Well, as I continue my never ending journey into fanfiction madness. I've decided to give Black Rock Shooter another go, only this time WITHOUT the weird crossover ideas,
Disclaimer: Black Rock Shooter belongs to Huke
In the darkness of the Otherworld there exists a wandering soul who lives a life of endless battle, her metal claws gleaming with the blood of her prey as she searched the endless deserts for her next target.
Unfortunately on this day her prey would find her, a group of hooded figures would be charging their way over the dunes while wielding various weapons of all shapes and sizes, but they all had the potential to kill if used in the write hands.
But this pillar of strength feared nothing, if anything she hungered for the disadvantage as her claws twitched in anticipation of the coming onslaught as her prowling pace became an all-out gallop whilst preparing to crash through the wave of Blanks who believed themselves to be a match for her power.
For her, this was just another day in Paradise.
The smell of freshly baking bread was always a welcome greeting a sleepy Yuu Kotari as she made her way into her washroom to prepare for the day with her usual routine: A lukewarm shower where she counted down the five minute time limit that their penny-pinching landlord had installed on all of the bathrooms in their apartment complex, after that it was brushing her teeth with the Frog-E brand toothbrush that her mother had insisted on buying for her since she was three. (At that age it was cute, but at fourteen the sight of a widely-grinning cartoon frog looking back at you in the mirror was beyond annoying and a tiny bit creepy.) and once her chompers were at their whitest, she would head downstairs to make herself a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, peruse the funny pages, then make her way across the street to the family bakery for another day of work alongside her mother.
"Sometimes I wonder why mom decided to open a bakery, it's not like anyone really values fresh bread when they can get it just as easily in the city." Yuu would sigh as she stared up at the humble and crudely-lettered sign that hung over Blissful Bits Bakery, she would spare a glance to the side as she watched two of the more popular girls from her school laughed happily as they made their way to the train station that led into the inner city. Regular girls who were just living their lives and having fun, they didn't have to spend their weekends helping to run a family business that was barely staying afloat on a GOOD day. "I'm not asking for much, maybe just a LITTLE time on the basketball courts sometimes?" With a heartbreaking sigh she would turn to the front door and plaster a smile upon her face, sure she would be stuck for the next six hours indoors when she would rather be outside and playing street ball but at least she was earning a bit of a heftier allowance then most teens would in her position.
And a swollen piggy bank was definitely nothing to sneeze at when it came to a rare day off, this thought would brighten her smile more naturally as she stepped inside the shop to find the front counter empty and giving the short-haired girl something to be concerned over.
"That's not right, Mom would never abandon the counter AND leave the sign on the "open" side" She would keep her steps light as she calmly scanned the ovens to find the morning loaves rising as calmly as they always did, her mother's dedicated to baking was something to be admired after all. She was up before dawn, hard at work on prepping the day's offerings, getting the dough settled for bread, pastries, and anything else that a bakery would usually sell. "Nothing's burning so that's a good sign at least." Yuu would calmly set down her bag behind the counter and proceeded to the back room to put on her apron and gather her thoughts, but as she was doing her best to try and tie the annoying string behind her back to hold the apron together she started hearing bits of a conversation on the other end of the door.
"Please, I just need a little more time…no, I wouldn't dare miss a payment- Yes..yes I understand." A heavy sigh could be heard from the other side followed by a slam of a door leaving Yuu even more perplexed at the situation, her mother was never one to overtly lose her temper regardless of the situation instead channeling her emotions into crafting different baked goods: Cinnamon rolls if she was feeling sweet and lovey-dovey, jalapeno bread if she was feeling sassy, for her to be affected so openly..was akin to a pig sprouting wings out of its bag and taking to the sky.
It was something that just shouldn't be possible.
