《Magical Girl Outcast》
Chapter 1: Prologue
The drenched figure of her classmate and fellow Magical Girl stood before her a rapier drawn in her hand as she stared back at her with a cold angry look. ''''Draw your blade Rin.'''' She said with steel in her tone.
Rin shook her head frantically. ''''Why are you doing this K?????a???????????r?????????????????????i???????????????????????n????????????? We''re both on the same side!''''
The other girl laughed hollowly. ''''On the same side? Don''t make me laugh. This was supposed to be my grand debut. The only prodigy coming from this shitty little worthless school. But you ruined it! All that people care about is you! The Magical Girl that should not be! I cannot let that stand. Before this school year is over I need to make it clear who is the real prodigy here. So draw your blade or I''ll kill you where you stand!''''
Rin closed her eyes sadly. ''''My words really won''t reach will they? Fine I really don''t like it but it seem like you won''t take no for an answer.'''' A sword suddenly appear in her hand. It was glowing and crackling with otherworldy energy.
K?????a???????????r?????????????????????i???????????????????????n???????????? grin became predatory and she took off sprinting toward Rin. Rin took off running too and swung her blade. The two swords clashed with a metallic clang. The other girl immediatly tried swinging again and Rin ducked under the hit before she tried taking advantage of the opening left from the attack.
But the other girl was ready for it and grabbed Rin''s arm before kicking Rin in the stomach hard. The hit was powerful enough to send her flying and crashing against the wall of a building. Leaving a crater behind her wake. But Rin looked no worse for wear from the hit as she immediatly jumped and drew a pistol.
She pulled the triggers again and again letting bullets fly toward the older girl. K?????a???????????r?????????????????????i???????????????????????n???????????? began moving and dodged the bullets as best as she could and swung her sword to parry the bullets she couldn''t avoid. Not one of them managed to hit the more experienced girl.
Once Rin''s gun was empty and she landed back on the ground. The other girl''s body glowed brightly and a magic circle appeared underneath her feet. ''''Ortu Terrae!'''' She yelled making the ground shake violently before chunks of the earth rose in the sky.
The older girl pointed a sword at Rin and one of the chunks of Earth was hurled toward her.
Rin took a breath. The world suddenly turned gray and everything froze in place. She took off running and jumped toward the chunk of Earth that had been hurled toward her. Then she took another leap on the next chunk with the grace of a cat and repeated it again for a third time as she landed on the chunk of earth right above the other girl.
Rin exhaled and the world resumed. The chunk of earth that had been going toward her crashed uselessly on the ground where she used to be. The other Magical Girl searched around frantically for where she might have gone.
''''I''m sorry for this.'''' Rin whispered before she jumped down and slashed her sword down at the girl. K?????a???????????r?????????????????????i???????????????????????n???????????? screamed in pain as she was slashed on her chest and fell down on the ground.
She glared murderously up at Rin and grit her teeth. ''''This is nowhere near over. There''s no way I''m going to lose to you! Terram Crettipus!'''' Her vision was filled with light and the ground shook more violently than what she had ever felt.
''''Are you insane?! You''re going to kill both of us!'''' Rin shouted in horror.
''''If that''s what it take...'''' The other girl replied with a deranged grin. With a earth shattering crash, the world exploded...
Rin woke up gasping. The feeling of the wind brushing against his hair managed to calm him down and realise he just had a dream. That dream felt familiar somehow though. As if he had seen it often.
The wind picked up once again. At first he had tought maybe he had left the window open. But then as the rest of his sense woke up he realise he was laying on a hard surface.
Somewhat startled he opened up his eyes and saw the open sky above him. He quickly sat up on what he realised was a bench and looked around. He was facing a relatively large sandbox. There were swings, a small slide and two spring riders in the shape of an unicorn and a tiger. He realised he had fallen asleep in the local playground.
Judging by the sun above him he could tell it was morning. Had he slept all night at the park? Why would he do that? And why didn''t his mom come find him? But as he tought of his mom he froze and his memories of yesterday came back to him.
Yesterday afternoon
After school ended Rin headed straight back home as he usually did. It''s not like he had any real friends to hang out with back at school. All the kids thought he was a weirdo for his obsession with wanting to be a Magical Girl.
Of course everyone at school admired Magical Girls. They were modern heroes that fought back against the alien menace. But for some reasons it was considered really weird for a boy to want to be one. It was a girl''s profession after all. And it wasn''t like boys could ever be contracted by a Familiar.
As he entered inside the house. The boy headed straight toward his mother''s room. He went toward her drawer and went straight to his favorite dress. It was nothing special, it was a white night gown with a few frills around the collar and sleeve.
He took the gown in his hands as he closed the drawer and quickly headed to his room. His mom shouldn''t be back for a few hours yet so he should be safe to play in his room.
As he closed the door of his behind him he quickly took off his school uniform and put on the dress before rushing toward the mirror. He smiled as saw himself in the dress. The familiar weird lightness in his chest that was always there when he did this returned.
''''I''m Magical Girl Etoile! Watch out Unfeelings because I''m going to destroy all of you!'''' He said while twirling around and giggling.
''''What''s all this racket?!'''' The voice of his mother suddenly shout and Rin froze in horror. before he could react the door to his bedroom opened and his mom froze as she saw him standing there with her gown.
Then the vein in her forehead started bulging as she stare at him with pure fury. ''''You little freak! You stole my clothes again?! I''ve had it with you and your perversion! Give me back my clothes and get out of my house!''''
''''B-but m-mom I''m-'''' Before he could finish his sentence he was cut off by his mom.
''''I don''t fucking care about your excuses! Do you know how many times I''ve got calls from your school because of how many fights you get in caused by your stupid Magical Girls obsession? I can''t deal with this anymore. Get out of my house!''''
Before he could react she tore the dress off of him and took his discarded uniform off of the ground before she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the house. She threw his school uniform back at him before slamming the door and locking it behind her.
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Rin rushed at the door and banged on it. He pleaded for his mom to let him back in. But his mom walked away in her room and ignored him. When it was clear his mom wouldn''t let him back in. Rin put back his now dirtied school uniform and slink away...
Present Day
So with no place to go he had ended up in the park for the night. Now he didn''t know what to do with himself. He was only twelve, it''s not like any business would hire him. The only thing he could do for now. Is go to school and hope his mom would let him back in tonight.
If she didn''t...He would rather not think of that right now. Deciding to check out the time he activate his magiteck heads up display to check the time.
Current time: 7:45 AM
Oh shoot! If he didn''t hurry he would be late to school! He started running as fast as he could. hoping he would make it in time. His mother was arleady mad enough at him. He really didn''t want the school to call her to tell her he was late to school!
As he ran however he slowed down as he heard the sound of mocking laughter up ahead. Rounding up the corner he gasp as he saw a group of three boys throwing rocks at a poor black cat. The cat was inside a box and was making a pretty strange noise that sounded almost like screaming, it must really be in pain! One of them threw another rock which nicked the cat on the forehead and Rin could see blood seeping out from where it had been hit.
Rin felt a surge of anger at the older boys cruel act and decided to run up between them and the cat. ''''Stop hurting it! it did nothing to deserve this!''''
The trio look at him in surprise before they all burst out laughing! ''''Hey look who it is! If it isn''t the sissy little freak who want to be a Magical Girl! Well news flash shrimp! You''re neither magical or a girl so get out of here before we beat the crap out of you!''''
''''I-I won''t let you hurt this cat any further!'''' Rin yelled before charging at the closest boy. Unfortunately the boy hit him in the stomach hard and he lost his breath. Another boy came up and kick Rin in the leg making him crumple on the ground. The third boy kick him on the back of the head dazing him.
''''Ahahahahah! Pathetic little shit! You''re nothing but an useless faggot! Don''t come up between us and our fun again if you don''t want to die!'''' The leader of the gang said mockingly before the trio walked away leaving Rin writhin in pain on the ground.
As he lay there he felt something warm and fuzzy pressing against him. Looking at his chest he saw what he had tough was a black cat looking at him with an almost curious expression. But on closer inspection the animal looked more like a really young black fox. What was a black fox doing here randomly? He had never heard of any foxes living this close to town.
Being careful to not touch where it had been wounded. Rin started petting the fox on it''s head. It seemed to appreciate the gesture as it''s close it''s eyes in contentment at his touch.
[Interesting, I tought this would be a waste of time and ressources. But I''ve never met a boy with so much potential before. Then again, maybe calling you a boy wouldn''t be right either.]
Rin looked around in confusion at the voice that almost felt like it had come from his own head. But there was no one here except him and the fox. ''''Hello? Who said that?'''' He looked down at the fox who looked back intently. ''''It couldn''t possibly have been you, is it?''''
Before he could get an answer the bell of the school started ringing in the distance and Rin''s eyes widen in a panic. ''''Oh crap! I''m late to school!'''' He quickly rose up from the ground and dust himself as best as he could before taking off running. The young fox watched him go with an interested gleam in it''s eyes.
When he arrived at his class it was by the nick of time right before the second bell ringed. Everyone else were arleady sitting at their desk, except him.
The students muttered hushed whispers and chuckling between each other as they saw his dirty clothes. Trying to not let the judgemental looks get to him Rin quickly made his way toward his desk.
The math teacher arrived just as he took his seat. And despite his best efforts Rin couldn''t help but zone as soon as the teacher started talking. His mind raced with what he could possibly do to convince his mom to let him back in the house. He really didn''t want to go live in a orphanage, especially not here.
The only interesting thing about Alagia Town was the name. It was not too small and not too big. The restaurants were just your average fast food joints. The school was subpar, it''s only expensive expanse being the Emergence Shelter in the basement which all schools were required to have by law. It wasn''t known for any cultural or economic reason. It was a completely forgettable town.
Hell there wasn''t even a single Magical Girl patrolling the town. In this modern era if you wanted to put a town on the map it needed to have at least one local Magical Girl. The fact Alagia didn''t have one meant most people living outside of it probably didn''t even know it exist.
And from what he heard the local orphanage was understaffed and underfunded. And it was run by an old lady that barely tolerated the existence of the children in her care.
He really didn''t want to go there, but depending on how tonight goes, he might not have a choice.
Rin suddenly wince as did most of the class as a siren suddenly start blarring in their own minds from the Magiteck Alert System.
Warning: Unfeeling Emergence detected. Find shelter as soon as possible. Magical Girls are on their way and will arrive in three hours.
Reality Usurpartion in: 4:59 min.
Many cries and shout of horror filled the classroom as the students realized what was happening. Of course they all had heard about Emergences and how it could happen at any time and any place. But it''s always seemed like something that happened to other towns and cities. The fact that it was happening right here and right now felt like something out of a nightmare.
''''Silence!'''' The teacher yelled above the cries of the students. When the class was sufficiently silenced he continued talking. ''''Form a line and follow me calmly and orderly as we make our way to the shelter. Under no circumstance must you break from the group. Let''s hurry.'''' He said before clapping his hands together.
The student quickly did as ordered. Even the usual troublemakers of the class were unsusally silent and timid as they started following the teacher. Rin for his part wasn''t faring much better.
It was one thing to dream of becoming a Magical Girl and slay the Unfeelings. But it was another thing entirely when it happened for real. And it wasn''t like he was a Magical Girl like in his fantasies either. He was just a useless normal kid who would quickly be subdued and killed if faced with one of those alien monsters.
They were walking at a respectable speed as they followed the teacher throught the hall and down the stairs to the first floor. But to Rin and the other students it felt like an eternity. On the first floor they arrived in the main hall of the school. They were the third class to have arrived down here. They were now standing behind the other two middle school first years class.
Unfortunately the stairs to the basement were far away tucked in a long corridor facing them. But as they started following the other classes down that corridor. A sudden crash shook the entire building.
Rin looked up in shock and horror as the ceiling cracked and gave way as something heavy fell right in front of their teacher. To Rin''s confusion the thing that had fallen looked like a huge oval rock.
But then the rock started moving and cracking before it exploded in pieces. Before he could react Rin felt a chunk of the oval shaped rock hit him on the side of the head. His eyes blured from the intense pain and he collapsed on the ground unconscious...
He didn''t know how long he laid there before he regain his senses. But it couldn''t have been too long, otherwise he would most likely be dead.
As he opened his eyes he saw that all the students he had come down with were gone. However right where his teacher had stood he could see the littered remains of the oval shaped rock. And a quadruped creature was standing there it''s head lowered with it''s jaw wide opened. He could see some sort of weird energy entering it''s mouth as it stood there.
''''H-help.'''' The weakened voice of a man that he realised was his teacher called out. He realised with horror that in front of the creature was the body of his teacher. He could see that his skin had turned to a dark gray color almost the same color as the creature that was standing above him.
Then his teacher went slack just as the creature above him ran out of energy to absorb. His teacher''s body soon began twitching erratically before he slowly started to rise up with jerky movements.
The teacher rose up and opened his eyes they glowed an eery purple color as he stared at where Rin was laying with a completely blank look in his eyes.
Rin felt a chill run down his spine as he realised his teacher had turned into a Emotionless. A human Unfeeling. He rose up quickly and tried to run back toward the stairs where he had came from. Unfortunately while he could easily outrun the Emotionless. The quadruped creature that had attacked his teacher was another matter entirely.
The creature tackled him just as he reached the second floor. Rin tried pushing off the creature off of him but quickly realise he wasn''t strong enough to get it off. So in a desperate attempt he tried hitting the head of the creature with his fist repeteadly. But it didn''t even flinch as he continued wailing on it.
The creature finally overpowered him and bit down on Rin''s neck. Rin could only panic as he tried breathing and was chocked by his own blood. It hurt, it hurt so bad! Why was it happening to him, why did he always ended up having the short end of the stick?
The creature opened up it''s maw wide and started sucking out some sort of weird energy out of him. Just like it did with his teacher. He felt so cold and empty suddenly. The panic he had felt thus far became nothing more than a dull ache in the back of his mind.
He was going to die here. But maybe it was for the best. Everyone hated him simply because he loved Magical Girls, even his mom. But in the end they were all right, he would die having achieved nothing in life. Nothing but a forgotten pathetic freak...
Chapter 2: A Contract is Made
''''At what age was I contracted? Well it might not look like it now. But I was arleady twenty five years old when I became a Magical Girl. Now twenty years later and I look like a sixteen years old girl. Amazing what magic can do isn''t it? Ahahahahah!''''
''''...But I was contracted at that age because I am a first generation Magical Girl. Back then the Awakened had not standarized contracts as they do now since they had just made contact with humanity. They just awoke the gift of magic to any girls and women who had potential, regardless of how old they were.''''
''''But from the second generation onward. Girls with the potential to wield magic and use it for good are detected from the moment they are born. Don''t ask me how the Awakened know the potential of a girl that early, they just do. At that point fourteen years old became the age which almost all Magical Girls are contracted. There are only two reasons why a girl would contract outside of that age.
''''The first is that a girl may reject the offer of a contract at first and decide to go throught with it at a later time.''''
''''However if you see a Magical Girl younger than fourteen it is always for the same reason. An Emergency Contract was formed. Emergency Contracts are formed with girls who have potentials earlier than the standard age. And the reason for that earlier contract is quite simple. It is because the girl would not have survived until her fourteenth birthday if she did not become a Magical Girl.''''
''''Emergency Contracts can be quite a controversial topic. Many feel that fourteen years old is arleady too young to enroll girls in an endless war and an Emergency Contract force girls to enroll even earlier than that. With the youngest girl on record being only eight years old. But there is no denying that without Emergency Contracts we would have lost many young girls with a lot of potential to the Unfeeling parasites.''''
An Interview with the number one ranked Magical Girl, ¨¦toile. On the the subject of the age of contracting. -2045
Rin was floating, he didn''t know where he was. But it looked almost like he was in the middle of space. He could see countless stars surrounding him along with nebulas he had only seen in pictures.
Normally he would have found the sight amazing and inspiring. But as he stared at the beauty of the universe he could only feel a deep uncaring apathy. Who cared how beautiful the universe was? Nothing mattered anymore.
He closed his eyes and continued floating aimlessly in the impossibly vast void. Why was he here again? Oh right, he was dying. Was this what death was like? Just floating endlessly in space?...well whatever. A part of him felt like he should be afraid about the fact he might be dead. But currently he couldn''t care less. The world never cared about him and he didn''t care about it anymore either. His life wasn''t worth living, might as well just accept oblivion.
[Is that truly how you feel?] A voice suddenly asked, it seemed to reasonate from all around him.
Rin looked around with a emotionless expression. ''''Yes, life is not worth it, the world is not worth it. It should just all disappear.''''
[Really? That doesn''t seem like the boy that rescued me this morning. You say you don''t care about anything and yet you put yourself in harm''s way to rescue a single defenseless animal?]
''''That was before I realised how pointless it all is. Look at what happened to me. I fell unconscious during an Emergence and no one even bothered to carry me to safety. Nobody ever cared about me, why should I care about them?''''
[It''s true the world has been terribly unjust to you. And yet you wanted to be a Magical Girl with all your heart didn''t you? Surely you felt like there was something worth protecting if you wanted to carry that burden so badly.]
At their words Rin felt a small emotion flicker under his chest. He was surprised to have felt anything, But it was there, burried deep inside him. A sense of deep longing for something unatainable.
[You wanted to be a girl, that is one of the motive I could deduce from reading your soul. However it was more than just gender incongruence that made you want to be a Defender. You wanted to save people in the way you, yourself had never been saved.]
At their words the feeling came back in full force and Rin, overwhelmed by all his emotions coming back so suddenly, started crying.
''''W-who are you, how do you know so much about me?!'''' He asked into the void.
Suddenly a small star lit up right in front of Rin. It glowed brightly, so brightly that if Rin still had eyes he would have needed to close his eyelid. The light died down and Rin was surprise to see the same young fox he had rescued earlier in the day,
The fox smiled at him which was kind of uncanny. [Hello there, my name is Lupin. I''ve been watching you and have been waiting for a long time to properly meet you, Rin Ainsley.]
''''R-really? How long?'''' Rin asked startled that strange animal had been observing him.
[Since the day you were born.] He replied without hesitation.
''''S-seriously?!'''' Rin exclaimed in disbelief.
Lupin nodded his head. [Yes, that is standard procedure for anyone who have been selected by the Awakened.]
''''The Awakened, huh? I think I''ve heard some Magical Girls mention them, who are they?'''' Rin asked confused.
[I guess you could call them an advance alien civilisation. But their knowledge of the aether and technology could easily fool some species into believing they are gods. Many of the gods in your ancient mythology are Awakened who visited your planet in time''s long past. In a certain way they are also similar to the monsters you call the Unfeelings.]
''''W-what?! How are they similar? Do they attack other planets too?!'''' Rin asked startled.
Lupin shook his head. [No, of course not. However the original Unfeelings were once an advance civilisation very much similar to the Awakened. However they were too careless. They awakened the gift of magic for everyone on their planet. The gift easily overwhelmed the ones that were not ready to handle it. They broke their souls thanks to their carelessness and became the first monsters known as the Unfeelings. The remaining worthy magic users tried to fight back. But they were overwhelmed by the number of monsters and their planet was completely overtaken by the Unfeelings. The Awakened decided to take a much more careful approach on who to select after the tragedy of their equals. They have been at war with the Unfeelings for millenia and humanity has only recently been recruited to join them in that fight.]
Lupin seemed to look around for something his expression turning more serious. [But enough about history for now. Time work differently here, but we still should not waste the precious time we have left. As you might have suspected. I am a Familiar created by the Awakened to serve and guide you Rin Ainsley. I am here to ask you to form a contract with me and become a Magical Girl to protect humanity and in the end, the universe at large. From the Unfeeling existential threat.]
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Rin had suspected this was what the fox was going to ask and yet he still couldn''t believe it. ''''I-I can really become a Magical Girl? D-don''t I need to be a girl for that?''''
Lupin cocked his head toughfully. [Well as I said earlier, you were born with an incogruence between your soul and your body. You have the soul of a female and because of this you can become a Magical Girl even if your body doesn''t match up.]
''''I-I have the soul of a girl?'''' Rin muttered in disbelief and embarassment, it felt unbelievable and yet it explained so many things at the same time. He couldn''t deny he would have been happy to be a girl even if not a magical one. Tough Magical Girls were even better, obviously.
Rin turned back at Lupin with a curious look in his eyes. ''''But I''ve always been curious, why can''t boys have magic? Obviously I don''t mind being a Magical Girl but it feel kind of unfair to the boys who aren''t okay with being girls like me.''''
Lupin sighed. [I''ll answer that question another time. But now you really need to make a choice, because you will soon die and become an Unfeeling. And after that happen there''s nothing I will be able to do to save you, magic or no magic. So I ask you again, would you like to make a contract?]
With all that Rin had almost forgotten he was about to die in the real world. He clenched his fist and smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. ''''Well, obviously I accept your contract Lupin!''''
Lupin bowed his head respectfully and Rin felt something really warm lit up in his chest but not in a painful way. [May this partnership surpass even entropy itself.]
By the time she woke up to her new state of being the Emotionless of her teacher had joined the other Unfeeling in trying to drain her. Something powerful emanated from her chest an intense light flooded the surounding and created a shockwave that broke walls, shattered windows and proceeded to melt the two Unfeelings trying to attack her into nothing more than a gray mush on the ground as they screeched in agony.
Class changed: Student (Magical Girl)
You have reached Level 1
Max HP and max MP increased
5 skills points available
Unfeelings slayed
Emotionless level 1: 5 points
Ravenous level 2: 10 points
Rin didn''t realised her body had even started to float until she started floating back down once the surge died down. ''''I-I killed my teacher.'''' Rin said in horror as she stare at the mush that used to be a human being.
[He became an Unfeeling, there was nothing you could have done to save him. Killing him was a mercy. Even if it was your awakening that did it and technically not you.]
Rin looked around confused. ''''Lupin? Where are you?'''' She restrained herself from shrieking as the fox appeared in front of her with only a flash of light as a warning.
[As your Familiar I have now fused with your soul. I''ll stay inside most of the time but you can call on me anytime you want.Tought you should be warned that I don''t have any reliable fighting capabilities. So my help will be mostly limited to support.]
Rin slowly nodded, make sense she had never seen the Familiar of a Magical Girl actually fight. She looked down at herself and gasped at the frilly pink dress she was wearing. She could also feel that her body had changed in some way. Hesitantly she patted down her crotch and her suspicions were confirmed when she felt that it was completely flat. A normal boy would probably freak out at losing their manhood. But Rin could only feel pure relief.
Rin realised that she had an observer watching her checking herself out and flushed in embarassment, Lupin for his part remained silent and held no judgement. ''''...S-so what I am doing now? Should I go kill the Unfeelings?'''' She might be a Magical Girls now, but taking on an Emergence on her own on her first day sounded pretty daunting.
[No I wouldn''t recommend that. You may have the power to slay them now, but you are still a complete newbie. Normally a Magical Girl would be acompanied by veterant Magical Girls during her first Emergence. And you were not supposed to become a Magical Girl this early. But the Emergence and your imminent death forced my hand. Your priority should be to find a shelter and wait out the Emergence.]
It made her feel both relieved and guilty that she wasn''t expected to help the people that needed it right now. ''''B-but I''m a Magical Girl right? I shouldn''t let people die if I can help it.''''
[If you feel that strongly about fighting on your first day I recommend at least waiting until the other Magical Girls arrive as backup. As your Familiar I cannot decide what decision to take for you, but I would rather not our partnership end this soon.]
Rin sighed but relented. ''''I suppose it would be dumb to ignore the advices of my own Familiar.''''
She started walking down the stairs and into the hallway leading to the basement. As she approached the stairs however she couldn''t help but feel a sense of unease. She was hesitant to continue and Lupin next words seemed to agree with her.
[I can feel an Unfeeling downstair. I wanted to avoid any combat if possible, but it look like it might be unavoidable.]
''''H-how do I use magic attacks?'''' Rin asked nervously.
[You don''t have access to any magical spells right now. So I suppose it''s about time I explain about the points and summoning system. As you might have noticed you gained points when your awakening killed those two Unfeelings earlier. Your awakening also automatically allocated you 100 points. So right now you have 115 points in total. We can use those points to summon any kind of weapons and support items crafted by the Awakened.]
''''R-right I did see Magical Girls being able to teleport objects on the field in videos and streams online. So how do I summon something?'''' Rin asked somewhat eagerly.
[You can leave the summoning part to me. All you have to do is tell me what you want and I''ll bring it to you with the points you accumulated.]
''''I see, so I assume we should be summoning some type of weapon to deal with the Unfeelings and maybe some armor?'''' She said toughtfully.
[Yes you''ll need some weapons and while there are armors in the Awakened catalogues. It is pretty much useless for Magical Girls. Your Astral Shift will arleady be way more effective than any armors you could buy with the points you have.]
