I'm Kiryubei and I have the power to grant wishes! But nothing is free, dear. In exchange for my magic.... you must fight for me.
((AU Joshua Kiryu blog.))
Spinning around in shock he could see the “sky” had become overcast- except it wasn’t clouds covering the sky, but swirling gray and white chalk, like a child’s drawing.
But he was seeing it through bars.
“What the-” He lunged for the cage, grabbing the bars and shaking them in some instinctive attempt to investigate. He’d literally just come through this way! Where was the door? He looked back and forth- but the cage wall seemed nearly endless, fading away into foggy white distance. He stepped back, something in him flaring in panic. Then he stepped on something, and he whirled around.
Broken eggshells, with tiny beaks and feet. The one that he had unwittingly kicked opened up it’s beak for an angry screech, biting at his shoe, right through the fabric.
He shouted- more from fear than pain as he kicked it back. The were something inherently unnerving about these… things. Especially as they popped up out of the abstract chips, chirping and threatening him with their teeth.
‘Run.’ His mind warned. ‘Don’t let them get you!’
He ran. He bolted with as much vigor as he could muster, and tore through abstract chips. The broken eggshells kept creeping up. He leaped and jumped and weaved around them, trying to stay one step ahead.
And then a whole egg came up ahead, shadowing him as it towered over. It was cracked, larger chips missing along the cracks and showing a swirl of color undulating and spinning within. A few more chips fell out. As they hit the ground, they instantly grew beaks and feet, joining the fray, and coming to join the ones catching up behind him in a trapping ring.
‘Dammit.’
He crouched down, hands coming up in fists as he surveyed his surroundings. Ok. Fine. If he had to fight, then he’d fight.
Well fight or flight was clearly kicking in. Kiryubei watched this fire burn as it ran, the ghost like incubator following up above. Ah, but the witch was looming ahead, not quite formed but nearly so. She was coming. And what was he going to do? Give up, now that there was nowhere to run?
Ah. No. He was going to fight.
This was wonderful.
The cat creature landed softly on the ground, some ways away, took a steady breath, trying to decide what the best approach was. He could approach with his ears flicked back in a way humans associated animals that were scared or nervous….no, perhaps not. This human, he did not watch him long enough to sense if he was empathetic towards cute animals such as the form he was currently taking. Perhaps being direct was best. This boy was a fighter after all, so he started towards the potential magical boy. Kiryubei weaved through the beaked monstrosities that this witch had created, ducking and dodging to avoid injury as best he could.
Once he came close enough, he focused on the boy.
“Can you fight?” a voice sang through the air, “Will you fight? How much do you want to survive?”
Placated (for now) Sora nodded eagerly. Once Kiryubei saw his magic, he would definitely think twice about calling him “junior”! He was a full fledged “magical boy” thank you very much!
…wait-
Sora seemed pretty nonchalant about the almost cat leaping up onto him. He’d gotten used to it with Little Chef it seemed. So without further ado, he set off, determined to track down these cruel monsters!
“So what do they look like anyway? Pointy hats? Riding on broomsticks?”
“Wow, you aren’t a very good listener, are you? I already told you their form can vary. Anything from a small doll to a monstrous living clock, or even a rat made out of candy. Usually when a magical girl goes on the hunt, she wanders the city looking for traces of magic. Since you are just a junior magical boy and don’t have that sense yet, I will act as your magic detector instead. So just start walking, and try not to draw unnecessary attention. The regular citizens of this world don’t know about the monsters in the night, and they certainly don’t believe in magic. You don’t want to cause pandemonium, do you?”
“No, I do! But I can’t be a magical girl!” He protested, almost whining. “I’m a boy!”
“Oh fine, junior magical boy then. Goodness, you humans are so consumed by your labels,” the junior was inescapable.
Well, with that out of the way, the small cat like creature jumped up along the off-worlder`s body to perch on his shoulder with an ever present smile.
“So. You ready to try to hunt down an invisible foe? I would like to see your magic for myself to see how it holds up against an actual threat.”
“Wait… a junior what?” He balked, wondering for a second if he’d misheard the creature. “No, no, I can’t be a magical girl! I’m a hero! A Junior- I mean, a full-fledged hero!”
“Oh? So you mean you don`t want to save hundreds or even thousands of lives by vanquishing the darkness? Well how heartless of you.”
So many bright, shining souls. I wonder what their hope will bring. What futures their imagination can inspire. What dreams they hold most dear. What is so important to them that they’d be willing to risk everything just to have it?
Maybe they’ll tell me.
If they do….it could become quite the mutually beneficial partnership.
For a second Sora didn’t even know how to respond. Sure, heartless were born out of the darkness of people’s hearts, but they came to exist after the fact. A monster that could make you sad and make the darkness grow? That sounded just awful.
“Not on my watch,” he asserted, bringing up his fists determinedly. “I’ll take care of ‘em no problem!”
“Thats the spirit, Sora! With this level of enthusiasm to defeat darkness, allow me to officially dub you a junior magical girl. Who knows? If you can really prove you have what it takes, we could form a pact that might just benefit the greater good of all humankind.”
He nodded solemnly as he tried to take that in, keeping surprising track of all the information. Given everything he’d gone through the past couple years, he’d become a quick learner. Kiryubei wasn’t very nice, but that didn’t mean Sora wouldn’t try to help.
“Ok, so… you said they spread “despair”. How do they do that? Can they actually make you “sad”?”
“Yes, they can. Their magic latches on to those who are weak in heart and mind, even if it is only a temporary state. All it takes is one moment of self doubt or distress, and they will cast their magic to draw you into their mazes of misfortune. The people they ensnare usually end up hurting themselves….very badly.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Sora assured instantly, puffing out his chest with gusto. “My magic is just fine!”
