***(?)
I had lived a normal life. Yes, a normal life... Everyday was an identical routine, though there were slight variations that spiced it up. I went to school, talked to my friends about the latest books I loved to read, learn a bit in class, have lunch with my close friends, have more lessons, go to book club on certain days, and finally I go back home to my precious family. The four of us lived happily, father, mother, big brother and me.
It was easy to recall my fond memories with my family, though my brother liked to tease me sometimes, he also had a very caring side. Father... Papa always put up a brave front and assured us that we could live comfortably. Even if he was having trouble with work or his health, he never troubled anyone and bore it all with a big smile. Mama on the other hand was a cheerful personality, she liked to go outside and exercise, and when she's not working out she would be doing the house chores or searching for the latest trend online. She always did her best to mingle with big brother and I, even if she was quite off the mark she never got deterred from trying again.
I lost contact with all of them and I awakened to a strange power, I was brought to the labyrinth. I was brought along with a few others, having yearned for some interaction I quickly adjusted to everyone's personality and socialised. It was way easier in a class of 15 people then my previous class of 30. As usual, I didn't interact too much or my adjustments would start to crack. I've been like this my whole life.
You see, I love my family a lot. I would do anything to see them right now, now that The Great Disaster has forcefully seperated us. My parents were on a small trip overseas, I was still quite some distance from my home and I'm sure big brother was also coming back from his university. In the end I've always wanted to make them proud. It was only after we've been taken away from each other that I realised how much they meant to me.
In the morning, it was the usual 'good morning' and 'careful on your way there'. I had taken that routine as the norm. The soft bedsheets under my body, the deafening screeches of the alarm cloak, the lazy attire of my sleep deprived brother, the relaxing smell of papa's coffee in the morning and breakfast that mama has prepared. I would leave the house and my best friend, Mika would be there waiting for me.
One of my grandparents were not from Japan, I was a mixed with natural born brown hair and brown irises. Mika on the other hand had straight black hair darker than the night sky and a pair of stylish spectacles. I was the average student, and she was the perfect role model student. She had made even her plain clothes look good with her looks, combining those gorgeous looks with her tendency to always be prim and proper packed a destructive punch known as the 'popular student' phenomenon.
It was something I was very familiar with, though not in the normal way others experience it. Even as her best friend, I was the side character. The average Joe that blended in painfully well with the background. Can you even believe it? We've all experienced the 'part-timer handing out brochures to advertise in public' event right? Wrong, that was just one of many absurd cases where I was painfully ignored. When I told Mika, she simply giggled and said it was better to be ignored when you're not interested in their products.
It was normal to let it slide once or twice, but I've never caught their attention once in my whole life. It's weird right? Maybe that wasn't such a convincing case, there are more though. There were some impatient drivers on the road, impatient as they are they waited for the pedestrians to cross the road before rushing into the road. They waited for all the pedestrians but me, I've almost been hit by a vehicle over 20 times. The stall owners that sell food don't notice me, the teachers that talk to Mika don't notice me, the students that talk to Mika don't notice me, the person collecting forms or homework for the teacher don't notice me.
... But you know what? I was fine with it. I lived a painfully average life, I lived a super ordinary life that didn't stand out in anyway. And it was fine, I made friends with other relatively average people, went shopping with them, had fun with them. It was amazing when I first made friends with people other than Mika in high school , it drove hope inside me that there was good in the world. I took advantage of it, I did every event. Going to the beach, going to the local mall, experiencing a new mall, new food, new movie, new hobbies, adventuring in new places.
I was just as average in high school as I was in middle school, but unlike then I was much less isolated now. Instead of eating lunch along and heading home to play otome games, I built up my social skills in real life, learned how people actually spoke to each other, learned what people liked and disliked. I manage to make my normal life more normal, and I enjoyed it. I was preoccupied with my new friends that I neglected Mika. It was the usual pattern of having a small squabble, then making up afterwards, and finally hang out with both my old and new friends.
I was thankful for it, for this normal life I was given. My grades were never bad and in fact leaned towards the good side, a straight path to a regular job and regular office life awaited me. Thinking about becoming independant and what kind of partner I'd like in the future, I thought of such simple things all the time.
'The Great Disaster', roughly 80% of the human population was gone, and a decent chunk of the survivors died from disease. Mika died from the former. There was no rain, no funeral, no nothing. Not even her corpse had been left behind. It was simple yet bizarre for my daily life. I had no idea she was following me home, but after she handed me something I could guess. Perhaps it was a surprise, she had given me a key chain with my initials on it, 'K' and hers, 'M'. Perhaps she was just too shy to give it in class. There was falling rubble coming from a neighbour's house, I was pushed out of the way and caught in a magical girl's arms, she was crushed into an unidentifiable paste.
