Getting Home

A long time ago, ages now, there lived a young boy. To this boy, the world was grey. The boy stumbled his way to school one morning, his ankle bruised and sore from the day before, it had been stomped on by one of the boys in his class and the bruise hurt badly. His mother had ignored him when he brought it up, so he'd taken a pain killer himself this morning when she wasn't looking so he could walk to school. The beating his father would give him if he stayed home wasn't worth missing the day. Still the boy's heart cried out. He loved his father, and his mother, and he cared genuinely for all of those whom he had met through school. But they all seemed to scorn the young boy.

Shuffling along he stumbled through the crosswalk, where he bumped into a teen, far older than he. Turning to apologize the boy was stunned momentarily when he received a smack to the back of his head.

"Watch where you're going you little shit!" The teen called before walking off from the boy. Tears welled in the boys eyes, 'I'm sorry' he thought to himself. Lamenting having bothered the teen. He was always so useless, getting in everyone's way. This thought was solidified by the honking of horns. The boy snapped from his thoughts to see he was now blocking the traffic in the middle of the walk. He ran across the street, searing pain coming from his ankle in response. He deserved it, he thought he had slowed them. Continuing on the boy stumbled towards school, limping on his injury to avoid the pain that now pierced the from earlier that morning.

He stopped momentarily to appreciate the flowers one woman had cultivated outside of her home, they were really pretty he was sure. He loved flowers. But they all shook gently in different shades of grey to the boy. Regardless they made his heart sing. Before long however the boy turned hurrying onward toward school. His jeans were tattered, his jacket dirty. Many people disliked when he admired their flowers, so he had learned to be quick about it so as not to disturb them.

With his school now coming into view the boy shuffled along doing his best to keep quite and avoid locking eyes with some of the meaner boys. He'd always found them hard to deal with, hitting him despite his apologies. It made him sad, but it was his fault they disliked him, he was sure of it. Sitting down in class the boy opened his back pack and pulled out a note book, his pencil was sharpened down into a point so small he could barely hold it, but his mother hated buying his school supplies and demanded he make them last. He loved his mom, so he did his best to keep make them last as long as possible.

The boy was excited, this was his favorite class, technically they all were, he loved to learn, and the teachers at his school were so smart. He was sure they could teach him a lot. Class started and the boys heart soared as he learned. Taking notes with his stub of a pencil.

Stepping into your home you kick off your shoes as you close the door. "Mom! Dad! I'm home! You call watching as Simon steps past you and into your parents home. Your father had been a clever, and hardworking business man, buying businesses and hiring friends to run them for him. Now he was in charge of several businesses varying from clothing stores to fast food restaurants. As such he rarely had to work aside from managing the business from up high, though he still liked to go in and help his friends. Getting to know those who worked for him.

He claimed it was his duty as a boss to make sure all those who worked for him were satisfied and loved their jobs. But it also meant his hours were extremely inconsistent and as such he was infrequently home when you arrived back from school. Today it seemed was not one of those days. "Welcome home sweetie! Your dad will be at work for a few more hours, and your brother went to meet some of his friends before the supper reservations."

"Alright mom!" You call back, she's in the in house gym, working out and watching television, you can tell from the sounds of her foot falls as she walked on the treadmill and the general direction of her voice. Stepping into the house you hear Simon speak from beside you.

"A nice home you have girl, and a large one."

"All thanks to dad." You respond quietly. Your house was one of the nicer ones just off of the park you had fought the Fiend in. You weren't entirely sure how much it was worth, but if your tuition at school was anything to go off of, your parents were loaded. It wasn't something you would brag about but it was something you took a lot of pride in. You made your way down through the hallway and into the kitchen, where you grabbed a snack before topping up your water bottle. Heading from there you went back down the hall past the home gym and the sounds of your mother watching the news, up the stairs to the second floor, where after heading down another hallway you reached your bedroom. Simon followed quietly the whole way. Stopping once you closed and locked the door to your room.

You tossed your backpack on the bed, over near the desk you'd be doing your homework at later tonight, before taking a bite from the sweet apple you'd snagged from down stairs. You slipped into the office chair that you sat in for homework and computer work, swiveling to face Simon. "Your mother has high enough Magical Points that she would be able to see me but not able to hear me." You nod before responding your mouth still full of apple.

"Gewd to kno." Chewing you finished your bite before swallowing and speaking up once more.

