Omake: Lesson Number One
Lesson Number One
Kyouko breathed in, then out.
A spear materialized in her grasp, its triangular, too-broad tip touching the base of the tree, not quite piercing. She took another breath in, slow. Then her foot lashed out, slamming into the old oak trunk, sending greenery fluttering down from the leafy boughs above. She twirled the spear once, then in a dizzying display of speed and skill, slashed them in halves, then quarters, then eighths, before bringing her spear back to a rest in her grip, the butt thudding into the ground.
She breathed out, dismissed her spear.
She looked down at her hands: watched them tremble for a moment before tightening them into fists. Frowning, she stuck a hand into the pouch of her sweater, withdrew a box of pocky and irritably stuck a stick in her mouth. She put her hands behind her head and looked up at the clear blue sky.
Physical exercise usually made her feel better. She'd picked up a number of skills over the years: this one was a thing she'd practiced after reading a stupid sports manga and decided why not might as well.
Right now she was, how to put it, she was antsy. Not nervous, just...
Okay, maybe she was a little nervous. For years she'd lived on her own. With Mami things were good now. Copacetic, to use a one of those random vocabulary words she'd picked up when she'd still entertained thoughts of maybe making it into college. A stupid, pointless goal, one she used to while away the long hours between hunts, and madness, and chasing away assholes trying to claim the old church. Just a 'what if' she sometimes shared with Momo.
Now though, she felt like the cow in the china shop, or whatever. Too crass, too rude, too obviously damaged. She'd never noticed how often she talked to herself until she was forced to hang out with others, and then it was so obvious that she did it all the damn time. It was embarrassing, that's what it was. Mami had done good work: the kids were, for the most part, balanced. Still pre-teens and teenagers, but normal enough to pass for real children.
Kyouko couldn't, that was for sure. She was like some sort of child soldier, wanting everything to go the hell back to normal, but still trapped somewhere on the battlefield.
These puella reminded her of...
Well, they reminded her of her sister. Momo.
It was worse with the youngest ones.
Even if they looked nothing alike, the youngest ones would make her see flashes of her sister's face before she could remind herself that Momo was dead.
It was ridiculous, exhausting. Sometimes she even thought maybe it'd be better if she just struck out alone again, shipped Mami her damn grief cubes, and live like some stupid, good Samaritan hermit like whatshisface out of the Bible.
Then she'd get the shakes because fuck that she wasn't alone anymore, didn't want to be alone anymore, not really.
"Kyouko-san!"
"Kyouko-san."
She turned. Two girls were approaching her: one was a tall, blue-haired girl, pretty in an androgynous enough way that even Kyouko could see why they called her 'Prince.' Her name was Taya, she was quiet, and if Kyouko were a judge for such things, damaged enough that she couldn't help but wear it publicly. Guilt, likely enough. It made things complicated. Guilt was a piss-poor motivator: she'd try harder and break faster because of it. Still, she understood why Mami had sent her: the girl was a clairvoyant; not a rare skill, exactly, but extremely useful. Much better than illusions, anyway.
The other was Kaoru, a girl Mami's age, but not close to being as mature. If Mami were a teacher, Kaoru would be the class president. There was a gap there, both in charisma and experience. She was struck in Mami's mold though: they were... similar people. Talented, caring, and ultimately hopeful. Vastly different magic, but similar, all the same. Kyouko wasn't sure if she was ready though, not yet. To go past mere competence, a magical girl had to face true despair, then discover that you could work yourself past it.
Then again, the girl'd probably seen her share of death. No shortage of those sorts of experiences. Maybe it was enough to qualify.
"Taya-kun, Kaoru-kun," she said, chomping through the rest of the pocky. "Today's your first lesson."
She concentrated magical energy at the soles of her feet and burst forward: one arm slammed into Taya's midriff and blew her away with the force of a truck, a leg sweep caught Kaoru by surprise behind her knees and knocked her in the opposite direction, tumbling ass over teakettle. They showed their battle experience then: instead of squawking in surprise, the two of them were already rolling to their feet, adopting defensive stances. Nothing fancy or formal, just pure experience obtained through life and death struggle.
She nodded approvingly, fished for another pocky and stuck it in her mouth.
She flashed her best shit-eating grin, and said:
"Hit me."
-----------------------
Edit: @Elder Haman what does Kaoru look like? I know her costume is an old fashioned Sailor Moon-ish type deal, but do you have a description for the rest of her?
And yes, this omake is for future Kaoru elite training attempts even if it's mostly focused on Kyouko's feelings.
Kyouko breathed in, then out.
