Chapter Text
— Thursday, 29 August, 0 CSY —
Regaining her senses following some sort of slumber, Choko began to recognize an unfamiliar feeling upon her back. It felt like a mattress, yet was slightly, but noticeably, firmer than her usual one. She slowly opens her eyes, and, alarmingly, finds herself in a place she does not recognize.
“...What the…?! Where…!?!?”
It had been just a single moment or two since waking up, and yet her mind had already begun acting like it was in a tight orbit around a black hole. She glanced around, noticing the details in her environment. She appears to be in a large factory. The ceiling above her was open, clearly aged, dripping water all over the brown brick flooring, also very aged. The machinery, which she did not recognize, was steel, completely rusted brown. The large windows are completely stained naturally, and cannot even be seen through, and are surrounded by the uncolored concrete walls. She looked down beneath her, and saw an old, worn down bed, soaking wet. Strangely enough, Choko herself was not wet. Right next to the bed, she noticed…
…A sword…?
She picked it up to take a brief glance at it. However, before long, she notices something across the large room; A large, bear-like being. A bit of a small one, with somewhat of a purple hue to it. Maybe it’s a friendly bear?
The bear turned towards Choko, staring at her, slightly menacingly, but also looked like it might be friendly? Choko could not tell at all. She decides to speak to the bear.
…I’m sure it’s friendly…
“...H-hello… You’re a nice bear, right…? W-we can be friends…
…right…?”
The monster did not seem to appreciate Choko’s attempt at diplomacy. As it turned out, that was a cataclysmic decision.. With a roar, it suddenly makes a lunge right at her.
OH,
FOUNDER!!!
Choko immediately made a massive leap onto the long table behind her, and began sprinting like a cheetah upon it. She bounded straight through equipment, knocking over and smashing them as she darted. She came very close to tripping over the equipment several times. Undeterred, the monster lets out a massive roar, only a yard away from her. She made another two leaps onto and past a large fallen girder, forcing the monster to make a detour, thanks in part to the rather complex layout of the factory.
She took a glance at the sword within her hand, at the gleaming, white shine of the blade. The shine alone, surprisingly, was tempting her. Tempting her to fight back.
Yet…
No… I can’t get hurt here. I can’t… I don’t want… no… I can’t…
“I… I gotta get OUTTA HERE!!!!”
She started to run again, and turned into the hallway.
“PLEASE! NO! GO AWAY! HELP!!”
She continues her scurry across the worn down, ruined hallway. Finally, she reached a set of doors. However, to her absolute horror, she discovered it was completely jammed.
“Oh, Founder! No! Someone! PLEASE!,” she screamed, clamoring and pounding on the door. The monster let out another horrible roar.
“OPEN UP! I-I’M GONNA DIE! HELP!”
She then saw the monster right in front of her, and curled up. “No… no… not like this… not like this…” It was then, with the cold water from the ceiling dripping upon her, when she knew it was all over.
“No… please… Not like this!!! PLEASE! NOT LIKE THIS! NO!”
The last thing she remembered before covering her eyes was its paw placed on the door, right behind her, and salivating viciously. It then unleashed one loud, horrifying, almost paralyzing final roar, and then…
Choko woke up in a horrible cold sweat. This time, though, she was greeted with the comfort of her actual bed, covered in her floral-print blankets, and within her own home, and not some alien place, like that factory.
Deep breaths, Choko. That was the most vivid dream you had in a long while, but it was still just that- a dream.
She quickly got out of bed, went to the bathroom nearby, and quickly splashed herself with cold water. She didn’t bother checking herself in the mirror.
Choko headed downstairs to greet her parents (She doesn’t normally get dressed or do her bathroom stuff until a few minutes until it’s time to go to school). Her father was finally installing the new expensive TV he bought yesterday.
“Ah, good morning, Cho-” He quickly noticed the glaring changes his daughter suddenly went through the last night. Her hair, formerly black, had suddenly become a bright brown. He also noticed something on her wrist, below her palm. Was that… a sigil…? In complete shock, he completely drops the TV, completely destroying it.
“Father! Are you okay!?!,” Choko yells, while running up to him.
“Choko… d-did you… have… the dream…?
“The dream? I mean, I did have this horrible, vivid dream last night, but I don’t know how you’d kno-”
“No! I mean… can you… please… take a look at your right w-wrist?”
