Sigh… mornings.
Rin rested her cheek against her palm and stared at the blackboard, eyes unfocused. Sunlight streamed through the classroom windows in neat rectangles, catching dust motes in the air. The low hum of chatter around her blurred into background noise.
Yesterday had been exhausting.
Yesterday, she had gone to go get the newest volume in a new manga series she been enjoying lately, Mahou Shiba Inu★Hanamaru (peak) when the idiot fox decided to take a hostage directly in front of her.
Honestly.
The fight itself had been trivial. Fireflame was new, loud, and deeply unserious. Her monsters looked impressive on camera, but they always had glaring obvious weak points. Yesterday's had barely lasted a minute once Rin got serious.
The real problem was that it had all been broadcast live.
The moment the screens lit up across the district, Rin had known. Sirens would follow. They always did.
As soon as the broadcast started, the police were on the way!
Her relationship with the police was… complicated.
After all, vigilante justice wasn't exactly legal. But magical threats were not something the police could handle. Monsters from the organization did not respond to tasers or polite requests to stand down.
She could not just stand by and let people get hurt.
After one of her first major fights, she had stayed behind when the police arrived. She had even pointed out the unconscious villain and politely suggested they be arrested.
They had arrested her instead.
Interrogations. Fines. Actual time in a holding cell.
After all, the fight had caused… minor damage to the surrounding area, and the police had wanted someone to pay!… the fine for the damages.
Apparently, shattered pavement and melted streetlights counted as property damage, even if they had been caused by a monster rampaging through the area. Someone had to pay, and the masked girl with the glowing bow had been very convenient.
It had been Pochu who told her, very gently, that next time she should leave before the police arrived.
So now she always did.
Fireflame, at least, had been showing up a lot lately. Almost once a week. New monster every time. New dramatic speech. Same outcome.
Rin frowned slightly.
Maybe the organization was offering some kind of incentive for defeating her. That would explain the sudden motivation. Fireflame did not strike her as someone who enjoyed repeated failure without compensation.
Still.
Yesterday had crossed a line.
Taking a hostage was unacceptable!
Rin's thoughts drifted, unbidden, to the girl.
Usually civilians ran away as soon as the villains showed up, usually to watch from a safe distance. But this girl had been seemingly clueless, and was caught up in the middle of it immediately.
The girl had long grey hair, tied up in a pony tail, wearing a white shirt, grey and gold skirt and a jacket.
Incredibly cool looking, she had seemed a bit dazed and confused, which made her look adorable.
Cute. Very cute. Totally her type!
Rin immediately straightened in her seat, face warming.
While they were talking, she had reflexively hugged her, which she now realised was extremely weird.
Oh no! She won't think I am strange? Will she?
No. Focus.
What if she had been hurt?
The thought made Rin's stomach drop. She clenched her hands under the desk. That would have been unforgivable. Completely unforgivable.
That was why evil had to be stopped. Immediately. Decisively.
Still… Rin wondered if the girl had thought she was cool. Swooping in like that. Bow blazing. Saving her from a lava monster.
Or maybe she had just been scared.
Rin sighed softly.
They would probably never meet again. The city was enormous, after all.
Her gaze drifted to her schoolbag, where the replacement manga volume sat carefully wrapped. The original copy had not survived. A chunk of magma had landed too close to where she had left it on the rooftop, scorching the cover and several pages beyond saving.
She had thrown it away. Painfully. Carefully. Before anyone could see.
Nearly a third of her allowance. Gone.
And after buying a replacement, she was basically broke.
Rin pouted faintly.
If only she could reveal her identity. Surely she deserved royalties for all the unofficial Magical Girl Aurora merchandise flooding the city. Keychains. Plushies. Posters. Limited edition figures that sold out instantly.
Those toy companies must be making a fortune.
If she could go public, she could even supervise an official manga adaptation. Accurate fight choreography. Proper pacing. Faithful costume details.
Based on real events!
That would be amazing!
…And also incredibly dangerous.
If the organization learned her identity, everything would fall apart.
Rin adjusted her bulky red glasses with practiced ease. Her reflection in the window showed an unremarkable high school girl with black hair tied neatly back. Plain. Forgettable.
Perfect.
Unlike those shows where changing clothes somehow fooled everyone, Rin took her disguise seriously. Magic reinforced her appearance, softened her presence, blurred recognition. Pink hair belonged to Magical Girl Aurora, not Rin Yume.
Besides,
Every magical girl had to have pink hair. It was traditional!
She worked hard to maintain her image. Not just for herself, but for magical girls everywhere. If she was going to be a real one, then she had a responsibility to be a good example!
The classroom door slid open.
Ms. Harada stepped in, clapping her hands once for attention. "Alright, everyone, settle down. Before we begin literature today, we have an announcement."
Rin straightened slightly without thinking.
"We have a transfer student joining us," the teacher continued. "Please be welcoming."
The door opened again.
Rin looked up.
And froze.
It was her!
Stelle stepped into the classroom, wearing the standard school uniform with her jacket from yesterday tied loosely around her waist. Her silver hair was pulled back, catching the light as she moved.
Waa—!?
We meet again, and she's in my class?!
Rin sat perfectly still, every muscle locked. This was not happening. This could not be happening. The city was huge. Statistically impossible. Absolutely unreasonable.
Stelle walked up to the board with unhurried steps.
"Stelle," Ms. Harada said kindly, handing her a piece of chalk. "If you don't mind, could you introduce yourself to the class?"
That's her name? That's such a cool name. Of course it is.
Stelle took the chalk and stared at it for a few seconds.
Then she looked up.
"Stelle," she said simply.
Rin's heart skipped.
Ms. Harada smiled politely. "Why don't you tell the class a bit about yourself?"
Stelle glanced down again, then calmly wrote her name on the board in large, confident letters. She turned back to face the class.
"I hope we get along," she said. "Meeting new people, experiencing new things… this is the true essence of trailblazing."
She flashed a V sign with her right hand and smiled.
Rin's face warmed up again.
Cool…! What does that even mean?! It's so cool though!
Whispers rippled through the classroom.
"She's so cute," one of the boys muttered.
"She's so handsome," one of the girls whispered, louder.
Ms. Harada coughed twice, regaining control of the room. "Do you have any interesting hobbies? Anything you'd like to share?"
Stelle tapped her chin thoughtfully. "My hobbies include… stories, I guess."
"Reading?" the teacher prompted.
"Sure," Stelle replied. "I love reading."
I love reading too! That's awesome! Mostly magical girl stuff though…
Ms. Harada nodded. "Very well. Your seat is number thirty-one. Last row, closest to the window."
Rin's breath caught.
That's… right behind me. That's the protagonist seat!
Stelle walked past her desk, smiling at Rin as she walked past. She sat down, chair scraping softly against the floor.
Directly behind her. Her face warmed again.
"Well," Ms. Harada continued, "we'll begin today with a brief recap of the current unit for our new student. If anything is unclear, this is a good opportunity to ask questions."
A/N Row Row fight da power! (power stones that is!)
Published again because some people couldn't read it.