I waved my hands around in front of me trying to deny the offer. I was panicking a little and the whole situation finally got into my head. I was in the office of some big shots and I was getting offered by the leader of the group to join them.

She shoved a handkerchief in my hands. Its striped pattern was damaged due to the passage of time and misuse of detergent.

"But I-

"Wait a second here! We don't need another member. We just got a new one." Protested Adrinia.

"Numbers don't matter softness but she doesn't seem very strong. Why do you want to recruit her?" Asked Mori.

"Like I said. She reminded me of somebody and I know that's not a good reason but let me be selfish for once."

"But still. You're basically shoving her into death. The invasions we usually handle are far too extreme for a random girl like her."

"Like you said, the invasions 'we' handle are tough. She can go and take care of the weaker ones and if she ever fights a massive swarm I will help her out."

"I agree with Mori, we can't just have any member join the council and we can't have too many members. It would be unwise to just recruit any magical girl you see." Adrinia added on.

"This is unlike you. Why are you randomly hiring this girl?"

Okumura took a deep breath and flipped her hat onto the ground. She reached deep down and pulled out her scythe. Using its blade, she pulled her hat up and swung it into her head.

"Need I repeat more. Try and listen harder next time Justice~ And Adrinia If we let more people join, more lives will be saved. More magical girl life I mean."

"You know why we can't do that! And you two say something." Mori backed away and grabbed Chiasa's and Ayaka's shoulders.

"We don't really care. Ayaka and I won't protest as long as you don't disturb our positions."

"That is true."

"Damn." Justice pushed the two girls away and clasped her hands together. She summoned multiple spears around her, they were sharp enough to cut air and they floated in the air, aiming at me and Okumura. "Do you want to get decked again? Because Softness I will beat you sorry if you won't start acting like a real leader right this instant!"

"Justice, your bullying really gets on my nerves." Softness took a fighting position, her left hand touching her face and her right gripping her scythe.

"Finally growing some back bone! And all because her name is a little familiar! That's so pathetic and kyute of you!" Justice grabbed a spear from the air and shattered it into fragments. The shards then flew around her hands before turning into a big yellow bow.

I lightly stepped a little to the side, trying to get myself out of this dangerous situation but as soon I moved my leg, a spear was flung right at me. The spear was stopped and slammed into the ground by Softness, her scythe stabbing into the ground.

Justice launched all her spears at her and fired an arrow into the air. Softness snapped her fingers and all the chairs and lights in the room flew at the spears knocking most of them out and catching the remaining ones with her hat.

"Wait, you created the chairs in the room?"

"Yes, our budget was mostly spent on broken walls created by certain members who I will not name."

"Does she mean me, Chiasa?"

"No, of course not Ayaka, she means all of us. It's called open ventilation in the northern west."

"Oh, then I will be sure to put on more elbow grease on the next wall."

"Shut up the two of you! This is a very important matter!" She coughed to clear her voice and pointed at Softness. "Okumura!"

"Mori." Softness slouched down and pulled her scythe out from the ground.

"Why did you make the chairs monobloc?" Justice slammed her bow down, splitting it into two sharp daggers before kicking the ground and charging forward. "They are extremely uncomfortable!"

"It's obvious." Softness wiped her head and pushed her hat stable before dashing to Justice with her scythe. "It's payback for you spilling juice on the beanbags!"

They collided and began exchanging blows. They clashed at each other, grazing each other's moves while throwing strikes and slices.

"Hasn't the argument moved topics a little too quickly?"

I walked away as they continued to fight. I had a sudden major headache and I was disoriented and lost. These famous heroes were all too real and at the same time all too different from what I expected. Their magic and their emotions flew into my head, jumbling my mind and hurting my ability to think.

As I rubbed my head, I subconsciously approached one of the council members. She was shaking her head in disagreement and had her hands on her hips, taking a no funny business stance.

"Where is the Love in this… Reckless fighting is not something I will allow." She walked forward into the brawl. Putting her hands forward, she grabbed Softness's scythe and Justice by the neck.

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"I love you both very much, however I won't allow you two to duel like this in order to end your disagreements. It would be of utmost delight for the two of you to find a more lovely alternative."

"Let go now or else I stab you quick P!"

"Unhand my scythe… Please Ai, I need to show her who decides what in this council."

"Your meaningless brawl hurts me deeply. If you need to settle this violence all because of that girl then I will handle it myself."

