Chapter 1 – "That's not fair at all."

Author's note: I'm sorry if I edit this chapter, and the others, a bit too much. I'm not accustomed to this interface and I just keep messing my text up. Also, I'm still getting used to writing like this, as my favoured style is drabbling. Now, let's go to the actual story, right? Hope you like it!

The skies were a cloudless, triumphant shade of golden; and all the mirrored buildings glistened happily, spreading an air of peaceful modernity. It was, by all means, a quiet and peaceful afternoon in the beautifully modern city, Mitakihara. However, it was not as if any of it mattered to the one girl walking with wobbling, clumsy steps along a barren pathway, which led towards an empty, semi-abandoned part of the city. Her long black bangs hung over her face, wobbling along with her steps, and shielding her teary reddened eyes. Her steps were slowing down gradually; and she staggered and tripped with any pebble which met her way.

The young girl still wore the Mitakihara School uniform; even if class had been over for a few hours. If someone saw her like that, they would very probably suspect her of skipping class to visit the suburbs, and she knew it; but her legs just didn't seem like they were going to stop. She wasn't aware of the reason behind the feelings she had been having ever since stepping out of the school; she just knew that they really hurt, and she wanted it to end as soon as possible.

Akiko Mitsuka felt hollow. Empty of soul. Devoid of any will. Why was it always her? She only tried to help, to love and feel loved; but even when she attempted to pour her heart out to someone, they just made up an excuse to leave her devastated and alone. No matter how many times she gave love to a person, she would never be on the receiving end of some. And she wanted, needed, some.

Or else…

…She could very well die.

Yes, die. It would make everyone who pushed her aside guilty, make them regret what they've done. They would carry that stigma forever, and that would be a sweet, sweet revenge. If she just died, it would make her the center of all attention, at least for a while. It would be fun; it would be worth it. Just knowing that she would be buried under many tears made her slightly happier.

"That's not fair at all!"

Suddenly startled awake by her own shriek, Akiko raised her head, and turned to look at the trees growing at the side of the concrete pathway: they were starting to grow a violet tone, some eyes which popped like melting bubbles of color growing around the branches. The golden clouds were swirling over Akiko's head; making deformed faces and distorted forms. Akiko blinked for some times, disoriented, until the realization started to settle in. As soon as she managed to regain some consciousness, panic and despair started to flood her stomach, making it clench and turn in a panicked nausea.

Where am I? The path was now covered in black grass, distorted sunny-colored flowers sprouting left and right. In the distance, Akiko could barely see the shapes of some pine needles, obfuscated by a pair of giant orange eyes. The girl noticed a distorted, surreal figure seeming to be made out of leaves and melting clocks slowly going towards her, and, after a few seconds of terrified shock she took a step back and ran. As fast as her legs could make her, in the opposite direction, she mustered all of her energy on her legs and ran.

She didn't go very far, however; the flowers - were they alive?- managed to wrap themselves around her feet, effectively trapping her a few feet from the bizarre pine abomination. She turned around and watched in pure horror the monster getting painfully close, until the green needles in its body were brushing her feet and prickling her legs—

"Oh, no! We can't have people dying in here, you know?" A voice filled the air, and time seemed to stop for a few moments. The voice was full of confidence; it blared and echoed in the colorful forest maze.

Akiko turned around and saw on the distance a boy not much older than her throw himself at the distorted creature in front of her from the side. As he jumped, she noticed an enormous white axe in his hands; even with its apparent weight, the boy carried it with ease. The giant abomination tried to throw some of its grass needles at the young man, but his legs were faster, and he was able to dodge them all with ease. His light blue cape eventually got torn into pieces; but he himself managed to escape untouched.

As the shooting stopped, the boy took his time to scoff.

"It's gonna take more than this to get me dead, you ugly Witch."

With amazement and an oddly calm sensation, Akiko watched as the young man jumped over the needles on the" Witch"'s back, dodged the vines and trees which extended itselves to protect their master, and, upon reaching the top of the oval-shaped creature, covered his axe with what appeared to be a bright blue light, chopping the abomination in half with a clean, accurate swing.

