Force of MagicBy Ewen "Blackbird" CluneyChapter 2 Going back to school after all that had happened seemed strange, to say the least, and it reminded Haruko of one of the reasons she'd agreed to become a magical girl. She was still in elementary school, but it seemed as though she'd be spending the rest of her life studying. She remembered wondering if there was actually anything beyond, a better way to live, other than being subjected to a daily barrage of knowledge, all ultimately in preparation for the exams that would determine what school was next, leading to more lessons and more exams. But being a magical girl wasn't necessarily what she'd had in mind. Not like this. She looked up from her bento to see her friend Minami sitting across from her. "What're you thinking about, Haruko?" Haruko forced a smile. She hadn't even realized she'd been so lost in thought. At her age she was supposed to be carefree and happy, but pretending was hard. "I--It's nothing." Thankfully, she didn't press any further, and simply went about filling her in on the latest in gossip. It was all idle, meaningless chatter about what this teacher or that student had been up to, but it let Haruko drift away from her troubles for a little while. Until they were interrupted by Teruo stopping by their table. He was tall for a boy in fifth grade, and had an uncharacteristic maturity at times, though it had a way of disappearing all too often. He liked to hang out with them whenever he got the chance, though Haruko wasn't at all sure why. "Hi there!" he announced, sitting himself down without invitation. "Did you hear about the latest incident?" Haruko felt her pulse quicken. She'd nearly forgotten; he was a "fan" of magical girls. He collected CDs, posters, calendars, video games and anything else they'd sell, but most of all information. "No." replied Minami, rolling her eyes. "Good thing we have you around to keep us up to date, right?" He just smiled. "Yup. Apparently there's a new magical girl operating in this area; she and Pretty Warrior Magical Rina took out a youma posing as a fortune teller." Haruko nearly choked on her rice. "A new one?" Minami was obviously feigning interest. She did that to him a lot sometimes. He nodded. "Yeah. No one knows much of anything about her -- there were only a few eyewitness accounts, and the shop was empty by the time anything happened." He tapped the notebook he held and grinned. "I'll be sure to keep an eye on her." Haruko locked her gaze on the bento in her hands. "I bet there's new magical girls all the time�" Teruo sighed. "I wish. Only those damn hunters are becoming more and more common here in Tokyo." She trembled. "Hunters?" Nodding gravely, he replied, "Yeah. I'm sure you've heard to them -- the guys who use guns and things to go around murdering magical girls. Most are just criminals and thugs." The contempt in his voice and the conviction in his gaze cut like a knife. Minami took a sip of her Calpico Water. "Stop it! You're scaring me with all this talk about guns. Can't we talk about something else?" Haruko felt cold. Nothing terrified her more than guns, not even the youma. She'd seen them in movies, but they didn't adequately show just how terrible they could be. The image of hot lead piercing one's flesh, muscle and skin and tendons torn apart, bones broken, blood flowing to the ground in an endless tide� "See? You're scaring Haruko -- you know she gets scared just by seeing them in movies!" "Why?" Haruko managed. "Why do they do those things?" Teruo shrugged. "They have reasons -- nothing sufficient to justify what they do, if you ask me. Some want revenge, some want to prevent the collateral damage that some magical battles cause -- as though someone else is going to deal with the monsters." "It makes it seem like the world isn't worth saving," she said bitterly. "Possibly. But it's not as though we have any others. We need to make this one better, however we can. As long as there's still good people in the world, it's worth saving." On the way home, Teruo offered to walk with Haruko and Minami. Not even sure just why she was doing it, Haruko tried to make an excuse to go home by herself, but he kept pressing, until she finally relented, but even then she could barely bring herself to look at him. Why? He wasn't all that remarkable or anything. He was pretty ordinary looking, really. Then, why did her pulse go faster when he was so close? She felt like finding a place to hide for the rest of her life. She felt sick, and had to hold back the urge to run away. Teruo and Minami laughed and talked, with only an occasional concerned glance in her direction. Suddenly, she saw Piyo poking his head out from behind a bush, frantically motioning her closer -- at least, that's what she assumed it was -- with his stubby wings. "I--I just remembered. I have to go. Sorry." With that, she hurried off. She knew their eyes were on her back. Piyo landed in her palm, and looked up at her with a grim expression. "There's a very powerful youma in the neighborhood." He explained. "We need Candy Rose." She nodded, and gripped the locket. For now, at least, she was going to do this. "Pretty Rose Power Up!" The world exploded with light and colors, and yet somehow it all seemed