Weeks after Hotaru’s fateful transformation, Momoko couldn’t help but feel like there was a hole left in their team by her absence. While she had been reassured by the rest of the group that six magical girls was more than enough on its own, and higher than the typical team composition in the first place, whenever the team lined up for their group finisher it just wasn’t the same. Her usual energetic disposition lacked energy, and she found herself chin-down on her desk when the bell rang rather than ready to jump out of her seat and hurry to spend time with her friends and fellow magical girls.

After sluggishly gathering her belongings and leaving the room, Momoko passed Hotaru’s classroom and peered in, seeing Hotaru surrounded by friends and laughing away over some random gossip and in no hurry to leave, a far cry from her usual studious retreat to the library or home. Momoko lingered for a moment, then turned away without confronting her once again. It wasn’t like she didn’t enjoy spending time with Hotaru even after her transformation, but it took everything she had to avoid begging her to consider giving her heroics a second chance. At this point, she even missed Hotaru nagging her about doing her homework every other day. Aoi tended to do it anyway, being the oldest and most responsible of the team, but it just wasn’t the same. Hotaru had helped her through some tricky tests with her study sessions, and now Momoko would probably be the one needing to help her study despite being a year younger now that she was a giggly airhead.

However, Momoko found her lethargic gait interrupted by something extremely large and cushiony squishing into her back, two of the softest objects she had felt in her life pressing inwards as two slender arms were wrapped around her, stopping her in her tracks.

“Are you avoiding me, Momo?” A high-pitched, playful voice asked her. “That’s like, kinda rude, don’t ya think?”

“I wasn’t avoiding you.” Momoko weakly protested as she sunk deeper into Hotaru’s breast flesh. “I just don’t want to get in your way.”

“Get in the way of what?” Hotaru asked, flipping her around and nearly giving her a faceful of cleavage as the pink-haired girl blushed. “The gals and I were just on our way to the mall. Don’t tell me, you, like, wanna come with?”

“No, I’ve got to…” Momoko trailed off as she realised she had no excuse and no real plans for her afternoon. “Go do…”

“Go do what?” Hotaru asked innocently.

“My homework?” Momoko attempted, causing Hotaru to burst into a fit of giggles.

“Momo, do you think just ‘cause I’m not a magical girl anymore means we can’t still be friends?” Hotaru cut straight to the heart of the matter despite her giggly voice. “That’s like, a totally lame way to think. I hang out with Yui like, every day now.”

Momoko hesitated, then decided to go straight for it.

“Are you sure you won’t come back?” Momoko said desperately, but before she could continue Hotaru pinched her lips shut.

“Knowing when to quit’s important, Momo.” Hotaru said sagely. “Whether it’s with boys, putting on too much makeup, or, like, being a magical girl. Right now I know I’m, like, a total dummy and a total klutz, but I’ve got way more friends than when I was a total nerd, I’ve got an adorable boyfriend now, and I didn’t get turned into a fish or somethin’ weird like that. I don’t wanna come back and have everybody have to cover for me ‘cause I’m bad at fighting now and have somethin’ bad happen to them as well. Trust me, I got off way light compared to most of the girls on the old team, and I don’t want anything to happen to you ‘cause of me.”

“Alright, I get it.” Momoko said, her determination returning as she finally accepted the situation. “You’re right, I’m just being selfish. If I forced you to come back, it’d just make things worse for you and everybody else. But no matter how much you change, to me you’ll always be Kaleidoscope Yellow to- wait, you’ve got a boyfriend?”

Hotaru began to sway in an extremely lovey-dovey fashion as she let out a lovestruck giggle, Momoko immediately distracted by this revelation.

“Uh-huh!” Hotaru trilled, Momoko leaning in close enough to kiss her as she totally forgot about all of that unimportant magical girl stuff.

“Who is he? Is he nice? He’s not some playboy, is he? I’m not gonna let you date some jerk!” Momoko interrogated her.

“Gawd, what are you, Aoi or something? Am I supposed to like, ask permission first?” Hotaru giggled. “It’s Takeshi from the baseball club! He’s like, so dreamy, and he’s really nice, and he’s totes adorbs…”

The two chattered about Hotaru’s love life for a while before finally they were interrupted by one of Hotaru’s newfound friends begging her to be on time for once, causing the two to separate with renewed vigour in Momoko’s heart. That was right, it wasn’t like it was the end of the world or something! She had been acting like she had been taken from her, when she was still right here all along.

