Alright so this story is a little side project I'll be working on alongside Power Play! It'll be updated slightly less frequently than P.P.
I hope you all enjoy this, I've had this idea rolling around the ol' noggin around the same time I stared P.P.
Let me know what you think!
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There Goes My Hero
Chapter 1
A Little Theory Goes A Long Way
"Looks like this is my win...accept your fate, you evil vampire scum!"
"NEVER! You may have won this round half-blood, but next time you won't be so lucky! Until we meet again!"
"Well, I see what you're trying to do here Konoka...it's definitely a good start for what looks like a promising manga." smiled the girl with the glasses as she placed the rough drafted story back down on the desk. "I gotta admit, you're style of drawing has totally gotten a lot better since high school. I'm impressed!"
"Thanks Haruna, I'm trying my best..." replied Konoka as she playfully spun around in her chair. "I figured I may as well try out my own manga, considering I'm surrounded by it all day."
Surrounded by manga was an understatement; these girls were practically living and breathing the stuff with their line of work. Endless Reality is a little manga and comic book shop, complete with a quaint little coffee bar located in downtown Tokyo. The store itself had been the long time dream of one Haruna Saotome for a great number of years; ever since Konoka Konoe could remember, that was all her glasses clad friend would talk about. It had taken a lot of work and a lot of patience when it came to convincing their other two friends with degrees in business, Yue Ayase and Nodoka Miyazaki, that this would be a chance for them to invest in something great; but they finally managed to do it. Haruna's dream had become a reality only a few short years ago, and since then there was no looking back. Their little shop had become the most popular manga and comic provider in the whole city, offering all the latest hits as well as many of the more rare items. It probably didn't hurt either that the four girls running and working the place were easy on the eyes; which was more often than not how they brought in so many customers.
Konoka Konoe was your average girl; she was moderately intelligent and held a double degree in World History and Astronomy with which she had no idea what to do with upon graduating from University. She was fairly pretty with her chocolate brown eyes and hair to match that seemed to flow endlessly, proving to be just the perfect thing to draw attention to the rest of her curvy form. Despite being attractive in both appearance and in personality, Konoka had yet to land any relationship that lasted past the first few dates. It seemed like every guy that she tried to get involved with just wasn't what she was looking for. It was like they were missing something or just didn't have what it took to keep the girl's attention. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find that one person to click with and she was growing more and more frustrated as each failed date came and went. If she didn't find that person soon, she was going to just give up and run off to the mountains to live alone as a hermit.
"Anyway, I just finished putting out the new shipment of stuff we got this morning..." sighed Haruna happily as she made a move for the door. "I'm so glad that we're closed for the holiday tomorrow...now I'll have time to get to read some of the newer volumes I've added to my collection..."
"Not gonna lie Haruna...the stuff you have in your collection scares the shit out of me..." laughed Konoka as she collected up her things and followed her out. "...the hentai stuff you love so much just doesn't really do it for me..."
"Oh come on Konoka, it's not so bad..." replied the girl with glasses.
"How is looking at someone getting raped by an alien with a hundred tentacles not bad?" asked the chocolate haired girl with a confused expression on her face.
Haruna smirked deviously as she answered. "Weeeeeell...it all depends on how you look at it..."
As the two friends made their way back up the short hallway to the front of their store, they continued to debate the need for a good alien rape scenario. They were so into it that they didn't even realise they were back out front next to the cash. Konoka laughed as she looked around and saw a few customers staring at them with questioning looks. She quickly threw her hand over Haruna's mouth to signal for her to stop as she apologized for what they had probably overheard. Of course, the guys automatically waved it off as if it was nothing and continued to glance over at them periodically. When running a business, it sometimes paid off to be attractive young women.