''''What''s the point of being able to buy armors if they''re useless to Magical Girls?'''' Rin asked confused.
[They''re Mostly for Mystical Hunters, or in case Magical Girls want to protect civilians and regular soldiers more easily. And before you ask I''ll explain what Mystical Hunters are another time, for now we should focus on the task at hand.]
Rin closed her mouth before she could even ask her question and pouted slightly for being read so easily. ''''Alright so what kind of weapons should I get?''''
[I would recommend getting a close range weapon and a long range weapon. As a newbie keeping your distance from the Unfeelings might be the best solution right now. But we don''t want to be completely unprepared if one manage to sneak in close.]
''''Yeah that might be a good idea. Hmm, for the short range maybe a one hand sword? I want to be able both weapons in case I need to. As for long range...well the first thing that come to mind is a gun.''''
[I''m not sure I like the potential controversy of a Magical Girl running around a school while carrying a gun. Maybe we should consider using a bow or even a crossbow instead. It would give much less of a problematic image.] Lupin said with a somewhat nervous tone.
''''Really? Is now really the time to be worried about my image?'''' Rin asked somewhat incredulously.
[Public perception is very much an important part of being a Magical Girl. For various reasons that would take too long to explain right now. But if you really wish to wield a gun, I suppose the controversy around Magical Girls wielding modern weaponry has somewhat died down with the third generation of Magical Girls. So what type of guns would you like?]
''''Just a regular pistol that can deal with the aliens.'''' Rin replied.
[Alright an enchanted broadword and an enchanted glock 17 These two weapons together will cost you about 24 points and if we spend 1 more points we can get four extra ammo magazines for your enchanted gun.]
Rin nodded, ''''Do it.''''
Earth''s Weapons of War Catalogue (Common): 0 points
Attuned Broadword: 10 points
Attuned Glock 17: 14 Points
Extra 9mm Ammo: 1 Point
Suddenly a glowing summoning circle appeared in front of Rin and two boxes appear at her feet. Bending down she opened the bigger one first and smiled as she took the one handed sword in her hands. She gave it an experimental swing and was shocked at how light it felt. Seeming to understand her toughts Lupin started explaining.
[As a Magical Girl you have enchanced physical capabilities. This sword would be much heavier in your regular form.] Lupin said from inside her mind.
Rin nodded and put down the sword on the ground before opening the second box. And saw a black pistol that she carefully took in her hand. She never expected to get a gun much less at the age of twelve. But it seem like life''s rules were different when you became a Magical Girl.
She took the sword back in her other hand and also tried to carry the four extra ammo magazines and realised she had nowhere to put them. ''''Um...''''
Seeing her predicament Lupin came to the rescue. [You can put away your weapons and ammo inside your soul gem until you need them. Just think of putting them away and they should get stored.]
Rin did just that and look in wonder as the sword and gun vanished and got sucked inside the ring around her finger. She tried summoning only the glock and smiled triumphantly as it appeared in her hand.
She nodded satisfied and then her expression turned serious as she glared down the stairs. ''''Let''s get this show on the road.''''
Chapter 3: Mercy
''''A lot of people ask me why I made my identity public when so many Magical Girls try to keep their Magical Girl identity and civilians identity separated. The answer for me is that I really do not have a life outside of being a Magical Girl. I have no family and no friends outside of my Magical Girl colleagues.''''
''''So to me having a secret identity would be a wasted effort, in my opinion. But I understand why so many girls decided to keep their identity secret. It can be exhausting to always be recognised by everyone you see in public and I had to deal with more than a few annoying trespasers and stalkers at my own home.''''
''''There is also the fact that I really don''t give a shit if the News media try to smear my name by digging into my personaly life. I''m here to destroy some alien bitches. I couldn''t care less what people think of me.''''
Interview with Lucy Meres, also known as fifth ranked Magical Girl, High Noon. -2047
She had always found the stairs to the school''s basement creepy. But now descending them knowing that an Unfeeling was waiting at the end of it made the feeling expand tenfold.
[Uh oh.] Rin stop as she heard the worried tone of Lupin.
''''What''s wrong?'''' She asked worriedly.
[There''s two more Unfeelings downstair since the last time I checked.]
Rin eyes widened. ''''W-what?! How did that happen?'''' She whispered harshly.
[I suspect the Unfeeling I felt earlier got it''s hands on some victims to drain and they in turned became Unfeelings too. I''m sorry about this but there''s a real possibility you might have to kill the Unfeelings of your fellow students.]
Rin hands shook as the implication fully hit her. Sure it''s not like she had any actual friends at this school. And most of them had treat her like the school freak. But she didn''t know if she could handle killing her own classmates. Even if they were now nothing more than some soulless zombies.
[You might be able to avoid them without having to slay them yourself. After all Emotionless are pretty slow and dumb. But in the end even if you don''t kill them yourself someone else will have to do it either way. We can''t let any Unfeelings roam around freely.]
She nodded shakily and took her resolve in hands before continuing deeper downstair. Finally she arrived at the end of the stairs and saw...an empty hallway.
For some reason she had expected to be attacked as soon as she arrived in the basement but it seem like the Unfeelings were deeper in. She started advancing as silently as she could. But right as she was about to round a corner Lupine spoke up.
[The Unfeelings are right around here.]
Rin took a deep breath and peaked over the wall. Just as Lupin had predicted there were two Emotionless shambling around the door and moaning uselessly. Rin realised with a start that the two of them were part of the group that had attacked Lupin earlier in the day. The ringleader of the group however was nowhere to be seen.
They were a bunch of bullies and she hated them after what they did to Lupin and after they beat her up. But they didn''t deserve this fate. She wouldn''t wish turning into an Unfeeling to her worst enemy. She didn''t want to kill them but seeing them like this with their eyes devoid of any inteligence made her realise that putting them down would be a mercy.
Taking a breath to calm her nerve she raised her gun and took aim to the head of the Emotionless on the right.
BLAM! BLAM!
The first shot only grazed his ear but the second bullet hit straight between the eyes and the Emotionless crumpled on the ground as the eery purple glow left it''s eyes.
The second Emotionless turned around at the sound of gunfire and growl lowly as it shambled toward her.
Rin raise her gun again and shot the undead right in the heart, killing it instantly. She relaxed her shoulder as the two undead turned to ash before her eyes. But then her eyes widen in horror when she heard an angry growl from down the tunnel entrance and saw another Ravenous running straight toward her.
In a panic she raised her gun and fire again and again. Most of the shot missed in her panicked state but a few bullets managed to hit the beast, just not enough to slow it down as it slammed it''s weight against Rin and pinned her down to the ground.
This time Rin raised up her arms protectively above her neck as the beast tried to bite down. She winced as the Ravenous bit her arm but to her surprise it hurt nowhere near as much as she expected. She raised her other hand and aimed her pistol against the canine''s head.
*Click* *Click*
Her heart sunk as she realised her gun was empty. She had no time to reload with the beast about to tear her skin.
[Your sword, use you sword!] The voice of Lupin urged her.
The gun disappeared inside her ring and she summoned her sword in her hand and stabbed the Ravenous right in the stomach. The monstrous canine yelped in pain and recoiled finally letting Rin''s arm free from it''s bite. She managed to kick off the Ravenous off of her and swung her sword at it decapitating the beast in the process.
Unfeelings Slayed!
Emotionless x2: 10 points
Ravenous: 10 points
Total Points: 110
Rin stood on her knee and gasp for air at the whole ordeal. She glance down her arm and was surprise to see only a small cut from the bite.
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[Your Astral Shift help to strenghten your body to make it more powerful and endurable than that of a regular human. If you had been in your normal form you might have had lost your arm from that bite.]
Rin shuddered at that tought but nodded thankful for the explanation and the protection this form bought her.
''''Should I enter the shelter as a Magical Girl or as myself?'''' Rin questioned now that the way foward was completely clear.
[You are always yourself whether you are in your civilian form or as a Magical Girl. But to answer your question it would probably be wiser to enter as a civilian. Since you just contracted I fear you may not be able to stay in your Astral Form for more than a hour at a time. And it will take much more than that before you can leave the safety of the shelter. Secondly if people learn there is a Magical Girl arleady in town they may make unreasonable requests out of you. Such as asking to make you look for their lost family members even tought you don''t have the experience to help them in this crisis.]
Rin nodded slowly, she didn''t like the fact she may be leaving innocent people to their fate. But she knew that even as a Magical Girl there were limits to what she realistically could do. Especially with no experience.
''''So...how do I turn back?'''' She asked warily.
[You probably have been feeling the flare of power ever since you awoke as a Magical Girl. Try to pin down that power and supress it. That should turn you back into a regular human.]
Rin closed her eyes and picture the well of power she had felt just as Lupin said. She pictured it as a multicolored flame in her heart. She pictured the flame getting smaller and smaller. And somehow with just that it worked. She felt the gentle buzz of power receiding inside herself.
When he opened his eyes he wasn''t magical or a girl anymore. He was a bit disappointed about the latter. He had kind of hoped the transformation into a girl would have been permanent at least. But no such luck.
Oh well, he couldn''t be too disappointed, after all he was now the Magical Girl he always dreamed of being. Even if his awakening was slightly more...traumatic than he had hoped.
Rin walked through the tunnel a bit on edge. Despite Lupin reassurance that all the Unfeelings here had been dealt with. He still half expected for one to jump up at him from the darkness of the tunnel.
As he went deeper however he saw a red light illuminating the tunnel and as he arrived in front of the Emergence Shelter his heart sunk. There was a glowing red barrier in front of the reinforced door.
He ran up top it and slam his fist against the magic shield. But he arleady knew it was useless. The emergency shield had been activated and it wouldn''t go down until the Guardian''s Board of Command gave the all clear. He was stuck outside...
Officer Remi day had started wondering the same thing he had ever since he took this job as the school security guard. ''''Why did I accept this boring ass job?''''
Really what was the point of a security guard watching a school. Everyday he just watched a bunch of tweens coming and leaving the school with nothing noteworthy happening. He did spot a few cases of bullying from time to time that he reported to the principal. But apart from that his job is just spent wathing students and teachers going on the same routine over and over again like some sort of twisted groundhog day.
At least that''s how it was until today. Then they received the alarm that an Unfeeling Emergence was happening and suddenly he was well over his head.
His orders were clear in this situation. Only activate the energy shield once every teachers and students are accounted for. The reinforced door was supposed to be solid enough to handle any low level Unfeelings until then.
When they made a headcount later they discovered that three students and a teacher were missing. However many students assured him that all four of them had been killed by the Unfeelings.
He checked the cameras to be sure and saw that the teacher and two third graders had been turned into some sort of fucked up zombies with glowing eyes. The third kid was just a first grader. His body was collapsed on the ground and showed no sign of being alive.
Then by some miracle the kid woke up before any Unfeeling could spot him as an easy meal. But it was too late, the Ravenous once it was done draining the teacher set off on the kids at lightning speed.
The kid tried running away but there was no escaping the canine Unfeeling. Officer Remi could only watch in horror as the monster tore the throat out of the poor kid. Not being able to handle it anymore he closed that screen before emptying his launch in the trash bin.
Once he had recovered from his episode he returned to watch the security cameras. He tensed up when he saw that a Ravenous had came in front of the shelter trying to break the door. It should have been solid enough to keep it out of the shelter. But with every slam and slashes he could hear the door rattling and he grew more and more nervous.
It was early for activating the shield but with everyone either accounted for or dead at this point. He saw no point in delaying it any further. He activate the shield making the Ravenous yelp in pain as it was pushed it out of the way, much to the officer satisfaction.
Five minutes later he would come to regret that decision. He heard the sound of gunshots coming from the surveillance camera audio in front of the shelter door. He checked the camera but it seem like whatever was happening was in one of the school''s blind spots. But it sounded like it was happening right in the hallway leading to the shelter.
He saw the Ravenous finally leaving their door and ran toward whoever or whatever was making that sound. A few more gunshots ranged and then silence...
Then out of nowhere the same kid he had seen getting his throat get ripped out step in front of the shelter door. His only sign of injury being a small cut on his arm. ''''What the actual fuck?'''' Remi muttered in complete disbelief.
He couldn''t believe it, how was the kid fucking alive? His heart sunk when he saw the kid trying desperately to slam his hands against the energy shield to no avail. ''''I''m so fucking fired.'''' He felt guilty as soon as he muttered the words. He just had condemn a kid to death and all he can think about is his worthless job?
Then on one of the camera he spot another Unfeeling. This one would almost look humanoid if it wasn''t for it''s dull gray fur and the pair of massive claws coming from it''s hands. It was coming straight toward where the kid was and Officer Remi could only brace himself to the horror of seeing the same kid die twice.
The kid turned around seeming having heard the uncoming threat. But to his surprise instead of seeing fear on the kid''s face he could only see grim determination. The clawed Unfeeling came into view and suddenly Remi''s world turned upside down as the kid stared at the monster in front of him and started glowing like a miniature sun.
The boy had suddenly been replaced by a young girl with the same brown hair but it had grown to go down to her shoulders. She was wearing a frilly pink dress and wearing a small pink hair band.
She charged toward the Unfeeling ducking under it''s claws as it tried swiping at her and suddenly a sword materalized in her hand. She proceeded to slash the at the clawed monster without mercy cutting the creature in half before it disolved into ash.
The Magical Girl, because what else could it be? Stop in her track and seem to talk to empty air. Her shoulder sagged for a second but then she squared herself up and frowned in determination before moving away from the shelter.
Officer Remi sagged and sunk down his chair. Now things made more sense but were completely ludicrious at the same time. The fact the kid turned into a Magical Girl explain how he had survived his injury. There were many tales about girls surviving injuries that no humans should have been able to live throught by contracting in their death kneel. But at the same time...
''''Boys can''t learn magic, that''s impossible.'''' And yet everything he had seen pointed to the contrary. He really felt like he needed a drink right now, too bad there were none to be found.
Chapter 4: One Girl Army
Hell hath no furry like a woman scorned. And God help any fool who has earned the scorn of a woman with magic.
A quote from Steven Ares, General of the Mystic Hunters. -2039
[Since this shelter is closed off. We''ll have to make our way to the town''s central shelter. I''m sorry Rin.]
These were the words Lupin told her after she was done dealing with that weird freaky clawed monster. She had nearly broke down once she realised her fight for survival had just begun. But she wouldn''t give up, she had hoped all her life to be a Magical Girl and she wouldn''t accept dying on her first day on the job.
[By the way, you transformed right in front of a security camera back there. I erased the footage as soon as I could but if a security guard witnessed it before I could temper with the evidence there is not much I can do to protect your identity. You need to be more careful about where and when you transform in the future.]
Rin flushed in shame at her lapse in judgement but was surpised about one thing. ''''You can hack technology?''''
[Yes, technically speaking I am a magical construct created by the Awakened. I was made to be a biological AI. While most of my organs are biological. My brain is made out of an advance magiteck computer. Beside advising you on how to best fight the Unfeelings. My other main role is to help you conceal your identity by tempering with any form of human technology. Unfortunately tempering with other minds is prohibited by my programing. Due to the morale and ethic standards of both the Awakened and human civilisations.]
Rin shuddered at the implication that her Familiar could easily mess up with minds if he didn''t have those restriction in place.
[I will keep a lookout for any possible mention of your identity online. But that should not be necessary. Most people should know better than to reveal private information on Magical Girls. Unless they want to face severe legal consequences. For now we should concentrate on getting you to the Central Shelter.]
Rin nodded before summoning her pistol. She took out the empty magazine and disgarded it, letting it fall on the ground carelessly. She replaced her empty magazine with a full one and inserted it with a satisfying click.
She smirked. Now she was ready for action. She did not encounter another Unfeeling on her way out of the school. But once outside she could not help but stop and gawk at how different the town looked.
Buildings had holes everywhere, the park she had just woken up from this morning was on fire. The sky had turned into an eerie purple color that signaled the Reality Usurpation caused by the Unfeelings. In the distance she could see some sort of disgusting giant dome-shaped structure that was pulsing as if it was alive.
[That''s an Unfeeling''s nest. They gather the siphoned magic there to incubate more of their numbers. I would heavily recommend staying away from it. You''re nowhere near ready to deal with one of them on your own. Leave them to the veterant Magical Girls when they come.] Lupin warned with a deadly serious tone in his voice that made Rin heed his warning.
Rin looked around for sign of dangers but for now the streets seemed empty and so she cautiously made her way toward the centre of town. However the peace wouldn''t last for long. In the distance she heard what sounded like metallic clangs that repeated over and over again in a rythmic manner.
She pressed her back against the wall of a ruined house and peaked over the corner. She saw what looked like some sort of knight. However the shape of it''s head was elongated and definetly not human-like. It looked more like some sort of weird lizard in armor.
[That''s an Honorless. They''re not very powerful and they are slow. But their armor can shrug off the vast majority of physical attacks including bullets. You''ll either need to learn some magic or buy some sort of weapon that can deal with heavy armors if you want to get through it.]
''''Can I actually learn any spells right now?'''' Rin asked eagerly. She was a Magical Girl after all, and magical girls were supposed to have magic.
[You''ve reached level 2 and have ten unspent skill points. It should be enough to learn your first signature spell. Assuming you would not rather spend those points boosting your stats. If you want to spend those points you should open your skill menu.]
Rin wondered how she should do that but just thinking about a skill menu seemed to be enough for it to pop up on her heads up display.
Strenght 10, <0>
Endurance 11, <0>
inteligence 20, <0>
Wisdom 14, <0>
Agility 18, <0>
Dexterity 12, <0>
Learn Signature Spell: Time''s Breath, cost: 6 points
[Interesting, very interesting. If your signature spell is anything to go by. It seem like your speciality is time manipulation. That could end up being very powerful if you can learn to use it correctly. But I don''t think learning your signature spell will help with this specific enemy. You might have to buy a weapon that pierce armor. Or maybe a magical weapon, that could work too.]
''''Oh I know! What about a sniper that shoot magic beams!'''' She didn''t even know if that was possible but that would be really badass.
[...That could work, however that might make it harder to market your image as a Magical Girl if you focus too much on guns.] Lupin said with the voice of a father telling a child they couldn''t have more candies.
''''Is image really that important? I mean I get that Magical Girl are in the spotlight often, but at the end of the day dealing with the Unfeelings is what''s important, right?'''' She said while crossing her arms.
[Believe it or not your image is an extremely important part of being a Magical Girl, some ignore it completely and only focus on killing the Unfeelings. But I wouldn''t recommend that as it would easily cut the amounts of point and experience you can earn by at least half.]
''''That much?'''' Rin replied with surprise.
[Magical Girls role are to protect people and give them hope. And that second part of the role is not just superficial morale boosting. If a human city or town fall in despair it will act like a beacon to the Unfeeling hordes and dramatically increase the risk of a Reality Usurpation. That''s why when the Awakened gave magic to humanity they encouraged their chosens to embrace the Magical Girl aesthetic and tropes. The power of young girls saving the day in frilly dresses cannot be understated against an enemy that are lured by negative feelings.]
''''So we''re saving humanity with cuteness?'''' Rin replied incredulously.
[In simple terms, yes. And it is surprisingly effective.] Lupin replied somewhat amused.
Rin shook her head. She had never tought her geeking out over Magical Girls was helping against the Unfeelings, but apparently it was. What a weird world they lived in.
Rin shook her head. ''''Maybe I''ll think about my image later. But for now I just want to survive this mess I''m in.''''
[...Very well. An anti-material magic rifle would cost around 30 points to buy. Is this acceptable?] Lupin asked somewaht reluctantly.
Rin nodded with a wicked grin on her face. ''''Oh yeah that sound badass. Gimme, gimme.''''
Anti-material magiteck rifle
Points remaining: 75
The box appeared with a small flash of light and Rin eagerly opened it up and her heart rate pick as she saw the sniper rifle glowing slightly with etheral energy. Picking up the weapon she was surprised how light it felt. She wondered if the weapon was naturally light or if that was a result of her enchanced strenght as a Magical Girl. Maybe a combination of the two.
With the gun in hand she finally step into the street. The movement caused the armored lizard to snap to attention and it let out a high pitch thrill as it started advancing toward her. Each of it step making a heavy clanging sound.
Rin took aim at the advancing Honorless once she was satisfied with her accuracy press on the trigger. At first nothing happened and she tought the gun might be broken. Before she could complain at Lupin for a refund, the magic rifle whirred to life with a hum of raw power.
Then with a deafening roar that almost sounded like the screeching of a beast. A beam of red light shot out of the rifle and hit the undead knight straight in the chest. The armor melted from the raw heat and power produced by the beam and the Honorless hissed in pain.
[Dodge!] Was Lupin only warning as the Hornorless took it''s massive sword and hurled it toward Rin. She jumped out of the way but screamed in pain as the sword still grazed her arm and left a huge nasty cut. The sword fell on the ground behind her with a earth shattering thud. She was certain that if she hadn''t moved, she would have been cut in half by the blade.
She took aim again, but the pain of the cut she had substained messed with her aim and she missed her shot. The Honorless was rapidly bridging the distance between them and she knew that if she missed her next shot it would be right on her.
Trying to ignore the pain in her arm she aimed toward it''s head and let out another beam of concentrated magic. The Honorless screetched as the magic laser hit it''s mark and literally melted it''s face off. The heavily armored lizard fell down on the ground with a huge crash before disolving into dust.
Unfeeling Slayed!
Honorless: 15 points
[We should take care of that arm before we go any further. Do I have permision to buy the required healing items?] Lupin asked from within her mind.
Rin nodded absemindely while taking her breath. ''''Do it.''''
Blood Coagulation Booster: 3 points
Accelerated Healing Stimpack: 3 points
Points Remaining: 84
Under Lupin instruction she opened the blood coagulation booster first. It was a small phial of liquid. She tried her best to no gag at the fool taste as she drank it. Next she took the stimpack and pressed it against her arm before pressing the trigger she flinched in pain as a needle penetrated her injured arm. But immediatly afterward she sighed in relief as she felt a cooling sensation that made the pain vanish.
She could only stare in awe as the wound on her arm was visibly closing itself off from the advanced alien medication.
[It''s been an hour since the Emergence started. The other Magical Girls are still two hours away. If you intend to help them we should try to reach the shelter quickly so you can rest up before the true fight can begin.]
Rin nodded before making her new magic sniper disappear in her soul gem and continue to walk toward the centre of town. It was kind of creepy how calm everything was. If she wanted to be honest she had expected a much bigger resistance than this once she was outside.
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But from what she knew of the Unfeelings, this was pretty standard. The first few hours mostly has scouting monsters running around to kill and absorb easy preys. It wouldn''t be until later that the real Unfeelings forces would come to play and bring real carnage. To be honest a part of her just wanted to hide in the shelter when that happened.
But she knew she would feel guilty if she didn''t at least try to fight back when she finally had the power to do so.
[We''re arriving to the central shelter. However I''m detecting heavy Unfeeling activity ahead. I think we''re going to have to fight if we want to reach the shelter.] Lupin said grimly in her head.
Rin gulped but steeled herself. She was a Magical Girl now, she wouldn''t let a few alien freak stop her from reaching her goal.
[I would recommend spending your skill points before we start the fight. I don''t think we can afford being conservative with our ressources with the resistance ahead.]
Rin frowned but nodded in understanding. She wasn''t sure what she should spend her point on. After a few minutes of indecision she decided to spend three points in perception and one in strenght since she was mostly focusing on ranged combat for now. With the six remaining points she decided to buy the Time Breath spell, curious to see what it could do.
''''Open spell menu.'''' Rin said right before a new window pop up with a more detailed explanation of her new spell.
Time''s Breath Incantation: Hold your breath.
Spell effect: Allow the user to stop the flow of time for as long as they''re not breathing. Once the user start breathing again the flow of time will return. Once time resume a cooldown of five minutes will apply before the spell can be recasted.
''''Wow, that sound insane. I can just stop time? I knew Magical Girls could do some incredible things. But now I almost feel sorry at how unfair this is for the Unfeelings.'''' Rin said with a chuckle.
Before she could marvel any longer at her new spell she heard the scream of what sounded like a woman coming from a small house down the street. Rin took off running in the direction of the scream and saw that the door of the house had been torned to shred.
She ran inside and was greeted with a living room in complete chaos. The couch was completely shred, the stuffing was all over the floor. The TV had ben cut in half and was sparkling dangerously with electricity. In the middle of the room stood the familiar figure of a clawed Unfeeling. A Merciless if she remembered correctly.
Curled up in fear under it was a woman with gray hair. She looked old enough to be a grandmother and was wearing a pair of thick glasses. The Merciless raised it''s claw ready to finish off it''s prey.
Rin gasp in horror and held her breath. She was confused at first when everything suddenly turned gray and the monster stop in it''s track. That was until she remembered the spell she had just bought and realised what just happened. She had stop time!
