A dull-clothed ragged girl walks across the rooftops, clearly lost and distraught, Her navy hair bounces as she walks, yet she isn’t noticeable. She sits down to observe the crowded skyline only to have the quaint day ruined when a billboard for ‘Gift Developments’ catches her eye. This wasn’t acceptable, but she could correct it. She looked at her feet and a conveniently placed rock right next to her was practically begging her to throw it. She picked it up and immediately thought about throwing it at the billboard. The rock shredded through the paper, removing the face of a stock scientist with a massive hole.
She then sat down momentarily But it took only a second for her small moments of peace to be interrupted. There were tiny flying bits of rubble hurtling towards her. The ground rumbles below her as she feels disoriented and knows what kind of shake this is -the shake of a compromised building-; she quickly needs to find a crude shelter.
Running to investigate, she sees what seems to be some frivolous yet harmonious figures jump to the scene, regardless, something happened suddenly like that, and there are people to save, it would be selfish just to sit there
Immediately, she sees someone partially under the rubble, they are lifting bits of wood and brick; she helps them out, and they immediately thank her and she makes sure the person isn't too worried or too scared. However, she can also sense many onlookers and their murmurs around her.
A rhythmic tap touched her ear, getting harder each second. That was human, She could hear how desperate they were to be saved, it wasn't their fault they were stuck under rubble but what could they do about it?
A bunch of women dressed somewhat in something uniform yet unique, helping people from the rubble, giving any of their aid to anyone who unfortunately got themselves mixed up, as one of the women was searching, she heard her bag ping and give a little light, now was not the time, so she decided she would investigate the ping later.
The ragged girl could smell the gas from after the explosion, she couldn't smell anything nice, who would explode a building like that? Regardless, she continues to help people.
The ragged girl digs through the rubble until she gets a little startled by some faint pings, she sees what seems to be a woman in a ‘cute’ uniform and staff, with an instrument bag strapped to her back, with others either digging from other spots or comforting people.
“Hey, Where's my daughter, can you help me find my daughter please!” A voice cried in desperation.
“Wait, where is your daughter, how old is she?” The ragged girl asked.
“She's 7, I can't find her, please help!”
“I'm on it.”
This was a decently sized apartment area, a complex of only a dozen places, part of it had exploded off, while the remaining part looked like a miracle for still being intact somehow.
“Help! I'm stuck, I want my mommy!”
“I'm going to help, just stay strong!” the ragged girl reassures
“Help!”
Immediately, she managed to locate roughly where the girl might be, but there was a problem.
There was a chunk of brick too heavy to be kicked off by one person, but she still had to try some way, despite the wall not moving much, she would save that kid at any cost, despite how much work it would be to lift that chunk.
“Are you okay in there, can you stay strong for me?”
“I'll try, please get me out!”
Some people saw her effort and decided immediately to help her. With the added help, they got the child out easily. She was scared and disoriented but she wanted to be with her mother. She ran out of the rubble crying and squeezed her mother tight, clinging onto her like velcro, she seemed like she was grateful that she could live another day.
“Is that everyone from the complex accounted for?”
The neighbours looked at each other, and then at the girl. They were positive that everyone was accounted for.
She then investigates the rubble, what could have caused this? She then hurried back to her “home”, an abandoned building that she slightly uplifted the mood of by adding some decorations and doing some cleaning here and there, she boots up her ‘potato’ PC she got from scrapping parts she found in scrap yards.
Well, at least it runs old FPS games, certain silhouette doujin music videos, and much more, but mostly those things. At least she could play the games she wanted, they ran more than the processes above, which are over a century old at this point.
She played games on her computer, mindlessly sucked into it, she had no parents to care about her, so she was free to do as she pleased, it had been almost a year since she…escaped…the cake she saved money for was still in the fridge, she wanted to treat herself for her birthday today, it was a delightful strawberry cheesecake that looked like it was made in a bakery rather than manufactured, for that price, it better taste good.
