Rotating, eternally rotating. Oda Kaguri had probably been watching that damned fan in his ceiling for an hour at this point, the way it always perfectly moved at the same speed was hypnotizing and the sound it produced seemed to pierce through his eardrums to shamble his brain completely. Well, not that there was much in there to shamble. Yet, as he watched it Oda thought to himself; “Even if the world were to end that damn fan would still keep spinning.”. His small apartment had a certain smell to it, it was a mix of cigarette smoke and mold with maybe a pint of dirty laundry thrown in there somewhere. To think that just a few years ago he had been the honor student in his class, attending one of the most prestigious academies in the town known as Pandemonium. Really, what kind of name even was that, Pandemonium; the capital of hell. To think that a small Japanese town happened to have a name that perfectly translated to just that when written with Latin letters. Well, it’s not like the name was deceiving, Oda had come to know that all too well.
Although he had been trying to come clean these last few months, the blonde man quickly learnt what it means to stand outside of society, really the fact that he could still somehow afford a run-down apartment like this was a miracle. Man, wasting his parents' kindness just to get a few more cheap thrills using narcotics had been such a stupid decision, yet at the moment he had felt like it was the best thing in the world. As the sun slowly began setting, yellow light filled the room he was in and illuminated the scattered piles of dirty clothing that lay on the floor in his sad excuse for a bedroom. Oda reached for the pack of cigarettes that lay next to him on his bed. Although the piece of cushion smelled of smoke it was the only thing in the room that could be considered decently clean. He lit it and took a deep breath before exhaling, he knew full well that the smell of smoke would get stuck in the tapestry and the fact that he had opened the sole window in this room only helped to avert a miniscule amount of smoke. The man who injected more than enough drugs in his system over the course of the last few years to kill a small elephant had finally decided that he was done with that horrid and degrading lifestyle.
But even so, nobody would accept an ex-junkie like him without some sort of proof of rehabilitation. That was the reason why Oda Oda had applied to the rehabilitation program held by Pandemonium City, yet three weeks had passed since the day he filled his application and not as much as a squawk had been heard from the government. The little money the man had was running out and before next year he would be homeless. It was the tenth of November, in less than seven weeks the world would enter a new millenia but it couldn’t have mattered any less for the beat down man. He took a deep sigh and leaned backwards until his back hit the wall of his bedroom. He took a deep breath as he wondered if he would ever be able to get out of this hole that he had dug for himself.
Alice waited for the stop light to turn green, she didn't know where she was going. All she knew is that she had to go somewhere. The orphanage that served as her home for the last twelve years had finally been able to kick her out as she reached the age of 18. As she walked over the crossing Alice looked at the people around her, there were businessmen wearing expensive suits, there were youngsters wearing the latest fashion statements and there were just ordinary people you would find anywhere. As she walked, she could not help but to shake the feeling she did not belong here. For a moment she considered just stopping there, to just stand in the middle of the road until a car or something came and drove her over. But as she slowed the pressure off the crowd pushed her and she soon found herself forced forwards against their will until she was on the other side of the street. It was a rush hour as all the workers were going home for the day. Alice looked into a nearby window, the sight that greeted her was a pale girl with long black hair and worn out clothing.
As she continued walking she eventually came upon the city’s train station, outside of it there was a man who was clearly homeless digging through a trash can. As she watched him she wondered If she herself would be digging through trash cans just like him in a few days. Alice had no family or friends; she was all alone in this cold, harsh world. A cool wind would breeze past her causing her to shudder. Although this winter had been unusually mild she did not know if that was going to last. For a moment Alice wondered if she would freeze to death before christmas. That would probably be for the best, someone like her who brought misfortune on others simply by existing deserved a fate like that. As she walked the orange sky eventually turned dark blue as Alice's first night of not having anywhere to sleep started. She eventually came across a small park. Not knowing what to do Alice chose to lie down on a park bench, as she slowly closed her eyes she saw what looked like a small dog in the distance. Since Alice was so tired from having walked the entire day she did not think much about it and she slowly drifted to sleep.