“So, you wanna come?” Hotaru asked, but Momoko shook her head.

“I’m gonna meet up with the others. You go have fun!” Momoko waved goodbye as the busty bimbo jogged away, her skirt bouncing just enough to turn the pink-haired girl pinker. Whoever was the current student council president was going to give her a lecture for sure! She tried to get the lewd image of Hotaru’s panties out of her mind as she trotted off to the gardening club to check in with Sakura, finding the delicate girl absorbed in tending to her plants as always. Momoko refrained from her usual loud, cheerful greeting, as Sakura enjoyed the quiet around her garden, causing the pink girl to tread carefully and avoid brushing up against any of the meticulously maintained flowers.

“Yo!” She said quietly to the green member of their team, grinning as she imitated Yui’s usual greeting.

“Oh, hello there.” Sakura gave a small smile, absently playing with her long braided hair. “You’re looking quite lovely today. You made up with Hotaru, I see.”

“How’d you know!? Are you a mind reader?” Momoko was taken aback at how easily she was read, reminding Sakura that before Hotaru’s transformation, Momoko was considered to be the dimmest member of the team.

“No, silly.” Sakura giggled gently, a far cry from the high-pitched vapid sound that Hotaru regularly emitted. “Anybody could see that you’ve been down since then. The fact that you’ve brightened up means that you straightened things out!”

“Well, it’s more like Hotaru straightened things out with me.” Momoko admitted. “Guess she hasn’t changed that much, she had everything figured out.”

“That’s wonderful to hear.” The shy, sensitive girl smiled. “Well, I’m sure you’d prefer to get going. That’s your usual routine, isn’t it? I’m sure Yui or Akari are much more exciting to spend time with than me.”

“No, not at all!” Momoko wildly gestured disagreement. “I love flowers, flowers are great! I can name, uh… some of these!”

“No need to pretend.” Sakura said, turning away before she was yanked back into Momoko’s intense stare.

“I’m not pretending anything! The way you’ve made this whole garden is amazing! I wouldn’t even know where to start!” Momoko insisted, the feminine flower girl clearly flattered even if she was slightly taken aback by her friend’s forceful display. “And I like spending time with all of you! Even Kuroko!”

Momoko faltered a bit.

“...is what I’d like to say, if she’d let me spend any time with her.” Momoko admitted. “I think she’s the one who keeps locking the literature club door on me. I tried to go in through the window once and she looked like she was ready to kill me!”

“I’m sure Kuroko means well in her own way.” Sakura said optimistically. “She kept asking if Hotaru was okay after you left, but don’t tell her I told you that.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.” Momoko said glumly, wondering exactly what it was about her that repelled the gloomy girl. Maybe she just wasn’t being energetic enough! She’d just have to try harder next time!

“That said, I’d better get going.” Momoko said, checking the time on her watch. “I still need to check in with Akari, and then see if Aoi wants me to help patrol. It’s about that time of the week again, after all.”

The two waved goodbye, and soon Momoko arrived at the school’s gym, where the sound of shuffling feet and clashing bamboo rods could be heard as one approached the kendo club practicing.

“Men!”

She heard Akari’s voice cry out the distinctive call for a blow to the head, followed instantly by the loud thwack of her shinai on her opponent’s head. It seemed that once again she had dominated her male opponent, who moaned as he lost their practice bout once again.

“Ah, Momoko!” Akari waved to her with her bamboo blade still in hand as she removed her helmet with the other, heading off to the side to greet her. “Come to witness my conquests once again? Or maybe you’ve finally quit the going-home club and decided to step up? We could use more girls on the team!”

“Maybe not just yet.” Momoko excused herself. “I just wanted to see how you were doing!”

“Just fine, as you can see.” Akari pointed towards a group of despondent training partners, all unable to keep up with her. “How about you? Based on how you aren’t moping anymore, you figured things out for yourself.”

“That’s right, I-”

Momoko and Akari’s conversation was cut off by Momoko’s phone ringing, the theme song of some children’s magical girl anime signalling that Aoi was ringing. Akari nodded, and the two found a private corner to communicate in.

