Juushi (1)

Stretching my arms, I realised that I had fallen asleep. Last night I had just been thinking up some drafts on how to go with the plot.

I did not want to change much lest the future becomes unpredictable even for me, but I at least needed to do something to make sure everything went smoothly.

Starting with Tsurara, she had killed herself before using up all of her lifespan, becoming one of the factors leading to the appearance of Nana.

What I needed were people to help me in my conquest, and that meant having comrades I could rely on.

"It should be right about now, I'm going to call Isoko sooner or later, but for now I should gather intel on other Magical Girls." Looking at the time, I knew that the possibility of Tsurara obtaining her Stick was high.

But even then, that wasn't enough, "Let's see, if I recall, Juushi's district is in Shinagawa." I was unsure about the rest of the other Wards, but I knew of Juushi's jurisdictions, not only that, she was also the closest that I knew of.

Standing up, I began to prepare myself for an outing, with a cloak and mask in a bag. I wore a simple t-shirt and shorts as it was going to be hot once wearing the cloak and mask.

The sun's ray shone through a small slit of the curtains, warming me up slightly. It was a lovely day, and my sister was still sleeping.

Can't say I don't blame her, I do pity her though since I took her only chance of changing her fate; the trowel Stick.

It was supposed to be hers, not mine. I believe that she was going to attend school today, but felt that it wasn't worth it any longer.

Sadly that also meant that she would no longer be able to access her Stick as obviously I had stolen it, but if she was determined to go to school I would have asked for her permission to use it beforehand and borrow it.

Now I felt guilty, since I took her Stick it was obvious I should give her something back. Like another Stick.

And that was the purpose of my outing today. I had already told the teachers that I wasn't feeling well today, and went on an excursion.

To Shinagawa. Juushi's district.

....

It was tiring to be in the sun for too long. After a long travel on the train, I had arrived at Shinagawa station.

The crowd in front of me were slow and sluggish, from my view anyways. Apparently a crime scene was ahead.

Not sure of the details exactly, but from what I hear from the murmurs of those in front, it seemed to be a pretty gruesome death.

Feeling curious, I ducked down; and thanks to my small stature, I was able to get to the front row view easily.

The first sight I saw was of a yellow barricade tape in front of me. The second, a corpse horrifically mangled.

It was a teenaged boy, with his head twisted into ungodly angles. His lifeless eyes that rolled backwards slightly; stared at me, nose still wet with blood.

His neck had flesh and muscle ripped off, a small piece of his spinal cord had split off and protruded from where his Adam's apple was.

I knew instantly the only thing that could do such a thing, "A Stick.." I muttered softly, "Eh?" I turned to face my left to find the source of the voice, and saw a girl of similar height.

Her chestnut hair tied in a ponytail, her features were delicate and honestly, very pretty. But she wasn't my type of course.

Her lips glimmered slightly, she had put on a cherry lipgloss that smelled sweet and vaguely nostalgic.

Despite all this, I noticed that she had worn a full set of makeup, presumably to cover up her pale complexion.

"Hey, did you say, Stick?" She was talking to me, slowly speaking quietly so that others would not hear her.

I responded with a nod, to which she frowned slightly. She gestured for me to follow her, and off we went.

To the nearest fast food restaurant. The doors slid open, I noticed the aroma of spices and started feeling incredibly peckish.

She sat down in the farthest table, away from all the people. A little garden island blocked everyone's view, making me feel as if it was intentional on the owners part.

I sat down adjacent to her, and ordered some fried chicken while at it. "So, tell me do you know what I mean if I said the words; 'Mahou Shoujo Site'?"

I was astounded, my face contorting into that of surprise. I had been thinking of finding a Magical Girl in the area, but did not think that I would find one this fast.

"Yeah, I didn't think I would find a Magical Girl so soon, what a coincidence." The girl's eyes narrowed, she seemed to be suspicious of me.

"But, you're a boy. How can the Site give one to a boy?" She enunciated her words, emphasising on the fact that I was male.

I merely smiled and took out the trowel from my bag, "You're right to be suspicious. Yes, only girls can be chosen, but not necessarily. From what I know a transgendered man can be chosen as well."

Hearing that, she raised her brows in surprise and inspected me, I knew exactly what she was thinking about. "Ah, don't be confused. I never said I was trans, I was just stating a fact. Also I got this Stick through other means."

Smirking, I then demonstrated my Stick's power proudly. Picking off a leaf from the plant behind me, I then threw it up in the air, letting it fall.

But before it could touch the table, I hit it with the tip of the trowel. The leaf flew backwards, a small and perfectly cut out hole could be seen in the centre of it.

The girl was impressed, but not enough to surprise her completely. "My Stick allows me to 'dig' holes in anything. Of any length and depth, haven't tried it on humans, but I bet I can kill people and hide the body easily while at it."

She was definitely impressed now as it was such a useful murder weapon for such a small tool.

"Okay, since you've shown me yours. I'll show you mine." She reached into her pockets, and took out a pair of hair clips. It had a blue base, both with a small rounded stud.

Both the studs were of a white colour, perfectly contrasting with a stylised red letter 'R' in both of them.

Two small devil-like wings on both the hair clips told me exactly who they came from; the okame masked Hachi.

The girl's eyes changed, the letter 'R' appeared in both her eyes, her pupils were a shade of neon blue, and a small slit appeared in the middle of the space inside the R.

She was activating her power. Her hair shifted slightly, her ponytail taking on a cyan hue.

Blood streamed down her nose, her face contorted as her body twitched slightly. Her body shimmered, a crystalline structure replacing her skin.

Then, her body changed back. "I have the ability to change my molecular makeup into that of a living diamond." I was slack-jawed, I knew that Sticks carried various strange powers, but I had underestimated how bizarre they truly were.

I gulped, knowing that my ambitious plan of becoming extremely powerful was not just a pipe dream.

But, for now I had to 'talk.'