Chapter 7 🎓 Graduation (2)

It was the class trip in high school that got Kouhei back to the capital once more. One year has passed since he separated with Hanako.

It was the standard for his new school that the students would visit Tokyo on the class trip of their first year. They would stay in a crumbling hotel, located in some back alley in one of the cheapest neighborhoods.

Kouhei used one of the days to look around his old neighbourhood in hope of spotting Hanako. If he wouldn't have been a student, he would have gone on a search long before already.

But she was nowhere to be found. He checked her home, but there was another name written on the bell, so he didn't bother to try ringing it.

It was unusual seeing Kouhei be so dedicated about something. Normally, he would give up soon after starting his search. But this time he was looking around the station, around his old school, around the places Hanako and he would sometimes hang out at. She wasn't there.

Even though it was hopeless, he went into an adjacent neighborhood out of sheer despair, "Maybe she will be here". But she wasn't. It was not the neighbourhood a girl like her should spend her time in, this late into the evening.

He found himself standing in the middle of the empty road. Normally this would be a buzzing part of town with taxis and lots of pedestrians. But at night, this neighborhood changes to its darker side.

The shutters of the aligned stores would open once it got dark and the pavement would lightly be colored by the red neon lights illuminating the names of the different adult establishments.

Not being able to find her would only be logical since there are so many people living in this big of a town. Randomly running into each other would prove to be too lucky of a happenstance.

Out of worry where he would be, two of his new friends were catching up to him.

"Dude! What are you doing here! We were looking for you all over the place. You just went off by yourself, without even telling anyone what's up."

"Thanks for looking for me", he was depressed not to be able to find Hanako while his two classmates did manage to find him in this jungle of concrete.

"Why can they find me in this totally random part of town, while I am not able to find her..."

"If you are mumbling like that we can't understand you!"

"It's alright... Let's go."

There was nothing that could be done. Should he continue his search tomorrow or give it up altogether?

"Kouhei....! Lend me another 200 yen, I'm short for the train fare!" said the person who belonged to Kouhei's group of friends.

"No chance. We are way too late for trains to even be running."

Indeed it was way past the last train and the boys didn't have good means to get back to their hotel. Walking would be too far and fetching a taxi would be too expensive, so they decided to spend the night out in town.

They were aware that this is not a good place to stay, so they quickly tried to hurry over to a slightly more safe district. But their nightly walk was interrupted by a problem.

"Heeeeeeh!?"

A rough and scrilly voice pierced the night.

"I'm terribly sorry, I don't have any money on me!" said the poor friend of Kouhei, who couldn't even afford the train ticket even if it would have been running.

He was confronted by some unfriendly looking man in his late 20s. It was a figure with styled up hair that was dyed in a way out-of-the ordinary color. He was tilting his head viciously, hands inside his pockets.

"Unfriendly" might not be the most accurate word to describe him. After carefully observing the dragon shaped tattoos and scars this person had collected on his body, the boys came to a different conclusion than this person being just "unfriendly".

"So youre saying you don't have any money, no booze, and no tobacco!?"

"Excuse me, sir, but we are still under...--"

"You think I care!?" He raised his voice aggressively.

It was looking intense. Kouhei and his two friends - one of them already his face down on the asphalt apologizing to the thug - were in a situation you could perfectly describe as a full-fledged pinch.

The group of students was on the upper hand number-wise. But it's a lesson learned early, not to get in trouble with the wrong people. Especially the Yakuza, who reigned Tokyo from beyond the surface, from smoke-filled back rooms of pachinko parlors, were the people every kid learned not to even look at.

And Kouhei's group found themselves being confronted by exactly one of these gentlemen, who was probably earning quite a bit of hush money, by dealing drugs and by being involved in all kinds of other shady underground business.

What happened next was outside the students' sphere of comprehension.

After some glittering light, a person appeared from the shady night. It was a girl, not older than them. She was dressed way too lightly in a pretty revealing cosplay. Was it a cosplay? It looked to be extremely well made.

She was wearing a pink and yellow frilly outfit with ribbons and a skirt that was quite revealing to say the least.

Holding open a little booklet with a strap, she recited some incomprehensible words that sounded like a chant. Something that looked like special effects straight out of a video editing software were emitted from the girl's wand, hitting the thug who got knocked out quicker than he was able to realize what's even going on.

"That should teach him. Don't ever bother the peaceful nights of our town!" is what the girl said, while making a sideways V-sign with her fingers in front of her eye.

"Pyun~!"

Kouhei and his consorts were left speechless. They couldn't believe what just happened. Fallen to the ground out of shock, he was not able to close his mouth.

Everything that just took place could only be explained by magic. But magic doesn't exist, does it?

"This is a secret, okay? Kouhei-kun", the girl said with a bright smile.

~ Magical Contract ~

As of tonight, I take the responsibility of becoming a magical girl, defending peace and righteousness.

I will use magic in the way it is given upon me for nothing but good deeds and protecting citizens in need.

I will behave accordingly to a magical girl and I will use the given attire while not modifying or making unnecessary additions.

I will hide my true identity with no one being allowed to find out any connection between my former self and the new persona. Any relation between the other me and the magical girl is a strict secret.

I hereby vow to fulfil this contract.

This contract is treated as sealed now.

Hanako Ayasaki