Not wasting more time she summoned her sword and charged at the clawed alien. But when she swung the blade at it she was met with a loud, clang! And the sword bounced off it''s target. She tried again and was met with the same result. As if the monster had turned into an unbreakable rock.
Was that an effect of stopping time? The spell might not have been as broken as she first tought...But maybe she could still use this to her advantage if she acted quickly. She was running out of oxygen fast so she switched weapon quickly and brought out her glock.
She backed away from the Unfeeling and aimed at the beast and fired. The bullet travel for about a meter before it turned gray and stood still like everything else. She took aim again and fired again, again and again until she emptied half of her magazine.
Finally not able to hold her breath anymore she gasped for air and time resumed. Immediatly the Merciless was bombarded with the bullets and was torned to shred. She heard the woman screamed again. Before the creature dissipated.
She walked toward the poor old woman still laying on the ground and gave her a hand to help her stand back up.
The old lady looked at Rin with a baffled but grateful expression. ''''What are you still doing out there young lady? You should have found a shelter!''''
Rin shrugged in response. ''''It''s kind of a long story, but I can handle myself, I''m a Magical Girl. You shouldn''t be out there either ma''am. I was making my way to the Central Shelter, do you want to come too?''''
''''You''re a Magical Girl? But you look so young! I really don''t like that those aliens benefactors enroll such young kids into their war.'''' She said with a dissaproving frown that made her feel kind of nervous. But Rin understood her disapproval wasn''t aimed directly at her.
''''So why didn''t you make you way to the shelter ma''am?'''' Rin asked trying to change the subject.
''''Call me Alicia dear. As for why I didn''t run, well I don''t have any of those fancy augmentations kids these day put into their brains. So I didn''t received any warnings until the freaks were right on my door.'''' The old lady replied with a scowl.
Ah that would explain it, it was pretty rare for people to not have any augs nowaday. ''''Well better late than never. We can make our way there if you follow me.'''' Rin said with more confidence than she felt.
Alicia sighed. ''''I feel shameful for letting such a young girl like you protect me. But it''s not like I have much of a choice, being a frail old lady. I''ll do my best to not get in your way.''''
She took Alicia hand and guided her tought the still eerily silent streets. It was only a few minutes later that the looming structure of the Town Hall appeared in front of them. She could see a bunch of Emotionless and Ravenous roaming around the perimeter. But more importantly she saw a massive hulking figure. It looked like some sort of giant hairless gray ape about the size of a bear. It''s muscle rippled with pure strenght with every movements it made.
[That''s bad, the Unfeeling you see is called a Rageless. Out of the Unfeelings you can encounter during the first hour of an Emergence this is easily one of the worst you could get. We need to get rid of it. It''s proximity to the shelter could pause a danger for the civilians.]
''''How am I supposed to get rid of that?'''' Rin replied her face somewhat pale as she hid from the sight of the Unfeelings.
[Your Time''s Breath will be ready in two more minutes. You should wait until then. Meanwhile we should probably consider going on a small shopping spree. Time''s Breath seem to work best with ranged weapon so you could consider using a bow or a crossbow. And as loathed as I am to recommend it, an automatic gun could also serve you well.]
''''You really want me to get a bow huh? But no offense but I don''t see how a bow could be more effective than a gun.'''' Rin said while corssing her arm.
''''Who are you talking to young lady?'''' Alicia asked making Rin flinche in surprise. She had almost forgot she was right behind her, She looked at Rin clearly concerned for her sanity.
''''O-oh I''m talking to my Familiar, it''s a Magical Girl thing.'''' Rin replied her face flushed with embarassment. Alicia nodded but was clearly still worried about her.
[When you''re surrounded by people or enemies you can simply talk to me in your mind. People will probably start asking questions if they see you talking to empty air constantly.]
Rin rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. ''R-right, now that I think about it you responded to a lot of my questions before I could vocalise them.''
[Exactly, as for why I heavily recommend a bow. Well there''s two reasons. One, since the use of bows are obsolete in mundane wars it won''t tarnish your innocent Magical Girl image like using guns will. Secondly while you are right that for normal people guns are much more effective. In the hands of a Magical Girl bows are much more versatile and are much more compatible with magic than mundane firearms are. I suppose for now at your low level, guns are still more effective. But once you gain a better control of your magic bows will outclass firearms everytime.]
''Huh...Maybe I will invest into bows later on then. But for now I think I''ll stick to guns until this Emergence is finally over.'' Rin replied in her mind.
[...Very well, what type of weapon would you like?]
''Mmh, well to deal with the Emotionless and Ravenous I think I want a one handed machine gun. With so many enemies to deal with I don''t think I''ll be able to completely avoid melee combat. So I want a small but quick-firing gun that will keep my options opened.''
[Hmm, how about a Uzi then? I could also get a few extra magazines. That would cost about 18 points in total.]
''That sound perfect. But I''ll need something way bigger to deal with that Rageless. I was thinking to blow it to kingdom come. So how about a RPG?''
To Rin''s amusement she could hear Lupin sputtering in her mind at her suggestion. [You make my job as your PR manager so hard you know that?] Rin rolled her eyes and snickered. [But very well, however RPG are extremely slow to reload and I don''t think a single rocket will be enough to deal with that beast. I recommend buying three or four arleady loaded RPG that you can fire in quick succession. However this will cost 15 points for every RPG so it could get pretty expensive.]
''As you said earlier we can''t afford to be conservative right? So let''s buy four of them and make sure that thing is dead.''
[Very well.] Lupin replied somewhat reluctantly.
Attuned Uzi: 15 points
Uzi extra magazines x4: 3 points
Attuned Rocket Propelled Grenade x3: 60 points
16 points remaining
She winced at how how low her point count had become. But It wasn''t the time to regret her choise. Four boxes appeared in front of her. She could hear Alicia gasped as she opened them all and revealed the weapons inside. Rin stored all of them in her soul gem. And let out a deep breath as she took a peak at the horde of Unfeelings she was going to face.
[Your Time''s Breath is ready to use whenever you want.] Lupin stated.
She nodded grimly before materializing her magic sniper in her hands and took aim at one of the wandering Ravenous.
She pull the trigger. The gun let out a screech as it let out a blast of concentrated magic and the Ravenous howled in agony as it entire body melted from the beam as it hit it.
The shot had clearly caught the attention of all the Unfeelings. The Emotionless started slowly shambling toward her. But more pressing was the three remaining Ravenous sprinting at her on all four.
She held her breath and timed froze. She pushed the trigger and let out another shot. However much to her shock and dismay the shot of magic did not stop in time like the bullets from earlier did. And when it hit one of the Ravenous body it dissipated uselessly without doing any damages.
So magic wasn''t affected by the time''s paralyzis. ''That would have been good to know before.'' She said in her mind wrily. But Lupin did not responded which kind of felt unsettling. Had time stop for him too?
She had no time to ponder on the question she switched her sniper for the Uzi and started shooting toward the frozen Ravenous. She spreaded the shots evenly between all three until her magazine was empty.
Her lungs burn for oxygen at this point but she needed more time. Disgarding her uzi she summoned her RPG and took aim at the hulking monster that had been frozen midair during his run toward her.
She pressed on the trigger and was instantly knocked flat on her bum from the recoil. She gasped involutarily and time resumed. The three Ravenous yelped in agony as they were each pelted with bullets and died from the assault.
Meanwhile the rocket she had shot hit the Rageless straight in the chest and exploded. For a moment she almost hoped the beast was dead but it soon bursted out from the smoke and looked completely unphased.
Rin quickly summoned another RPG And fired. This time she was ready for the recoil. But it still messed up with her aim. She didn''t manage to get a direct hit this time but the rocket exploded right at the feet of the Rageless still damaging it from the explosion and shrapnel. But that was nowhere near enough to slow it down.
Rin held her breath. To her shock despite the cooldown being nowhere close to be over the flow of time was still affected. It did not stop like earlier but everything moved much slower. The Rageless was advancing toward her at a tenth of it''s earlier speed.
However she felt an insane headache assaulting her brain. And it took everything in her willpower to not not collapse then and there.
She summoned the third RPG and fired it at the oncoming giant gorilla. The rocket did not stop like earlier but it slowly flew toward it''s target at the pace of a snail. Finally she bough the last rocket launcher and took careful aim before pulling the trigger.
She could feel her lungs burning for air again. But before resuming time to normal she took out her uzi and reloaded it and spray the bullets toward the shambling zombies in the distance.
Finally she took a breath. the zombies were riddle with holes and their body scattered into ashes. The giant approaching gorilla was greeted with a twin explosions and screeched in agony.
To her horror even after all that. The giant beast emerged from the smoke like a vengeful creature of death.
[Rin, get away!] Lupin yelled in a panic.
But it was too late the beast was arleady upon her and it swat Rin like some sort of annoying mosquito. Rin screamed as her body was sent flying like a rag doll.
Her body hurled throught the wall of a house destroying it completely. Rin landed on top of a wooden table that proceeded to collapse from the impact.
[Rin! Rin! Are you alright?!] Lupin asked with panic evident in his voice.
Rin could only respond with a painful groan. It felt like her entire body was bruised. She just wanted to sleep and never wake up.
Alicia screamed, Rin''s heart turned to ice at the sound. Rin tried to lift herself and screamed in pain as she collapsed back on the ground. ''''I-I have to save her.''''
[Rin! You''re lucky to be alive! You shouldn''t even move right now!]
''''I can''t...abandon Alicia.'''' It took everything to not lose consciousness right there. Her body was screaming in pain even in places she didn''t even know existed until then. She shambled outside the wreckage of the house with only her determination keeping her awake.
The Rageless was advancing toward Alicia. The old woman had her back against a wall as she stared at the giant beast in terror.
Rin grit her teeth and summoned her sword. She took off running, her movements were painfully wobbly and unrefined. But she still managed to reach the Rageless before it could kill Alicia.
She jumped on the back on the gorilla and screamed in pure anger as she plunged in her sword in it''s skull.
Rin was sent tumbling on the ground as the Rageless fell down on it''s knee and she yelped in agony as her bruised body hit the ground. But as she saw Alicia scared and worried expression her rage made her ignore the pain as she stood back up retreiving her sword from the skull of the beast and slashed at the neck of the massive Unfeeling. Screaming with all the hatred in her body.
The head of the Rageless became separated from it''s body and it tumbled on the ground before it''s entire body disolved into dust.
Rin was left breathing swallowly. Her rage was finally spent and she had no energy left to substain her damaged and broken body. With a flash of light Rin turned back into a regular boy in front of the shocked eyes of Alicia. His sword clattered on the ground before he collapsed and felt his vision go dark...
Chapter 5: Identity Secret and Identity Acceptance
According to most Magical Girls census that we have available. There is an abnormally high proportion of Magical Girls who end up being in homosexual relationships. We don''t know the reason and can only theorize on why that might be.
Some think the reason is simply because Magical Girls are constantly surrounded by fellow girls and so same sex relationship end up being the most common ones to form. Others think the Awakened specifically seek out lesbians because of Heart Sync, the ability to share magic and abilities. Which is a rather intimate process that most straight girls would be relunctant to go through.
The most popular theory however is that the hardship of being perceived as queer raise the magical potential of girls. But if that''s the case shouldn''t transgender individuals also have high potential? And yet the Awakened doesn''t seem to make any contracts with them. We only have rumors of trans Magical Girls even existing...
From ''The Link Between Magic and Homosexuality.'' article from Olivia Clementine -2055
People always assumed that old people are judgemental and bigoted. That was a fact that Alicia unfortunately had to deal with, even with her close family. When her grandson came out as gay to her, he had all but expected for her to cut ties with him.
But Alicia had been born in a time of great change where the fight for human rights had reached it''s peak. And then she had lived throught the first Unfeeling Emergence, which would be quickly followed by the first contact between the Awakened and human civilisation, which would lead to the era of Magical Girls.
She had seen a lot of things in her life and her policy had always been to respect people for who they were and keep out of their businesses as long as they hurt nobody.
Despite all this however. She had to admit she was shocked when the girl who had saved her life against the Unfeelings had turned out to be a boy. She had always heard only girls could learn magic.
But her shock was short lived, she had more pressing issue to deal with than a boy that could change into a girl at will. Rin was completely bruised and battered and she was worried how swallow his breathing was.
Alicia took the boy in her arm and hoisted him on her shoulder. He groaned in pain from the movement. ''''Sorry dearie.'''' She muttered softly.
She was thankful that the boy was so light. At her age she didn''t have the strenght she used to have. She looked around warily for any signs of Unfeelings. But it look like Rin had dealt with all the ones that were close enough to be a threat.
She made her way inside the Town Hall and sighed in relief as she saw the entrance of the Shelter without a energy shield to block their path. She made her way in front of the door and press the button.
She waited anxiously in front of the door for what felt like an eternity. She could see the camera beside the door and was wondering if the person observing her would decide to leave them to their fate. Finally tension left her body as she heard an hiss and the door slid open...
When he woke up Rin wanted nothing more than to go back to the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. He groaned as his bruise and battered body stab him with agony with every little movements.
[You''re finally awake.]
Rin was startled at the unexpected voice. He opened his eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling and grew confused. Then everything came back to his mind. Right he had made a contract to become a Magical Girl and fought his way to the Central Shelter. He had almost tought he would wake up back on that bench in the park, realising it was all a dream.
''''Is this the shelter?'''' He asked, the last thing he remembered was killing the Rageless right before it could kill Alicia. After that he couldn''t remember anything.
[Yes, you fell unconscious after your fight. Alicia carried your unconscious body to the shelter. You should know that she has seen your civilian appearance after you collapsed.]
Rin felt his heart freeze in his chest at Lupin''s words. She probably tought he was a freak, a boy that could turn into a girl. What is she spreaded his secret to everyone?
[I don''t think you have to worry about that. She was surprised about your appearance but I did not detect any ill will against you after she learned of your gender. As for protecting your identity I doubt it will come to that but if she try to spread it around I can limit the reach of the knowledge by hacking the internet for any mentions of your identity. My influence is more limited when it come from word of mount. But I will try to ensure that the spread of your identity is as limited as possible.]
Rin wasn''t completely reassured but at least it was something. So he nodded in appreciation.
[But moving on. I think you should know that Magical Girls have arrived in town while you were asleep and have begun the assault to retake Alagia. However they have yet to make contact with this shelter.]
Rin eyes widened at that and tried standing up but cried out as pain assaulted her.
[You are in no state to help them at this moment. You have to recuperate much more than this. If you want I can buy some skin regenerative gel. It will accelerate the healing of your bruises.]
Rin nodded slowly. ''''Buy it.''''
Skin Regenration Magically Infused Gel: 3 Points
88 points remaining
A small box appeared on the foot of her bed and she opened. Inside was a small bottle with some faintly glowing pink gel inside.
[Apply the gel all over your body. Don''t stop spreading it until the bottle is completely empty.]
Following his instruction he spreaded the gel as evenly as possible across his body. He had to remove all his clothes except his underwear to be able to spread it properly and he really hope no one would come to check on him as he did this.
The gel made his body cold and bought instant relief to his aching skin. He could arleady see his swelling red skin turning a lighter shade once he was done putting all of the gel on his body. He waited a few minutes for the gel to get absorb into his skin before putting his clothes back on.
A few minutes later he heard a knock on the door. The door opened and a woman in her thirties walked in. She was wearing a police uniform. Which made Rin feel like he was in trouble. Had they learned about his identity? Would he get in trouble for killing Unfeelings without any proper training?
The woman put on a polite smile. ''''You''re awake. We were worried about you after what Alicia told us.''''
His heart sunk into his stomach. Had Alicia reported on him? He knew he hadn''t known the old lady for long. But he couldn''t help but feel the sting of betrayal for outing him like this.
''''W-what did she tell you?'''' Rin asked with trepidation.
The police officer looked at him strangely. ''''She told us you found her unconscious in her home and help her sneak your way to this shelter. I must say I''m impressed you managed to avoid detection from the Unfeelings for so long.''''
Rin felt relief, Alicia hadn''t betrayed him she had covered for him.
[I knew we had nothing to worry about her. My instinct about people are usually accurate.] Lupin said somewhat smugly within her mind. Rin resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
''''If you don''t mind we would like to interview you. We have lost contact with the school''s shelter. And would like to know more about the situation there.'''' She looked at him expectantly. Rin gulped and nodded. ''''So first thing first can you explain why you are here and not in your school''s shelter?'''' Her tone was not accusatory but it made him flinch anyway.
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''''Um well, when the Emergence started some sort of weird giant egg dropped from the ceiling and I was knocked out when it came apart and a part of it hit my head. W-when I awoke a Ravenous was draining my homeroom teacher. I-I couldn''t save him and he turned into a E-Emotionless.''''
The police woman looked sympathetic but was still looking at him expectantly to continue.
He was a bit at a loss on how to continue the story without revealing the fact he was a Magical Girl. He tought of telling her he had just snuck away. But even to him that sounded farfetched.
Then he gained an idea, if he couldn''t explain how he survived without the power of a Magical Girl maybe he didn''t need to.
''''The Ravenous soon turned to me and I tried to escape up the stair. But it was too quick and it pinned me down. Just when I tought I was going to die a Magical Girl appeared and killed both the Ravenous and the Emotionless of my teacher. I-I think the Magical Girl was one of the strudent of our school. She looked like she had only contracted today.''''
The Police officer had her eyebrow raised at his words and he dearly hoped she would buy his story. To his relief she nodded. ''''She might have had a Emergency Contract. Which might explain why we didn''t know there was a Magical Girl in town. So what happened with her? Why wasn''t she with you?''''
''''H-hum, well after she saved me we made our way to the basement where the shelter is. They were two other Emotionless there and she quickly took them out. But the sound she made managed to attract the attention of a Ravenous that was trying to enter inside the shelter. And she took care of that one too. B-but when we made our way to the shelter, the emergency shield had been activated.''''
At that the woman''s expression grew darker. ''''They activate the shield from just a Ravenous? What a bunch of moron! There''s no way a simple Ravenous could threaten the integrity of a shelter''s door. Those shields are supposed to only be used in case of three stars or above threat. A single Ravenous barely count as a one star threat.'''' She said while gritting her teeth.
Seeing his nervous look she managed to calm down. ''''Sorry about that, we''ll have words with whatever asshat was in charged of the security. Please continue.''''
''''W-well after that the Magical Girl helped me find my way to this shelter. That''s when we found Alicia c-collapse in her home. There were a lot of Unfeelings blocking the way to the Town Hall. T-the Magical Girl told us she would take care of them while we snuck to the shelter. But we were detected by a large monkey thing and I was hit. T-the Magical Girl managed to decapitate the Unfeeling with her sword and I lost concsiousness afterward. And then after that I think Alicia managed to carry me here.''''
The police officer frowned and seemed to be deep in tought as Rin nervousely fidgeted with his hands. Finally she nodded. ''''I think that will be all. Thank you for sharing your story.''''
With that the police woman left the room closing the door behind her. Rin let out a sigh of relief as he let himself relax on the bed.
[That was a bit risky, telling her we were helped by a Magical Girl. Under normal circumstances it wouldn''t take much to read between the lines and understand that the Magical Girl was you. Thankfully with how humans are ignorant to the fact that transgender girls can be Magical Girls. They will assume it couldn''t possibly be you.]
Rin nodded and felt himself relax, safe in the knowledge that his secret was safe.
Jenna came back from her interview with the young boy. And entered the security office. She was instantly greeted by her two male coworkers.
''''So how did it go?'''' Mark, the man manning the security cameras asked not taking his eyes off the surveillance screens. Which depicted the torned landscape cause by the Unfeeling Emergence.
''''...I think you''re probably say I''m crazy. But I think our new guest is a Magical Girl.''''
Both men stop what they were doing and turned to look at her as if she had grown a second head. Then Steven who had been busy looking at his tablet was the first to speak. ''''You know the kid is a boy right? Magical Girls have to be girls, it''s kind of in the name.''''
Jenna let out a huff as she look back at them unamused. ''''I know that, however he told me he was saved by a ''Magical Girl'' right before he was about to die from an Unfeeling. He also told me that he tought the girl was a student of his school.''''
At that Mark cocked his head. ''''But before we lost contact with the school they reported that out of the four people who were missing from the shelter all of them were males.''''
Jenna nodded. ''''Exactly, I don''t think the kid even realise his slip up when he told the story. he probably didn''t think we had that information.''''
''''Even if that''s true, we were always told boys cannot learn magic the same way girls do. Even if the kids life was in danger the Awakened shouldn''t have been able to break the rules of magic.'''' Steven argued with a frown.
''''Unless...'''' Mark said with a pensive look.
''''What is it?'''' Jenna asked curiously.
''''Well there''s been rumors for a few years now that a boy from Japan and a boy from France both turned into Magical Girls. It was later revealed that both of them were transgender girls and that''s how they could contract. However most people dismissed this as an urban legend and wishful thinking from the LGBTQ community. With how tightly both governments and Familiars protect the identity of their Magical Girls there isn''t much information on how true or fake those rumors are.''''
Jenna sat up straighter at that. ''''So you think the kid might be trans?''''
Mark shrugged. ''''It''s a possibility, but it''s not like we can force them to come out of the closet just to confirm our suspicion.''''
Jenna slumped before nodding, understanding that her coworker was right but still hitching to learn more.
''''So what do we do? Do we confront the kid that we suspect he- or she? Could be a Magical Girl? Maybe we could enlist her to check on the other shelter that went silent.'''' Steven asked scratching his chin pensively.
Mark shook his head. ''''For now we let the kid rest an recuperate. Let the veterant Magical Girls handle that. Even if we''re right and the kid is a Magical Girl. We can''t ask a rookie on their first day to go risk their life even further than they arleady did.''''
''''What do we do when another Magical Girl come check the shelter? Should we tell them we suspect we have a Magical Girl with us?'''' Jenna asked curiously.
''''No, let the kid decide for themselves. If they want to reveal themselves to the Magical Girls that''s their business. We have protocol as police officers to not divulge the identity of Magical Girls even to other Magical Girls. So unless you want to be put in jail once this Emergence is done with, just pretend the kid is a regular civilian.'''' Jenna and Steven looked at each other uneasily at his words but both nodded in understanding. No amount of curiosity was worth going to jail...
Rin couldn''t help but look at his arms in wonderment. The bruises were almost completely gone arleady after only half an hour. Awakened medecine was no joke.
He startled out of his observation when he heard another knock at the door. ''''Come in.'''' He said softly. Tensing up slightly as he expected to see the police officer to have come back with more questions.
His tension left him when he saw the familiar face of Alicia instead. She smiled when she saw him awake. ''''You look so much better arleady.'''' She said with a relieved smile.
Rin chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. ''''You can thank my access to alien medecine for that.'''' Then freeze as he realised he just causally mentioned his abilities as a Magical Girl.
Alicia only smiled in response. ''''I wanted to thank you for saving me. And maybe you could come with me to the cafeteria. You must be starving after everything that happened today.''''
As if to answer her his stomach started grumbling and he blushed as Alicia started chuckling in amusement. ''''I guess eating wouldn''t be a bad idea.'''' Rin replied weakly.
Alicia was about to step out but then stop as she seemed to think of something. ''''By the way, what pronouns should I use?''''
Rin stop like in a deer in the headlight at her question. ''''H-huh?''''
''''I don''t want to asume anything but since you can turn into a girl I tought you might not be comfortable with male pronouns. Or maybe it''s the other way around and you would prefer to be referred as he/him even in your Magical Girl form?''''
Rin fidgeted and couldn''t get his mouth to work. Alicia seemed to catch this and sent him a sympathetic smile. ''''J-just use the pronouns you think are r-right.'''' Rin muttered not daring to look in her eyes.
He flinched slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw the gentle look Alicia was giving him. ''''You should use the pronouns that make you the most comfortable and happy. Don''t let other people decide your identity for you.''''
Rin winced and looked away ashamed. ''''I-I can only call myself a girl when I''m transformed. I don''t have the r-right to call myself a girl when I look like this.''''
Alicia frowned and shook her head. ''''Says who? I will sucker punch anyone who dare tell you, you can only be treat as a girl when your biology match your gender. If you want to be a girl then you''re a girl, even outside of your Magical Girl form.''''
At this point Rin was shaking with barely restrained tears. ''''B-but.''''
''''No but, you''re a girl young lady and a really pretty one at that.'''' Alicia said with a smile before embracing Rin in a hug.
Rin started hiccuping silently before she leaned into the hug and started sobbing. They stayed in the embrace for what felt like forever. Eventually Rin broke the hug. ''''I-I really want to be treat like a girl all the time. But I feel like I don''t deserve it, like it would be a lie and a disrespect toward real girls to say I deserve to be treated like a girl too.''''
