How did I even get sucked into this mess? Looking back, I think it all began when...
“Uh, Senpai...your hair...”
“Hmm? What about my hair?”
Hikaru blinked again and instead of the purple strands, the older girl's hair had returned to being a lustrous black. “Huh?”
“...Mitsuko-san...” Ayane Kazumi, president of the school's Tea Ceremony Club, read the name quietly under her breath and glanced back up from the sign-up paper in her hands. “Is there something in my hair?”
“Oh, uh...” Hikaru stammered and then pouted for a moment, rubbing her eyes. By no means it wouldn't be a lie to point out the small heart-shaped hair clip just above the girl's right ear, but Hikaru knew that such a joke probably wouldn't be popular with the group of girls—Ayane's ever devoted fan club—watching with baited breath for her answer as they sat around the long table. “N-no, my apologies...I must be mistaken.”
“I see.” Ayane said in reply, wearing a small, polite smile. Like a doll placed on a red carpeted platform during Hinamatsuri, the upperclassman turned to face the rest of the girls seated on either side of the long table and made sure her voice was loud enough for the rest of the girls in the clubroom to hear her when she called for club activities to end for the day. The mix of disappointed sighs and gentle claps filled the air with noise.
---
Walking home from school, Hikaru Mitsuko let out a gloomy exhale.
The feelings of embarrassment, despite having left the clubroom at least ten minutes go, were still palpable. Clutching her latest borrowed library book—Geophysical Fluid Dynamics—close to her chest, Hikaru wistfully looked skyward while unconsciously adjusting the strap of her book-bag on her shoulder. “Oh, why can't I be more like Himeko Harukawa?” Hikaru let out another heavy breath, dropping her head with shoulders slumping as she continued to drag her feet down the sidewalk. “She's like, the most ladylike person I've ever seen!
“And smart, and pretty, and nice...”
For a girl like Hikaru so obsessed with the sciences, there was no one better to aspire to be: Himeko Harukawa, a famous local weather woman who since appearing on television was 100% right with all of her forecasts.
Himeko's weather broadcasts were the sole reason that Hikaru decided to go to a prestigious science college instead of business like her father wanted, and was the inspiration to be more than a simple housewife like her mother. Not to disparage the hard work and sacrifice her mother had endured to raise two kids, of course. Hikaru even volunteered to be the morning announcer at school in an effort to practice public speaking. Her classes were a breeze, and even with phys-ed, which was quite possibly her weakest subject, Hikaru attacked the exercises and drills head on and managed to keep an average score of mid to high eighties, rather than her usual one hundred. It was precisely because of that effect on her GPA then, that Hikaru knew she would have to join an extracurricular club (which so happens to overlap with her second weakest subject, public speaking) to make sure her college application would be noticed.
In addition to fantasizing about her future prospects of course, Hikaru's mind then got to pondering about who would be more ladylike between the beautiful and cheerful Himeko Harukawa, and the mature and refined Ayane Kazumi, the most popular and sought after girl at her school (as well as the Tea Ceremony Club president). 'What would it be like to have a girl's day out with the both of them? Would I look even prettier just by being seen with them?' She giggled at the thought.
However, Hikaru's face became soured when realization struck her and her back curved from some invisible weight all the more. “Ugh, no...if anything, I'm pretty sure I'd be mistaken for a boy if I ever stood between the two of them...”
She could not even escape the harsh logic of reality in her own fantasies.
“Haaa...” Hikaru stretched her back and reached her hands skyward as though to grasp any of the fluffy cirrocumulus and cumulus clouds freely floating about. She smiled at the sight and felt as though her tension and worries were evaporating under the warm radiance of the sun. While there were bound to be sad times caused by the accumulation of stress and worries to form towering cumulonimbus to cast the skies in gray, a simple process such as precipitation was all that was needed for the clear blue atmosphere to show itself again. Comforted by the knowledge of such a reliable cycle, Hikaru turned her attention to the road ahead and took note of the large menacing bull leering at h-
“What?” She stopped in place and watched, frozen to the sidewalk as the bulky bluish bull stood down the street and continued to glare at her. Even from where she was Hikaru could hear its huffy, growling breaths becoming heavier as though its anger was becoming harder to restrain. With a gulp and a blink Hikaru whipped her head around but found no one else to confirm or deny the strange sight of a bull out of place in the middle of a metropolis like Tokyo. She looked ahead but to her dismay, the animal remained. “Um...” Hikaru began, voicing out her concern to relieve the confusion building up as her brain wracked at the absurd notion of this weird meeting. Was the circus in town? Or was this a lapse in some zookeeper's responsibilities?
