"A Magical Girl debut is a big deal. Not only for the girl herself but also for the general public. Raving fans keep a close eye on any new heroine's beginnings, and a fanbase quickly forms around certain girls' gimmicks.''
"But most importantly it is a golden opportunity for companies to scope out future celebrities to sponsor and make new merchs about.''
''For this week only you can buy a figure of one of the top ten Magical Girls and get a second one for free! Act fast before stocks dry up!''
Interview with Martin Miles, CEO of Magia Inc. the biggest Magical Girls merchandise company in the world. -2054
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As the other members of the club left for their patrol. Nurse Perenelle told Rin to wait behind with her. Since the nurse was her partner it wasn't like she could disobey. But she was nervous about what she wanted to talk about.
The Nurse waited a full minute after the last student left the room before finally addressing Rin.
''All right, there are a few things I want to talk about with you. Firstly I heard about how you fought during the Emergence. You used a lot of guns?'' Rin tensed at that and got a bit annoyed. Was she going to scold her for her choice of weapon too? She had enough of that from Lupin.
Seeming to notice her annoyance the Nurse's expression softened. ''I have no problem with that. However, I just want to make sure you don't whip out your guns on a dime in public. That would make the civilians nervous. When you're on patrol try to stick with melee weapons. Unless the situation becomes so dire or chaotic that gunfire wouldn't make them panic further. Which I doubt will happen on a routine patrol like this, but you can never be sure.''
Rin hesitantly nodded. ''So I should mostly reserve my guns for Emergence?''
''Oh, you shouldn't have to deal with another Unfeeling Emergence until you reach High School at least. But yes, either an Emergence or a Zone Usurpation would be the best places to use your guns.''
''A Zone Usurpation? What's that? Is that different from a Reality Usurpation?'' Rin asked confused at the new term.
Nurse Penerelle nodded seriously. ''Certain powerful Unfeelings can create a pocket dimension in places with a lot of hatred and despair, we call them Zone Usurpation. We hopefully won't encounter one today. But in case we do, we should call for backup before going inside. Soulless, the Unfeelings who make Zone Usurpations are no joke, and I wouldn't be comfortable handling it with just you and me.''
Rin slowly nodded, she wondered why she had never heard of Zone Usurpations before. She was a huge Magical Girl fanatic and had never even heard the term. If they were such a big deal, shouldn't it be more known?
''So are we ready to go on patrol then?'' Rin asked getting up, eager to start her debut.
''There's one more thing.'' The Nurse said, making Rin deflate somewhat. ''I just want to let you know that I've been informed of your legal gender change.'' Rin tensed up at that and looked back at the Nurse nervously. But the nurse just smiled sweetly back at her. ''Don't worry, I won't tell any of the other club members unless I have your permission. I just wanted to let you know if you want any help with your transition that my door is open to you. As a magical school nurse, I'm qualified to cast a HRS, a hormone replacement spell, if you so wish. Come see me during break tomorrow if you wish to start immediately.''
''Y-you can help me transition, just like that?'' Rin asked utterly baffled.
The Nurse nodded in amusement. ''As a Magical Girl, you are legally emancipated as soon as you make your contract. Because of this, we don't have to deal with all the usual red tape of a minor trying to transition. You can simply go through the route of informed consent.''
Rin tried to hold back her tears but she felt her eyes moisten anyway and had to rub the tears away as quick as he could. But the damage was already done. The Nurse smiled sympathetically at her.
Emily waited until Rin recovered before speaking again. ''So are you ready to start our patrol?''
Rin sniffed and wiped away her last remaining tear before smiling and nodded in confirmation.
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Nurse Penerelle's transformation was a bit underwhelming if Rin wanted to be honest. Her outfit remained mostly unchanged. Trading her nurse coat for a white dress that looked almost the same, safe for the fact that her pants disappeared as her transformation turned a the lower part onto a skirt and a pink medical cross appeared on her chest.
Thanks to that and the fact that the students were most likely already very familiar with the witch nurse. Most of the attention was on the new Magical Girl as they walked through the hallways. It was a bit nerve-wracking. But if she wanted to be honest. Even though she garnered a lot more attention as Millennium. She wasn't as nervous as when she was just Rin.
