Anyone mind if I post my works here?

[MorriganAensland]

I've been working on a very large original fiction series for a little over a year now, called the Dichotomy trilogy. I'm currently on the second part of it, although technically it's more than just three stories due to the sidestories I have written or plan to write.

The woman in my signature, Mizuki Rajoshin, is the heroine of the first part and was sorta meant to be the "Anti-Magic Girl." Writing that story was a great deal of fun. I found part of my style while working on it, using first-person narration with five heroines, although they do not have any kind of elemental motif to them and three of them don't get their powers until more than halfway through the story. The big point of part 1 was to establish the fact that Destiny is a prison, and we should all attempt to escape it and live our lives, because until then we can't really be happy.

I made a few slice-of-life fics to just flesh out her life and the lives of her friends and also wrote a sidestory that was meant to lead into the second story, which had almost an entirely new cast.

Five of the villains the new protagonist faces are deliberately based off of WITCH, and the overall idea of the story is to take ideas from WITCH and Saint Seiya and take them to their painful and logical conclusions, showing us all that sparkles, has wings, uses katanas, or acts in the name of unconditional love is evil. Currently, four of the five "Evil" WITCH members have been fought and killed, although Hay Lin's will appear in two weeks. There is currently one holdover from part 1's cast present, although I am planning on giving the original group a cameo role in two or three weeks.

[The_Pastmaster]

Sure. Sounds like fun to read

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: Blargh. This took me a while to get back to. Anyways, here's the first chapter of [img]Matei%20Mizuki[/img].

The maiden

It was early that Monday when I rose up from my bed, still struggling with remembering where everything was in this new house. Clock was to the left now, same with the dresser. In the darkness I stumbled over to it and grabbed some clothes, blouse, blue skirt, and the rest of the stuff that my hands managed to find on. After that came washing up for the first day in the rest of my life. I couldn’t help but indulge in a sad kind of laugh… optimism never did me any good.

Bathroom was the first door on my right when I stepped out of my room. I bathed quickly and then stepped out. I really shouldn’t have done it, but I forced myself to look in the mirror. I looked decent… as usual.

My name is Mizuki Rajoshin, I am nineteen years old, 5’9” tall, and today is my first day of class at Tokyo’s famed M-- University. That should be reason to celebrate, and to extent, I was happier than I was other days. For one, my parents wouldn’t have to see me when I came home today, since they were off in New York City, doing their new jobs.

I come from Sendai, a region in Japan that is known for plain-looking women. Whether there’s any proof of that besides me, I’m not sure. I only moved to Tokyo a week ago, and back home I saw plenty of beautiful women… petite, able to style their hair any way they want, and never worrying about not having a date on Friday, if they were the especially lucky ones.

And here I was, taller than most Japanese adult men, with long black hair, brown eyes, and a face that -while not ugly- was not something that would win me any pageants. I paused for a moment, wondering if trying to at least apply some make-up would be appropriate, but I decided against it. Nah... I was in a bad enough mood, no reason to get even more bitter by doing something I really had no interest in either.

A plate of leftovers later, I was out the door, with a Mapquest guide to M--. I was glad my classes had transferred over from it’s sister college C--, it would save me some time in terms of getting my credits… some of them hard-earned and nearly impossible to reclaim.

Art, literature, and calligraphy were no problem. I had free reign in that, I could do as I pleased. But math? I sucked at. History? I did only slightly better.
_
A short while later, I was on the campus… the walk wasn’t as bad as I feared. Nobody was really paying attention to me, but I had expected that. The trial by fire, though, was going be coming up soon.

Within the hour, I was standing outside the doors of my first class, next to probably the worst class representative I have ever met. She introduced herself as Horoki Ayasato, and stood bright and cheerful. That was perfectly fine, she looked like a nice enough person. Brown eyes, light-brown hair in a pair of pigtails, a few freckles on her cheeks…

But she’s wearing a fuku. A sailing uniform… like those that students in secondary schools are required to wear. M--, being a University, is a little more flexible in its dresscode, but this isn’t Sailor Moon.

Almost as if she was reading my mind, she smiled and spoke up on the subject.

“So tell me… do you do any of the fun stuff at the shrine like Sailor Mars?” Horoki asked innocently. I didn’t answer her. “Come on, it says right here that you serve as a miko -a shrine maiden/priestess- for the Rajoshin Shrine!”

