It's been nine years since a gate to the spirit realm opened at the heart of Hitoshi city. Literally.
To fight the supernatural, we tapped into the supernatural. The International Commission for Magical Girls, the ICMG, commissioned a hundred and one young girls to be trained, disciplined, and taught the ways of magic. A hundred and one magical girls to combat the otherworldly threat plaguing the city.
Four years of training, four years of active service, no more, no less. That was the deal the ICMG made with each and every one of those girls. They would serve as soldiers, beat back the Yokai, and reclaim the city in the name of humanity.
In a brilliant marketing maneuver, the commission somehow managed to turn the mostly boring, life-threatening, and demanding life of a magical girl into something filled with glitz and glamor. "Become a Magical Girl today! Wield awesome power! Get in touch with your second family! Boys will fawn over you!"
Though, none of that was a factor in Kasai's decision to become a magical girl.
"Food… water… power… gas… rent… Yuki's birthday… schooling… fishing supplies… especially fishing supplies…" Her ICMG pension's only big enough to last her maybe fifteen to twenty years at best. Kasai sighs. She turned down that I-C promotion offer too. It was lucrative, but she didn't like limiting her future options.
She's about to continue sifting through her thoughts but something more important comes up. There's a tug on her fishing line but she doesn't reel it in, not just yet. She adjusts her hat and waits patiently, holding out for the perfect time to strike. Wait for it… wait for it… wait for it… now! The line goes taut as Kasai pulls with all the might of a magical girl in her prime. A tuna the size of a large child is torn from the water and flops around at the base of her feet.
"Hm, well that's dinner sorted at least."
But that still leaves the problem of what she's going to be doing for a living. She could just keep following the formula. Finish high school, get a degree, and then get a job… but is something like that really the best she can do? She's already drifted from part-time job to part-time job but nothing's worked. None of them 'spoke' to her. They all ended the same way. At the end of the day, Kasai thanked the manager, left for home, and never came back.
"Hey-o." A strangely peppy voice comes from behind. "You're Kasai Ryusei, right?"
"...Yeah? Kasai turns around and is greeted by a girl with a bob of pink hair and wide, sparkling pink eyes. She's decked out in full fishing regalia, complete with the jacket and the hat.
"Name's Emu." The girl sits down and dangles her legs over the edge of the pier. "I hear you're a pretty good angler."
"From who?"
"I have my ways." Emu smiles mischievously. "I hear you're looking for some kind of livelihood?"
"How did you know?"
"Like I said, I have my ways." Emu smiles brilliantly. "I'm here to interest you in a… let's call it a business venture. We need someone with combat experience, formal magical girl training, who can take orders, give orders, and have fun on the job. Are you interested?"
"Somewhat." Kasai pinches her chin. "Though this does reek of a scam."
"No worries, we don't resort to such… uncouth methods. The Awano Family has a certain sophistication that we like to maintain."
"You're with the Awano Family?" That's a pretty big name, if Kasai recalls correctly. Her family's lived on Awano Family territory since before she was born.
"I assure you, the rumors you've heard about us, if nothing else, have been watered down."
"Well that's comforting. Do you want me to kill for you or something like that?"
"Nah. I was thinking a little more… personal."
"Hm?"
"Do me a favor," Emu points at Kasai. "Bark for me."
"What?"
"Bark."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
"Uh, Woof?"
"Hmmm… good girl." Unprompted, Emu starts petting Kasai on the head. She doesn't know how to protest politely so she doesn't. "You have a nice bark."
Kasai stares at Emu for a moment before recoiling. "...Thanks?"
"The Awano Family isn't all that complicated. At its heart, it's a doghouse. The ones who bark loudly are at the bottom and the ones who bark the quietest are at the top. I've heard your bark, and I can tell you can be great one day."
"...Really? You think so?"
"I know so." Emu extends a hand "Make no mistake. I'm not giving you a job. I'm giving you a place in the world. Once you join, you become Awano. You breathe Awano, eat Awano, drink Awano. You'll be a part of the family."
"That sounds nice. I've never really had a real family." Kasai stares at her reflection in the water. "My parents were never there growing up so I've always had to figure things out on my own. Take care of my sister by myself, you know what I mean?"
Emu nods. "We look out for each other in the family. We'll ask you for some favors every once in a while and you can ask us for some favors every once in a while. That's how this whole thing goes."
"Hm. Alright" Kasai continues staring at her reflection in the water. "So long as I'm not robbing a bank or anything insane like that."
"EVERYONE ON THE GROUND! WE'RE ROBBING THIS BANK! THE ALARM'S BEEN CUT, HELP IS NOT COMING!" Kasai fires off a couple of warning shots from her rifle. The bank tellers whimper and cry out but they comply. Three heisters, three guns, three masks. That's more than enough for a small-time bank like this. Both of the exterior guards have already been incapacitated. That just leaves the two interior guards. In the tiny span of time they struggle to draw their weapons, Kasai and the other heisters quickly knock them out with the butts of their rifles. "HELP IS NOT COMING!"
Kasai starts barking orders at the others. "You. Watch the hostages. You. Come with me."
The both of them nod and set off doing as she says. Kasai starts navigating the winding corridors. It's a strange thing, seeing the lines in the blueprint turn into actual halls. A left, a right, then two more lefts. She's sure of it. At this point, she's more familiar with this building's schematic than the back of her eyelids.
"Hold this." Kasai shoves the rifle into her partner's hands and retrieves a tanto, a small Japanese dagger, from inside her cloak. She lowers her stance and poises the tanto as if she were about to draw it from its sheath.
"「Gujutsu - Juuchi Yosamu」"
The gleam on the blade's edge begins to dance and form itself into arcane sigils as the sword transforms from a normal tanto into a blade of legend. There's a sound like a rushing wind followed by silence.
"Showoff." Her partner sighs as she walks forward and touches the vault door. There's a tremendous groan as the vault door splits down the middle, cut cleanly in half. "We should have brought bigger bags."
"We don't need that much, just enough to get the Family out of the red for another month or so is plenty."
"And what happens next month?"
Kasai grins wickedly. "We rob another bank, duh."
You can get addicted to living on the other side of the law. The weeks of nonstop meticulous planning, the rush of the heist, and all the payoff of the payday. It's not like alcohol or drugs or cigarettes that slowly kill you the more you take them. Rather the opposite, living as an outlaw keeps her feeling alive.
It was little things at first. Rigged gambling matches. Spying on people. Maybe roughing up someone who's getting too big for their britches. Odd jobs for the Awano family. This is the first 'real' job they've given her. And based on her performance, she'd say that she's left a pretty good impression.
The two scoop up big armfuls of cash and dump it into a duffel bag. Then just as the bag is full to bursting, Kasai takes one fistful of cash and stuffs it into her pocket.
"This one's for me."
"Suit yourself." While Kasai's satisfied with one fistful, her partner brought an entire extra bag.
"Are we good?"
"We're golden."
The two rush out of the vault room, through the halls, and back to the front of the bank.
"You guys save some for the Family?"
"Take as much as you like later." Kasai raises the duffel bag and throws it at the last heister. "Let's split for now."
"Agreed."