Ai gently placed Mori away and wiped her fingerprints off the scythe. She walked towards me, her actions taking both Okumura's and Mori's attention. They gazed at her and I gazed at Ai who was gazing at my chest.

"How does one love without a heart…"

She stabbed her hand forward at my chest, sending a chill down my spine. Her hands stopped right before piercing my body and ripping through the flesh.

"But why can't they love? Does one really need a heart to experience such things?"

Her pupils dilated, the hearts growing in size and color. She spread her wings and wrapped them around me, not touching me but still enveloping me in her warmth.

She moved her head forward and whispered into my ear. "Why does a monster disguise itself as a magical girl? Do you not love your fellow invaders? Your flesh lacks organs and yet you show me feelings of fear, anxiety and hope… Tell me, are you ready to let go of your brethrens and join the other side in this loveless war… I don't see why you would. I don't have anything here and so will you."

She pulled back, her wings closing back into her back. "I think you are. Maybe you can be the one." She spun and walked towards the two arguing magical girls. "She's staying, final decision, and Mori, please don't call me that again."

Ai passed them by and continued to walk forward, leaving the room.

I dragged my legs near a chair and fell onto it. I massaged my trembling legs and moved my hand to my chest. I felt my heart beat and I instinctively let out a sigh of relief.

I'm not a monster, I'm a magical girl. How can I be an invader? There was no Cosette and there was no death. I am my own self. Yet why do my hands shake and why do tears escape my eyelids. Doesn't that make me human? Monsters can't feel that.

I conjured a shard of glass in my hands. A face unrecognizable reflected on it. I jammed the shard into my arm and pulled it out, watching the blood splatter everywhere. "Thank… Thank god."

"Shima… How about we get you some sleep." Okumura approached me, handing me the handkerchief again. "Come on, let's leave this place, I think you might be tired. Shima…"

"Yeah."

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Who really am I?

I moved my body upright and sat at the side of my bed. I was in one of the rooms in the council's building. The room had a fridge, a sink, a table, and chairs. Its purpose didn't matter, when we got inside, Okumura pulled out a bed out of her hat and placed it here.

Speaking of Okumura. She's sleeping on the chair next to my bed. When we frantically rushed here, she did nothing but talk nonsense at me, trying to comfort me. In my mind I know what she was doing but I decided to act aloof. Life in the council. I wonder how it would be. Life has been moving too fast for me the past few days. Ignoring the two weeks of complete darkness and silence, my life had no peace. Why am I even trying to be a magical girl? I should go back to school, get a degree and find a fulfilling job.

And can monsters even get jobs? No scratch that I'm not a monster. "Ahhh." Why is it so hard to think? So what if I'm not a human anymore? What if I am an invader using Shima's memories for whatever unknown reason? Does that even matter? Shima is dead and I don't have an identity of my own. I'm Shima, I think like her, I act like her, and I feel like her. That makes me Shima.

"Okumura!" I shouted out loud and awoke my companion in a quick jolt. She sprung up from her chair, her hat falling to the ground. "What?! A fire? Where's Chiasa?!"

"No. I need you to train me, I'm far too weak and all the training I had was done far too quickly."

"Shima… You're plenty strong already."

"I'm not okay. I'm too weak to even save a fellow magical girl. Please, I need to get stronger."

"Well somebody once told me before, power comes with experience. Just go and stop some small scale invasions in the city. I will watch over you and make sure no monsters kill you."

"Well can't I do something else than fight? Like maybe a training montage?"

"Be quiet for a second… Let's go."

"Okay."

Day one as the newest magical girl council member. Me and Okumura stepped out of the building and traveled by train. During the journey to the train station, we passed by a crepe stand and bought breakfast. As we walked by she gave me a rinder about the duties of a magical girl.

"Remember the day when you got chosen to be a magical girl?"

"Yes… why?"

"Remember how your inner voice confronted you and gave you the role of a hero? It laid out all the rules and the duties you are taking."

"Would it be bad if I say no."

"Seriously…" she pulled out a handkerchief and pushed it into my hands. "Wear this on your neck."

"Why?"

"Just do it okay. It's important."

"Fine." I tried the handkerchief around my neck, using it as some sort of scarf alternative. Okumura's eyes fluttered and the ends of her lips danced up.

"The rules are simple. As magical girls we are the beacons of humanity. We stop monsters who want to eat mankind and use our powers to help people in everyday disasters."

