Chapter Text
🎧
Aya Oosawa stood on the sidewalk, watching the destruction around her.
The city, or what once was a city, was in ruins. Concrete was scattered on the floor, shrapnel flying around in the air, but none of it seemed to touch her. In the middle of the chaos was... a figure. They had short black hair, and when they moved, Aya could see flashes of vibrant green. They were holding something that looked... like a guitar? The person's face was oddly familiar... almost reminiscent of...
"This is horrible," Aya said, and to her surprise.. a voice responded.
"It is. But it can't be helped. She will destroy herself. She can't do this alone." She looked down to see a white creature with long ears and red eyes looking up at her.
In the carnage, Aya watched the figure get flung across the air and time seemed to slow, up until the moment "she" hit the concrete with a puff of dust.
"She can't give up now, or it's over," the creature tilted its head. "she has almost no chance."
"There has to be a way to fix this... this isn't right." Aya felt as though somehow, the creature could fix this...
"You can fix this." the creature swished its tail, almost mockingly. "You have the power to turn fate around, Aya Oosawa..."
Her eyes widened. She took a step towards the creature, watched the black-clad girl fall...
"You can save her, just..."
"Make a contract with me and become a puella magi."
The world seemed to crackle, an explosion imminent... there was a flash and...
🎧
Aya woke up in her bed, wondering where she was and why she could still feel the whip of a cold wind against her face.
She groaned. What a strange dream, she thought. Where had she seen the mysterious girl before? She tried to remember but her mind came up blank.
When she left the house, Chizuru and Mao were waiting for her.
"Aya! You're late already, and spring break just ended!" Chizuru called.
"Sorry, I just had such a strange dream," she told them as they walked into school, just as the bell rang.
"Girls, class is starting!" a teacher scolded, and they hurried off to class.
"You three are late." their homeroom teacher glared at them as they walked in.
"Only by a minute or so..." Chizuru muttered, then shut up when the teacher gave her a look.
When they had sat down, the teacher gave the usual announcements spiel: some club was looking for members, phones were strictly banned during class-time, and the student council needed volunteers to help organize the annual spring dance. At that last announcement, Aya looked at Chizuru and Mao, but the two were looking as if they were on a different plane of existence. Aya wanted to help with the dance, but it seemed as though her friends weren't so interested.
Just then, she heard the click of the doorknob, and everyone looked up. Every student was present already, which meant...
"Ah, there you are, Mitsuki Koga." The teacher gestured for the newcomer to stand next to her.
Wait... wasn't that...?
"Hello everyone, I'm Mistuki Koga," the new girl said quietly, her voice barely audible. She pushed her glasses up and shifted on her feet awkwardly.
The girl from her dream!?
"Everyone, please be kind to Koga-san. She is our new transfer student from the school on the other side of town. Koga-san, please sit in the empty desk there, next to the window."
It was also the seat next to Aya. For some reason, she felt a twinge of recognition, not just because of her dream. It felt as though she and this Mitsuki Koga had met before, even had been friends. But, if she'd really known her before, she was sure she would've remembered her name. Koga sat down next to her, looking down at the floor. And then she looked up at Aya, making her blush, embarrassed to have been caught staring.
🎧
"Can I please have a volunteer to show Koga-san around?" The teacher asked. It was break time now, and no one seemed too excited to give the new kid a tour.
"I'll do it," Aya raised her hand, much to Chizuru and Mao's surprise. She gave them an apologetic look. She had wanted to tell them about her dream, during break, but it could wait.
"So, Koga-san... I was wondering if we had met before. You seem.. familiar, somehow." Aya tilted her head. They were walking along the hallway, and Aya couldn't help but hear the other students' conversations.
"Isn't that the new transfer? She looks like a nerd."
"Really? I think she's kind of cute..."
"Call me Mitsuki. But I don't believe we've met before."
"..." Aya kept walking. "Let's go to the gym next."
For some reason, it seemed like Mitsuki was leading Aya, and not the other way around.
Aya cleared her throat to break the silence, "The reason I say that is just that... I think I saw you in my dream. Maybe I, like, predicted that you'd come here."
Mitsuki turned around and gave a small smile. "I guess you could say I'm the girl of your dreams?" She said, quickly and quietly, then turned around and kept walking as if it never happened.
"That..." Aya blushed. For some reason, the expression on the girl's face had reminded her of the guy at the cd shop she'd discovered over the break. "I still think you look familiar. Do you happen to have a brother?"
Mitsuki shook her head without looking back at her.
"Oh."
Suddenly, Mitsuki stopped in her tracks and turned around. They were in an empty hallway now.
"Are you okay?" Aya asked.
"Aya, do you think your family- and friends- are precious to you?"
"Uhm.. yes, of course."
"Don't make any rash decisions. Don't put them in danger."
"Koga, what are you talking about?! Are you threatening me?!"
"Just don't do anything stupid. You could lose everything." Mitsuki said quietly, ominously, and kept walking, leaving Aya standing there, confused.
"Now that I think of it... How do you know my name?" she mumbled, but Mitsuki was gone.
🎧
"Aya, what are you saying?! You see this Koga in your dream, and suddenly she's threatening you? And she even knew your name?" Chizuru snorted. They were walking back from school now.
"She was, I swear! I was going to tell you guys about it, but I didn't get the chance!"
"Hey, maybe you two have an intertwined fate, destined to be together~"
"Hey, don't tease me like that! And if that was the case, why would she be threatening you guys and my family?"