He’d just gotten a high level spell! He was definitely good on the magic department. Plus, his keyblade was pretty special anyway, he was sure he’d get a few good hits with that in.
“So… what kind of monsters are these anyway?” He asked, on a more serious note. “You haven’t mentioned that yet.”
“Mmhm….whatever you say, dear,” there was just something his tone that just felt so …. condescending. But he moved on leaving little room to comment on it.
“The monsters can take many different forms from horrible amalgamations to deceptively cute. Sometimes they might even share traits with humans. But their souls are dark and their only goal is to spread despair. They are magical creatures whose power can vary from individual to individual, and they can create smaller monsters in droves that are, in essence, an extension of their own darkness. I suppose you could see them as boss monsters, and their little minions are like the shadows and soldiers created when darkness infects a heart.” Heartless were no secret to Kiryubei either, but thanks to the magical girl
population, they were not a frequent problem here. Which was good. He did not need another thing trying to destroy him.
His steps were slow, and sluggish. Each step was a heavy endeavor, but he still kept going, still put his feet forward. Why? Because he didn’t want to die.
But he was still trying to find reasons to live.
‘That’s right… I’m going to age now. I can get my license. I’m… I’m finally ‘alive’ again.’
There were people passing, but he may as well have been alone. Life passed down the street in a dark blur, like a surreal dream as he walked.
‘I can live with people again! I can live with society, and help people! This is great! This is perfect! A blessing in disguise! I can-’
So why did he feel so miserable?
The more he tried to talk himself out of his depression, the worse it got. Until the magic claimed him, taking his body from the solid realm in the blink of an eye, just as he passed the middle of the bridge.
No one even noticed. But the moment he slipped through, there was a cry.
And Sora realized in that single moment: where ever the hell he had just ended up, he was in grave danger.
Shibuya.
It was a wonderful hiding place. Condensed with souls filled with hopes and dreams. Littered with grief and desperation. Demons of all kinds lived here, both magical and mental.
What a wonderful world.
Emotions had always been such a curiosity to the incubators. Something that could generate so much energy, yet was so ineffective for the progress of the whole society. But humans somehow lived with this disease and, though didn’t make huge leaps and bounds without assistance, seemed to survive and flourish in their own little backwater way.
Kiryubei had watched the humans religiously for ages now. But his attention was even more attuned to their little emotional outbreaks even more now. Ever sense he cut himself off from the collective and diagnosed himself with the mental illness of emotion. He had to study it far more closely and learn how to deal with the disease. Perhaps see if he could erase it. He always saw himself as clever, even among incubator standards. Surely he could figure this out too.
It was during these mindless musings that Kiryubei felt the familiar ripple of grief tickle his fur. A witch and her labyrinth had appeared and sang its siren song to those drowning in despair. Well, he supposed it was time to watch then. See how emotion crippled the humans. See if any had the ability to combat their own psyche.
It didn’t take long to reach and intrude upon the witch’s domain, like a ghost walking through a reality that he wasn’t part of. He kept his vibe low as his silent paws took him from one deformed lamppost to another, guiding him high towards a bridge that swirled and lurched to a spiraling trail that led to a magnificent silver bird cage. The world was warping, unnatural undulations in the painted sky.
And it was here that Kiryubei first laid eyes on a boy who’s soul was burning. Well how curious. It was time to watch and see how he dealt with a world of screams and feathers.
He did pay attention though, making a mental note of all the details. Luckily for Kiryubei, “meddling” was what Sora did best.
“I get it,” he finally said. “You need to find a special hero for this wor- er, city,” he said quickly. “And stay safe until then.”
Obviously Sora couldn’t do it- he was a traveler! He had to hop from place to place, and he already had to take care of Nobodies and heartless. But he could definitely provide some protection until he found someone.
“Ok, I’ll help,” he decided, finally straightened up. “And I can help fight these monsters until you find someone.”
Shouldn’t take too long, right
“You can say ‘world’, dear. A hero to this city would, after all, be saving the world too. The monsters that grow here can potentially grow so powerful, they could be a threat to far more than the city. Far more than the world, too. But we won’t let that happen, now will we?”
Kiryubei was well aware of worlds of course, seeing as Incubators were sent to harvest from all sorts of worlds. But he didn’t need to let Sora know he was intimately familiar with the various worlds either, he supposed.
“Ah, yes, of course. Fight the monsters you can’t see….that can only be destroyed by magic. Tell me, Sora, just how good is your magic?”
Now that was a problem. How do you fight something you couldn’t see? Well, not that Sora hadn’t done so before, but…
“Yeah, I’m following. But what can I actually do to help?”
“Now now, Sora, I said I can see them, not that only I can see them. Do pay closer attention, won’t you?”
“Anyway, you can help by helping me track down the heroes that I need. All it takes is one powerful soul to make a difference, one strong heart. This wouldn’t be all too challenging, except as I said. I’m not the -only- one that can see the monsters lurking in Shibuya. There are others who can see them too, and they don’t want me meddling. They don’t want all the monsters to be erased. So not only do I need to find those who can help, I need to be kept safe long enough to unlock their potential.”
“Looking for someone, huh?” Sora was already starting to wonder if he should be involved with a rude… Kiryubei like this, but someone in need was someone in need. He couldn’t very well turn them down.
So he knelt down in front of him, clearly focusing on him to lend a listening ear. “What do you need?”
“Well you see, Sora, there are monsters in my Shibuya that are wreaking all sorts of havoc, and they’re invisible to most people. I, however, can see them and know how to defeat them. I can’t do much alone, but with the right potential, with the right heroes, many lives could be saved. Are you following me so far?”
