A Certain Magical Railgun
Chapter 1
Kaname Madoka was sweating bullets while secretly wishing that some magical bullet could resolve her current predicament. The wish was secret because next to her was an odd little being that specialized in granting wishes. Given his presence, Madoka had to be careful what she wished for, though she still wished that her friend Sayaka would similarly be careful.
Sayaka was currently embroiled in fiercely frenzied flashy combat with another Puella Magi, one with red hair and a sharp tongue. But while her tongue could cut deeply, it was rather the cuts of her spear that worried Madoka the most right now.
"Sayaka-chan!" cried Madoka, as she watched Sayaka getting dominated by the girl with fiery hair and temperament.
"Madoka, it's too dangerous to get closer!" exclaimed Kyubey, perched on Madoka's shoulders while the two closely followed the scene of bodacious battle before them.
Madoka had little choice but to follow Kyubey's warning as both were held behind a barrier of reddish diamonds linked together like a chain-link fence.
Sayaka's opponent then caused her spear to turn into a weapon resembling a chain. She swiftly stretched the chain around Sayaka, and then tightened it, enabling her to send Sayaka crashing hard against the hard metallic wall! Sayaka quickly collapsed to all fours, overwhelmed by the attack.
Her opponent then carefully recollected her chained weapon, transforming it back into a spear.
"If you're so dumb that you don't get it when I tell you…" Sayaka's opponent began in mocking threat, "and you don't get it when I beat you down… I'll just have to kill you!"
And this was it, the key moment of battle. Sayaka's opponent raced at her with a fearsomely elongated spear, her murderous intention made clear by her actions as well as her words. Sayaka leaped to her feet, and began to pull back her sword, realizing in the heat of the moment that her life was truly on the line. Thankfully for her, though, she was not the only one who realized that.
Suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, Sayaka's opponent was lit up like a tesla coil. Her opponent screamed from the great voltage sent coursing through her body. And then her opponent collapsed to the ground, slight burns on her body, and smoke rising from it.
Sayaka was stunned at the sight. Madoka was temporarily horrified, but soon breathed a sigh of relief.
"I have had enough of people threatening my family." spoke the voice of Sayaka's rescuer at this hour.
That rescuer had on a basic black and white baseball cap, a matching black shirt with three golden hearts on the chest, and jean shorts.
"Mikoto!" Sayaka exclaimed, startled at the sudden appearance of her cousin.
Mikoto Misaka, the Ace of Tokiwadai, walked casually towards Sayaka, but while cautiously looking over her fallen foe.
"I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes." Mikoto stated, "But Madoka really was telling me the truth when she called me. There are magical girls in this city!"
"But I guess even magic is nothing compared to a Level 5 Esper…" said Sayaka wryly with a slight grin, before turning her attentions to Madoka.
"Madoka, you never told me that you called…" Sayaka began in protestation.
"I had to do something, Sayaka!" Madoka exclaimed in reply, "I was worried about you."
"Besides, it was a good thing she did call me!" Mikoto exclaimed, while walking over the fallen Puella Magi, and leaning towards Sayaka with a worried look on her face, "That was one nasty fight you ended up in. If I had been any later arriving…"
"Thanks for the rescue." Sayaka interjected in a subdued tone, before raising her voice in alarm, "But this discussion will have to wait. There's a familiar we have to stop!"
"You have to deal with me first!" thundered a certain Puella Magi, rising back to her feet.
The redheaded girl took a swift swing of her chained-link spear at Mikoto, only to have it suddenly stop as Mikoto held out her arm and wrist.
"…W-what?!" exclaimed the redheaded girl in shock.
"Your weapon may be magical, but it's still made of metal, right?" Mikoto replied, while tilting her head sideways and backwards at the redheaded girl, "And if it's made of metal, it means I can manipulate it with my electromagnetism!"
Mikoto then took control of the redheaded girl's weapon, and used it against her! This time it was the redheaded girl that would get flung hard against the side of the wall. She landed hard on her butt, wincing in pain while gritting her teeth.
"Now get out of here!" Mikoto shouted at her, "There might not be any Anti-Skill in this city, but I'm sure there's some law enforcement. And I'll…"
"Heh." chuckled the redheaded girl, "Law enforcement. That's a laugh! You Academy City brats think you're some hot stuff in your high-tech city of total law and order, but you won't last long outside of it!"
"Oh, so do you want to try taking me on some more then?" Mikoto asked the redheaded girl, while raising an eyebrow and grinning maliciously.
The redheaded girl came to her feet, and made intense eye contact with Mikoto, who was standing directly in front of Sayaka. Madoka and Kyubey were off to the side.
After chowing down on a piece of pocky, the redheaded girl tilted her head to the side, deciding that discretion was the better course of action this day.
"You're tougher than that blue-haired newbie you're protecting, I'll give you that." she said to Mikoto, "But I won't go so easy on you the next time we meet."
And with that, the redheaded girl raced off, leaving Madoka and Mikoto sighing breaths of relief. Sayaka, however, had a look of sober reflection on her face.
"Now" said Mikoto, as she turned to face her cousin, "What's this about a familiar?"
Sayaka quickly answered Mikoto's question, including a brief explanation about witches and familiars. Mikoto was slightly skeptical of it all, but she decided that she wanted to see more for herself. So she followed behind Sayaka and Madoka as they tracked down the escaped familiar. Mikoto would normally have went into this sort of situation with guns a-blazing, but right now she was curious to see what her cousin could do as a magical girl.
-a
-b
"Nice job, Sayaka." Mikoto admitted, after Sayaka quickly dispatched the familiar in a fashion similar to how she defeated the TV-Witch that had threatened Madoka.