A spear materialized in her grasp, its triangular, too-broad tip touching the base of the tree, not quite piercing. She took another breath in, slow. Then her foot lashed out, slamming into the old oak trunk, sending greenery fluttering down from the leafy boughs above. She twirled the spear once, then in a dizzying display of speed and skill, slashed them in halves, then quarters, then eighths, before bringing her spear back to a rest in her grip, the butt thudding into the ground.
She breathed out, dismissed her spear.
She looked down at her hands: watched them tremble for a moment before tightening them into fists. Frowning, she stuck a hand into the pouch of her sweater, withdrew a box of pocky and irritably stuck a stick in her mouth. She put her hands behind her head and looked up at the clear blue sky.
Physical exercise usually made her feel better. She'd picked up a number of skills over the years: this one was a thing she'd practiced after reading a stupid sports manga and decided why not might as well.
Right now she was, how to put it, she was antsy. Not nervous, just...
Okay, maybe she was a little nervous. For years she'd lived on her own. With Mami things were good now. Copacetic, to use a one of those random vocabulary words she'd picked up when she'd still entertained thoughts of maybe making it into college. A stupid, pointless goal, one she used to while away the long hours between hunts, and madness, and chasing away assholes trying to claim the old church. Just a 'what if' she sometimes shared with Momo.
Now though, she felt like the cow in the china shop, or whatever. Too crass, too rude, too obviously damaged. She'd never noticed how often she talked to herself until she was forced to hang out with others, and then it was so obvious that she did it all the damn time. It was embarrassing, that's what it was. Mami had done good work: the kids were, for the most part, balanced. Still pre-teens and teenagers, but normal enough to pass for real children.
Kyouko couldn't, that was for sure. She was like some sort of child soldier, wanting everything to go the hell back to normal, but still trapped somewhere on the battlefield.
These puella reminded her of...
Well, they reminded her of her sister. Momo.
It was worse with the youngest ones.
Even if they looked nothing alike, the youngest ones would make her see flashes of her sister's face before she could remind herself that Momo was dead.
It was ridiculous, exhausting. Sometimes she even thought maybe it'd be better if she just struck out alone again, shipped Mami her damn grief cubes, and live like some stupid, good Samaritan hermit like whatshisface out of the Bible.
Then she'd get the shakes because fuck that she wasn't alone anymore, didn't want to be alone anymore, not really.
"Kyouko-san!"
"Kyouko-san."
She turned. Two girls were approaching her: one was a tall, blue-haired girl, pretty in an androgynous enough way that even Kyouko could see why they called her 'Prince.' Her name was Taya, she was quiet, and if Kyouko were a judge for such things, damaged enough that she couldn't help but wear it publicly. Guilt, likely enough. It made things complicated. Guilt was a piss-poor motivator: she'd try harder and break faster because of it. Still, she understood why Mami had sent her: the girl was a clairvoyant; not a rare skill, exactly, but extremely useful. Much better than illusions, anyway.
The other was Kaoru, a girl Mami's age, but not close to being as mature. If Mami were a teacher, Kaoru would be the class president. There was a gap there, both in charisma and experience. She was struck in Mami's mold though: they were... similar people. Talented, caring, and ultimately hopeful. Vastly different magic, but similar, all the same. Kyouko wasn't sure if she was ready though, not yet. To go past mere competence, a magical girl had to face true despair, then discover that you could work yourself past it.
Then again, the girl'd probably seen her share of death. No shortage of those sorts of experiences. Maybe it was enough to qualify.
"Taya-kun, Kaoru-kun," she said, chomping through the rest of the pocky. "Today's your first lesson."
She concentrated magical energy at the soles of her feet and burst forward: one arm slammed into Taya's midriff and blew her away with the force of a truck, a leg sweep caught Kaoru by surprise behind her knees and knocked her in the opposite direction, tumbling ass over teakettle. They showed their battle experience then: instead of squawking in surprise, the two of them were already rolling to their feet, adopting defensive stances. Nothing fancy or formal, just pure experience obtained through life and death struggle.
She nodded approvingly, fished for another pocky and stuck it in her mouth.
She flashed her best shit-eating grin, and said:
"Hit me."
-----------------------
Edit: @Elder Haman what does Kaoru look like? I know her costume is an old fashioned Sailor Moon-ish type deal, but do you have a description for the rest of her?
And yes, this omake is for future Kaoru elite training attempts even if it's mostly focused on Kyouko's feelings.
Taya's appearance resembles Yu Kashima from Monthly Girl's Nozaki-Kun
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