No matter how much they looked at her. She knew she was a real girl in this form and didn't feel like she was at any risk of getting clocked.
Despite all that she couldn't help but listen as the students whispered and talked about her in hushed tones.
''Is that the rumoured new Magical Girl? I thought she was just made up.''
''Oh my gosh, she's so cute! Do you think I could pet her fluffy tail?''
''I already followed her MagiX account, but she hasn't posted anything yet. So this must be her proper debut.''
Rin's brain crashed and rebooted at that last statement. She had a MagiX account?! She opened up her web browser on her Augs and quickly looked up the name Millenium. And sure enough, there was a MagiX account in her name with a verified marker.
MagiX was a social media website dedicated to Magical Girls. Fans could sign up to follow their favourite Magical Girls and see all their latest exploits. There were also private chatrooms that could only be accessed by verified Magical Girls so that they could easily communicate with each other without having to worry about fans trying to infiltrate their space.
But how the heck was she already on the site?! She had made a fan account a few years ago. But never one for her official Magical Girl persona. And how was she verified already? She hadn't done anything noteworthy enough to be noticed by the site administration.
[I was the one who made the account. Since we're officially starting your career as a Magical Girl, I thought it would be best to have a place for your fans to gather. And I thought it would be good for you to have an easy way to access communication with fellow Magical Girls. I was also the one who verified your account. MagiX accounts can only be verified by a Familiar. No humans, not even the administrators, can verify someone on the site.]
'Huh, that makes sense, I suppose.' Rin replied. She wasn't sure how to feel about how many things her Familiar controlled about her image without her notice.
[Sorry if my meddlings made you uncomfortable. In the spirit of being more transparent, I want to ask you if I have your permission to take pictures and videos while on patrol and/or on missions. I want to build you a fanbase as early as possible. But if you're uncomfortable being a public figure I will refrain from sharing too much of your exploits.]
Rin thought about it as they exited the school building. Despite wanting to be a Magical Girl she was never one to seek fame. All she wanted to do was help people and stop the Unfeelings from having their way. But she remembered what Lupin had said about how one of the Magical Girls' most important duties was bringing hope to people. If she truly wanted to do that she would need to get over social anxiety.
'...All right, you can take pictures and videos, but If I see anything I don't like, you have to erase it, okay?'
[Of course, my purpose is to help you. If I do anything against your wishes don't be shy to say so.]
Her communication with Lupin was abruptly cut short when Rin felt something tug at her tail. She looked back at whatever had gripped her tail and saw a small toddler who couldn't be older than four looking up at her with shimmering eyes of adoration.
''Magical Girl!'' The young boy whispered in awe. On her side, she saw Nurse Pennerelle trying her best to suppress a chuckle.
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They heard the rapid footstep of someone in high heels before a distressed woman appeared in front of them. ''I-I'm sorry about my son. He's obsessed with Magical Girls, but he should know better than running up to bother you!''
Rin giggled and crouched down before the boy as he released her tail. She pet the top of his head tenderly as he continued looking at her with pure adoration. ''That's okay, I was probably the same at his age.'' And then, her mother had tried to ruthlessly shame her for the behaviour and tried to push her toward more ''masculine'' hobbies. But she wouldn't say that to them.
''I-if you wouldn't mind, can you sign an autograph for him? I-I could pay you of course.'' The mother pleaded.
Rin giggled, while nervously rubbing the back of her head. ''I'll do it for free. I just debuted today, I don't think my signature is worth paying for.''
The mother's eyes widen. ''Oh, this is your first day?! I should have guessed you look really young, even by Magical Girls standards. Well, I'm sure my son would be honoured to get the first ever autograph of a Magical Girl.''
The woman patted herself up and then her expression dawned in horror.
''What's wrong, Mommy?'' The boy asked clearly noticing the distress of his mother.
''I-I don't have anything for you to sign.'' She said with a deep regret in her voice.
''It's fine, Mommy; I don't need it.'' Even though he said that the boy was disappointed Rin wished she could do anything to help them.
[If you would like, I can give you a pen and something to sign at the cost of one point.] Lupin said and Rin felt a surge of relief as she nodded.
''Do it.'' The mom and the boy looked at her in confusion at her words. But then a flash of light appeared in front of Rin and a pen clattered on the ground while a picture floated toward the ground. Rin snatched the photo before it could land on the asphalt and flushed when she saw a picture of herself in her Magical Girl form making a cute pose and forming a heart with her hands.