“An attack?” Momoko said as soon as she answered the call, by now the confirmation being a mere formality.

“That’s right.” Aoi responded. “I haven’t seen the monster in person yet, but there’s been two attacks so far.”

“Any pattern so far?” Akari leaned in to ask. “It’s gonna be tricky to figure them out without Hotaru…”

“Not this time. This monster is pretty easy to figure out.” Aoi said confidently. “They’ve attacked a western-style church and a shrine so far, and there’s brides and grooms as far as the eye can see.”

“So popular marriage spots then, got it.” Akari guessed.

“Bingo. I’m going to take Kuroko and Sakura with me, we’ll split into two teams. You and Momoko go meet up with Yui, we’ll check shrines and you check churches.”

“We’re on our way!” Momoko said, Aoi listing off some potential hotspots before hanging up.

“Sorry coach, gotta go!” Akari yelled to the teacher, throwing her protective gear to the floor and rushing out before he could protest.

“Wish I could have had a shower first, I’m all sweaty…” Akari complained as she changed back into her uniform with trained ease, being used to ditching her club at the drop of a hat.

“We always smell nice once we’ve transformed though, right?” Momoko pointed out as the two hid behind the school building, making sure that there was nobody in sight.

“Good point. Perfect hair, too.” Akari grinned as the two struck a pose. “Ready?”

“Red!”

“Pink!”

“Kaleidoscope, Sparkle!”

--

“What took you so long? Half of Tokyo’s about to get hitched at this rate!” Yui, aka Kaleidoscope Orange said playfully as Momoko and Akari touched down outside the first of the churches Aoi had mentioned, taking huge leaps across the city to land at their intended destination in a mere few minutes. Perhaps owing to her tomboyish nature or perhaps thanks to being the traditional colour of red, Akari’s uniform was the most neutral of the group, with no particular accessories besides red spats underneath her skirt, with even her hair not being too long and hanging freely. Meanwhile, Yui’s orange uniform had leg-warmers and some extra jewellery, with bright orange lipstick and eyeshadow in a somewhat tacky fashion, while her hair was orange with blonde and pink streaks in a wavy fashion.

“Not the worst thing in the world to happen, all things considered. They’re always complaining on the TV that nobody’s getting married enough these days.” Akari commented as the two surveyed the surroundings, full of men and women scattered around in tuxedos and billowing wedding gowns, half looking shocked and half in each other’s arms and celebrating.

“That’s only if it’s true love!” Momoko idealistically pointed out as she blushed slightly at the sight of two apparent brides proving with a deep kiss that there was to be no groom in this relationship. “W-what if it makes them marry the closest person next to them!? A loveless marriage!”

“Well, knowing monsters they’ll be head over heels for each other soon as it zaps them.” Yui commented as she pushed past two men celebrating similarly. “What’s the harm? Better than the divorce rate going through the roof.”

“I don’t think that counts!” Momoko said with a blush, wondering who was going to be carrying her down the aisle someday. Meanwhile Akari was dismissive of the whole situation while the group headed for the church doors where cries of terror could be heard.

“Getting married in the first place is so old fashioned. Especially weddings.” She snorted. “My mom’s all like, “Akari, it’s the happiest day of your life!” all of the time, and then she shows me her wedding photos for the millionth time. If you really love them so much, do you really need a big dumb show of it? Just get married and be done with it!”

“Ooh, how progressive of you. You show that establishment, girl.” Yui sniggered. “I’ll have to invite you to my wedding instead so I can see you in a tux!”

“Definitely not in one of those ridiculous dresses.” Akari agreed with that much.

“But it’s supposed to be a special day!” Momoko protested. “Besides everybody should do whatever they think is right for them!”

“How naive of you to think this is about being reasonable, Momo.” Yui wagged her finger. “You’d get it if your mom was as much of a housewife as Akari’s.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Akari snapped, a sensitive point clearly pressed.

“I’m just saying that you told me you refuse to wear skirts anymore just because your mom showed everybody photos of when you were little and said you were the most adorable-”

“Let’s focus on fighting the monster, please!” Akari flushed as red as her uniform. “And you’re supposed to call her Pink when we’re on the job!”

