Notes:
Alrighty. I've had a colossal writers' block for the last... year. Hence no new chapter for I X, or anything else at all. So, this is an experiment of sorts. They'll be short, mostly unconnected shorts and snippets about various OCs as they pop up in my head, Puella Magi or otherwise. The main point of these is to see if I can write good shorts. So, read, review, even flame if necessary.
So anyway, on to the actual chapter. Again, short stories set in PMMM, and will be AU. No canon characters will be seen, unless it takes place after the anime events, in which case there may be cameos.
PPP
I woke up to the sun trying to blind my other eye. Grunting, I shifted in my makeshift bed, trying to doze off, which was hard enough the first time, but the rustle and bustle of pedestrians, all the vehicles, and the drunkard – the sun's still up, for pity's sake – down the alley made that a lost cause. Groaning, I got up, throwing off the newspapers I was using as a blanket, and crawled out of my box, folding it up and discretely putting it back into my backpack. Looking around, and making sure the drunk couldn't see me, I pulled out my Soul Gem and checked its' condition.
Bright, a weird mix of green and brown, like woodland marsh or something. Hell if I know. Point was, I was good to go for a few more days, provided I didn't exert myself. But that also means I've got nothing to do today, besides not get caught by any authorities or other Puella. Though, I should hand my used Seeds to an Incubator... Shaking my head, I inspected my outfit. My shirt was slightly ruffled, but otherwise fine. Jeans were good to go, though my boots were starting to wear out. Damn it, I'll need to replace those soon. Or I could hide out in Akihabara for a while. Costume would fit right in. Smoothing out my hair as best I could, I walked out into the main street, walking along the crowds of Mitakihara for the fifth time this week.
I don't like walking in the day. Too many people, honestly. Was a lot easier back when I was still normal. Didn't have to notice people staring at my face. Putting that aside, I looked ahead, my destination in sight. Why it was the shopping mall was something that irked me to no end, but I suppose I can at least get some new shoes, and maybe a jacket. Or maybe a hoodie; it'll stop people from staring at my eye.
As I entered the mall, I pulled out my old mp3 player and put on my earphones, letting whatever track I left on play through my head as I walked towards the restaurant she told me to meet up at. Some cafe, heard it's got great coffee. And there she is, in a school uniform of all things, with her long, shiny black hair falling on her back, making several boys around me drool, no doubt.
'Her' being Kisaragi Miya. Currently in second year, Mitakihara High, Student Council President last time I checked, and four year veteran Puella Magi. Met her two years ago, and after a week of hectic events, ended up as friends. Was one of those elegant types, more relaxed than most. Though she had a habit of asking me to do the craziest jobs.
Just as I got to her table, she turned to me and smiled. "Well, actually on time for once, Boss?" My eye twitched. She raised her hands, chuckling at the same time. "I'm joking, don't take it seriously." I wouldn't if you stopped CALLING ME THAT. "So, have a seat; coffee's on me."
"Well, someone's being generous." This is going to one of those jobs alright...
"Ah, but you can probably guess why I'm offering, can't you?" Tch. Better take stock after this. Sigh.
"Fine, fine." A waiter came by and asked us for our drinks, while trying not to stare at my face. After that, she basically made some small talk, asking me for stuff I hadn't thought about in years, and other girly stuff people wouldn't care much about. Have to maintain appearances, and all. "By the way, I see you didn't bring your girlfriend this time." She narrowed her emerald eyes slightly, and pretended not to blush as she glared at me.
"Must you refer to her as that? She is a good friend and trusted comrade. That does not mean-"
"I call it as I see it, and I definitely see it." And there's the pout. I kept the smirk as the waiter arrived and placed our drinks on the table, and went off to serve another customer. "Anyway... What do you need me to do for you?" Grumbling to herself, she took a sip of her drink, humming contently as she placed the mug back down.
"Well then, Boss." I narrowed my eye again, but blinked when she looked at me with a serious gaze. "I have a situation for you to take care of..."