"Can I ask what exactly the monsters are? They are often called invaders right? Are they from another planet?"

"Monsters are pests that come from space or some other plane of existence. They are called invaders because that is what they are. They come from portals and kill people until they are satisfied with their stomachs. And for what they are exactly, I don't know."

Her ears drooped down and she sadly devoured the crepe.

"It's fine that you can't answer what they are."

"Yeah."

We finished eating our breakfast and continued our walk down the city road. Apparently there was gonna be an invasion around this area. I tried asking her why she knew this but she told me all these jargons and excuses.

If magical girls knew where invasions happen then why did she have to die.

I followed her to the designated area, it was in a wide alleyway filled with adult businesses and vending machines. The sights of all these bars near me and other adult things such as fishing stores and picture taking stores really shook me. Well not really.

I sat on a bench by her command and observed her knocking from door to door. She warned the owners to lock their door shut, to keep focus and be ready to smash an invader in with a chair if need be.

"Okay here's the deal Shima~ you're gonna do all the fighting and I will watch." She slapped me in the back and pulled me out of the bench. "Don't worry, you can yell out my name if you need help."

"Okay, so what's my enemy? A spider, a mosquito, or maybe an eel?"

"It's a cute and easily-killable caterpillar. Try and kill it before it turns into a butterfly, they tend to become nimble and full of surprises when they metamorphose."

"A butterfly… seriously world? That's so mean." I took a long breath and blew into the air, creating a small white puff. "It's cold in the morning."

"Yes it is. Need more handkerchiefs?"

"No. I already have plenty." I stood in the middle of the vending machines, remembering my personal drink dispenser inside my childhood dream. I vividly imagined the flavor of the drinks around until the caterpillar finally appeared.

It was yellow in color and giant in size. Its overall shape was that of a banana covered in little fuzzy hair that will make you go blind. It came from a portal on the ground, crawling up into the air before slamming in front of me in a trombone worthy fashion.

I closed my eyes and clasped my hands together. I was deep in my own head, trying to visualize a weapon that I can use to my advantage. Something long that can deal with the caterpillar's funky hair and something sharp that can cut through the banana looking skin with relative ease.

My hands slowly pulled away from each other creating absolutely nothing. Who knew it was this hard to deeply visualize a weapon.

I aimed my palm on the ground and took a quick peek at the caterpillar. It was still busy flopping around, barely moving towards me.

I jabbed my palm into the air and closed my eyes. I need something sharp, a scythe yeah… wait no it should be longer than… A spear like hers… but can you slice with a spear. I need a…

My eyes perked up as the sound of metal struck the floor. On the floor was a weird combination of a spear and scythe that seemed a little familiar. I'm not sure on the name but this might be a glaive, something I recognize from the games I consume.

I lifted the glaive up and approached the caterpillar with quick steps. I quickly slashed at the beast and the beast slashed back at me. Two hard claws sprouted from its sides and intercepted my weapon. The strength of the mantis claws broke my posture and pushed me back struggling.

The claw then teared into my arm, ripping my flesh and muscles out. I dashed to the side and swung my glaive down into the claw this time with strength and fortitude. The blade was greeted by aggression and resistance. However the claw lost strength in the clash and I quickly slashed again, hitting the other claw and pushing the beast back.

With a clear open path of violence, I swung my glaive down at its head and lifted it into the air before slamming it back down. Hair exploded everywhere and my body was covered in soft yet sharp needles. I pulled my glaive out and jabbed it right back in. The two claws sprung up into the air and I continued putting more strength into the spear, repeatedly pushing whenever I lost movement until my hand was inside the body of the caterpillar.

The beast was dead…

My injuries are extremely rough and I don't know if I can push this pain off. Shima can't handle this but as a magical girl, this should be nothing at all.

Okumura rushed into me, running to perform a jump tackle. Her eyes were full of worry and when I turned around to face her, she went into shock. "Shima!" Her legs wobbled like pasta and she fell to the ground. "I shouldn't have let you do this."

"I'm fine. My arm is already regenerating." I pointed to my arm which was slowly healing and reforming my missing bodily insides.

"There's more of these monsters right? I don't think of it as an invasion if there's only one soldier."

"Yes there are more but… let me handle them for you."

"No."

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Stop your yelling.

Day twenty as the newest magical girl council member. My hands are rough. My flesh is rough. I have blood in my boots. I have blood in my gloves. I have blood in my hands.