The sound of crunching leaves and branches rang, becoming so loud Akiko had to cover her ears; and a strong, supernatural blue light caused her to close her eyes for some seconds; time enough for the dark, bizarre forest to melt away and the old pathway to go back to its eroded normality. The boy was still there, though, collecting some kind of trinket from the floor along with a white feline creature, which took notice of the girl lying there on the uncomfortable asphalt. It interrupted its interactions with the young man and came to her, pace light and steady, almost confident. A boyish voice started talking to her, echoing inside her mind.

"How are you feeling, Akiko Mitsuka?" The animal's lips didn't move an inch, but Akiko was sure the voice she was hearing was his.

She didn't know how or why, but nothing seemed to startle or leave her in a panic. Not even a strange animal with what seemed to be ears inside other pair of ears talking to her. She felt like she would be more comfortable if she did care, though.

"I… I'm okay, feeling very calm." She tried saying out loud; the boy laughed loudly as he turned around. Akiko blushed a little, embarrassed by the screw up.

"Stupid! Try it in your mind, it's cooler that way!" The boy urged her, telepathically.

"Like… This?"

"It is kind of shaky, but I think you will get used to it soon." The white feline told her, in a comfortingly adorable voice. "It's dark, so Reita and I will have to escort you and tell you some things."

Akiko looked at the taller boy, whom offered her a hand to help her getting up. She did stand up with some struggle; her ankles still hurt a little from the roots which trapped her on the ground tightly, but she did regain her balance after some minutes.

"Reita…?"

"Reita Ichijou, a new but talented Puer Magus. And I am called Kyubey." The creature replied.

"You're lucky as hell that I was stuck in school for extra classes today." The boy called Reita muttered, slowly walking towards a nearby route, leading back on the main streets and towards a safer, more crowded place. "I sensed it and ran back here… If I took one more second you'd be a goner by now."

"Thanks… A-and…and sorry." Akiko replied shyly, gulping and looking down. "And… If you're coming from school, why are you dressed this fancy…? Cape and all…"

The boy stopped for a second, looked at himself, and laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "Ahaha, oh man! I forgot my clothes on again!"

"You should be more careful, Reita." Kyubey's expression didn't change, but the tone in his voice was stern; like a mother who chastises her son. "Very few should know about our secret. And the thieves are still on the hunt for your kind."

"Okay, mom, okay." Reita huffed at Kyubey mockingly, and put his right hand on his chest, cupping a navy-colored gem in the shape of a spade which was latched onto his skin. as he pulled it out, the gem seemed be sucked by his hand, melting and wrapping around his finger and taking the shape of a metal ring; and his clothes were the regular Mitakihara School outfit. As he finished his transformation, his head turned to Akiko's general direction, stifling a chuckle from seeing Akiko's dropped jaw. "Don't tell anybody that this happened, okay? 'tis a secret, but I guess that's obvious."

Akiko's eyes widened. Was that… a transformation? "Are you a…Magical G-girl, or something?"

He laughed.

"Kyubey already told ya, I'm a Puer Magus! And that actually means yes. Magical Boy, but yes."He shrugged, before taking Akiko's hand gently onto his own and tugging it playfully. "Let's go, Akiko, we still have a lot of things to talk about!"

"Wh-whoa, Reita, you're going too fast! My ankle hurts!"

As Reita Ichijou took Akiko by her hand and ran with her to the nearest open restaurant, Kyubey, with its short legs, was left behind. Its crimson eyes watched both teenagers going away.

"It is a matter of time." He mumbled to himself thoughfully.

In one or two seconds, a girl with long turquoise hair and a strict expression, wearing a white dress, joined him apparently out of thin air. Her pace was quick, and her short heels made a clacking noise on the eroded asphalt. She walked beside him, as if she were taking a stroll with him for a long time; but her steps were dull and strong, and her eyes were downcast.

"Will you try your luck with Reita Ichijou tonight, Shizuka Aki?" He asked absentmindedly, seeming to already predict the answer. "You're out of luck, however. He's in quite a crowded place; and with a candidate of all people."

"I can't go now. It may scare the girl." Without taking her eyes off the asphalt, the girl called Shizuka Aki mumbled an answer, seeming slightly exasperated. "If I scare her off a contract, it wouldn't be beneficial to you at all, will it?"

Kyubey looked up at her. "And it won't be beneficial to you, either."

"Don't worry, Kyubey; I'm not backing down on my plan."

Author's note: If there is any constructive criticism you can give me, I'd be glad if you told me! I'm still not comfortable with writing long chapters, so bear with me for a while!