“I just started.”

“But what about wearing a hakama and looking into the flames and-”

“I just started.”

Before Ayasato could say anything else, the door opened, the professor coming out and nodding. It was finally time.

M--, like most schools, has the tradition in which each student that transfers in must introduce themselves to one class, to “introduce” them to the various groups and clubs to avoid running the risk of the person become ignored and avoided. Crazy, but I’ve heard its worked… to an extent.

I walk in after Horoki, the girl having written my name in both English and Kanji on the whiteboard. I step in front of the class… there were about fifty people and I mused this was the largest group I had ever spoken to.

“I’m Mizuki Rajoshin…” I could already tell that a lot of people were tuning out to what I was saying. The men mainly because I wasn’t even a pretty face, some of the girls for thinking I was an intruder into their little in-crowds. Nevertheless I continued.

“I transferred here because my parents have been attempting to become interpreters for various UN ambassadors for the past few years without much luck until recently. Since they were going to be busy most of the time, they decided that my grandfather should take me in… he’s the one that runs the Rajoshin Shrine. I’m a little interested in Shinto and agreed to be a miko, but I really don’t know much about it just yet.”

That’s a half-lie. When you’re a kid, you love mythology. Everyone does. There’s that one manga writer out there making millions on his series Sea Ruler Oceanus… it’s absurdly formulaic where a young man discovers he’s the reincarnation of the Titan of the Seas and fights against the tyranny of his older brother Chronos. It’s the nostalgia factor for the people that read it… and the foreign nature of the story makes it more appealing.

I was the same, always reading up about Shintoism. Shinto is unusual that it feels everything has a god. There’s a god for your house, there’s a god for clouds, there’s a god for groups of clouds, and it goes that way. Being a Shrine Maiden, as Grandpa Kouji told me, really just came down to performing a few short rituals a day, or at least he’s going to keep it limited to that for me.

The rest was basic stuff, didn’t look like many people were paying attention anyways. I finished up and took an empty seat and got ready for the lecture.
_
I noticed right away that people dyeing their hair at M-- was absurdly popular… various shades of blue seeming to be the most frequently occurring, although most of the people in question seemed to otherwise be normal in terms of their habits, like the one sitting next to me at a small restaurant on campus.

His name, was one I tragically don’t remember… he was a nice guy, and had decent skill in speaking Japanese. He was studying abroad and had come from Italy, gave me a few bits of advice about the various people to know at M--.

“So…” he asked as I finished my bowl of noodles, “You living on campus?”

“No. I walk here.”

“Oh…” he answered before standing up. “Well… I need to get to my next class. It was nice talking with you anyways.” He walked away, waving once. I returned the favor before checking my schedule… nothing for another two hours. Well, it would give me time to look around and get the lay of the land.
_
Six hours later, my classes were finally all done for the day, it was getting into the early evening, and I wanted nothing more than to just go home to bed. M-- seemed fairly deserted too, most of the students in their dorms or home by now, and most professors having long since left.

The lack of people around me didn’t really matter though. Crime is low in Japan so I didn't really have to worry about some deranged lunatic, and with civilian ownership of guns outlawed, all there really was to worry about was knives, and I wasn’t too scared of that.

Of course, I wasn’t prepared for that I encountered that night… who really would be? I was maybe half an hour’s walk from home and leaving the campus when I felt a shiver go down my back. Behind me… I could feel that there was someone behind me. It was a weird kind of feeling,with my body both growing more and more fearful while at the same time forcing me not to run away like a scared little girl.

Whoever this was, well, they were going to find out I wasn't one to be intimidated. I turned around, ready to confront them.

…

I should've ran. I should've ran because it was more a thing, a black, almost watery-looking, humanoid thing. All I could do was just stare at it, simply because I was out of my element and this was really shaking me up.

“…You…” it was a female voice. Hearing that voice unnerved me even more, unable to even react as a black hand rose up and pointed at me. The ground around me suddenly darkened, black hands reach up all around me and binding me down with embarrassing ease.

I screamed, I screamed as loud as I could. When some black creature that is obviously not human starts attacking you, you really lose all ability to keep a level head simply because you are not used to it. Military soldiers get trained to perform in situations when live ammunition is being fired overhead, to get used to the sound and the atmosphere. If it had been some drunk or pervert, that would’ve been one thing, but this was something out of a nightmare!

