Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

Because she knew very well why the school was closed—it was simply to avoid trouble.

It's all because of her—if it weren't for her, how could Mitakihara High School have been implicated?

While most students certainly hope for a holiday, even so, will they really be able to go back to school in three days?

Given the current state of society regarding magical girls, it's unlikely they'll recover in three days, or even several months.

By then, will Mami Tomoe be forced to drop out of school?

"..."

The more the girl thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt.

Although I've already had a heart-to-heart talk with that magical girl named Homura Akemi, how could I possibly let go of something this serious so easily?

Even if she stayed here and complained, things wouldn't change in the slightest—something she knew perfectly well.

But Mami Tomoe is simply unable to take action, unable to... face everything that's happening now.

"What should I do..."

Although the situation has improved a lot and is not as serious as it was yesterday, people are still frowning.

Mami Tomoe sighed and reluctantly turned on her phone.

On vacation... I don't want to do anything, and I have absolutely no ideas. Even if I wanted to go out and do something, I'd definitely be recognized, and then people would talk about me...

Without even eating breakfast, Mami Tomoe planned to drift through the next few days in a daze—

"Huh...?"

But then there was a knock on the door.

'Who...is it?'

The sudden knocking startled the girl, and her expression immediately became tense.

And so, the person outside knocked on the door for quite a while, and even the sound became somewhat hurried, before Mami Tomoe slowly walked to the door.

'...Could it be that they're after me...?'

After all, it doesn't happen often, like those situations we often see online where celebrities are targeted and even attacked offline because of various online opinions...

Mami Tomoe isn't arrogant enough to think of herself as a star, but judging from the current situation... it really does seem like what's described online.

Moreover, it's not uncommon for people with advanced internet skills to find out someone's real address, is it?

'No, no way...wait...? No one would actually come to me in real life and try to do something bad...no way, something like that...!'

As the knocking grew more intense, the girl's thoughts did not improve at all.

And so, Mami Tomoe, who always seemed so elegant, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, her hands trembling as she gripped the doorknob, and she didn't even dare to look through the peephole.

It's possible that opening the door will result in a barrage of insults, or even more insidious acts, such as throwing acid or hitting someone with a spiked club...

The more Mami Tomoe thought about it, the more panicked her expression became, and her eyes darted around in circles.

"Yes, I'm sorry...! I, I will never appear in front of everyone again!"

"...Ugh, really, that guy hasn't responded for ages... Could he not be home?"

...Huh?

It was only after a long time that Mami heard a voice outside the door... It was a familiar voice, but not the stranger she had imagined coming to cause trouble.

"She's really not home... Oh well, never mind. I said I'd come to see her, but she just..."

"Wait, wait a minute!"

Hearing that the person outside was about to leave, Mami Tomoe immediately opened the door.

What came into view was a figure that had already turned halfway around.

A girl wearing a blue jacket and with her red hair tied in a ponytail.

She is Kyoko Sakura.

"Kyoko...?"

"What? You were here all along?"

When Mami Tomoe finally opened the door, Kyoko Sakura also breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought you weren't home. Honestly, since you are, you should at least give me a proper response."

"...Why did you come here?"

Kyoko Sakura casually pulled out a lollipop, unwrapped it, and started eating it.

"Well... I saw the news about your school, so I was wondering how you were doing under these circumstances, and that's why I came to see you."

Is Kyoko... concerned about me...?

"But... haven't we not seen each other for a long time? You shouldn't even know where I live..."

“I happen to know someone who goes to the same school as you. You should have met him before. He’s a guy with long black hair.”

"Eh...? Homura Akemi?"

"Yes, yes, it's her. She told me about your situation and gave me your address as well."

No, no—even so, how would Homura Akemi know my address? I didn't tell her!

However, Mami Tomoe didn't care about such issues anymore; she was more focused on the present situation.

"...Well, let me guess, what's your situation right now?"

After the two entered the room, Sakura Kyoko began to say these words as if she had been prepared.

"Just as I guessed, this is exactly your current situation."