It was now time for Konoka to head back home, so she waved and said her goodbyes to Haruna and Yue, who had made it her priority to work the cash to ensure that her investment ran smoothly, before heading over to the coffee bar. It was odd for such a thing to be inside a store like this, but Nodoka had insisted on putting one in, saying that it would only make their business that much better considering it would be a unique feature. The other three girls knew that it was just an excuse for their extremely cute friend to parade around the store wearing little maid outfits and act all shy to draw in customers. Konoka had to hand it to her friends; they sure knew how to run things. She quickly grabbed a latte and sent her friend a warm smile before heading out the door to catch the next bus back to her apartment.
After what seemed like the longest bus ride home she'd ever taken, Konoka finally came to a stop in front of her door. She reached into her pocket and began to fish around for her keys, cursing to herself when she didn't find them instantly. Finally after checking every single pocket twice, she tore open her bag to find the elusive keys hanging out at the bottom. She face palmed as she picked them up and inserted them into the lock. The door swung open and she stepped inside, relieved that she was finally home and had the entire day off tomorrow. Konoka dropped her bag where she stood before running over to the couch and flopping down in a huff. It was now time to relax and forget about everything. Just as she was beginning to enjoy herself, the silence around her was broken as a door down the hall creaked open to reveal a shabby and tired looking red head.
"Mornin'..." yawned the sleepy girl in question as she made her way to the fridge to throw back some milk straight from the carton.
Konoka smiled and rolled her eyes as she sat back up. "Morning? Damn Asuna, It's six in the evening...most of us have already been awake and at work for hours now..."
Asuna laughed as she tossed the milk back to its' spot. "Hey now...just because I don't work during the day doesn't mean you can make fun of me..."
"Ahh yes, the life of a bartender is one that harbours much difficulty..." said Konoka sarcastically.
"Damn straight it does..." replied Asuna as she shot a playful look to her friend. "You're lucky we've been best buds since birth or else I'd have popped you one by now..."
It was true; Konoka had known the fiery red head for the better part of her twenty-five years of life. They had been through everything together, including that messed up and painful period of time Asuna had gone through with her family when she had decided to come out and announce to them that she was, in her own words, extremely gay. She had been right by her friend's side, providing her with a place to stay in her own home when her parents kicked her out as well as a good shoulder to cry on when she had her harder days. Konoka was also there to watch her friend overcome that hardship, and move forward with a new and powerful sense of self. It was Asuna's idea to move out together as soon as Konoka got accepted to university and had even offered to pay the majority of the rent while she was in school by taking up the bartending job. School just wasn't something that was suited for the red head, and she quickly came to like the busy and exciting night life she became a part of. One thing was for certain; Konoka's life would be a whole lot more boring if it wasn't for Asuna's quirky and crazy antics.
"By the way...how did your date with whats-his-douche go last night?" asked Asuna as she sat down in a heap next to her friend. "Any walk of shame home this morning?"
Konoka gave the red head a dirty look before playfully punching her in the arm. "Why do you have to say things like that...you're just as bad as Haruna sometimes..."
Asuna just squinted back. "Now, now...answer the question..."
"It failed...as usual..." sighed Konoka as she brought her head down to rest on Asuna's lap. She put on a pout and crossed her arms. "I'm beginning to think that there's something wrong with me..."
"Well, I have a theory..." replied Asuna with a smug tone. She watched as Konoka shot her a warning look, already knowing what was about to come out of her friends mouth. "Come on hear me out..."
"Fine..." said Konoka while resting her arm over her eyes, instantly regretting her answer as soon as it came out.
"It's because you're totally gay..." began Asuna, ignoring the loud groan from her friend as she continued. "I mean think about it...no guy ever seems to be what you're looking for, you never talk about any man's looks like the other girls at the shop do, you've never actually slept with a guy and keep making random excuses for why you don't...and then there's your drawings..."
Konoka sat up instantly before turning to look her friend in the eyes. "What about my drawings makes me gay Asuna?"
