Sayuri's House — Saturday Morning, March 13th
Sayuri's house was ready once again to receive new people. The events involving the models had led to the appearance of new Potentia.
They had set a time to introduce themselves. For the inhabitants of Utopia, the concept of that kind of power was clear—but for the Earth-born women, it was still very abstract. Besides, it was better for allies to know each other and clear up any doubts.
Everyone was invited, but Aino decided not to reveal her powers—not even to Yukino—so she chose to keep herself undisclosed.
The doorbell rang, and Sayuri answered the door for Hitomi, Nami, and Hana.
"Welcome! Make yourselves at home!"
"Excuse me," Hitomi said, stepping inside. "My God—what a crowd."
There were ten women in the living room. All of them had Potentia, and there were many doubts to be untangled in that meeting.
"I'll start the introductions, then!" Sayuri announced with a smile. "My name is Sayuri Ishikawa. I'm a Virgo, my birthday is August 31st, and I'm thirty. My power is Air. I'm from Utopia, but I've been living on Earth for a while—I studied here, and now I work as a musician. Oh—and I'm married to Guang, who I met right here!"
"I'm Naoko Mizuno. Scorpio. Born on November 16th. I'm seventeen, I'm from Utopia, and it's my first time on Earth. My power is Water. I'm finishing high school… I like writing."
"Akiko Yajima, nice to meet you!" she said, waving. "My birthday is February 14th. I'm an Aquarius, I'm fifteen. My power is Crystal. I'm in my first year of high school… I really like gaming. My dream is to work with games someday."
"Megumi Hoshino," she said with elegant posture. "I'm a classic Libra, born on October 10th. I'm twenty-two. I'm a Light Potentia, and it's my first time on Earth too."
"Hi, I'm Miyu Ikeda. Taurus—May 18th. I'm fourteen, and my power is Plants. I came from Utopia, I'm in my first year of high school. I really like science and botany!"
"I'm Matsui Yajima, Akiko's sister! My birthday is November 12th—I'm a Scorpio. I'm seven, my Potentia is Flowers. I'm in first grade, and it's my first time here too!"
"My name is Yukino Umi. Taurus—May 6th. I'm fourteen. I was born here on Earth, and I'm in my first year of high school. My Potentia is Ice… I like drawing. I work with my mom at the office."
"I'm Hana Hikari! I'm a Gemini! I was born June 9th, I'm six, and my power is Flowers. I live here on Earth and I've moved cities a bunch of times! Now I'm in first grade with Matsui!"
"Hitomi Hikari. A choleric Leo—July 24th. I'm twenty-four, and my Potentia is Fire. I work as a model in the national and international market. I was born here on Earth. I've lived in many countries… but now I'm living here."
"I'm Nami Hawk. Leo too, but calmer. My birthday is July 26th, I'm twenty-two, and my Potentia is Air. I work with print design, and in my free time I paint. Some of my paintings become fabric. I live with Hitomi—we're married, and we travel a lot together. But something caught my attention… From what I saw, powers repeat. Is that normal?"
"Yes, they repeat. And there are two types of powers: the ones we generate ourselves, and the ones that require an external medium," Sayuri answered. She breathed out, put a hand to her head, and looked worried. "It seems we're all the first type. In that group, there are usually seven… but I'm not sure about anything anymore. This place is different."
"And not all of them are kind, right? We were violently attacked by Yesenia," Hitomi pointed out.
"What we've noticed is that the ones attacking us seem to come from a distant planet!" Megumi added.
"FROM ANOTHER PLANET TOO?!" Nami startled.
"SO IT'S FULL OF ALIENS, THEN?!" Hitomi exclaimed.
"Look—we don't like that term, even if it's technically correct," Naoko replied, arms and legs crossed, clearly irritated.
"BUT THERE'S ONE THING I STILL CAN'T SWALLOW—HOW ARE YOU E.T.s IF YOU LOOK HUMAN LIKE US?!" Hitomi demanded.
Hitomi was incisive; she didn't want to leave with doubts about what was happening. And she showed no filter at all when she spoke.
"Hey, hey—humanity is an evolutionary stage. It isn't exclusive to Earth. We're human, just like you," Miyu replied.
"I know it all seems very complex," Sayuri said. "But we'll try to answer as much as we can."
The morning went on with a series of questions. Hana and Matsui played during that time. They explained more about the powers, talked about previous attacks, and told them about the planet Utopia—and its end.
There still weren't answers for every doubt, but they did their best so that Nami—and especially Hitomi, the most suspicious one—would understand the situation as clearly as possible.
And so the morning continued until it was time to leave.
Ren's Apartment — After Lunch
It was a lively moment of hanging out at Ren's place. Everyone had eaten well, and now they were talking and playing cards.
"A-HA! +2!" Maureen celebrated.
The game was tight between Ren, Dylan, Kenta, and Maureen, who was still figuring out the rules. She was almost losing when, on a lucky play, she drew the right card—earning the famous "beginner's luck."
"Look—she turned the game around," Dylan commented, watching her.
"Ah… I was going to win," Ren complained.
Kenta remained quiet and expressionless, while Maureen smiled at her lucky play. They kept playing until Itzel arrived and opened the door.
"Good afternoon—I'm back!" Itzel greeted.