PPP
Mitakihara was rather empty in terms of Puella. There were less than ten here, compared to the other cities, and most of 'em were all new to the job. There were three veterans, two of whom I happened to know, and the third kept to herself, occasionally helping out the new girls. And keeping an ear out for those who found out about the truth of this whole Magical Girl shtick. Considering how young they all are, it'd be surprising if any of them actually thought of asking about the details.
That aside, this place was basically good bait for any older Puella to show up and make territory. My target for the day was one such girl. From Tokyo, of all places. Didn't have her name, she caused a bit of a ruckus when she got here, beating up a couple of the young ones during witch hunts. No deaths yet, but she's sparking tensions. Letting her go on with this act may eventually turn someone into a Witch. And while a new Witch would mean more Grief Seeds, that's no excuse for letting a young girl become a monster. So, here I am, standing on a high building, using both my Soul Gem and a monocular to look for any Puella or familiars and whatnot. So far, I've been here for two hours, and no luck.
"I didn't expect another new Puella Magi to come to this city." Well, that was fast. I turned to look at the white haired rodent speaking into my head. Huh, big red eyes, huge ears with strange golden circles looped around them, a pink circle on its' back, and an extremely fluffy tail. Tch, they all make themselves look cute.
"So, you're the Incubator for this sector?" If it was surprised, it didn't show it. Then again, they don't have emotions, so it wouldn't know what surprise was. Or would it? "Well then, mind telling me where the other new girl is at?" It tilted its' head. I turned back to the city.
"You are trying to stop her from assaulting the Puella of this city in order to prevent them from becoming Witches, correct?" I stayed quiet, continuing my search. "May I ask why? After all, the formation of Grief Seeds is important for your continued survival, and that of the universe." True, but that's not a very human thing to think about.
"It was a request, actually. And the one who asked me to knows as well, but as humans, we'd rather not see young Puella become Witches so soon. It's a matter of conscience and principle." Getting angry at these creatures was pointless, after all. Try to talk from a logical standpoint, and you may end up agreeing. Or, you could just say it's a human thing, and they'll draw their own conclusions.
"So, an act of emotion? Or perhaps a justification?" I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a used Grief Seed. I heard it walk next to me as I placed it on the floor. "You have more Seeds, do you not? Though they are unused."
"And depending on how this goes, I may have more to give you tonight." Found her. Or rather, I see a group of girls, looking scared, but ready to fight. "Let's see if I can help my kouhais out a bit." I put the monocular away, and transformed. I looked over my current loadout; a Beretta M9, silenced; AK-47, one clip left, also silenced; a combat knife; and finally, a couple of smoke grenades. Okay, while this should do well enough against a Puella, you never know when a Witch could pop out. I'm already half-blind as it is. So, time to get to work.
Moving back a bit, I placed my hands on the floor, and started concentrating. This is one of the things that make me a rather... odd Puella. Most of these girls have a main weapon, or several in the same category. I make my own weapons. And I find it easiest to make guns, of all things. Any kind of gun. Even those that exist only as concepts. Of course, the magic cost for those are ridiculous, but I suppose that's why they call them impractical. It's probably why my outfit resembles military fatigues. I guess it's from my father's side of the family. I look again, and smile as a Railgun of all things lay in front of me. Hefting the oversized weapon up with ease, I check it over to make sure I didn't miss anything. Like the time I made a pistol without a trigger. Or ammo. Speaking of which, this thing doesn't have ammo. I'll have to supplement with my magic. It'll be a hell of a drain, but at least it'll do much more damage.
The gun faded away from my hands, stored till I need it. "The ability to create any kind of projectile based weapon, even if it's unfeasible? Interesting, your wish must have been quite intricate." I don't need your commentary, Incubator. And my wish was that of a naïve fifteen year old girl. Standing up, I backed away from the ledge, then made a running leap. Landing on a smaller building, I continued running unimpeded, making my way towards the group, and, once again, considered getting my hands on a bike.
Dropping into an alley nearby, I heard the sounds of an argument in progress. And, like I expected, the group of girls had gone to confront the lone Puella.