Strength could feel the anxiety and agitation wash over her like a bucket of ice water, helping her to focus on the fight even as the blood threatened to drip in her eyes as she threw aside a Blank that had been impaled on her scorpion-like tail. It was her duty to take on the pain of her other half, as it was for the few other greater powers she had sensed throughout the Otherworld that hadn't dared saunter into her world. But things like this were of a trivial concern to her even as their spears and arrows sliced through her body, Strength would continue her bloody march through the desert wasteland despite the number of Blanks that continued to block her path. Letting out a psychotic laugh as her Orge Arms transformed to a shape the allowed her to fire a large and steady stream of bullets as the Blanks twitched and writhed in silent agony before collapsing into a heap, the spent rounds dropping from her Ogre Arms as she surveyed the valley of carnage that she had caused with her power.
This too was a part of who she was: A blood-soaked murderess who helped shoulder the burdens of a girl on the Other Side while traversing her desert in search of the Blanks and banishing them in the cruelest ways she could think of, it was one of the many things in her life that brought a smile to her tan-skinned face as she began climbing to the top of the dune. This was were her enemies had decided to surface from, so it seemed like the logical decision that any of the remaining troops were now hiding just beyond it.
Unfortunately for Strength this would not be the case, as a heavy force would swat her aside as she tumbled through the sands at a blistering speed before digging her Ogre Arms into the sand to halt her momentum before flipping into a kneeling position, her hoodie flung back to reveal short white hair and a merciless grin upon her face at the thought of yet another battle coming her way. She would stand up slowly as her Ogre Arms readied themselves to shower the unlucky Blank in a world of hurt, but as she turned to face the enemy at hand this type of mindset would be discarded as she stared into the eyes of a red-eyed dragon, its jaw full of Blanks as it stared down at the diminutive Strength with disgust before swallowing the mouthful of mindless beings and letting loose a mighty roar as the girl leapt into the sky to begin their fight in earnest.
Yuu would sigh in exasperation as the last customer for the day shuffled off with the last loaf of pumpernickel bread (One of her mother's more quirky business decisions.) but she was nonetheless grateful for her workday to be over, now there would be no excuse for her mother to avoid her questions as she had for most of that day thanks to the influx of the usual elderly customer base. "Man do those people love to talk your ear off." She would sigh and munch does on a piece of banana bread she had purchased with her allowance, savoring the sweet flavor of the bread and allowing her tired body to relax from the hustle and bustle of the day. "Mom's been freaked out the entire day, she barely gave old man Nagata his regular ten minutes of banter before shrugging him off." Discarding the wrapper her bread was carried in, the short-haired girl would untie the apron and set it on the counter as she went to move the "open" sign and flip it in order to begin cleaning the shop. But a sudden thud on the window would startle her out of the banana bread induced autopilot she found herself in, a dark-haired young man would stare back at her as he struggled to lug numerous grocery bags in his arms as his hazel eyes pleaded with her to open the door.
"Ugh, today WOULD end with a freakin' straggler!" She would point to the sign on the door as she slowly and deliberately began flipping it to face "Closed", she needed answers from her mother and now wasn't the time to deal with some Johnny-come-lately who decided to wait until sunset to indulge in a bread run. "C'mon buddy, take the HINT and get lost!" But the raven-haired boy would shake his head furiously as he deliberated setting his groceries down, relenting as he carefully lowered the bags from his arms.
"Please, for the love of Kami! My family and I just moved into town and my mother decided for some insane reason to cook dinner from scratch and we NEED bread!" He would whimper audibly as Yuu paused to actually consider his request, sighing as she opened the door and gestured for him to walk inside before noticing the abundant number of bags and helped him gather the groceries before heading inside the shop.
"It's official, you've beaten me in the crazy parent department. A whole meal made from scratch on the first day you've moved into town, that's..just insanity with a capital I." She would earn a tired chuckle for reply as he carried the rest of the bags inside while scoping out the meager selection of bread for the day, his expression falling to pieces as he didn't see a single baguette on the shelves. "Something the matter, you look like someone just decided to kick a puppy in the face."
