Oops. Got scooped and didn't even notice.
"Well, there's Rei," Kyubey replied, padding down the hall past Rei's classroom as he answered Ysanne. "I don't think you've met each other yet. Try to get along, okay? And as for others," he added, parking by the front door... "Let's hope so!" He waited patiently. The girl with the junior high student should be along shortly, he supposed, and scratched his back on a locker hinge.
edited 2nd Apr '11 1:52:25 PM by RedSavant
It's been fun.
The Maid
Three boys... That little runt better be lying... she was surely lying, right? Not that Akane had bad luck with boys, but turning down three in a single day...
...You're the best, sis!
Akane smiled at that, she just kept walking towards her school and without looking back waved her little sister goodbye. It was soooooo hard to get a nice thing out that sarcastic little thing that the elder sister couldn't help but to feel her chest fill with pride due to it.
However, her cool facade and little bubble of happiness were both broken the moment she caught sight of the school gates closing ahead.
"Wah! H-Hey! Wait up! I'm coming!" Akane yelled as she broke into a hasty run to squeeze by the gates before they were closed completely.
If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.
"Hey!" called a voice as Akane mounted the school stairs. "Hanami Akane!" The voice seemed to echo into the back of Akane's head, and it didn't feel like it was coming from any direction per se. As she looked around, a small white creature slid between Sakamoto-sensei's feet; the crabby old math teacher didn't seem to notice a thing, but continued to scowl at Akane. "Are you coming in or not, Hanami-kun?" he asked, letting the door close a little bit.
The white cat - that was what it had to be, right? - licked a paw and brushed one of its long, floppy ears, then looked directly at Akane with bright, cheerful eyes. "Good morning, Akane," said the voice in her head again. "Is this a bad time?"
It's been fun.
The Maid
Akane stood rooted where she stood as the bizarre situation played off in front of her. The voice was not in her imagination... her own thoughts didn't, to put it some way, sound like that. The voice spoke to her... and even though she didn't hear it with her ears it was something strangely similar.
She just couldn't take her eyes away from the small white creature. To the teacher it must look like she couldn't meet his gaze as she stared at the floor. The creature looked just like the mascot characters she saw on TV and comics all the time. Small, cute and unlike any animal she had ever seen.
The possibility that she must be dreaming played in her head for a couple of seconds before she dismissed them outright. She felt very awake and only a slightly uneasy by the shock of what she was living right now. Her heart started beating even faster than when she was running to class as she, still without saying a thing to her teacher, crouched low and moved one hand towards the small white being.
She had to make sure... she wasn't just seeing things. She was a little afraid to say the truth but still, her first impulse of verifying that the small mascot was really there overpowered all.
And then she touched it. Right on the top of it's head. It was certainly there. It's white fur was incredibly soft to the touch...
Wow... This.... this is real
Briefly, the veil of weirdness that surrounded her mind started to dissolve and she became aware of her teacher once again.
Before she could think better however she blurted out "Sakamoto-sensei... can you see it?"
If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.
Kiku sighed as she sat down in math class. Algebra, hooray. I already know this stuff! Why do I have to sit here while sensei explains all the basic facts to the imbeciles who can't understand it? Jeez, why do I have to be held back like this? I hope they let me skip ahead next term... I want to learn everything there is to learn. And I wish I could do something practical with it. Something real. Not just sit around and solve for X all day! What good did that ever do anyone?
"What are you playing at, Hanami-kun?" Sakamoto sighed, running a hand through his graying hair. He had been a teacher at Kitakou High for more years than he cared to remember while sober, and he had seen every excuse in the book - except for the Sudden Onset of Hallucinations one, of course. "There's nothing there. Stand up and get to class, please."
"Only a few other people in the school will be able to see me," Kyubey explained, walking with Akane as she bemusedly entered the building. He twined between Sakamoto's ankles again, with exactly the same result, and continued talking as he shadowed the girl down the hall. "They're special girls," he explained. "Girls with the potential to become something so much more than they already are - to become defenders of Yamanaka City and the rest of the universe. Magical Girls," he said, as they reached Akane's classroom.
edited 2nd Apr '11 4:29:42 PM by RedSavant
It's been fun.
The Maid
"I-I see... Ehehe..." Akane gave the teacher an awkward laugh before she continued on her way, the little white creature keeping pace with her.
She walked almost in a daze, her feet carrying her on the usual route she took everyday to her classroom while her mind wandered. She tried to avoid looking at the small creature, specially once it told her that not many people would be able to see him, and only partially succeeded. She listened quietly at his words, absorbing every little detail.