"Itzel, welcome!" Maureen replied.
"Maureen, I've got good news. They cleared the apartment across the hall. I checked the contract—you're moving in there starting Monday."
"What?! So I'm not going to be your rent friend?"
"Don't be sad, Maureen. I can visit you every day," Dylan flirted, intertwining his hand with hers.
"Will you, really?" Maureen teased, catching his intentions with a slight sideways smile.
"Man, at least try to hide it," Ren warned—already familiar with his friend's flirtatious style.
Itzel watched the scene clearly uncomfortable, but he didn't intervene. He already knew how Maureen was, and he knew comments wouldn't help.
"It's going to start raining," Itzel informed.
Maureen smiled at him, showing she understood the message.
Main Avenue — Late Afternoon
The sky was full of heavy clouds, turning the city gray. But that didn't stop Nami and Hana from going out together to shop at the market.
After a pleasant morning at Sayuri's place, Hitomi had returned to the apartment, and the two of them took the chance to have a mother-and-daughter moment.
"So? Did you have fun with Matsui today?" Nami asked.
"Yes! A lot!" Hana said. "Can I invite her to our house another day?"
"Of course! Our house will be really lively with you two!"
"Yay! I'll invite her on Saturday."
They were walking back on foot, chatting happily and carefree, when drops suddenly began to fall. Quickly, the rain turned heavy and caught people off guard.
"Ah—it started raining… Let's find somewhere safe!"
The cold drops were already falling on them. Nami hurried toward the pharmacy awning as fast as she could, to shelter from the downpour—at least until it eased.
Lightning flashed repeatedly, and soon a boom was heard not too far away. Thunder startled Hana, who clung to her mother in fear.
"Don't worry! We'll be home soon!" Nami said, trying to calm her.
As she watched the sky, she noticed the lightning converging above a building—strangely.
"That looks like what Sayuri said… about different types of Potentia," Nami murmured.
She stepped into the pharmacy and set Hana down. Then she knelt to Hana's height and spoke gently.
"Hana, wait for Mommy here in the pharmacy."
"O-okay…"
Nami left the pharmacy and ran toward where the lightning was gathering. Before crossing the avenue, she looked up and saw the silhouette of a woman drawing lightning into her own hands.
"It… it really is."
The woman concentrating the lightning through her body looked focused on her mission. Almost enough, Maureen thought, preparing herself.
Already knowing about the existence of a lightning rival—mentioned in the morning's conversation—Nami didn't waste time. She launched her Air Potentia toward the pastel-pink-haired woman.
Maureen was lifted and carried by the wind. Her battle experience kept her steady; she managed to grab the emergency ladder of the auto-parts store and hold on.
Just as expected—they showed up, Maureen thought. She didn't look shaken at all. In fact, as she steadied herself, she searched for the source of the wind.
Lost her. The Air Potentia stopped the attack and began looking for her rival.
It didn't take long. Maureen appeared right in front of her, and the two women ended up face to face. A chill ran down Nami's spine, but she didn't run.
"Are you the Air Potentia Itzel talked to?" Maureen asked.
Oh no. She's from that group. Nami stepped back a few paces. She was going to flee, but she found courage and attacked with blades of wind.
Maureen turned her face, but still took a cut across her cheek. The cut was light, but blood trickled down.
"Looks like not," Maureen said, raising her index finger.
Small sparks and lights began to crackle from it. Nothing too threatening at first, but caution was still necessary.
Bracing for the enemy's strike, Nami prepared to counterattack. What she didn't expect was that the blow wouldn't come from Maureen's finger.
A bolt tore the sky and hit Nami directly. She fell to the ground, injured and shaking. What Maureen had done was attract and direct it through her Potentia control.
"Don't worry. It was mostly light—just a small shock. A Potentia can endure it. So… shall we talk?"
The woman's words sounded disproportionate to the damage Nami felt—because she was still on the ground, trembling. Maureen stepped closer to speak.
But before she could reach her, two fireballs were launched at her. Maureen sensed it in time and jumped, dodging the explosion and the flames.
The fire had been launched by Hitomi, who—after attacking the Lightning Potentia—sprinted toward Nami, who was trembling and struggling to stand.
"NAMI! ARE YOU OKAY? Can you get up?" Hitomi asked, frightened—almost desperate.
She crouched, but didn't know if she could touch the blue-haired woman, because Nami still seemed affected by the electric shock.
"I'm… shaking," Nami replied weakly.
Fire… only Yesenia mentioned one with that element… If it's the same one, she's more aggressive, Maureen analyzed, based on what her companions had reported before.
Enraged by her wife's condition, Hitomi didn't think twice and threw a charged fire attack at her enemy.
Maureen defended immediately, blocking it with lightning. The impact of the two powers filled the area with a dense cloud of smoke.
All three coughed hard, and visibility was impaired. But soon Maureen, sensing their positions, launched lightning again to strike them. Hitomi, alert, stepped forward and countered the blows.
Nami, realizing the shock was already fading, started to stand. She looked at the sky and noticed the clouds dispersing and the rain stopping.
"THE RAIN'S STOPPING! SHE NEEDS THE LIGHTNING TO ATTACK!"
"NAMI, DON'T PUSH YOURSELF! YOU'RE HURT!" Hitomi shouted at the top of her lungs.