"The lights are off."
"Do you think they've already left?"
Two feminine voices whispered in the darkness, lining their voices with the sweep of the cold breeze. They stood on the rooftop of an abandoned warehouse.
According to information they received, wanted criminals would be inside such a warehouse, holding countless spirits captives. Their job was to free the spirits and apprehend the criminals.
"It's impossible for them to leave. They wouldn't abandon their cargo."
"Do they know we're coming? It might be an ambush."
"It's possible. Be prepared for that."
One of the girls held bewitching characteristics: long blond hair and a curvy body. The other looked quite childish but had sharp features hidden within her clothes.
Their height difference made them seem like an older and a little sister.
They were Miyamoto Hana and Yukihira Ayumi.
"We'll hurry up and get this over with. You go first."
"Roger."
Ayumi nodded and got hold of a massive sword lying on the ground. The colossal sword had almost double her height and width, but she wielded it without a problem. The handle was round and broad, while the blade had symmetrical details of dragons drawn on it.
Hana muttered some words and touched the roof tiles, turning them into dust. That formed a big gap on the rooftop.
"Now!"
Ayumi jumped through the gap, landing silently and unscathed from a considerably high height. A ball of blue light followed her, illuminating the area.
Sensing no immediate danger, Hana jumped too.
The two proceeded stealthily, alert of any strange movement in their surroundings.
"There are no spirits in here," Ayumi mumbled.
"Yeah. There are no criminals here either."
"No, they are here. Look," Ayumi said as she pointed to three unconscious men on the ground.
"I suppose someone came here first..."
"So it seems. Did the Magical Organization contract any other forces?"
"No, as far as I'm concerned."
"So it was a third party, then? Hmm."
They kept scanning the area. There was nothing left. The only thing they could find was a damaged charm lying next to a scarred man.
"So, what now?"
"We report this and apprehend the mercenaries. We might not have found any spirits, but our job must continue."
"This won't please the higher-ups... They always complain about independent organizations."
"Haaah," Hana heaved a long, exasperated sigh. "You're right."
"Remember the case of the possed delinquents that we covered some time ago? Do you think this and that are related?"
"It's a possibility," Hana shrugged. "We have to cover this too, anyway."
*****
"Onii-chan, aren't you ready yet?" Kuriko voiced displeased. Her brother was taking longer than usual to get ready.
She was waiting for him to go to school for some minutes, but he had not shown any sign of coming.
"Alright, Kuriko. Let's go."
It was then that Ren finally appeared. He was more sluggish than usual, probably did not get a good night of sleep. Kuriko grinned at the sight of her brother, pulling him into a hug.
"Finally! I was about to leave you!"
"You know I'd catch up to you even if you went first."
"I'd just take your bike then. It'd teach you a lesson!"
"Aye, aye. I'm sorry."
The siblings proceeded to the front of their home, where they mounted on Ren's reliable bike, their method of going to school. Ren was the driver, while Kuriko remained in the backseat.
She wrapped her arms around Ren's waist as they got on the street.
They were not wearing any protective gear, which was dangerous in its own way, but they had been going around this way for so much time that it felt natural for them. Ren might accelerate at some points, but he would never lose balance.
"By the way, Onii-chan," Kuriko said as she let her head rest on Ren's shoulder. "I noticed that you left home yesterday night. Where did you go?"
"Guh," Ren gasped. "D-did I wake you up? I'm sorry... But I wasn't going anywhere special."
"Hmm... You went off to see a girl, right? Hehe, my good-for-nothing brother is growing up."
Kuriko poked Ren's cheeks, who responded by zig-zagging with the bike, almost throwing Kuriko away.
"H-hey! Be careful!"
"I didn't go see a girl. I went to..."
"To what?"
Ren did not know how to answer.
He had no reason to hide that he was training but could not tell her he was getting involved with supernatural stuff.
"Train. I went to train."
