(2025 Edit) Technomancer: A Magical Girl's Sidekick [Post-Apocalyptic][Mecha][Magical Girls]

The shock hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn't believe it.

My hands shook and my body was cold. I could feel the blood pouring out of me and down my legs. My mind raced and my thoughts swam in my head.

The sound of the city was drowned out by my pounding heart, and my vision swam. I tried to keep standing, but the world spun around me. The sky above me was dark, with the orange light from the flames in the distance.

Izumi... Dad...

My dad. A single dad, and widower he worked late into the night. When I was a child, I remember sitting at the table with him, reading a book, while he sat in his chair. I remember his eyes were always red, his skin pale, and he had a soft voice. He'd shush the two year-old little girl in the high-chair beside us. His hair was messy, his face was lined with age, his eyes were tired and sad. I couldn't blame him. His wife, my mother, was gone, leaving him with two kids and a job that paid barely anything. His world had crumbled around him.

He had never complained, but I knew how hard it was for him to raise a son and a daughter on his own. I knew he missed her every day. I had tried my best to take care of him and my little sister.

But I didn't want to leave him alone.

I didn't want to leave him.

He'd be so sad...

My vision swam, and the world blurred. My eyes were wet with tears. I could see Midori, who had a pained expression on her face, and Clementine, who had tears streaming down her face.

I didn't know what to say, so I just said...

"I...I don't want to go..."

My little sister always acted out.

She was genuine and warm underneath the rough edges, but I couldn't count how many times we had gotten into fights, how many times I had yelled at her. We had been fighting more and more often before I stepped through the portal. But I couldn't blame her. She was a girl who knew her big brother was going to leave for a chance to pull his family out of poverty, and it made her scared. Angry.

She had a big heart and was a lot more sensitive than I had given her credit for. She was sweet, and kind, and a lot smarter than she liked to let people think.

But she had a lot to work out. A lot of issues she was struggling with.

And I wouldn't be around to help her through them.

"Dad... Zumi, I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

I closed my eyes. I could see them in my head. My little sister and my father.

I felt a hand on my arm.

"Ikki..."

"MIdori... I need you to tell my family... I'm sorry, okay?" I asked, my voice shaking. The world around me became blurry, and the sound of sirens grew louder. "Tell them... tell them..."

I closed my eyes. I couldn't feel anything anymore. I was cold. My mind drifted in a daze.

But a sharp yank on my ears brought me back. Midori's face was red. She had pulled on my ears, and she had a look on her face. One of anger. Frustration.

"Don't be fucking ridiculous!" Midori hissed.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Ikki, take a look at your wounds," Rai-chan's orb suddenly chimed in, floating beside me. I could practically sense the worry coming off my companion.

I opened my eyes, looking down at my chest. The blue lines were still there. I still felt numb. But the bleeding had slowed.

In fact, it looked like it was starting to stop. The raised flesh was smoothing out, and the blue lines were starting to recede. The blood that had been pouring from my wounds was now a trickle, and the pain was fading. The blood around my wounds was being absorbed into my body.

I blinked. Was this some sort of side effect?

"What... what is this?" I asked.

Midori looked at me, then at my wounds, and her eyes narrowed. "I don't believe this. I don't know how, but you're not dying. You should have been dead minutes ago, or at least been incapacitated by all that Mikado venom. But somehow, you're not."

I looked at her tattered shirt, her exposed and bloody arms and legs, her face, her neck. She was completely free of the chaos corruption zombies were known to spread with every bite. Not a single blue crack or line could be seen.

She should be dead. Or worse.

I didn't say anything, but Midori bent down, poking at my chest.

"One small scratch from a Mikado is usually agonizing enough to incapacitate someone," Rai-chan explained, floating next to my head as Midori scrutinized me. "Even a C-Rank Magical Girl would have trouble getting up after getting hit. But that's not what's happening... This should be impossible."

I felt a chill run down my spine, but it wasn't because I was afraid. It was because I knew that something strange was going on. I didn't know if it was Rai-chan or something else entirely.