Neither of these questions would be answered, however, as upon hearing Hikaru's voice, the bull took a step forward, its hooves clacking against the sidewalk. The girl's jaw clenched and she stepped back. It matched the distance and once more its hooves clicked and clacked. Then it raised a foreleg and ever so lightly dragged its keratin toe against the sidewalk. Hikaru's eyes widened and her breathing became quicker.
Darting her eyes to the left, she saw a narrow alleyway. Hikaru looked forward, strangely hoping that it had not noticed. Instead it continued to drag its hoof as though it was counting down and a let out a breath like that of an engine rolling over. It angled its head and with its horn, took careful aim.
Not a second more passed before Hikaru lunged with the grace of a duck to the space between two brick buildings and with a terrifying bellow the beast of burden took chase. Whether it was imagined or real, Hikaru lurched into the alleyway and craned her eyes over her shoulder and past her billowing locks of hair to see the bull tear through the walls on either side of its wide, muscled body; horns cutting through brick like keys against a car door.
“Impossible!” Hikaru bemoaned the crime against all things rational and as though to reject what she had just plainly seen, looked ahead in time to stumble over a set of garbage cans and tumble to the litter-covered ground.
She screamed and winced and cried while struggling to her feet, but failing to find strength to work her muscles properly which had turned to the consistency of jelly. So she crawled and gasped and blubbered out words and sounds of curse against her own lack of fitness. “Help me! Somebody! Anybody!” Hikaru shouted.
The bull answered with a growl and another bellow while coming closer, hampered only while digging its girth through the brick walls on either side.
Hikaru wailed. She'd rather someone that didn't want to impale or eat her or whatever it was rampaging bovines did to answer her plea.
The space around her grew wider as the buildings became farther apart and Hikaru crawled to a dead end when fumbling with the knob of a store's rear entrance proved fruitless and difficult for her panic-stricken mind. The girl huddled against the door, jiggling the knob with both hands and clenched her eyes tight.
The thundering of its charge and the clanging of metal garbage cans being trampled only signaled the end for her when a loud scream echoed in the alleyway. “Hi-eeeeeeeee-YAAAH!!”
The explosive crash of sound that followed jolted Hikaru into her fetal position even more and her hands clamped over her ears as the terrible bellow and braying soon gave way to silence. Only the sound of her panting now filled her ears. Slowly opening her eyes, Hikaru peeked from behind her bangs to see an office woman standing a few feet from her. The conservative yet fashionable combination of yellow and white stood out against the red and brown of the crumbling brick wall. She stood proudly with her hands on her hips, looking over the destruction of the alleyway and torn up asphalt with satisfaction.
“Huhuhu~” She tittered happily, “Princess Celestia: 1; Discord: zip.” With a smile on her lips the woman began to dance about in celebration, throwing her head from side to side and undulating her hips to and fro. “Suck on that, Chaos! How do ya like Harmony now? Uh huh, uh huh, uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh, WHOO!”
Hikaru could only watch silently in awe. She slowly unfurled her arms wrapped tightly around her legs and leaning against the door, shakily stood up. The school girl was mesmerized at the woman now hopping around on one heeled foot and holding her other leg up, grasping it by the ankle behind her and pumping her knee forward and back while her other hand rested at the back of her head. “Ooo-ooo! Yeah, ooo-ooo!” The woman cheered and moved wildly like this for almost a minute when there was the tearing of fabric. “Aw, man...” The woman dropped her foot and bent to see the large rip that revealed a creamy thigh underneath black pantyhose. “...this skirt was on sale, too...” The woman sighed and gave a despondent look.
“Um...miss Hi-hi-Himeko Harukawa?”
“That's me!” The woman hopped toward the voice and immediately took on a pose, as though by instinct. Taking note of Hikaru, the woman faltered out of her stance and her face flushed with red. “Oh...hi there.” Her voice quivered nervously. “You, uh...saw my dance just now, didn't you...?”
Hikaru looked away for a moment, unsure if she should answer. “Um...yes...” She blurted out, if only to fill the awkward silence.
“...how long have you been standing there?” The woman asked as she smoothed out the wrinkles that formed from her quick movements just a moment ago.
