Mahou Shoujo - Ryssen Magica

"Haa.. Haa.."
Ryssen panted heavily. He's been running nonstop. How long had it been.. hours? Days? Weeks? He doesn't know anymore. He had lost count long ago. There was no time for that. He had to run. He.. someone.. was in danger. Ryssen had to save him, although the labyrinth seemed endless..

"Dammit.. Haa.. Haa.."
A loud thud. Ryssen's legs finally gave up. His face hit the floor violently, it was a miracle he's still conscious. The smell of his own blood stung his nose.

"Move.."
Ryssen tried to move his legs. They were shaking.

"Move.. Move.."
Nothing.

"Move.. Dammit!"
The labyrinth stayed silent. It was no good, his legs won't run anymore. Ryssen gritted his teeth. Tears ran down his cheek. Angry at himself, Ryssen slammed his fist at the solid floor.

"Move.. Move!"
He slammed his fist as he stammered, each hit being weaker than the previous. His fist was starting to numb.

"I have to.. save.."
The scenery changed as he was about to close his eyes. He was somewhere else now. Somewhere horrible.. Somewhere desolate.



"..."
The atmosphere felt familiar. He's been here before. Still lying down, Ryssen raised his head a bit.

"AAAAAAH!!"

A horrible scream. Ryssen recognized it. It was him.

"NO!"
He struggled to stand up-

"STOP!"
-but he couldn't. His body felt heavy. Ryssen saw him off the distance. He was unconscious. The ground shook as the titan walked towards his limp body.

"STOOOP!!!"
Ryssen screamed. He tried to stand up again, to no avail. The titan picked up the unconscious man. He was about to be eaten-

"You can change this, you know."
A white, rabbit like creature suddenly appeared beside Ryssen.

"With your power, everything can change."
It's white tail wagged left and right.

"You just have to make a contract with me-"
It's red eyes grew brighter.

"-and become a magical girl."




"HAAAH!"
Ryssen's face was wet with cold sweat. His body was shaking.

"A dream.."


"..but it felt so real.."

"I'm telling you man, It's true. There was a labyrinth, a talking rabbit, and this fucking titan ate this guy-"
"What the heck is a titan even?"
It was morning. Ryssen was talking to his friend, Yoshii, about the weird dream he had last night. They were heading to school.

"Giants that eat humans."
"What?"
"You need to read more manga."
"You're reading too much manga."

"Yo."
Said a student, who tapped both of their shoulders from behind. It was Medzy. He was running with toast in his mouth.

"Hey."
"What's up?" Medzy said, eating his toast.

"Ryssen dreamed about titans."
"Titans?"
"Giants that eat humans."
"What?"
"Nevermind." Said Ryssen as he walked a bit faster.

"So, yoshii? What do you think?"
"It's just a dream. Dreams don't mean anything."
"but it felt so rea-"
"You're overthinking things."
"..huh."
Ryssen refused to let the dream go. That dream felt different. He was unable to sleep after it happened, and he had black circles under his eyes.

"Let's walk faster. We're gonna be late."






They were in front of the school gates when the bell rang. The school yards were silent- everyone was already in their classrooms.

"Told you." Said Medzy, who was now sipping fruit juice.
"Shut up."
"Let's run."
The three ran inside, down the hallways, and up the stairs. All three of them were third years, so their room was on the third floor. That's how the floors were in their school. Although exhausted, they made it just in time. Yoshii slammed the door open.

"You three again? Seriously. I was about to mark you lot as late. Sit down. We have a guest."
Said the teacher, glaring at yoshii. Yoshii, who hated her just as much, glared back.

"Stop that. Come on."

Yoshii walked to his seat. Ryssen sat behind him, and Medzy sat behind Ryssen.

"As I was saying-"
The teached started talking again.
"..we have a transferee. This is Grenouille. He will be in this class as of today."

