had promised to find them, in the armory, with Kiriko trying to convince Brigitte to try on a virtual reality headset.
"Girls!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together excitedly. "We have information! Well, we'll have it tonight. A friend of my mother's is going to send us everything about the stolen painting!"
Brigitte put down the helmet she was about to put on and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
" A friend of your mother? And you trust her?
"She's my Aunt Mei," Juno replied, as if that explained everything. "My mom's best friend. She works in climatology, but she has connections everywhere. If she says she's going to help us, she'll do everything she can to make it happen."
"So she's like an older version of you. She'll definitely make it." Juno tried to detect any mocking or sarcastic undertones in Kiriko's voice. But this time she sounded genuinely sincere.
Juno didn't understand why until her cheeks flushed with embarrassment; she had never thought about the similarity she had with Mei until Kiriko mentioned it.
"The thing is, we don't have to worry about the library or the museum anymore," she said with a slight smile, her feet clicking happily as they walked toward the exit. "Tonight we'll have all the information we need. And then we can make a real plan!"
"I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this," Brigitte murmured, though the smile on her face contradicted her words.
"You're such a spoilsport," Kiriko accused, putting an arm around Juno's shoulders. "Let her enjoy it. It's her first victory."
They left the museum with Juno in front, practically dancing on their feet. Their shoulders swayed as if they'd won the lottery, while the midday sun enveloped them in a pleasant warmth. The crowd continued to swirl around them, oblivious to the three heroines' small celebration.
They walked a few blocks to the magnet train station, and it was then, when they were almost there, that Kiriko took her by the arm.
" Hey, Juno...
“What?”
" What is that commercial monstrosity!?
Juno turned her head. To her left, filling almost her entire view, loomed the Lijiang mega-mall. It was a fortress of glass and steel, its curved facades reflecting the sky like a giant mirror. Holographic signs flickered on every floor, advertising sales, promotions, and countless products that no one needed but mysteriously desired when they saw them on screen.
" It's the Lijiang shopping center, there's not much interesting about it besides it being big.
"Exactly," Kiriko smiled slyly, tightening her grip on his arm. "And we have the whole afternoon free."
That's when Brigitte grabbed her by the other arm.
"Besides," said the Swedish woman, in a tone that tried to be casual but failed, "you understand the language better than we do. You could... help us communicate."
"They're not asking for my help," Juno realized, as her companions began to drag her toward the mall entrance. "They want me to be their translator."
"How clever you are!" exclaimed Kiriko, as they passed through the automatic doors and were greeted by a blast of air conditioning scented with flowers.
The interior was even grander than the exterior. Soaring ceilings were adorned with LED light installations, polished marble floors reflected the figures of the hundreds of shoppers wandering from store to store, and a spiral design ensured that each level could be viewed from the center. There were fountains with artistic patterns, restaurants on each floor, and at the very top, a zip line that allowed you to descend each floor, experiencing a maximum adrenaline rush.
" It's like a city within a city" Brigitte murmured, her eyes wide.
"It's a black hole for your wallet," Kiriko corrected, her eyes now sparkling with excitement. "Come on!"
The next two hours were chaos that not even Juno could have predicted.
Kiriko dragged them to a clothing store where she tried on at least twenty different jackets and didn't buy a single one. Brigitte stood mesmerized in front of an electronics store, examining the latest drone models and spare parts. Meanwhile, Juno continued translating when needed, a little overwhelmed by this rather spontaneous outing when they were supposed to be just gathering information.
But after the fifth store, Juno had to take action.
"Stop!" she said, standing in the middle of the hallway with her arms outstretched. "We'll never get anywhere like this. We have to choose a place. Just one. And then we'll leave. Okay?"
Brigitte and Kiriko exchanged a knowing glance. They finally found peace after doing what they wanted.
" Rock, paper, scissors" proposed the Swedish.
"I accept," replied the Japanese woman, rubbing her hands together mischievously.
They both raised their hands at the same time. Brigitte drew rock. Kiriko drew paper.
"I won!" The Japanese girl jumped for joy. "I choose the arcade!"
"It can't be," Brigitte slumped onto a nearby bench, running a hand over her face. "You always win."
