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The people of Japan couldn’t see it yet. After all, they were being tricked into supporting it.
However, the Boonboomgers felt it, the oppressive and looming presence of Waruido Spindo. He didn’t just defeat the Tire People with his sheer strength alone, but he made sure that their comfortable lives were stripped away from them in the blink of an eye.
Boondorio Boonderas was killed, and they were forced to watch as their friend slowly collapsed.
Bun Diesel was left powerless at the idea of losing his friend once more, Sakito Homura watched as his home planet became just one more of the Hashiriyan Leader’s conquests.
Genba Bureki watched as Earth slowly suffered the same fate that Planet Bureki did.
Jou Akuse saw the organization he worked with become corrupt overnight, actively working to expand the Hashiryan Empire and increase their profits.
Ishiro Meita abandoned the BoonBoomgers, becoming a messenger of the terrible International Space Agency and making use of his familiar face to taunt them.
Taiya Hando had all his wealth taken, all his dreams destroyed, and was left as a broken man who put every ounce of energy into trying to bring back his fallen friend, clinging onto hope before it was be too late.
And then, there was Mira Shifuto.
The woman of a thousand jobs, who always looked into something new to extend her resume and to live through new experiences was robbed of the driver’s seat of her own life. Suddenly, she was fired from all of her positions and the new life she achieved was crumbling right in front of her eyes.
She was seen as a criminal and a villain by the same people she swore to protect.
The people that she would usually rely on to help her and support her were all experiencing their own torment, keeping their eyes on the dim light at the end of the tunnel, hoping to push through.
She tried searching for a place that would accept her everywhere, but the people seemed scared of accepting one of the Tire People into their job. Others loudly brought attention to the fact, as if trying to get the people around them to shame her.
All except for one.
---
When she first began her career in multiple careers, an old friend of hers welcomed her into the fresh new business with open arms. The boss had high hopes for her contributions to the beginner company and the bright future ahead of her, thinking that enthusiasm and experience was going to take her to exciting new places.
That business was the Anything Shop Hapipare!
Sachika Amane started her company with the intention of bringing a smile to everyone, and Mira’s bright personality would definitely bring home that message with all her clients.
It was contagious, almost cloyingly so. It was perfect!
The president would spend a lot of time with the employee in pink, sharing words and tales about their lives for hours and hours on end. It was like every day was full of brand new stories to share, and even if they were just meant to spend time as co-workers, the ambience created within those walls was comfortable enough for them to share more.
After a long and exhausting work day, the two women collapsed onto the comfortable seats, laying against each other to support their bodies from falling to the floor behind them. The bright and upbeat colors of the Hapipare headquarters, which usually encouraged them to get the day started, turned cold and muted at night.
It was now inviting the two to relax before their shift ended, they’ve earned a little break. The two basked in the comfort of that quiet moment, their breaths heavy after carrying so many heavy boxes and furniture during the entire day.
“Sachika, can I tell you something?” Mira asked, breaking the silence.
“Yes, Mirachi?”
“Do you remember that marriage that I talked to you about?”
“Of course I do! Is there something wrong?” Sachika’s expression changed into a curious and concerned one.
Mira let out a long sigh, her gaze shifting from the bubbly decoration of the room over to the window, focusing on the darkness of the night outside. “I just… I am not sure about it.”
That sentence barely managed to slip past her lips, like she was carefully measuring every word coming out of her. Even then, the employee could barely bring herself to mention it.
The employer slowly lifted her head to focus on her dear friend. “You really don’t want to go through with it, do you?” She said, reading right through the other’s expressions. It wasn’t just the insecurity and second thoughts that came with making such a big decision. “There’s something else going on here you haven’t told me, Mirachi.”
There were definitely a few things wrong, like the fact that she had a boyfriend before, that the guy that she was going to marry seemingly just appeared one day, or that he belonged to the Aori Family.
But the worker in pink just remained quiet, like she couldn’t really bring herself to say anything else on the matter.
Yet her silence spoke more than a thousand words, and Sachika managed to read them all.
“Mira, you can’t just let people decide what’s good for you. You need to take matters into your own hands, or else you are gonna get dragged into messes you don’t even want to get involved with, you know?”
Her friend slowly shifted her distant gaze back to the comforting visage of Sachika Amane herself, who looked at her with nothing but care and concern in her face, her blonde hair almost shining on the cold light of the large room.
“Thank you for being here with me, Sachika… I really appreciate it.”
---
It had been a little over a year since they shared that little moment with one another. So much had happened since she left through that door in search of a new job, it felt like she was going back to the very beginning of her journey once more.