“Whatever you say, boss. Let’s get this over with, I think I can still make it to my appointment at the salon if we finish soon.” Yui sighed melodramatically, the three getting back into business mode as the three cautiously entered the church, where they heard the cackling voice of the monster call out.

“I now pronounce you man and…”

The three peered in, where a man in a tuxedo was frozen in place while the monster looked around and set his eyes on a casually dressed woman who was attempting to flee.

“You’ll do!” The monster gleamed, looking like an exaggerated stereotype of a Christian priest, with an oversized bible in his hands and a giant love heart for a head giving him an instantly identifiable monstrous appearance. “Man and wife! You may now kiss the bride!”

A beam erupted from the creature’s heart-head, striking the woman who was frozen in place, her clothes instantly metamorphosing into a flowing white wedding gown. Her eyes glazed over and she rushed to embrace the man, the two kissing deeply as they seemed to lose all awareness of their surroundings.

“Another happy couple!” The monster complimented himself on a job well done. “Now, time for you three to find your perfect matches!”

He pointed at the door, the three ducking behind the wooden doors as he began to march down the aisle.

“Looks like he saw us.” Yui commented, nervously backing away from the doors. “And just for the record, I like you guys, but you aren’t really marriage material!”

“Mom said I should date for at least a year first!” Momoko moaned, her hands in her hair. “And my dad said if anybody marries me without his permission he’ll beat them to a pulp!”

“No big deal, we’ll just smash that book of his and be done with it.” Akari said confidently. “That beam didn’t look too fast, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

The three quickly formulated a plan, and then rushed in, attacking the monster from three directions, ever mindful of his attack.

“I now pronounce you-” The monster began, before being cut off by Yui exploiting his long-winded activation ceremony to deliver a thundering axe kick directly on his head, dazing him enough for Momoko to to swoop in and tear the book out of his hands, ripping it in half without hesitation

“Let’s see, what else do you have that could be dangerous…” Momoko muttered as she scanned his body for any other surprise weapons. The large cross dangling from a necklace, perhaps? She grabbed that and yanked it free as well, shattering the band and tossing it aside.

“How dare you! In a house of god, no less!?” The monster furiously clawed at Momoko, who deftly leapt back to a safe distance while Akari went in for a series of body blows.

“Pink! Orange, nice job! Now give him the big one!” Akari called as she knocked it off its feet, Momoko nodding and producing her wand, charging as quickly as she could before the monster could get a second wind.

“A clever plan, girls.” The monster said on shaky feet as Momoko produced and began charging her wand. “However, this power is ordained in me, not the tools of the trade!”

Akari’s eyes widened as the monster turned towards Momoko, halfway through charging her attack and struck with indecision over whether she could complete it in time or not.

“I now pronounce you…” The monster said, before turning its gaze back to Akari. “Actually, you!”

The beam erupted from the monster’s head, catching the distracted and protective red magical girl by surprise. A moment’s hesitation was all it had needed at such a close range, and Akari was enveloped in a pink light while angelic harps punctuated the effect.

“Woman!” The monster proclaimed boldly as Momoko and Yui looked on in horror. “And… let’s see, no men around, but no matter, love knows no boundaries, so now the question is, which one of you should I-”

“I object!” Momoko squealed at the long-winded and pompous monster, blasting it with her half-charged finisher, which was more than enough to blast it off its feet while Yui swooped in and collected the still shimmering Akari in a princess carry.

“Tactical retreat!” Yui called as the two sprinted for the exit with the dazed Akari in hand, eager to end the day without further matrimony.

“Hey, hold still! The job’s only half done!” The monster complained as he struggled to stand, giving the group ample time to escape. “We haven’t found your perfect match yet!”

“She’ll find him on her own!” Yui yelled back, Momoko slamming the doors shut.

“What happened…?” Akari asked softly as Yui put her down, regaining her senses. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked down at herself.

“Oh my heavens!” She exclaimed in an uncharacteristically girly fashion. “What am I wearing!?”