" Because I have faster reflexes. Come on, come on, we don't have all day.
The arcade was in the mall's basement, a huge space filled with neon lights, electronic music, and the unmistakable sound of machines spewing out prize tickets. Kiriko walked in like she owned the place, striding confidently to the counter and buying a game card.
" How much do you want to recharge? " asked the clerk.
"Everything," Kiriko replied, swiping her credit card on the counter.
Juno opened her mouth to protest, but the Japanese girl was already running towards the first machine: a fighting simulator with graphics so realistic that they could even be seen from the cockpit.
"This is my favorite!" she shouted, as she selected her character: a warrior with a fox mask. "Come on, Brigitte, I challenge you!"
"I'm not good at these games," protested the Swedish girl, although she was already sitting down in the chair next to her.
" That's why I challenge you. I like to see you bite the dust.
The fight was fast and almost brutal. Kiriko moved the controls with superhuman dexterity, performing combos that Juno couldn't find in the manual. Brigitte, on the other hand, mashed the buttons as if that could break the 21-hit combo that the Japanese player was carrying on.
"Perfect victory!" the machine announced, as the Kiriko character posed on the defeated body of Brigitte's warrior.
"This isn't fair," grumbled the Swede. "You train with games. I train with weapons and welding."
" Those are excuses.
They went from one game to another. Racing simulators, light guns, rhythm dances, and even one of those machines that measure punching power. Kiriko was good at all of them. Brigitte tried to be enthusiastic, seeing how competitive her friend was. Juno, for her part, discovered that her aim was just as bad in games as it was in real life.
"How do you manage to miss a target that's standing still!" Kiriko exclaimed, after watching Juno shoot at everything except the enemies in a zombie game.
"I'm trying my best!" protested the blonde, as her character was devoured for the third time in a row.
When the card ran out of credit, Kiriko was carrying a stack of tickets in her hand, so high it reached her chin.
"And what's that?" Juno asked, pointing at the pile.
"These are the points we earned. I'm going to exchange them for prizes," the Japanese woman replied, walking toward the redemption counter. "This is enough for... let me see..."
A few minutes later, all three were wearing headbands with animal ears. Kiriko had chosen orange and white fox ears, which perfectly matched her personality. Brigitte wore white cat ears with pink lining, which contrasted playfully with her muscular build. And Juno... She opted for brown bear ears with a bow at the end, which gave her an even more youthful look than she already had.
"This is a little embarrassing," she said, though she couldn't help but smile.
"It's adorable," Kiriko corrected her, taking a picture with her phone. "I'll send it to your mother."
" ¡No!
But it was Brigitte who surprised them both. While Juno and Kiriko were arguing over the photos, the Swedish woman grabbed their arms and effortlessly led them to a place that, judging by her expression, she had been wanting to visit ever since they entered the mall.
A cat-themed cafe.
"It's my paradise," Brigitte exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with an emotion Juno had never seen in her. "Cats. And desserts. The two best things in the world in the same place."
"We all know that," Kiriko murmured as they entered.
The shop was medium-sized but cozy, with walls painted a soft peach color and shelves full of hanging plants. Cats were everywhere: sleeping on shelves, playing with balls of yarn, or simply watching the customers as if they were mere guests in their home.
Juno felt panic begin to creep up her back.
"I... I don't think I can go near cats," she confessed fearfully as she stood behind Kiriko.
"Seriously?" Brigitte looked at her as if she'd been stabbed in the back. "Why?!"
"When I was little, they were very territorial near the apartment's garbage bin. And ever since then, I've been afraid one of them will jump on me."
"Relax," Kiriko nudged her affectionately. "These cats are trained to be friendly. Besides, if one of them attacks you, Brigitte will step up to defend you."
"I won't do that," said the Swedish woman, now seated at a table with a huge orange cat on her lap. "Cats always know what they're doing."
To Juno's surprise, the cats were the complete opposite of what she expected. They approached curiously, sniffed her, and if she didn't make any sudden movements, they sat beside her with soft, vibrant purrs. One of them, a black one with an innocent look, settled right on her knees and stayed there, purring like a tiny motor.
"It's not so bad," Juno admitted, while timidly stroking the animal's back.