hollow. Cold. When it ended, Candy Rose looked to Piyo for guidance. It was hard to perceive emotions in that beaked countenance, but she was sure she saw a trace of concern. "Let's go." He said firmly. It was a part of the neighborhood filled with a dozen mismatched little shops of every description. By the bakery stood a creature that looked somewhat human, but was clearly a youma. She had gray skin and resembled the Queen of Hearts from a deck of playing cards. Further, she commanded a small horde of lesser playing card youma, about half her size, that wrought havoc wherever they could. Piyo looked up at her. "You know what to do." Candy Rose nodded. "Right." She strode into the open, and held her magic wand ready. "I am Magical Girl Candy Rose! In the name of� Justice I will punish you!" The Queen of Hearts turned to face her, a wicked grin splitting her too-smooth gray face. "Cardians! Attack!" At her command, the card-creatures surged towards Candy Rose. She steadied herself, and prepared a spell. "Rock Candy Shower!" The power flowed through her. Out of thin air a rain of small, jagged crystals appeared, glowing with deadly pink energy. Where each struck, an explosion rang out; the sound of it was deafening, and the ground beneath them vibrated with the force of the miniature shockwaves. But the Queen still remained. She didn't seem fazed in the least. She'd been told that youma were simply inhuman monsters, devoid of compassion, and she'd yet to see anything that showed otherwise. The youma held her hands outstretched. A mote of angry, glowing crimson appeared, and exploded into a hear-shaped beam of energy. The attack was so sudden Rose had no time to react, and she was struck squarely in the chest. The next thing she knew, she was lying face down on the pavement, and hurting a lot. Her body was on fire -- lances of pain danced across it. But the youma would still be there, ready to attack again. Candy Rose struggled to get to her feet. She had to do something before another attack came. An ice-cold hand grasped her hair, yanking her upwards. Her own weight tore at the roots of her hair. When she dared to open her eyes, she saw a man dressed in a crimson jumpsuit, his eyes blood-red and full of hate, his hair jet-black. "So, little one," he snarled. "You would interfere in my plans? That offense is unforgivable." His gaze was full of venomous contempt. He raised one hand over his head, hateful, dark energies gathering in his palm. Whatever power he used, Candy Rose saw only crimson consuming the world, and felt only pain. When she recovered, she saw a magical girl, about eleven years old, standing there defiantly. The new girl had plain black hair with a ribbon in it, and a typical mahou shoujo sailor suit, only in plain blue with the addition of a breastplate wrought in pink and silver. The wand was the only stereotypical part of the ensemble, with a heart on the end. A chilling wind whipped over the city. Candy Rose couldn't bring herself to move from where she lay on the ground. It hurt too much. The youma man regarded the new arrival with a wicked grin. "Ah, if it isn't Magical Knight Mysterious Pink. So good to meet you at last." Mysterious Pink -- Rose was sure she'd heard that name before. On the news, or maybe from Teruo. She looked far too familiar. The girl's expression was unrelentingly grim, and showed no trace of fear. "You seem to be as stupid as the last one I took down; this should be over quickly." "My name," he announced, "is Bloodblade. Today I shall crush you utterly, I shall--" His speech was ended when a bolt of pink energy struck him in the chest. As he looked in shock at the tendril or smoke that rose up from his body, he found Mysterious Pink right in front of him. She delivered a vicious kick to his groin, and he staggered back, his features contorting with rage. "Cut the crap!" yelled Mysterious Pink. "I'm sick and tired of your bad speeches and idiotic schemes! Just shut up and fight!" Bloodblade was more than willing to oblige. He threw himself at her, and the two quickly became a blur of hand to hand combat. Bloodblade was nearly twice her size, and yet somehow she held her own. Somehow she matched his strength, and then some; every blow she landed was at least as strong as his, impossibly so for her tiny frame. Finally, she jumped up, planting her feet in his face, and pushed off, landing some four or five meters away. Seething, he wiped the green blood from his face, and drew a sword; it looked like a western long sword, except that the blade was an angry crimson color. Mysterious Pink reacted instantly, smoothly. She held out her magic wand, and a blade of solid pink energy sprang forth, nearly as long as she was tall. The two of them charged forward, their blades clashing again and again, throwing out angry sparks every time they met. They seemed evenly matched, but in a fraction of a second Rose watched as Mysterious Pink saw an opening; her eyes narrowed, and she swung her sword upwards, slicing clean through his sword hand. She did a quick backflip away from him as he looked at the stump in horror, and deactivated her energy sword. "Now this ends." She declared. A faint pink shimmering appeared around her, a barely visible glow. It darkened, and grew, becoming a hazy aura of crimson, like a living flame enshrouding her. The anger, the power of rage flowed so strongly that Candy Rose could feel it in her bones. The power was so great that Pink was lifted a few inches off the ground. When at last Candy Rose could see again there was no sign of Bloodblade anywhere. Mysterious Pink was helping her to her feet, which were still a bit shaky. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and her legs felt as though they might buckle under her weight. "Thank you�" she managed. A stinging pain shot through her side, and she grimaced at the sensation. Pink looked her over and sighed. "Come on." They were nearing a bus stop, when a metallic sound resounded behind them. The sound of a gun being readied to fire. Mysterious Pink stopped dead in her tracks. Candy Rose trembled; the fear welled up in her, and she found herself unable to move. Even without her injuries she would've undoubtedly fallen over were it not for Pink's steadying arm. Mysterious Pink slowly turned around to face the source of the ominous noise. A man stood there, casting a long shadow over them. He was dressed all in black, from his boots to his long coat to his bulletproof vest. His dark hair was cut short, and sunglasses hid his eyes. In one gloved hand he held a deadly machine pistol. "And you have a friend today, Pink." He said grimly. Mysterious Pink didn't move a centimeter. She was still as a rock and her face about as expressive, held neutral with effort. "Not now, Kanzaki." He chuckled at that. His gun didn't waver. "Why should I? There's a bounty on your head, you know." She nodded. "I know. Were you lying last time we met?" Candy Rose could barely make out what they were saying. She couldn't stop looking at the gun, couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. "Oh, that." He seemed disappointed, and lowered his gun. "Yeah, I guess I do sort of have ethics." "In that case," Pink replied flatly, "you'll let me heal her. She was in a bad fight; I saved her from that Dark One, and I'm not about to have her bleed to death. Unless you decided you don't just go after the 'bad ones' after all." Kanzaki holstered his gun and took a step closer, looking at Candy Rose with interest. "I don't think I've seen you around. I'm Dean Kanzaki, your friendly neighborhood magical girl hunter." His tone of voice was casual; he might has well have been telling her about his job at a bookstore. "Like she said, I only take out the bad girls, so try to behave." With that, he spun on his heel and started walking away. Pink turned around, and Rose found herself being carried to a bench by the bus stop. A man was sitting there smoking a cigarette and reading the newspaper, apparently oblivious to what had happened. "Move." Mysterious Pink said simply; her tone was icy, unwilling to compromise in the least. He ignored her. Pink sighed and maneuvered Rose to the bench next to him. "I said move, and I won't say it again." He flicked his cigarette butt in her direction. She shrugged, and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into the street seemingly without any real effort. Heedless of his cursing, she brought Rose to a prone position, and held out her wand. "You're hurt; you need to be more careful. Be glad I'm here to heal you." Rose managed a nod. That girl� she was like Piyo, her eyes older than her body. The eyes had a way of telling the truth when everything else lied. And besides, if she could be made to look older by the magic, there was no reason someone else could not become younger. Mysterious Pink closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a long time. A faint white glow appeared in the wand, and the barest trace of a smile appeared at the corners of her mouth � Rose had to wonder how she could possibly smile at a time like this. Motes of white light began to flow into Rose. With each one she could feel less and less pain. Time became lost in that soothing white light. When at last it ended, Candy Rose felt fine. Wonderful, in fact. She could almost forget about the hunter. Almost. She sat up, and then got to her feet. "Thank you again. You saved my life." Twice over. Mysterious Pink flipped the wand over in her hand. "I'm not about to leave you lying there for dead. We magical girls need to watch out for our own." She paused, looking skyward, and let out a long sigh. "We need to, but no one does." Rose thought of Magical Rina, and couldn't imagine her doing anything to help anyone except Magical Rina. "I have to get going, and you should too." She nodded. "I know. But, can I ask you something?" Pink looked her in the eye with that knowing, tired gaze. "Make it quick." "I just wanted to know�" She took a deep breath and gathered her courage. "How� why do you keep on fighting? Especially with those hunters running around." She met her eyes fully, her gaze full of absolute conviction. "Someone has to. It's as simple as that. Don't talk about that 'Love and Justice' crap -- the enemy is trying to hurt people, and we stop them. Nothing more, and absolutely nothing less. If we falter, everything we know and care about ends. Never forget that." And with that, she left.
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