She probably didn't have time to smile, I turned around after her push to see an awkward expression. The magical girl who saved me seemed to be shocked as well. She was just one of many tasked to save people. Her eyes had widened and she went out of sight to vomit once we were in a safe place.
I was living an ordinary life, and I looked forward to it. It had been going so well... Please give it back.
"It's finally time, at long last I understand how to use this skill. I don't think we'd be able to kill Frena, but I think there are things worth fighting for. " (K)
***(?)
Not once did I rest, not once have I taken a break. I was awed, my jaw dropped and all of attention stuck to it harder than glue. The form of the body as it moved, the angles it bent at to achieve it's goals, the blending of movements as they transition to the next. It was simple yet beautiful. Swordsmanship, it was only a movie yet it captivated me. It was all a choreographed ruse, yet its thoughts spoke to me.
My parents, doting as they were allowed me to indulge in this admiration of mine. I joined kendo courses, chose schools for their reputation in kendo, practiced and spared with numerous partners. I've only entered the quarter finals once and otherwise always lost in the qualifiers, but even so I loved it. Not only Kendo, but Swordsmanship in general. Dabbling with other types of swords had opened up more paths for me.
Even now after The Great Disaster, my parents are alive and well. They are living their lives far away from these magical girl related things. With The Great Disaster, people could no longer disprove the existence of magic, so people have som awareness of magical girls to some extent. In any case, the ruling bodies of governments mostly went toward the same path of cutting away the world of magic from ordinary people. There was simply no good to come out of it for normal people to interact with magic or magic related things.
Some wars were fought, all the continents have merged in a brute force manner. The tectonic plates are in chaos but have been managed with the use of magic. At least that was what I was told. I awakened as a magical girl a couple weeks after the disaster. At first I was a little skeptical, and when I realised it was real I was excited to be like the magical girl that saved my family. Unlike those magical girls on TV shows or anime, her hair was dull coloured and her appearance wasn't so flashy. But I could see it. Just as I observed the beauty of movement in sword fights and sports, I saw just as much in her well trained muscles and expression.
It was odd, very odd in fact. It may even be more odd that I only noticed this after I saw that magical girl and started admiring her. Maybe I had a talent for this. For reading movement and expressions. At first I only thought of it as observation, like how people appreciate nature by observing it. I thought that was how it was with me, but for observing humans instead.
I thought it was normal and would question why the person on TV couldn't read their opponent's movements as well. I reasoned that if they were both too good, the match would never end. So everyone had such an ability, just that some last longer than others. That was how it was with my competitions too. My mind became vague and fogged up, and eventually full of clouds and static noise.
I believe now it was my goal, to be a great magical girl and swordswoman. I've been training for months, I even got close to this really cute magical girls, Kaorin, Myuu and Vibell. Vibell has been acting kind of strange, I suppose life without technology lead to her being like this. What did they call it?... Chi... Chiii.... Chuuu?... Ah, chuunibyou. I wasn't particularly good with people, only how awesome their muscles look when they are fit athletes.
It wouldn't even be strange to call me a musclehead. But I think it's alright if people think of me that way, I only have my sights set on my sword anyway. So I didn't mind too much that the place where I lived had changed. I can't say too much about the other girls, and so Kaorin had let most of them run away back to normal life. Safe for one among our ranks, I think most of us have placed our faith in her. Escaping from here is easy, but escaping from Frena is not. The only way for us to return back to a normal life is if we take down general Frena once and for all.
So if it's to save our friends and protect Kenzi's heart, I'm ready to become the strongest swordswoman there is.
***(Kreumier Fiel)
I had awakened before any of the others did. I am Kreumier Fiel and my specialty is manipulating the earth. It's small scale gravity manipulation that allowed me to fling rocks at monsters. I became a magical girl around a month before The Great Disaster, a newbie. I tried my best to catch up to the rest, the veteran magical girls and save as much people as possible during the disaster....
Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.
I could have save a lot more. More. More. More. More. More. More. More. More. But I let all of them die... I tried my best, I really did. There was nothing more I could do, but at the same time I felt like I could have saved much much more.... You see, during the disaster I only had split second windows of time to decide who to save. I was not strong enough, not fast enough, not brave enough, not good enough.. I've lived a pretty normal life. There's not much about it other than the fact that I awakened earlier. I am no different than the rest, even if I had some blood on my hands... Please... I'm not any different, so don't abandon me.
***
".... It's been going on long enough. You have a plan don't you? We need to defeat her fast or we'll get wiped out from her speed alone..." (Myuu)
"... My plan huh... Sorry... I have no plan. I'm sorry everyone, that all of your faith is so hollow. So it's fine if you abandon me and run away. I'll try to hold her off while you run, even if her magic is infinite surely she couldn't handle the god magical girl governing our land. It's hard to rely on a mythical figure like the Eye God, but she's our only chance. "
" And why would she bother with an insect like you? Did you just assume a god thinks the same way a human would? "(General Frena)