Chapter 28: I'm Giving Up Being a Magical Boy

**Chapter 28: I'm Giving Up Being a Magical Boy** is the twenty-eighth chapter of *We are Magical Boys*. It is the 4th chapter of vol. 5.

## Summary

*After escaping with the battered Makoto, Kaito comes to a heavy realization and attempts to come to terms with his feelings once and for all.*

## Synopsis

Kaito forces Rakuto away from Makoto, who has fallen unconscious from the harsh battle. He remorsefully apologizes and starts to panic, unsure of how he can get the two of them out of there safely and quick. He grabs Makoto and attempts to run away as the other Prittinese Magical Boys try to stop him. Kaito's unable to defend himself when they slash at him, throwing the boys to the ground and he de-transforms, no longer filled with rage and resentment like he was. Kaito gets up to try transforming back into Thrilling Pink, but to his alarm he can't.

Rakuto tells the Prittinese boys to stop attacking. Kaito's returned to normal now so he'll get hurt if they're too rough with him. They are too riled up to listen, much to his frustration, and he watches as they keep going, mocking Kaito and his Girliness. They prepare to finish him off when Kaito rises and punches one of them square in the face. He refuses to go down without a fight, alarming the trio who are surprised he can still stand despite this. They warn him that he can't run either way, but they are caught off-guard when Kaito suddenly hits one of them, hard enough to knock his transformation bracelet off. Kaito snatches it and pulls it on, transforming into his Prittina form and grab the unconscious Makoto before retreating.

The other boys prepare to follow after him until Lily yells at them to stop. Kaito ran away, and he grabbed a trial bracelet to do it, so he reasons that this will do for now. He suggests they head back because many have been injured today and they need to tend to them, and he asks Rakuto if these results are okay. Rakuto agrees and compliments him. They take off as he wonders if he rushed his plan, because there's no point going after Kaito now. He decides to give him some time to recover, deciding that he'll be happy with whoever he is, as long as he remains himself.

- - -

Makoto awakens on Kaito's back as he flies them home that evening. Kaito is glad he's recovered and Makoto pats his head, relieved to see that his horns are completely gone. He asks Kaito to drop him off at his library and suggests Kaito not join him inside. It wouldn't be good for Momo-chan to see him like this. Kaito agrees and de-transforms once they arrive. Makoto prepares to leave, telling him that he'll see him at school tomorrow, but Kaito stops him. He apologizes again, but Makoto tells him its unnecessary. He forced Kaito into becoming a Magical Boy, so he wasn't unprepared for something like this to happen; even if it still shocked him a little to hear it. He goes on to say more, until Kaito interrupts to tell him that he's not going to be Magical Boy anymore. He almost ruined this special thing that meant so much to Makoto. Makoto tries to reason with Kaito until he lifts his sleeve to reveal his Tokimekia transformation bracelet broke apart earlier. Kaito's become convinced that this will happen again, and as long as he's Thrilling Pink and they remain together, they'll never truly be happy.

After a moment of silence he apologizes to Makoto, who apologizes for having done this to Kaito in the first place. He turns away to go inside, saying goodbye as Kaito remains silent. He waits for the door to close before using the Prittina Transformation Bracelet to fly home; unaware of Makoto curling up behind the door in despair.

Suddenly, a sweaty and tear-stained Kaito bursts through the door to greet an equally miserable Makoto. He tells Makoto to hit him, and built up anger and sadness causes him to rise and beat Kaito up until all he can do is weakly lay on the floor. Makoto then embraces Kaito and they both burst into tears, apologizing to each other and causing a commotion. Just in time for a stunned Magiru, who stepped out of the bath just in time to find them and wonder what happened.

- - -

After getting dressed Magiru treats their wounds before deciding to call it a night; an excuse to quickly head to her bedroom and leave the boys alone. They remain silent for a moment, until Kaito asks if they can talk about things. He expresses that it might be hard for him, and could take a while though. Makoto agrees, so Kaito begins by asking if he's seen his dad yet. His father is a muscular and strong guy, who he used to see handle people who stepped out of line. He admired this and believed all men were meant to be like that, at least, he used to think that. So as he got older he began to act the same. He trained his body and worked out so that he could handle those bad kids who bothered others. He stood up for the other kids and they adored him, showered him with praise. But then one day, he met the girly exchange student and became a part of the Magical Boy world. At first he was humiliated but he realized that he was actually really cute like this. Not because he looked good in girls' clothing, nor did he feel "cool" anymore, but his "cuteness" also got him attention by other people, and he was happy knowing other people cared about him. He realized what "Girliness is a costume that comes from the heart" meant, or so he thought.

Even though the praise should make him happy, and he accepts his cuteness now, deep inside he wasn't able to accept that all of this was Thrilling Pink. Being cute isn't the same as being cool, and he was relying on someone else instead of himself. He worried that he would seem weak, and because he doesn't have a mother he was trying his best to cover that up. It was easy for him to start lying to himself, and little by little, whenever he found something he was unhappy about regarding his Magical Boy side, he took it out on the Magical World instead. He easily blamed others for his shortcomings, but he realizes that he is still a Magical Boy, and he is still Thrilling Pink. He thinks that things will be better if Makoto could accept it when he tells him that he loves him very much.

Kaito rubs his teary eyes and Makoto smiles, telling him that he isn't bothered. He pummeled him earlier so he isn't upset anymore, and he's realized that he can't protect Yamikumo on his own. Kaito is touched by his genuine words, until Kaito teases him by retracting the statement.

The boys return outside seeing how late it's become, and Kaito decides to get going. Makoto asks if he will be alright and Kaito assures him that he will be. They prepare to part when Makoto suddenly recalls Kaito's broken ring. He offers to speak to Momo-chan about it but Kaito asks that he wait until Momo-chan returns, so that he can ask him personally. Makoto is surprised and asks if he is sure he can really do this. Kaito believes everything will work out, he will be clear about what happened and is eagerly looking forward to returning back to Thrilling Pink once more.

- - -

Three days pass and Kaito's classmates notice he's in a chipper mood as he prepares to leave school. They complain when Kaito refuses to tell them what's going on as he recalls Magiru informing him the other day that Momo-chan figured things out. Today he'll be contacting Kaito, who is very excited and hopes for good news. He observes his wrist when suddenly, a strange Magical Boy appears having been looking for him. The boy knows him but Kaito is unable to recognize him. The boy realizes that this is because he's in Magical Boy form, and he presses his Transformation Ring to show Kaito an image of his past self. Kaito is surprised realizing this boy was one of the beastly trio that he captured a while back, and he congratulates the boy on having returned to heroics again. The boy doesn't share the sentiment however, King Momo sent him there to inform Kaito that returning to being a Magical Boy isn't going to be easy.

- - -

Back at the Kaibara library, Magiru finds Makoto searching through some books. He's looking for something that means a lot to him- so much that he missed school today. He calmly states that Red went too far, and now he's looking for something to settle the score. Magiru remains silent as she observes his chilling smile, realizing how angry Makoto is.