Force of Magic
Chapter 6
By Ewen "Blackbird" Cluney
The view from the top of the skyscraper where Candy Rose and
Mysterious Pink stood was dizzying. The people and cars on the
street so far below were like ants, and seemed to scurry with the
same purposeful, frantic motion. The wind was fierce; Rose had
her hair tossed about, and when she looked down she felt the
tiniest fragment of an impulse to let the wind carry her down...
No. Not yet.
"No bird?" asked Pink.
She shook her head. "He'd try to stop me." Piyo was at the
hospital to keep everyone company, and Haruko was supposed to be
at school, though no one would say much if they thought her too
depressed to make it.
Pink gave a wry smile. "Smart bird." she muttered. "But let's
get to business. One of my informants -- you should get yourself
some if you can, by the way -- said that Kanzaki was hired mto
take out Magical Warrior Lovely Rina today.
Rose nodded. If there was ever a magical girl the hunters
would go after, it was Rina.
"I see you've heard of her."
Rose nodded again, reluctantly, recalling the incident with
Fortuna. "I've met her." she replied. "I... saved her life once."
Pink shrugged. "I'd as soon let her bite it myself, only it's
bad karma. The world's more than willing to screw you over as it
is. No reason to give it an excuse I say."
She could see it again, that look in Mysterious Pink's eyes,
that belonged to someone so much older.
"Let that be a tip, though; a little homework and preparation
can save a whole lot of trouble. Knowledge is power, but most
magical girls settle for just stumbling in and tossing spells."
"I wonder why they have to use girls like us to fight?"
Pink hesitated, then sighed. "Truth is, they have no choice.
Dreaming Ones -- the people of the Magical Kingdoms -- can't
survive on Earth, so all their warriors are useless." She pulled
a duffel bag from behind an air conditioning -- an odd thing for
her to have, likely older than she was and covered with patches
of cars and motorcycles -- and dug through it. "See, they had to
get humans to fight the Dark Kingdoms, only the only way they had
to do that was by modifying the old magical girl enchantments."
She pulled out a pair of binoculars and used them to look down,
scanning the apartment building just across the street. "In the
old days we'd have just been sent out to spread Love and all
that. At least, that's what I could pry out of the Dreaming One
who gave me my powers." She handed the binoculars to Rose. "Third
floor."
Slowly, she raised them to her eyes. "Why did you become a
magical girl then?" It was an apartment building, most of the
rooms either unoccupied or with drawn curtains.
"It was... an accident." she replied reluctantly. "But I
realized it was a chance to make a difference, so I stuck with
it."
Scanning the windows, Candy Rose stopped. There he was.
Kanzaki lay on a couch, wearing black jeans and a white tanktop,
watching TV. He paused to look at his watch. The apartment was a
mess, with clothes, papers, and beer cans everywhere.
"He'll be going to see his arms dealer soon." explained Pink.
"He has contacts with the yakuza and other mafia people, but
then, so do I."
The very idea of Mysterious Pink talking to yakuza agents
seemed ludicrous. But then, if there was any magical girl who
could pull it off, she was the one. "So, what do we do?"
"The plan is to get into the apartment after he leaves and
then ambush him." she replied. "He can't put up much of a fight
if he's unarmed."
It seemed unfair. But... it was better than being shot. "But,
how do we get in?"
"This is Tokyo." Pink said flatly. "No one chooses to see
anything if they can help it. We walk in. No one'll say anything
unless they're bribed or threatened."
Before long the two of them were walking down the hallway of
the building's third floor. The place was in bad repair. The
plaster was cracked, the windows were dirty, and it smelled of
mildew, rust, and cigarette smoke. And no one noticed them. Or
rather, the few who had noticed then made a concerted effort not
to see them, looking at something else -- anything else -- with
an intensity that proved they knew that something was happening.
The two of them halted before apartment 3-B. The door looked
no different from any of the others in the hallway, but it was
Kanzaki's apartment that lay behind. Pink unzipped her duffel bag
and produced some holes. She stuck them into the keyhole.