As she finished playing games, she got the cheesecake out on a plate on the table. She wanted to be like a normal girl and celebrate her birthday like one. She placed a candle on the soft-firm cream on top of the cake, she got a match and attempted two times before a flame appeared, she lit the candle the way she saw on the tutorial the day before. She heard you can make a wish and blow it out if that works.
I wish…for a friend…
The candle goes out but as soon as the flame disappears, she hears a knock on some glass, she lifts her head to see a woman in a short dress, she looks for a clearer view of the woman she saw glimpses of, looks a little older than herself and had deeper skin with a slight golden tone and braids arranged intricately and twisted to look like roses, with deep red ends, she had a red colour scheme and the little bag on her side was pulsating heavily.
The woman exclaims with her sound being muffled by the glass behind “Hi, I am so sorry, but as you can see, my bag glows around you, I'm sure that means our instruments think something of you, I'm not sure, I don’t have a manual but I have this titan-spirit thing who watches over the instruments and stuff and I'm sure she told me it means someone is supposed to have an instrument or something, I mean it’s okay if you don’t let me in, I’m just some random woman in a dress who has a glowing bag which is hanging, like, my grappling hook is keeping me alive!”
“You talk… a lot…” the ragged girl muttered
“Oh okay, sometimes I do that.”
She was a little hesitant to let her in but what has she got to lose, besides, you only live once. She then opens the window and the woman jumps in.
“Thanks, mind my manners, I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Akahana, my friends just call me Aka.” (Akahana is a combination of “red and Flower in Japanese, she is also blasian)
“Oh, nice name, mine is…”
Did she have a name, her whole life she was referred to as “0271”, she couldn’t think of anything else, however, she was going to, to be honest, just make something from those numbers, it’s not like she cared what her name is anyways.
“Ah, rei…ni…” (Rei is 0, Ni is 2, she splits up the 4 numbers in her name to get Reini Nanaichi)
“Reini? Hmm rare, I mean so is mine.”
“Mhm”
“Well, this is going to be a long story, but uh, we fight against this evil force called the high council, they control everything and are hungry for power, we interfere with their affairs using the powers of the magical instruments, made by an expert instrument maker but more than half a millennium ago with the help of the higher being, known by so many other names, they also assigned this titan to the shrine just for like, more safekeeping?”
“Them…”
“Who?”
she wanted to be in.
Almost a year ago, she escaped from their lab. The ragged girl knew who was responsible for her suffering, she heard the high council tossed around in the lab more times than a Frisbie.
As soon as she heard their name mentioned, she knew they had to see some retribution.
They made her.
They made her for selfish reasons. They kept her inside like a caged bird. They only wanted her for one reason.
Murder.
But she couldn't take up such an offer, something magical couldn't pick such a murderous husk of what people see as a human being.
She felt she wasn't worthy.
She felt it made a mistake, she was sure it made a mistake, and there is always a chance for an anomaly just like she is.
It began, one night, and she fell in agony. It was night, and there was a guard who just ignored every cry of pain she let out…
It hurt a lot.
Her stomach felt as if it was ripping itself. It was unlike any other pain; she was already on the floor crying and wincing as she was told to “get over it”, having no explanation for what it was.
She saw blood drip onto the floor in the dimly lit room. It was supposed to be bedtime, but she thought she was dying, it hurt too much, and she collapsed.
The door came off easily, and so did the guard’s head. It was all a blur, only remembering quick flashes and corpses slamming the floor. As soon as she could acknowledge the things around her, she was horrified as soon as she saw the amount of blood on her, it was all splattered onto her.
But she couldn't worry about that, right now she could hear sirens and planes, her feet felt a little pressed on, but she felt like something was telling her to make a run for it.
That voice felt like it was an aftermath, remnants of when she blacked out.
