Incident Zero

“No! Don’t touch me!” Hana stumbled back, clutching her stomach. “Onee-Chan! What’s wrong?” Come inside and I’ll get the first aid-” Tsubaki frantically grabbed her sister’s arm. “NO!” The scream that ripped from Hana’s throat sounded so aggressive; that wasn’t her big sister! She slapped Tsubaki’s hand away, further shocking the younger sister. Hana never hit her! “Ugh!” A moan tore loose from Hana and she stumbled.

Ignoring her sister’s protests, Tsubaki ran to Hana's side, though she didn’t touch her. “You need help! What’s happening?" Hana raised her head, blood trickling down from her eyes. “Oh God! What the hell?!” Tsubaki felt utterly helpless. Her initial joy at her sister's unexpected appearance in the alley behind their apartment had quickly vanished. Even though she knew why her sister had left home, this wasn't something that she ever expected to see. Her instinct to help her big sister kicked in, but what could she even do? In the medical drama's, blood never came from the eyes of someone who was conscious and not about to die! 

 “I...I’m so pathetic...and weak...” Hana murmered sadly . “My compatibility is too good and it’s moving too fast. It's eating away at me and my control was already slipping but I can’t hold it back anymore.” She started lurching forward, but Tsubaki caught her gently before she could collapse and lowered her into a sitting position. "Sis, just take a breath, okay?" Tsubaki looked her older sister up and down, trying to figure out what exactly the problem was. 

The first thing that struck her was the dress. A shiny, gauzy thing covered in lace and bows. Puffy skirt and sleeves, a sailor-uniform style collar; the whole nine yards. It was ripped right out of the magical girl shows the two would watch after school as kids; the sort of pastel fever dream contour that Tsubaki had fled from in disgust sometime after 3rd grade. The tricked out, chunky heals were just as saccharine, despite having the heft to be used as a bludgeon. 'Some of her cosplay clothes?' Tsubaki couldn't see well in the dark. She'd only planned on taking out the trash, not walking into something out of a bloody drama, so she hadn't bothered turning on the light above the back door.  "Ah, thanks." Hana gave in and leaned against Tsubaki's shoulder; her pain and desire for comfort overriding her paranoia. "Sorry, just give me a minute to...get it together...okay?" She breathed heavily, trying to compose herself. Tsubaki's finger's brushed against her sister's hair and she instantly realize what was off. 'It feels straight and smooth, like a dolls, and there's so much of it! This isn't her normal hair!' A gleam of moonlight peeked through the clouds and gave her a flash of candy-pink pigtails and the outline of a maid's hairpiece. Tsubaki's heart hit her stomach at the exact moment she registered the sensation of something wet seeping into her sweatshirt and leggings. 'Nonononono!'

Tsubaki didn't want to take a closer look but, like watching a car wreck, she couldn't stop herself . Her eyes had adjusted to the dark somewhat, so the crimson stains all over her sister's costume were unmistakable. Tsubaki stared in horror at her elder sister, unable to rationalize what she was seeing. “Oh, God. What did it make you do now?" She squeezed and held Hana tighter. Hana winced and grabbed her head. “Arg! It wasn’t...not that. Them. The agents. No, you're not hurting me. Don't go away." She added, grabbing Tsubkai's arm to stop her sister from releasing her.

 Tsubaki’s mouth fell open in horror. “But that-! They promised they’d contain you!” “I knew it was risky but...this was better than being free with no guardrails. After Momma... I just wanted...to make sure you were safe.” Tears burned Tsubaki’s eyes. “Onee-Chan...!" She couldn't even fathom the pain her sister had been holding in. 'Why? Why does she have to go through this? It's not fair! Wait..how is she even here right now?' The obvious question finally entered Tsubaki's mind. She'd been too concerned about her sister to worry about the fact that Hana wasn't supposed to be allowed out in public, but combined with the magical girl getup, the red flags were flying. 

“They lied to me, too. Made it sound like I’d be an emergency resort, but ever since I went with them, they’ve been making me kill people and stuff.”Hana let out a cough, hacking up blood. Tsubaki wiped her sister's mouth with the edge of her sleeve. “So much killing...they never planned to stop me! They just want to use magical girls.” 

“Oh, Hana, what have they been doing to you?” Tsubaki let out, too terrified to imagine how much her warm, loving sister had suffered. 'This whole time, I thought she was okay. I thought things would be better for her. That's the only way I was able to deal with the loneliness and feeling like a hole had been punched through my heart. But she was all alone and hurting even more than I was' “I was so stupid.” Large tears fell from Hana’s eyes as she smiled pathetically. “All I wanted to do was help people. I thought it would be like an anime. But it tricked me and used me. I let it in and all the people I hurt, everyone and everything I killed, Momma Mio..it’s all my fault. No one would be dead if I hadn’t been so damn gullible.”