To keep me silent the creature itself sent one hand down my throat to choke me and drown out my screams before ending my life. This stuff wasn't even like water! Water was something you drank to survive and swam around in. This stuff was... was pure Evil!

But then a brilliant white light erupted from behind the creature, and I heard screams that were not my own.

“Leave this girl alone, servant of the Shiko!”

The creature faded away, dissolving as I found myself able to breath… falling to the ground and panting for new breath as I looked up at my savior.

She was shorter than me, but that was no challenge… maybe five or six inches shorter. Her hair was also short… the tresses themselves being light brown with a slight bit of red in them. Iit seemed natural… or at least close enough.

But what she was wearing was the most surprising thing about her… she looked to be wearing normal clothes… but only underneath a suit of white armor, intricately designed and beyond belief in terms of perfection. In her hand was a small Tsurugi blade, maybe a foot long and also white. I could only look at her with complete confusion before the past shocks finally took their toll on my body and I collapsed on the sidewalk.
_
The light

I looked down at the girl in surprise. I could barely believe I was that late… she could have died… or worse!
At any rate, the monster was gone. My Bright Luminescence had been enough to expel that one, probably it was one of Genbu’s. It wouldn’t be surprising, considering his abilities.

She was that new girl, Mizuki Rajoshin. She was definitely taller than I had thought. She needed help though. I immediately reverted back to civilian clothes, glad nobody else saw. Taking out my phone, I immediately dialed my superior.

“Professor Loretta Brauner here,” came the familiar female voice of my English teacher.

“Fate,” I addressed her by my nickname for her, “It’s me… we nearly lost one.”

“Who was it, Minako?!?” she said in a worried tone. That was odd… Miss Brauner usually wasn’t surprised. To be honest, that was the first time I had heard her shaken up like that.

“The new girl… Mizuki Rajoshin… she was attacked. She doesn’t look that good.”

“I see. Can you move her?”

“Yes, I can get her to your office.”

“Understood. I’ll meet you there.”

Picking up the taller girl, I struggled back to Miss Brauner’s building, swiping my identification card to disengage the electronic locks. I reached Fate's office a few minutes later.

“How… how much did she see?” Loretta asked.

“She was already being choked when I got there…”

“Did anyone else-” she stopped when I shook my head. This was… uncomfortable. Fate had always been the one to never be surprised or stunned by any action of the Shiko in the past. “I understand. There’s only one thing we can do now… the talk.”

I knew that was true… she was the new girl. People might not even take what she had said seriously, and she might try to do something crazy or dangerous to prove what she had seen. As it stood, I would just have to hope she'd be mature about this all.

“Okay then. Let’s get somewhere a little better situated for this then…”
_
The maiden

I woke up to the sight of two figures… the first being my savior. The other was a teacher here… I didn’t know which one.

“Minako Yuki. First year student here at M--.” the girl said, reaching out. I shook her hand before the woman shook my hand as well.

“Loretta Brauner,” the woman continued. Her Japanese was flawless for a foreigner, better than I’d ever heard. “Professor of Literature here at M--. And you, Mizuki Rajoshin… have seen something you shouldn’t have.”

My blood ran cold for a moment. They weren’t going to kill me were-

“Rest assured,” Loretta continued, “Your life is in no danger at the present time. Unfortunately, however things do not bode well for you because of this… You have had your first viewing of a war… our war.”

“War?”

“Against the Shiko,” Minako explained. “Not exactly demons, not exactly gods… but certainly not human.”

“What… what are they then?” I asked.

“Exactly as Minako said,” Loretta answered. “They are timeless entities… and we understand very little about them. It is for the best…”

“You have got to be kidding me…”

“No, we are not,” Loretta snapped, stunning me a little. “Do you have any explanation, Miss Miko, for what you saw out there, which would have killed you had we not interfered?”

“Uh… no…”

“I expected as much…” she sighed, knowing this would take awhile.
_
"Mankind is, to an extent, a creation of the gods that is ignored by them. We have reached a point that they do not interact with us because of our arrogance, our pride. For every act of divine intervention, we will do one of three things.

First, we may refuse to believe it. We will sneer at the religious, kill their ideals and their mysticism for the purposes of science. We cannot truly have something we can leave alone… every stone must be uncovered. Every mystery of the faith must be shattered, sages must be discredited… all because of the second kind of person
.
There are then those that misinterpret the signs. They blame misfortune for actions of the gods… and that is wrong. Terrible actions simply occur because it is one’s fate, nothing else. Yet these people will condemn those they dislike… and lead crusades, either physical or metaphysical, to punish them.