"And why should I stop, huh? Not my fault you're all weaker than me. Why don't you go get Witches from somewhere else?" Cocky? No, Tokyo Puella tend to be more used to fighting other Puella than most.
"That's not the point! You can't just attack others because they look for Witches here! This is our home, so-" Idealists. Naive little girls who aren't aware of how cruel even Puella Magi can be. I envy them, sometimes.
I crouched down behind a dumpster, making sure to stay in the shadows, and made a headcount. Five girls total. The Tokyo Puella was holding a sword in her hand, and was wearing a dull grey armored dress. The other girls were wearing an ensemble of color coded clothing. One in blue, small 'w' witch robes with a staff; one in white, wearing light armor with a sword; one in red, kind of like leather armor with a crossbow; and one in black, wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts with gauntlets and greaves. The blue one was arguing with the other girl, while White and Red were twitching slightly, looking ready to jump. The black one, on the other hand, was looking in my direction. Closely. Wait, she can't see me, can she?
"Arika." She spoke out, getting the blue one's attention. "There's another person here." The other three looked at her, while miss Tokyo started looking around. Well, looks like Black over there has decent senses. No point in hiding then.
"Not bad, not bad at all." They all tensed. I stepped out into the open. "I'm impressed. Not many Puella tend to notice me so quickly." At least not till they have a bullet in their bodies.
"And who are you supposed to be?" The blue one, Arika, spoke first. The other three watched me and the other girl, who- Oh, oh. She knows me. "Are you-"
"What the Hell are you doing here?! They said you were headed for Osaka!" She raised her sword at me, taking a defensive stance. Sigh, they always think I'm going to fight. Wait, what did she mean by that? People are actually keeping eyes on me? Wow, I didn't think I was that bad... Huh, even the other four are looking worried now.
"Calm down, will you? You're scaring the girls." And they were quite tense, actually. Though treating them like kids seemed to have annoyed them a bit. "As for why I'm here... Well, I think you know. So, could you not give these girls trouble?"
"Oh what, now you're the boss of this place too?! You on some kind of peace-keeping force or something?!" And now she's hysterical. Why doesn't anyone ever calm down when people tell them to?
"No, but the actual head Puella here isn't too happy with your rough housing. And she happens to be a friend of mine. So be a good girl and not cause trouble, hmm?" Ah, she's angry. "Or..." I pulled out the AK, and loaded it. "Your call." Please don't attack. I hate close combat.
After a few seconds of silence, she lowered her sword, and then threw it at me. Of course. Moving aside, I shot a quick burst, managing to nick her left arm as she brought out another sword and rushed me. Jumping back, I pulled out the M9 and my knife, and began shooting. She deflected most of the shots, and tried a vertical slash. Which managed to cut the barrel of my pistol. Kid, do you have any idea how annoying it is to make a pistol almost every week?!
Grabbing the gun from the cut barrel, I smashed the grip on her head, and jumped up as she swung her sword again, almost scraping the soles of my boots. I kicked her as I landed, forcing her away from me. Reaching behind me, I primed a smoke grenade, and threw it between us. Her eyes widened, and she threw another sword at it, causing it blow apart, the smoke filling the alley. Ignoring the coughing and cursing of my target, I readied the AK, and fired a few bursts where she stood, hearing her scream in pain. "YOU GOD DAMN BITCH!" Sigh, kids these days. Running forward, I grabbed her sword arm, and punched her mid-section before throwing her hard against the wall. She didn't get up, glaring at me as blood dripped from her chest and arm. "You... Dammit, what kind of Magical Girl uses live ammo?!" I let the AK dissipate, and walked to her, knife still in hand.
"The grouchy kind. Now, how about you stop this nonsense and go back to Tokyo, or, you could apologize to these girls and hunt elsewhere." The girl glared at me again.
"W-woah... She's good." I turned to see our audience. The four were staring, each with differing reactions. Arika was just gaping, Red looked impressed, White was staring at the bleeding girl, and Black kept a neutral gaze.