They're special girls
Girls with the potential to become something so much more than they already are - to become defenders of Yamanaka City and the rest of the universe. Magical Girls
Akane felt a sensation akin to that she felt when Kiku called her the best. The teenager didn't think of herself as the kind of person that constantly craved for attention, that needed to be constantly told that she had something special.
And still...
She couldn't deny that hearing the creature say that brought a warm feeling into her chest. It wasn't something that she even thought about... it was just how she felt.
Taking advantage of the deserted corridor she whispered to it "Who are you? And... am I really one of those girls?"
If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.
"You can call me Kyubey," he said, looking up at her. "Almost everyone else does! And of course you're one of those girls," he continued, tilting his head as if she was silly for stating the obvious. "You would have seen me even if I hadn't contacted you first, that's how much potential you have. Oh," he added after a moment, "You can talk to me with your thoughts, like I'm doing with you. You just have to think like you talk... well... I can't explain it well, since this is the only way I can talk," he said sheepishly, looking off down the hall. "Ysanne? Rei? Can you help?"
It's been fun.
Newbie Drifter
"Hm?" hm'd Rei. Explain this thought thing? "The concept of differentiating between personal thoughts and broadcasted thoughts is indeed rather hard to grasp, at first: they are - or were, anyways - supposed to stay in your head either way, after all." The girl began lazily twirling her hair around her left index finger, having by now grown bored of waiting for the first period to start. "It's hard to explain; generally, you just have to think about broadcasting it, or perhaps imagine you're saying it out loud to whoever it is you want to broadcast it to, and it'll carry through just fine. Only Kyubey and other Magical Girls (and prospective Magical Girls too, like yourself) are going to pick the signal up, though; ordinary people won't catch it."
"I'll demonstrate by introducing myself: my name is Hateshinai Rei, from class 2-B. Think of either Kyubey or me and introduce yourself; it should go through without a hitch."
edited 2nd Apr '11 6:29:01 PM by Midreus
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
“COOL! Now I’m not the only one!” Ysanne ‘said’ in what could be called a rather…excited voice.
“Okay, we are magical girls, specially selected for whatever reasons. The main benefit of this whole deal is we get powers! You know, the ability to blow stuff up! We hunt down witches who try to hurt innocent people, so we’re kinda like super-heroes!” Ysanne smiled in a way that if anyone had been present would have sent shivers down their spines.
“Last night was fun…anyways! I’m Ysanne Taihou! And apart from today I didn’t know there were any others in this city! Mr. Ferret has been filling in for me as Mission Control.”
"My name is Kyubey, Ysanne," Kyubey chided the energetic girl gently, "Though I guess you can call me whatever makes you feel comfortable." He turned to Akane. "Want to try it, Akane? You should introduce yourself to everyone!"
edited 2nd Apr '11 6:58:34 PM by RedSavant
It's been fun.
Newbie Drifter
Had Ysanne's enthusiasm taken a physical form, Rei would almost certainly have been sent flying clean out the side of the main building by the sheer force of it. Maybe past the fields and over the outer walls, even. Her eyebrow twitched imperceptibly.
"... you were the one who put the hole in that parking garage, weren't you?" A mental sigh. "It was all over the news; I'm surprised I didn't think of the possibility of another Magical Girl when they mentioned not being able to find any evidence of a weapon capable of causing so much damage having been present, even. You're very plainly not holding back on the collateral damage thing, are you?"
edited 2nd Apr '11 6:59:38 PM by Midreus
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
“Uh, yeah, that was me.” Ysanne admitted,
“But I made sure no one was around that got hurt! I’m careful with my powers. I mean, last night I blew up about half a block of street between 1st and 2nd. Took out the witch that way. No one was injured, although the street needs a good repaving.” She was rather proud of that battle. The witch had literally sat on top of a gas main, so it was practically her duty to take advantage of it.
“So long as innocent lives are spared from harm, I see no problem in blowing stuff up. It’s relaxing!” She added the last part with just as much enthusiasm.
The Maid
"Ah, alright"
"I'm Hanami Akane from class 2C. So, you two are Magical Girls? Kyubey appeared in front of you too?" Akane tried to ask by the strange new means that were apparently available to her.
While she waited for an answer she sat in her seat and tried acting as natural as possible... though she couldn't keep a smile from appearing on her lips. This whole deal was bewildering and more than a little bizarre... but it was also exciting.
edited 2nd Apr '11 7:18:57 PM by daltar
If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.