The whole class buzzed when they heard the announcement. Ryssen looked at the transfer student. Grenouille, expressionless, looked back at ryssen.
"...!!"
Ryssen nudged Yoshii frantically.

"What?" Yoshii whispered.
"It's him!"
"The hell are you talking about?"
"The transfer student, he's the one on my dream!"

"You're nuts."
"I'm serious!"
"So what you're saying is, you met that guy in a dream before meeting him in person."
"Yes."
"You're nuts."
Yoshii turned back to his seat. Ryssen looked back at Grenouille- he was still looking at him. Ryssen looked away almost instantly.

"We will start the class now. Grenouille, your seat is over there." Said the teacher, pointing at an empty seat.
"Yes."

Grenouille was still staring at Ryssen. Ryssen knew this and hung his head, looking away. Grenouille started walking towards him.

"Y-your seat is over there, Grenoui-"
"I'm not feeling quite well, professor."
Gren replied, who continued walking.

"You're Ryssen, this class' health officer. Am I right? Guide me to the nurse's office."
Said Gren expressionlessly. Ryssen, surprised, talked back.

"A-actually, it's Medzy. Not me."
"No, It's you."
"No, it really is Medzy."
"I don't care."
"Wha- Why?"
"Because."
"Because..?"
"Exactly."
"What"
Ryssen stammered. Ryssen turned to Medzy and asked him to convince Gren, but Medzy responded with a snore.

"Crap."
"Let's go."
"Y-yeah."




The two walked down the hallways. Neither of them said a thing. It was silent. Ryssen, who was supposed to guide Grenouille, was being left behind.

"Uhh, Grenouille, right?"
"..."
No response.

"Y-you asked me to guide you, but you seem like you already know the way. H-haha."
"..."
No response.

"W-well then, I'll go back to the classroom now."
"Do you value your life?"
"..!"
Ryssen was taken aback. He was unable to say anything. Grenouille's voice still had no emotion, but it felt different.

"Do you value your life?"
Grenouille repeated; this time, with more power. His voice demanded an answer.

"Y-yes."
"Do you value your family? Your friends? Yourself?"
The hallway turned dark. Clouds blocked the sun, and light ceased pouring from the windows.

"..Yes."
"Then don't change anything. Live like you always do. Do anything rash and everything will be gone. Everything you value. Everything you love."

Ryssen was speechless.


Grenouille brushed his hair with his hand, then turned away from Ryssen.

"Keep it kawaii, motherfucker."

Grenouille walked away. Ryssen didn't move, as if frozen in place. The sound of raindrops hitting the school yards slowly became audible.

Crack.

After school. Ryssen and Yoshii were walking home. The rain had just settled; twigs and leaves littered the wet road.

"'You okay?"
"Yeah."
"You've been like that since you took Gren to the nurse's. What happened?"

Crack.

"Nothing."
"I see."
Said Yoshii. Ryssen hadn't said anything since he went with Gren, and Yoshii noticed. The twigs cracked as Ryssen, lost in thought, stepped on them one by one.



"Help me.."



"What the?"
"You heard it too?"
A voice rang in their heads. The two looked around, but there was no one on the road.



"Help me.. Ryssen!"



"Dude, what the-"
"-Let's go!"

Ryssen broke to a sprint. Yoshii, reluctant, followed after him.

"Where are we going?"
"I don't know!"
"What?"

The two ran at full speed. Ryssen had no clear destination, but it felt like he had one. The mysterious voice was guiding him. Soon enough, the two found themselves at what used to be a department store.

Bang.

"..!" "..!!"
A gunshot. It echoed across the building.



"Help!"



"Over here!"
Said Ryssen, running towards the gunshot's source. Yoshii followed him, albeit clueless of what was happening.


Bang. Bang.


The sound of bullets roared continuously, each one sounding different from the other.

"Wait."
Said Ryssen. Part of the ceiling was shaking.

"Dude, get away from-"
A loud crash interrupted Yoshii; the ceiling panel fell violently to the floor, and it kicked up a huge cloud of dust. Ryssen walked to it.