The young man would sigh as he examined the shelves in a hurried panic for a full minute before leaning against the wall with a noticeable frown. "She wanted something fancy, and the baguette is the fanciest bread that I could possibly think of. I figured that if we got it fresh then Mom would finally relax and ease up on me and my younger sisters, we've still gotta adjust to a new school on top of everything else for crying out loud!" He would shake his head tiredly as he began picking up the grocery bags carefully, trying to keep a perfect balance so that he wasn't overweighed on either side. Yuu bit her lip in hesitation as she watched him begin to slowly waddle towards the door, an empty-handed soul that would walk through the front door of a new and unfamiliar home while having to deal with a stressed out parent and two younger siblings to try and wrangle in the meantime.
"Hold on a sec, I think I have something nice and fancy that'll impress your mom!" With a cocky smirk she would dart behind the counter and retrieve the brioche she had stored away for her own personal enjoyment and quickly stash it into a bag for him as she made her way back to him. "Brioche, it sounds as fancy as the baguette but it's nice and sweet so even the little ones can enjoy it." Yuu would place the bag of bread in his mouth before he could even give her a proper Thank You, making sure to slap an I.O.U. on the front of the bag before shooing him out the door and finally locking it behind him.
"That was very kind of you dear, I know it must be hard to turn away the lure of money in order to do a good deed but..karma has its own benefits in the long run." Sumira Koutari would give her daughter a warm smile as she began wiping down the used bread trays without saying another word, furthering the confusion that Yuu was already feeling in the current circumstances. "Yes..sometimes good karma can make up for any kind of financial failings." She would make her way to the back room in order to wash the trays and catch a few winks of sleep before beginning the cycle of madness again.
"Mom, is everything alright?" Yuu's voice would tremble as she asked this question, the older woman had been on edge that entire day and nothing seemed to lift her flagging spirits. "You've been out of sorts the entire day, and all this talk about money is kind of scary. You always said that you started the bakery as a way to let others know what true happiness, and then there's that weird bit..about bread being the embodiment of life…and stuff." The younger girl would be visibly perplexed by what she was saying, but Sumira seemed to grasp her reasoning all the same as her smile seemed to grow brighter before continuing her trek to the back and leaving her daughter feeling disheartened at how quickly her questions had been brushed aside. "Dammit mom, you shouldn't have to shoulder this alone..I'm right here in the trenches with you."
Strength would feel the weight of her Other Self's worries and doubts pressing down upon her back, barely keeping her from avoiding a blast of flame from the rampaging dragon before countering with another storm of bullets from her Ogre Arms as she landed onto the sand dunes and sprayed out as many bullets as she could muster before rushing into smash the dragon's belly with her fists to little effect, gritting her teeth as she backpedaled from an oncoming claw swipe as she tried to think of a counterattack for the ebony beast's armored scales.
She had a mission to bear the pain of her other self, and as she stared up at the great dragon standing before her it was painfully obvious that failure was not an option.
With both sides letting out defiant roars, Strength and the Black Dragon would begin round two with a thunderous crash.
So, I based this story off of a BRS Crossover I have up called Black Rock Magic, it's basically the cast in a universe where the women of the world all have the potential to become Sorceresses and in order to hone such a power they attend a school known as the Academy of Might and Magic. In this universe Yuu is the daughter of a baker whose business is facing hard times (in the crossover it's already sunk.) and while in reality she's doing her best to soldier on, every shoving aside her love of basketball. In the Otherworld Strength continues her job of looking out for Yuu (Sorry to fans of the anime but no switcheroo here, Strength is Strength, Yuu is Yuu) while dealing with the Blanks that have begun to emerge.
As for the OC at the end, he's got a role to play but he'll be nowhere as insufferable as the OC in the crossover turned out.
If you've made it this far into the Author's Notes, I have a poll running on my profile page and if you'd like to see more Black Rock Shooter stories from me, then please vote there.
Ta-Ta for now.