No activity for twenty minutes, then daltar gets scooped by less than fifty seconds. =)
"Yes, Ysanne and Rei are both Magical Girls," Kyubey said, lying down next to Akane's desk. "They made a contract with me to obtain their powers, and now they fight evil creatures called Witches to save the people of Yamanaka City from the despair they spread. If you would like to join them, you just have to contract with me," he said. "In return, I'll grant you any one wish you desire - no matter how big!"
It's been fun.
Newbie Drifter
Ooh, nice ninja there~
"The problem is less about whether or not you hurt innocent people and more about civilian unrest from their beloved new city suddenly randomly spawning holes in various buildings, actually. Plus, our supply of magic isn't exactly infinite! You should at least stockpile some unused Grief Seeds before nuking the place like that," explained Rei. Not that she expected the crazy cannon girl to actually listen, but it was worth a try.
At Akane's mention of 2-C, Rei raised her head from her desk. "2-C, is it? That should be..." She glanced at the back of her classroom: sure enough, class 2-C was sitting right there, behind a couple of glass walls that separated the classrooms from the halls. "... right behind me. Well."
Rei's head returned to her desk. "Yes, I am a Magical Girl..." She paused for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not to continue, then: "And yes, Kyubey did appear to me, although it was less in front of me and more on my windowsill." A moment from that fateful day flashed through her mind; immediately, Rei pushed the image out of her head and into some corner of her mind. Silence resumed.
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
“Hey! I only nuked the parking garage using my powers! The street, was kinda not totally my fault. When the barrier closed down it somehow sparked off the gas main. I still don't know how exactly. I spent most of the night cleaning up fires. Ysanne was slightly annoyed,
“I know I don’t have unlimited energy but I don’t waste that much. And I’m topped up right now. Oh, I’m in 3-D right now, up a floor I think from you. There don’t seem to be that many witches around. So I think the way I use my magic is rather efficient considering I get a lot of legwork out of it.”
edited 2nd Apr '11 8:49:57 PM by RevenVrake
Newbie Drifter
"..."
No immediate response. Rei had entered a deeper reverie than usual, unsyncing with the rest of the world for a moment; or, rather, she was completely emptying her mind, trying not to think. With the exception of her eyes, which were now unfocused, there was no outward physical change in her position and expression.
The words "Witch" and "gas main" floated through her brain.
Snapping back to reality a couple moments later, Rei began responding: "Ah, I see. Still, though..." A pause of contemplation.
"... Anyways, I suppose I can't actually comment on your magic usage until I see it for myself, I guess. Perhaps later today?"
Ysanne is 17, isn't she? She should be in 3-D, then, not 4-D :x
edited 2nd Apr '11 8:59:13 PM by Midreus
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
The Maid
"I get a wish too!? A-Anything no matter how big? T-This is way better than I could ever imagine" Akane thought, transmitting it by accident since she has yet to learn how to distinguish between thinking and transmitting.
"Is it true? Did your wishes come true, Rei-san, Ysanne-senpai?" Akane asked, her enthusiasm apparent in her mental voice.
Her homeroom teacher had simply no hope of getting her attention at this point.
If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.
I enjoy that Akane's treating the major draw point as a bonus that just happens to be thrown in along with the fight-nightmare-monstrosities bit. =D Though it is, technically.
It's been fun.
Newbie Drifter
*glances at daltar*
Over in class 2-B, there was no homeroom teacher to begin with.
The class rep had gone off to the office a moment ago to check up on Ms. Ryuuko's attendance; he returned a couple of minutes later, helpfully informing the class that "Ryuuko-sensei's come down with a fever and won't be coming today." A collective "Awww" of disappointment echoed through the class, but soon human nature reasserted itself and the environment returned to its normal, noisy self.
Rei's head was still on the desk. Now, however, there was an additional exercise book and mechanical pencil to complement her; on it were lazily-scrawled equations for the purpose of resolving partial fractions. A small hand continued to fill in various numbers and letters into the book, although in all honesty she was solving these equations at the pace of a snail.
"If there are any limitations to the power of the wish, I have yet to see it," replied Rei. "As to whether my wish came true... it did. Wonderfully, at that."
edited 2nd Apr '11 9:57:32 PM by Midreus
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
"Anything you can think of." Kyubey prodded Akane's ankle with his head. "You can have some time to think about it, if you want - or, you can make a contract with me right now, and become a Magical Girl straightaway! We'll have to find somewhere quiet, though," he said thoughtfully, looking around the classroom at the diligently studying students and Akane.