And lastly, there are those that simply ignore these miracles. They are the worst, because they do not care. And that is the greatest sin a person can be capable of. To ignore your destiny because you don’t care is the most abominable crime a human can commit.

These three kinds of people are why the gods have abandoned us, left us to confront the Shiko alone. They have left, taking their lot with them… they are all gone, leaving us at the mercy of the Shiko and their monstrous agents…

But I will not stand that. This is not mankind’s fate… and so Minako and I fight, as others have before us. Fought against the evil the represent.

And now, you are one of us.”
_
I blinked in surprise as the last statement. “I-I’m sorry… but that’s crazy. I just moved here. I’m going to be a miko for my Grandpa and-”

“Silence,” Loretta commanded, and it was so. Sound died around me, and I couldn’t speak at all. Minako wasn’t surprised by this at all, looking worried at me nonetheless. “I will not tolerate you to abandon your fate.” She stood up and walked around me, all the while leaving me powerless to argue. “You saw Minako… she never lets a servant of the Shiko reach their intended victims before she vanquishes them. This is something surprising… it must mean that you were meant to see it.”

She reached out, touching my head with her finger as a bright light shined around her and then me.

It felt odd… I experienced no sensation at all… no shock, no exhilaration, nothing entering or leaving my body…

“It is done,” Loretta said as she removed her hand. “You have been anointed now… you are a Corona, like Minako.” She nodded at the girl, who took the act as a sign to leave. “You will defend Tokyo against the forces of the Shiko from now on… revel in it, for you are a defender of humanity. You will now go to sleep… and wake up at your home. Goodbye, Mizuki Rajoshin.”

Everything went black again…

And then I discovered myself standing back home, staring at the prayer altar in the shrine…

I had no idea what had just happened, but I knew it was for real. And no matter what, Horoki couldn’t know… because she’d demand to be one too.

[The_Pastmaster]

Neat. One question though. Why is it that the university's name is "M--"?

[MorriganAensland]

Rofl. You're not the only person to ask that. I just liked the idea of a university whose name is pronounced "M Dash Dash". It grants me some freedom with using fictional cities as well. That and I remember that they used a similar gimmick in Yu Yu Hakusho.

[The_Pastmaster]

Oookay... I guess.

[MorriganAensland]

Blargh. Gonna try to work with weekly updates for this, partially to motivate me to actually get around to cleaning the 18 chapters of this I haven't yet.

Anyways...

The light

Morning was nice, it usually was. My apartment’s perfectly situated, so I wake each morning -when my schedule permits it- with the rising Sun.

I live by myself… I have for quite a long time. Ever since my family died, I guess.

“Their fate was to die,” Loretta had said. [/i]“I couldn’t get here in time… there must have been a reason. I presume it deals with you, Minako Yuki.”[/i]

She never adopted me, instead making me sign the papers to be legally emancipated. She said it was my destiny, things she could not interfere with or control.

Sometimes, I wonder if Miss Brauner simply uses that an excuse to do whatever she wants. Usually I realize that would be impossible… she never asked for having to move here, to be my mentor.

I feel sorry for her, sometimes. I it was scary to think about, devoting your entire life to a battle you had to wage yourself.

I got ready like usual before heading down to the lobby and doing some stretches. Considering how much I need to run around M-- for various reasons, I train constantly for sprinting and long-distance running. I enjoy it… the rush you get provided you breath correctly and run at the right pace is amazing. Scientists used to say we only used a little piece of our mind’s potential… but it turns out they were wrong. Funny thing is, though, humans don’t breath very efficiently, or at least that’s what that one martial arts series said.

Fate taught me how to breath, inhale and exhale, to bring out 100 percent of my body’s capabilities… I guess that’s one of the reasons I was M--'s star runner. Well, Soma always helps me run.
_
Knowing that a familiar face and a little comfort might be nice for Mizuki after her “recruitment”, I stopped by the Rajoshin Shrine. Knocking on the door, I waited for a moment. Mizuki quickly came into view, looking rather surprised.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Well, of course!” I answered. “Do you mind it I come in for a moment?”