A few hours later Alice was awakened by a strange sensation of something licking at her leg. When she looked down she could see a small dog licking her as it wagged its tail. Only having interacted with dogs a few times in her life before, Alice did not know how to react and simply lied there for a few moments. After some time, however, she got the confidence to reach down and pet this dog. It seemed to like it as it wagged its tail even more when she patted it. Upon closer inspection the dog seemed to have a few burn marks on its body.
Evelina looked down at their papers in front of her, the homework that she had been assigned this week was as easy as usual. She didn't complain however as she filled out the empty papers with their correct answers, this way she would have more time over to use as she wanted. The blanket that laid on her bed was pink, the same color dominated the various posters that hung on her walls. all of them depicting the same thing, magical girls from the manga she liked so much to read. She looked at the clock sitting on her desk, it showed just half an hour to go until midnight. The girl took a deep sigh as she laid her face down on her desk, she couldn't believe that she had just spent two hours doing homework. Her red and pink hair now covering the papers that she was going to hand in tomorrow, truly she had nobody but herself to blame for waiting until the last minute to do her homework.
She pondered about what to do for a moment before deciding to read some manga before going to sleep, even if he would be tired tomorrow she could usually get through most school days simply by keeping her head down. Not like she ever needed to try seriously to pass any test that got thrown at her in the first place. It was all just so easy for Evelina, what others needed hours to learn she understood in just minutes. Yet regardless of how talented she was Evelina never wanted to spend her youth studying just to end up in some fancy job. She knew that she had to let go of those childish wishes of hers but the overwhelming dread of having to grow up was just too much for her to bear. Regardless, it was getting late and Evelina put the book that she had been reading away as the turned off the light in her room.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The next day Evelina was shocked awake by her alarm clock, she headed downstairs to find that her father had prepared breakfast for her like usual. It was egg and bacon like every other day, if he kept this up she was going to become fat before long. Although their living room was modest in size, the display cases lined up against one of the walls was anything but modest. They were filled with old records, each one probably worth at least a thousand dollars. Money had never been a problem for Evelina, her family was rich and through her childhood there was nothing that she wanted that she couldn't get. Half an hour later evelina was ready to depart for school, having changed into her expensive school uniform and brushed her teeth properly.
Arriving early at the school like usual, Evelina took her time as she sat down in her seat. After just a few minutes however, one of her classmates came up to her and tried to make conversation. It was the usual pleasantries how her weekend had been and so on, Evelina saw through it immediately and asked; “Let me guess, you need help with your homework again?”. Really, the people around here had been so much more honest when they were young, If they wanted help with their homework they would have just said so from the get go. But now there were all these unwritten rules they had to abide by, in a way talking to people felt more like playing chess than simply having a conversation these days. Letting out a sigh, she would accept the papers from the other girl.
For some reason, this strange dog with bright fur did not leave Alice alone. It had been more than twelve hours since she first met it back on that park bench and wherever she had gone since the tiny creature had followed her. Alice took a deep sigh, they were on a rather small street surrounded by ordinary homes in the town of Pandemonium. She crouched down and took off her backpack, the bag containing the few possessions she could truly call her own and the only things she had been allowed to keep from the orphanage. It was black and the only thing that truly stood out about it was a small anime figurine with pink hair that was attached to it using a keychain.
Although Alice didn’t know if she would be able to secure more food for the future, the fuzzy little dog was clearly hungry and hadn’t eaten in a while. As such she opened her backpack and picked out one of the few cans of dried bacon that she had been given before being kicked out and opened it, reaching out from the goodness of her heart to give this dog something to eat. As it quickly gulfed down the slice of bacon the dog quickly gave Alice a pleading glance for more but her kindness did not quite go that far. Regardless, the dog seemed to be thankful for the little slice of meat he was given. Alice put her backpack back on and stood up, as she did she could see a couple of students walking back home from school. Just a year ago she had done that as well, but alas, all the effort she had put into getting good grades turned out to be worthless for a dull girl like her.