“Uh...I don't know exactly when,” Hikaru replied, clasping her hands in front of her at first but then moving them behind her back, then in front of her again, confused what to do with them while trying to recall the last few minutes that she was sure was her end. “But at some point you appeared and saved me from a monster...then you started to dance...by the way, um...did it...did it run away?”
“Run away?” The woman, clearly finding Hikaru's question absurd, rolled her eyes and smirked smugly. “Pft. Please, I exorcised it!”
“Exorcised?” Hikaru's eyebrows furrowed. Leaning forward, she settled for grasping the front hem of her skirt and watched as the woman sighed and combed her fingers through her hair.
“Kids these days aren't taught anything important anymore, are they?” Asking this more rhetorically then anything else, the woman casually approached Hikaru and stopped just a foot away from her. “Yes, exorcised. But never mind me..could you explain to me what you saw happen?”
“I...what? Oh...um, I was walking down the road heading home when a bull attacked me...” It was strange to think that was all that happened since leaving school, yet somehow it felt like a lifetime of events had passed.
“Ooh! You saw a bull, you say?” The woman's eyes sparkled in interest.
“Y-yes, Harukawa-san!”
“Mmm-hmmm...mmm-hmmm...” The woman bobbed her head twice, unfazed that Hikaru already knew her name. Instead she pressed on, pinching her chin between her finger and thumb as her interest was instead focused in what else Hikaru had to say. “And this bull tried to attack you?”
“That's exactly right!”
“Mmm-hmmm...” The woman's head bobbed twice more. “Please, go on.”
Hikaru looked down, finding her pair of brown loafers surprisingly interesting right now. “Then...I ran but found myself trapped in this alleyway and screamed for help...then you came and...stopped the...bull...” Hikaru gulped when she felt her instincts tug her eyes upward and become discomforted by the wicked smile growing on the woman's face.
“Well, that settles it.” The woman's face took on a gentler smile and she patted Hikaru's shoulder in a surprisingly familiar way considering they were pretty much strangers. “You're coming with me.”
“Wait, what?”
“C'mere!” The woman's smile became a toothy grin like that of a used-car salesman.
“Wait...WHAT!?” Hikaru shrunk as the woman all but pulled at her sleeve to lead her out of the alleyway.
With barely restrained excitement, the woman tugged Hikaru while the other girl desperately held onto her schoolbag and library book from the speedy pace of her footsteps. “I wanna see what your potential is as a candidate! So let's go, already!”
Hikaru nearly tripped while being led out of the alleyway and back to the sidewalk, making a left to head in the same direction that the bull had appeared from. “What? W-wait! What do you mean by a candidate!?”
“Just come along and you'll find out, neh?” Himeko Harukawa, with a gentle and kind face upturned into a smile like that of her weather forecasts, said in a tone that a host would use to bring a target into a shady-looking establishment. Hikaru stumbled and had no way to escape as she was pulled along like a rag doll by this energetic woman.
With her free hand, Harukawa dug through the inside of her business jacket and brought out a cell phone, typed and swiped at it expertly with her thumb before bringing it to her ear and immediately began to laugh. “Hey, Kazu-chan! Got me another one for you to check out!”
Hikaru trembled and shook while being towed along by this woman who never gave her an option to reject to coming along with her. Her face could only cringe in fear like a sheep that had come across a wolf. “EH!?”
---
Walking down and making some turns a few blocks, they arrived at the old newspaper factory. The building was first built in the 50s for the booming local newspaper at the time and had closed down just a few years ago, as a result of the internet now taking the place of printed news. Hikaru walked by the factory everyday to and from school, whenever she didn't stop by the stores to shop for groceries and look at the clothes in the opposite direction. She remembered playing here with her brother when she was younger, running around the parking lot and jumping around and the exterior of the now crumbling infrastructure, exploring the area like curious children were want to do until she tripped and fell from the ledge of the truck delivery area. While she remained unhurt thanks to her brother catching her, he was reprimanded by their parents and the both of them were prohibited from going there anymore.
Since then it was only a childhood memory and another landmark Hikaru passed while she focused on completing her checklist to become a weather woman just like her idol Himeko Harukawa. After passing the front gates, carefully entering through the back door as Hikaru was no longer being dragged along, they both walked down a corridor and entered the main printing area which was empty of the large machines and equipment that once clanked and chugged and roared to fulfill their purpose. The concrete floor where weeds and plants and grass began to peek through the cracks, echoed their foot-falls against the tall roof and walls.