Alicia sighed with a sad knowing look. ''''Impostor syndrom. It''s an unfortunately common feeling for many transgender people I''ve met. But no matter what you brain trick you into thinking, you deserve to be happy with who you are Rin.'''' Rin stayed silent unsure how to respond to that.
''''So, do you want me to use she/her pronouns?'''' Alicia asked gently once it was clear the girl wouldn''t speak.
Rin hesitated but finally she nervously nodded. ''''Y-yeah I would like that, I-I think.''''
Alicia with an encouraging smile. Then Rin''s stomach growled again and she hid her face in the palm of her hands. The old woman chuckled.
''''With all of that we forgot why I came here in the first place. Let''s go eat young lady.'''' Alicia said with a smile.
Rin felt something warm in her chest. It wasn''t the first time Alicia had called her a young lady. But it felt different when she said it in her true form. She wasn''t hiding behind a mask anymore and Alicia still saw her as a girl. It bought Rin more joy than she expected from such simple words.
She took Alicia''s hand and the two of them left the room behind in search of food.
Chapter 6: Reality Restoration
''''Emergences come in all size and threat level. Generally speaking the bigger a town and city is the more dangerous the Emergence end up being. That''s why we don''t end up sending a lot of Magical Girls to small towns Emergence. They''re usually small enough for one or two experienced Magical Girls to deal on their own.''''
''''However while most people think the threat of an Emergence end once the Reality Usurpation is gone. That couldn''t be further from the truth.''''
''''After an Emergence has happened it may take weeks or even months to get rid of all the Unfeelings that escaped the initial assault. And if we''re not careful new Zone Ursurpations may appear and lure unuspecting shmucks in it''s labyrinth, never to be seen again...''''
An interview with second ranked Magical Girl, Winter Song. -2029
By the time they had arrived at the cafeteria everyone has had their lunch more than a hour ago. So Rin was left with the reheated leftovers. Despite this she was so hungry that it felt like a five star meal as she devoured her plate like a Ravenous.
''''My goodness I didn''t think you were that hungry. Do you want more?'''' Alicia asked and despite how embarassed she was about her rude display, Rin nodded. Her stomach still protesting with hunger.
[You''ve just become a Magical Girl. Not only that but you had a good amount of magic arleady drained before I could contract with you. It''s only natural that your body is demanding more energy. As a Magical Girl you''ll need to get used to eating a lot more than you used to. Magic burn calories like nothing else.] Lupin stated within her mind.
Once she was done with her second plate of spagheti. Rin decided to go back to her room. She considered going outside and join the other Magical Girls in the fight. But she was struggling to find a way to go out without outing herself to the rest of the shelter. And if she wanted to be honest she didn''t feel like she had completely recovered from her earlier fight with the Rageless.
As she exited the cafeteria she saw that a crowd of people were huddled around a screen. She saw a flash of yellow on the screen and realized it was a magic arrow fired by a Magical Girl. They were watching the Magical Girls fighting the Unfeelings outside.
She slowly approached to see what was happening but froze when she caught the eye of a familiar woman who was watching the screen with a blank look while holding a glass of wine in her hand. It was Tressa, her mother.
She tried slowly back away, but unfortunately the movement caught her mom''s attention and she narrowed her eyes when she saw Rin.
''''So you survived.'''' Her mom said with a neutral tone.
''''H-hi mom.'''' Rin replied quietly.
''''Tch, you should have died out there, you tranny freak.'''' She said before turning back to the television while clenching her fist.
Before she could do anything else Alicia walked up to her mother with rapid angry steps. And to Rin''s shock and horror the old woman slapped her mom with a resounding smack. Making everyone turn around to stare at the scene.
''''That''s no way to treat your daughter! You heartless witch! She could have died today, don''t you care about your kid?!'''' Rin felt both happy to be called a daughter, but equally horrified to see how angry the words made her mom.
''''I don''t have a daughter. I just had a freak of a son who liked to play dress up! But he''s not mine anymore, he will never be welcomed back in my home again! I''ve given him too many chances to finally kick off his crossdressing and Magical Girls obsession. I''m not dealing with him anymore!''''
Alicia clenched her first. The only reason why she managed to not hit her again is because the woman walked away as soon as she finished delivering her speech. Alicia turned around and her heart clenched at the look Rin had in her eyes.
It wasn''t a look of shock or sadness. But a look of resignation as if she had expected this outcome but had hoped otherwise. How could someone who call themselves a mother treat their child this way?
She looked back at the crowd who were still gawking from the spectacle. Alicia frowned. ''''The show is over!'''' She said while glaring at them. The people had the good sense to turn around and pretend they hadn''t heard the drama, least they suffered the wrath of the old woman.
Alicia took took Rin by the shoulder and guided the poor unresponsive girl back to her room. After laying Rin in her bed Alicia left and closed the door behind her. She felt a tightness in her throat as she heard Rin finally letting go and started sobbing on the other side of the door.
She was tempted to go back in and give the poor girl a hug. But she knew she probably wanted to be alone right now and so she left to go back to the public living room where she watched listessly as the Magical Girls turned Unfeelings into dust with extreme prejudice...
Rin hadn''t intended to fall back asleep and felt guilty for wasting so much time sleeping when other Magical Girls were still fighting outside. ''''How long was I asleep? Did I skip the whole Emergence?''''
[You slept for another two hours. The Magical Girls have cleared most of the town. They''re getting ready to destroy the Unfeeling nest and get this Emergence over with.]
''''I have to help them!'''' Rin shouted lifting herself up from the bed.
[They have this handled Rin. A rookie on her first day wouldn''t do much to change the tide of the battle...but if you''re still insistant on helping them you should at least get ready and reload your weapons properly. Once the nest is bursted a massive wave of Unfeeling will come crawling out in retalitation and you won''t have much time to waste shopping.]
At Lupin''s suggestion Rin transformed and started using her points to refill her RPG by buying four rockets and buy more ammo for her submachine gun.
Rocket Propelled Grenade Ammo x4, 8 Points
Uzi Extra Ammo x4: 1 point
Points Remaining: 79
Rin could have and probably should have spent more. But she felt like this would be enough for now. She didn''t want to make her point go down as much as it had earlier. You never know when she could need those points for something more urgent. She had heard horror stories about Magical Girls losing an arm or a leg and not having enough points to save it.
''''All right...now how am I supposed to get out without anyone noticing there''s a Magical Girl in the shelter?''''
[...You could always use your Time''s Breath spell. It should allow you to bypass everyone without being noticed.]
Rin smacked her face. Why didn''t she think of that earlier? She opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Before she arrived in the living room she inhaled and stop breathing. The world turned gray-scaled and she started walking with a purpose.
The people were frozen in time still watching the veterant Magical Girls dealing with the Unfeelings in town. It looked like they had gathered around the fleshy dome she had seen when she had step out of the school.
Rin reached the exit of the shelter. She tried pressing the button but realised that with time stopped there was no one that could open the door. She had wanted to leave completely unnoticed but it looked like that wasn''t impossible. She hoped the security guards wouldn''t give her too much trouble to convince them to let her go. Rin exhaled and time resumed.
Back in the security office a small alert rang from the surveillance terminal. Mark raised an eyebrow as he saw a young girl in a pink frilly dress suddenly appear out of nowhere and pressed the buton on the door''s terminal to be let out.
''''Look like our little Magical Girl is anxious for some action.'''' Mark stated offhandely. The other two officers rushed to him and stared at the young Magical Girl in something akin to awe.
''''So I was right, that boy is a Magical Girl.'''' Jenna said with a triumphant look.
''''And apparently he''s transgender too just as you suspected Mark. A few hours ago there was an argument with the apparent mother of the boy-er girl? Apparently the mother disowned her for ''crossdressing'' at home.'''' Steven said his lip curled down.
Jenna smile dimmed down at that news. ''''That''s horrible, we''re lucky the girl is still willing to fight for us after facing such an injustice.''''
''''So do we let her out? We''re not supposed to let any civilians out of the shelter until the Emergence is over.'''' Steven said.
Mark shook his head and sighed. ''''She''s not a civilian, she''s a Magical Girl. Legally speaking she outrank all of us. So if she want to get out, there''s not much we can do as her subordinates.''''
''''A middle school first grader is higher in rank than us? Sometime I forget how messed up the Magical Girl system is.'''' Steven said with a frown.
''''Messed up or not, we can''t disobey our superiors.'''' And with a sigh he pulled the lever to open the door. With a hiss the door slid open and the young Magical Girl step outside with a resolute expression on her face...
As she step outside the shelter and the reinforced door closed behind her Rin could feel a faint buzzing sensation permeating her body. She didn''t know why her body felt this way. But she instinctively knew that whatever it was she felt, it was powerful.
[You''re feeling the residues of the magic left behind by the fights of the other Magical Girls. This is how powerful magic feel to someone attuned to it.] Lupin helpfully explained.
Rin gulped, now that she could feel how powerful their magic was she tought maybe Lupin had a point. What could she possibly do to help them if their difference in power was so great?
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
[It''s a bit too late to turn back now. Just go see them and do as you''re told and you should be fine. Most Magical Girls are happy to guide new girls.]
Rin nodded nervously and made her way toward where she had seen the Unfeeling nest. She could feel the hum of magic getting stronger and stronger the more she approached.
Finally the fleshy disgusting dome-like structure she had seen earlier in the day came into view. And standing in front of it was a group of two Magical Girls. Rin nervously hid behind a wall to observe them as they seemed to be discussing strategy.
[What are you doing Rin? You came here to help them, why are you hiding from them?] Lupin asked in a confused tone.
But there was no way she could just go there and just offer her service. They seemed so strong. What could a complete noob like her offer them? She knew coming here was a bad idea. But she had wanted to be able to help and now-
''''Whoever is hiding back there come out! Otherwise I''m going to assume you''re an Unfeeling and blow you up!'''' A girl with fiery red hair yelled in Rin''s direction.
''''Moruga! It could just be a scared civilian seeking help!'''' Another girl with a yellow dress and brown hair tied in a ponytail hair scolded her.
''''If they''re civilians they shouldn''t be scared to approach us. I don''t want to have an Unfeeling stab us in the back.'''' Moruga replied with a scowl.
Rin gulped nervously at the prospect of revealing herself. But she decided she would rather not risk the prospect of being blown up by the feisty Magical Girl.
So she step out from behind the wall and tried to not fidget too much as the two girls stared at her with varying looks of surprise. Both of them looked like teenagers. But Rin knew that appearance could be deceiving when it came to Magical Girls. Even the ones who had contracted thirty years ago looked no older than eighteen.
''''A Magical Girl?!'''' The one in the yellow dressed exclaimed incredulously.
''''And a really new one at that. She still has the starting outfit.'''' Moruga said with an amused smirk.
''Starting outfit?'' Rin tought confused.
[Ah yes, the dress you''re wearing is a standard beginner outfit that most Magical Girls start with. You can change your outfit to your liking later. But I was waiting for the Usurpation to be over to broach the subject. I did not think I should worry you too much about image and branding during a crisis.]
Rin mentally scoffed at his words. ''And yet you''ve argued against me buying guns multiple times because of ''branding''.
[...Touch¨¦.]
Rin was now standing right in front of the two much more experienced Magical Girls and was trying to not shrink too much from their attention.
The one in the yellow dress smiled gently down at Rin. ''''Hello there, we didn''t expect to get any reinforcement. I assume this is your town? Then you''re welcome to help us retake it.''''
''''Really? Do we really have to babysit the new girl? She''ll probably slow us down.'''' Moruga said, putting both hands behind her head with an annoyed look. Rin winced at her words. She knew she wasn''t exactly wrong, but it hurt to be told so bluntly.
''''Moruga! That''s no way to treat a fellow Magical Girl. Beside guiding new girls is part of our duty and will give us a good quest reward.'''' She turned back to Rin and smiled apologetically. ''''Sorry about her, she''s never been much of a team player except when it come to me. I''m Pomelo and this is Moruga. Do you have a Magical Girl name yet?''''
Rin tried to think quickly. She could just say she had no name yet. But that didn''t sit well with her after they took the time to introduced themselves to her. But what name could she take? It had to do with something with her powers, or maybe her appearance. Some Magical Girls even named themselves based on their Familiar.
Well her main ability was to stop time. Maybe Magical Girl Stop Watch? Nah too boring and on the nose, she wanted something related to time but not be too obvious about it. Wait that''s it! ''''I''m M-Millenium! Magical Girl Millennium!''''
[...Normally I would be against choosing a name on such a whim. But that''s actually a pretty good alias.]
Pomelo smiled at her in approval while Moruga smirked in amusement. ''''Alright then Millie.'''' Rin spluttered at the immediate nickname from Moruga. ''''Here''s the plan, I''m going to burst open that nest like the disgusting egg it''s trying to pretend to be. Once I do that a bunch of Unfeelings will come out to play. Me and Pomelo can handle all of them on our own. But since you''re here you can assist us taking down the small fries. Just don''t be a dumbass and put yourself in danger. I would rather not waste time having to save your ass when I could be crushing some alien freaks instead.''''
Pomelo rolled her eyes at her partner. ''''Moruga is as tactless as ever. But she has a point. Please don''t charge at the enemies unless we tell you to. If you have a ranged weapon it would be better for you to stay back and just attack the Unfeelings from behind us while we deal with the bulk of them.''''
Rin nodded. Most of her weapons were ranged weapons anyway. She only tend to use her sword when the enemies had come too close to her.
Moruga slammed both of her fist together with a grin. ''''Alright let''s get this show on the road then!'''' Without warning a giant hammer materialized in Moruga''s hands. It was bright red and was bigger than Rin''s entire body. Moruga was holding it like it was a simple toy. Just how strong could Magical Girls be?
''''Alright Pomelo give me a boost!'''' Moruga yelled out.
Pomelo raised her hand and closed her eyes before a magic circle started glowing underneath her feet. ''''Auctus Saltus!''''
Moruga''s body started glowing with a yellow sheen. Then she tensed her legs and leap. Rin yelped as the resulting jump created a shock wave that nearly sent her tumbling to the ground.
Rin looked up and her eyes widened in shock as Moruga was now easily above five hundred meters in the air. When she was above the Unfeeling nest. Her hammer started glowing red and she yelled. ''''Igneus Meteorum!''''
Moruga''s hammer was engulfed in flames. As she fell down toward the nest like a heavy rock she swung her hammer and the sky was set ablaze. Rin could feel the heat all the way down where she was standing from the impact.
The Unfeeling nest bursted like a ripe fruit and she could see a copious amount of smoke coming out from the hole where Moruga had fallen in.
A voice suddenly came to life in the walkie talkie that Rin hadn''t even noticed Pomelo was carrying. ''''Alright! I killed the Queenless and I think I burned at least half of those fuckers. But the rest of them are coming your way, get ready!''''
Just as she finished speaking they saw dozens of Unfeelings bursting throught from the fleshy walls of the nest. Rin had almost expected them to be angry to have their nest attacked but they looked just as blank and emotionless as ever which was almost worse.
Pretty much all the Unfeelings she had encountered on her way to the shelter were there. Ravenous, Merciless, Honorless and much to her horror there were three Rageless charging at them. The only one missing were Emotionless, which made sense since Emotionless were made from drained humans and as far as she knew, they couldn''t be spawned in Unfeelings nests.
Pomelo expression twisted into a determined frown and suddenly a giant bow appeared in her hands. She pulled the string of the bow which confused Rin at first because she had not put an arrow in it. But then a bolt of yellow magic in the form of an arrow appeared in her bow.
To Rin''s confusin instead of aiming at the advancing Unfeelings she aimed straight up at the sky. ''''Pluvia Sagittae!'''' Pomello yelled and the arrow suddenly tripled in size before she let go of the string and sent the arrow of magic fly into the sky.
Once it was a hundred meter high. The arrow exploded and Rin could only watched in awe as hundred of magic bolts rained from the skies and skewered the advancing Unfeeling horde. Most of the Ravenous and merciless were instantly killed and the Honorless and Rageless staggered as they were pelted by dozens of magic arrows.
''Remind me to never diss bows again.'' Rin tought with her mouth wide opened.
[Noted] Lupin''s voice sounded incredibly smug, which she might have been annoyed with if she wasn''t so busy gawking.
However she snapped out of her awe once she saw that the Honorless and Rageless had resumed their charge. She didn''t know what she could do against the Rageless, it had been incredibly hard to kill just one even after pelting it with explosive rockets. But the Honorless she could probably handle.
''''I''l take care of the Honorless!'''' Rin said before summing her anti material magic rifle. Pomelo seemed surprised at her choice of weapons but quickly got over it and nodded before pulling on the string of her bow and producing another magic arrow. ''''Penetrabilior offa!'''' The arrow was covered in a glowing white sheen before Pomelo released the string.
The arrow hit the closest Rageless and the arrow sliced throught it chest like butter. It collapsed on the ground and turned to dust.
Rin couldn''t believe the older Magical Girl had dealt with one of those monsters in a single shot. But that was what separated rookies like her to veterants.
Rin focused on her own fight and aimed her sniper at one of the knights who was slowly advancing toward them with it''s sword raised in the air. She pulled the trigger and the rifle whirred to life before spatting out a beam of magic right in the Honorless chest melting throught most of it''s armor. But that wasn''t enough to put the Unfeeling down as it continued to advance toward her without even stopping.
It was frustrating how hard to take down these damn knights were. But she would still rather deal with them than the Rageless. She aimed toward the chest again and pulled the trigger. This time the laser of magic tore throught the rest of it''s chest and came out on the other side. The Honorless collapsed on the ground and turned into dust.
Her magic rifle started beeping and she could see smoke rising from it. She took aim at another Honorless and repeated the process. This time she tried to aim for the head but she missed the first shot much to her frustration and managed to finish it off with her second shot. However there still two Honorless left.
Her rifle was getting really hot and she could see a lot of smoke coming out from it. But she tried to ignore it and pulled the trigger on another Knight. To her shock her gun beeped in dissaproval and refused to shoot again.
[Your sniper need to cool down before you can use it again.] Lupin said simply with her mind.
Rin cursed, the Honorless were getting closer. Pomelo had dealt with a second Rageless. But the third one had come too close and she had summoned a spear to fight it more directly. One of the Honorless was charging toward older Magical Girl. And Rin was afraid she would be caught offguard by it.
She took a breath and held it in. Time froze around her as the world turned gray. Rin put her magic sniper back inside her soul gem and summoned an RPG. It hadn''t been as effective as she had hoped against the Rageless. But hopefully it would be more effective against the Honorless.
She pulled the trigger and almost fell down the ground again. But this time she managed to still hold her breath at least. She disgarded the RPG by throwing it in the air. It sailed for about a meter before turning gray and hanging in midair.
She summoned a second rocket launcher and aimed at the last Honorless. Two rockets might have been enough. But she wanted to make sure to kill them. And so she summoned her two last Rocket launchers and repeated the process once again.
Once she was done she exhaled. Time resumed and the two Unfeeling knights were blasted with twin explosions each.
Unfortunately the sudden sound of explosion was enough to distract Pomello from her fight with the Rageless and the giant ape took that opening to brutally punch the Magical Girl. Rin cried out in fear and concern as the older girl was sent crashing against a tree so hard that the tree splintered and fell down from the impact.
Rin gulped in horror as the Rageless turned it''s blank eyes toward her. And started running at her at full speed. Rin ran away and summoned her uzi. She reload the gun and started shooting at the advancing Unfeeling while continuing to run.
Unfortunately the bullets weren''t penetrating the hard skin of the beast hard enough and it was barely doing more damage than the stings of a wasp to the giant monster. What''s worse was that the Rageless was gaining ground despite it''s large size and she wouldn''t be able to escape it for long.
Rin was honestly scared to face another one of those things. But she wasn''t willing to go down without a fight. And so she dismissed her submachine gun and summoned her sword before taking a fighting stance. If she was going to die here she was going to take that thing down with her.
To her immense relief before it could come down to that. She heard someone yelling and Rin felt hope as she saw Moruga charging toward the beast from behind.
She jumped in the sky and slammed down her hammer right on it''s skull. The Rageless fell down on the ground completely stunned. Rin seeing the opportunity charged at the monstrous ape and stabbed it right in the eye. It roared in pain before going slack and turning into dust.
Unfeelings Slayed!
Honorless x4: 40 points
Rageless: 15 points
Total points: 134
Rin let herself fall on the grass and let out a breath of pure relief. Moruga grinned down at her and gave her a thumbs up. ''''You did a good job for a newbie!''''
Looking around she saw that the nest had completely burned down since their assault had begun and there was no other Unfeelings in sight.
The sky seemed to flash for a few seconds and the purple mist that had covered the sky since the start of the Emergence finally dissipated leaving an open blue sky and fluffy clouds in it''s wake. It was finally over...
Chapter 7: A New Start
The autonomy of a Magical Girl is very much a legal gray area. Legaly speaking they become emancipated as soon as they contracted. However most Magical Girls contract as teenagers or even younger. So a lot of them are not ready for the responsibility that come with adulthood.
How do you deal with a child that has more authority than the majority of adults? That can be a very tricky question and one that can lead to many psychological development problems.
But trying to treat Magical Girls who are forced to fight in a thankless neverending war like a bunch of children could also be just as harmful. In the end it doesn''t seem like there is a good answer on how to deal with Magical Girls and we can only react to their situation on a case to case basis.
The most important thing is to have an honest conversation and listen to what your child need. They might not have the normal childhood you might have hoped for them. But they will still need you to be there for them.
Excerpt from the ''Magical Girls and Parenting'' guidebook. -2042
The rest of the day seemed like a daze to Rin. Right when the sky cleared from the purple mist the first responders and the Canadian Army very quickly entered within the town and secured the perimeter killing the few Unfeelings still in town the Magical Girls have missed with magical guns.
Pomelo had quickly woken up from her daze much to Rin and Moruga''s relief. But the paramedics still insisted on taking her to the hospital for a checkup. After a few grumbles Pomelo aquised and went into the ambulance car with them.
After the the all clear was given the Emergence Shelters were opened. The police made two arrests as soon as the reinforced doors were opened. The first one was the security officer who had activated the magic barrier for what was considered an insignificant threat to the school''s shelter.
The second arrested however shocked Rin a lot more. A woman was escorted in handcuffs out of the Central Shelter. To Rin''s shock the woman was her own mother. She felt herself tense up as she stare at Rin for a second but didn''t react to her appearance.
With a start Rin realised her mom didn''t recognise her because she was still in her Magical Girl form.
She was tempted to detransform and show that it was her and maybe gloated a little bit about the fact that her hobby hadn''t been such a waste of time after all. But with how many civilians there was now outside she couldn''t risk revealing herself for such a petty reason.
So instead she approached one of the police officer and asked. ''''Why is she being arrested?''''
The police turned to her and frowned. ''''This woman was recorded by the security camera in the shelter yelling at her kid about how she didn''t want them back at her house. She''s been charged with child abuse and abandonment.''''
Rin froze at that, so her mom was going to prison because of her? She didn''t know how to feel about this. Her mom never liked her, but a part of her had still hoped they might reconsiliate and she could have returned home. No matter how unlikely that might be. But now she was going to be arrested and she really had no home to return to.
What would happen to her now?
Tears started pooling under her eyes and her she started breathing heavily. She felt her legs started buckling under her. W-why was it so hard to breath suddenly? She vaguely felt something warm pressing against her but she couldn''t managed to aknowledge it. Everything was so blurry.
''''Rin?! Do you hear me?! Rin?!'''' She finally started to hear someone but it felt distant to her ear.
She squinted at the blurry blob that was pressed against her back and squinted until she recognize what or who was talking to her. ''''A-Alicia?'''' Rin croaked her voice hoarse.
Alicia was giving a concerned look her arm wrapped around Rin protectively. ''''Rin are you alright? I think you just had a panic attack.''''
A panic attack? Really? Her situation with her mom was pretty bad. But having a panic attack seemed like an overeaction. She was too weak if it was all it took to make her lose it.
[Rin, there''s no shame about what you''re feeling. Your mom abandoned you and you nearly died twice today. This would shake most adults to their core, nevermind a twelve years old.] Lupin replied, his voice clearly concerned just as much as Alicia.
''''This might have been a bad time to do this. Maybe I should come back another day.'''' A new voice suddenly stated. Rin glance in the direction where the speaker voice and saw a man in a business suit holding a briefcase.
''''N-no I''m alright now, what is it?'''' Rin said barely above a whisper.
Alicia still looked concerned but gave a unsure nod back to the man who cleared his throat. ''''In that case we would like you to return to the Town Hall with us, we have a few things to discuss.'''' The man said in a professional tone.