The corpse in front of her at that time made her sick, even now, being somewhat desensitised to gore; she would get slightly nauseous from the fact that she killed people.
But none of them are innocent…
They should rot in hell…
This isn't a nice memory.
She looked at the magical girl in front of her, she didn’t feel like she was even worthy of such power, besides, she just wanted to be somewhat normal.
“I'm sorry, I can’t.” She said.
“Why, do you not want to, is it because parents won't be okay with it, There is no pressure though, however, when an instrument picks a musician, we have to understand its choice, when it picks a holder, it is very hellbent.”
“Is there a but?”
“Not, you know magical girl stuff already, most people your age get the gist, my niece is about your age and gets tropes easily, she's fluent in Japanese and English.”
“Yeah, no uh… is there gonna be some alien who will farm us for energy in exchange for a wish.”
“Ah no, it's just some powerful instruments to protect people.”
“I see.”
“Now I gotta pick my son up from daycare in a while, he's probably going to give me another drawing, which I will keep on the fridge and then archive.”
“Oh, you're a mom, haha, so like… you're a magical mom, I wish I had parents.”
“figured, I would not let my kid live in a mouldy apartment like this!”.
“How old is your kid?”.
“He's 3, he writes little, draws a lot and likes sharks.”.
“Oh, they're cool, I even have a shark plush.”.
“That’s cool.
“Why did you become a magical girl.”
“I was trusted by my instrument, the magical wind instrument, funny thing, I was going to this shrine for New years just to do some customs and traditions, and next thing, well…she was my girlfriend at the time and was in England celebrating new years with her grandparents, this was before I adopted my son.”
“So, what about the others.”
“Others? I haven’t introduced you yet, how do you know?”
“I saw, maybe people like us know where to look.”
“True, but I wonder why earlier you said no though.”
“Oh, that, I’m sorry but I don’t think I’m worthy of something that you describe to be a great power, I just can’t, I know you say the instruments pick someone ‘worthy’ but I'm sure there are other people, just not me.”
“The instruments never make a mistake, kid, if anyone hurts you, I will make sure to get back at them.”
“We just met.”
“Oh okay, but I will still protect you, even if you don’t want to be part of my team.”
“You don’t need to, I’m fine, I can protect myself.”
“Oh okay, make sure you’re safe though, I mean I see why they sent me to tell you, but good luck kid..”
“Before you head off, I am so sorry for not giving a guest something, it’s my birthday today and I have some cheesecake, would you like some.”
Akahana thought that was kind, but it probably took a lot of savings for this poor girl to afford herself something nice for her birthday, she didn’t want to be rude but she also was considerate.
“It’s fine, you don’t need to give me anything, I’ll be on my way.”
Suddenly, as Akahana turned to the curtain, the glass shattered all over the floor as a swoosh of air compromised the apartment, this was a bad sign, as it was obvious nobody would break your glass door like that for no reason.
A cackle of a little girl could be heard. Akahana wasn’t sure who this was but since there was an unprotected child with her, she certainly had to make sure this menacing foe didn’t harm anyone.
“Found you!” the girl cried.
“Who the hell are you?” Akahana asked with a heavy tone of confusion, “Hey, kid, do you know who this is?”
“Damn it,” Reini said.
The scary little girl threw anything and it all exploded on impact, Akahana had never seen an enemy like this, but she knew how to adapt.
“Hey, 0271, they want you to come back, but I’ll always be their favourite.” the scary girl exclaimed “I’LL ALWAYS BE PERFECT.”
“Why would they want me back after what I did?” Reini asked.
“They can fix you, help you, JUST LISTEN FOR ONCE.”
Dodges and parries were the only way to make sure you stayed alive from this new enemy, Akahana quickly learned and adapted to that, she didn’t have enough time to charge up a big attack but could throw a few counters herself; as long as she survived, it was fine. Glass was also a major hazard as well, one stray tiny shard means you lose sight, maybe permanently, this is one reason a reflex is useful—no blindness from stray objects.
