by N X Hunter
Kitsuna's eyes widened as Illaria spoke. Why, if she thought about her gun that way, then what kind of things could it become? She had wondered idly if it might eventually be able to be some kind of big gattling gun, or something like that, but if it really was the Earth's way of sending human engineering in to fight with her, then, couldn't it become, say, a missile launcher? With that kind of thinking, what limits would it even have? Was there any reason it couldn't become a tank, or a fighter jet? Well, it was exciting to imagine, but her gun was new. It had only shown her three forms, and they were just better versions of pretty much the same thing, in the context of where she was.
"I think, yes, if it could really do that, there would be ways to kill the monster, or at least make a hole to escape from. Some kind of explosive would probably do it, and I suppose, even if I get hurt in the blast, I will heal, horrifying as it sounds to go through... But how can I make my gun evolve? I have only used it three times, and it's shown me a new form each time - I feel like it's doing its best but it is still the weapon of a new, quite weak mahou shoujo. How can I get it to show me more of its potential?"
"It'd normally take dozens of battles to see everything a weapon can do. Even a simpler weapon like a sword. And yes, the weapon grows with you. But that's because that's normally all it needs to do. You need more from the platinum gun today, and this gun? You are its master. It exists to help you defend the world. If you have the conviction to, I think you can command it and it will rise to the occasion."
Kitsuna looked at the platinum assault rifle.
Just like I asked you to be a handgun again so we could jump better, do I just need to ask you to change?
She looked up at Illaria again.
"You do know that if this works, you saved the world?" she told her, her voice trembling in gratitude.
"Won't be the first time. And it will work. I never want to see you here again, though, so get a good look at me now. I'll have furry ears and catfood breath next time we talk, and I'm sure the others will want to hear all about how beautiful I was," Illaria said, and it was hard to know if it was an attempt at levity or genuine vanity.
Perhaps it was just a kind of joy at someone seeing her the way she remembered herself for the first time in so long.
Kitsuna was about to ask how to get back to her body, but realized she already knew. She smiled once more in gratitude to the Gold Violet mahou shoujo, and focused on the feeling of the water around her body, and the hot, wet air filling her nostrils. Those sensations had been there the whole time, tethering her to her physical form, but she'd ignored them as she stood on the outskirts of the Void.
She opened her eyes. The water hadn't risen noticeably. Perhaps time was different in there, because she'd felt like she'd been in Illaria's company for quite a while.
Well, platinum gun... Shall we get out of here?
Chapter 29
The blast from the first missile, fired from her shoulder mounted platinum missile launcher, caused a hellish fire to rip through the upper part of the chamber, where the water had not yet reached. Kitsuna was wet enough that it didn't scorch her skin or hair, but she certainly felt it. It didn't matter though, it had done its job of blasting a hole in the side of the whale, which water quickly began to rush in through. It would be big enough for her body to fit through.
But no, she had decided she was going to kill this thing. Fuck leaving it with a hole in the side.
The missile launcher spawned new missiles by magic, just as her ammo had always replenished before, and despite the amount one would expect a huge weapon like this made out of solid platinum to weigh (should such a thing even be able to work in the real world), Kitsuna found she could use it quite easily, even though she was treading water at the same time. This machine really did want her, and humanity, to win, just as Illaria had promised.
She fired again and again, now ducking her head under water as each missile exploded. She targeted different directions, assuming that in one of them, if she could blast through the walls of this stomach type thing she was in, she'd start to attack the creature’s vital organs or core (whichever it had) rather than just making holes in its body.
She knew, after the fifth blast, that she had been successful, because suddenly, everything around her changed. She was still underwater, but she was no longer crouching in the hot cavern of the whale. The whale had vanished, and she was now in the cold, black sea.
Somehow, her sense of direction was working at that strange higher level again, and she knew which way to swim to get to the surface before even opening her eyes. She willed the missile launcher to turn back into a handgun, and swam in a superhuman dash to the open air.
There were no creatures to impede her, though she figured that she didn't have much time before they realized the whale was gone, and she still lived, and began attacking again. Her first plan was to attempt to climb up to the platform was nearest, and then try and get back to the place where she'd seen the core. But as she looked up towards the sky, she could hear a hoarse, tired voice calling her name with all its strength.
"Soren! I'm down here!" she shouted back, trying to locate him.
"Kitsuna! Thank fuck! I've found the core but I can't get to it!"
She saw the brightness of his hair atop one of the platforms, and immediately swam towards it. He looked down over the edge at her.
"What happened? I found out I could jump across when your signals stopped, but I must have been to every platform twice, and I didn't even see any monsters... I didn't know what else to do so I just sort of stayed here to mark where the core is, but it's too high up for me to get to. Can you climb up here and shoot at it? It's two platforms away in that direction," he yelled, pointing.
Kitsuna smiled up at him, happier to see him, and even this horrible seascape than she could ever express.