Rin looked at him and Alicia with clear confusion on her face. Alicia smiled at her gently to ease her concern. ''''It''s nothing bad dearie. But with everything that happened there is a lot we need to discuss about your future. I asked this gentleman to let me act as your guardian since your biological mother is...indisposed. I hope you don''t think I''m overstepping.''''
Rin still felt a bit out of it but she shook her head empathetically at Alicia ''''It''s fine, you''re probably the closest thing I have to a grandma.'''' She felt herself flushed as soon as she said the words. Alicia must think she was weird. They had only met today and here she was treating her like family.
But when she looked at Alicia she looked touched at her words, almost to the point of tears. Which surprised Rin but also made her feel warm inside.
The man in the suit smiled at the scene, but quickly regained his professional neutral look. ''''Now please follow me, we have a lot to discuss.''''
They made their way into the Town Hall but rather than going to the shelter they went upstair and the man opened the door into an office. The room was still in perfect condition. It looked like no Unfeelings had made it this far in the building.
The man in the suit sat behind a desk and motioned to the chairs in front of him. ''''Please take a seat.''''
Rin and Alicia looked at each other before they each took a chair and sat down. ''''Now that we''re here you can turn off your Astral Shift.'''' He said to Rin.
The girl froze and wondered if she should really follow that advice. ''''Huh...''''
The man smiled a bit more genuinely at her nervousness. ''''It''s fine miss Rin Ainsley. Everyone in this room know who you are.''''
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Rin sputtered after the man used her name. ''''H-how?!''''
''''I suppose a proper introduction might be in order.'''' The man said slightly bowing his head. ''''My name is David Timothy. I work for the Canadian government, more specifically I work for the Underage Magical Girls Protection Bureau. The government received a notice that you contracted about six hours ago. Each governments have a database of all the Magical Girls who have been contracted within their jurisdiction. it''s an agreement the U.N. has made with the Awakened.''''
Rin nodded slowly before dropping her Astral Shift form. She felt awkward and exposed revealing her civilian form like this to a stranger. Especially since it made it instantly obvious she wasn''t really a biological female in this form. But she tried to ignore it by continuing the discusion.
''''So if you come from a Magical Girls Protection Bureau then this has to do with what happened with my mom?'''' She asked.
David nodded slowly. ''''At least partially yes. The government would have made contact with you regardless to discuss your new status as a Magical Girl. But the situation with your mother has put this meeting ahead of schedule.''''
Daid opened his suitcase and Rin''s eyes widened as he presented a paper with the words ''adoption forms'' written in red ink. ''''Now miss Rin, or is it mister in this form?''''
''''M-miss please.'''' Rin replied barely above a whisper and the man continued seeming completely unphased.
''''Right, miss Rin, you have a few choices at your disposal here. The first is to be sent to the orphanage, the orphanage building has receive some damaged during the Unfeeling assault. It''s nothing too major but it will take a month for the repairs. So you''ll be living in the local hotel if you decide to go live with them.''''
Rin really didn''t want to go to an orphanage. She was nervous enough sitting in classroom with other kids. She didn''t know how she would handle having to live constantly with a bunch of kids that may make fun of her for being such a weirdo. ''''What''s the other options?''''
''''Well legally speaking miss Rin. You became emancipated as soon as you made a contract to become a Magical Girl. Despite me being technically part of a branch of child protection services. If you decide to go live on your own there''s nothing I could do to stop you. The help I offer you is completely optional.''''
Rin gulped and nodded, the prospect of living alone at the age of twelve was pretty scary. But it was honestly preferable to an orphanage in her mind.
''''Finally there is the third and last option. Miss Alicia here has offered to adopt you and become your legal guardian. Technically speaking this would be a mere formality since you legally have the same rights of an adult. But regardless she has offered to take you under her roof, if you so wish.''''
Rin looked at Alicia and shock and the old woman gave her a gentle but hopeful smile in response. ''''A-are you sure? You don''t even really know me.'''' Rin said trying her best to contain her tears.
''''I know you enough.'''' Alicia replied with complete sincerity. ''''If you would entertain a silly old woman like me. I would be honored to take care of such a bright young girl until you can stand on your own two feet.''''
Rin couldn''t contain it anymore and started sobbing as she pressed herself againt Alicia who proceeded to embrace her and gently pet the top of her head.
Once Rin managed to calm down from the emotional outburst she felt embarassed that the man had been a witness to her embarassing display. But he only smiled warmly. ''''I think I don''t even need to ask with which option you would want to go with.'''' Rin blushed and the two adults laughed good naturely.
Alicia signed her own name on the adoption paper. ''Alicia Taylor'' and just like that Rin was now under the care of the old woman she had saved. And she couldn''t be happier about it.
David cleared his throat and the girl and the woman turned his attention back to him. ''''Now that''s taken care off, we can move to the main subject the government would have wanted talk with you about if those unexpected circumstances hadn''t happened.''''
Rin cocked her head curiously. ''''What is it?''''
''''Well, simply speaking the government wish for you to transfer of school.'''' David said before digging into his suitcase and presenting the brochures of many schools from all over Canada.
''''H-huh? Why?'''' Rin asked confused.
David shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. ''''Alagia Middle School is a decent school for civilians. The problem is that it doesn''t offer any ressources for fledgling Magical Girls. Technically speaking it is your legal right to forgo training entirely. But I would heavily advice against it. Magical Girls who don''t take the school programs to train themselves with professional help have a much higher mortality rate on the field.''''
Rin gulped and she could feel Alicia clenching her hand as if to discourage her of being reckless. ''''Alright, I guess it would be dumb of me to not train properly. But what about Alicia? What was the point of her adopting me if I''m going away?''''
Alicia smiled at that. ''''What make you think I''m not going with you?''''
Rin eyes widened. ''''H-huh? You would move away from your home just for me?''''
Alicia shrugged. ''''My house is basically finished after what those Unfeelings did to it. Even if I didn''t move out of town I would still need to buy a new house with the assurance money I''ll receive from this. And it isn''t like there''s anything that is tying me to this town anymore. My childrens and their family don''t live here anymore. Whether I''m here or in another town they''ll visit me just as regularly.''''
Rin still felt like Alicia was upending her life just for her and felt guilty about it. But she tried to not show it as she smiled at her.
David sighed as he lined up the pamphlet before the two of them. Putting their attention back to him. ''''There is however one issue that we are unfortunately facing when it come to enrolling you into a Middle School that has a Magical Girls program.''''
''''What is it?'''' Rin said trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her chest.
''''All of the schools that accept Magical Girls in Canada are all-girls schools.'''' David replied with a frown.
Alicia looked annoyed. ''''Why is that?''''
David shrugged helplessly. ''''It make sense really. Magical Girls training program can be expensive. And most Magical Girls are only contracted on their third year of middle school. There are much more specialised Magical Girls institutions for high school students. But middle schools are much more limited in scope. And so to maximize the profit from the cost sunk they only admit female students to maximize the chances that some of their students will be contracted on their third year.''''
''''And I''m assuming those schools are not trans inclusive?'''' Alicia asked clenching her jaw.
David shook his head sadly. ''''Unfortunately not, some of it is plain old transphobia. But the main big reason is the belief that trans girls cannot be contracted to become Magical Girls. Which evidently is a false assertion.'''' He said while gesturing to Rin who flushed in embarassment.
''''S-so what do we do? Am I just out of luck?'''' Rin asked in a small fragile voice.
Alicia glared at David as if to urge him to find a solution and fast. David smiled back nervously before coughing politely.
''''Well...How would you feel about legally changing your gender Rin? I can''t promise anything but I think it would be easier to convince a school to let you in if your legal gender was changed to match your identity. That and the fact that you arleady are a Magical Girl should be a good motivation for them to bend the rule.''''
Rin stared at him in surprise. ''''Y-you can change my legal gender, just like that?'''' It was a bit scary, proclaiming loud and clear to the world that she was a girl after all those years in the closet. And yet she wanted nothing more than to do it.
David nodded. ''''As a member of the Underage Magical Girls Protection Bureau. There is a lot I can do legally speaking to assist Magical Girls. Changing your name and gender would be easy. Speaking of, are you fine with keeping the name Rin?''''
Rin nodded, her name was gender neutral so she had no problem keeping it.
David then retreived a piece of paper and her heart caught in her throat. Most of the form had arleady been filled for her with most of her information the same as what she remembered. With one very important difference. Written under her name she saw the words sex: female. It felt so sureal to see her name and the word female put together but it also made her feel really happy.
''''Sign at the bottom and you will offically and legally be recognised as a female in all legal definitions.'''' David said before presenting her a pen.
Without hesitation Rin signed her name on the form. David smiled and took the paper afterward. ''''Congratulation on your gender change.''''
''''So what now?'''' Rin asked as David put all his papers back in his suitcase except for the school pamphlet.
''''Now I''ll go and make some calls to some schools and see which ones would be willing to accept you. I''ll get back to you probably in a few days. Alagia''s middle school will be closed for repair for the remainder of the week. So just relax and take this time to recupperate from your ordeal, you deserve it.''''
With that the man took his suitcase and walked away. Rin let all the tension melt away once he was gone. But then a question surfaced. ''''Where are we going to stay if your house is damaged?''''
Alicia smiled reassuringly. ''''I rented an hotel room, we''re going to stay there until we move to our new home.''''
Rin nodded hesitantly and the two of them sat up. Alicia took all the pamphlet and dumped them in her purse before both of them walked away from the office. It had been a really long day and Rin couldn''t wait to go to sleep...
Chapter 8: The Transfer Student
With the advent of Magic, the Magical Girls genre''s tropes and sensibilities seeped throught every aspects of humanity''s culture. And by extension Japan''s culture became a monolith as the originator of said genre.
Today the customs and culture of Japan can be found everywhere in the world. Especially in places with strong Magical Girls presence. Naming children with Japanese names also became a lot more common. Especially for girls of parents hopeful that their daughters will awaken magical powers.
''''Japan and it''s effect on Magical Girls culture.'''' By Usagi Kaname. -2050
David was on the phone, his expression growing more and more heratic and angry the longer the conversation went. ''''Then take the chance! Weren''t you the one that always strove to break new ground? There''s no newer ground than this!...You gave a second chance to fucking deliquants who robbed and assaulted civilians and law enforcers alike but a trans girl is too much for you to handle?!...Fine then, just walk away you fucking coward!''''
He slammed the phone back down, instantly ending the call and burried his face in his hands with an exhausted groan. He bent down to his cabinet and retreived a bottle of rum and a small empty glass. He poured the rum and swung the glass to his lips before gulping it all down in seconds, the burn of the alcohol going down his throat grounded him a little bit.
He had basically exhausted all the reputable middle schools in the country. He knew this would be an uphill battle but he never expected how alive and well transphobia still was. It was really depressing and it took all his restraints to not make a hole in the wall of his office in frustration.
He only had one last option left. He wouldn''t accept sending Rin to a school with a subpar and undefunded Magical Girl program and education. His pride as social worker wouldn''t allow it. He would rather send the girl to the USA if it came down to it. No matter how much his boss would chew him out for letting a Magical Girl escape the country into the arms of a rival.
The school in question had a well funded program but it was undermanaged. The program had a more hands off approach than most other schools due to the fact that the main instructor also served as the school Magical Nurse. So the students would be left using the ressources given by the school mostly on their own.
But from what he heard the Magical Girls were a close-knit group that helped each other to rise higher in their training. Which was the only reason why he considered the school at all.
Despite this, he wasn''t happy at all that he had to call them. Him and the director of the school had a...tense relationship.
Arleady dreading the interaction ahead he took the phone back up and composed the number. The phone rang and with each successive ring his heart was beating faster.
On the third ring someone finally picked up. ''''Hello Mr. Timothy, I didn''t expect to hear back from you anytime soon.''''
David groaned arleady feeling an headache forming in his head. ''''Believe me I wouldn''t call you if I had a choice.''''
The man on the other side of the call chuckled. ''''There''s only one reason you would call me. You''re desperate.''''
''''Yeah and so are you, so you better not be an ass with this or I''m going to strangle someone.'''' David replied with gritted teeth.
''''True, true, our school is unfortunately low on Magical Girl students and the board is not happy. So what do you have for me? A thief? Someone who pissed the authorities with a spree of vigilantism using excessive force? A rogue Magical Girl?'''' The other man asked clearly still amused.
''''None of those things, however with how the other schools reacted to her situation you would think it''s somehow worse.'''' David replied and wasn''t that just depressing to think about?
''''Oh? Now you got me curious, what is the issue with our new Magical Girl?'''' The Director asked seeming even more interested to learn more.
David braced himself for another rejection as he says the next words. ''''She''s a trans Magical Girl. I personally helped her legally change her gender when I met with her after she helped with Alagia''s Emergence. But that wasn''t enough to satisfy any of the bigwigs at the other schools.''''
The other side of the phone stayed silent for an unbearably long time. And for a moment David was worried the Director had ended the call, but then.
''''...That''s it?'''' The voice of the Director was low and dangerous which was something David had never heard from the normally flippant man and it put him on edge. ''''They refused to enroll a promising new heroine simply because of her assigned gender at birth? What kind of moronics waste of space manage those schools?!''''
David''s opinion of Adrien Kinomoto had raised significantly higher after his rant. Not that he would ever admit it to the man.
''''Well it''s not like your school accept trans students either, as far as I know.'''' David pointed out.
''''Because I believed, like everyone else, that it wasn''t possible for trans girls to be contracted! But now that we have proof of the contrary this change things, significantly.'''' Adrien said with a clear giddiness in his tone.
''''So you''re going to accept her into your school?'''' David asked feeling hope rising in his chest for the first time on this damn day.
''''Provide she can pass our entrance exam, yes absolutely.'''' Adrien replied and David pumped his fist in victory.
''''Alright then I''ll call you back. I have to tell the news to the kid.'''' David tried to not show how giddy he felt. Which he might not quite have managed to do, with how the Director chuckled in response.
''''I''ll see you later then.'''' And with that the call was ended.
David quickly composed a new number and tapped his foot impatiently as the phone started ringing. After what felt like an eternity the phone pick up and the familiar voice of a young kid answered. ''''Hello, Mr. Timothy?''''
''''I have some good news.'''' Davis started with a smile...
Rin couldn''t help but fidget nervously as she advanced toward the looming structure before her. New Hopes Middle School. The second most prestigious school in the mega city of New Qu¨¦bec. Rivaled only by Awakening High School which was an High School tailored specifically for Magical Girls.
New Hopes on the other hand was mostly composed of regular students. But it''s Magical Girls program still made it a school of note for that reason alone.
She entered inside the school and was greeted by the scent of cleaning supplies and perfume. She saw only girls milling around with no boys in sight and tried to not feel like too much of a impostor for even being here.
Rin''s hair had grown significantly in a single week. It was now all the way down to her shoulders. According to Lupin, magic strived to match their host''s body with their subconscious ideal form.
It was one of the big reason why Magical Girls never seemed to age and were always very attractive no matter what. Her body was starting to look slightly more feminine too. But the change in that aspect was limited by the fact that testosterone was still the dominant hormones in her body. Hopefully she would be able to change that, someday soon.
Because of that she was afraid someone would caught on to the fact she was trans. But thankfully no one seemed to give her more than a cursory glance.
However her luck might have run out when she reached the desk and the receptionist looked at her with a raised eyebrow. ''''Hello young man, what are you doing here?''''
Rin winced and looked around to see if anyone had heard her. Thankfully it seemed everyone was too occupied to care. ''''I-I''m here to take the entrance exam.''''
The receptionist eyes widen in recognition. ''''Ah, you''re Rin Ainsley right? Sorry about that, I didn''t think you would wear clothes like that.''''
Rin winced again and glanced down. Admittedly the red shirt and the shorts she was wearing didn''t do a really good job of communicating her preferred gender. ''''I-I didn''t have the time to change my wardrobe yet.''''
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
''''That''s fine you''ll be wearing the school uniform while you''re here anyway. It''s a female uniform, obviously. I''m assuming you''re alright with that?" The receptionist asked with a quirked eyebrow.
Rin cheeks flushed at the question but nodded in confirmation.
''''Alright then follow me, I''ll guide you to where you''re taking your test.'''' The receptionist stepped out from behind her desk and motioned for Rin to follow her.
Thankfully by the time they were done talking the school bell had rung and the hallway of the school had emptied as the students went to their classes. So there was no one to gawk at the ''boy'' walking around an all-girls school.
The receptionist guided her to small room called the ''detention room''. ''''Don''t worry you''re not actually in detention. This is just where we make transfer students take their test.'''' The woman said with a playful wink that made Rin chuckle.
The receptionist let Rin take a seat and walked away from the room. There was another older woman sitting on a desk at the back of the room. She smiled at her as she sat on the desk with the exam papers on it.
''''You can begin the test.'''' The woman stated and Rin went to work.
Unlike what you might expect taking the test was the less stressful thing about coming here today. Her academic scores had been the only thing that made her proud about herself before she became a Magical Girl.
The test was a combination of all subjects she had previously learned at school. English, french, math, science, geography and history. It took her half the time she was allocated to fill every answers. But she checked over her responses to be sure she didn''t make any mistakes or miss anything. Then she checked again just to be extra sure.
Once she was satisfied she took the paper and gave it to the teacher sitting at her desk. She looked at her in surprise. ''''Arleady done?'''' Rin responded with a simple nod. ''''Alright then, you can go home we''ll call you with your results.''''
''''A-alright.'''' Rin responded, despite how confident she had felt about her answer what if she got things wrong? What if she got rejected and couldn''t be trained to be a Magical Girl properly?
Rin knew deep down she would still continue to be a Magical Girl even if she couldn''t be accepted by a training program. But she knew it would also worry Alicia to no end and she didn''t want that.
Trying to calm her nerve she walked out of the classroom and took a deep breath. There was nothing she could do now but wait and hope...
Adrien looked over the result of the test taken by Rin. His new Magical Girl. And honestly he was impressed. She had scored perfect or close to perfect on every subjects. A feat almost never acheived by first graders. And with how fast the teacher had told him she finished the test it was clear the test hadn''t been a challenge to her.
She was clearly too intelligent for the grade she was in. There was also the fact that the board was uneasy about the fact they would send a first grader out in the field. Sure it wouldn''t change the fact she was actually twelve years old. But if they bumped her to the second grade maybe they would be less worried about public perception. It wasn''t like the general population would have access to the records of her actual age after all.
It might also make it easier for her to bridge the gap with the other Magical Girls who were mostly third graders. If not, she would at least have one Magical Girl in the same grade as her, so at least she wouldn''t be alone. Deciding on this new course of action Adrien took the phone and made a call...
After three days of painful wait they had received the call. She was accepted! And not only that they had apparently been so impressed with her results that they had decided to let her skip a grade. Honestly she hadn''t expected that part.
Alicia had looked so proud of her when she heard the news and it made her feel both warm and fuzzy and depressed at the same time. She was so happy of her new relationship with Alicia. But a part of Rin wondered why couldn''t her mom have been proud of her in the same way?
A day later Rin received five set of school uniforms. Alicia insisted for her to try it on immediatly. The school uniform was composed of a black blazer with golden buttons, a white undershirt, a black skirt, a pair of thigh highs and a big red bow around the neck to tie everything together.
''''Aww, you look so cute!'''' Alicia gushed, making Rin turn red like a tomato.
''''I-I don''t look like a boy wearing girl clothes?'''' Rin asked, her hands worriedly clenching at her skirt.
''''Nope! You look like an adorable little girl. It''s a good thing there won''t be any boys at your school because you would have to fight them off with a stick!'''' Alicia said with a wink.
''''G-grandma!'''' Rin squealed in embarassment making the old lady cackle in delight.
The day after was finally the day of her transfer. Her homeroom teacher, a woman wearing a thick pair of glass and an easy smile on her face. Her name was Valery Kazuko. She told her to wait outside the door of the classroom so she could present herself.
Rin would have rather have just found her seat before class started and tried to not stand out. But she didn''t want to make a bad impression on her teacher.
The teacher also told her that she and the other teachers knew of her gender identity. It had made her nervous at first but the teacher reassured her it wasn''t a problem. She also told Rin that none of the students knew about it. But that if they ever gave her trouble about it to come to her.
Rin felt touched about her willingness to help her. But she would prefer if none of the students ever found out. She didn''t know how realistic that wish was, but one could hope.
After a few minutes she heard the teacher call for her. She gulped and with a trembling hand opened the door. Every eyes inside the classroom turned to her. It took much effort to not just freeze like a deer in headlights.
Seeing her nervousness the teacher threw her a bone and started introducing her. ''''This is Rin Ainsley our new transfer student. She''ll be staying with us for the remainder of her Middle School years. So please give her a warm welcome.''''
Rin nervously bowed. ''''I-I''m glad to meet you all-'''' Her voice cracked at the last word and she looked back at the class completely mortified.
A few students either laughed or stared confused back at her but most of them just clapped politely. Rin for her part just wanted to sink in the floor and die. Hopefully no one would connect her voice crack with male puberty.
One girl in particular seemed shocked to see her for a while. And for a moment Rin was afraid her voice crack really got her clocked. But then the girl smiled and made a show to brush her gorgeous red hair away with her hand. Rin was confused at the gesture at first until she noticed the silver ring around her finger with a small purple gem.
The ring felt eerily familiar but she couldn''t remember where she had seen it.
[Look down at your own hand.] Lupin pointed out helpfully.
Rin looked down and froze when she saw her soul gem around her finger. Which was the same exact type of ring except for the gem which was a sandy yellow color instead.
''There''s a Magical Girl in my class and she immediatly found me out!'' Rin tought in a panic.
''''Rin, you can go sit on the desk in the back close to the window.'''' Her teacher told her snapping her out of her stupor.
She nodded and made her way to her new seat with a blank look in her face. But internally she was panicking. ''I''m screwed, I''m scewed, I''m screwed!''
Once Rin was sitting in her seat the red hair girl gave her furtive glances. Making her panic even more. ''What if the other students see our rings and somehow connect the dots? They''ll want to know more about the new Magical Girl and then they''ll learn I''m trans and my life will be screwed!''
[Relax Rin. Humans who are unattuned to magic cannot see your soul gem. And you shouldn''t worry too much about a fellow Magical Girl figuring out your identity. Secret identities rarely stay secret for long between Magical Girls. But it''s a code of honor to never reveal the identity of their fellow Guardians to normal civilians. And the penalty for going against that code can be quite severe both socially and in term of progression. A Magical Girl who out someone else will lose a lot of her points and lose a few levels worth of experience.]
His words calmed Rin somewhat but she was still on edge for the remainder of class...
It wasn''t much of a surprise that when the first break happened. The red haired girl immediatly ambushed Rin as soon as she left class. ''''Hey Rin! Can we talk in private?'''' She had asked. Rin felt trepidation at talking to the girl who had figured her identity as a Magical Girl.
But trying to avoid her would be more trouble than it''s worth and if Lupin words were true she wouldn''t be able to hide her identity from the other Magical Girls of the school either. The girl guided her outside to an area facing a garden with all sort of flowers.
Both of them sat on a bench facing the garden and that was when the girl finally cut loose. ''''Oh my God. I can''t believe there''s a new Magical Girl in my class! It sucked so much being the only member of the club in second grade! But now you''re here and we''re going to be besties!''''
The girl suddenly leaped onto Rin and put her in a hug. Rin''s face turned red and she hoped desperately she could keep her dysphoria-inducing stick in check.
''''S-so what''s your name?'''' Rin suddenly asked trying to change the subject as fast as possible. To her immense relief the girl backed away.
''''Oh my gosh, so sorry for forgetting to introduce myself! My name is Melody Landry. I''m also called Magical Girl Heartsong when I''m transformed! Do you arleady have a Magical Girl name too, Rin?''''
Rin fidgeted slightly. She supposed there was no point hiding it. After all she would figure it out as soon as she saw her transformed. ''''Y-yeah, I''m called Magical Girl Millennium.''''
''''Awww! That''s kind of cool, but I would have preferred a cute name!'''' She said with a small pout but then she froze as she seemed to realise something. ''''Wait a minute you''re Millie aren''t you?!''''
Rin spluttered in shock at the familiar nickname. ''''W-where did you hear that?'''' There had only been one person who had called her by that name...
''''Oh, from my aunt! Magical Girl Moruga! She told me she encountered a new Magical Girl during the Alagia Emergence, that was you right?'''' She questioned with a bright smile.
She was in the same class with the niece of one of the first Magical Girl she ever encountered. What were the chances of that?
''''By the way, I''m sorry about what happened with your mom.'''' Melody started saying.
''''W-what?!'''' Rin''s eyes widened in alarm. How the hell did she know about that?!
