Saki Yoshida had no friends. She was just a nerdy, plain girl who avoided socializing with others. That all changed, however, when she decided to alter her appearance. Now, she was the trendy and popular Saki. She was the one who didn't wear glasses. The one who wore makeup and got the eyes of every boy and girl in school.
Tomorrow's a day off, so I need casual clothing... What should I do...? I got an allowance from mom to buy some clothes, but...
On her way home, Saki spotted a magazine store.
I guess I should buy a magazine too.
Not being much of a fashionista, Saki had a difficult time understanding the appeal of models. Still, she read on regardless. If she was going to live her new life, she needed to know how to blend in properly after all.
"Ohh, is that the latest 'MonMon'?" a voice said from behind. "I was looking for that."
Saki turned around. Standing in front of her was a tall (and rather handsome) adult man.
Woah... A grownup guy's talking to me... What should I do...? "Um, I'm sorry, I was just flipping through. If you want it... Here."
"Oh no! God'll smite me if I took away a magazine from such a cute girl. How about this... I'll pay for it, so let me read it for just a bit afterwards."
A light blush formed across her features.
This is the first time somebody's called me cute. "Huh... Cu- I mean... It's fine! I-I'll buy it myself!"
"Seriously, it's alright! It's a cheap price to get to talk to a beautiful girl like you."
Even as she turned her face away in embarrassment, the adult man's barrage of compliments continued unabated.
It's embarrassing getting praised... Wait, is this what you call...flirting...? This guy... Does he really think I'm cute?
"Hey, then... Instead of standing here reading magazines... Let's go somewhere we can sit down and relax!"
Being a loner for most of her life, Saki had never received such compliments before. Getting hit on, by an older man of all people, was a new and admittedly exhilarating experience.
Wow... I changed my appearance just a bit and everything changed so much. It feels good being called cute too... I almost feel...like I can feel good about myself!
In the end, she agreed to follow him to wherever it was he planned on going. While she wasn't looking, the man's seemingly friendly smile slowly morphed into a more predatory grin.
Hook, line, and sinker...
But before they could leave the store together, a loud thud shook the room. Curiosity overtaking the both of them, they turned around only to witness a large hole replacing what used to be a portion of the store's outer wall. Standing in front of the impromptu entrance was a tall (and rather intimidating) man.
The first thing that one could likely notice was the giant sword strapped to this man's back. Actually, it really couldn't be called a "sword". It was more like a giant slab of steel than anything else. Another peculiarity was the clothing he wore. It was armor (adorned with a cape) that one would find more commonplace in a medieval army or mercenary band than in any modern society. The final most distinguishable characteristic was the man's face of all things. While his left eye was open, his right eye remained closed.
As soon as said left eye turned its attention on the person standing next to Saki, a wide toothy grin replaced this stranger's otherwise neutral grimace. Seeing the taller, more muscular individual approaching him, the other man took several nervous steps back.
"I d-don't know what business you have with me, but i-if it's about the debt, don't worry! I've found a way to make some easy mon-"
He was unable to complete his sentence, however, on account of a giant slab of steel instantly and vertically bisecting him in two. It took approximately three seconds for Saki to comprehend the scenery before her, but once she did, all she could respond with was...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Seeing the killer's gaze turn towards her general direction, her legs began to shake uncontrollably.
"P-p-please d-don't hurt me..."
Despite her pleas, he lunged at her. Saki closed her eyes, expecting this to be the end. Upon reopening them, however, she was treated to a sight even more bizarre than the previous one. First off, she was currently being carried (bridal-style) by the behemoth of a man who had slaughtered the nice gentleman from earlier. Second off...
"Eeeek!"
Before her eyes, said nice gentleman's corpse transformed into a monstrous collection of tentacles and tendrils (kept together by an obscured main body). Letting her down, the swordsman casually approached the monstrosity.
"Damn you," it spoke. "I had my tentacles wrapped all over that stupid girl, and you just had to show up and ruin everything!"
It shot several sharp tentacles towards the swordsman. Unphased, he took his blade and sliced all of the tentacles apart in one fell swoop.
"I-impossible!"
At this point, the man's intimidating presence made it feel like he was towering over the creature (despite it being bigger than him). Sword in hand, he mowed it down relentlessly until it was reduced to nothing but mincemeat. Its remaining organs and tentacles shriveling up signaling that it was officially dead, the swordsman holstered his blade and turned around.
If she hadn't been frozen in place by fear, Saki would've run away in a heartbeat. But some surreal mixture of terror and bewilderment kept her legs firmly planted on the ground. Each step this terrifyingly strong swordsman took towards her caused approximately one liter of sweat to pour down her whole body.
I... I can't even stand now.
The swordsman was just inches away now. The mere act of him kneeling down made Saki flinch, and, as he reached into his pouch, she instinctively closed her eyes. All she could feel afterward was a familiar accessory resting on the bridge of her nose. Upon reopening them, she found that her vision was slightly muddled by the combination of contacts, which she currently wore, and a pair of thick rim glasses (which she could've sworn she had thrown away).
The man then stood up and left the store without so much as a word. Saki sat still, trying to put the pieces together of what she had just witnessed. Out of all of the thoughts circling around her head, one stood out from the rest.
It was a question that gnawed at her mind relentlessly.
"Who...was that guy?"