The students were quite a bit away from her, and not wanting them to see her in this sorry state, the black haired girl took a shortcut through a nearby alley to avoid them. Once she exited on the other side, however, it would not be long until a voice rang out to her from behind. The voice sounded like it belonged to a girl around Alice’s age, maybe a year or two younger, it was clear and bright and one could practically feel the confidence within it even when it just uttered four words; “Hey, wait a minute!”. Alice froze up, pondering for a moment whether the bright voice could really be calling out to her. Eventually, she decided to turn around and as she did she saw an undoubtedly pretty girl wearing a school uniform. Her hair was a mix of red and pink strands of hair and she appeared to be walking towards Alice at an above-comfortable pace.
The instant that Evelina was within reach of Alice she would point at her backpack using her entire hand. “That figurine, it’s from Medara’s Magical Adventure, right?” Her voice held a hint of shame, after all, both her and Alice were girls in their late teens and liking magical girl manga at this age wasn’t part of the norm. Alice didn’t know what to say, Evelina was close, too close. She could probably smell the fact that Alice hadn’t showered for at least a week from where she stood. Yet, she didn’t show it in the slightest, either Evelina hadn’t noticed the smell yet or she just chose to ignore it. Alice stuttered out her answer after a moment of silence.
“Y-Yeah… I… ummm… do you like it?”
Evelina’s mere presence was intense, her deep hazel eyes seemed to pierce through Alice’s very soul as she looked at the girl. Alice looked back and could see the small dog that had been following her for the past day investigating a patch of dirt near the road. She then looked back at the part red-head girl. Over the course of the next few minutes the two girls continued to talk about different magical girl mangas that they had been reading. It seemed like that was something they held in common despite their differences.
Oda Kaguri had only left his apartment to get a breath of fresh air, the stench of smoke that haunted his walls jumbled his brain and deprived him of the ability to think straight. But really, for how long had he been walking at this point? Half an hour, no, more. It was like the moment he started walking, the sight of the sunlit city just kept him going and going, stealing any desire he had to return home to his trashy apartment. Eventually, he came upon an area of villas, as he walked through it he could see several students returning home from their school day. It wasn’t even beginning to darken, probably another two or three hours would pass before the sun began setting.
Suddenly, as Oda rounded a corner he saw a student uniform that he hadn’t seen in a good few years. The girl, whose hair looked like a match of red and pink and whose facial features prevented Oda from considering her anything other than ‘attractive’ , unmistakably wore the student uniform of the prestigious academy that he had attended just a few years prior. The girl she spoke to, however, looked completely different. Her roughed up clothing and plain appearance immediately caused Oda’s thoughts to jump to the conclusion that she must be a high-school dropout or maybe her parents couldn’t have afforded to give her such an education in the first place?
Regardless, as he passed the two girls his pace slowed down, just as Evelina glazed over at the strange man who seemed to be almost staring at her his pace quickened again and he passed them quickly. It was already bad enough as is, there was no need for Oda to look like a creep. As he continued walking he ran his hand through his thick, blonde hair. Just as he was about to round another corner and leave the street, Oda quickly looked over his shoulder, the two girls seemed to no longer pay him any mind and a small knot was released in the young man’s stomach. But, as he no longer looked where he was walking Oda accidentally bumped into a stranger the moment he rounded the corner. The collision wasn’t painful by any means but the shock of bumping into another human being still caused Oda to jolt back a little.
“Watch where you’re going kid.” The man spoke with a thick accent, American maybe. Although he was a bit shorter than Oda, his bald head combined with his thick beard and muscular physique was enough to intimidate the young Japanese man. Not wanting to cause a scene, and especially not wanting to get into a fight with someone like that, Oda simply kept his head down as he continued moving. “Right.”. He had been in his fair chair of scuffles through the years and one of the most important things that he had managed to get out of that was the knowledge of when keeping one’s head down was the right thing to do.
As Alice and Evelina kept talking the two girls seemed to understand each other on a more and more personal level, as time passed and it was beginning to get late, Evelina eventually had to excuse himself as to get home in time and not make her parents worried. Their conversion that had mostly been about magical girls abruptly came to an end, with the last few words she said before leaving being something that Alice was never going to forget.
“But really, being a magical girl would be great. Wouldn’t it?”