Melody continued not seeming to notice Rin''s distress. ''''It''s so horrible that a mother would abandon their child just for being a transgender girl.'''' The girl turned around and seemed to finally notice Rin''s mounting horror. ''''Oh, wasn''t I suppose to know about that? Sorry, my aunt suspected it was your mom when you talked to the police about her. She was worried about you when you collapsed afterward. But since your grandma helped you she refrained from interfering.''''
So Moruga had been a witness to all that, huh. ''''P-please don''t tell anyone about me b-being trans.'''' Rin requested trying her best to not descent in a full blown panic at her biggest secret being found out so early.
Melody nodded with the first serious expression Rin had seen from her. ''''I won''t tell a single cat. I know I might seem like an airhead most of the time. But I take keeping secrets very seriously.''''
Rin still felt uneasy about the fact that anyone knew at all. But it wasn''t like she could do anything about it now. The only thing she could hope for was that Melody would keep her word.
The bell rung signalling the end of the break. And Rin tried to calm down as they made their way to their next class...
Chapter 9: The Magical Girls Club
A lot of people diss on witches. As you might know a witch is the official title for Magical Girls who have retired from active battle duties.
Civilians would rather have Magical Girls use their power to fight the Unfeelings until their dying breath. Not only is that messed up and shortsighted. But if we want to be honest witches are the backbone of Magical Girls culture. And most Magical Girls I know, know this and respect them for it.
They might not fight anymore but their service in instructing the next generation, in providing magic medecine and advancement in magiteck technology has saved more Magical Girls on the field than I can count.
So the next time you see a witch instead of acting like an entitled brat. Thank her for her continued service instead.
An excerpt from the ''Magical Girls and retirement'' article. By Usagi Kaname. -2057
The second day of school had come and gone. At the start of the day she had been summoned by the Director of the school. A man named Adrien Kimonoto. A few classmates made fun for her for arleady being in trouble on her second day. But Rin suspected it had to something to do with her status as a Magical Girl and she was right.
Apparently the Magical Girl program at this school took the form of a school club rather than a classroom. The Director told her she had been automatically enrolled in the Magical Girls Club when she signed up for the school.
He told her she could go to the club any days of the week to meet with the other Magical Girls. But attendance would be mandatory on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Those were the days where the club manager and instructor would be available and they would be sent on official Magical Girls business.
Today was Tuesday and so it was her first mandatory day of the club. She might have had attended yesterday if she had known about the club. But maybe the Director had wanted her to be more acclimatize to the school first.
She arrived in front of where the the Director told her where the club was and saw the sign above the door. ''Mahou Shoujo Kurabu''. Rin cocked her head in confusion. Why was the club''s name in Japanese? Oh well it didn''t really matter she supposed.
Looking around to make sure no one was watching her. Rin''s body was engulfed into a yellow light, completed with sparkles. When the flash died down she was in her Magical Girl form. However this form was very different than how she looked like during the Alagia''s Emergence.
Her pink dress was completely gone. Replaced instead with a dark blue lolita dress with many yellow frills and ribbons. The front of the dress was covered in two yellow triangles facing each other. Making it look like a stylized hourglass.
She had a yellow bow on the left side of her hair and on the right she had an hairpin in the shape of an hourglass. But the most drastic change of all was her new ears and tail. She had the fluffy brown ears and the lucious tail of a fox. She swished her tail around experimentally. It was a bit weird to suddenly gain new appendages but she had to admit it felt pretty nice.
She was a bit embarassed about how over the top her outfit had become but Lupin had said it was for the best.
One day after the Emergence.
Rin had woken up at the hotel after her long day spent fighting the Unfeelings. And she was immediatly assaulted by notifications from her heads up display.
Quest completed: Escort the Senior Citizen
For escorting the old woman to the Central Shelter you have been awarded. 100 points and 150 experience
Quest Completed: Destroy the Nest
You have assisted fellow Magical Girls with destroying an Unfeeling nest and ended the Emergence. You have been awarded 500 points and 500 experience.
Contratulation! You have leveled up multiple times. You are now Level 5!
Max HP and Max MP Increased
You have 15 skill points available to spend.
''''W-what all this?'''' Rin wondered sleepily.
[Ah yes, this is normal. The Reality Usurpation from yesterday had cut off our access to certain systems. Since they weren''t relevant to your current survival I did not bother explaining them back then. But normally you will be able to accept quests. While killing Unfeelings can be a good source of experience fullfilling quests is by far the superior option to level up. Since you couldn''t accept quests yesterday the system gave you rewards for quests you unknowingly fullfilled.]
''''That''s good to know...so how do I accept quests from now on?'''' Rin asked curiously.
[Technically you don''t, you simply have to fullfill the quest requirement and it will automatically by completed for you. Even if you don''t check on your quests often you should be able to fullfill a lot of quests simply by taking your Magical Girl duties seriously.]
Rin nodded in understanding before opening her skills menu. ''''Mmh I think I''ll focus mostly on raising my stats this time. What do you think I should focus on?''''
[I think agility would be a good fit for you. Your signature ability is to freeze time. If you can go faster you would be able to acomplish even more with your ability before you have to take a breather. That being said you should not neglect your other stats. They''re all very importants. A balanced approach is for the best. Very few Magical Girls can make a min max build work for them.]
''''Alright then.'''' Rin decided to put nine points in agility. She used her remaining six points and divided them equally between strenght and dexterity. Since she used both ranged and melee weapons she would need to invest in both.
With a push of the accept button Rin felt a small rush of energy. And wondered if her boost in speed would be noticable.
[Speaking of builds and customization. It might be time to seriously think about branding now that the danger is passed.] Lupin stated with a bit too much eagerness for Rin''s taste.
''''Okay, you said I could change how my outfit looked. How do I do that?'''' Rin asked.
[I''m glad you asked! Simply lay down on the bed and close your eyes. I''ll start the Inner Outfit Program and we''ll try to find a perfect outfit for you!]
''''A-alright'''' Rin replied before laying back down and closing her eyes. In no time at all it felt like she was falling asleep. But when she opened her eyes she was in what looked like a small rustic store and it looked and felt more realistic than any dream she ever had.
A giant wardrobe suddenly plop in front of her from the sky making her shriek in shock. Before she could even recover another puff of cloud suddenly poof in front of the wardrobe. But she relaxed when the smoke died down and revealed the familiar form of Lupin.
The small black fox grin at her before pointing at the wardrobe with his paw, proudly. ''''Let''s find you a perfect outfit shall we?''''
They had tried many, many outfits. And it felt like with every new outfit the dress became more lacey and over the top. Finally they arrived at the dress she was currently wearing. She felt the amount of ribbons was a bit excessive but Lupin assured her the public would eat it up.
But both of them felt something was still missing even as she put an hourglass hairpin in her hair. Something to make her really stand out.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
[Well if you want to go even more cute I can''t think of anything more adorable than animal ears and maybe even a tail.]
''''Hum, you mean like accessories or do you mean that literally?'''' Rin asked a bit embarassed at the suggestion.
Lupin did his best equivalent of a shrug. [Both options are available. With magic we can give you actual ears and a tail that are biological copies of the animal of your choice. Personally i would prefer the biological option. Not only would it make you stand out much more than simple fake accesories. But the ears would give a bonus of 10 points in dexterity and the tail a 10 points in agility. The accesories wouldn''t do much more than just make you look cute.]
''''It sound like the biological option is the better option of the two.'''' Rin stated somewhat reluctantly.
Lupin nodded. [It is, unfortunately gaining brand new appendages can be very jarring for some humans. Which is why you don''t see many Magical Girls using them.]
Rin looked even more unsure. ''''If I end up not being able to handle them I can remove them later right?''''
Lupin nodded rapidly. [Of course! If you feel too overwhelmed by your new appendages just tell me and we''ll come back here to revise them! You can change your outfit once a day. But I would recommend to try sticking closely to a theme. It would be hard to develop a fanbase if you look like a different Magical Girl everytime you go out.]
Rin nodded slowly. ''''Make sense, I guess it wouldn''t hurt to try.''''
Almost as if to contradict her words Rin felt a flash of pain both on top of her head and at the bottom of her tailbone. With a flash of light the pain subsided and she was left staring in shock and wonder as fox ears had appeared on to of her head. To her amazement the ears moved and twitch exactly like real ones and as she shuffled around she could hear the sound of her dress ruffling in excruciating details.
Turning around she was met with a massive fluffy brown tail. She put a hand on it and couldn''t help but gush at how soft and fluffy it felt. It felt a bit weird to be petting an appendage on herself that hadn''t even existed before but she had to admit it felt nice.
[Are you satisfied with this new form?] Lupin asked with a satsfied smile as if he arleady knew the answer.
Rin nodded. ''''Y-yeah I think this will be my Magical Girl outfit from now on.''''
[I''m glad then, if there''s nothing else then it''s time to wake up. Your new guardians will be getting worried about you.]
The world around her faded to black and like that her new persona was properly born...
Present Day
Rin approached the door of the club room and gulped nervously before summoning her courage and opened the door.
There was five other girls sitting around a table. One of them she could tell was Melody who she was arleady familiar with. Her outfit was completely red just like her aunt Moruga. But while Moruga''s outfit had been more practical and armor-like. Melody''s dress was much more poofy and the skirt was layered in a way to avoid any accidental panties shots while fighting. It almost reminded Rin of a red rose. Her red hair was tied in two buns on the side of her head.
There was a girl with completely white hair and yellow eyes that glowed almost like a lightbulb. Her hair was really long and reached down all the way to her butt. She had a completely blank look on her face as if she would rather be anywhere but here. Instead of the traditional poofy and frilly Magical Girl outfit. She wore a long white robe and had a necklace around her neck with a golden christian cross.
Another girl had purple hair tied into braids and looked at Rin''s entrance with an almost motherly look that somewhat flustered Rin. She wore what looked like traditional Japanese clothes. She wore a white shirt along with a long red skirt completed with a pair of sandals with red straps. That was the tradional look of a shrine maiden if Rin''s wasn''t mistaken.
Then there was a girl with blonde hair tied into a ponytail that looked at Rin''s entrance with a calculating look. Almost as if she was measuring what was her worth. She was wearing a violet corset and a violet skirt and large blue cape behind her back.
The last girl in the room was standing in front of a board. Unlike the rest she wasn''t wearing a Magical Girl outfit as far as Rin''s could tell. Instead she wore a simple nurse uniform. Was that their instructor? She looked just as young as the rest of the club.
She knew that Magical Girls didn''t age the same way as normal humans but that made it difficult to judge how experience a Magical Girl was if you didn''t know them personally.
''''Ah, welcome Millennium. We were just about to begin.'''' The nurse said gesturing for her to sit at the table.
Rin decided to go sit beside Melody since she was the only one she knew.
The nurse smiled as she looked back at the rest of the group. ''''Now as you might have noticed we have a new Magical Girl joining the club. Please treat her well.''''
''''Welcome Millenium! I''m Magical Girl Miko. I''m basically the supporter and healer of this club. So if you''re ever in need of support don''t be afraid to call me.'''' The girl in the shrine maiden outfit said with a bright smile.
The girl with white hair looked unresponsive but she still presented herself. ''''I''m Magical Girl Maria, I like to punch things in the face.'''' Rin would have tought it was a joke, if it wasn''t for the completely serious expression on her face.
Finally the blond girl rolled her eyes. ''''Tch, I''m Magical Girl Primoria. My speciality is earth magic. But I''m good with any kind of weapons too. I''m the best Magical Girl in this club, so just try to not slow me down.''''
Melody and Miko rolled their eyes at her words. Then the group turned to Melody exectantly. ''''Oh! Millie arleady know my name since we''re in the same class! But in case you forgot it''s Heartsong! I specialise in magic and use a magic staff! Primoria here might be stronger than me but I can use magic of any elements I want! I''m kind of a magical jack of all trade master of none kind of thing.''''
Primoria scoffed at her but didn''t comment.
Finally the nurse clap her hand. ''''And I''m Nurse Emily Perenelle. I used to be a Magical Girl just like all of you. But nowaday I''m just a witch working as a school nurse and as an instructor for the Magical Girl club at this school.''''
Primoria cleared her throat. ''''So what are we going today? Are we still going on patrol even with the newbie here?''''
The Nurse nodded which seemed to surprise Primoria. ''''Normally we would slow down when a new girl is introduced. But Millenium was contracted in the middle of an Emergence. So I feel like going over the basic would only slow her down. Am I wrong? What level are you right now?''''
''''I-I''m level 5.'''' Rin replied nervously.
The other girls seemed surprised at that for some reason. ''''You arleady fought Unfeelings?'''' Miko asked with clear surprise on her face.
''''Is that weird? I pretty much had no choice to kill some Unfeelings to reach a shelter. And after that I decided to help the other Magical Girls deal with the Unfeeling nest.'''' Rin replied confused about the reaction.
''''You fought a nest?! Did you see a Queenless?!'''' Miko asked her eyes bulging.
''''Huh? Umm I don''t think so, what''s a Queenless?'''' Rin asked confused. The term seemed vagely familiar, didn''t Moruga mentioned something like that?
''''Oh yeah, I think my aunt told me she dealt with it before she came to help you with that last Rageless. so you wouldn''t have seen it. Queenless are basically Unfeelings incubators. They have the DNA of all the different types of Unfeelings and can birth any kind of them as long as they are fed with magic. They are also massive beasts and will attack anyone that dare try to destroy the nest.'''' Melody explained with a smile.
''''You''ve dealt with Rageless?!'''' Miko shrieked.
Rin slowly nodded. ''''Well Pomelo and Moruga did most of the job with the ones at the nest. I just dealt the finishing blow with the last one. Tough I did have to deal with one Rageless on my own while trying to reach the Central Shelter. I barely survived that encounter.''''
''''Wow I hadn''t heard about that.'''' Melody said with an impressed look.
Primoria scoffed in disbelief. ''''And how did a newbie like you dealt with a Rageless of all things? A fucking rocket launcher?'''' The other girls glared at the blonde girls for being rude but Rin only grinned ruefully.
''''Actually I used four of them. But the asshole wouldn''t stay down even after that. I ended up having to decapitate it with my sword. I''m kind of confused why that actually worked when even rockets wouldn''t do the job.''''
The other girls all gaped at her in shock. ''''Y-you used actual rocket launchers? What kind of Magical Girl are you?!'''' Miko shrieked again.
Rin shrugged sheepishly. ''''Well I was kind of stuck and didn''t know how to do magic so I decided to blast the Unfeelings with more mundane methods, I guess.''''
To Rin''s surprise the Magical Girl with white hair that had stayed silent and completely unresponsive until then started adressing her. ''''To answer your question, the reason why the sword worked better is because of your own magic. You probably unconsiously poured magic in the blade making it better at dealing with the Unfeelings. Metals are a very good conductor of magic. The Unfeelings have strong defense against mundane armement, no matter how powerful. If you don''t use weapons that can be enchanced by your own magic you will have a hard time.'''' Maria said in a completely detached voice.
Rin nodded in understanding with a smile but inside she felt kind of dissapointed. Was there really no way for her to keep using guns? Bows looked cool and everything but she preferred the ease of use guns offered. Especially one hand guns that she could use at the same time as her sword.
[Well there is a way that you could continue using guns if you absolutely have to but it could get pretty expensive. Silver bullets are very good conductor of magic and could solve the problem of your guns not doing enough damage. But for just four cartridge it would cost you eight points. Two point per cartridge which is eight time the price of normal bullets. It might not seem like much. But it could stack up very quickly.]
Rin closed her eyes toughtfully. That might be a problem, maybe she should give the bow a fair shot. But honestly Rin was very attached to her current fighting style. It would take a lot for her to give up on guns completely.
Nurse Perenelle clapped her hands. Getting the attention of everyone. ''''Alright I think you all had enough time socializing. It''s time to go on patrol! Heartsong you will team up with Miko, Maria will be with Primoria and Millennium you will be with me. It''s time for your great debut!''''
''''M-my debut?!'''' Rin exclaimed both nervous and excited at the same time. It looked like Millennium was arleady going to make her first public appearance...
Chapter 10: Debut
"A Magical Girl debut is a big deal. Not only for the girl herself but also for the general public. Raving fans keep a close eye on any new heroine''s beginnings, and a fanbase quickly forms around certain girls'' gimmicks.''''
"But most importantly it is a golden opportunity for companies to scope out future celebrities to sponsor and make new merchs about.''''
''''For this week only you can buy a figure of one of the top ten Magical Girls and get a second one for free! Act fast before stocks dry up!''''
Interview with Martin Miles, CEO of Magia Inc. the biggest Magical Girls merchandise company in the world. -2054
As the other members of the club left for their patrol. Nurse Perenelle told Rin to wait behind with her. Since the nurse was her partner it wasn''t like she could disobey. But she was nervous about what she wanted to talk about.
The Nurse waited a full minute after the last student left the room before finally addressing Rin.
''''All right, there are a few things I want to talk about with you. Firstly I heard about how you fought during the Emergence. You used a lot of guns?'''' Rin tensed at that and got a bit annoyed. Was she going to scold her for her choice of weapon too? She had enough of that from Lupin.
Seeming to notice her annoyance the Nurse''s expression softened. ''''I have no problem with that. However, I just want to make sure you don''t whip out your guns on a dime in public. That would make the civilians nervous. When you''re on patrol try to stick with melee weapons. Unless the situation becomes so dire or chaotic that gunfire wouldn''t make them panic further. Which I doubt will happen on a routine patrol like this, but you can never be sure.''''
Rin hesitantly nodded. ''''So I should mostly reserve my guns for Emergence?''''
''''Oh, you shouldn''t have to deal with another Unfeeling Emergence until you reach High School at least. But yes, either an Emergence or a Zone Usurpation would be the best places to use your guns.''''
''''A Zone Usurpation? What''s that? Is that different from a Reality Usurpation?'''' Rin asked confused at the new term.
Nurse Penerelle nodded seriously. ''''Certain powerful Unfeelings can create a pocket dimension in places with a lot of hatred and despair, we call them Zone Usurpation. We hopefully won''t encounter one today. But in case we do, we should call for backup before going inside. Soulless, the Unfeelings who make Zone Usurpations are no joke, and I wouldn''t be comfortable handling it with just you and me.''''
Rin slowly nodded, she wondered why she had never heard of Zone Usurpations before. She was a huge Magical Girl fanatic and had never even heard the term. If they were such a big deal, shouldn''t it be more known?
''''So are we ready to go on patrol then?'''' Rin asked getting up, eager to start her debut.
''''There''s one more thing.'''' The Nurse said, making Rin deflate somewhat. ''''I just want to let you know that I''ve been informed of your legal gender change.'''' Rin tensed up at that and looked back at the Nurse nervously. But the nurse just smiled sweetly back at her. ''''Don''t worry, I won''t tell any of the other club members unless I have your permission. I just wanted to let you know if you want any help with your transition that my door is open to you. As a magical school nurse, I''m qualified to cast a HRS, a hormone replacement spell, if you so wish. Come see me during break tomorrow if you wish to start immediately.''''
''''Y-you can help me transition, just like that?'''' Rin asked utterly baffled.
The Nurse nodded in amusement. ''''As a Magical Girl, you are legally emancipated as soon as you make your contract. Because of this, we don''t have to deal with all the usual red tape of a minor trying to transition. You can simply go through the route of informed consent.''''
Rin tried to hold back her tears but she felt her eyes moisten anyway and had to rub the tears away as quick as he could. But the damage was already done. The Nurse smiled sympathetically at her.
Emily waited until Rin recovered before speaking again. ''''So are you ready to start our patrol?''''
Rin sniffed and wiped away her last remaining tear before smiling and nodded in confirmation.
Nurse Penerelle''s transformation was a bit underwhelming if Rin wanted to be honest. Her outfit remained mostly unchanged. Trading her nurse coat for a white dress that looked almost the same, safe for the fact that her pants disappeared as her transformation turned a the lower part onto a skirt and a pink medical cross appeared on her chest.
Thanks to that and the fact that the students were most likely already very familiar with the witch nurse. Most of the attention was on the new Magical Girl as they walked through the hallways. It was a bit nerve-wracking. But if she wanted to be honest. Even though she garnered a lot more attention as Millennium. She wasn''t as nervous as when she was just Rin.
No matter how much they looked at her. She knew she was a real girl in this form and didn''t feel like she was at any risk of getting clocked.
Despite all that she couldn''t help but listen as the students whispered and talked about her in hushed tones.
''''Is that the rumoured new Magical Girl? I thought she was just made up.''''
''''Oh my gosh, she''s so cute! Do you think I could pet her fluffy tail?''''
''''I already followed her MagiX account, but she hasn''t posted anything yet. So this must be her proper debut.''''
Rin''s brain crashed and rebooted at that last statement. She had a MagiX account?! She opened up her web browser on her Augs and quickly looked up the name Millenium. And sure enough, there was a MagiX account in her name with a verified marker.
MagiX was a social media website dedicated to Magical Girls. Fans could sign up to follow their favourite Magical Girls and see all their latest exploits. There were also private chatrooms that could only be accessed by verified Magical Girls so that they could easily communicate with each other without having to worry about fans trying to infiltrate their space.
But how the heck was she already on the site?! She had made a fan account a few years ago. But never one for her official Magical Girl persona. And how was she verified already? She hadn''t done anything noteworthy enough to be noticed by the site administration.
[I was the one who made the account. Since we''re officially starting your career as a Magical Girl, I thought it would be best to have a place for your fans to gather. And I thought it would be good for you to have an easy way to access communication with fellow Magical Girls. I was also the one who verified your account. MagiX accounts can only be verified by a Familiar. No humans, not even the administrators, can verify someone on the site.]
''Huh, that makes sense, I suppose.'' Rin replied. She wasn''t sure how to feel about how many things her Familiar controlled about her image without her notice.
[Sorry if my meddlings made you uncomfortable. In the spirit of being more transparent, I want to ask you if I have your permission to take pictures and videos while on patrol and/or on missions. I want to build you a fanbase as early as possible. But if you''re uncomfortable being a public figure I will refrain from sharing too much of your exploits.]
Rin thought about it as they exited the school building. Despite wanting to be a Magical Girl she was never one to seek fame. All she wanted to do was help people and stop the Unfeelings from having their way. But she remembered what Lupin had said about how one of the Magical Girls'' most important duties was bringing hope to people. If she truly wanted to do that she would need to get over social anxiety.
''...All right, you can take pictures and videos, but If I see anything I don''t like, you have to erase it, okay?''
[Of course, my purpose is to help you. If I do anything against your wishes don''t be shy to say so.]
Her communication with Lupin was abruptly cut short when Rin felt something tug at her tail. She looked back at whatever had gripped her tail and saw a small toddler who couldn''t be older than four looking up at her with shimmering eyes of adoration.
''''Magical Girl!'''' The young boy whispered in awe. On her side, she saw Nurse Pennerelle trying her best to suppress a chuckle.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
They heard the rapid footstep of someone in high heels before a distressed woman appeared in front of them. ''''I-I''m sorry about my son. He''s obsessed with Magical Girls, but he should know better than running up to bother you!''''
Rin giggled and crouched down before the boy as he released her tail. She pet the top of his head tenderly as he continued looking at her with pure adoration. ''''That''s okay, I was probably the same at his age.'''' And then, her mother had tried to ruthlessly shame her for the behaviour and tried to push her toward more ''''masculine'''' hobbies. But she wouldn''t say that to them.
''''I-if you wouldn''t mind, can you sign an autograph for him? I-I could pay you of course.'''' The mother pleaded.
Rin giggled, while nervously rubbing the back of her head. ''''I''ll do it for free. I just debuted today, I don''t think my signature is worth paying for.''''
The mother''s eyes widen. ''''Oh, this is your first day?! I should have guessed you look really young, even by Magical Girls standards. Well, I''m sure my son would be honoured to get the first ever autograph of a Magical Girl.''''
The woman patted herself up and then her expression dawned in horror.
''''What''s wrong, Mommy?'''' The boy asked clearly noticing the distress of his mother.
''''I-I don''t have anything for you to sign.'''' She said with a deep regret in her voice.
''''It''s fine, Mommy; I don''t need it.'''' Even though he said that the boy was disappointed Rin wished she could do anything to help them.
[If you would like, I can give you a pen and something to sign at the cost of one point.] Lupin said and Rin felt a surge of relief as she nodded.
''''Do it.'''' The mom and the boy looked at her in confusion at her words. But then a flash of light appeared in front of Rin and a pen clattered on the ground while a picture floated toward the ground. Rin snatched the photo before it could land on the asphalt and flushed when she saw a picture of herself in her Magical Girl form making a cute pose and forming a heart with her hands.
She had never posed like that in her life! How the hell did Lupin create that picture? She tried not to let her embarrassment show as she retrieved the pen from the ground. ''''S-so what''s the name of your little boy?''''
''''O-oh! His name is Justin.'''' The mother replied.
Rin put her pen to the photo and signed.