It felt bitter, almost tauntingly so.
However, that taste was completely replaced by a pleasant, sweet and fluffy feeling as the door opened, like a wave of comfort washed through her. After so long, she was greeted once more by her former boss and friend.
“M-Mira?!” She exclaimed, staring at the saddened driver of the BoonBoomgers, standing outside of the Hapipare offices like a poor puppy out in the rain.
She knew Sachika wasn’t like this, but deep down, BoonPink was ready to be kicked out of the house just like the other jobs had done before.
After all, she was villainized by the general public, forced into hiding as the people of Japan were told a fake story: where the Hashiryan misunderstood the Earth’s life and were just trying to share their advanced technology, while the BoonBoomgers tried to keep control of the planet to conquer it from within. She was a criminal who should be arrested and--
Sachika wrapped her arms around Mira, preventing her mind from spiraling out of control and bringing her back to her senses with a warm and comforting embrace.
Her eyes widened, caught off guard by the unexpected approach. “I was so worried, the news said you were trying to conquer the world with the other Tire People… And that just wasn’t the Mira I knew…” The president whispered, feeling countless emotions boiling up in her heart.
“Sachika…” BoonPink whispered quietly.
“Please, tell me everything has been okay despite what they’ve been saying…”
Mira swiftly returned the hug, clinging onto the gyaru’s embrace to find that moment of respite she has been looking for since her entire world began to crumble beneath her feet. It was like her mere presence was bringing her that calmness she needed.
“You feel so cold, let’s warm you up. Alright, Mirachi?” She offered, inviting her inside of her old workplace.
---
The president of Hapipare sat her down in one of the new comfortable chairs, letting Mira vent and tell Sachika everything that had happened up until that point. How she broke up with her boyfriend and escaped her arranged wedding, finally grabbing the handle of her own life.
“But then, that jerk from outer space came down and began ruining everything for everyone! Not just for me, but for Taiya, and Genba, and the others… Spindo made it so we can barely do anything. You are the first person in a while who has let me in…”
“You feel trapped again, don’t you? Just like you did back then?” Sachika asked, trying to dig deeper into Mira’s feelings, to understand all the emotions bothering her at that instant.
“Yes! It’s… It feels so wrong, feeling like I don’t have control of my own life anymore, like every decision is being made without hearing my word in the matter.” BoonPink’s voice slowly raised as she felt tears swell up in her eyes. “And we can’t even do anything, we tried going against him all at once and now he is even stronger than that?! This isn’t fair!”
The driver buried her head on the blanket that the gyaru wrapped her on. Her former boss carefully caressed her arms through the fabric, comforting her. It must feel like she had the entire weight of the world on her shoulders, and nobody to share it with until now.
Sachika gave Mira as much time as she needed to cry, to let out the pent up anger and helplessness, the desire to do the right thing but being unable to. How she wanted to help out her new friends, but she just didn’t know how.
“There, there…” She whispered softly. “Things are looking hard but I know you can push through it all… You have done so many incredible things up until now.”
“Wh-What do you mean?”
Sachika let out a pleasant sigh, as she remembered the first business days of Hapipare, when Mira was the only employee. “I remember you looked just as stressed and terrified as you are now. But you managed to push through it all, Mirachi…” She carefully peeled the blanket off of her face, so they could face one another as she said this. The boss wanted to make sure BoonPink knew she was being sincere about every one of her words. “You went down your own road! That’s impressive… I wish I was as strong as you!” She confessed.
“Huh? I… I wish I was as strong as you, Sachika!” She responded, almost jumping from her comfy spot. “I mean, you always face every task with a smile, no matter how hard it was! You are always so eager to help people too! I wish I had that conviction!”
“But even then, not every job is that sweet. You already know that, because even back then you faced those moments with a smile… And with how far you’ve come with your career out there, I wish Hapipare still had you around!”
The two of them went quiet, it was just like that short intimate moment they shared back then.
Sachika was so welcoming, so loving and affectionate, so supportive. Everyone hated Mira for finally getting on the driver’s seat, but she admired her for it.
Maybe, it was worth a shot to start off her entire career right at the beginning. “Would you… Would you let me work here again, now that no one is looking to have a BoonBoomger in their company?”
“But of course…” She offered her hand up to Mira. Everyone had rejected her and pushed her away, but she was there, willing to take the risk of getting into trouble with the International Space Agency just to give her friend a place to be, a place where she was welcomed in, a place where she could smile again.
“In fact,” Sachika continued. “I already have a job for tomorrow! This girl wants help with her style, so she wants us to go shopping with her and be her fashion judges!”
“I-I… I can’t wait!”