Mizuki smiled, moving out of the way. “No, go right ahead. I was just ready to get some breakfast.”

“Thanks.”

We ate quietly, and I realized Mizuki wasn’t going to be asking any questions like I had when I became a Corona. That just meant I’d have to ask the questions again.

“So… how did you sleep?”

“What?”

“Oh, you know. It’s like how you go to bed after a surprising day and wake up, and wonder if it’s all a dream! So, did you-”

“I didn’t sleep last night.”

“What?”

“I didn’t sleep. When something happens like it did yesterday, sleep is the last thing on your mind. I stayed up, thinking.” She laughed, but as if she was amused by her own inferiority. “I still haven’t been able to grasp any of what happened, you know that? I mean… you saved my life. I understand that, and believe me, I’m forever in your debt. But everything else… it’s just so surreal.”

“You’ll get over it,” I said comfortingly, resting a hand on her shoulder. “So… what’s your first class for today?”

“Literature… with Brauner.”

“Oh, you’ll love Fate!” I smiled, Mizuki looking at me in surprise. “She’s an expert in Japanese and foreign works, and she takes a wonderful approach to our required readings… realist stuff, all in all.”

“What about the idealist stuff, you know, to give people the resolve for a better life?”

“Oh, she has a suggested reading list for that…” I grabbed her hand, “Come on, let’s go!”

_
She probably thought it was surprising that somebody was so concerned about her, she must have had a terrible life. Not anymore, I’d save her. I promised myself I would.

“And that’s the Fashion Club over there,” I pointed to my left to a group of five girls chatting together. “Natassia Kamiyu, Isabelle Straffi, Asuka Kabuto, Yoko Balnada, and Camilla Renard.”

“They’re foreigners?” Mizuki asked.

“Yeah. All except Asuka, she’s the president. Yoko’s half-Japanese, but her family moved from the West Coast of the United States.”

Sensing her name being mentioned, Yoko looked up. Her hearing was as sharp as a Jackal’s, and she immediately spoke to the others, who noticed me and walked over.

“Are you on speaking terms with them?” Mizuki asked, dreading what was going to happen.

“Of course!” I answered.

_
The jewel

Seeing Minako with that absurdly tall Sendai woman was a bit of a surprise. Well, Minako was the kind of person to display kindness towards anyone, but I was just a little surprised she'd walk to school with Rajoshin.

“So…” I began, quickly sizing up the tall woman next to Minako, “You’re the miko, no?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “And you’re…?”

“Asuka Kabuto,” I said while flashing a dazzling smile to her before moving a few strands of my reddish-hair out of my face. I found it odd that her hair length was about the same as mine, even matching my natural color.

Of course, a little dye had solved that problem long ago. Isabelle had tried to cut me out of the group, claiming I was copying her natural hue, but I didn’t care. Natassia helped patch things up between us too. Whatever animosity she had felt was gone a week later.

“I’m not sure if you know this or not,” I continued, “But we try to keep the operations in the school running
smoothly. You know, keeping the Student Government focused on key issues, organize events and-”

“Not interested,” Mizuki said as she turned and walked away.

“I’m sorry. You haven’t .heard-”

“Does it matter? I’ve heard it before,” Mizuki continued on, leaving Minako stunned speechless. Camilla and the others, though, were silent for an entirely different reason… to keep Mizuki digging her own grave. “Student organizations frequently form their own twisted hierarchy. I met five girls like you from before, at C--. Their request was simple: I keep my hand out of the orchard so I don’t spoil the whole harvest, and they throw me a few apples after they’ve gotten their share. They did it all the time to people at C--.

“And I’m actually one of the lucky ones. You should’ve seen what they did to this one guy named Shingo… One girl started a rumor and it spread like wildfire. Out of courtesy, I’m not going to say what it was about. Her father was a big-wig on campus there, and so even when everything she said were lies, nothing happened to her. Shingo and his whole family, on the other hand, had to leave the county, their reputation, their lives, forever shattered.”
She was standing a few feet away from us, tall and proud, her back to us. Rajoshin certainly had a flair for the melodramatic.

Turning around, she looked me dead in the eye and finished her nice little speech. “I’ll do whatever I want. That’s what life is all about.” She turned again and walked off to her first class, leaving the six of us to scoff at her actions.

