Memories of That Day

The Fool Arc

Two Magical Girls sit on top of the TV tower in a single district of Tokyo. As the moon rises and bathes them in subtle white-blue light, they talk. About what it is to be Magical Girls, how they came to be one, and what motivates them.

Somewhere, out in the darkness of the night, the Maniacal lurked as a terrifying presence, licking it's wounds. But right now, there was a small moment of safety.

♦ Magical Girl Tama ♦

“It was… a month ago.” I start my story. I am talking to Magical Girl Rinrin. She is my Senpai. At first I thought she was short, but then I realised I am taller in my magical form, which is strange. I never really talk for very long, so my voice gets hoarse over the course of the story, but she asked and I want her to know. She is my Teammate, my Senpai, but she already means a lot to me.

“Mama and Papa were out. Papa was at work in another country, and Mama was living with Grandma again because of me. I was alone so I did not want to go home yet…”

*            *            *

There is a girl. She’s young, maybe in elementary school. Her backpack is a traditional randosel in red, matching her startling eyes. Her black hair and pale skin provide a vivid contrast. She doesn’t talk much, and when she does she gets punished for being too quiet, or too emotionless. She doesn’t have friends to play with, and she doesn’t have anything to go home to.

So she walks alone through the streets in a pair of rainboots that don’t fit the nice hot sunny day, aimlessly wandering through the crowds that gradually thin out more and more as the high sun turns to the orange dusk.

She walks along the artificial riverbanks in a daze, staring at the ground ahead of her. She gets to a large bridge and takes the pedestrian footpath across. Her tummy grumbles, protesting her hunger, and her back aches. She removes the randosel on her back, placing it carefully on the side of the bridge. She nods to herself before she tries to open the backpack, fumbling with the clasps awkwardly. As she does so, a car runs right up to the pavement, honking its horn at her.

Startled, she jumps further into the side, and knocks her bag. The contents, and the bag itself, go flying off the edge. The black haired girl’s eyes widen, and she tries to grab for it, finding herself slipping.

“HEY!” There’s a voice, and a pair of arms pull her back from the edge, right as she’s about to fall.

“Whoa! Almost took a nasty tumble.” The rescuer says, setting the black haired girl on the pavement. The raven haired one stares at the floor, mumbling an apology, but this new, older girl rubs her head.
“Just be careful, okay?” She had brown eyes and brown hair in a short style. She looks… mostly ordinary. Maybe on the pretty side, the type of girl who might have a couple people in her school club interested but turns no heads walking through the hallways and streets. But her smile is big, and she doesn’t seem to care too much.

“Now then, why were you so close to the edge?” She asks. The raven haired one blinks.
“My randosel… fell in.” She mumbles.
“That so? Well, let’s go get it then!” The brunette smiles. Again, the raven haired girl stares at her, confused by this response. The brunette laughs.
“It is in the water.”
“Water’s nothin’! C’mon, leave it to onee-san!” The brunette jabs a thumb to her chest in a gesture that looks out of a sports movie, proudly labelling herself the big sister role. She offers her hand to the younger girl.

“C’mon already, don’t you know it’s not nice to turn down help?” The raven haired girl takes the hand, confused, and soon they’re both running down to the riverside, grass crunching under foot.

The rescuer sits the raven haired one on the side of the embankment.
“There. You stay here, the water’s too deep for you.”
“...But what if the current pulls you in?”
“Don’t worry! Onee-san’s way too good for that.” She slips off her shoes and socks.
“Besides, I got you to run for help. So I’m not scared at all.” She leaves the shoes and her bag beside the raven haired girl, stretches her arms, and steps into the water.
“AGHpft! It’s cold!” She whines a little, wading out into the river. She begins searching, knee-deep in the running water, bent over at the waist.

As she searches, a loose stone causes her to stumble and land on her butt with a loud splash. From the side, the raven haired girl looks like she’s going to run for help, before the self-proclaimed onee-san raises a big thumbs up.
“I’m okay!”

*            *            *

It would’ve been easy to write the loss of the bag off. They’d been out for a while, the streetlights from the bridge above provided more illumination than the setting sun, and it was getting a little chilly. It was still barely spring, and the nights had only just started to heat up.

Still, the brunette, though complaining a little, didn’t let up the search, scouting around long after most people would’ve thrown in the towel with a ‘tough luck, kid’ and a shrug. Finally, she found something. Between the force of the drop, and the moving current, the bag had become half buried, but she lifted it up into the sky like a trophy at a soccer championship.

“Victory against the forces of nature!” She proudly proclaimed, before sloshing her way over to the streetlight, where the raven haired girl sat, her head bobbing from tiredness.

“There we go!” The girl declares, proudly placing the bag next to her.
“There’s a few scratches, but nothing too major.” She gives the little girl a pat on the head, gentle but kind.
“Thanks for watching my bag, li’l cat.”
“Why did you… help…?” Raven hair stares at her rescuer, who gives a non-committal shrug.
“Don’t need a reason to help somebody.”

Right as she’s about to say something else, the onee-san hears a song from her bag, a catchy number from the start of Magical Girl Blossom, and grabs her phone.

“Aw, shoot! How many missed-” She hurriedly answers it.
“Hello? Hey dad! I was just, uh… yes, I know the time! Um, I was kinda busy doing this thing by the river… what? Hey! You tell onii-san to mind his own food! Okay, okay, I’m coming home!” The brunette slips on her shoes, gives the other a wave, and starts running off towards the bridge, and out of the raven haired one’s life.

“...Thank you…” Anya mumbles, staring after the girl’s retreating back.

♥ Magical Girl Rinrin ♥

“Wait.” I say, staring at the girl, who blinks slowly. I remember the cold river on that day, looking for a lost child's backpack. It feels like a lifetime ago now.
“I wasn’t even a Magical Girl back then! How did you recognize me?” I ask the pressing question in my mind.
“...I went out to find you. When I got my powers. I wanted to thank you.” Anya says, moving up to me.
“I saw you transform… from above. Then there was a fight. And… I wanted to help.”
“Pretty sure you saved my life back there.” I give a small grin, and immediately Anya’s right back in my face.
“So… we can be teammates?” She asks. Her voice is flat but a little quicker than before.
“Yeah, yeah, I already said yes! Geeze, need to teach you about personal space, girl.” I laugh, but her honest reaction is the first thing to be happy about in a few days now. Not what I expected, but it’s a welcome moment of solace.