Day 167

[from StarLight]

Sanae ended up spending the whole of lunch with the White Star Fan Club, eagerly tucking into her boxed lunch as the other members set about acquainting themselves with the new arrival. "Sorry about that embarrassing introduction earlier," said Mio. "That was Hitomi's idea, along with the code names. Please allow us to introduce ourselves properly. My name is Mio Natsume. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sanae-senpai."

"I already introduced myself," said Nagisa dismissively. "Once is enough. Still, nice you meet you, I guess."

"Umm… yeah," mumbled Hinata. "N-nice to meet you…"

"So, are you all in the first year?" asked Sanae.

"That's right!" said Hitomi. "We're all your kouhais!"

"I see," said Sanae. "So, were you all roped into joining like I was, or did you join of your own accord?"

"We all joined of our own free will," said Mio. "Hinata took a little, uhh… persuasion… but that's only because she's so shy and indecisive that she wouldn't have said yes otherwise." Sanae wasn't sure what this "persuasion" entailed, but she wondered whether it was the same way she had been "persuaded" to join.

"I'm not indecisive," protested Hinata quietly. "Well… I think I'm not… maybe…"

"So, why did you all decide to join, then?" asked Sanae.

"You mean, why do we like White Star?" asked Nagisa.

"Well, yeah, I guess so," said Sanae. "I mean, it is the White Star Fan Club, after all, so you wouldn't have joined unless you liked her."

Nagisa nodded. "I like White Star because she kicks ass," she explained. "I watched her fight that serpent monster and I thought, "Wow, she could destroy an entire army!" Besides, I think it's important for young girls to have powerful role models, and White Star certainly counts as one of those."

Sanae nodded. She hadn't really thought of herself as a beacon of female empowerment - she'd seen herself more as a paragon of meta-humour and obscure references - but if that was really what other girls thought about her, then she couldn't help feeling a little honoured. "What about you, Hinata?" she asked.

"Umm… well…" Hinata fidgeted nervously in her chair. "White Star is really brave… I wish that… I could be strong like her…"

"I see," said Sanae, nodding. "And what about you, Mio? Why did you join the White Star Fan Club?"

The calm, collected Mio suddenly seemed a little flustered. "Uhh, well… you see…"

***

Mio had been watching on from below as White Star and Black Star came to blows. As their respective Star Beams clashed in mid-air, looks of sheer determination on their faces, Mio's eyes lit up and shone brightly. Look at them!, she thought. Two beautiful magical girls locked in mortal combat… they're obviously madly in love! Surely soon, they will fall swooning into each other's arms, having forgotten why they were fighting in the first place… how glorious! It's the purest form of love! I ship it! I ship it so hard!

***

"…uhh… I admire White Star for her strength…?" said Mio nervously.

"As for me," said Hitomi, "I think White Star is the awesomest thing that's ever happened! That's why I created this fan club, so all her fans can gather together and discuss her exploits, and then cheer her on during battle! You'll be there cheering her on alongside us, right, Sanae?"

Oh great, that issue again, thought Sanae. "Uhh… well, I guess it depends when the monster attacks are," she said hesitantly. "I'm usually really busy after school…"

***

"Hey, I wonder if the White Star Wand works on video games as well," said Sanae, as she was embroiled in a fierce game of Mall of Duty.

"First of all, I told you to only use it for emergencies," said Kousen. "Second of all, wouldn't that be considered cheating?"

"I didn't even say what I was going to use it for," said Sanae. "But now that you mention it…"

Keeping her eyes locked firmly on the screen, Sanae slowly made her way towards the White Star Emblem, which was lying on her desk. Holding the controller with one hand, she grabbed the Emblem in the other hand and quickly transformed into White Star as the chi surged through her body. Pointing the Emblem at the screen, she said, "360 No-Scope!", and every enemy on the screen suddenly fell dead to the floor, minus their heads.

Sanae let out a cry of amazement. "Oh my God, it worked!" she squealed. "I can't believe it worked! That was awesome! Kousen, get the camera!"

"What's a camera," asked Kousen, equally loudly, "and why are we shouting?"

***

"-yeah, really busy," said Sanae. "But I'll be there with you guys in spirit."

"Well, that's better than nothing!" said Hitomi.