It was a dark misty night in the ever advancing city of Mitakihara, Japan. Lights of red, blue, yellow, green, and oh so many other shone beacons into the dark clouds above. Blimps flew high above the skyscrapers littering the city, digitized advertisements running across their sleek exteriors.
"Do you hate your flesh," one read, "Scrape it off!" It finished, the scene of a man tearing his own face from the skull under. Another one simply said "REAL Water!" with an average looking man holding up an icy glass of liquid. Ample other advertisements with varying levels of risque were displayed over the cityscape.
Yes, Mitakihara was ever advancing, with cybernetics and artificiality becoming the norm over the natural. Yet that didn't mean anything to Kyoko Sakura, who sat atop one of the many skyscrapers, apple in hand, which she swiftly took a bite of and began chewing.
She didn't give half a shit for the mundane lives of humanity. They could continue to squabble in their own pitiful greed for the newest ocular implant or the freshest pair of mechanical tiger legs. They'd all fall short of what a Magical Girl is capable of, anyways.
Taking another bite, the redhead stared down at the bustling city below. It was 3AM and yet the city was alive as ever, possibly even more so than the day due to the copious number of gangs and criminals running amuck. Hell, she could hear some gunshots at this very moment, followed not by police sirens, but only more gun fire.
A flying car whizzed past her perch, an intricate purple themed lizard insignia seared into the door. The redhead stared as it flew by, her eyebrows furrowing tightly.
Yeah, the criminals below were small time thugs and wannabe gangsters. The real dastardly villains rested high above the ground, away from the common filth littering the streets. Far, far away from the mundane problems of the average man, the corporates were free to ignore, manipulate, and exploit the world around them.
None were as bad as Homura Akemi, the youngest CEO in the city's history. She took over her father's relatively small company when he died on her 15th birthday - and four years later, she's only made it one of the largest corporations in the entire country. How she did it, very few know. It's her second closest kept secret, though many would only think it her first.
Kyoko knew better. She knew what the bitch was up to at these times. The very same shit she was doing.
"Huntin' witches in your damn flying car, eh?" She grumbled, huffing indignantly. "You're lucky I don't smack it right outta the sky." Mami wouldn't like that though. The last thing Kyoko wanted was yet another fight with her senior Magical Girl, so she refrained every time she thought about it.
It was getting damn hard, though.
Taking another glance down, the girl sighed and leapt down, not caring if anyone saw. There was strange shit going on all the time in this city, a girl jumping to her 'death' wasn't anything anyone would talk about.
She landed in a pretty empty alley - besides two weirdos fucking against a dumpster a few meters away, both of which were too psyched out on drugs and sex to notice her - and let her transformation die off. She walked out of the alley with her standard green hoodie and jean shorts, a cigarette finding its way to her lips immediately after. That was another thing Mami disliked, but no amount of fighting stopped her from doing it.
The hell did it matter? Her lungs literally could not be damaged from them. They regenerate any damage taken. So she could piss off with that "it's bad for you!" bullshit. Taking a huff after lighting it with a tiny amount of magic, she let the burn of carbon monoxide run its course down her airway. Felt good to feel sometimes, something Mami was unfamiliar with. Damn broad always wants to be the epitome of good, or something.
Her and Sayaka were such bores, though Sayaka knew how to let loose sometimes.
She made her way through the meat market - a strange almost black market area that traded human flesh for more dubious implants. The cops knew about it, everyone did, but it dragged in too much cash for them to bust it down. 'Sides, Akemi wouldn't stand for it. It's just one of many ways she maintains her corporation's power.
"Selling fifty ounces of military grade nanobots!"
"Got six quadruped implants, straight from China!"
"Two Russian neurogeysers, ripe for the takin'!"
Kyoko ignored the kiosk owners, taking another long draw of her cigarette. She glared at a large woman with roughly sixteen spider eye implants who stepped in her way. She forced herself to resist the shiver running up her spine at the sight; shit always did creep her out. "Watch where you're going, whore," the spider woman said.
Kyoko's eyebrows furrowed again and she bit down on the butt of her cigarette with indignation. "Who the hell're you calling a whore, you fat lard of shit?" The woman had the audacity to gasp in offense, after calling her a whore!
"Honey!" She hollered, not even having the balls to stand up for herself. Kyoko looked to the side to see a lithe, tan man walk forward, his eyes hidden behind a pair of lean shades. His hair was slicked back, exposing a glowing tattoo on the side of his head. The redhead nearly spit; dude was part of the Lum Heads gang. They controlled this sector, or so they like to say. Regardless, getting in a scuffle with one of them will only bring in a flock of 'em, something Kyoko had neither the desire nor magic to deal with at the moment.
So, with a sigh, Kyoko shrugged. She didn't make it this far being a stubborn mule. "Alright, alright," she grumbled, raising her hands up. "I take it back."
"Think a take-backsy is gonna cut it, skank?" The man snarled, grabbing her wrist with his greasy palm. Kyoko nearly cringed, holding back only so she wouldn't piss him off more. "Nah nah nah. You gotta pay." He pulled out a curved knife - gambit or whatever, she doesn't know knives - and placed it against her cheek. "Hand over that nice jacket you got there. It'll look good on my princess over there."
Glancing at the far-too-large-for-her-jacket woman, Kyoko raised an eyebrow in question. "You sure 'bout that? I'm pretty positive it'll be a good wrist band, but that's about as far as it'll go."
"Real fuckin' funny," the gangster snarled, backhanding her with the knife held hand. The point got far too close to her eye for comfort, and while she'd ultimately be okay, the pain would put her out of commission for at least two hours. Her healing wasn't quite what Sayaka's was. "Hand it over."