"..!"
Ryssen saw something on top of the debris. It was a rabbit-like creature, just like the one in his dream; only this time it was covered in bloody wounds.

"Are you okay?"
"..Yes.. Take me away from here, someone's after me!"
Said the creature. Ryssen signaled Yoshii and ran back outside-

"..."

-or they tried to. A familiar face blocked their path. He was wearing a sailor uniform; a white top, a purple miniskirt, and jet black stockings. He held a pistol in his right hand, and it's pointed at the creature Ryssen is holding.

"..Grenouille?"
"Get away from that thing."
Said Grenouille, expressionless. He had no intention of pointing the pistol away.

"Why are you doing this? What's going on?"
"Put him down and go away from here."
"No! He's hurt!"
"You have nothing to do with this."
"I don't care!"


BANG.


A bullet came flying out of Grenouille's pistol. Grenouille had aimed it between Ryssen and Yoshii, as a warning-shot-



"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"



-but Yoshii pushed Ryssen out of the way, thinking the pistol was aimed at him. What's supposed to be a warning-shot shot off Yoshii's left ear as a result.

"GODDAMMI- FUCK!!!!"

"Idiot.."

Intense pain came from what's left of Yoshii's ear. He cupped his hand over the wound and ran the opposite direction, away from Grenouille.

"Yoshii!!"

Ryssen, still holding the rabbit-like creature, ran after Yoshii.

They ran frantically out of fear, but Grenouille did not follow them.



"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON? WHAT IS THAT THING YOU'RE HOLDING? WHY DID GRENOUILLE HAVE A GUN?"

"I DONT FUCKING KNOW!!"

The two shouted at each other while they ran. They were focused solely on running, they didn't immediately notice what's happening around them. The floor, the walls; everything was changing. The two found themselves in a completely different world. The floor was decorated by a weird pattern, everything else was dyed red and black.

"What the fuck-"
Yoshii and Ryssen stopped dead in their tracks. They were surrounded by a plethora of weird beings. Mustached cottonballs with black, frail bodies; Giant, naked titans that shook the ground; There was a ton of them. Yoshii and Ryssen were trapped.

"Dude.. DUDE.."
Said the still bleeding Yoshii, who grabbed Ryssen's sleeve and shook it.

"You're not helping."

"..O..da.."
The rabbit-like creature muttered.

"What?"
Ryssen asked, but the rabbit didn't respond.

The weird creatures started walking towards them. They were all grinning now. The sight of it froze the two of them in place. The titans groaned as they approached their meal. Black, thorny vines tipped with scissors portruded from the cottonmen's bodies.

"We're gonna die.. WE'RE GONNA DIE!!"

The sound of numerous scissors snipping rang as the cottonmen walked freakishly. The titans crouched, reaching for Ryssen and Yoshii. There was no way out. Yoshii fell onto his bottom, terrified. Ryssen held onto the rabbit creature, his eyes closed-



"No.. GO AWAY!"



A flash of yellow light.



"Looks like I made it."

A large pillar of energy crashed onto the fray; It turned the red-tinged sky yellow for a moment. The titans surrounding Ryssen and Yoshii were knocked out, and the cottonmen were burnt to ashes.

"You guys okay?"
Said the male voice. He turned around and saw the two. They were both unconscious, and Yoshii's left ear was still bleeding.

"I guess not."
Said the mysterious man, who took out a yellow gem and knelt near the two.

"Good thing you called me, Kyubey."

"..I had no options. The irregular magical girl wounded me."

"I see."

A faint yellow light enveloped Ryssen, Yoshii and Kyubey. It healed Kyubey's wounds and stopped Yoshii's bleeding.

"That should do it."

"Thank you, Oda."
Said Kyubey, leaping out of Ryssen's arms.


"Nguuh."

"How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine.."