"Or maybe she had to transfer because she was bullying people," Mao added unhelpfully.
"That's... I don't think she would do that. Whatever is going on, I'm sure she has a valid reason for it?"
"Sure," Chizuru laughed, "Well, I have to go now. I have a date at a cafe~"
"Another guy?" Mao grumbled, "Seriously, when will you settle for one..."
"They're all just so boring, Mao~ Maybe we should get you a boy too, go on a double date sometime~"
"Ugh, no thanks."
They waved goodbye to Chizuru.
"Mao, I'm just going to stop by that cd store, so will you be okay going back home alone?"
"Actually... I've been meaning to come with you to see your mysterious boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend! I just think he's handsome and... I want to see him again today." Aya sighed dreamily.
The cd shop guy wasn't there, much to her disappointment. But she still picked out a cd. Mao trailed along behind her, looking a bit out of place, when suddenly, she heard something, a... cry for help.
"Aya Oosawa! Help! Save me!"
She dropped the cd she was holding and it clattered to the ground. Where was that voice coming from? It sounded almost like the creature in her dream.
Her heart racing, she made her way to the back of the shop.
Employees only. Read the sign on a door. She looked around, but there wasn't anyone behind the counter or in the aisles.
"Aya, what are you doing?!" Mao whispered. Aya opened the door without a second thought and raced into the darkness, Mao following and calling her name.
"Help me Aya!" The voice rang again. It was getting closer! But, just how big was this storage room?!
Finally, she spotted something, a rabbit like creature on the floor, slightly bloody. The thing from her dream. Breathing heavily, she scooped up the creature.
"Hey... what are you? You're hurt, aren't you..?" She wondered.
"Put him down, Aya." She heard someone say. She looked up and Mitsuki Koga was standing there! She was wearing a black suit, and was holding a guitar, just like in her dream.
"Mitsuki-san..?" She sputtered, "What are you doing here? Did you do this to him?!"
"Look, Aya, this has nothing to do with you, so just... put that liar down and leave." she muttered, glaring at the creature.
"I don't know what's going on, but I can't let you hurt him."
"Aya, I suggest you put him down, or I'll be forced to..."
"Aya! Come on," Mao ran ahead of her, catching Mitsuki by surprise and making her stumble, "Let's go, come on!"
Mao grabbed Aya's hand and the two ran in a random direction.
"You two... seriously...?" She heard Mitsuki groan in the distance.
The darkness seemed to go on forever, swallowing them and leaving Mitsuki far behind.
"So, what is that stuffed animal thing?" Mao asked when they finally stopped. There was finally some light, an overhead lamp that flickered and dimmed at times.
"Uh, I picked him up, I guess he was injured or something?"
"Ah... Aya, you came and saved me..." he blinked slowly. Blood was dripping down the creature's face.
"Eh? It's alive? What exactly is going on?!"
"I'm actually not too sure either."
Suddenly, there was a chiming noise that sounded like crystal glasses knocking against each other. They all looked up. There were black, wormy things spiralling above them.
"What are those?!" Mao gasped.
They seemed to be flitting closer and closer to them.
"Wait a sec, don't come here!" Mao shouted at them. Aya was too stunned to react. It was such a weird day.
Just as it seemed they were doomed to die a strange death, someone jumped in front of them, and the things wailed.
"You girls shouldn't be here! It's dangerous, but don't worry. They'll be gone soon!" A black haired boy wearing a cutesy outfit winked at them. He was holding a long cannon shaped thing in his arms. "Brace yourselves! Here we go!"
There was a loud bang. When the smoke cleared, the things were in fact gone.
"What were those?!" Aya gasped, when she finally got her bearings back.
"Familiars. Don't worry, we'll have a chat!" The boy turned. "Ah, you have Kyubey."
"Oh, you know him?!" Aya asked as Kyubey hopped out of her arms.
"Megumu! You saved us."
"Don't thank me, you should thank these two. They got you away from Mitsuki after all."
"Ah, right, thank you Aya and Mao!" Kyubey turned and nodded at them.
"You... know our names?" Mao asked, utterly confused at the whole situation.
"Oh, I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?!" the boy laughed. "I'm Megumu Narita!"
With that, his whole body glowed, and he changed, looking more like a normal high school boy.
"I'm a puella magi. Or, er... A puer magi. Magicalness knows no gender." He smiled, holding up the peace sign. "This is Kyubey. Hey, Kyubey, these two... does that mean?"
Kyubey nodded. "Hey, you two... I have a favour to ask of you! Or an offer, depending on how you see it."
"A favour.." Aya wondered.
"I want you two to make contracts with me and become..." Kyubey sat down, looking up at them happily, "Puella magi!"
"Ah... magical girls? Like Sailor Moon?!" Aya asked, getting excited.
"Uhm... just a bit. Let's talk about this later. Won't you two come to my home so we can chat about it?"
🎸
"Tch... trying to make contracts now..." Mitsuki Koga muttered, playing with her guitar strings.
She was sitting on her bed, frustrated at the events of the day.
"Seriously... why can't it go right just once..."
She glared at herself in the mirror. She was out of her suit, and into her hoodie and black jeans. Her glasses were replaced with contact lenses.
"Can I even kill him?"
She leaned back. Her head ached. She rubbed her soul gem absentmindedly, muttering under her breath. Her green gem was half filled with murky black fog.
"Aya Oosawa.. I'm sorry. But this must be done."