She had never posed like that in her life! How the hell did Lupin create that picture? She tried not to let her embarrassment show as she retrieved the pen from the ground. ''S-so what's the name of your little boy?''
''O-oh! His name is Justin.'' The mother replied.
Rin put her pen to the photo and signed.
> To my first-ever fan, Justin.
>
> -from Millennium.'
She gave the photo to the young boy, and his eyes were as wide as a platter as he looked at the picture and the signature. He rushed toward and glomped Rin much to her surprise. She had to brace herself to not fall on the ground. ''Thank you so much!'' He rushed back toward his mom. ''Mama! Look! Look!'' He said while waving the picture frantically.
The mother smiled down at him lovingly before turning to Rin with a grateful look. ''Thank you so much, Millennium. You've made his entire week.'' She said with a chuckle before taking the boy by the hand and walking away.
''That was sweet.'' Nurse Penerelle said behind, making Rin jump in surprise before flushing in embarrassment. She had completely forgotten she was there.
''S-sorry for wasting all that time,'' Rin said nervously.
Emily shook her head with a smile. ''Learning how to interact with fans is an invaluable skill for a Magical Girl. Today is all about making you learn how to do your job. So in that sense, this was time very well spent.''
Rin nodded slowly, unsure if she really thought that or if she just wanted to make her feel better.
Emily started walking, motioning to Rin to follow Rin quickly caught up to the Witch. ''D-do you have an alias I should call you by? I didn't think to ask earlier.''
The witch smiled wistfully. ''I used to be called Magical Girl Sympathy. It was kind of a challenge to the Unfeelings who represent complete apathy. But nowadays, you can just call me Emily or Nurse Pennerelle. I've stopped going by an alias after I retired as a Magical Girl.''
For some reason, the name Sympathy felt familiar to Rin. Did she used to be a famous Magical Girl? Rin wasn't sure but she felt like she should know that name.
''So what do we do on a patrol? Just walk around and hope something happens?'' Rin questioned wondering if they would get any kind of action.
Emily smiled and waved her hand in a 'so-so' gesture. ''More or less. We Magical Girls and Witches have a sort of magical sense. If there's any Unfeeling or other kinds of magical activity we should be able to detect it and see if our help is needed.
We can also detect any kind of strong emotions. So, if someone's in distress, you should be able to feel it. Try to concentrate on the feeling of magic around you. Don't be embarrassed if you can't manage it yet. It takes some time to master.''
[Alternatively, I could also try to detect magic for you. But it would probably be best if you're able to develop that sense for yourself instead of always relying on me.] Lupin said within her mind.
Rin closed her eyes in concentration but realized quickly that this was a pretty terrible idea as she stumbled on a pothole and almost fell to the ground.
''Are you alright?'' Nurse Penerelle asked, concern clear on her face.
Rin flushed in embarrassment as she nodded. This time, she tries to concentrate while keeping her eyes open. It's harder to focus that way, but she thinks she can feel the magic of Emily beside her somewhat. But apart from that she can't feel anything useful.
Rin felt a sudden spike of panic and then grew confused. What was she even panicking about? But then she concentrated and realized that the panic she felt wasn't her own emotion but the emotion of someone else.
''This way!'' Rin exclaimed before running in the direction where she felt the emotion came from.
''Wait Ri-Millennium! Come back!'' The witch cried out before running after her.
Rin continued running chasing the feeling she felt as best as she could. Her tracking ended up leading her in front of a convenience store. She rushed inside and froze as she was greeted by the sight of a man with a ski mask pointing a gun at the store's cashier.
''I said give me your cash before I blow your fucking head off!'' The robber said with a snarl. The cashier looked at the gun with a stricken look as the colours on his face turned pale.
There were two other customers in the convenience store. One of them looked like a middle-aged woman, while the other was a senior man in his eighties. Both of them looked at the scene in front of them in frozen terror.
''You! Drop your weapon!'' Rin yelled with more confidence than she felt. Every eyes in the convenience store turns to her. The robber swore under his breath angrily while everyone else looked hopeful at her appearance. It felt humbling to have that much trust put into her just because of her status as a Magical Girl.
