The road leading to Maikuni High School was a treacherous trip, with tight turns and cliffs all over the place. Students would often commute via train to avoid the crazy roads. Some, however, were very brave. One of these students was Ichika Miyamoto, a girl with long golden hair that faded to a pretty lime green, and soul piercing emerald eyes. She rode on a pitch-black motorbike capable of reaching fairly high speeds. She did a wheelie when she descended down one of the many slopes on the 5 minute ride from her place to school. She ended the wheelie when a sharp turn came up and she took the corner a bit tighter than she should have, causing part of her bike to scrape against the road, making this awful sound, which distracted her and caused her to lose control of her vehicle for a moment until she regained her senses, dangerously close to the edge of a cliff. She turned back to the road and weaved through traffic with her thin, sleek motorbike. She was definitely going faster than the speed limit, which attracted a cop to start pursuing her, as they often did. She gave them a peace sign as her bike roared down the road, nearing the final corner, a 90 degree hairpin turn. If Ichika passed that, she'd make it to school. So she slowed down to take the corner properly, but not before a cop caught up with her. They pulled her over and gave her a ticket.
"This is the fourth time we caught you speeding this month, kid. Do it again and we're taking you to court." The cop gave her a stern warning.
"Yeah yeah, I'm aware. Can't a girl have fun on her way to school?" Ichika rolled her eyes at the cop. She had heard it all before.
"Kid, you're a problem child. We can't keep warning you like this. Stop driving so damn recklessly and we'll stop ticketing you." The cop dismissed her as he drove off. Ichika got back on her bike and took the corner so that she could get to school on time. She parked her bike in the school parking lot and showed her parking pass to the security guard before running to school and dashing to her first class. She took her regular seat next to her best friend, a blue haired girl with cat ears and navy blue eyes. The girl smiled when she saw Ichika.
"Hey, Zain. Got here early, I'm guessing." Ichika greeted her friend.
"It's not that I'm here early. You're infamous for cutting it close on school days." Zain responded.
"Oh you're so responsible, Zain." Ichika scoffed. Zain smiled.
"You drive people crazy, Ichika," Zain admitted. "But I know that despite your record and your family, you're a good kid."
"I'm definitely not a good kid. But I'm leagues ahead of her." Ichika pointed to her left, where a pink haired girl with blood red eyes, two black butterfly head pieces, and a cat tail was sitting.
"It's not that hard to be better than Azusa." Zain commented. "Though, I am curious about that creature she carries around." She pointed out a white cat-like creature sitting on Azusa's shoulder.
"Yeah, that thing does kinda look out of place." said Ichika. "Don't tell Azusa that, though. She'll rip your face off if you even look at her funny." Ichika joked. Azusa took notice and slinked towards Ichika's desk, smiling a creepily cat-like smile.
"You know, maybe you should watch your tongue, goldilocks~" Azusa mused creepily. Ichika and Zain leaned back, a little freaked out. Azusa giggled. "You two are such cowards~ hiding away when things get tough~" she taunted the girls. Zain stood up and stepped back. Ichika walked forward.
"Call me a coward again! I FUCKING DARE YOU!" Ichika shouted. That was a bad idea.
"Ichika Miyamato, there is to be no cursing in my class!" The teacher shouted at Ichika.
"Oh bull, Azusa gets to slink around and creep people out, and she doesn't get punished!" Ichika complained. The teacher walked over to the desks. Azusa immediately curled up into a ball, pretending to be the victim.
"S-She started it!" Azusa sniffled. "She yelled at me for no reason!"
"Well then, Ichika. Would you like to change your account of how this happened?" The teacher turned to Ichika. "No wonder you get in trouble all the time. You're an instigator!"
"But I didn't start it! Azusa came up and-" Ichika tried to defend herself.
"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP OR YOU'RE GOING TO THE OFFICE!" The teacher snapped, scaring Ichika into sitting back down. The teacher walked back to her desk and resumed the lesson. Azusa smirked at Ichika and then slinked back to her desk, purring mischeviously. Ichika put her head down and groaned.
"We can't be the only ones who see the creep that Azusa truly is, right? Someone else needs to see that she's not just some small kitten." Zain talked to Ichika about Azusa.
"She's an instigator and a creep. And she keeps getting away with it because she's smaller than everyone else. She'll never learn because she never gets punished." Ichika showed a very clear resentment towards Azusa. "If this keeps happening, I'm gonna have to take this into my own hands." Ichika motioned at the idea of taking down Azusa herself. Zain seemed concerned.