"Train? In the middle of the night?"
"Yeah. It's a new martial art that I discovered. It's kinda cool, you know? I can teach you if you like."
"No thanks. But seriously? Training at night? I know you like fighting, but don't push yourself too hard, okay? We don't have Grandpa to look after you when you get hurt."
"I'll keep that in mind," Ren nodded.
They arrived at school soon after.
******
Ren arrived at homeroom just in time for the class to begin. He hurried over to his place but sensed something was off. He looked over the classroom with the feeling that something was missing.
"Hello, Suzuki-kun," a voice called over to him.
"Oh, Hirawa-san. Hello."
"You've arrived late today. Did something happen?"
"Uh? No, no. I just woke up kinda late today."
"Is that so? Alright, then."
Otohime nodded quietly. Ren sighed, still tired. He glanced around the classroom once more. The feeling was still there. Otohime noticed that and eyed him suspiciously.
"Are you looking for something?" She asked.
"No. It's just that I'm feeling something is missing."
"Oh! Isn't it Yukihira?"
Otohime pointed with her chin at the vacant place in front of her. Ayumi had not come to school. Ren looked at Hana's seat. She was not there as well.
The two were always together, it seemed.
"Yeah! That's it! How could I forget Yukihira's daily cheerful greetings."
"It struck me strange as well when I arrived. I didn't expect Yukihira to miss school."
"Something must have happened. She does seem to be someone that comes to school even when they're sick."
"She's quite the figure, haha!"
Ayumi and Hana were icons in the school. Everyone knew of them. They were the heads of the student council, but also really good people.
"Well, they're probably fine."
Ren was left with those words.
The homeroom started without the two girls, so they would likely not arrive today. He decided to not worry about it.
******
The school ended, and Ren went straight to meet Rui. He wished he could talk with Ayumi and Hana, but they did not appear at school. He could only hope they were not sick.
Ren met Rui leaning on the torii gate. She waved her hand. Was she waiting for him?
"Yo, boy."
"Hello, Rui-san."
"Come."
Rui hurried to the shrine grounds. Ren followed suit. He expected to sit on the floor, like always, but he was welcomed by the sight of a small wooden table and two chairs in front of the ruined shrine.
It looked new. Ren briefly hesitated before Rui threw her body on one of the chairs and used her hand to support her head. She looked at him meaningfully.
"Cool, right? I did it myself. Was getting tired of sitting on the ground."
"Thank you. It's rare to see you actually do something."
Rui snored happily.
"Anyway, you look tired."
"Yeah. Some...stuff happened yesterday."
"What kind of stuff?"
"I might have gotten involved with a criminal group."
"What?" Rui furrowed her eyebrows. "There are no large criminal groups in this city. I mean, there are one or two. Oh, and also that another one..."
Rui, indeed was as unreliable as ever. And she was supposed to be the guardian spirit of the city or something. She was not living to that title, although it was possible she merely did not want to intervene in human matters.
Ren explained everything that happened yesterday. He was asked for help, which led him to an abandoned warehouse where he found countless captive spirits and had to go up against some mercenaries.
He spared no detail, even adding some drama to his story. Rui listened carefully. She yawned once, but Ren paid no heed.
However, for some reason, he did not tell Rui about Eva.
When he finished, Rui brought her hand to her chin and reflected.
"Holding spirits captive, huh?" She said, frowning. "It's likely the Mystikos Cartel."
"Mystikos, what?"
"A sort of magical mafia, if you wish to say, but a quite large one. Tch. They've been in this town for a few weeks and have already caused this many problems."
"So it was really a criminal group of magic. Can't the police take care of them?"
"This is a supernatural domain, boy. It's a job for the Magical Organization or any other similar group. The police would just get massacred if they tried anything."
"Woah!"
This was a different set of rules.
It took a supernatural force to take down another supernatural force. Ordinary people such as Ren could only watch from the sidelines.