"Alright Simon, what's the deal with the Fiends?" Simon tilted his head, laying his body on the plush pink carpet by your bed before responding.

"Fiends are the manifestation of negative emotions and desires that humans generate. Just as magical girls are the manifestation of positive emotions and desires. Fiends are born to kill, , and destroy. They harm anything around them with an aura that effects all of those not protected by magic. They are not formed naturally. Instead they are formed by a combination of dark magic and hostile emotions."

"So someone willingly made that monster?" You ask in response.

"Frankly yes. And that 'Monster' as you put it, is a weaker Fiend, honestly you could have likely defeated it by attacking the beast with your Magical Rod, but I figured asking you to fight in close quarters was likely not the best way for your first interaction with Fiends to go. That Fiend was a D Class Fiend called a Hob Goblin."

"What do you mean D Class? Are there different levels of Fiends?"

"Fiends come in various levels from E through to A. An E class Fiend is something along the lines of a mindless Slime. Where an D class Fiend is more like the Hob Goblin. Fiends become increasingly more complex the higher their Class with A tier Fiends being monsters from among the human legends. There are S class Fiends but frankly they aren't ever created by most Majin and as such you'll likely never face one, they are too powerful to control and require a surplus of dark magic."

"Majin?"

"Majin are the dark mages who create Fiends, they are the ones that seek to either over throw the world order, or to destroy the world as a whole. Majin have a limit to the magic they can use as well, though their limit can be increased through suffering and pain. There are rarely Majin born powerful enough to summon much more than a B class Fiend."

"I see." Your response was open ended on purpose, leaving you a moment to ponder the information that Simon had discussed with you.

"So... girl..."

"It's Erika." You cut Simon off before he can continue. He nods.

"Then Erika, have you decided to continue being a magical girl? I'll give you another chance here as last time was kind of rushed and you had no idea what you were agreeing to."

"I have. I will continue to be a magical girl. All my life I've been taken care of by those around me, my brother, my father, my mother, even my friends. I've lived a fairly easy life. Now it's my turn to help protect and save others."

"You're sure? If you ever fail, a fate far worse than awaits you."

"I'm sure. I'll just have to not fail!" You giggle a bit looking down at the cat as he rolls onto his side.

"An excellent attitude. We will continue to work on growing your magical capacity, and you will fight and defeat the many Fiends that will target this town. Two things to keep in mind, for a brief moment, when you transform, you will be naked before the enemy. This can leave you if you are too close. It will also draw unwanted attention from the citizens. If too many men see your form, the lust they exude will be converted into more powerful Fiends. So make sure you transform away from eyes while you can." You nod in affirmation.

"The second is that should you drain yourself of magic you will be forcefully transformed back into your regular form but without your clothing, if this happens before Fiends or men, there is little I can do to protect you from what may come." A chill goes down your spine at this thought, had you tried to heal any one more person before, your transformation would've been undone before the countless people in the park. You shake your head, ridding yourself of such thoughts. Leaning back in the office chair you face the ceiling.

"I'll have to keep a careful eye on my Magical Points then."

"Indeed you will, Erika, this is something you'll need to keep careful control on." Then you turn to your bed, bringing out the massive books you've brought back filled with today's homework. There is little left for you to do but you'll need some time to do it.

"Alright Simon! I'm going to do some homework now, and Mark will be home again later! Tonight my family has a supper so I've got to get this done." Simon simply nods before slowly slipping into a furry sleep on the fluffy carpet he's chosen as a bed.

"So a new magical girl has appeared." The deep voice echoed in the dark room.

"Good, we could use another battery." The voice of a young man responded back.

"I'd really like to meet her!" A female voice this time.

"Meet, or kill, Deliah?" A different more gravelly voice. The female voice responded once more with a laugh.

"Is there a difference?"

"Silence," The last of the many voices, 5 in all, speaks. His is the most authoritative of those present. "For now we proceed as planned, this girl was barely able to handle a Hob Goblin, she won't become a threat for some time, besides, the more magic she has, the more we can drain."

"A fair point," The younger voice responded.

"But when we're ready I call dibs on fighting her." Deliah responded. Meanwhile the face behind the gravelly voice responded with a simple nod. As the four others in the room left, the authoritative voice was left with his thoughts. Pondering the meaning of this girl's appearance.