"Lock picks." she explained. "You'd be amazed how much use I
get out of them." The picks grinded against the lock's mechanism
for what seemed an eternity before the knob turned. Pink put the
lock picks away in the duffel bag and opened the door very, very
slowly, examining everything before carefully edging the door all
the way open.
The apartment wasn't any different from how it'd looked
through the binoculars, though Rose could not see a kitchenette
in horrendous condition, and a bathroom she was afraid to even
contemplate. The strangest thing of all was the Tangerine Blossom
poster, though the five darts in it and the holes from many, many
throws made its purpose clear.
Pink closed and locked the door behind them with as much case
as when she'd opened it. "Search the place, but _carefully_, and
don't disturb anything."
They set about searching the apartment, though Rose was afraid
to touch anything. There were American magazines about guns,
random computer printouts, an occasional manga, and lots of dirty
clothes. But what Rose found on the bookcase by the door made her
shiver.
Pink took it without hesitaion. "Automatic pistol." she
muttered. "Chinese." There was a click, and the clip dropped into
her hand. A moment later she pulled another bullet out of the
gun. Examining it, she turned pale.
Candy Rose forced herself to take a look. The bullet had a
plastic cap at the end. "What...?"
"Glaser rounds." she said flatly. "Bullets don't get much more
deadly." She tossed the clip and the bullet into the overstuffed
garbage can, and carefully put the gun back where it was. "He'll
sure be in for a surprise if he tries to fire it."
When Pink was satisfied that they'd searched sufficiently,
they took up hiding places, Rose behind the kitchenette counter,
Pink behind the couch.
And they waited.
Doubts flew through Rose's mind, visions of Kanzaki coming in
with guns blazing. Every sound was a chill coursing down her
spine. Her heart raced and she felt sweat beading on her
forehead. Her stomach turned itself into a knot of ice. She
occasionally glanced at Pink; the Magical Knight was steady as a
mountain, and didn't seem to feel the heat.
Rose wasn't sure how long it had been, but there was a sound
of footsteps, followed by a jangle of keys. Pink gripped her wand
tightly and tensed like a spring.
The door flew open. Kanzaki dashed inside, suddenly holding an
automatic pistol. He stood there with the gun in both hands,
waiting. "Whoever's here, try to be less sloppy next time, and
just come out before I do something we'll both regret." he said
evenly.
Pink grinned as she hopped onto the couch.
Without a moment's hesitation Kanzaki pulled the trigger three
times, but only produced three metallic clicks. Cursing, he
tossed the gun aside and made a dash for the other side of the
room.
Candy Rose stood up. Everything seemed to slow down. She got
ready to fire off an attack spell. This was it; he was the one
who'd shot Pretty Cherry. She had the power to take revenge, to
kill him. _Kill_ him. Youma were one thing, but to kill another
human being? Even a murderer? That would make her a killer,
wouldn't it?
In the moment she hesitated, Kanzaki dropped to the ground,
kicking both feet into her stomach. With the wind knocked out of
her, she staggered back and could only watch as he rolled to one
side and reached into a toppled cookie jar to pull out a small
revolver.
Mysterious Pink was not so slow, however. "Lovely Tempest!"
she shrieked. A net of shimmering pink energy shot out and
plastered Kanzaki to the wall just as he'd gotten to his feet.
With him immobilized, everything stopped. Pink flipped her wand
over in her hand and smiled.
"Fuck me." he muttered.
"I don't think so." replied Mysterious Pink. "We're turning
you in."
Kanzaki rolled his eyes. "We? Since when did you have a
partner? Did you change your policies without telling me?" He
paused to glare at the energy net that held him. "And I'm pretty
sure this isn't a Lovely Tempest."
"One, I made an exception today, just for you. Two, that's one
of my tricks; I never much cared for sending my moves by telegram
ahead of time."