" I knew you'd end up liking them" Brigitte smiled contentedly as she watched more cats settle around her.
The desserts arrived after a few minutes. Kiriko had ordered a matcha cake with layers of cream that looked like a whole garden. Juno opted for green tea ice cream with cookies. And Brigitte... Brigitte ordered a whole apple pie. All accompanied by a steaming infusion of tea that they were going to share.
"Is that for sharing?" Juno asked, her eyes wide.
"No," replied the Swedish woman, already stabbing her fork into the dough with a strong determination to eat it all herself. "This is just for me."
"It's not healthy to eat so much sugar before lunch," Juno tried to reason, a little frightened by the enormous amount of sugar in that dish.
" I don't care, it's my day off and I'll only eat this.
Kiriko laughed between sips of her tea, enjoying the spectacle. The three chatted amiably about trivial things, laughing at Kiriko's occasional jokes or Brigitte's determination to finish that apple pie all by herself. Juno subtly joined in the conversation, which sometimes felt foreign to her. Their company, their friendship, made her feel special, almost radiant because of how well they complemented each other.
After Brigitte tried to gulp down her cup of tea in one go and cried because it was so hot, Juno wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve, looking away for a second from the table where they were sitting. A small shiver ran down her spine.
I could feel someone's gaze at that moment.
…
Beyond the terrace where they were resting, a person sat near a bench, a book in hand, wearing elegant reading glasses. Their silver hair rippled in the breeze of the park near the mega-mall, gently brushing aside strands that crossed their eyes. But their true purpose was to observe those on the balcony, noticing small glimmers appearing in their glasses. They watched the three young women with great caution, making sure no one was looking at them.
In her mind, she took in the brief report of what she saw through the glass: two girls with a strong magical aura, deeply connected to the magic their magical creatures bestowed upon them. But the third girl…
She didn't see any magical creatures beside her. She didn't see that connection that bound heroines to their spirit companions. She only saw... scattered energy. Tiny specks of pink light that floated around her like a cloud of light, unstable and shifting. Sometimes they shone brightly. And at other times they went out almost completely.
" Interesting" he murmured, bringing a hand to his mouth.
His phone vibrated in his inside jacket pocket. He discreetly pulled it out, hiding the screen under the book cover, and answered without looking at the caller ID. Only one person had that number.
The voice on the other end was distorted, altered by some kind of modulator that made it impossible to recognize its origin if someone else wanted to trace it.
"What have you found?"
" Two of them have magical creatures. Apparently, they are the heart of strength and passion. The power that emanates from them is... considerable.
"And the third one?"
The man watched Juno for another moment, perhaps too long. The girl was laughing at something Brigitte had done, her head thrown back, genuinely happy to be there. The specks of pink light around her stirred with her laughter, shining brighter for a fleeting moment.
"The third one is a mystery," she admitted, a hint of genuine curiosity in her voice. "She has no magical creature. Or at least, I don't see one by her side. Her magic is... unstable. It fluctuates like a petal in the wind."
"Are you sure she's one of them?"
" The other two treat her as an equal. And she's wearing the same clothes as them in the photographs we collected. She's the new recruit. The Heart of Hope.
There was a deafening silence on the other end of the line. Then the modulated voice returned, this time with a colder tone, eager to test its new experiment.
"Then move on to the third part of the plan."
He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his expression remained the same: serene, almost angelic. But deep within his brown pupils, covered by those violet contact lenses, a tremor flickered as he imagined what would happen to that young woman and everything she had been doing up until now.
"I understand," he said, his voice soft, almost a whisper. "I'll remain incognito; yesterday's spectacle was enough. Now all the authorities are looking for us."
He put his phone away and finished the last paragraph of his book, this time really reading it. His book gleamed even more in the afternoon sun, an old tale by a historian about the oldest legends in the folklore of China and the entire Asian continent. Inside were a few curious sketches, like a horde of robots that seemed to have come from the future, as they were flying. The platinum-haired man slammed the book shut, having seen enough.
"Anything for a world that isn't a prison," he murmured, as he stood up from the bench where he had been sitting. He was completely confident that no one had noticed what he was doing.