Looking ahead as she followed behind the weather woman, Hikaru was surprised to find another girl waiting for them as they approached.
“It's good to see you again, Celestia-hime.” She greeted politely as she stood from the single stone slab that jutted out from the floor, caused by a metal beam that had apparently crashed from the roof as a result of the rusting that came naturally from the lack of upkeep.
Hikaru gasped when she recognized the girl who bowed to them in greeting. “Ka-Kazumi-senpai!? What are you doing here?”
The upperclassman regarded Hikaru with a calm and ever-stoic look. “Hmmm? Oh, you look quite familiar...”
“Uh, yeah...I mean, yes...um...we go to the same school, but...you probably don't know who I am...my name is-”
“You're Hikaru Mitsuko-san, correct?”
A sense of excitement shot up Hikaru's spine when she heard her other idol recalled her name without the use of an attendance sheet. “Y-yeah! I mean, yes. I am.”
“So it seems you were wrong about me not knowing who you are. You shouldn't assume things about others, Hikaru-san.” The girl gave an ambiguous giggle.
Hikaru shuffled in embarrassment and grasped her book tightly with both arms.
Looking between the two girls, Harukawa smiled widely and spoke loud enough for her voice to echo. “So you two know each other? Great! Great! I guess I can let you check to see if she's a candidate, Kazu-chan!”
“Of course, Celestia-hime.” Ayane Kazumi bowed slightly toward the woman then took another step closer toward Hikaru.
“Celes...?” Hikaru cocked her head in confusion and turned toward her senior. “Why do you keep calling Harukawa-san that, Kazumi-senpai?”
“It appears there's much you don't know about the woman you know as Himeko Harukawa.” The older girl answered cryptically. “Isn't that right, Celestia-hi...” Looking to where the woman was standing, both girls realized only now that the weather woman had disappeared. A soft vibration made Ayane raise an eyebrow and she reached into her skirt pocket to retrieve her phone.
With her thumb she quickly navigated the menus until she reached the recently received text message.
“Srry m(_ _)m hd 2 run. ε≡(ノ´＿ゝ｀）ノPlz tell Hi-chan evryting! (^o^)/ ”
For the slightest moment Ayane gave a pout but quickly regained her controlled composure. Hikaru smiled inwardly for being able to see her senior's flustered face.
“Hey, did Hime-hime leave already?”
“WHA!” Hikaru jumped at the loud voice right behind her and spun around to find a girl with short blue hair standing uncomfortably close to her. Grasping her book tighter Hikaru took a step back to create distance between them.
“I wanted to get a few pointers on how to do that awesome dropkick of hers. Just can't seem to get it right...” The girl continued saying toward Ayane in a casual tone. She weaved her fingers together to rest against the back of her head.
Speaking formally as ever, Ayane replied to the other girl with her hands held properly tucked at her front. “Unfortunately Celestia-hime had to get back to her job. I believe she's a journalist? Or a news reporter...or...”
“A weather woman.”
“Pardon me?” Ayane and the other girl both turned toward Hikaru.
“Himeko Harukawa-san happens to be the most famous local weather woman in all of Tokyo!” Hikaru said, her voice raised and upset.
“My apologies,” Ayane said while smiling disarmingly. “I don't really watch television.”
“Guh!” Hikaru gasped and her eyes widened as though she had been personally offended. “It doesn't matter that you don't watch television, what's amazing is that you personally know Harukawa-san but you don't even know what she does!?” Her loud voice cracked for a moment while bouncing off the high ceiling and walls of the empty and abandoned printing area. Hikaru's anger kept her from realizing Ayane's total and utter shock, but the blue haired girl's loud guffaws brought her back to reality.
Right then Hikaru noticed the other girl's wide eyes and that her mouth was agape. By the time she comprehended what had just happened the third year girl had already recomposed herself.
“I like her.” The blue haired girl declared. “She's got spunk.”
“Rose-san,” Ayane spoke out in a controlled tone, “could you care to explain why you're late to answer Celestia-hime's summons?”
The girl huffed but despite the look of irritation obviously presented on her face, replied. “I'm late because I had to track down everyone else.” The girl called Rose said with a grumble. “But they all said they were too busy, even though I managed to find the time to come here...”
“I see.” Ayane turned toward the girl and gave a slight bow, much to the others' surprise. “I apologize, then, for insinuating anything of you and if that's the case, Rose-san, you can be Mitsuko-san's coach. Seeing as how you 'like' her attitude.” With full control the long-haired beauty stood up straight once more after saying this.