“I’m sorry…” Minako said as she looked at us. “I was just trying to show her around, she needs a friend and she must be so alone-”

“Then you’d better correct her line of thought,” Isabelle commanded to Minako. Isabelle was somebody I truthfully didn’t like that much… but the others loved her. She was Italian, blue eyes, long and flowing hair like fire, an attitude to match, and a body the rest of us would kill for. She also was the one that dealt mostly with the student government, since even the hint of a date from her would cause pretty much any man to do whatever she wanted. And if she kissed you, she pretty much had reduced you to clay that she could and would shape in any way she wanted.

“I… I will…” Minako stuttered. I felt sorry for her, in a way. Isabelle had just given her an ultimatum that had the potential to kill her professional track career, at the very least. She was a good person, for the most part.

“I don’t know…” sighed Camilla. “Things might be problematic if this keeps up. And if Kirishima sees you with her…” she shivered, “Things won’t be pretty.” That was Camille, always the smart one. She always wore pink… anybody else and it would’ve gotten old fast… but she always found a way to breath life into her fashion style. Her curly brown hair was offset by beautiful green eyes, and it were those eyes that showed she always was thinking ahead.

“Kirishima… that’s one girl we don’t want to have Rajoshin meet…” Yoko groaned. Unlike the rest of us who always chose dresses, she chose more masculine clothes. Today was a black dress pants and a black shirt, with a red vest over it. However, it worked with her, balanced out by her magnificent blonde tresses and violet eyes. While Isabelle was sometimes too aggressive and Camilla needed time to formulate a plan, Yoko always knew the trade-off. A good friend, all in all.

“Well, worst case,” Natassia answered, “Just cut her loose. Easiest way.” I liked Natassia more than Isabelle and the others; much more calm and submissive. She was always gentle, and wanted to help out charity events… obviously the ones that would be popular. Her hair had been greenish-blue for as long as I could remember, and she used contact lenses to give her eyes the matching color. She dressed usually with only one color in mind every day, today was white.

“Anyways, whatever’s the easiest and will save you from further embarrassments. You’re a good friend, and an incredible runner. Okay?”

Minako sighed for a moment before nodding. “I’ll do what I can.”

“Atta girl!”
_

The maiden

Surprisingly, ‘Fate’, as Minako called her, wasn’t at class today, and neither was Yuki. A substitute was covering a book I had already read for the class, so I sat back and buried myself in schoolwork…

Except when I wanted to contradict any shortsighted concept someone put forth about the story or defend someone whose genius the others didn’t recognize.

“But the message wouldn’t be ‘the future is hopeless’, then!” one student argued with another as the substitute just kept out of the bloodbath. “The message would be ‘don’t let this happen’!”

I looked up, seeing the boy in question had white hair… didn’t look unnatural either.

“But the author’s works were always critical of idealists!” countered another student. The boy suddenly looked as if he’d lost his nerve, struggling with a response.

Closing my books, I turned around and spoke up. “Just because he did so before and after doesn’t mean that the story in question must obey the rule. Humans are not consistent animals, are they?” There were murmurs as I nodded at the young man I rescued. I decided to give him a little more help… class was almost over anyways.

The great thing about interpreting a story is that if you have the information to back up your claims, it can’t be refuted… it’s the freedom I was talking about earlier. Math and sciences follow a strict set of rules, much of life does. I hate those kinds of rules. But here, nothing would stop me from speaking how I pleased.

“The fact remains that the protagonist dies. The protagonist fails in his goals and dies with every hope and dream he’s ever had shattered forever, despite being a realist and setting realistic goals. In the meantime, his rival in reshaping society holds idealistic views and manages to succeed, to an extent, in his own goals. I interpret it as the idea that a idealist can succeed when a realist cannot because they have so much more to fight for, they refuse to acknowledge defeat and struggle to attain victory, sometimes succeeding in the end, long after the realist has given up.”

The hour, having been waning for the duration of the class, was then nothing, and we all left for our next classes. I enjoyed my schedules on Wednesdays… I had literature and then calligraphy, and that was it. After that, I could go home… or arguably handle my duties as being a Corona… whatever that meant.

“Wait up, please!” I turned, seeing the boy from before run up to me, bowing in appreciation that I’d stopped. “I just wanted to say thanks for sticking up for me back there.”

“No problem,” I answered. “Your concept was sound, people just didn’t see what it was.”

“Thanks.” He reached out, and I shook his hand. “The name’s Soma Elpiz.”