"..Wait.. WE SHOULD GET OUTTA-"
Yoshii yelled, but his words were cut off. He saw the titans' huge bodies collapsed on the floor. Steam was rising from their burnt skin, which was healing rapidly.

"I knocked them out earlier. They'll wake up soon though."

Yoshii looked towards Oda; he wore yellow boots, black knee-highs, a white top and a yellow skirt. A tiny black cap adorned his shaggy, yellow hair.

"Name's Odamust. Call me Oda."

"Y-Yoshii. That unconscious guy is Ryssen. W-we were in the department store earlier, Grenouille had a gun, he shot my ear off and we ran and-"

"-the surroundings changed and these titans appeared, right?"

"Y-yeah."
Yoshii replied.

"I'll explain all this later, the titans are waking up."
Said Oda, eyeing the titans as they struggle to stand. Oda took off the yellow ribbon from his top and threw it towards Yoshii and Ryssen. The ribbon glowed a bright yellow, then turned into a barrier.

"Stay here with your friend and Kyubey- er, the little rabbit guy. After what I did, these titans will surely come after me."

"Wait, what will you- what are you?"
Yoshii asked Oda, who aimed two silver shotguns at the ground beneath him.



"A magical girl."



The two silver shotguns fired at the same time. The energy it shot off destroyed the ground beneath him, and it's force sent Oda flying through the air.

Bang.

A violent shot.

A heavy, yellow bullet hit a titan square on the back of it's neck. Odamust was mid-air. A yellow trail was left in the bullet's wake.

"What a drag."
Below him, he could see the titan that he shot fall on the floor. The impact shook the ground hard- it was a 7-meter class titan after all.

The other titans got back up on their legs. They were confused at first, but soon they spotted Oda fifty meters up in the air.

"Oh. You dolts can't reach me here, can you?"

A smirk ran through Oda's face.

"Let's dance."


The sound of metal resonated from where Oda was.

A glint of yellow.

Suddenly, a thousand silver shotguns were floating around him. Oda eyed the titans below him one by one.

"There really is quite a lot this time. Well, not that I'm complaining."
Oda's grin grew wider. As if receiving a command, the shotguns all aimed at a titan each.



"You might want to cover your ears. The remaining one, I mean."
Kyubey told Yoshii. They were inside the barrier, watching Oda. Ryssen was still unconscious, lying beside Yoshii.

"You sure we're safe here, Kyubey?"
Yoshii said as he covered his ear.

"Yes. This is Oda's barrier after all."



"HAAH!"

The silver shotguns fired at the titans without warning; all one thousand of them in unison. A deafening sound flooded the whole area. Aimed at the titans' necks, the yellow bullets shot straight into their targets- piercing the titans' flesh- colliding with the concrete floor. It was over in an instant.

"Whoa."
A mass of yellow traces were left in the bullets' path. From where Yoshii was, It looked like as if a thousand stars crashed into the ground. One by one the titans fell, shaking the ground with every impact.

The shotguns disappeared as Oda descended to the floor.

"Tch. Way too easy."
Said Oda, dusting off his shoulder.




"Hmm?"

Oda was about to transform back to normal, but stopped when he saw a live titan. It was far off from where he was, and had it's back turned to Oda.

"I missed one? That's new."
Oda said as he summoned a shotgun. Holding it in one hand, he aimed the barrel towards the back of the titan's neck.

"Oh well. Goodbye."




Oda fired.




But the titan was no longer there.




"What the?!"




"GRAAAAAAAAH!"

Oda turned around quickly- just in time to see the titan's fist landing towards him.

"HAH!"
Oda pulled another shotgun and immediately fired to his left. The shot's force sent him flying side-ward, avoiding the titan's attack; but Oda landed hard on the ground as a result.

"Ooh. An abnormal."
Said Kyubey as if in delight.

"A what?"

"An abnormal titan. It's behavior is different- very different from a normal titan. As you saw, that one is faster than the others."

"Faster? I didn't even see it move!"