“What?” “What?”
Both girls asked simultaneously in confusion.
“Coach? Coach for what?” Hikaru stared in wonder between the two girls. Raising her book up to her chin, still fully trapped in her grasp, she felt as though she needed to hide from the upperclassman's passive aggressiveness.
Rose on the other hand openly displayed her annoyance with Ayane's suggestion. “Aw, come on, Kazumi! I don't wanna babysit the new girl! I've got practice tonight!”
“Rose-san, you know as well as I do how important it is for Hikaru-san's safety that she learn as much as possible about her current situation. Immediately.”
Ayane's face was neutral when she turned toward Hikaru. “I'm sure Rose-san can answer all of your questions and I'm sure since your personalities are so similar, that you'll get along. I'll see you tomorrow at school, Hikaru-san.” With a slight bow to the both of them, the upperclassman walked to the exit, her loafers clacking against the concrete floor. Silence returned when she disappeared behind the swinging doors.
The girl, Rose, let out an irritated sigh and spoke without looking at Hikaru. “Alright, I might as well get this show on the road for both our sakes.” The girl, still not regarding Hikaru, looked up toward the ceiling and placed her hands on her hips. “Tell me straight up what you know so far.”
“Nothing at all.” Hikaru replied.
Rose pinched the bridge of her nose and let out another heavy sigh. “I guess I should call ahead that I'll be late...this is gonna take a while...”
---
Moments later, Hikaru found herself at the shopping arcade that she frequented every so often after school. The main attraction was the large two-story food mart and grocery store, while many other types of stores of different goods and services were also there. Nearby was a booth where people would present a receipt from a purchase they made at the arcade for a chance to play a lottery for prizes, which attracted a good number of people this late in the afternoon.
Glad to be out of the gloomy and empty factory, the girls had walked to this part of town looking for a place to discuss the situation as Ayane instructed, and happened upon a crepe cart parked at the corner which happened to be the blue-haired girl's favorite place to eat.
Because there was no line they were able to make their orders right away. Hikaru chose a strawberry and banana flavored crepe with chocolate chips sprinkled in. Rose surprisingly only got a vanilla with caramel crepe, going against Hikaru's guess that she would have gotten something a lot wilder, considering the many streaks of color in her bangs.
“Nah...I can't go too crazy with snacks since I have a lot of sports to keep in shape for.” Rose explained while nibbling at the treat curled into a cone and placed into a wrapper to hold without worrying about making a mess.
Hearing this this only made Hikaru self-conscious and she pouted. Although another bite of her crepe helped her mood somewhat and she hummed happily once more.
While they were walking to the cart, Hikaru managed to learn a bit about her would-be coach. That the girl's name was Rose McKenzie, and that she was a foreigner from America though of mixed Asian descent. Her father was Japanese, Hikaru tried to recall while taking another greedy bite of her crepe. They sat on a park bench close by but out of ear shot of the crepe cart and passersby and Hikaru craned her head to the side to catch some of the filling now slightly melted and beginning to drip through the paper wrapping when Rose spoke up.
“...have you ever seen a ghost?”
“Huh?” Hikaru was surprised by the sudden question, but did not really need to stop to ponder her answer. She swallowed the creamy strawberry and banana filling and dabbed her lips with a napkin. “N-no, can't say I'm really all that superstitious...”
“Oh. Then what about a monster or a yokai? Before today, I mean.”
Hikaru thought a bit harder this time, thinking to see if there was anything comparable to being attacked by a rampaging bull on her way home from school. With one last bite she finished her pastry and divided her attention between thinking and chewing. “No...” She answered after washing away the bits of food with a swig of the bottled water she bought from the same crepe cart. “Why do you ask?”
The other girl hummed out loud to fill in while thinking. “I, er....how did the other girls do it...? It's pretty hard to explain without an example...” Without warning shes devoured the rest of her crepe in a single bite and swallowed loudly much to Hikaru's disgust. Specks of batter lined her mouth unnoticed. “Well, duh!” Rose gave an exasperated sigh and jumped to her feet. “I can just give you an example!”
Hikaru watched with restrained apprehension as the other girl pointed toward herself.
“What color's my hair?”
“Uh...blue?” Unable to allow Rose's face to remain messy, Hikaru offered the girl a napkin when she answered.