“Mizuki Rajoshin. Judging by the name, you’re an exchange student, right?”

“Actually… no,” he answered. “Where you headed next?”

“Calligraphy.”

“Same here,” he answered. “Mind if I walk with you?” I nodded. “Thanks.”

_
We talked a bit, he seemed an honest man. Soma’s parents were missionaries, but he was born here… turned he actually knew Minako to an extent. I was surprised to hear she was one of M--’s star track runners, along with the fact she was good half year younger than me… turned out that Loretta was the reason she was here so much earlier than normal.

We continued our conversations during calligraphy, creating flawless Kanji characters whereas others failed to even grasp the basics of the far-simpler Katakana. Considering how we were halfway into the semester, I was surprised at how this could possibly be.

With the end of the calligraphy session, class was done for me for the day. Unsure as to what to do since I hadn’t seen either Loretta or Minako, I grabbed a bowl of ramen down at the café and sat back and let time go on by. It could’ve been a minute, it could’ve been an hour… I really don’t know.

But I sensed it. It’s weird… I barely had the lay of M--, yet I knew the exact location of the now-manifested servant of the Shiko. I ran out, glad I had picked loose clothes.

You’re probably wondering why I’d actually bother to go and face it rather than let it slide… not like Loretta or Minako was ordering me to fight. But the fact remained, Minako had been there for me before. I would’ve died if she hadn’t been there, and I didn’t know if she’d be there for this one… so if she was there, fine. I'd let her do the fighting. If not, well, I'd be picking up the slack.

I ran through the Chemistry labs to find a disgusting, spiky bipedal demon staring at him… nobody was around. Good, that meant I could handle this and nobody would ever know.

Except I suddenly realized something very, very important.

Minako had never shown me how to transform. I thought and shouted out half a dozen words and phrases at the monster lunged at me, everything from “Cross Changer” and “Henshin” to “I’m changing now!” and “Uncaring Crystal Power: Make-up!”

Nothing happened to my clothes, and I was forced to dive to the side to avoid a quick death as the monster slashed at me. Getting back up, I tried to regain my bearings only to be tackled by the creature as it slashed at me again. This time I could only try to half-roll to the left to avoid a swift yet painful death and escape its wrath a second time.

The panic that had gripped me during meeting the first of these things returned… what was I getting into here? There were half a dozen potential weapons around me from a chair to a fire extinguisher, yet the idea to actually pick them up and use them was lost to me. I forced myself to not scream as the creature approached me, backing me up against a door. It slashed, and by a miracle my idiot hands stumbled across the doorknob and got it open. I slid backwards, narrowly evading the attack, but falling right down on my butt.

My forehead felt both warm and cold, and I reached up and felt blood on it as my death approached me.

I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. It’ll kill me. My life is over. Nobody was even here, I wasn’t even playing hero to anyone.

The creature promptly was split in two from behind, and I saw my knight in shining armor staring at me with worry.

Minako.

“Mizuki… are you alright?” she said, looking at me worriedly and running over to me.

“He got me. I’m going to die. I’m-”

“That’s crazy,” she responded, grabbing some nearby paper towel and wiping the blood away. “Don’t worry… he cut you kinda deep, but very thinly. You’re going to be fine. It’s probably not even going to leave a scar. Here…” she shifted again into civilian clothes, pulling a yellow headband out of her pocket and wrapping it around my head. Since she was in track, I guess it was to be expected she’d have one or two on her person. “There you go.” She smiled while helping me up. “… You know… you actually look pretty good with a headband on… you should wear one more often.”

“I…” I struggled to say, but she just put her finger across my lips and cradled me. That must have been humiliating… she’s younger and shorter than me and keeping me from falling to pieces. At least I didn’t cry… this wasn’t cry-worthy. I’d know when it was cry-worthy. At least I hoped so...

“It’s okay,” she said over and over again, going so far as to kiss my forehead on the headband. “I was no better my first few outings. I thought I could handle it… but I couldn’t. I nearly died so many times… I was saved be nothing but luck. But I’m here, Mizuki… that’s not going to happen to you. I’m going to protect you, I promise.”

She just cradled me for who knows how long; I lost track of time well before this whole cluster-blunder.

…

Eventually I spoke up. “I really look good with a headband?” I looked up at her, and the younger Corona nodded and smiled. “That’s… that’s nice to know.”