"I don't think that's the right thing to do, Ichika. That's just gonna make her target you more." Zain expressed her fear of Ichika's actions having unforeseen repercussions. Ichika looked to Zain and smiled.
"Then I'll just keep going until she cuts it out. I won't let her keep me down for long!" Ichika displayed incredible determination. Zain's worries only grew.
"Well, I hope it goes well." Zain wished Ichika the best. When the bell rang for morning break, Ichika went straight to the exercise room and began lifting 100 pound dumbbells to bulk herself up for her eventual battle with Azusa. She kept on lifting, even when her body was on the verge of running out of energy. Sweat cascaded down her face as she closed her eyes. While she was lifting the dumbbell, Azusa slinked into the room and leaped onto one of the benches, sitting in a loaf position and watching Ichika closely. Just as Ichika was about to get her 1000th rep done, the bell rang for second period. She threw her dumbbell across the room and left for class. Azusa followed her and tapped her on the shoulder, as if to pick a fight with her. Ichika turned around and shot Azusa a death glare.
"I heard you wanted to fight with me~" Azusa smirked and lightly swiped her hand.
"Yeah. I'm sick of your shit, Azusa. I'm sick of you slinking around and creeping people out while getting no comuppance for your actions." Ichika bluntly told Azusa what she thought she needed to hear. "Someone's gotta teach you a lesson, and it's gonna be me!" Ichika wound up to throw a punch. Azusa, with cat-like reflexes, leaped back, avoiding the blow. Then she pulled a pink crystal-like gem off her shoe. She held it in her fist and a bright pink light emerged from it. When the light faded, Azusa's eyes glowed a bright red, her outfit changed to a black fur-suit with a pink stomach, and her fingernails turned into five inch long obsidian claws. Azusa giggled creepily.
"You've made a horrible mistake~" Azusa charged at Ichika and scratched her face with her deadly claws, sending her flying backwards to the other side of the hallway. Her left cheek now had a few permanent scars from the claws. Thankfully, she landed in front of a nurse, who immediately took her to the nurse's office. She was unable to repair the scars, but she did put a bandage on Ichika's cheek.
"What happened? What was the cause of these scars?" The nurse asked.
"This girl named Azusa. She picked a fight with me and scratched up my face." Ichika told the nurse exactly what happened.
"So you're not the only one who has problems with her." Another voice came from the corner of the room. It belonged to a tall white girl. She had purple hair, with streaks of icy blue. She wore a royal blue dress that had a black veil covering up the top of her cleavage. She had cold teal eyes. "She just loves to pick fights with people taller than her, which is everyone."
"You too? What got you here?" Ichika asked how the girl got there.
"I'm Lauren Lavynov. I'm here for therapy. The teachers say I'm a problem child and intensive, unending therapy is the only solution they could come up with. Not that it helps any…" Lauren introduced herself.
"I'm Ichika Miyamoto… Teachers also call me a problem child. They just love to lie about me." Ichika introduced herself to Lauren, bitterly musing about the state she found herself in.
"Sounds to me like we're very similar. What else is troubling you?" Lauren asked.
"Well I have a shitty life. Everyone except for Zain hates me, my father is never around, my mother doesn't care about me at all, and the cops seem to have it out for me." Ichika began venting about her life. "The only things I have anymore are Zain, and my motorcycle. The only thing I really live for anymore is the thrills I get from my joyrides, and even then, the cops don't understand a thing. They keep pulling me over for speeding, and one even threatened to shoot me. It's like they don't understand a teenager's mental health at all. It's like they don't understand that I'm dependent on those thrill rides because they're one of the only things that give me joy anymore!" Ichika's tone of voice indicated severe frustration with the world around her, and her many struggles with the law. Tears streamed down her face as her fists tensed up. Lauren got up, walked to her, and sat next to her, offering her a shoulder to cry into.
"I know how it feels to live in a world where everyone hates me…" Lauren began to vent as well. "I'm from Russia, a place that still get a horrible reputation because of events that happened decades ago. My nationality and accent have opened me up to a fuck ton of bullying from people on the street, classmates, and even teachers. Worse yet, my mother disappeared when I was two, and my father is even more depressed than I am, to the point where he attempted suicide. Because of that, he doesn't have a job, and he can hardly support the two of us in our small little apartment complex. So I've had to get a job too. Surprise surprise, my co-workers despise me too. Well… all but one of them." Lauren talked about the severe bullying she's experienced.