The red head clicked her tongue before getting up and heading over to Konoka's discarded bag. She then pulled out the drawings that Konoka had shown Haruna earlier and made her way back to the couch, where she flopped down with a look of triumph on her face. "Here...just look at all the detail you put into drawing your female characters, which by the way seem to be the only gender you draw..."
Konoka grabbed her papers and stared at them. "I still don't see what your point is..."
"Well just look at your main heroine here..." began Asuna as she pointed to the character in question. "You seem to have put a lot of effort into making this one look attractive...I mean, she's a little too masculine for my taste in women, but I guess that sort of works for you..."
Konoka stared down at the character on the page. Sure she had spent a lot of time coming up with her design as well as her characters half human, half demon persona, but she had to make sure she got everything she pictured her story's hero to look like out of her head and onto the paper. The drawn out girl was slender, but had the build of an athlete, accompanied by dark eyes and raven black hair. It had taken Konoka a long time to work out the way that her character's hair should look, as the usual styles just didn't seem to go with her looks. After many eraser marks and crumpled up balls of paper later, Konoka had finally decided on making it shoulder length but tied up in a ponytail sitting on the side of her head. As soon as she finished drawing her out, the chocolate haired girl became extremely satisfied with her work and couldn't wait to start her manga with her.
"Just because I pay attention to detail, doesn't mean I'm into girls..." sighed Konoka. For some reason she felt her cheeks warm up and quickly turned away to find the remote for the T.V.
"Alright, you can deny it all you want..." laughed Asuna as she noticed a slight tinge of red in Konoka's features. "But I'm usually right on with my gaydar...and I keep getting some interesting interference from you..."
With that Asuna pushed herself up from the couch and made her way back down the hall to the bathroom to start getting ready for work and grab a shower. As soon as she heard the water come on, Konoka grabbed her drawings again and looked them over. She could see why Asuna used these against her; she did put a lot of detail into creating the hero of her story. It wasn't her fault though, it's just what came to mind when the whole idea for a manga popped into her head. Still, there was something that drew her attention to the dark features staring up at her from the paper. Was it possible that Asuna's half baked idea on her sexual preference was right? She had never really thought about it before, but it would explain a lot of things in her life. She shook her head and laughed that she had even considered the proposal to be true. Konoka was just in a slump when it came to guys, that was all...
Half an hour later, Asuna popped back out of the bathroom with a surprised look on her face when she saw Konoka still sitting on the couch watching T.V.
"Uhhh...what are you still doing here?" She questioned as she ran a towel through her hair. She suddenly stopped. "Don't tell me you forgot...frig, even I remembered..."
Konoka turned around and leaned over the back of the couch to look at her friend in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Asuna face palmed. "Weren't you supposed to meet up with your weird little grandfather for dinner tonight?"
Konoka's eyes grew wide before she shot up from the couch and made a grab for her things. "Shit! I completely forgot about that tonight! Oh man, I hope he isn't upset that I'm late..."
Asuna laughed as she watched her friend scramble for her things. "Well, if you leave right now you'll make it just in time!"
Konoka quickly waved to Asuna before shoving her shoes back onto her feet. In a quick blur, she made her way out the door and chose to run down the stairs instead of waiting for the unreliable elevator to decide if it wanted to work today. As soon as she got outside, she ran for the bus that was just about to leave, hoping on as the doors started to close. She smiled and pumped her fist in victory as the bus pulled away from the stop and made its' way down the street.
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Konoka took had just finished her last bite of the meal her grandfather had prepared for her and sat back in her chair in defeat. Every time she came to visit the old man, she left feeling like she gained twenty extra pounds. She couldn't help but overdo it though; her grandfather was a pretty good cook, despite his ancient age. Cooking wasn't the only thing that the old man took an interest in and one look around his little house was proof of that. Konoka sighed as she took in all of the odd looking things around her that she had come to recognize growing up around this house.