Suddenly, Rui grasped her forehead.
"And you messed with them," she shook her head dismissively. "This is bad?"
Ren stiffed. "Is it?"
"I mean, Mystykos might come after you... or your family..."
"Guh!" Ren gulped.
He had not thought about that possibility.
Ren had poked a beehive with a short stick. He only wanted to help someone. He had not thought things would get this bad.
"What do I do?"
If something happens to Kuriko...
Ren did not think about himself. The problem with this all was Kuriko. She was only an innocent girl. If something happened to her, Ren would not know what to do.
"At any rate, I suppose you're okay," Rui said, looking reasonably assured. "I'm sure the Magical Organization has taken their way to cover up what happened. So even if word of you spreads, it will take some time. Just stay on your guard and come to me if anything happens."
"Seriously? Okay," Ren breathed a sigh of relief. "You can be trustworthy when you want, Rui-san."
"Hehe. Of course. Continue your normal life—and by that, I mean your training."
Ren remained in the shrine, talking with Rui for a long time. He went back home when the sun was starting to set. He would have stayed longer if Rui had not said, Go home already! You have to train, and I have to sleep!
*****
Ren left home for his nocturne training when he was sure Kuriko was asleep. He felt more sleepy than usual. Perhaps this training was ruining his sleeping routine, but he did not care.
Ren could not afford to lose focus. The incident at the warehouse was still in his mind. He had to train more and become stronger.
It's a pain that I have to do this at night. I understand it's for the better, but still.
"Yawn..."
As always, Ren started by activating his Spiritual Sight. That night, he would find a strong spirit and defeat it.
He wanted to face off against another Corpse-Stealer to test his new techniques.
He wandered around the dark streets in search of a training dummy. Ordinarily, he would not see anything, but with his Spiritual Sight, he had no trouble whatsoever.
Speaking of which, I'm starting to feel my vision getting weird sometimes. I wonder if it's the Spiritual Sight assimilating with my brain.
Ren was not having any luck tonight. All he could stumble across were some sentient clouds and ephemeral apparitions that gave people back aches with their evil energy—not really strong spirits.
This was strange. Typically, the night streets would be overflowing with spirits of all sorts.
KAPOOM! ROAR!
Suddenly, a loud sound resembling a car crash, followed by a beast's howl, rang out. It came from a nearby alley.
Ren got startled, instinctively jerking his head towards the origin of the sound.
"What was that?"
Ren had never heard something like this before. Was there a fight nearby? He had to know, so he started running to the alley.
When he got there, he saw two figures clashing. A massive boar with a fiery bright horn and a bluish light blur.
No, wait.
The blur stopped in front of the boar for a second—it was a person.
Ren approached cautiously. He wanted to help, but the person seemed to have all in their control. They wore gauntlets that emitted a light blue light and maneuvered around every movement of the spirit.
The boar rushed forward with its pointy horn, but the person just slid between its legs and stopped behind it. They thrust their gauntlet forward, perforating the boar, which disappeared.
Ren was left watching the scene, dumbfounded. He dropped his jaw open.
However, the person soon after took notice of his presence.
Ren glanced at them. They had a young feminine figure, perhaps someone of Ren's age, but their face was blurred as if it was censored with pixels. The only thing he could discern from the blur was a pair of glasses floating in the middle.
She swayed her arms around, and the gauntlets turned into blue particles, revealing thin arms clad in white, almost transparent, gloves that reached her elbows.
She glared at Ren.
He could not see her eyes but could feel her hostility.
"Who might you be?" A muffled voice came out of her lips. Perhaps the magic hiding her face also altered her voice.
"Uh, are you okay? I saw you fighting that big thing and—"
"I asked you a question."
She cut Ren mid-sentence, which made him flinch slightly.
"O-oh, sure. I'm not looking for trouble, though," Ren assured to soothe the tense situation. "I'm Suzuki Ren. An ordinary high school boy looking for training."
