Awakening

Tokyo, 2033.

— So? What do you want with me, father?

— "Father"? Why not "dad"? Even better, "daddy"!

— You know the answer, dipshit. I just happen to not consider you part of my life.

— How sad! That hurts my feelings, honey!

— Stop being sarcastic. Then? What did you call me for?

— Oh, right! I just wanted to ask you something. What was your choice?

— Choice? What are you talking about?

— About your future, my honey! You gave up on being a model and you didn't try anything after that!

— Ah, right...

Sakaki Komoe, an unemployed 18 years old. 1.97 meter tall, orange and wavy long hair, yellow eyes. She started a model college almost two years before this, but gave up on everything after that. The world wasn't the same she thought it would be.

— About that, can't you give me a little more time?

— Honey, you keep saying this since last year. You wasted a precious year of your youth! I'm 54 already, who knows how long I'll be here?

— Stop being dramatic. The life expectancy keeps increasing, you know. Besides, you brought me to this world, now you'll have to pay.

— Ah, I understand now. You're on your rebellious phase! But don't worry, I was there before, so I understand you.

— The hell you understand me. The elder always say that, even though the world keeps changing. You just want to show your superiority to me.

— I said the exact same thing to my dad! We're so similar, yay!

She couldn't understand why her father acted like that. It could be a character, or he was just that stupid. She finally noticed something.

— Father, why the hell do you always wear that stupid mask?

He was using a futuristic mask that covered only his face. Like a monitor, the eyes and the mouth were drawn in a simplistic way, almost like a theathre mask. It showed his emotions clearly, rather than moving his face muscles.

— You know the answer, honey! This is who I am, this is my real face!

Komoe just stared at her dad in disbelief, like she was talking with a psycopath. Then, someone next to her started talking.

— Dad, why do I need to hear this conversation? I passed the entrance exam years ago. I'm at college, remember? Or did your age started showing?

Sakaki Akira, Komoe's twin brother. 2.07 meters tall, short black hair, purple eyes, always wears black, like an emo.

— Ah, Akira-chan, that's because...

As he was talking, he picked up something from under the table. Actually, it was a person.

— I wanted to show you both something!

Komoe stood up quickly, surprised. The person was a female child. She looked so young she was closer to being a baby. Akira stared speechless.

— What the hell, father?! Did you really kidnap a baby?

— I wouldn't say I kidnapped her. She was laying in the streets at night, so I couldn't let her freeze to death. So she will be your step-sister!

— What? I wondered why you asked us to come to your office, but I didn't think it would be this bad. What happened to you, father? You don't even treat us like your children, you're gonna adopt another one?

— Ah, don't worry about that. I won't be her babysitter. And before you ask, you won't either. I will handle her to someone else.

— Then why did you adopt her, for fuck's sake?

— She has something special. Komoe, you said you always wanted to have a superpower, right?

— A superpower? What has that anything to do with her?

— Come here and discover.

Komoe had a dream of being a super hero, or a super villain, whatever she wanted to be at the moment. So she didn't think twice. It could be a trap set by her evil father, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered more than her dream. 

Komoe approached the child, who was standing at the table. The kid had seafoam green messy hair and a dead look. She wore dirty clothes, like a beggar. She extended her tiny hand to Komoe, who hesitated for a second, but touched her palm anyways.

Immediately, the office was gone. They were both alone in a desert. The kid finally started talking.

— Lass, visualize your power.

— My power...?

— Try using a function of your brain that seems different than the others you usually do.

Komoe closed her eyes and concentrated her thoughts into that mysterious function. After some seconds, she felt something cold on her hand. Opening her eyes, she saw a ice spike standing on her palm.

— What the hell? Did I do this? It wasn't you, right?

— It's your awakening, lass. Try creating something else.

Komoe concentrated, but with her eyes opened this time. She needed to see it in person. Even quicker than before, a small black hole materialized on her other hand.

— Am I dreaming? This is reality, right? Please say it is!

— This is the revelation of your new power, lass. Even thought it's not reality, it will be yours forever after you wake up.

— Really? I don't understand how this is happening, but I don't care about the details. Thank you, hm...

— Your father gave me the name "Haji".

— "Haji"? From "hajimeru"?

— Maybe. He may think I'm starting something. I still don't know what it is, though.

— Thank you, Haji-chan!

— Don't worry about that, big sister. You may have awaken something more. Try using it.

— Oh, right!

Does this mean my power is a destructive one? I always wanted to destroy a whole city! This is so exciting! How about this...

After some seconds, the sky started burning. Komoe looked up. She managed to summon a whole meteor shower. She stared at her own power speechless, with her eyes shining like a kid seeing her favorite show. 

The child, surprised for the first time, had a worried look in her eyes, rather than a dead one.

— Lass, this is not normal. You're the first person that has this much power inside the awakening. It usually starts small, I never saw this scale before.

— Does that mean I'm a prodigy?

— Probably. Since your power can do very different things, it may be related to magic. It's not a truly independent power, since it relies on magic properties.

— Magic? So I'm a mage? Or a wizard...?

— Probably a wizard, since you're on another level. It may not look like it, but magic exists on your world.

— Eh?

Komoe stared blankly at the kid, thinking it was a joke.

— You're not serious, right?

— I'm telling the truth, lass. Most people don't know it, because it's gatekeeped among magic users. Only a few people have acess to their mana.

— So you're saying eveyone has mana, but only some can use it?

— Exactly, lass. Even though most people can awaken the magic inside them, it's better if a few selected people know how to do it.

— To prevent chaos, huh? This isn't surprising, coming from the people who hate the different.

— You believed it quicker than I thought, lass.

— I always believed in the unknown, Haji-chan. It finally paid off!

— That may be why you have such high proficiency in magic, lass. There a few more concepts you need to know about it, like magic residue and magic exhaustion, but you'll learn about them at the Academy.

— The Academy? Is there a college for sorcerers?

— Yes, lass. Your father will tell you the details. After these meteors kills us.

— Meteors...?

Komoe looked up and saw the huge meteors she summoned getting close. She panicked, but died before she could do anything. Waking up in the office, her brother was shaking her body and yelling her name.

— Komoe-chan! You're finally awake! Are you okay? Did our dad do something bad to you?

— On the contrary, Akira-chan!

Komoe sat up quickly, with shining eyes.

— I'm a mage, brother, I can use magic!

— Magic? Dad, did you drug her?

— No, brother, you don't understand. That green-haired kid teleported me to a desert and I could summon a meteor shower! Isn't that amazing? By the way, her name is Haji-chan.

— What the hell are you yapping about, sister?

— Why don't you try it yourself, brother! You'll gain a new power like mine!

— No, I'm good, thanks. For now, I'm glad with my grades in college.

— Are you sure? You always said you wanted to help people when we were young!

— Stop remembering about our past, dammit!

Akira blushed after the thought of being remembered as his younger self.

— It's embarassing, that's why...

— It's nice seeing you blush once in a while, big boy.

— A-Anyway, this whole thing doesn't smell good to me. If you feel bad, tell me. Okay, sis?

— Roger that, bro! Don't worry, I can do whatever I want now thanks to my power!

— Maybe I can give it a try sometime later. For now, goodbye!

Komoe smiled and waved at her brother.