"Actually, I can probably hit it from down here," she said, leaving the story of what had happened for later.
She closed her eyes, willed the platinum missile launcher back into existence, fired, and then watched Soren's face as he looked up in awe at the pink trailed missile arcing into the stormy sky, before dropping down with perfect aim to meet its target.
***
The Director staggered back in shock as the vacant patch of air he'd just been looking at was suddenly filled with collapsing young people.
Kitsuna's joy and relief at finding Soren and the core quickly made way for exhaustion, as soon as she knew she was safe, and it was over. She fell into his arms, and he in turn dropped to his knees in a similar state, holding her close.
Rayna, sobbing, joined the pile, not asking any questions yet, just hugging her brother and crying noisily.
"I... I will need a debrief about this..." the Director said, gaping.
"Yeah, I think that's definitely going to be necessary," James replied, his own face also pale with bewilderment.
***
"Well, the good news is, the Director has agreed to let us use the insulated lab to try those experiments you proposed, so we can find out more about your transformation, and what caused it, Soren," James said, sitting down at his desk, where Soren, Rayna, Courtney and Kitsuna had been waiting for him to finish his meeting.
"But the bad news is that we are under strict orders not to tell anyone else at the Academy about what happened."
It had been three days since the strike. Courtney had been freed, and there hadn't been another storm yet, but they were now faced with more things to investigate than they knew what to do with. Between the unprecedented transformation of a male of the mahou shoujo bloodline, the whole mystery of Fake Charity Klein, and the persistence of the issue with monsters targeting Kitsuna, everything felt like it was changing, and in unsettling ways. Plus, school started on Monday, and now they had secrets they had to keep even from their contemporaries. Their relief at the strike working out had been very short lived.
"I get that he doesn't want there to be gossip going around about how mahou shou
jo can be boys now too or something, or people trying their own experiments to try and recreate what happened to get their brothers to transform and shit... But isn't it dangerous not telling people? We don't know why Soren went to the storm domain when there were loads of other men in the area who also came from the bloodline but didn't go. We can only guess at whether he will even be able to do it again, but assuming he can, what if other guys have this happen to them too? Isn't it better if they know it's a possibility?" Rayna said.
"I don't know. I don't think the Director knows either. We have no past events to draw on. If I had to guess though, I'd say he's probably chosen to be conservative about who knows the information given that we know there is at least one person out there trying to expose our secrets. Imagine what Parker Klein's reaction would be if he knew we had this kind of strange situation on our hands, and no idea what to do about it yet? I think it'd give him, and by extension whoever is working with him, a big morale boost, to say the least."
"That's true, at least at the moment he thinks we've got the upper hand, since you managed to get me out, and he probably doesn't know how," Courtney said.
"Well, whatever the Director's thinking is, we just have to suck it up that we'll have to do whatever we need to to figure out what Soren's transformation means in secret, I guess. Still, since it looks like a storm free afternoon, I think I'm going to head home and maybe chill with Ivy for a while," Kitsuna said, with a stretch.
She'd found spending time with the cat even more relaxing since the strike. Even when Illaria wasn't inhabiting her body, petting her reminded Kitsuna of how much she owed to the girl in the Void.
"I've got to go to work. Thanks to you, James, all the other girls there think I've been in some kind of bitchy fight with another student, and I've had to make up this whole character who is my nemesis. They can't stop asking for more stories of her evil shenanigans... It's getting old real fast," Courtney said, standing up.
"Ooooh, I'll come with, I can make up some really nasty shit about this girl - what are we calling her?" Rayna said, standing too and leaving with Courtney, with a wave.
"Well, I'll be here trying to dig up possible leads on Parker Klein's associates," James said, with a sigh.
"Need me to help?" Soren asked, though his tone made it clear he didn't really want to work.
"No, no, you should be taking some time off from support for now. We don't know what will happen to you next time there's a storm, so maybe you will end up being more one of the supportees, after that. Either way, you should try and relax until then, you've been through a lot."
Kitsuna felt as though James was, in his own way, giving his blessing for them to go home together, and comfort each other as the only people who had been through the same trauma.
In whatever way they felt best.
She quietly took Soren's hand under the desk.
"I'm sure Ivy would be happy if you came back with me, too?" she said, gently.
TO BE CONTINUED
The second book in the Academy for Magical Girls series is coming in September 2019. While you’re waiting to find out what happens when the semester starts, you can read on for previews of two of my other fantasy novels, which you may be interested in!
A Preview of: Tiger, Tiger
By NX Hunter writing as Carly Chase
Anya has no idea what it means when she is suddenly transported from her life in modern day New York to a strange fantasy world. Everything about the place reminds her of Medieval Japan – only an alternate version of it where myths are real, and demons called yokai threaten the human way of life.
