Perhaps For Love, Or Maybe Justice (A Tokusatsu/Magical Girl Quest)

Wednesday, February 22. 6:00 AM
Shibuya, Tokyo

-Hang out with Kuromi.

"So that's the Shibuya Crossing? It's just a bunch of people."

"No, this is just the Shibuya Crossing when it's not rush hour. That would be a lot more interesting for you to see."

Kuromi and you are taking an excursion outdoors. This is because of Jun's simply wonderful idea to "give the tyke bomb some enrichment".

His words, not yours.

---

-FLASHBACK-
"Alright, so you've ordered an ankle monitor that will immediately tranquilize Kuromi if she channels any magic higher than civilian and cantrip level, or if she gets too far away from me or you."

"I know it's kinda fucked up, but with her powers, she's pretty much a huge security threat. In just five seconds, she could kill any civilian in her line of sight."

"So she's basically on indefinite house arrest, got it. I'm not completely on board, but I see why you'd do something like this. Now, explain how the fuck that gives you the excuse to have me babysit Kuromi for an entire day?"

"Enrichment."

"Jun, you're incredible, but I'll have you know that your idea is extremely fucking stupid—"

"No, hear me out. When I got you the apartment, when I gave you those credentials— did it make you normal? Could you fit into civilian society with just the belongings of a civilian?"

"…No."

"Kuromi isn't all bad. Mentally, she's a scared kid, and I doubt she even remembers her exact age. What she needs to become a truly happy person is simple: she needs to get out and see the world. Like you did five years ago."

"…you sound like you had that line planned out in your head. Fine, I'll do it. You owe me 700 yen, though."
-FLASHBACK END-

---

Both you and Kuromi watch the Crossing from the windows of the train station. It looks incredible— both the original street and the hard light bridge above it held up with Glyphs have so many people walking through.

Kuromi looks over to you. "So… what are we doing? Jun gave me this opportunity because of something that we could do together, apparently." She asks.

"I've got something for us to do, but we can wait until eight for that. Until then, why don't you choose?" You respond.

If you're honest, you're somewhat morbidly curious about what Kuromi wants to do. If you're correct, she's been under the Guild's thumb for over six years now. You get used to ditching the idea of "choice" after a while like that.

Kuromi seems to turn away from you, staring into the sunset. "…let me guess, no electronics?"

"None. Sorry, Jun's orders."

She groans. "I should have known… it's fine, I'm stuck here for the time being anyways."

"Tell you what. Let's go eat some food— there's this cool restaurant we should be able to get into."

Kuromi scoffs, and shrugs. "C'mon, food's just food. It can't be better than what I got from the Guild."

---

A Certain Shibuya Restaurant
6:50 PM

"This food is so good I could die!"

Well, that was fast.

After a bit of an uninterested walk there, Kuromi is chowing down on the fried tempura in front of her. Seriously, you'd think that she's a Saiyan from what she's doing right now. Kuromi seems to be attempting to eat as much as possible without chewing with her mouth open.

Meanwhile, you're just slowly eating some of the sushi you ordered, making sure you don't drop anything from your chopsticks. "It's a lot better than what the Guild gave you, I assume."

Kuromi looks up at you mid-chew, with an exasperated look that says dammit, she's right. Most of the Assassin's Guild meals can best be described as somewhere between "school lunch" and "MRE". Not many opportunities for flavor over energy.

Kuromi puts her chopsticks down, and seems to take a break from chewing. "Yeah, it is. Someone else just makes this for us? For—" she checks the tableside menu quickly, and her eyes widen, "this? That's pennies!"

"That's actually about 20 minutes of work for the average person, kid. Most things aren't nearly as expensive as the contraband you'd get from the average dealer."

Kuromi's eyes widen once again, but it dissipates as she goes back to eating. After a while, she seems to remember something. "Seriously though, you went from calling me an old lady to calling me a kid. What's up with that?"

"I didn't know about the whole Void thing, and both of us still have a lot longer to go. Sorry about that, it wasn't me being my best self." you say.

Kuromi seems to slip into silence upon hearing that.

[Socialize With Kuromi (DC 70, Social)]
[Total: 62+17=79]

"…thanks. If I have to be honest for once, getting outside to see the sights has been pretty fun." You don't miss the small smile on her face as she says that. You feel glad; getting to go out of the Guild facilities after dark and simply enjoy the night ambiance is one of those little luxuries that you've learned to never take for granted.