Old man Konoe was heavily involved in magic and all forms of witchcraft and had been long before Konoka was even born. His tiny home was filled with hundreds of books on the subject as well as things he claimed to be spells and various ingredients for potion making and the like. Konoka had grown up thinking that this stuff was a little weird, but she was more open to it than her red headed friend was. Asuna thought the whole magic thing was completely ridiculous and always turned down any invitations when she was invited over for dinner from Konoka. It wasn't because she didn't like the old man, it was just that she thought he was weird and was oddly energetic for a man pushing the ripe old age of one hundred.
Old man Konoe finished collecting up the dishes and placed them carefully in the sink before heading back to his seat across from his stuffed granddaughter. He looked up at her and smiled as she sent him one in return. "So...how's the manga business these days? Anything new and exciting happening down at the store?"
"Oh same old, everything's working out well...we just got a bunch of new stuff in today and Haruna seemed pretty excited about it." sighed Konoka happily. "Although, I didn't get a chance to look at most of it today...kinda wish I made a little more time for that..."
Her grandfather laughed. "You always did like reading those things, ever since you were a tiny little thing, I always saw you walking around with your nose stuck inside those books...you even spent more time reading those than playing with the boys on your street. Speaking of boys..."
Oh gods...here we go...
"What about them gramps?" asked Konoka innocently.
Every time she came over, her grandfather took it upon himself to pry into her love life. He was always so concerned about the well being of his only granddaughter, and simply wished for her to find someone to settle down with who could make her happy. He grew more and more concerned every year that Konoka remained without at least a boyfriend and worried that he would leave this earth without seeing his granddaughter truly happy.
"Well..." he began as she ran his hand over his long beard. "Have you met anyone interesting lately? You're such a pretty girl...you must have a hard time dealing with all the date proposals you must get..."
Konoka rolled her eyes as she sat back up in her seat. "Gramps...we've been through this every time I visit...I haven't found anyone yet and I'm starting to think that I'm just meant to be alone...none of the guys I date do it for me...no matter who they are, they all seem to be boring and I always find something about them that I don't like..."
"Perhaps...you are being a little too picky?" he replied with a playful eyebrow raise.
Konoka shook her head and laughed. "I don't think so...it's hard to explain, but they all just didn't feel right. I guess I'm just waiting for that one special person to come in and save the day..."
"I think you read too many stories about super heroes..." joked the old man.
"Speaking of superheroes..."
Konoka got up out of her seat and made her way over to her bag next to the door. She unzipped it and pulled out her binder full of the drawings she had completed, along with the rough drafted story to bring over to show her grandfather. She smiled as she handed them to him, nodding for him to take a look. The old man smiled back as he accepted the binder before placing it down of the table to go over it. Konoka always appreciated her grandfather's input on everything she did; especially since he was the only family that she had left after her parents passed away in a car accident just as she started university. She looked up to him and knew that no matter how annoyed she got at him for various things, that she would always love the odd old man.
Her grandfather smiled as he finished up and closed the binder. "I do have to say that you have some real talent Konoka."
"Thanks gramps, I really do try my best..." she replied as she once again collected up her binder. Konoka then glanced up at the clock and sighed. "It's getting pretty late...I should probably head out before I miss the last bus for the night."
"Alright, you be careful now..." he got up and made his way over to his granddaughter to give her a comforting farewell hug. "I love you dear."
"I love you too gramps." she replied while leaning down slightly to kiss him on the forehead before waving and heading out the door.
Once the door closed, Old man Konoe got to work. He quickly made his way around the room collecting up various items and one large, extremely old looking leather bound book. With arms and hands full, he then proceeded to his bedroom where he gently placed down his haul on a nearby desk. The old man then made his way over to what deceivingly looked to be a closet and opened up its' doors. A large smile spread across his wrinkled face as he stared down at magical work space. There were odd looking assortments of stones, viles, as well as symbols scratched into the ancient looking wooden table. He quickly turned around to grab the things he had collected before bringing them to their final resting place on the table. With his hands becoming a blur as he began to add random bits of things together in a large wooden bowl, he began to recite an ancient spell from his now open book. When he finished, he picked up a handful of the dried, mixed items and prepared to throw them on the ground before him.