Releasing a breath slowly, Kyoko unzipped it with her only free hand, nudging it off the same side shoulder. The filthy man removed his grip and pulled off her jacket, grinning with yellow teeth at her as he handed it over to the fat lady. "You happy now?" She asked, crossing her arms over her black tank top as the chilly air brushed against her skin.
"Remember not to piss us off again, next time might not go so well," he threatened, glaring at her before turning away, his comically large girl walking after him.
"Well if that wasn't the most bullshit thing to happen to me all night, I'm not sure what is," she sighed and started walking once more. A night of no Witches and a stupid mugging made for a very grumpy Kyoko, and all she wanted to do was get back to Mami's place, shower, and fuck right off to sleep.
"The heck happened to you?" Her blue haired friend shouted in surprise as Kyoko walked through the door, essentially giving her away to the overly doting concern of Mami, who instantaneously appeared before her, yellow eyes emitting a powerful aura of worry.
"Mind moving?" Kyoko duly requested, staring down at her senior. She was only 168cm, but to Mami's 159, she was basically a giant. Sayaka was 169, making her the tallest of their apartment, which suited Kyoko just fine.
Mami huffed and crossed her arms under her massive tits - something Kyoko and Sayaka teased her relentlessly for over the past 2 years they lived together. "Well excuse me for caring about my friend!"
"You're excused," Kyoko nodded and tried pushing through, her mind set on a nice lukewarm shower to stave off the incessant winter cold. Mami retaliated with a side step - simple, yet effective, and ultimately leading to a little side-stepping battle of reactions.
It only went on for fifteen seconds before Kyoko gave up. Wasn't worth the effort. "Gosh, you stink! You need a shower!" Sayaka shouted from the couch in the room. Singular. This was a one room one bath apartment, yet it still drained all of their pockets for rent.
Her mind was wandering and she hasn't responded in like 40 seconds, fuck she was tired. "Well no shit, Sherlock! That's what I was about to do 'till you got Mami's attention!"
The blue haired idiot made an 'o' with her lips, making her roll her eyes in frustration. "Fine," Mami conceded, her arms uncrossing so she could point a finger up in Kyoko's face. "But right after you're going to sit down and let me treat your injuries!" A flicker of something crossed the blonde's eyes and dread filled Kyoko's soul. "And have you been smoking again? I told you, Kyoko!"
With that, she bolted to the bathroom, all confidence from earlier in the night evaporated at the blonde's fury. Locking it behind her she breathed a deep sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing and her body slumping forward against the door. "That was close," murmured Kyoko, who began peeling off her raggedy clothes. In an age where biology was being replaced by machines, her clothes still managed to be torn apart by Witch familiars. The only reason she even went after them was 'cause of Mami, damn it.
She slipped her sneakers off and stepped onto the cold tiles, resulting in Kyoko shivering in shock. God, she hated the shitty insulation of this run down apartment. It's bugged to high hell from all sorts of corporations but they can't even be bothered to make the walls a tad bit thicker. She pulled off her shorts and underwear, tossing them into the pantry with the rest of her clothes.
A few minutes later the water was as warm as it would get - as lukewarm as the river on a warm spring day. But it was a damn helluva lot better than the outside. She hopped in and got to work cleaning the grime and dirt off her body.
It took barely five minutes before the water became freezing, stinging her skin with its stupid existence. Moments later she was dressed in an identical pair of clothes, which she was constantly berated for, but she didn't care. It was comfy and suited her fine, plus they were cheap.
The loss of the jacket was tragic though, she only had one. Now she'd either have to borrow one of Sayaka's or take an odd job during the day to get more money. Towel drying out her hair, the young woman stepped out of the bathroom and into their only room - sporting one couch and three twin size beds, all crammed together like sardines. Least they had a TV with two movies on it for entertainment. A small kitchenette was in one of the corners, housing no less than half a microwave and a barely operable oven.
It sucked, but it was home, all things considered.
"Take a seat," Mami told her, a bag containing ample medical supplies resting at her side. Mami's day job was a grocery store medic - underpair, overworked, but stable. Lots of shootings happened in grocery stores these days. So she took a seat and let her blonde friend redundantly treat her rather minor wounds (which, she would like to reiterate, would be healed within a few hours). A cut on her back, a broken finger, busted blood vessels in her eyes, so on so forth. Minute things that shouldn't deserve even a second glance. Yet Mami took at least seven extra glances, her overly concerned self never once failing to notice even the smallest thing.
It was endearing as it was annoying, but Kyoko wouldn't have it any other way. Mami wouldn't be Mami if she didn't care.
Three knocks on their door caught their attention. The three shared a glance and Mami stood up, being the one who normally answered the door, mostly because Kyoko and Sayaka were too busy sleeping or fighting over something.
Opening the door cautiously, Mami let out a surprised "Oh!" as the visitor was revealed.
"Is Kyoko Sakura here?" A silky voice asked, one that really should belong to that of a Siren, or a succubus, or even an angel. It was one woven with the threads of the finest velvet, coated in the shavings of the purest amethyst, and topped with a fountain of star stuff.
It was also the single most detestable voice she thought she had ever heard.
Peaking over the couch, narrow red eyes met half interested violet orbs, the tiniest glow of purple detectable only in the dim lighting of the apartment.
With clenched teeth and bawled fists, Kyoko spit the name of the visitor-turned-unwelcome intruder out like it was the most potent of poisons. "Homura Akemi."