"Who is that one person?" Ichika was curious about the person who didn't despise Lauren.
"She's my best friend… her name is Zion Zakenna." Lauren began. "She's the daughter of my boss, Mr. Calder Zakenna. She's incredibly wealthy, but she still chooses to be kind and sweet to everyone she meets… including me. She was the only one who ever reached out to me. She said I was beautiful, and that I had no need to worry when she was around." Lauren began to tear up too. "She told me that she would always be there for me, no matter what… but she can't always be here… she's in a private school, where she spends all her time, and when she's at work, she's usually in her father's office… but when she isn't doing either of those things, or eating… she chooses to spend that time with me… she really values me as a friend, unlike everyone else… and I want to be able to see her more often!" Lauren poured her heart out when she talked about Zion. Clearly she meant a lot to her. Ichika smiled through her tears.
"I promise I'll be here for you too, Lauren." Ichika felt really bad for Lauren and chose to take her under her wing. Lauren hugged Ichika tightly.
"T-Thank you, Ichika… You're a good kid…" Lauren had trouble getting words together through her sobbing, but she was very grateful for Ichika's friendship. Just then, Zain burst through the door to the nurse's office.
"Ichika! You won't believe what I just found!" Zain held up the white cat creature that once perched on Azusa's shoulder. Ichika and Lauren turned back to where Zain's voice was coming from. Zain was surprised to see Lauren.
"Lauren? What are you doing here?" Zain asked.
"How do you know who I am?" Lauren asked in response.
"Well I heard Lacey talk about you. She told me you're weird but I don't buy it at all!" Zain told Lauren how she knew about her. Lauren sighed.
"Lacey, huh? Are you talking about Lacey Jansen?" Lauren needed confirmation.
"Yeah! How do you know Lacey?" Zain wondered aloud.
"I know her sister, Lexi. I caught her smoking a joint behind the school once and she ran away." Lauren answered. "And another thing, where'd you find Kyubey?" Lauren asked about the creature in Zain's hands, apparently known as Kyubey.
"Well, Zain Vriska Kilbride found me on a desk in her classroom. I followed her because she has lots of potential." Kyubey spoke, surprising just about everyone.
"YOU CAN TALK?!" Ichika and Zain shouted at it.
"Yeah. I've met this thing before. It let me grant a wish of my choice in exchange for becoming a magical girl." Lauren told the girls about Kyubey. Their eyes widened.
"Any wish?" Ichika asked.
"Yes. Any wish you'd like, Ichika Miyamoto." Kyubey answered. "If I grant your wish, you make a contract with me to become a magical girl and fight witches." Kyubey detailed just what Ichika and Zain would do if they made contracts.
"That sounds like fun!" Ichika sounded excited to fight witches.
"Think about what you wanna wish for before you make your wish. You can only make one." Lauren told the girls to think about what they wanted to wish for.
"Give me some time to think about my wish. This is the chance of a lifetime." Zain went to think over what her wish would be. Ichika, however, she thought of one right away.
"I wish to experience the greatest of thrills! I wanna ride down the most thrilling road imaginable on a brand new motorcycle and never have to deal with the cops again!" Ichika made her wish.
"Okay then! I'll grant your wish!" Kyubey granted Ichika's wish, then spliced her soul from her body and transferred it to a gem that was similar to the one Azusa had, except Ichika's gem glowed a beautiful emerald green.
"This gem is beautiful… what do I do with it?" Ichika asked.
"That's a Soul Gem. You keep it somewhere safe. It contains your life force. As for the wish, I left your new motorcycle in your garage, and the road is just outside your backyard." Kyubey gave some important information. Ichika put her Soul Gem on a ring, which she slid onto her right ring finger.
"So where do I find these witches?" Ichika asked.
"Witches spawn from Grief Seeds, which can be found anywhere. However, only a magical girl can see them when you touch it, it transports you to a labyrinth where witches hide." Kyubey explained how to find witches.
"Good to know! I'll be off then! Time to give my new ride a spin!" Ichika leaped up off the bed. "I'll see you again soon, Lauren!" Ichika waved goodbye to her new friend as she rushed out the door to try out her new motorcycle. She failed to realize in that very moment, that she sold her soul for a motorcycle.