“Take a wild guess.” Yui said grimly as she helped her to her feet, Akari soaking in what appeared to be her new magical girl uniform. She was wrapped in a lacy primarily white wedding gown with red accents around the hips, dotted with bright red roses on the billowing skirt that encompassed her in a wide circle. The leotard-esque main bodice vaguely resembled her original uniform, albeit shoulderless with long floral-themed lacy bridal gloves. Her usually free-flowing red hair was done up in an elaborate bun, with a bridal tiara and a veil hanging down behind her head, while her face was painted with a tasteful layer of makeup completed with rose-red lipstick. Under her large skirts and petticoats, her legs were clad in matching stockings and thankfully flat-heeled slippers.

“Quick!” Momoko demanded to know. “Do you feel married?”

“That’s kind of a weird question.” Akari said, looking a little out of it rather than as outraged as the two expected. “But I don’t… think so? I can’t really think of anybody I truly, deeply love with all my heart, enough to spend the most special and important day of my life with in such a beautiful dress…”

Akari’s eyes glittered before she seemed to realise what she said, and flushed bright red in front of her dumbfounded teammates.

“Oh boy, he got you good, didn’t he?” Yui said with a slack jaw as Akari resisted the urge to slap her.

“You try having a clear head right after having a spell cast on you!” The thoroughly embarrassed tomboy said. “Sure, this thing looks good on me, but that’s not the point!”

“It does look lovely on you.” Momoko commented, which Akari looked very pleased by despite her best efforts.

“Exactly! But this lovely-I mean ridiculous dress isn’t the important part.” Akari coughed. “We’ll worry about that later! The important part is getting back in there and beating the heck out of him for sticking me in it!”

“Sounds good to me.” Yui said, then hesitated. “Actually, maybe not. He said he was only half done and wanted Pink or I to finish the job, and as good as that looks on you, I wanted to spend a few years playing around first…”

“Um, Akari, sorry, but you’re not my special person!” Momoko apologised. “I don’t wanna go back in there!”

“Fine, I’ll do it myself!” Akari grumbled, gathering up her skirts.

“Are you sure you can fight in that?” Momoko asked, remembering just how poorly Hotaru’s attempted counterattack had been. Akari simply shrugged.

“As long as I don’t trip, I should be fine. My arms and legs still feel like they work!” Akari said enthusiastically, pounding her gloved fist into the other hand. She experimentally stomped the ground, leaving a small crater once she lifted her dress high enough to see it.

“See? Good to go.” Akari grinned. “There’s nobody else in there, so as long as I don’t let him get out, he can’t do anything else to me! It’ll be easy as wedding cake! I’ll teach him to mess with Kaleidoscope Rose!”

Before she could be dissuaded she charged in, flinging open the doors and rushing down the aisle while Momoko and Yui nervously shut them behind her, wondering if she would be alright. However, Yui couldn’t help but raise a question.

“Who the heck is Kaleidoscope Rose?”

Meanwhile, Akari was concerned that her bulky dress would get in the way, but it was surprisingly comfortable and she seemed to have a good range of motion without tripping over any of the petticoats. She felt a little slower, but not as bad as she had thought. Plus, as Momoko had thoughtfully reminded her, she looked good in it! Hopefully she’d look this good when she found her special man and he carried her down the aisle and told her that she was the only girl for him, and…

Akari shook her head to shake off the weird thoughts she was having. Eyes on the prize! Her skirts rustled as she grinded to a halt in front of the monster, which still seemed to be shaking off the effects of being beaten up by three magical girls then pounded with half a finishing attack. Unfortunately its pompous demeanour was unscathed, and it turned to Akari with a grimace.

“Hey, where did your friends go?” It asked, sounding almost genuinely disappointed. “How am I supposed to hold a wedding with only one person?”

“Thanks for at least not including yourself!” Akari shuddered at the thought. “I’ll make you regret sticking me in this dumb dress! Kaleido Sword!”

Akari raised her hand triumphantly into the air, ready to feel the hilt of her reliable blade. With a shine and a sparkle her weapon materialised, and she brought it back down, only to find to her shock that it had been replaced with a bouquet of roses! Unsure of whether to laugh or cry, she brandished it as intimidatingly as she could.

“It’ll have to do!” She grit her teeth, charging in and swinging it as hard as she could, sending the monster flying into one of the church’s pillars as if she had hit it with a metal club. Her rose-red lips curling into a smile, Akari went in again, beating it roughly and without the grace one would expect of a bride as the monster proved to have no tricks up its sleeve without the ability to mind control a potential couple. Without the threat of the beam, there was nothing to prevent a one-sided beatdown.