"But that's just it. It should be. It's never been different, until now," Midori spoke as well. "Ikki - you have a wound the length of your chest from a Mikado. Multiple wounds. That should have been enough to kill you and turn you into something. And even if you didn't die, the amount of pain you should be feeling right now is agonizing. You shouldn't be standing at all. Yet here you are."

She shook her head and sighed, taking out a handkerchief and wiping off my blood with a frown.

"I can't believe this," Midori murmured, shaking her head. "You're a goddamn anomaly. I don't know what to make of this."

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She frowned.

"Whatever this is... I don't understand how it works, but I'm glad it's doing what it's doing," Midori said, wiping my wounds.

She then pulled out her phone, typing something. I didn't get to see what she typed. She was still staring at me with an inscrutable look. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this. But first..."

She looked over at where I'd last seen Clementine, but she wasn't there anymore. Instead, I saw her slumped against the wall, shivering and shaking, sobbing quietly.

"Oh," I murmured, walking towards the little girl and kneeling down next to her, patting her head. "Hey... Clementine... It's okay..."

She didn't look at me. Her eyes were shut tightly. She was sobbing, and she didn't seem to be able to stop.

"Her family was turned," Midori murmured, standing behind me as she gripped the hilt of her sword. "I had to..."

"Yeah," I muttered.

Slowly, Clementine's breathing calmed and she stopped crying, and her arms relaxed and went slack.

I looked at Midori. Her eyes were closed.

"What do we do now?"

Midori sighed and shook her head, before looking up at Rai-chan.

"Is... is there any way you can give us some privacy? Some place we can talk?" she asked.

Rai-chan's orb wobbled and floated over the edge of the rooftop.

"Yeah. I'll put myself into sleep mode. Five minutes sound good? Ikki can wake me up whenever."

Midori nodded. "That'd be nice."

The little orb dimmed, and the AI within became silent as she floated back into my chest with a flash of orange light.

"Okay... I guess... I guess it's time for me to tell you some stuff," Midori whispered. She turned around, looking up at the night sky. "Follow me, please."

I watched as she turned and walked towards the edge of the rooftop. I followed behind her.

But I had a question burning on my mind.

"Hey Midori... what was that thing you just did?" I whispered. "It felt like you stopped time in a bubble and cut through it or something."

She froze.

Then turned around. Slowly, eyes open with shock.

I felt a chill down my spine.

"You... you could see what I did?"

I nodded.

She sighed and turned away.

"Then there's no hiding it, I guess. That's the ability I've always been afraid of using," Midori said. "It's... something I'm not allowed to talk about or disclose much, but it's something I'm hesitant to use even if my own life is in danger. The reason why is... well, that's something I can't talk about. But suffice it to say that it is something deeply dangerous. Something I'm not allowed to use lightly."

She turned around, her expression serious. "But you must never, ever speak of this to anybody, do you understand? It is not something I can afford to have others know about. The number of people in the world that know can be counted on less than two hands."

"I understand," I said.

"Good," Midori nodded. She looked out at the burning skyline, the sky a dark and hazy red, orange and purple, and then down to the street below.

She sighed again, brandishing her sword. I furrowed my brow, wondering where she'd even gotten it from.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked.

The sword wasn't a katana after all - the shape was a little too wide, straight, and short. It had a katana-like bronze hilt wrapped in red silk, a brown leather scabbard, and a golden pommel at the tip. It was ornately crafted, with golden engravings and three jewels embedded in the hilt.

"This is a blade that's been in my family for countless generations," she answered. "I summoned it with magic. It's a family heirloom - a sword that's been handed down to each head of my family."

She sighed and looked out at the burning skyline.

I watched her as she looked down at the burning city, and then up at me.

"There are things that I have to keep from you and my friends, Ikki. And it is not for my sake. But I am bound by honor to not disclose them, even to you. But if you are to help me, then I will share some of what I can with you."

Her eyes were locked onto mine, her gaze serious and firm. Her expression was stoic, and I knew that she wasn't lying to me. Her eyes had a hard and serious edge to them, and she looked tired and worn out.

"Ikki, I didn't lie to you before, technically. I was a Magical Girl. Still am a Magical Girl, but I cannot transform without consequence."