Reini felt bad, and she jumped in immediately to make sure nobody dealt with her mess, as she jumped into the scene, the fighting stopped, and it was clear that Reini was having none of this, even in her abandoned apartment.
“Don’t get other people involved in my shit.”
“Too bad.”
The parrying continued, this was more than simply wrestling, things were being thrown at unfathomably lethal speeds but they were being dodged as equally unfathomable. Of course, the fight had to have a climax at some point.
The little girl lunged at Reini with a shard of glass; her hands were grasped just as she managed to get close. She turned her head upwards to see Akahana’s face; the little girl’s hands twitched as she tried to get out of the grasp she was determined to get her goal at any cost.
“Kid! Get the magical keyboard, we can’t let her take it or you.”
Reini was conflicted, she felt she didn’t deserve such a great power but she also needed to make sure such a great power was safe, of course, she was confident she could deal with that other lab rat without a need for for any magical objects.
She picked up the bag it was contained in just as the little brat managed to escape Akahana’s grasp, the little girl then continued to go after Reini with the same glass shard and just as she managed to get close again, Reini blocked it by swinging the bag. The brat went flying across the room and back to the window area again, picking herself up, she hurried away into the skylines in rage.
“Well, that was pretty unconventional, usually I would expect you to transform,” Akahana commented.
“Well, I made her rage quit, didn’t I?” Reini added.
“True, but now she knows where you live, I don’t think you’re safe here, please, I think I might have a spare room.”
“It’s fine I’ll find somewhere else to live.”
“Another abandoned apartment?” akahana asked,” I certainly won’t allow it, you don’t even have working hot water, have you ever taken a hot shower before?”
“It’s fine, and take your keyboard, I can deal with them on my own.”
“She quit, you didn’t defeat her, how are you even going to survive on your own?”
“As I’ve done for a year, stop being nosy and mind your biz, Tokyo is a fashion capital, I have been wanting to try Decora for a while.”
“I will admit, it is big but you cannot hide forever, well, at least alone.
Akahana was only concerned; she had a child whom she looked after and it felt quite painful to see someone this young try to survive on their own, Tokyo is a huge place filled with a spectrum of things, especially since it is a huge megacity now, even being a mega city a century ago, the growth of Tokyo is exponential, but so is akahana’s worry, being in a megacity in the late 2100’s like Neo-York or Tokyo is more common, especially since there’s almost decade left until the new century.
Akahana means no harm, she is only concerned.
—
The sun was setting over the Gift Developments Tokyo facility; the little girl came back stomping and enraged, there was no way she was overpowered like that; there was no way she even let her live she had superior everything, superior DNA, superior intellect, superior powers, as soon as she saw the first loose object, she hurled it across the room.
Whoosh! Boink! Rattle!
She was visibly redder, she fell to her knees and screeched in her rage.
“Subject 4444, how was the mission?” a scientist asks with composure.
She wasn’t in the mood for such calmness, she wanted to screech at the scientist, she wanted to take her anger out on something, and today ended horribly for her.
“Well, I took out the first traitor and his server, my methods were a little too rash, I accidentally destroyed the supports of the building.”
“If it went well, then why are you screaming?”
She didn’t want to say anything at all, she was too angry even to try to recall what happened.
“Well, we still pick up on audio and visuals, looks like you found the escape artist after a year.”
“Wel… yes… it’s just-”
“Just what? You used your powers and all that training only to be overpowered by some outdated experiment.”
She was too embarrassed to answer, she didn’t want to be reminded at all, she clenched her fists as she tried to come up with an excuse as to why she was totalled.
“It’s just that, because, yeah-”
“As I thought, you will make up for it with 5 more hours of education per week.”
The day was even worse, now she got punished with more education time, she knew she messed up that encounter badly, and now that 5 more hours was a reminder; She hated to see reminders.