To my first-ever fan, Justin.
-from Millennium.''
She gave the photo to the young boy, and his eyes were as wide as a platter as he looked at the picture and the signature. He rushed toward and glomped Rin much to her surprise. She had to brace herself to not fall on the ground. ''''Thank you so much!'''' He rushed back toward his mom. ''''Mama! Look! Look!'''' He said while waving the picture frantically.
The mother smiled down at him lovingly before turning to Rin with a grateful look. ''''Thank you so much, Millennium. You''ve made his entire week.'''' She said with a chuckle before taking the boy by the hand and walking away.
''''That was sweet.'''' Nurse Penerelle said behind, making Rin jump in surprise before flushing in embarrassment. She had completely forgotten she was there.
''''S-sorry for wasting all that time,'''' Rin said nervously.
Emily shook her head with a smile. ''''Learning how to interact with fans is an invaluable skill for a Magical Girl. Today is all about making you learn how to do your job. So in that sense, this was time very well spent.''''
Rin nodded slowly, unsure if she really thought that or if she just wanted to make her feel better.
Emily started walking, motioning to Rin to follow Rin quickly caught up to the Witch. ''''D-do you have an alias I should call you by? I didn''t think to ask earlier.''''
The witch smiled wistfully. ''''I used to be called Magical Girl Sympathy. It was kind of a challenge to the Unfeelings who represent complete apathy. But nowadays, you can just call me Emily or Nurse Pennerelle. I''ve stopped going by an alias after I retired as a Magical Girl.''''
For some reason, the name Sympathy felt familiar to Rin. Did she used to be a famous Magical Girl? Rin wasn''t sure but she felt like she should know that name.
''''So what do we do on a patrol? Just walk around and hope something happens?'''' Rin questioned wondering if they would get any kind of action.
Emily smiled and waved her hand in a ''so-so'' gesture. ''''More or less. We Magical Girls and Witches have a sort of magical sense. If there''s any Unfeeling or other kinds of magical activity we should be able to detect it and see if our help is needed.
We can also detect any kind of strong emotions. So, if someone''s in distress, you should be able to feel it. Try to concentrate on the feeling of magic around you. Don''t be embarrassed if you can''t manage it yet. It takes some time to master.''''
[Alternatively, I could also try to detect magic for you. But it would probably be best if you''re able to develop that sense for yourself instead of always relying on me.] Lupin said within her mind.
Rin closed her eyes in concentration but realized quickly that this was a pretty terrible idea as she stumbled on a pothole and almost fell to the ground.
''''Are you alright?'''' Nurse Penerelle asked, concern clear on her face.
Rin flushed in embarrassment as she nodded. This time, she tries to concentrate while keeping her eyes open. It''s harder to focus that way, but she thinks she can feel the magic of Emily beside her somewhat. But apart from that she can''t feel anything useful.
Rin felt a sudden spike of panic and then grew confused. What was she even panicking about? But then she concentrated and realized that the panic she felt wasn''t her own emotion but the emotion of someone else.
''''This way!'''' Rin exclaimed before running in the direction where she felt the emotion came from.
''''Wait Ri-Millennium! Come back!'''' The witch cried out before running after her.
Rin continued running chasing the feeling she felt as best as she could. Her tracking ended up leading her in front of a convenience store. She rushed inside and froze as she was greeted by the sight of a man with a ski mask pointing a gun at the store''s cashier.
''''I said give me your cash before I blow your fucking head off!'''' The robber said with a snarl. The cashier looked at the gun with a stricken look as the colours on his face turned pale.
There were two other customers in the convenience store. One of them looked like a middle-aged woman, while the other was a senior man in his eighties. Both of them looked at the scene in front of them in frozen terror.
''''You! Drop your weapon!'''' Rin yelled with more confidence than she felt. Every eyes in the convenience store turns to her. The robber swore under his breath angrily while everyone else looked hopeful at her appearance. It felt humbling to have that much trust put into her just because of her status as a Magical Girl.
The robber scowled angrily and, before anyone could react, ran toward the woman and grabbed her by the neck before pointing his gun right at her head. ''''If you come any closer I''m going to blow the brains out of this bitch!''''
''''N-no, please! I have two kids at home!'''' The woman yelled as she looked at Rin with clear desperation in her eyes.
''''Walk away now! Or I''m killing her and the old fart will be next!'''' The robber yelled, his finger lightly pressing against the trigger.
Rin took a deep breath...and everything turned gray. She calmly walked toward the robber and his hostage. She gripped the gun and forced it out of the hand of the robber. The hand of the robber seemed to be coloured for a second before it faded back into gray...weird. But she didn''t have the time to think about what that meant.
Rin threw the gun away. It flew in an arc for about a meter before turning gray and staying still in the air.
Then she took the woman by the hand. To Rin''s shock, both the woman''s and the robber''s colours returned. The woman looked down at Rin both in confusion and wonder at how quickly the girl had seemingly reached her.
The robber meanwhile tried to instinctively pull the trigger of his pistol and swore when he realized it wasn''t in his hand anymore. ''''What the actual-'''' Rin pulled the woman toward her tearing her out of the grip of the criminal.
Instantly the robber turned gray and froze in place mid-stumble. The woman looked at the frozen robber, the onlookers and the gun stuck in mid-air with a look of pure awe. Rin tapped on her shoulder and when she turned to look at her, Rin motioned to follow her. The woman nodded before Rin escorted her right next to the frozen old man.
''''I-I don''t know how you''re doing this, but thank you.'''' The woman said with a look of deep gratitude.
Rin nodded before letting go of her hand. Making her freeze in time like everyone else. Rin was getting lightheaded from the lack of oxygen. So she quickly made her way back in front of the robber and exhaled.
''''-Fuck!'''' The criminal finished. Now even more confused than before as the woman had also vanished.
Before he could regain his bearings Rin punched the criminal right in the stomach as hard as she could. The criminal was sent flying like a ragdoll, and his body crashed through the store closet''s door, and a bunch of cleaning supplies and a broom crashed on top of him as he slammed against the wall.
Rin looked at what she had done in horror. ''''Oh crap did I kill him?! I didn''t know I was that strong!''''
''''Argh! Fuck you! Fucking Magical Slut!'''' The man groaned out.
Rin looked at him with a deadpan expression, her ears slightly twitching in irritation. ''''He''s fine.''''
Quest Completed: The Foul-Mouthed Robber
You have stopped a robbery and protected the customers from potential harm.
Reward: 50 points, 100 exp.
Congratulations, you have reached Level 6!
Max HP and Max MP increased
You have 5 unspent skill points.
Emily rushed through the door and looked at the scene with a bemused expression. ''''Well, it looks like you did a good job Millennium. But next time wait for me before rushing straight into danger.''''
Rin grinned sheepishly before nodding.
Pretty soon after the police arrived. The cashier had already activated the silent alarm before Rin''s appearance. They took statements from everyone, including Rin, who had to introduce herself as a new Magical Girl and explain how she had subdued the criminal.
The police warned her that there could be consequences for using as much force as she did against normal humans in the future. But since she was still new at this she was only getting a warning for now. Much to her relief.
The robber had a broken rib and would be healed at the hospital under supervision before being hauled to the detention center for his trial. But apart from that had sustained no major injury from Rin''s attack.
After leaving the convenience store behind, Rin and Emily noticed that the sky had darkened considerably. Before long a deluge of rain cascaded down on the streets of New Qu¨¦bec. Emily decided to end the patrol early. Rin, not wanting to catch a cold on her first day on the job, agreed even though she would have wanted to patrol a bit longer.
A few minutes later, It seemed like they weren''t the only ones who were retreating from the rain. A duo of girls were running from the rain. Their shoes squelched with each step from the wet pavement. ''''Should we have waited for Mia?! What if she''s waiting for us at the park?!'''' One of the girls with glasses asked worriedly.
''''She''ll know we left because of the rain don''t worry about her! She can take care of herself!'''' The second girl replied as they ran back home.
For some reason Rin felt a sense of foreboding from the interaction. But ignored it as thunder began to rumble, Alicia would be worried if she stayed out too long in this. She retreated home, not knowing how much she would come to regret dismissing her gut instinct...
Chapter 11: Little Victories
With the advent of magic, medecine advanced by leap and bounds. Injuries that could take weeks or months to heal could take merely a single day to heal. Limbs could be easily reattached or even grown back. Cancer could now be cured without damaging the entire immune system in the process.
Not only healing, but the realm of aesthetic medecine has also improved dramatically. Magic can allow people to look like supermodels with a few spells and even become young again. Althrought unlike with real Magical Girls and witches. Becoming young does not seem to extend a normal human''s lifespan as the de-aging process is merely surface level.
Full sex change has also now become a full reality. With trans women now being able to bear children and trans men able to impregnate their lover.
However, with all the miracles that magic has bought to medecine one thing remain true. You cannot save someone who is arleady dead. No matter how healed a body is, if the soul has arleady left, there is nothing that can be done to revive someone.
''The miracle of magical medecine'' by Nicholas Elric. -2051
Rin had fallen dead asleep as soon as she had arrived home. The next morning she had to rush to take a shower and eat her breakfast before rushing to school. Fortunately she managed to make it just in time.
However after having spent the last day patrolling and stopping a robberie. Returning to class and listening to the history teacher droning on about the industrial revolution felt kind of surreal.
She was a Magical Girl. She should be out there saving people! Instead she was stuck here listening to how miserable human history was and always will be. Honestly Rin couldn''t care less about human''s history before the era of Magical Girls.
The class after that was science. They had to partner up to make some sort of potion. The study of magic had become a big part of science as contradicatory as the words ''science'' and ''magic'' may seem to each other.
Melody had immediatly rushed toward Rin to partner with her. Her quick attachement to Rin did not go unnoticed by the rest of the class. And much to Rin''s embarassment there was now a rumor that the two of them were secretly dating. Melody seemed to take the rumor in stride and didn''t seemed at all bothered about the attention.
A nasty part of her brain whispered that the only reason why she wasn''t bothered was because she was a trans girl and not a ''real'' girl. So she wouldn''t count their relationship as being queer if it ever actually happened. She squashed that tought and tried to just focus on the potion which was supposed to about finding the right mix of liquids together to make them glow.
To their dismay when their two liquids of choice mixed, the vial exploded sending it everywhere on the table and on the ground. But at least the spilled liquid was actually glowing. So the teacher wasn''t too disappointed in them.
Finally the lunch break arrived. She ate quickly and made her way to the nurse office afterward. When she arrived in front of the door, she knocked. ''''Come in.'''' The familiar voice of Emily said from the other side.
Rin turned the doorknob and entered inside. She stop in place when she saw Nurse Penerelle talking to an older looking asian woman wearing black clothes and sporting a crooked pair of glasses.
''''O-oh, did I come at a bad time? I can come back later.'''' Rin said arleady trying to back away but Emily quickly dispell her worries.
''''It''s fine Rin! I was just going to suggest the two of you meet anyway. So this is actually good timing.'''' Rin cocked her head curiously.
Seeing that as her cue the other woman started introducing herself. ''''I am Mei Uragirimono, I am the school''s counselor. We haven''t had the chance to meet yet, but I hope this will change in the future.''''
Emily nodded in agreement. ''''I heavily suggest you go see her once a week Rin. Not only because of your gender issues. But also because of your new role as a Magical Girl. I try to encourage every members of the club to go see miss Mei regularly.''''
Rin looked unsure, she wasn''t really keen to discuss her private life with an unknown woman. But she nodded slowly when she saw the eager insitent look the Nurse gave her.
''''Great! Now can you give us some private time Mei? I suspect I know what Rin is here to talk about. And I think it would be less stressful for her if it was just us two.''''
Mei did not seemed offended by the request and only nodded politely. ''''Very well, I hope to see you soon in my office miss Rin.'''' And with that the tall woman walked away elegantly and closed the door behind her.
Once she was gone Emily turned to Rin with a smile. ''''So I''m assuming you''re here for the HRS?'''' Rin flushed as she nodded. ''''Don''t be embarassed, you arleady make a very pretty girl and that will only help you even further. But before we can start we have to discuss in detail what you should expect from this spell.''''
What followed was the most embarassing talk Rin ever had since she learned of the birds and the bees. ''''The spell induce female puberty, so everything teenage girls go throught you will have most likely have to go through as well. Your breast may start to get sensitive soon after I cast the spell. That''s a clear sign that they''re growing...''''
Rin wanted to sink in the floor as Emily continued to explain in excruciating details how her body would change in the next few months to years.
''''You might experience cramps on a montly basis, but obviously you won''t bleed like a cisgendered girl. Not until/if you get a full sex change cast on you.''''
Rin''s attention suddenly perked up at that. ''''A full sex change spell? Why don''t we do that immediatly instead of this slow process?''''
Emily smiled apologetically. ''''Two reasons really. Firstly I''m not qualified to cast such a spell. I''m just a magic school nurse. Sex change magic is complicated and precise. It''s technically classified as a ''magical operation'' because of how in depth it is. Secondly even if we found an expert right now, which would be pretty expensive, you would still need to wait for the effect of female puberty to occur naturally. This way you have a jumpstart on your transition.''''
''''H-how expensive would it be to get the magic operation?'''' Rin asked nervous at the prospect she might never truly be a girl outside of her Magical Girl form.
''''Around fifteen thousand dollars.'''' Emily responded honestly. Rin winced and whimpered slightly at the price tag. She would never be able to afford that, not for a long time... ''''But, I know a few witches who would be happy to do it for you in exchange of points instead. If you ever manage to accumulate around three thousand points to spend. Come to me and I''ll tell you where to find a witch that can do the magic operation.''''
Three thousand points...that seemed pretty expensive as well. But it sounded pretty doable if she took her Magical Girl duties seriously for the next few months. A surge of hope and determination coursed throught her. Maybe it wasn''t the most heroic of motivations. But she was more than ready to kill some Unfeelings for her sex change.
''''So with all that out of the way, I think we are ready to cast the HRS spell. Are you ready? Any last minute doubt?''''
Rin shook her head. ''''Let''s do it.''''
Emily closed her eyes and put her hand on Rin''s chest before a glowing circle appeared underneath her feet as she chanted. ''''De masculum pubertatem et feminam pubertatem!''''
Rin''s body started to glow, she felt a wave of europhia hit her all at once. And then all too soon it cascaded down and everything seemed to go back to normal.
''''I-is that it?'''' Rin couldn''t keep the wave of disappointment out of her voice.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Emily chuckled sympathetically. ''''Your hormones have sucessfully been changed to female hormones. But it will take a while to see any effect Rin. Also we''ll need to recast the spell every months for the next three months. After the third and final visit your hormones output will be permanently altered. That is the main advantage HRS has over HRT.''''
Rin knew in her mind that it would take a while and yet she was still disappointed that nothing about her had changed immediatly. Internally there was still a cruel side of her brain that told her she was just a delusional crossdressing boy. Despite Emily''s and Alicia''s assurance of the contrary.
But at least this was a step in the right direction. It might be underwhelming right now, but it was a small victory and as long as she accumulated those little victories. Eventually she will become the person she was always meant to be...
Once she left Nurse Penerelle''s office there was still around ten minutes left in their lunch break. Rin sat on a bench right outside the school and decided it would be a good time to launch MagiX and see if anything interesting happened in the Magical Girl''s world.
To her shock as soon as she reached the website she was bombarded with notifications. She had to strangle back a scream when she saw the first notification.
You have 500+ new followers!
She had just made her debut yesterday! How did she get so many followers arleady? She looked throught the notifications and soon saw the culprit of her newfound popularity. There was a video she was linked in.
She clicked on it and saw that it was a video from a security camera from the same convenience store she had stop the robber in.
She saw the robber pointing his gun at the cashier. The woman she had saved and the old man beside her eyes widen in fear and they backed up from him. The cashier started pilling up money in a bag, complying to the robber''s demands, not that she could blame him under the circumstances.
Just when the cash registered was about to be emptied, that was when Rin, or rather Magical Girl Millennium, arrived on the scene.
The robber panicked when he saw her and grabbed the woman and pointed his gun at her head just as she remembered from yesterday.
Then one second she saw herself take a deep breath. The next second the woman was suddenly on the other side of the store, the robber''s gun disappeared from his hand and flew in the air before clattering on the ground with no explanation and Millennium had suddenly teleported right in front of the criminal.
''''Fuck!'''' Was the only thing the robber had the time to say before he was punched by the small Magical Girl and was sent crashing in the cleaning supply closet.
Whoa, seeing her time stopping power from an outside perspective was pretty weird. It looked as if multiple things had teleported at once without any explanation.
She decided to look down in the comments and was surprised to see that the video had arleady amassed five hundred thousand views. Rin couldn''t believe it, why was the video of her debut so popular? A Magical Girl stopping a robberie was pretty standard stuff. Then again debuts video always garnered a lot of attention no matter how mundane they were.
She scroll down in the comments and started reading the replies to the video.
MagicalYuriFan: How the hell did she moved so fast? That was insane! And have you seen the face on the robber? It was hilarious!
Heartsong*: You might have punch a bit too hard there Millie, but don''t worry those kind of mistake are normal when you''re new.
Maria*: @Heartsong I disagree you can never punch hard enough.
MagicalYuriFan: @Heartsong* Wait I recognise you two, are you not Magical Girls from New Hope School? Is this new Magical Girl also from your school?
Heartsong*: @MagicalYuriFan Yep! Millie is our newest Magical Girl! Isn''t she cute?
Rin blushed at Heartsong''s comments. Why did she need to share that embarassing nickname with the whole world? But she wasn''t so surprised Heartsong would jump at a change to see her debut. It was a bigger surprise to see Maria here. The two of them hadn''t really interacted outside of introduction at the club.
KittyKatNya: A Magical Fox Girl, fuck yes! It''s been way too long since a new Magical Girl rocked the animal theme. I will follow her career with much interest :)
¨¦toile*: Good job back there kid. I always look foward to see what the new girls can do.
This time Rin couldn''t hold back the scream. A few birds flew in a panic and she gained more than a few concerned stare from passerby. But she couldn''t care less about that right now. Her video received a comment from the greatest Magical Girl herself!
Rin had to pinch herself to confirm if this was a dream and squealed when she realised it was not.
Rewind*: I''m pretty sure this is not teleporation we''re seeing right there. I can recognise time manipulation a mile away. I think this new girl can stop time.
AnalAnalyst: @Rewind* Are you sure? Time manipulation is pretty rare isn''t it?
Rewind*: @AnalAnalyst It is, however have you seen the expression on the woman? She was scared witless one second and when she reappeared she looked relieved and calm. If she had suddenly been teleported her expression shouldn''t have changed so drastically. Instead she seemed like she knew what was happening, probably because she was conscious while the Magical Girl helped her move away while time was stopped.
AnalAnalyst: @Rewind* Wow I hadn''t noticed that. That would also explain why the gun suddenly found itself thrown in the air after the robber pointed it at the woman.
Rin didn''t know how to feel about people arleady figuring out her power. But it wasn''t like she was really being subtle about it anyway with a name like Millennium.
The school bell started ringing and Rin closed down the heads up display. She would deal with her newfound popularity another time.
This was it, this was Rin''s greatest challenge yet. Nevermind the Unfeeling Usurpation she survived. This was worse. ''''Let me go! I can''t go in there!'''' Rin whispered harshly to Melody who continued to push her to the most dreaded location of the whole school: The locker room.
Today was Rin''s first day of PE. But Rin was adamant about skipping the class due to the high chance that someone could clock her as trans while she changed. Melody, unfortunately had other ideas. ''''Come on Rin! You can''t skip the gym for the whole school year! Just go in there. They''re just girls, not sharks!''''
''''I would rather deal with sharks.'''' Rin muttered still trying to get out from the other girl''s grip.
''''There''s changing rooms inside Rin! No one will clock you, come on!'''' With a last push Melody managed to force Rin inside the locker room. Rin froze instantly as she came face to face with a room full of half naked girls all watching the commotion with either curiosity or amusement.
Melody took advantage of Rin''s pause in her movement to guide her toward her designated locker.
Rin ducked her head and took her gym clothes intent on rushing to a changing room as quickly as possible. But as she turned she stop in horror as she saw that there was only three changing rooms and they were all occupied right now.
Rin was now stuck waiting while one of the changing rooms became free while surrounded by girls dressing down in their underwears. She flushed in pure embarassment and tried to melt into the floor as best as she could. That lasted until she heard someone giggle beside her and saw Melody looking at her in amusement.
Rin spluttered and felt her face go even more red as she realised Melody was in her underwear too and didn''t seem concerned at all about being seen by Rin.
Melody rolled her eyes seeming to sense her incredulity. ''''You''re a girl Rin, you might have been born with the wrong equipement, but you still belong here. Stop freaking out so much, you''re attracting more attention than necessary acting this way.'''' She said in a tone low enough so that only Rin could hear her.
Before anything else could be said a girl step out from the changing room and Rin rushed inside as if she had caught fire. Melody giggled quietly as the other girls looked where Rin had escaped to in confusion.
Turn out that today they were playing dodgeball. Rin used to be terrible at sports and dodgeball especially. But for some reason, right now she was dominating. Guiltily she wondered if she only had an advantage because of the fact she was the only one here that hadn''t been born as a girl.
[No, I don''t think that''s it. I think this has more to do with your status as a Magical Girl. While the boost to your agility and dexterity is not anywhere as great as when you''re in your Astral Shift form. It is still significant enough to give you a boost against other players, which is also why Melody is doing so good.]
Indeed Melody was on the opposing team and along with Rin they were now the only two remaining players on the field. Rin took the ball in her hand and threw it at the grinning girl who proceeded to show off and do a backflip to avoid the ball.
The other girls observing were impressed.
''''Melody is so amazing as usual! The new girl doesn''t stand a chance.''''
''''I dunno she seemed pretty good too.''''
''''Maybe that''s why Melody immediatly bonded with the new girl. She could recognise a fellow athlete prodigy at a glance.''''
Melody smirked as she dribbled with the ball menacingly. ''''I''m going to throw the ball with all my strenght Rin. Just try to survive this!'''' Melody threw the ball with such force that Rin could hear a crack in the air as the ball went flying.
She had no time to react as the ball came to her. The ball hit her right in the chest and she tried to grab it. But the impact was great enough to make Rin skid back until her back collided with the wall. The girls surrounding the field held their breath until Rin recovered and held the ball in her hands.
Everyone cheered at the amazing display while Melody pouted at being eliminated despite her show of strenght.
''''Amazing! I don''t think anyone ever survived Melody''s full-powered throw before! The new girl is amazing!''''
''''Maybe they''re both Magical Girls that would explain their strenght.''''
''''Oh come on not everyone who is talented at sports a Magical Girl.''''
Melody rubbed the back of her head sheepishly when she saw the worried glance Rin gave between her and the onlookers. ''''Whoops, maybe I shouldn''t go too overboard for a while.'''' She muttered under her breath her cheeks coloring slightly.
After that PE came to an end and so did the school''s day. After another quick change of clothes Rin and Melody went into a quiet corner and both transformed into their Astral Shift form. It was now time to start their duty as Magical Girls...
Chapter 12: Heart Sync
Most Magical Girl quests fall into a difficulty of one to five stars. One stars quest can be small things like finding missing people, finding a lost pet or dealing with scouting parties of Unfeelings with low power such as Ravenous and Merciless.
Two to four stars all deal with varying threat of Unfeelings. The difficulty depend on the strenght and numbers of Unfeeling the quest has to deal with. Three or four stars can also be government sanctioned missions to end a small town''s Usurpation.
Five star missions are for big cities Usurpations or missions that can be just as dangerous as a big scale Emergence.
Six star missions are extremely rare and for the longest time was tought to be nothing more than an urban myth. At six stars we are dealing with a country and/or world ending threat and the top ten Magical Girls need to be involved.
A guide on mission difficulty by the Mystic Alliance. -2053
When they arrived at the Magical Girls Club everyone was arleady there. ''''Finally.'''' Primoria muttered.
Nurse Perenelle smiled at them. ''''Alright, now that we''re all here we can begin.'''' The Witch went toward the back of the room and retrieved a board that she wheeled at the front. The board was filled with all sort of paper with images of either people or Unfeelings. ''''Today we''re doing missions!''''
Melody cheered and the three other girls seemed similarly giddy at the news. Rin for her part was only confused. ''''What kind of missions?''''
Emily cleared her throat as she took a lecturing tone. ''''Oh, Millenium. This will be your first mission for the school, right? To explain quickly, civilians or the police departments from around the city can send us requests to either find missing people, hunt down Unfeelings or simply other small tasks that require the help of magic. Since you''re all in middle school. You will only get up to three stars quests. You''ll have to wait for high school to hunt anything more dangerous. And three stars quests will only be accessible to girls who have proven they can handle it.''''