“Thanks.” Rose said and wiped her face. “And what was Ayane's?”
“...black?"
“Wha? Really?” Rose blinked and peered up at her own bangs. “I didn't realize that...” she mumbled a bit to her self out loud before striking her pose once again of placing her hands on her hips. Before her eyes, Hikaru watched in amazement as the blue strands darkened until they turned into a muddled brown, with only the tips of her bangs remaining in the same vibrant spectrum of colors. “Alright, how about now?” Rose asked with a wide smile on her face.
“I...you...what? How did you...?” Hikaru stammered much to Rose's pride, to which she answered with a casual shrug.
“I just dialed it down a bit.”
Hikaru frowned and crumbled the paper wrapper in her hand. “Dialed what? Are you wearing a wig or something?”
“What? No! This is all natural, I'll have you know.” Rose said as she combed her fingers through her hair to highlight that point. “Well, except I had this part dyed.” She shrugged again while tugging at her brightly colored bangs. “Anyways, you could say that I simply tightened the faucet on my magic.”
“Magic? Like from movies and TV shows? Please...” Hikaru openly scoffed and shook her head, to Rose's own disapproval.
“Hey, hear me out before you knock it. Isn't that what you science types are all about?”
About to ask about the comment, Hikaru glanced down and was reminded by the front cover of her meteorology book, facing up and plain for anyone to see. She frowned at the comment now but really had no way of responding to it, either. The pout remained and she crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes settled on the girl standing before her. “Alright, explain it, then.” Hikaru said, tapping her right foot quickly in expectation.
“With pleasure.” Rose returned in kind and crossed her own arms. “My hair looked blue to you because I was unconsciously focusing my magic. While it's impossible to bring the amount of magic inside you to zero, we normally keep it as low as possible so we don't attract undue attention.”
“'We'?” Hikaru asked, picking up on the term. “So there's more than you and Kazumi-senpai and Harukawa-san involved.”
“Yeah, but I'll get to that in a bit. You see, the bull that you saw was pure, concentrated magic. Since I wasn't there, I don't know how strong it was, but I could guess from what you told me about, that it was at least a 'class 2 monster.'” Rose noticed Hikaru's confused stare and stuttered out “Uh, that is, it was a dense enough concentration of magic that while it can't be seen by normal people it could affect things around it.”
“But I'm normal.”
“The fact that you noticed my blue hair says otherwise. Not to mention the bull.” Rose countered.
“Yeah? Well according to your own explanation, didn't you concentrate enough of your magic to let me see your weird hair color?” Hikaru jabbed back in a counter-counter.
Without responding, Rose's hair once more turned a bright, electric blue. She shifted on the bench and glanced toward a pair of boys walking by. “Hey, you over there! What color's my hair?”
“Uh...brown?” He replied in confusion and the two hurried as fast as possible.
Rose turned back toward Hikaru while wearing a smug look on her face.
“...go on...” Hikaru huffed. Hearing this, Rose puffed out her chest a bit and continued her explanation.
“There's another thing with magic called “summoning an item' but really all you need to know right now is how to control your magic input and output, or else more monsters will be attracted by the energy you give off.”
Hikaru sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingers upon hearing this. “Rose-san, I appreciate that you're telling me this...as hard as it is all to believe, but you failed to explain why magic exists, or why concentrations of magic become these 'monsters' or whatever...or even what you, Kazumi-senpai and Harukawa-san are doing with magic in the first place! I don't think learning how to control my magic matters at all until you first explain to me these things.”
“Hikaru...” Rose addressed much to the long-haired girl's embarrassment. “If you don't learn how to control your magic, as soon as possible you're going to be attacked again. Long story short, those monsters are attracted to sources of magic like moths to a flame, except they tend to eat the fire to become stronger and pose a threat to people who don't have much magic at all. It's hard for me to explain the full story right here and now but I promise that Kazumi or Hime-hime will explain everything tomorrow. You're in lots of danger right now, and it's my priority to see that you're safe, not that you understand everything.”
Hikaru balked in surprise at the bluntness of Rose's words, but remembered the terrifying feeling of being chased down just a couple of hours ago, thinking her life would end right then and there. Her skin broke into Goosebumps and she rubbed her arm with her other hand to settle the chill that coursed through her. Seeing this, Rose placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave a friendly, reassuring smile.
“...alright...Rose-senpai...” Hikaru said resigning herself to Rose's care.