"It seems like you can even fly now!" Mikoto exclaimed, as Sayaka ran towards her with a big, proud smile on her face.
"Well, I don't know how long I could stay in the air like that." Sayaka admitted, while rubbing the back of her head, "But I can leap pretty high, and manage to sort of hover for a bit."
"I guess it is sort of how I can use my magnetic abilities to slow or quicken my descent when I'm in the air." Mikoto replied.
"Those abilities of yours could be greatly augmented if you became a magical girl!" Kyubey exclaimed to Mikoto.
"I-I-It can speak!" Mikoto stuttered in shock while backing away and throwing up her arms defensively.
"Oh, right, we forgot to explain that Kyubey isn't just some stuffed toy, ha ha ha!" Sayaka stated with some nervous laughter.
"It's through Kyubey that Sayaka became a magical girl." Madoka explained to Mikoto, "In return for agreeing to contract as a magical girl with him, Kyubey will grant any one wish."
"Any wish…" Mikoto said to herself, "I wonder what I would wish for?"
"I can't imagine that there's anything you would need to wish for, Mikoto!" Sayaka said cheerfully.
But Mikoto was lost in thought at the moment. She blushed a bit while imagining herself at a grand wedding reception, marrying a certain bishounen hero, and driving away in a gorgeous white limousine. Mikoto's mind soon wandered from that thought, though, given who she imagined would bless the marriage. Then as she looked at Kyubey…
"Hey, you're kind of cute!" Mikoto said, as she picked up Kyubey by his ears and looked at his beady red eyes, "In fact, if you were colored green…"
"A gekota?" Sayaka asked teasingly, while raising one eyebrow and grinning, "Aren't you a bit old for that sort of toy? Plus, Kyubey looks much more like a cat than a frog."
"GEKOTAS AREN'T FROGS!" Mikoto exclaimed in turn, promptly dropping Kyubey as she turned about to face Sayaka.
"And as for acting my age…" Mikoto said with a teasing tone and a saucy grin of her own, "At least I'm not dressed like a children's cartoon character…"
"H-Hey now, what's that supposed to mean, huh?!" Sayaka asked in turn, "Magical girls should look the part, don't you think?"
"Still, how can you go around in a skirt that short?" Mikoto asked, "I mean, with just underwear underneath?"
"Guys tend to like it better that way." Sayaka answered with a blush and a grin, before playfully raising an eyebrow, "Given how Miss Shorts-Under-Skirts has yet to have a boyfriend…"
"H-Hey, it's not like you have a boyfriend either!" Mikoto replied, "… Well, at least I don't think so. We both know who you like."
"…No, I haven't confessed to him." Sayaka replied, suddenly becoming strangely somber, "But that doesn't really matter. What matters is that he can play beautiful music again!"
"Is that what you wished for?" Mikoto asked, after a tense pause.
"…Yes." Sayaka replied after a tense pause, "And it's a wish I'll never regret."
Mikoto was simultaneously impressed by her cousin's wish, but also worried that she might end up regretting it in spite of what she just said. But Mikoto couldn't think of a good way to convey that worry, so she just stood there silent for another tense pause.
Thankfully for the two cousins, Madoka was able to read the mood and came up with a timely suggestion.
"Why don't we all go get some ice cream now?" Madoka suggested to Mikoto, "Besides we should really show you around Mitakihara Town! This is your first time here in over a year, after all!"
Mikoto and Sayaka both agreed to Madoka's suggestion. The three enjoyed casually hanging out together while eating ice cream and visiting various shops in Mitakihara Town's commercial districts. After a tense fight with a Puella Magi, dispatching a familiar, and delving into some touchy subjects, the three were relieved to just relax the rest of the day away.
Mikoto would be welcomed into the home of her Aunt and Uncle at the Miki household. There a guest bed was set up next to Sayaka's, as Sayaka's bedroom was certainly large enough to make room for it. The two cousins would reminisce about old times and enjoy a mostly lighthearted conversation.
Little did they know the problems that might soon converge on Mitakihara Town…
-a
-b
Back in Academy City…
In a darkened room, a video plays of a politician giving a speech. That politician is Tomomi Shizuki, a former resident of Academy City.
"I began my run for office a week ago, and since then I have grown even more firm in my desire to represent the good people of this city. I believe it is the upmost important to bring greater harmony between the laws and policies that govern Japan with the laws and politics that govern Academy City." he states, "Too many problems have been caused in that city. Problems that have spilled over into the whole of Japan, including our own Mitakihara Town. Mitakihara Town has recently been affected by many mysterious and disturbing happenings. My own daughter was very recently caught up in some mass hallucination which I have little doubt was caused by some Esper that slipped out of Academy City. Clearly Academy City needs greater guidance from the Diet to run itself properly! This needs to be done simply to protect our families and our property!"
Loud cheers from the gathered crowd are heard as Tomomi Shizuki makes these criticisms of Academy City. Then the video is turned off.
"He's leading in the polls…" comes the husky voice of a well-dressed man sitting in a shaded part of his office, "By a huge margin. His popularity throughout Japan is skyrocketing as he plays on the jealousies and resentments that so many in Japan feel towards this city. He may even one day become Prime Minister. This is unacceptable. I trust you know what this means?"
"You want him taken out?" asks a well-endowed auburn-haired woman.
"As quietly as possible." answers the man, lighting up a cigarette, "Make it look like an accident if you can."
"You know our price" replies the woman.
"I'll give you 50 percent upfront and 50 percent upon confirmation that he's dead." states the man.
"Then we have a deal" states Mugino Shizuri.
And with that, ITEM was set to take a little trip to Mitakihara Town…
To Be Continued…