The nurse gave a short but meaningful glance toward Primoria, who smirked proudly back at her. ''''For today you should try a one star quest Millennium. I know you have experience arleady in dealing with Unfeelings, but I would rather you still learn the basic.''''
''''So there''s Unfeelings in the city right now?'''' Rin questioned slightly startled, she had tought everything was safe in the city. Should she be more wary when she went and left school?
Melody nodded and was the first one to respond. ''''Yep! There was a Reality Usurpation in New Quebec about three months ago. It was kind of an ordeal. Ever since then there''s been Unfeelings hiding all over the city. But even without Emergences within the city itself you can still have Unfeelings winding up here from the Emergences of other neighbouring towns. Not all Unfeelings stick in one area after the Reality Usurpation is gone.''''
''''Mmh, so there could be Unfeelings from the Alagia''s Emergence winding up all the way here.'''' Rin muttered. Alagia was only about two hours away from New Quebec.
''''So Nurse what are the teams today?'''' Maria asked in her usual monotone voice.
''''Oh right! Since the club members are uneven we''ll have a team of three and a team of two. Millennium, Heartsong and Maria you''ll be the first team. Miko and Primoria will be the second.''''
''''Aren''t you particiating today sensei?'''' Miko asked with a confused look.
Emily made a face. ''''Please don''t call me sensei. And no I won''t participate today. I only did it last time because I needed to teach Millennium the basics. But I''m not normally meant to participate in patrols, much less on official missions.''''
''''Tch, you can put all four of them on a team Nurse. I can do this all on my own.'''' Primoria stated cockily while shooting an annoyed look at Miko who wilted under her glare.
Emily shook her head. ''''No can do, school regulations dictate that Magical Girls in this club must fullfill their duties in teams. As talented as you are Primoria, you are still a rookie. I can''t ignore regulations just for you.''''
''''Whatever.'''' Primoria replied clearly unhappy she didn''t get her way.
''''Let''s go pick a quest!'''' Melody exclaimed happily, completely ignoring the drama unfolding around her. She took Rin by the hand and drag her toward the notice board. Without making a sound Maria rose from her seat and came to join them.
The amount of quests was quite varied there was apparently a pack of Ravenous prowing the sewers of the city. A gang using magical weapons had set up shop in the cities and have been going around robbing banks. Which seemed interesting. Unfortunately it was a three star quest and was quickly snatched up by Primoria who held the notice with a confident smirk.
Rin focused on one star quests since that was what she was supposed to do. And her eyes stop at a notice with the picture of a young girl. She was most likely in elementary school with how young she looked. Her parents made a request for Magical Girls to search for her.
Rin felt her heart clench in sympathy at the poor girl and her parents who were most likely worried sick. Without hesitation she took the notice in her hands. Melody stared at what Rin had taken and nodded in approval. Maria did not say anything and simply walked out of the classroom. Clearly expecting the two others to follow her.
Rin and Melody ran up to her as to not be left behind, the search for a lost little girl had begun...
The first thing they did as they left school was to go meet the parents of the missing girl. It was heartbreaking to see how happy and relieved the two mothers were that a team of Magical Girls were actually looking for their daughter.
They said the girl, named Mia, was supposed to have gone to meet her friends at the park after school. But there had been a storm and her friends had apparently left before she arrived. No one had seen the girl since.
The obvious place to start searching was the park. The two women thanked the trio of Magical Girls for their help as they left the house and made their way to Red Leaf Park.
The first thing Rin noticed as they reached their destination is that this park completely put Alagia''s playground to shame. There was so much greenery all around them that the park almost felt like a miniature forest. This would be a nightmare to search.
''''So Rin, what spells do you have? I saw your debut video so I know you can teleport or something like that. But do you have other spells?'''' Melody asked. Rin responded by shaking her head. ''''Mmh, you should think about expanding your magic arsenal. Your signature spell seem great and all. But you should at least get to learn the basics. Protective shield, basic magic attacks and basic healing. You can''t be expected to master all field of magics but you should at least try to cover your bases.''''
[She''s right you know, you''ve been focusing on raising your stats, which is great. But as a Magical Girl spells will be the biggest ace up your sleeve to turn the tables on the Unfeelings.]
''But how do I even get more spells? No more spell appeared in my skill menu after I bought Time''s Breath.''
[...Oops, I knew I was forgetting to explain something. I should have probably explained this way earlier. But to get new spells you need to first buy a new grimoire with your accumulated points. This will unlock a tier of spells in a certain category. For example the tier 1 protection grimoire will unlock all tier 1 shield spells and other defensive buffs. The tier 1 offensive grimoire will unlock basic magic attacks such a the bolt of magic, the fire ball and the spike of ice.]
''...Alright, what grimoire should I unlock first?'' Rin asked in her mind.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
[I would recommend going with the protection grimoire first. I''m sure you would love to throw fire balls as quickly as possible. But I would rather you have a way to protect yourself from heavy hits first. I don''t want to see a repeat of what happened with the Rageless.]
Rin shuddered at the memory of that massive ape. ''Point taken. Alright buy the protection grimoire.''
Protection Grimoire Tier 1: 50 points
Points Remaining: 734.
Rin blinked, she had completely forgotten she had amassed so many points after the Emergence. She winced as she realised that buying more grimoires would set her back on her goal to reach three thousands points.
[I know you''re looking foward to live in a body that make you feel authentic, Rin. But you''ll need those spells if you want to amass those points and actually survive long enough to reach your goal.]
Rin winced. ''I know, I know, but it still suck.''
She looked at her skill menu and saw that a basic protective barrier spell costed three skill points. She bought it and put her remaining two skill points into wisdom to ensure the sturdiness of the shield.
''''Alright, I''m ready. Let''s go search for Mia.'''' Rin said and her two companion nodded.
The first thing Rin did was to try to concentrate and sense emotions like she did to find the convenience store robbery. Unfortunately she couldn''t detect anything out of the ordinary. The strongest emotion she could feel is happiness and excitement from a couple of kids playing on a swing.
So with a dissapointed sigh they started searching around the park the old fashion way. They search any places a kids would usually hang out. The swing had a couple of boys playing and having fun. But since they were searching for a girl, it was obviously a dead end.
The other playground attractions were similarly devoid of Mia. And so they started expanding their search in the greater park. Looking in wooden areas, small streams. They questioned every passing adults if they had seen a young girl with blonde pigtails hair and they spent almost half an hour at the public pool to see if Mia could be among the many swimmers there. But still no dice.
It was unfortunately getting late and they were still getting no lead. They decided to make one last cursory search around the park before quitting for the day. If they didn''t find anything they would look around the city proper tomorrow.
They spent an another hour combing through the park and it seemed like they would go back home empty handed. Rin approached a drain tunnel expecting nothing of it. But suddenly she felt a cold sensation at the back of her neck. One she hadn''t felt since the Usurpation of Alagia.
She drew her glock out from her soul gem and carefully called out. ''''Hello? Is anyone there?''''
At first nothing hapened, but then something hissed in the darkness of the tunnel and she heard the patter of something running at her at full speed. She saw a gray blur emerged from the darkness and she yelled. ''''Tutela Obice!''''
Her barrier appeared just in time before something extremely quick rammed into it. The creature recoiled from the impact with her shield and Rin saw that she was facing a strange feline creature. But instead of fur it had a gray scales on it''s body. It was a strange creature with the combining appearance of a leopard and a lizard.
''''Unfeeling!'''' Rin yelled, Heartsong and Maria snap up to attention from where thye had been searching in the foliage and ran up to her.
Melody summoned a pink staff with a white star at the top. Ready to cast magic to help her fellow Magical Girl. But as soon as her eyes landed o the Unfeeling Rin was facing she froze and her face paled. ''''Prideless.'''' She said barely above a whisper.
The Unfeeling apparenty called a Prideless rammed into Rin''s shield a second time and Rin lost control not expecting a second sudden attack. As the shield went down she summoned her sword and tried to slash at the beast. But it quickly jumped out of the way and started charging toward the most vulnerable member of the team which was the still frozen Melody.
Rin knew she couldn''t reach Melody in time the normal way. So she inhaled and held her breath. The world turned gray and froze around her.
She ran up in front of Melody and summoned her gun again. Deciding she has had enough of the speedy Unfeeling she started firing her gun until the magazine of silver bullets was completely depleted.
Once that was done she exhaled. The world turn back to normal and she watched as the bullet raced toward the Prideless. To her absolute shock and horror the feline instantly reacted to the bullets and jumped over them with a somersault.
''''What the hell is that insane reaction speed?!'''' Rin yelled as she summoned her sword and was about to face off against the insanely fast leopard-lizard. But before it could reach her Maria suddenly appeared.
To her amazement Maria was sporting a pair of pure white wings on her back. She dove toward the Prideless with her fist raised and dove down toward it at full speed. The creature however showed it''s still insane reaction speed and jumped out of the way just in time as Maria fist connected with the ground where it used to be. The earth trembled from the impact. Leaving a crater where Maria had punched.
Wow, Rin had heard that Maria liked to punch thing but she hadn''t suspected how insanely strong she was. No wonder she didn''t feel the need to use weapons.
Maria turned toward them and sported the first expression she had seen from the girl thus far. It was hard to tell due to how inexpressive she was. But Rin tought she look annoyed. ''''Heartsong snap out of it! We need your magic!''''
Melody seemed to snap out of a deep trance. She starred at the Prideless who looked at them like a predator circling around it''s prey waiting for them to leave an opening. Her hands was trembling as she clutched her staff.
''''W-what do you need me to do?'''' Her voice was nothing like the bubbly girl Rin was used to. She sounded like a lost and traumatized child. Why did this Unfeeling made her act this way?
Maria turned to Rin. ''''Can you use the spell you did earlier? The one that made you appear and unload your entire gun at once?''''
''''Hum...'''' Rin replied unsure.
[There''s three minutes left before you can use the time''s breath again.] Oh well crap.
Rin shook her head. ''''It''s on a cool down.'''' Maria looked unpleased for a second before she schooled her expression to be more neutral.
''''Alright then, would you be willing to perform a Heart Sync with me?'''' She heard Melody spluttering and starring at Maria in shock.
Heart Sync, Rin had heard about it. The ability for Magical Girls to share abilities and powers. She had heard that whatever method was used to do it was quite intimate. Which made Rin pause a bit, but right now there were all going to die if they couldn''t deal with this slippery feline.
So Rin hesitantly nodded. Maria turned to Melody again. ''''Alright Heartsong when I tell you ignite the ground beneath the Prideless. This will create the opening we need to kill it once and for all.''''
Melody trembled, but she nodded with her best courageous expression.
Maria approached Rin with a conflicted look in her face. Rin was wondering what would happen as the girl was now really close to her, making her blush slightly. And then without warning Maria bent down and kissed Rin right on the lips.
Rin squeaked, she felt her body grow hot and she felt lightheaded. For a moment she tought this might be what a kiss with a cute girl normally feel like. But she realised this was a different feeling entirely when her body ignited with raw magical power.
She felt something raw and alien start seeping in her own body. Emotions that weren''t her own started appearing in her own head. She felt someone who felt emotions, strong emotions that she was ashamed of.
In response of these shameful emotions she had hardened her heart and tried to be as emotionless as possible. But no matter what the shameful emotions kept coming back. No matter how hard she try ignoring it.
''I''m sorry father, I had sinfuls toughts for another girl again.'' She heard Maria''s voice say in her own mind and realised the emotions she felt were Maria''s. And what she heard seemed like a deeply burried memory.
Now she knew why this was considered an intimate technique. It wasn''t just a kiss, they were barring their soul to each other, completely. Rin trembled as she realise how much the other girl might have learned about her. Would she hate her? Just like the people of her old town had hated her?
Rin felt something sprouting from her back. It was surprising and felt weird, but it wasn''t painful. The kissed ended after what felt like an eternity. Rin looked back and was shocked to find a pair of white wings, just like the ones Maria had, had appeared on her back.
She looked back at Maria and found her with white fox ears and a white fluffy tail. ''''Heartsong cast the spell!''''
Melody nodded with a wobbly smile and raised her staff high in the sky. ''''Ardenti Agro!'''' The ground beneath the Prideless ignited into an inferno of flame. But the creature reacted, just as quickly as it ever did and jumped in the sky.
Maria inhaled and held her breath. The world turned gray, Rin was susprised that she could still see and move. She had expected for the time stop to only affect Maria. But maybe since they now shared the same magic. The spell affected them both at the same time.
Maria extended her wing and flew right in front of the Prideless. She motioned for Rin to follow and made a motion of punching. ''''You want me to punch it with you? But I''m nowhere near powerful for that to be useful!''''
She clenched her fist expecting a paltry amount of strenght and was nearly knocked her feet when she felt raw unbridled power entering her arm. ''''O-oh I have the same strenght as you now.'''' Rin said in realization and Maria nodded in confirmation.
Rin extended her black wing and flew on the other side of the Prideless. Maria held up three fingers and started countin down. ''3...2...1.'' Maria exhaled and immediatly both girls punched the Prideless with all their strenght.
The beast roared in agony before it''s body exploded like a bomb of dust that scattered all over the park.
Unfeeling Slayed!
Prideless: 20 points
Quest Completed: The Hidden Predator
You have dealt with a dangerous Unfeeling hidden in the local park and have stop it from making anymore victims.
Quest Rewards: 30 points, 50 exp.
''''Good job Rin.'''' Maria said with a genuine little smile on her face.
''''You''re the one that came up with it Eve.'''' Rin replied shaking her head in denial.
Both of them suddenly froze. ''''I-I know your name.'''' Rin muttered in shock.
''''So do I.'''' Eve replied equally surprised.
''''Well...crap.'''' Rin ears lowered down as her face fell. ''''I suck so much at this whole secret identity thing.''''
Chapter 13: Zone Usurpation
''''For as public as the life of Magical Girls may seem to be. There are some things that they and the government keep a tight lid on from the general public. One of those things is the existence of Soulless and the labyrinth they create.''''
''''The fact that we can all turn into Unfeelings is an uncomfortable truth we all face. But It''s one thing to aknowledge that normal humans may turn into an Unfeeling and another to aknowledge that it may also happen to our Magical Girls saviors...''''
Exctract From a classified Mystic Hunter training video. - 2028
Today was Thursday, meaning that it wasn''t a mandatory day for the Magical Girl club. However Rin, Melody and Eve all decided to still go on patrol after school. They all agreed that finding Mia was more important than sticking to a schedule.
Rin and Eve hadn''t talked much since they had defeated the Prideless yesterday. But the fact that the other girl most likely knew she was trans hanged above Rin''s head like an axe waiting to be dropped.
After all Rin had learned that Eve was lesbian and that it was a source of deep shame for her. She didn''t know for what reason it shamed her so much and she didn''t dare ask. But needless to say both girls knew more things about each other than they might be comfortable sharing.
But now was not the time to focus on that. There was a lost girl to find and they needed to focus on that. Since the search in the park had bore no fruit outside of dealing with that freakishly quick Unfeeling. They decided to expand their search into the city proper.
Unfortunately, unlike the park they couldn''t hide into the foliage in their search. And so the trio drew more than a few stares into their full Magical Girls attire. Thankfully Eve''s cold stare scared away any onlooker foolish enough to try to approach them.
That didn''t stop a few of the onlookers from taking picture of them however. Indicated by their eyes flashing as their augs took a photo. A few even had their iris turn red indicating they were being recorded.
That made Rin somewhat uncomfortable, but she knew that was just something she would need to get used to as a Magical Girls. They were partly protectors and partly public idols. Rin was more interested in saving people. But she couldn''t completely ignore the other side of the coin, as much as she might want to.
''''So where should we start looking?'''' Melody asked looking around the many intersecting streets. ''''New Qu¨¦bec has fifteen millions people living in it. Finding one lost girl will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.''''
''''Try to detect anyone that might feel distress. If she''s been kidnapped or if she''s trapped somewhere it should result in a strong emotional response to follow.'''' Eve replied she said before closing her eyes in concentration.
The two other girls follow her lead and tried to detect anyone that might be in trouble.
Eventually they detect someone that was scared and ran toward the emotion. But they stopped in their track when they saw a ten years old boy crying in front of a tree. The boy looked at them and pointed up at the tree. ''''My cat is stuck! She can''t come back down!''''
They looked up and sure enough there was a little white cat stuck in one of the branches. Eve sighed in disappointment for the false lead. But nevertheless wings appeared behind her back and she rose up in the air as she flapped her wings.
The cat hissed in alarm when he saw the flying girl approach it. But all Eve had to do was extended her arms for the cat to jumped in. When she landed back down the cat was arleady snuggling and purring in Eve''s arm.
''''Wow that cat really love her.'''' Rin said with a raised eyebrow.
''''Maybe it''s because they have so much in common? They both pretend to not care about anything but become like putty at the slightest hint of affection.'''' Melody replied in a conspiratorial tone.
Rin tried to not chuckle at the more than likely accurate description. Melody meanwhile had no such restrain as she giggled loudly making Eve stared back at them in confusion.
The boy took back the cat in his arms and thanked Eve tearfully.
''''Well that was a bust.'''' Eve grumbled as they walked away from the boy and his cat.
''''We''ll just try again! Surely if we respond to every people in distress eventually we''ll find our missing girl!'''' Melody exclaimed optimistically.
Well, as it turned out in such a massive city there was a lot of problems to resolve. They found a man with a deflated tire. Eve helped him by raising the car up effortessly with her freakishly high strenght. While he made the replacement.
There was a woman who got locked out of her house because she lost her keys. Melody showed her impressive magical control by unlocking the door from the inside with a tendril of magic.
A little girl kicked her ball in the street and ran after it. Her mother screamed in horror when she saw that a car was about to hit her daughter. Rin stopped time and took the girl by the hand before escorting her back toward her mother. The woman jumped in fright when time resumed and she saw Rin suddenly appear in front of her. But she quickly got over it and thanked her tearfully for saving her daughter from getting run over.
All three incident counted as completed quests. Rin got a nice one hundred bonus points from the efforts of her and her team and she managed to reach level 7 from the experience gained.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Rin decided to buy a tome of tier 1 offensive magic for fifty points and learned a basic magic bolt spell with three skill points. The two remaining skill points were spent in strenght which she had neglected thus far. But Eve had shown her how awesome being strong could be.
Rin sighed after she closed down the skill menu window. ''''Helping all those people was nice, but we''re not getting any closer to finding Mia. And the sun is coming down. We''re going to need to go back home, again.''''
''''Yeah...I feel bad for Mia and her parents but-'''' Suddenly Melody froze. ''''Wait I feel magic, strong magic.''''
Rin and Eve looked at each other before they concentrated and they both felt it. A strong buzzing sensation. And it seemed to come from the back alley they were passing.
''''Should we check it out?'''' Rin asked unsure if going toward a strong magical force was a great idea.
Eve shrugged. ''''It might just be another Magical Girl. Maybe she could help us find Mia. We''re still beginners when it come to tracking. A veterant might find Mia without any trouble.''''
The two other girls nodded before they all went into the dim back alley. Rin could feel that something was wrong after only a few seconds. The magic felt powerful but it also felt...dangerous. There was no emotion connected to the power it was like whoever was attached to the magic was cold and empty. Apathy, wasn''t that what Emily had told her Unfeelings represented?
Before she could voice her concern the world twisted around the trio. It was like an assault of colors and random jumbled images. Just as soon as it began it receded. But the group wasn''t in the back alley anymore.
''''W-what?! Where are we, what is this?!'''' Melody asked as she looked around with wide eyes.
They were standing in what looked like a carnival caught in the middle of a rainpour in the middle of the night. Despite the fight they were caught in a rainstorm at nightfall the park seemed to be open for service. There was a huge ferris wheel lit up by hundred of lights, they could see a rollercoaster speeding around in the track. But there were no people riding on it.
But the most eyes catching thing in the whole place was the massive red and white circus tent in the middle of the park. Lit up by dozens of spotlights pointing up at the sky.
Before they could do anything else something lurched at them. Rin yelped as she was sent tumbling at the ground. She looked up and grew panicked when she saw a wooden doll smiling down at her while holding a raised knife in it''s hand.
The doll tried stabbing Rin, but before it could bring it''s knife down Eve appeared and punched the doll full force. The doll exploded from the hit and it''s splintered remains scattered to the ground.
Eve gave a hand to Rin who thankfully took it to get herself up. But before they could even recover from the first attack five more dolls suddenly appeared.
Rin scowled at the blankly smilling toys and summoned her uzi before blasting bullets at them. The dolls were resistant but not as much as Unfeelings. By the time Rin emptied her magazine she had destroyed three dolls arleady.
''''I''ll take the one on the left, you take the one on the right Heartsong!'''' Eve said with a scowl before charging at her assigned doll her fist glowing with raw power.
Melody nodded and summoned her staff before she cried out a single word. ''''Augue!'''' A fireball emerged from her staff and set the doll on the right aflame. While one doll turned to ash Eve ran up to the doll on the left.
It tried backing away from her but Eve wouldn''t let it. Her white wings appeared on her back and with a powerful flap she was sent rocketing toward the doll. It shrieked as her first connected with it''s face and splintered it''s head into tiny pieces.
''''W-what were those things and where are we?'''' Rin asked while looking around nervously to see if any other dolls was coming.
Eve''s lips turned down into a frown. ''''We''ve been trapped inside a Zone Usurpation. I don''t know much about them either. But I know that a powerful Unfeeling is responsible for creating it and we need to destroy it if we want to get out. I''m not sure what those dolls were either, but I don''t think they were Unfeelings. They must be constructs created by whatever control this pocket dimension.''''
''''Oh no, Nurse Perenelle is going to kill us she told me to never venture inside one of those things without calling for backup. Are we going to be alright we just us three?'''' Rin asked feeling unsure, she hadn''t felt this scared since the end of the Alagia''s Emergence.
Instead of responding immediately Eve turned toward Melody with narrowed eyes. ''''Heartsong, I need to know if we''ll be able to count on you this time. If you freeze like you did yesterday we might get killed in here. This is probably the most dangerous situation any of us have ever been put in. If you think you''ll snap under the pressure you would be better off waiting here so that you don''t become a liability.''''
''''Isn''t that a bit harsh?'''' Rin asked while looking between both girls worriedly. Eve didn''t stop glaring at Melody.
''''It''s okay Millie, she''s right. I was just a burden against that Unfeeling. But this won''t happen this time I promise.'''' Melody eyes brightened with determination.
''''And how can you guarantee that?'''' Eve questioned, clearly not impressed by the girl''s reassurance.
Melody sighed and looked down. ''''I...I only have a problem with Prideless. I''m fine with other Unfeelings. Back when I was just a normal girl one of those things found me while I was returning from the cinema with my then boyfriend. The Prideless...killed him. I tried running away and call for help but that thing was so quick. It sliced my stomach open. It was the most pain I ever felt, my intestines were ripped out of my body.''''
Rin felt her face go pale, she could sympathize with Melody. Despite how weak they were, a part of her still wanted to crawl in a hole whenever she saw a Ravenous and remembered the one that had ripped her throat.
''''It was then that a small red phoenix appeared in front of me. My Familiar, it saved my life and I''m grateful to have come to know her because of that...But because of what happened, I''m stuck as a Magical Girl for the rest of my life.'''' Melody whimpered as she let tears fall down her cheeks.
''''S-stuck?'''' Rin whispered, confused. To Rin becoming a Magical Girl had been the best thing that had ever happened to her. So hearing that someone saw it as a burden was quite jarring.
Melody smiled without humor. ''''I never wanted to be a Magical Girl. I saw how much it destroyed my aunt when they lost the third member of their team. She told me horror stories of some of the Emergences she survived. How sometime she only got out alive due to sheer dumb luck. I never wanted a life like that for myself. I just wanted to be a normal girl and find a boyfriend or a girlfriend I could one day marry. But I was dying and my only choices were to either embrace it or join this neverending magical war and so I decided to make the best of it.''''
Rin looked at her guiltily. ''''I-I''m so sorry, I never even tought you might actually dislike being a Magical Girl.''''
Melody''s smile became smaller but it looked more honest this time. ''''You don''t have to be sorry Millie, I know how amazing the prospect of getting magic would seem to most girls. I guess I was just unlucky enough to have someone pull back the curtain for me from the beginning.''''
The trio stayed in silence for a full minute after that. Eve was the first to break it. ''''So...should we make our way inside?''''
The two other girls nodded. ''''Let''s go.'''' Melody said before she took the lead going toward the circus tent.
The entrance of the tent was devoid of any light. It almost looked like an abyss. Rin braced herself as she entered inside with the others and felt a cold presence weight down on her. She felt agitation and an insatiable hunger that wasn''t her own as she crossed the treshold. Whatever entity controlled this pocket dimension had noticed their presense...