“N-no, don't call me that. Just call me Rose, please! We're the same age, aren't we? No honorifics!” Her face flush, she nervously waved her hands as though trying to bat away the term before it reached her.
Hikaru's face reddened at hearing this, gripping the hem of her skirt by Rose's boldness. Quietly, she rationalized that it was the normal behavior of a foreigner, and nothing more. “Th-that's just as embarrassing...” Hikaru stuttered out to continue the awkward loop.
“Sheesh! Just humor me, alright? I still find it weird to call people by their last name...”
“That's how we we address each other here, you know...”
“Well good for you. That's not how I'm going to do it.” Hikaru groaned from Rose's stubbornness and crossed her arms just as the other girl did the same.
“Haven't you ever heard of 'When in Rome'?”
“I'm not from Italy, so that doesn't count!”
“ARGH! That's not the point!” Amazed by such a brutish comment, Hikaru aimed an amazed stare toward Rose but then noticed the barely constrained smirk on the girl's face as her body shook held back snorts and chuckles with lessening effect. “...I can't believe you!” Hikaru felt her face redden even more when Rose finally burst out laughing.
“S-sorry, I couldn't...things were getting too serious...” Rose said with raspy breaths in-between her laughter.
“Well considering that I'm in danger...” Hikaru wanted to just roll into a ball and hide somewhere with how tightly she crossed her arms over her chest and slumped her back into the bench.
“Nah...” The blue-haired girl said, wiping a tear from her eye. “I'll take out anything that comes to get you until you get the basics right. Then if we have enough time, I'll show you a few intermediate stuff to make up for, heh, tricking you.”
“Hmph.” Hikaru pouted and in looking away elicited another chuckle from Rose.
“Oh come on. You gotta get this down tonight or else we'll be here until the sun comes back up. Besides, I bet you're all about that extra credit and stuff, right?”
Hikaru tentatively glanced toward Rose as her curiosity was finally piqued. “...I guess...”
Rose smirked, already beginning to understand how to get Hikaru motivated as her coach. “Good. Because I have loads of homework to give you too.”
---
The following day after school, Hikaru found herself once again at the old newspaper factory. Upon entering the printing area, she immediately spotted her upperclassman, Ayane Kazumi but was surprised to see another upperclassman, Makoto Inoue, present amongst three other girls waiting about. Her “coach” Rose noticed her enter and approach them, nodding her head in greeting. Hikaru saw how Rose's hair was once again blue and that Ayane's hair had become purple and that the other girls each had vibrantly colored hair as well. Even Makoto who's hair was a light shade of pink unlike the normal lustrous black that rivaled Ayane's.
“Ayane-senpai...your hair...” Hikaru gasped out to the older girl.
The upperclassman's face remained neutral as all of the girls turned to regard the new arrival. “What about my hair, Hikaru-san?”
Hikaru gulped and nervously looked over the girl's shimmering locks that reach just below her shoulders and curled slightly at their ends. “It's uh...purple...”
Hearing this, Ayane gave a big smile. “It seems that you do have a lot of potential, Hikaru-san.”
Hikaru smiled despite herself and fidgeted from the praise. Just as she was about the bow in thanks to being recognized, Rose called out with concern lacing her voice.
“Uh, girls...it looks like Sakura's getting that twitch of hers!” Hikaru looked as the other girls did at the girl in question, whose hair was pink like Makoto's but much darker, poofier and curlier than her senior's.
The girl at the center of attention, in contrast to the concern and trepidation of the others, was smiling while she shook and bounced about like she were riding a jackhammer. “A-a-nd it fe-els li-i-ke th-ere's gon-na be a doo-oo-zy!”
Hikaru frowned and tilted her head in confusion. “What's gonna be a doo-”
Just then the newspaper factory shook from the sound of an explosion, (to which Hikaru was slightly happily for when she her shriek in surprise was overpowered by the explosion's roar) causing dust to fall from the ceiling and the rusty metal support beams and walls shuddered and groaned from the force of a heavy impact. Hikaru flailed wildly in surprise from the sudden event as Ayane appeared in front of her and close enough for Hikaru to catch the smell of her senior's conditioner.
The seriousness in the older girl's tone however, quickly snapped Hikaru back to reality. “Never mind that for now, Hikaru-san. Prepare yourself!”
Just beyond where the girls stood, the far wall had crashed down and within the resulting large cloud of dust and smoke stood a menacing silhouette.