“I’ll teach you to mess with a woman’s special day!” Akari cried as her bouquet began to glow, the words coming straight from her heat as each individual rose split off from the bunch and rose into the air, the stems looking razor sharp as they pointed towards her target.

“Hey! You’re supposed to give that to the bridesmaids!” It protested before each one darted towards him, stabbing him across the body before finally detonating in a fireworks display in the shape of a rose. With the monster destroyed, Akari collapsed into the staircase leading to the altar, exhausted by the ordeal. What would her prospective husband say if he saw her now?

The doors creaked open, and her pink and orange partners peeked in, as if they were going to be zapped into holy matrimony even after the monster was taken care of.

“Is it safe to come in yet?” Momoko called, Akari letting out a hearty laugh in the half-destroyed church. There was no way anybody would willingly get married here now!

“Safe as it’ll ever be!” Akari gave a thumbs up. “Let’s go home. Hopefully, my real wedding day’ll be a lot better than this...”

--

“...and that’s what happened.” Akari said back at their home base, trying to make the whole thing seem like it was no big deal. While her new form was embarrassing, there was little she could do but take it in stride. She had transformed back and found herself still in her school uniform and looking the same as ever, and didn’t feel particularly more or less feminine than when she had started. “My theme is a bit different, but I shouldn’t have any trouble continuing as a magical girl.”

“That’s good to hear. You wouldn’t be the first magical girl to have a unique theme, after all.” Aoi breathed a sigh of relief, one mirrored by the other members after the second group’s initial panic that they might lose another member to a strange transformation so quickly.

“At least you got off lightly. Although you’re more like Kaleidoscope White now.” Kuroko said casually, sounding a little relieved at Akari’s insistence that she hadn’t undergone any significant personality change.

“Actually, get this.” Yui snickered. “Just before she went and beat him up, she called herself Kaleidoscope Rose instead of Red!”

“T-that was just in the heat of the moment! I wasn’t thinking!” Akari continued to blush, as Aoi was shocked at their resident tomboy using such a feminine name.

“What a pretty name!” Sakura gasped, clapping her hands together as the humour was totally lost on the flower-focused girl.

“It is, isn’t it?” Momoko said defensively. Yui liked teasing just a little too much for her liking, particularly in sensitive moments like these.

“It does seem like it fits better than Red at the moment.” Kuroko pitched in, leaving Yui recoiling from the lack of support.

“Well, I mean, yeah, it does, with the roses and all.” Yui muttered. Akari seized the moment, the slightly taller girl looking down on the flustered gyaru.

“That’s right, Kaleidoscope Rose.” She said smugly. “Jealous that you’re fruit-themed?”

“Don’t call me fruit-themed!” Yui yelped back, getting a round of laughter from the rest of the group.

“Let’s do one last check, just to make sure.” Aoi proposed when the group had settled down. “You never know what might have changed. I’ll ask you a few simple questions, okay?”

“Go ahead.” Akari said confidently.

“You like wearing…”

“Shorts!”

“Your club is…”

“The kendo club!”

“Your grade is…”

“Third year!”

“Wrong!” Aoi snapped. “You were a second year, now you’re almost as old as me!”

There was an uncomfortable silence as Akari realised that she was right, and that she had two conflicting sets of memories, one where she was seventeen and one where she was eighteen, the latter of which was rapidly seeming like the real one.

“Maybe it’s because it’d be weird to get married at seventeen?” Momoko eventually proposed, Akari laughing awkwardly as she realised that did make some amount of sense.

“That must be the case! It’s no big deal, right?” Akari said, trying to defrost the situation. “I’d never get married in high school, after all! Sure, I was thinking of looking for a date, but I wouldn’t put a ring on it until at least after exams! Of course, once I graduate then I wouldn’t mind if I were to take any relationship I’m in to the next level, maybe settle down and start a family, you know, with the right kind of guy, and…”

Akari trailed off as she was stared at by the rest of the room. It was a far cry from the Akari who took pleasure in laughing off the confessions she had been given all year, that was for sure.

“W-what? What’s so funny? Is it weird to want to fall in love? Maybe you’d learn something if you tried it sometime!” she said defensively. “None of you understand a maiden’s heart!”