"Quite suspicious to look for training at this hour. Besides, you said you saw me fighting? You're no ordinary person."
"Well, indeed, I can see spirits. But I assure you, I'm just a normal person."
"You're a medium?"
"Sort of?"
"Not convinced."
"Guuh..."
Ren failed to soften the hostility.
At this rate, this might result in a fight.
"Who do you work for?"
"No one. Look, I don't want to fight or anything. As I said, I'm just training. I don't know who you are, but could you let me go? I'm kinda feeling in danger here."
"I can't let you go," The girl (?) turned him down. "What do you think, Airian?"
"Huh?"
"Let's see. He doesn't seem to be lying."
A different voice appeared out of nowhere. It was a normal masculine voice, although a bit high-pitched.
"I don't feel any magical power from him. But, you know, never doubt Black Rainbow Claire, I guess. She got some powerful folk in that organization of hers. I'd better not doubt they have someone capable of bamboozling me."
"Hmm," the girl brought her hand to her chin. Or at least Ren thought it was that since he could not see it once it entered the blur. "Let's check."
Her hostility grew stronger, and she took a fighting stance. The pair of gauntlets materialized in her arms.
Sensing the inevitability of a fight, Ren tried again to soften the situation.
"H-hey. I don't know what you're discussing, but I'm no enemy. Are you from the Anti-Magical Organization? I-I'm not associated with Mystikos or anything. We don't have to fight!" Ren desperately swayed his hands in front of his hand in a denial sign.
Foolish Ren. Why would he say that? He would just make her more wary of him.
The girl stood still.
A fight was inevitable.
"Dammit..."
As he said that, Ren assumed a fighting posture.
*****
It started abruptly.
Before Ren knew it, his opponent was already rushing toward him.
"Gugh?!"
A powerful blow came down in his direction, leaving a persistent trace of light in the air, but he evaded briskly.
He looked for an opportunity to counter-attack, going for a leg sweep, but the girl was too agile. She had already hopped away.
"You got some good reflexes," the other male voice said.
"Th—!"
As Ren was about to answer, his attacker threw a dagger of blue light at him. It flew, whistling through the air. Ren moved his head away but was left with a thin cut on his cheek.
Blood started to flow.
"You're not as ordinary as you say," it was the distorted voice this time.
Ren hesitated before answering. He waited for another attack. Nothing came.
"I'm just well trained."
"Hmph."
The girl's gauntlets shone brighter. She kicked off the ground. She closed the distance between them in a blink, faster than Ren expected. Her arm swung at him like a cannonball.
Ren tried to dodge, but it was too fast. The gauntlet hit his gut, sending a grave pain throughout his body.
"Guh," Ren gasped.
He could not let the pain slow him down. As he put his hands on his stomach, he rolled backward. He grabbed a pack of sand from the ground while he did that.
He hid his hand with the sand behind his back.
Soon after that, the girl was already swinging at him again. He dodged punch after punch, craving to find an opening.
At last, it finally appeared. The girl stopped for a second. Then sent a high kick his way.
"Rgh!"
Ren stepped back, avoiding the attack. Instantly after, he hurled the sand in his hands, aiming for her eyes. She quickly dismissed all the sand with a swing of her empowered gauntlets, but that was enough.
Ren took that window to attack. He rushed, just below the girl's blind spot. He focused all the magical power running through his veins in one point—his right hand.
"Hades' Judgment!!!"
He struck his opponent with his most potent attack.
However, the girl dodged at the last second. But she was not unscathed. Ren's hand had definitely hit something.
Crack!
With his arm still raised, Ren heard the sound of broken plastic. Suddenly, the glasses floating in the middle of the pixels broke into two pieces that fell into the ground.
Ren's eyes shot wide.
The girl was about to attack but wavered upon seeing Ren's expression.
"Master, no good!"
The pixels dissipated.