The robber scowled angrily and, before anyone could react, ran toward the woman and grabbed her by the neck before pointing his gun right at her head. ''If you come any closer I'm going to blow the brains out of this bitch!''
''N-no, please! I have two kids at home!'' The woman yelled as she looked at Rin with clear desperation in her eyes.
''Walk away now! Or I'm killing her and the old fart will be next!'' The robber yelled, his finger lightly pressing against the trigger.
Rin took a deep breath...and everything turned gray. She calmly walked toward the robber and his hostage. She gripped the gun and forced it out of the hand of the robber. The hand of the robber seemed to be coloured for a second before it faded back into gray...weird. But she didn't have the time to think about what that meant.
Rin threw the gun away. It flew in an arc for about a meter before turning gray and staying still in the air.
Then she took the woman by the hand. To Rin's shock, both the woman's and the robber's colours returned. The woman looked down at Rin both in confusion and wonder at how quickly the girl had seemingly reached her.
The robber meanwhile tried to instinctively pull the trigger of his pistol and swore when he realized it wasn't in his hand anymore. ''What the actual-'' Rin pulled the woman toward her tearing her out of the grip of the criminal.
Instantly the robber turned gray and froze in place mid-stumble. The woman looked at the frozen robber, the onlookers and the gun stuck in mid-air with a look of pure awe. Rin tapped on her shoulder and when she turned to look at her, Rin motioned to follow her. The woman nodded before Rin escorted her right next to the frozen old man.
''I-I don't know how you're doing this, but thank you.'' The woman said with a look of deep gratitude.
Rin nodded before letting go of her hand. Making her freeze in time like everyone else. Rin was getting lightheaded from the lack of oxygen. So she quickly made her way back in front of the robber and exhaled.
''-Fuck!'' The criminal finished. Now even more confused than before as the woman had also vanished.
Before he could regain his bearings Rin punched the criminal right in the stomach as hard as she could. The criminal was sent flying like a ragdoll, and his body crashed through the store closet's door, and a bunch of cleaning supplies and a broom crashed on top of him as he slammed against the wall.
Rin looked at what she had done in horror. ''Oh crap did I kill him?! I didn't know I was that strong!''
''Argh! Fuck you! Fucking Magical Slut!'' The man groaned out.
Rin looked at him with a deadpan expression, her ears slightly twitching in irritation. ''He's fine.''
> Quest Completed: The Foul-Mouthed Robber
>
> You have stopped a robbery and protected the customers from potential harm.
>
> Reward: 50 points, 100 exp.
>
> Congratulations, you have reached Level 6!
>
> Max HP and Max MP increased
>
> You have 5 unspent skill points.
Emily rushed through the door and looked at the scene with a bemused expression. ''Well, it looks like you did a good job Millennium. But next time wait for me before rushing straight into danger.''
Rin grinned sheepishly before nodding.
Pretty soon after the police arrived. The cashier had already activated the silent alarm before Rin's appearance. They took statements from everyone, including Rin, who had to introduce herself as a new Magical Girl and explain how she had subdued the criminal.
The police warned her that there could be consequences for using as much force as she did against normal humans in the future. But since she was still new at this she was only getting a warning for now. Much to her relief.
The robber had a broken rib and would be healed at the hospital under supervision before being hauled to the detention center for his trial. But apart from that had sustained no major injury from Rin's attack.
After leaving the convenience store behind, Rin and Emily noticed that the sky had darkened considerably. Before long a deluge of rain cascaded down on the streets of New Québec. Emily decided to end the patrol early. Rin, not wanting to catch a cold on her first day on the job, agreed even though she would have wanted to patrol a bit longer.
A few minutes later, It seemed like they weren't the only ones who were retreating from the rain. A duo of girls were running from the rain. Their shoes squelched with each step from the wet pavement. ''Should we have waited for Mia?! What if she's waiting for us at the park?!'' One of the girls with glasses asked worriedly.
''She'll know we left because of the rain don't worry about her! She can take care of herself!'' The second girl replied as they ran back home.
For some reason Rin felt a sense of foreboding from the interaction. But ignored it as thunder began to rumble, Alicia would be worried if she stayed out too long in this. She retreated home, not knowing how much she would come to regret dismissing her gut instinct...