Yet, Anya’s summoning was a case of mistaken identity. The priest who brought her here was trying to summon the reincarnation of a legendary priestess from generations ago, who could save his town from the ever increasing yokai attacks. Anya is sure that she is not the woman he is looking for, but her arrival when the spell was cast has to mean that her own destiny is tied to this world somehow…
Kiba is the reluctant leader of the tiger clan – a secretive group of powerful yokai shapeshifters who can take on the form of giant, magnificent tigers. When he is pressured to go and investigate the attacks on the human town, Kiba also discovers that his destined true love has appeared there. It is unheard of for a yokai to fall in love with a human, but the yokai have complete faith in destiny – he knows he has to have this woman.
As Anya learns that the yokai may not be the monsters the priest told her they were, and finds herself intensely attracted to Kiba, she must also solve the mystery of what happened to the priest’s cursed sister, and discover what her own true purpose in this world is.
Chapter 1
“Clearly, something has gone very, very wrong...” the priest remarked to his assistant.
The magic circle they’d painstakingly drawn out on the ground using just the right rare, sacred oils, was steaming slightly, and there was a woman there. But she definitely didn’t look like the scrolls had suggested she was going to.
Anya was, for want of a better description, freaking out. Her big brown eyes were wide and her lips moved as if she wanted to speak – or scream – but couldn’t manifest any kind of language to describe her fear and confusion. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she hyperventilated, and she shifted her head from side to side, looking from one man to the other.
If they were surprised by her appearance, she was a lot more surprised by theirs – after all, they had been expecting to summon someone, and she hadn’t been expecting to be ripped from her couch to wherever this strange wooden room was, with its pungent smell of herbs and oils.
“It could be her. I mean, there was nothing to say that people don’t change in appearance when they are reborn… And she was reborn in another world,” the priest’s assistant said, though his voice was full of doubt.
He was a slim teenage boy with long, straight black hair, clad in some kind of Japanese looking outfit made up of a white kimono top and wide dark blue pants– reminding Anya of the posters for the aikido class at her gym.
The priest, wearing similar clothing, was older - perhaps in his mid thirties. A good looking man, or so Anya would have thought under less bewildering circumstances. He looked at the scroll in his hands, and then at Anya, squinting with skepticism.
“She has nothing in common with the image of Hime-sama at all, though! Do people in that world really look so different? Her skin is dark, her hair is curly, her body is… lewdly proportioned… A sacred priestess wouldn’t have… that chest. It’d distract people,” the priest said, talking about Anya as if she wasn’t there, and appraising her body in a way that implied that he was one of the people who would certainly find a large chest distracting.
“Well, she’s here now...” the assistant said, with an awkward shrug, “we need to do… something.”
The priest looked thoughtful for a moment, and then finally addressed Anya. He turned the scroll to face her, and pointed at the woman painted on it.
“Is this you? Wait… clearly that’s wrong. Was this you?” he asked, speaking loudly and slowly as if addressing a dimwitted child.
Anya looked at the portrait of the Asian looking woman with the serene face, holding a flower, dressed in a kimono.
Just to check – since so much other strangeness was afoot – she looked down at her own trembling hands. No, they looked the same as usual. Her surroundings may have instantly changed in that weird, lurching moment when light and mist had filled her vision, but she was still herself, physically speaking.
“I… I think it’s quite clear that I’m not that person,” she stammered. She didn’t really know what to say, but sitting there looking at the man like he was crazy probably wasn’t going to move the conversation along to a point where she might get some answers about her predicament.
“Wait, master. Would she even actually know if she was the reincarnation of Hime-sama? Do people remember their past lives? I mean, you told me I used to be an otter and I certainly don’t rem
ember that.”
“True…” the priest said, back to ignoring Anya.
“If it helps you, I definitely don’t remember any past lives,” Anya said, feeling somehow as if she was intruding on their conversation, even though really, it was one where she probably had more to say that these men should be listening to than anyone.
“Well, this is a bit of a conundrum, then, isn’t it? She did come through when we tried to bring the latest incarnation of Hime-sama here, and as you say, it is possible that this incarnation would look different, and have no memory of ever actually being Hime-sama, but that means… Well, if she doesn’t remember that she is Hime-sama, how can she help us?”
The priest’s assistant wondered why he was being asked for an answer to such a dilemma. It was his master who usually had all the answers. He shrugged his shoulders.
The priest suddenly made a decisive gasp as if he had been hit by inspiration. With renewed enthusiasm, he turned to Anya, who was still sitting inside the magic circle.
“What powers do you have? You may not know that you might have been our priestess Hime-sama in another time, but if you truly are her, you will have special gifts and talents!”
Anya frowned. She did consider herself pretty talented in her work, but whoever these people were, they probably weren’t really au fait with the toolset used by a graphic designer. They were even less likely to have seen any of her work – even if most modern Americans had, on the packaging for the toys they bought for their kids.
“I don’t have… Powers. I’m good at art. I mean, I can draw, and paint, and do photo editing and image manipulation...” she trailed off, realizing from the look the priest was giving her, that the last two things she had said had clearly sounded to him like arcane magic.