Hirawa Otohime's face was revealed.
"Hi-Hirawa-san???!!!" Ren yelled, bewildered.
"Tch," Otohime clicked her tongue.
Seeing that his attacker was, in fact, his classmate, Ren's will to fight faded. However, the same could not be said for Otohime, who energized her gauntlets and rushed toward stunned Ren. She quickly threw him to the ground, getting on top of him and holding his right arm against his back. That completely immobilized him.
"Ough! Stop!"
"You're pretty impressive, Suzuki-kun. Though I see you're not really that strong."
"Are you trying to praise or offend me?!
Ren struggled, trying to shake off Otohime's weight from his body. She tightened her grip on his wrist and right arm.
"Stop it, Suzuki-kun. If you don't, I'll break your bones."
"I yield! I yield! Ouch! Don't push it!"
"You know about Mystikos. Tell me how."
"I heard from Rui, the guardian spirit of this city."
"Never heard of."
"It's the truth, I swear! Listen, I fought some people from Mystikos yesterday."
"You what?"
"Yeah. I was training when a girl asked me to help her dog stuck in an abandoned warehouse. I accepted, but when I got there, it was a hideout for Mystikos mercenaries to hold countless spirits captive. The mercenaries had guns and almost killed me, but I escaped thanks to the spirits I freed."
"You're saying you freed the spirits?"
Out of nothing, a strange animal appeared in front of Ren. It looked like a white, big squirrel that sustained itself with two legs. Also, it had big ears about half the size of its own height. From its lips came the voice that talked with Otohime.
"Yeah."
"Aye, master. He speaks the truth."
"Is it really? Airian?"
"Yes. I am certain."
"Okay," Otohime loosened her grip on Ren but did not get off him.
Ren breathed a sigh of relief now that the misunderstanding was finally solved.
"What even is this thing?" He asked, looking at the spirit.
"Hey! I'm not a 'thing'! I'm Airian. Master's contracted spirit."
"And who even are you, Hirawa-san?"
"I have no reasons to answer."
"You fool! You're before one of the greatest magical girls of the Valhalla Academy! The Valkirye, Hirawa Otohime. Akakak! Consider yourself lucky that you're alive!"
The spirit Airian replied, like a child showing off her new toy.
"Airian...."
"Magical girl? You're a magical girl?"
"Sigh... Yes. I'm Magical Girl Hirawa Otohime, one of the Valkiryes of the Valhalla Academy. I've been sent to this town to cooperate with the Japanese Anti-Magical Organization to subdue Mystikos."
"R-really?! Wow!"
"Whatever. My disguise is ruined," saying that, Otohime got off Ren, who rapidly stood up and cleaned the dirt from his clothes.
Otohime put her right hand on her forehead and shook her head repeatedly. She looked like she did not know what to do.
"So what now?" Ren spoke up. "What happens after this?"
Otohime looked up to him.
"You won't tell about this to anyone."
"I-I promise. Not that anyone would believe me anyway."
"And... I apologize for attacking you. Come here. I will cast some healing magic on you."
Ren slowly walked up to her. He felt no hostility but still held his guard up. Otohime brought her hand to Ren's bruises.
"Airian."
"Aye, Master"
A yellow light began shining from her hands. All the pain that Ren was feeling suddenly disappeared. The cut on his cheek closed, too.
"Suzuki-kun," Otohime looked at Ren directly in the eyes. "Please, don't report me. I might lose my position if you do that."
"Don't worry about it. Uh, thanks—for the healing."
"Alright. I am in debt with you."
"..."
"I ask you to act as if nothing happened."
As Otohime said that, she walked away from Ren. She jumped high up onto a nearby building. And then another, disappearing in the night sky. Airian had already vanished.
Ren could report her. She had attacked him without real reason.
But he simply could not go against her sad face.
She surely must have been through a lot.
Ren started to walk home as he pondered on his own weaknesses.