It's been fun.
The Maid
After spending almost a minute thinking of some very silly wishes to make Akira forced herself take a very deep breath to become calm enough to think. The excitement that came with this encounter was no state to make good choices in, though it was very hard to get rid of it entirely.
A Magical Girl. What girl had not dreamed of that at some point of their youth? And even after they grew up, on hard times and on boring times the dream came back to remind you of how great it would be.
And she had a chance to become one... fight for love and justice. Get a nice costume and incredible powers... be part of a marvelous hidden world only few could see.
And a single wish. That was something she had to think well about... another once in a lifetime chance that could change her existence just as much as becoming a Magical Girl would.
It was a big responsibility... she couldn't allow herself to be too childish right now.
"Kyubey... you said I can have some time to think about it, right? If I may imposse on you... how much time can you give me?"
She then turned her thoughts to the Magical Girls "Also... I would like to know more about the enemy... about the mission I'll have as a Magical Girl"
If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.
Newbie Drifter
INFODUMP AND WANTON ABUSE OF THE COMMON COLON AND SEMICOLON TIEM
"Quite a lot of time, actually; I think Kyubey's going to be here for a while. As to our mission...?" At that moment, Rei's hand stopped and laid her pencil to rest. It was time for the details, wasn't it?
Letting out a soft mental chuckle, the blue-eyed girl began: "As Kyubey said, our mission is simply to fight creatures known as Witches to defend innocent people; no more, no less. The objective itself is easy to understand: we are the only ones who have the ability to seek out Witches, therefore the duty of killing them falls to us. What makes the mission dangerous are the Witches themselves."
"If Magical Girls represent hope and joy, then Witches symbolize grief and despair: born from the curses of humanity, they seek out ordinary humans and prey on the darkness in their hearts, eventually causing them to throw their lives away in their madness. One who has been cursed by a Witch is under the effects of a Witch's Kiss: a mark symbolic of said Witch appears somewhere on their body (usually their neck), invisible to everyone except us, and causes them to act in a self-destructive manner suiting that Witch's nature. Witches reside in alternate, self-created alien dimensions called a Labyrinth; at no point in time are they ever required to leave their Labyrinth, which is why ordinary humans will never be able to hunt them down, but we can sense the presence of a Witch and open a portal to their dimension. Once we arrive, we seek out the core of the maze where the Witch resides, and then kill them."
"The Witches themselves, while certainly killable when you meet them in person, are no slouches either: each Witch has a unique and utterly bizarre form, virtually indescribable an any language we currently possess, and every one has their own unique methods of attack. Some will attack you on sight, others will attack you only after you begin attacking them, a few resort to trickery and deceit, but none will show you any mercy once they begin. The power and deadliness of individual Witches vary, but on average they are just as strong as we are: I've come very close to death on several occasions, myself."
"Upon a Witch's death, they drop a Grief Seed for our use. The magic of a Magical Girl is not limitless: we each have a Soul Gem that serves as the source of our powers, and as we use magic the light of these Gems will be dimmed by clouds of darkness in its core. Grief Seeds can absorb that darkness away from our Gems and into itself, but their use is also limited: after a few uses, which may vary depending on how dim your Gem is before use, Grief Seeds become saturated; this is when you feed them to Kyubey, as otherwise the Witches they came from may resurrect themselves and threaten humanity once again."
"One point requires emphasis: the risk of death is very real and very, very large, no matter how weak the Witch may seem to be. That is why we are each granted one wish: we gave away our lives for the sake of achieving a miracle unachievable by human hands. As such, I advise you to think your wish through very, very carefully. Kyubey does not have the power to force you into a contract with him, and you can refuse if you want: only you can determine how valuable your wish is to you, and whether it is worth giving away your life in exchange. Don't throw it away on something foolish. With that, my narration comes to an end. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."
edited 5th Apr '11 10:23:43 PM by Midreus
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
Ysanne yawned. It had been a late night. Kyubey’s greeting took her by surprise, but she answered in turn,
“Only got one to turn in I’m afraid. Was a lot easier than I expected too. They just haven’t been showing up a lot.” She stretched, slouching in her chair,
“The witch built her maze on top of a gas main, so I…uh…improvised. Then I spent most of the night putting out fires.” She admitted sheepishly. Blinking her eyes, she stared at the black board,
“Meet me at lunch and I’ll hand it over.” Then Ysanne remembered something,
“Hey, any more of my kind show up yet? I like the solo act but it can get a bit…boring at times.”