“My wrist? I mean, I don’t know how it would look any-”
She then notices… her mark. It was rather simple, having the outline of a chocolate bar, colored the same brown as her hair.
“...OH.
GREAT.
FOUNDER.”
“Choko…I…” her father said, somewhat close to tears.
“Father… I don’t…”
Choko said, audibly choking up on her words.
Choko did not know what to say. She was full of many, many emotions, all of them negative: Shock. Fear. Uncertainty. Lost. Choko quickly broke down into tears.
“Choko… please don’t…”
Her father’s attempts to calm her daughter down were to no avail. Even he, now faced with the burden of having to raise a magical girl, and now faced with the chance, no matter how small, of his daughter heading out one night, never to return, was also on the verge of tears.
Neither of them thought this sort of situation would ever happen. The two of them were tense, as if some sort of bomb had gone off in the building. No matter how hard they tried, they could not put their thoughts into words. No matter how hard they tried, they could not fight back against the immense emotions. The two of them decided to give each over a big hug, letting the emotions fly through their tears.
“Are you sure you are okay going to school today? I know it’s been a bit overwhelming for the both of us this morning.”
“Yeah. I’m a tiny bit scared I’ll… get swarmed by everyone, but… I should be fine. It can’t be that bad,”
Choko lied.
“You sure? You know kids you don’t know will be mighty interested.”
“They’ll hardly notice. It’s only the second day of school, so barely anyone knows me much. My hair isn’t even too much of an unusual color.”
“Alright, fair enough. good luck!”
“Thanks! I love you!”
And with that, she set off for school.
— — — — — — —
A slow, hard, painful grind. A hellhole that Choko was forced to attend for 6 and a half hours a day, five days a week. A place she felt was, ironically, given its nature, some sort of idiot-magnet:
School.
A place Choko simply always hated, today seemed like it may be going to be worse than any other, now being what was pretty much a walking attraction for any normal civilian, for obvious reasons. Unless, of course, she was careful with her interactions.
Lucky for her, during the first few periods, nobody seemed to realize that Choko had awakened as a magical girl at all. It seemed like she might not have to deal with any unwanted business, after all. So, during the fourth period, she decided she’d drop her guard just a bit, since it was getting tiring.
Choko calmly sat down at her desk.
“H-Hey, is the teacher out today?,” Choko said to the boy next to her, as she fiddled with her hair, avoiding direct eye contact. As it turns out, this question ended up being far more reckless than one may think. Right after she asked that, she noticed a major, overlooked detail.
Wait. Don’t I… recognize him?
The kid she was talking to wasn't a stranger, unlike almost every other kid in her grade. He had actually been a kid she partnered up with in class last year, though only because the two sat next to each other, and were never actual friends. Still, If anyone was somewhat familiar with Choko, it would be him. And with that familiarity, came the knowledge of Choko’s previously normal appearance.
“Huh? Oh yeah, Choko, I think Miss Pear is stuck with a buncha- hey. Is that… not your normal hair color? Didn’t it used to be black?”
“...Um… huh?”
“Speaking of which, is that a Magical Girl’s mark on you?!?! You…you had the dream!”
Oh NO. I’ve messed up!
Wait, did you just say Choko had the dream!?”
“What powers did you get!?”
“Um… UM…
UM…”
Choko nervously said.
“I get it. But I… don’t really want to discuss this now!?”
Unfortunately, nobody bothered listening to her. The excitement, naturally, overtook everyone’s thoughts at that point.
“What was your dream!?”
“Can I see your outfit?
“Arg! Please, I don’t-”
“How did your family react?”
“Transform!”
“I’m… I’m sorry, I have to go!”
She quickly sprinted out of the room, into the bathroom, and into a stall.
"*Huff... Huff*"
...So… is this what life as a Magical Girl is like?
Choko quickly realized the kinds of expectations placed upon her. Would she have to fight? If so, would she need to speak to strangers as she fought? What if she fails in her duty? Everyone would likely know about it. And what if she got hurt?
“No… I h-have to… I c-can’t fail them…”
Choko knew that her life was about to change. At best, for the next five years. And she feared at worst…
…the rest of her life.
For now, there was nothing Choko could do. For now, she simply closed her eyes, and began sobbing. She sobbed, in there, alone, with nobody to bother her with questions, but also nobody to comfort her. She stayed there, even long after dismissal.