Rose watched him as she caught her breath. He scowled has he
and Pink traded words. He was reaching into the sleeve of his
coat, though, gripping something small.
"Watch out!"
Mysterious Pink realized too late. Kanzaki held a small jet-
black gen between his fingertips. A slight squeeze reduced it to
powder, and black lightning sprayed out, tearing apart the energy
net and wracking Pink's tiny body. He was on his feet in a
second. Rose was ready to fire off a Pretty Candy Beam, but he
kicked the want out of her hand. Dodging a power blast from
Mysterious Pink, he pointed his revolver and fired.
Mysterious Pink gestured and a transparent wall of shimmering
pink appeared. The bullet seemed to hang there, pressed agaist
the wall as though still trying to get through. Rose looked on in
awe as she fumbled around for her wand, but Kanzaki didn't
hesitate. Holding down the trigger he pulled back the hammer part
on the back of the revolver five times. When the final bullet
struck, Pink's protective shield shattered, and all six bullets
hit their target.
Candy Rose watched her fall limply to the ground and
suppressed a scream. Kanzaki looked around the room, probably
looking for another gun.
Why had she hesitated? Someone else was dying because of her.
No matter what, she had to act. No hesitation, no fear, no
thought, no regret. One spell, one kill.
"Rose... Petal THUNDER CRASH!" She'd never imagined she could
be that loud. The motes of pink light became a furious, swirling
storm of crimson, and she had to close her eyes, shying away from
its intensity.
When she dared to look again, there was no sign of Kanzaki.
Except a sickening smell.
Mysterious Pink lay there, her blood staining the refuse under
her. The wound Pretty Cherry had taken was nothing compared to
this. She was going to die. Her image faded quickly, changed
suddenly. Where she had lay, there was a middle-aged man in an
oil-stained jumpsuit that had "Goro" on the name tag. And he had
the same wounds.
"Is... is this really you?"
He nodded weakly, and motioed her closer, pressing Pink's
magic wand into her hands. Could this really be Mysterious Pink?
A man who became a magical girl. She'd said it was an accident.
"Long story. Tell you later." He was dying, and it was her fault.
She shook with sobs.
"Use the wand." he whispered. "Heal me. Feel the love in your
heart."
Reluctantly, she nodded and held the wand over him, wishing,
hoping he'd be well. A few sparkles of white drifted into him,
but they didn't seem to do anything.
"Listen," he said, looking right into her eyes. "People care
about you. Love you. Your parents."
Mama had said, "She means _everything to me!" The flow picked
up a little.
"Your teammates need you."
Yoko liked her so much she practically had to be pried off.
The flow increased a little more.
"And your friends care about you."
Teruo and Minami... Rose winced, and the flow became a trickle
again. Stop. Don't go there.
"People -- especially us guys -- aren't always good at saying
it, but they all care about you. That romantic crap is nice, but
love is about caring, and if you don't think they care about
you... you're wrong."
She tried to hold the wand steady, to hold back the tears, but
couldn't.
"Damnit! You can do this! Think of my wife and daughter! If
you don't do it, Minami will lose her father. Don't--!" He
paused, gathering his breath. "Whatever's wrong, don't let
worrying kill you. Especially over a guy. Tell him how you feel
or forget it. Worrying about what might happen only hurts you."
Could she? Just walk up to Teruo and... and... If he said no?
At least she'd know, would be able to move on. And if the said
yes? What then? That was almost as frightening. But she wanted
it.
But...
She wanted it. She could do it.
Alright.
"I _know_ you can do it. I believe in you." said Goro.
Slowly at first, the flow of healing power grew. Bit by bit
the wounds closed, the bleeding stopped.
For a time, everything was quiet.
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Ewen "Blackbird" Cluney blk_bird@yahoo.com
Blackbird's Domain http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/6127/
Knight Kevlar of the Immortal Frog Silver Knight of Mihoshi
"Be nice to me; I might just develop
psychokinetic powers and destroy Tokyo!"
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