"Now...let's see what's really going on in Konoka's heart..."
With that, he yelled the last few words of the spell and threw the mix on the floor; watching as various colours burst out in a mini explosion all over his room. The colourful smoke began to gather in a weird mirror-like circle in front of him. For a moment, all was quiet expect for the odd swishing sounds escaping from the magical cloud. Finally, the old man raised his eye brow and let out a small chuckle as he took in the sight being shown to him from the depths of his granddaughter's heart.
"Well...would you look at that..." he said as he continued to laugh to himself. "I always had a feeling that's what it was...although, considering how long it took for this magic to find it...I doubt that even Konoka really knows she feels this way...Whatever makes her happy makes me happy and I'll support her no matter what. However, with the way she's going about things now...she'll never find true happiness...there must be something I can do..."
With a snap of his fingers the visual passageway to Konoka's heart closed off and vanished. The old man then proceeded to scratch at his beard in an attempt to focus and think about the ways he could get the ball rolling in his granddaughter's love life. His mind seemed to have thought back to the drawings Konoka had always shown him and noticed the great amount of detail she tried to put into making each character look perfect. However what caught his attention the most was this newest character she had come up; she was the most detailed and carefully thought out one yet and the old man knew that his granddaughter must have been thinking about her for a long time; there definitely was something about that drawn out girl that made him feel like Konoka was drawn to her. Suddenly, an idea blasted its' way to the forefront of his thoughts. He quickly made his way back to the table and started flipping through the ancient text to see if his idea was possible. After a few moments of searching, he finally found what he had been looking for. He glanced it over and noticed that it was hard to read some of the ingredients he would need because the wording was so faded. He shrugged it off, basically getting what needed out of the directions.
Once again the old man's hands became a blur as he threw more things together. This was the first time he'd ever attempted a spell like this one and he found it to be one of the more difficult ones he'd ever done. He kept glancing over to his book, adding things in as they were called for, doing his best to recite the words at the same time. He was so concentrated on the words that he failed to see that the spell called for only a small amount of blackened powder and instead, threw in a large handful. The old man continued on without noticing, completely unaware of the consequences that would arise from this small mistake.
Once completed, he recited the last few words before giving the dried mixture a shake. He then took a picture of Konoka he had from his bedside table and laid it down on the wooden table, dumping the mix on top of it with a final incantation...
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Konoka turned the lights off as she entered her room, stretching as she made her way to her bed. It had been a long day filled with way too many cramped up bus rides and she felt as if she could pass out at any minute. She was sure to leave out some snacks for Asuna in the kitchen for when she got off work before getting ready for bed. She knew that her friend would most likely be starving when she got back from her long night's work making drinks at the local gay bar. Konoka flopped down on her bed and laughed to herself as she wondered if she should have put out some extra in case Asuna ended up bringing someone home. It would be like Asuna to get so lucky...she was a bit of a tease down at the bar.
After lying there for a few moments, the chocolate haired girl pulled down the blankets and slipped under them, ready for a good night's sleep. She smiled as she looked over to her desk where her drawings binder lay, excited to have a whole day to work on new adventures for her what was slowly becoming her favourite character. As the thoughts of those ideas swam around in her head, Konoka let out one final yawn before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Little did she know that only a few kilometres away, her grandfather had put into motion something so big, that it would no doubt change not only her life, but the lives of those around her. As she gently turned over in her sleep, she failed to notice a light glow emulating from her binder on the desk. The light went from being barely visible to blinding in an instant before fading back to darkness. All of the pages that were once filled with the drawings of all of her characters...were now blank...
Laying passed out on the couch, completely unaware of the new world around her...was a visitor for Konoka...