You smile. Getting to just walk around, see the street fashion— it's been fun for both of you. "You haven't even seen the best yet. On your left."

She wasn't focusing much before, but Kuromi follows your gaze, before turning to her left. Out the windows of the high rise, you can see so many skyscrapers. Billboards and signs light up, slowly illuminated by the sunset. And a bit beyond that, you can see lots of people walking around, going about their day, the lucky ones already getting to go home to their cozy apartments. Both of you sit there, enjoying the sunset.

"…um, it's been a while since I just got to chill like this… it's nice."

"Take your time eating. We've got an appointment, but we can do whatever we want until then."

Kuromi seems to practically deflate into her seat. "If that's the case then, let's just spend some time talking. Doing that seems nice. I just have one question."

"Yeah?"

"…who's the blue woman behind you?"

You look behind you. Atry, with a mini-sized Gargoyle on her shoulder stares back at both of you.

You can see me?

---

Close To Kisei Observatory
8:25 PM

After a quick explanation, you two (three?) get walking to your next destination. Kuromi has borrowed your phone, so that she can quietly talk to Atry without drawing suspicion. Well, as much as you can talk about a flying spirit lady without drawing suspicion.

"So, apparently only me and Rei can see you?" Kuromi asks Atry, phone held up to her ear and looking away, "that's weird. Something related to the Void?"

Perhaps it's related to simply being a Magical Girl or Kamen Rider in general, Atry suggests, leisurely following you by floating just behind your head, and besides, we don't have that many examples of people who even can see me. Probably best to not assume anything right now.

Kuromi nods, before tossing your phone back. You just barely manage to catch it. "Now that I'm done with that, where are we going, Maruki?"

You turn down an alleyway, and signal for her to follow. Both Kuromi and Atry gasp as they see what's on the other side of the alley— a huge circular building, with a clear glass ceiling.

"C'mon guys, keep up. You'll miss the highlight of the trip if you just stand there. We've got an appointment!"

---

Sora Kisei Observatory
8:30 PM

The observatory is very simplistic, despite the three floors and Greek/Roman architecture. There's a lot of space for you, Atry and Kuromi to walk around and check out the exhibits. You futilely also try (and fail) to not look down through the hard glass center of the observatory and get vertigo.

All three of you (& Gargoyle) walk around in silence, before you all get up to the packed third floor. As everyone seems to huddle up by the walls, Kuromi looks at you, and begins to whisper in your ear. "Listen, this excursion is nice, but there's only so long I want to stay here. Why are you showing me all this? To bribe me?"

You lean down to reach the shorter girl's ears, before whispering as well. "Well, Jun asked me to, but I also just wanted to show you what an actual vacation day feels like, not just something that the Guild would dangle in front of your eyes to push you on. Once you decide to really leave the Guild, you'll find all these opportunities ahead of you. You can be normal, like anybody else in this crowd."

"I don't wanna be normal. I have my own life at the Guild, and it was fine there."

Are you saying that because you're dedicated to the Guild? Or are you just saying that because you don't know what "normal" is?

Upon hearing that from Atry, Kuromi seems to shut up. If what you think is correct, she's lived the life of a soldier for years now— this is the first time in a while she's gotten to be just a teenager.

A bell rings, before you hear a voice from the speaker spell built into the walls here. "Hello there! If you're hearing this message, hey, I'm Sora Kisei, Third Archmage of Japan. This Observatory is my personal masterpiece. Now please, follow the staff's instructions."

Staff on all three floors instruct the visitors and your group to move towards the back of the wall, away from the glass center to the room.

"As a HumaGear, I always found it sad that other people couldn't see the stars as well as I could, thanks to light pollution. So with some help from my friends, I created something for everybody to enjoy. Now sit back, and enjoy the magic."

Multiple staff members come forth, and they channel the ambient mana into a Glyph etched onto the glass dome ceiling.

And then, the top of the dome seems to shimmer and glow, right before—

The sky seems to open.

All light in the area seems to dim, as the stars blaze across the sky as they were meant to. Through the magic window of the Observatory ceiling, you see nebulae and constellations as clear as the back of your hand. The planets seem so close now— the Moon is so bright that it seems like you could snatch it right out of the sky.

You scoot a bit closer to Kuromi, who has a hand reaching out towards the sky, in a strange childlike sense of wonder. "Outside of the Guild, you can be… not normal, but free. You can spend your free time doing whatever you want, not just video games or Guild work. You can chat with people, make new friends, explore the world… and enjoy these stars every single day you have the time to, with no obligations. Doesn't that sound nice?"