“Don’t say that!” Tsubaki screamed, clutching her sister's shoulders. “It’s not your fault! You just wanted to live out a fairytale story, and there’s nothing wrong with that! Your mind is being erased and those things are taking you over! You’d never choose to hurt anyone if it was really your choice! Of all people, why do you have to go through this! Why does this keep happening?" She sounded like a crazy person, but she couldn't hold it anymore. It wasn't fair! Her sister was the nice one! The one who never got in trouble! The type of big sister who wanted to hang out with her little sister and never treated her like an annoyance. The one who was a second parent and made sure she didn't make stupid choices. 'Ever since a few weeks ago, everything been escalating faster and faster...why? Why is this happening?' Tsubaki couldn't comprehend why such horrific things had just continued to happen to them but, at this point, it was like a fate they couldn't escape. Some force had gotten its claws around their lives and had ruined everything.

“Tsu.” Hana’s voice became honey-sweet and gentle, directing Tsubaki's attention to her alone. “Thank you. For everything. I’m sorry I’m leaving you all alone like this..” She leaned towards her little sister and threw her arms around her. “Hana?” Tsubaki was surprised by the suddenness of the gesture, but she didn’t care. She buried her face in Hana’s chest and hugged her so tightly that her knuckles went white and numb. Both girls were bawling like crazy nownow. Tsubaki felt pathetic, but she had no clue what else  to do. She’d been so lonely and scared; like a cornered mouse in a maze. There had been no one to help once Hana had...and after what happened with Momma Mio and the government having to intervene, she’d been truly alone with no one to confide in. Who’d even believe her if she opened her mouth? But for now, as painful as it was to see Hana in this state, having her big sister with her was enough to make it a little better. Tsubaki briefly wondered if she was just imagining her sister, but she was too scared to let her go and test the theory. After everything, finally being held by someone felt good.

“Tsu...I’m so glad I was able to be your big sister.” Hana lifted her head and smiled through her tears; a genuine gesture in spite of her pain. “I knew I was going to vanish soon so I ran off when I had a chance. I wanted to see my baby sister one last time.I don’t want to let either the worm or the agents win. I don’t belong to them.” She gave Tsubaki a last squeeze and slowly stood up. "H-hey, you don't look good. I don't think you should move around." Tsubaki protested wearily. Hana shook her head and took a few steps back. “Don't worry about me, sweetie.I'll be fine. And I don’t regret my choices. I  was stupid and I hurt people because of it but, for a little bit anyway...I was able to help others. I don’t know if that evens the scales or not, but all lives are precious. It’s not a small thing that people are alive right now that wouldn’t be otherwise. It means something that the people I saved are still alive, regardless of what...other...stuff I did."

“Hana...” Tsubaki crouched on the ground and rubbed her eyes. Even until the very end, her sister was like a living angel, always looking for the positives and seeing the best in everyone. "You're talking all weird now." Hana ignored her concern. “You’re important, Tsu. I want you to keep living.” Hana smiled widely, surprising her sister at her ability to produce such a face after everything she'd went through. “I want you to be happy. I’m sorry I’m leaving you alone, but you’re a strong girl. You’ll be okay, I promise. I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore and I can’t wait until there’s so little left of me that I can’t even control my own body anymore. I want to protect others one last time, and I want to die as myself.” 

She stepped back further and, with a puff of golden light, summoned her magical stick. Tsubaki eyed the cause of their woes wearily, not wanting to get too close. The golden stick with a heart and moon was ripped right from the shows her sister was obsessed with, right down to the the pink bow and rainbow jewels that mocked them with their mundane cuteness. Her sister was right; she'd been the victim of a calculated trap from the start. Something in the way Hana held her stick caused Tsubaki’s stomach to lurch.“I’m me and I’m not going to let anyone choose for me.” Hana stated calmly.

“Wait, Hana!” Tsubaki shouted, realizing what her sister intended to do. “It’s okay. I’m happy with my choices.” Tsubaki lunged for Hana, trying to close the distance between the two of them quickly. “I love you, Tsubaki.”

With a wide smile, Hana touched her stick to her head. Tsubaki let out a feral cry and reached out for her sister as a beam of light shot straight through Hana’s head. All she could do was gape in horror as her sister’s blood spattered her and Hana’s body crumpled to the ground.