"Y-you shot her... She could die!" I shrugged.
"This is nothing, really. She could still get up and fight. She just knows better than to try." The girl was still glaring, but kept quiet. Her sword had already faded and the bleeding had stopped. "She's already healed too. Besides, I didn't shoot anything important."
"But-!"
"Oh shut up, will you. She's a damned veteran. She's probably been doing this longer than your 'senpais' have been." I gave the girl a look. "Alright, alright. I won't bother the newbies anymore, dammit. Just get off me." I tilted my head slightly. "... I'm not apologizing." Sighing, I backed off, letting the girl stand. Reaching into my pocket, I handed her a Grief Seed. Looking at it, she scowled. "What, taking pity on me?" I smirked.
"No, but I figure you could use a cleaning." Grumbling, she walked off. Chuckling, I turned back to the other four. "So. That's that. Is there something you want from me?" They kept quiet, slightly pensive, until Red decided to speak up.
"Just who exactly are you? The other girl was scared of you, and..." And so are you. Yay for first impressions.
"Me? Eh, it's a long story. Ask your senpai, she'd tell it a lot better than I could. Miya, I mean."
"Y-you know Kisaragi-senpai?"
"Hmm? Oh, we go back." I shot her, she stuck a sword in my stomach. Befriending! "She's the one who sent me out here in the first place, though I don't think she intended for us all to meet, but hey, shit happens. Well then, I'll let you girls get to hunting; there's a Witch popping up nearby." The glow of our Soul Gems was hard not to notice. I began walking away.
"Wait!" I turned. It was White this time. "Tell us your name, then."
"My name is..." I stopped using that years ago, but they don't need to know that. "It's Motoko." With that, I walked away.
PPP
I raised a Grief Seed to my Soul Gem, washing away the inky taint. Well, at least that Incubator will get another Seed. "So, I see it went relatively well?" I turned my head slightly as Miya approached. Still wearing a school uniform.
"Why are you still wearing a uniform?" She blinked, then smiled in that annoying way. Fine, be like that. "Never mind. As for this little job, it cost me two Seeds, but I suppose the girl won't be troubling your little group anymore. Oh, speaking of, they're going to start asking things about me, so you better make an essay. I'll grade you on it later." I deadpanned as I checked over the new pistol I made.
"As always, your humor leaves much to be desired." Well forgive me for not being witty. "But anyway, here." She handed me two Seeds. "One as promised, and the other is a gift. I suppose this makes us even now?" I looked at her, and took the two Seeds, stowing them away. Standing up, I dispelled my uniform, letting my ragged clothing form again. "Oh, and I got the jacket for you." She handed me a shopping bag, from one of those brand label stores. I narrowed my eye.
"You didn't have to get one from-"
"I wanted to. After all, I owe you a birthday present." Heh. Is that so. Shaking my head slightly, I took the bag, and took out the jacket. It was a hoodie, with a camouflage pattern. Wearing it, I pulled the hood over my head. "Hmm, yes, it hides your face quite well. Ah, what a shame. You have a most beautiful complexion." Ha ha ha.
"Right, whatever you say." I walked a few steps away, thinking of another alley to sleep in. "But anyway, I figure I should turn in for the night. Maybe hunt a Witch in the morning." I walked past her, but stopped when she gently grabbed my shoulder. Turning to her, I saw she had that same old 'I want to help you' look she always does.
"You... you can stay over... if you want. My parents will not be home for a few days, so no one will know, and-" I shook my head. Same old Miya, trying to be some kind of messiah.
"I'm fine, Miya. I can manage." Walking a few steps away, I stopped again. "... Thanks. You're a good friend." Better than I deserve. With that, I walked away, and Miya would probably have her head bowed down, or be giving me some kind of sad look. Heh, it's like I'm some kind of sympathetic character to her. Smiling slightly, I arrived in an empty alley. Pulling out the box, I set it up, and crawled into it. Pulling my hood over my head, I shifted on my side, and closed my eyes, hoping that maybe I might have a dreamless sleep. I've had enough nightmares for one week.