These words left Mami Tomoe speechless.

"...I'm sorry, I said those things to you back then, I..."

"It's okay, I didn't take it to heart. It's not a small matter that I need to pay attention to."

Sakura Kyoko then turned around, her expression becoming serious.

"What I really care about is your problem, Mami."

"I…"

"I can tell just from your expression. You look completely listless right now... What are you planning to do next? Are you going to just keep sinking into this state?"

There's no way to respond.

Faced with Sakura Kyoko's question, Tomoe Mami was completely stumped; she had no idea what to do.

Anzu seemed to be thinking about something, and then turned to look at her.

"...I didn't do very well back then either."

"Eh..."

"Because, you see, we used to be really close... but because of some awkwardness we had back then, I left you... all alone or something..."

Kyoko...do you still care about that incident from the past...?

The other person's words made Mami Tomoe's heart tremble slightly, and she shifted her attention away from recent events.

"I don't actually have much resentment towards you back then. In fact, I'm already very happy that you're still willing to come to me now."

Although witches wouldn't normally exist in this world due to Shirin Enmei's intervention, Sakura Kyoko and Tomoe Mami didn't need to engage in any cruel or arduous battles.

Even so, at some point in the past, these two must have had some unique experiences.

The two looked at each other, then slightly averted their gazes, gradually easing the tension...

The silence lasted for a short while.

"it is good…"

So at some point, as if making a decision, Kyoko gritted her teeth and simply bit the lollipop in her mouth to pieces.

"Let's go shopping together, Mami."

"...Huh?"

After hearing this, Mami Tomoe naturally showed a shocked expression.

Of course!

"Wait...are you serious, Kyoko? At a time like this..."

"Oh, it's okay! Just listen to me and everything will be fine!"

"Wait...wait a minute! Waaah—!"

So Mami Tomoe had no chance to refute or resist, and was directly pulled into her room by Kyoko Sakura.

More accurately, it's the direction the wardrobe faces.

----------------------

The two girls went outside together.

As for Mami Tomoe... she was wearing a whole bunch of clothes.

"Ugh...it feels so hot..."

"There's no other way, is there? This is the only way you can go out. Otherwise, you won't even be able to buy a bottle of water these next few days!"

Even if you say that... it really is hot!

It's around springtime now, not too cold, but Mami Tomoe is still wearing such thick clothes... just to cover up her appearance.

Otherwise, being recognized by people will only lead to more troublesome situations.

"Let's do as I say! Let's go shopping together, something we haven't done in a long time. Actually, I haven't really looked into the situation in Mitakihara City yet!"

"Didn't you come here with me before...?"

"That was before! Now it's now. Okay, take me for a walk!"

And so, Mami Tomoe was dragged along by Kyoko Sakura, and the two of them ran around everywhere.

I've been to clothing stores, supermarkets, bookstores, and even jewelry stores—basically, I've visited almost every place I could go.

The end result was that both of them were carrying a lot of things in their hands.

"Ah... I've bought quite a lot of things like this."

"What are you talking about? I basically paid for all those things you have... You should just buy them for yourself."

"Sorry, sorry~"

Sakura Kyoko scratched her head slightly and laughed after being told that.

"However, in terms of the outcome, Mami, aren't you in a much better situation now?"

"...Perhaps that's the case."

Even Mami herself felt that going out for a walk, relaxing with others, and buying some things really made her feel much better.

If that's the case, maybe my mood can return to what it was before—

"...Huh?"

Just as they were thinking this.

Mami Tomoe immediately saw three familiar figures walking past.

"What's wrong?"

Sakura Kyoko also looked ahead in confusion.

There were three people walking into the alley, probably around the street corner.

"Those two girls...were from yesterday...!"

Although the two girls walking at the intersection were dressed in casual clothes, Mami Tomoe could still tell that they were... the two female classmates she had talked about yesterday after school.

So who was the person walking in front of them?

"what…!"

After seeing it clearly, Mami Tomoe was immediately startled.