It takes her a while to respond, her eyes almost plastered to the dazzling display in front of you.. Kuromi slowly tears her eyes away from that tapestry-like night sky, and for the tiniest fraction of a second, you see a sparkle inside of her eyes. "Huh. That does sound nice. Maybe… maybe I'll stay here for a while if this is what freedom is."

[You feel a strange force growing inside of you…]
[You don't know what this means yet, but you're pretty sure that it's good.]

(QM Note: Maybe something to ask [REDACTED] about.)

---

Thursday, February 23
11:00 AM, Roof Of Jun's Apartment

-Train with Kuromi

The next day is a break day as well, but before you go back to your routine of walking around the city and enjoying the sights, you've got one thing to do.

Kuromi stands across from you, barehanded but in a combat stance. "The level of things Jun will let you get away with is absurd. Jesus, you know I could snap your neck, right?"

You get into your own combat stance, right foot forward, left foot back. "Eh, I'm fine with taking a few risks. Besides, you were the one to suggest this on the subway ride back yesterday. You could have just gotten the monitor off and ran away from us, I know for a fact that I was falling asleep on our way back."

"…trust me, the only reason I haven't just snapped you and Jun's necks in your sleep is because he plays video games with me and listens to my music and you listen to my feelings but I digress. You wanna learn, then step up." Kuromi says, as she makes a fist.

"…though, I have to warn you, I'm more of a hacker than a fighter outside of my Magical Girl form."

You dash forward, but Kuromi grabs your jab and pushes you away. You duck a chop, but that gives her an opportunity to simply knee you in the face, pushing you away.

Well, what she earlier was a fucking lie,

"Try not to go too hard on me? I'd like to not have any permanent damage done."

That same toothy grin from your earlier fight comes back onto Kuromi's face. "No promises."

[Train With Kuromi (DC 65, Physical)]
[Total: 58+15=72]

---

20 Minutes Later…

After some sparring, you fall to the stone rooftop floor, exhausted. Getting to fight in a calmer environment (one that isn't an active threat to your life) has helped you out with getting up to speed with what Assassins nowadays are doing. You've also tried out some old moves from your past, and with some advice from Kuromi, you've been doing some tricks to increase your stamina.

Across from you, Kuromi laughs. "Wow! You lasted… longer… than I thou—"

She then falls to the ground, right in front of you.

You chuckle. "Thanks for that, Kuromi. Though it looks like you aren't the best at taking punches either.

"Heh… it's fine. And it's Himari."

"Huh?"

"We can be on a first name basis now. Call me Himari."

You slowly start to get up. "Well then, thanks Himari. I'm going to be off tomorrow, so try not to call me."

She looks at you curiously. "Whatcha doing tomorrow?"

You debate not telling her, but you've wanted to talk to someone about your three-week long search for ages now. "…finding a friend."

"Kaneko Akemi? Oh man, even our best technicians have never been able to find her. I'm willing to offer you my help if Jun lets me. I'm honestly pretty curious where she even is right now. Personally, I mean."

[You are now on a first name basis with Himari Kuromi.]
[Relationship Level with Himari has increased to 0.5! (Fellow Oddity)]

New skill tree added! [Assassin Skills: Defensive] You may learn one of those skills now.

---

What did you (re)learn from Himari?

[ ] Inner Focus
[ ] Body Recalibration

(The option that isn't picked here will be added to your assassin skill tree, for next level up.)

Do you trust her?
[ ] Yes, I do.
-Himari will go along with you on the mission to Find Kaneko Akemi. She may make her own rolls and help out in combat.
-Jun will try and make sure that she doesn't try anything funny with the previously mentioned ankle monitor.

[ ] No, not yet.
-Himari will not go along with you on this mission.
-She will not hold it against you, and she'll stay home with Jun.

Atry's Advice: Even though she's been in a rocky situation, she has a good head on her shoulders and a good heart. That's the vibe I've gotten from Himari.

---

Author's Note:
Weirdly enough, Himari has become one of my favorite characters to write. Maybe it's the autism. That would explain a few things.

In all seriousness though, she and her fellow Guild Lieutenants were supposed to be recurring minibosses who were going to give Rei some character development, and then die painfully and tragically.

Then you rolled a 96 AND THE FATE OF THE UNIVERSE CHANGED.

So anyways, the next update is what you've all been waiting for: a meeting with Kaneko Akemi and [REDACTED]. Buckle up, because the story's about to really get going.