"What kind of consequences?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Consequences that could ruin everything I have worked and lived so hard for," Midori answered. She looked down at the city. The fires were raging and the smoke was choking everything around them. The air was filled with the scent of burning wood and the sounds of people screaming and sirens blaring.

My heart skipped a beat and my stomach sank.

I opened my mouth to say something, but no sound came out. I couldn't find any words, and my voice was gone.

I stared at her in silence.

Midori smiled weakly, looking back out at the sky. "But I can still get us off this rooftop."

I followed her gaze and saw that the smoke was starting to clear a bit, but the fires were still raging.

"Ikki," Midori asked suddenly, her voice low and quiet. She was still looking out over the skyline.

"Yes, Midori?"

She looked back up at me, and her eyes were serious. She looked at me for a long time.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

I nodded. "Of course. Anything. Whatever you need, I'll help."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, her eyes were cold, hard, and serious. The expression in them was unreadable.

"From this day forward," she said, her voice quiet, "You are my retainer."

"Wait, what?"

"If I were to ever lose my mind, go berserk, or even be a danger to my own family and friends and those I love," Midori continued, her voice cold, quiet, and hard.

"...Then you would need to be the one who would have to kill me. Do you understand?"

My eyes went wide, my jaw dropping, and I couldn't believe my own ears.

I didn't want to.

"No," I blurted out. "No way, that's insane! That's not fair, I-"

"Please, Ikki," Midori said, her voice hard. Her eyes were serious, her jaw set.

"Why? Why would I... Why would I ever agree to that?"

"Because you saw me use that ability," she whispered, looking out at the burning sky, at the chaos and destruction below.

I froze.

"I... I can't."

"I know it's not fair," Midori said. "I'm not a fair person, Ikki. I never was."

"You know, you're not as nice as you pretend to be," I said. She chuckled.

"I'm sorry," Midori murmured.

I didn't answer, I couldn't.

I stood there, staring at the burning sky and the chaos and destruction below, thinking.

"You're insane," I finally whispered.

Midori chuckled.

"That's the thing about us Magical Girls," she murmured. "We all have a screw loose somewhere. You have to be to accept that sort of job in the first place."

I couldn't say anything to that.

We stared at the burning city below.

"Ikki," Midori said, turning around to look at me.

"Yes?"

"Do you agree to my request?"

"I-"

"Please, Ikki."

I had a nagging suspicion, and I couldn't help but feel guilty.

It was clear that power had a price. I even remember that she alluded to it during the kidnapping and robbery. And even those circumstances weren't enough to push her to use it.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn't want to think about what that power would cost.

"Fine," I said. "If that ever happens. If I'm still around, if I'm even still alive. But I hope it doesn't. I hope you're not crazy enough to put your life at risk for me again like that."

"I can't promise that."

Midori smiled.

"But thank you, Ikki."

We stood there for a moment longer, then I looked up at the burning cityscape.

"I can't believe this," I said. "I thought this was one of the safest cities on Terra."

"I know. But we have to go. The city's under attack and we can't stay in one place surrounded by balefire."

She was right.

We needed to get to safety.

I turned and started limping to Clementine, still lying unconscious. I picked her up and cradled her in my arms. I followed behind Midori, who seemed to know exactly where she was going. She was quiet, her face set and serious.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"There are shelters established all over the city in case the negentropy barriers ever fail and Aberrations break through," Midori answered. "We'll make our way over to the one in Downtown Shoreline."

I didn't question it.

"Are you ready?" Midori asked me.

"I think so," I replied, wondering how she planned on getting us out of here.

She nodded and closed her eyes, and raised her hand in front of her.

Suddenly the world seemed to slow down and the air in front of us began to ripple, like a bubble. It grew bigger and bigger until it was large enough to swallow us both, and the air around us shimmered and distorted. Midori opened her eyes, and they were glowing purple again. Her hand glowed with the same color.

Midori swung her sword in front of her, cutting a through the bubble. A purple light filled the air in front of us, and suddenly, the city below came into view through an oval-shaped portal.

"Let's go."