While he has been enrolled since his birth in Darkeas, the school of supervillains, Uchiri Nanaya ends up by mistake in Aitori ... the school of the Magical Girls.
In 1902, in the heart of the small port village of Funayako, an ordinary couple gave birth to a child with pink eyes. The news spread like wildfire among the few hundred inhabitants. Many neighbors came knocking on the Matsuura's door to confirm the rumor.
Some were charmed, convinced that this unusual color was a sign of blessing. But another half thought otherwise. They assured that the child was cursed and that he would bring misfortune on their village.
Yazaro and Metori paid no attention to either opinion. He was their son and they loved him. He was neither cursed nor blessed. He was just a little different. They treated him as any loving parent treats their child.
Matsuura Yazaro was, like the majority of the inhabitants, a fisherman. His wife, Metori, was a seamstress. As she worked from home, their son Thoki was never alone. And even if several people had offered to keep him, they had always refused. They couldn't be sure who considered their son a monster or not.
As Thoki grew older, it was easier for them to differentiate between the two camps that had formed. The believers regularly placed offerings, as if their home had been a temple, and seemed to treat their son as if he were a deity. The others, on the other hand, were more aggressive. Throwing rocks, insulting, forbidding their children from coming near, blaming Thoki whenever something bad happened. Either way, these behaviors didn't make Thoki's life very easy. He was just a child, he didn't understand what was going on. The neighbors who gave him gifts for no reason frightened him just as much as those who shouted insults at him when he passed them.
At school too, the teachers were torn between the two opinions. Thoki never lingered and almost ran out of kindergarten when the time came, so as not to cross paths with those who hated him. The only thing he understood despite his young age, was that his eyes were causing all these strange behaviors towards him.
His parents always reassured him and the friends he had made protected him against those pushed by the parents to hate him for no reason. He was always polite and tried to help when he could.
He was six years old when his father took him to the port with him. Thoki absolutely wanted to see how he worked, and the boss had been close friends with Yazaro since he was a teenager. He was one of the few to believe neither opinion. To him, Thoki just had a different color, he was sure there was a scientific explanation.
"Uncle Hatase!"
Thoki threw himself into the arms of his father's boss who made him fly a little.
"Hey, you've grown so damn big!" Noticed Hatase, "it's been a really long time since I've had a drink at your house."
"Just drop by tonight, boss," Yazaro joked.
"My wife will never allow it. You know she's one of those who believe in some sort of curse."
"Unfortunately."
"I really wish she would stop listening to her mother. Well, Thoki-chan, you're going to be good, okay?"
The child made the promise and was installed in the main cabin of the fishing boat. He could see everything from there and Hatase watched over him driving the vehicle while Yazaro worked. He kept asking questions and Hatase allowed him to activate some things.
At the end of the day, Thoki claimed to want to become a fisherman too and asked a replica fishing boat for his birthday. His father promised him, and asked him to stay quietly on the quay while they unload their catch of the day.
But the day would not end as they had hoped. As Yazaro, Hatase, and other employees finished unloading the boat, a child's scream reached them.
Yazaro immediately dropped the crate of fish he was carrying, letting its contents empty, and ran off. Hatase had just landed his charge and followed immediately behind.
Two employees were about to fight. Yazaro knew full well that one believed in the curse and the other in the blessing. The subject of their quarrel was the small body pinned to the ground by a fishing spear.
The father gave a heartbreaking cry that stopped the two men, as he threw himself on the body of his boy crying. He pulled out the weapon that pierced his heart, with a false hope of being able to save him, calling his name. Hatase couldn't even react. Yazaro was like a brother to him and he adored Thoki. Not like some kind of little god. Just like an uncle might adore his nephew, even if they weren't related by blood.
The man responsible for the crime tried to take the opportunity to flee, but the other prevented him, while denouncing him. Yazaro then got up and threw himself on him to hit him again and again. Hatase and the other man didn't even dare to intervene. How to calm an angry Father. Would it really be fair to protect the man who had murdered his son in such a violent way.
"Dad ?"
Yazaro's fist hung in the air, covered in blood from the punching. He had broken his colleague's nose and jaw. The other fell to his knees, his hands joined as if he had just seen a god and Hatase was still paralyzed, between dread, anger and surprise.
Yazaro turned around. Thoki was up, alive. His hand clenched on his kimono at the site of the wound. His clothes were covered in blood. He was crying.
"Dad..." he breathed painfully, "it hurts..."
The kneeling colleague mumbled prayers without taking his eyes off the child. Yazaro let go of the unconscious man and rushed at his son again. He hesitated for a moment to touch him, but hugged him desperately, not caring that he covered his own clothes in blood. When he pulled away, he opened the kimono to see the wound. It was closing on its own, slowly.
From that day on, the Matsuura family was even better known in the village. The news spread quickly. The number of villagers believing in a curse had grown and they were more aggressive. The man who had tried to kill Thoki had been hospitalized before being taken away by the police. There was of course no more proof of his act, apart from the three witnesses, but he was bragging to himself and yelling at anyone who would listen what he had done, trying to convince the police that the child was evil. But the police, who came from a nearby town, were far less superstitious and did not let the man's words reach them.
Thoki stopped going to school, to avoid the many attacks he suffered every time he went out. His parents were actively looking for a way to move, but even though they were living comfortably, they did not have enough money to move to town so suddenly.
Other locals often knocked on their door for offerings, food basket, clothes, jewelry, praying to the parents to let them be blessed by "Thoki-sama". But Yazaro and Metori never accepted any of this. This life had become almost terrifying for the three of them. Hatase was the only one who could come to see them. Having seen the "miracle" for himself, he thought that perhaps Thoki was indeed blessed. But he would never treat him otherwise than as a simple child. He came in secret, during his working hours, early in the morning or late in the evening, so that his wife would not notice.
They lived like this for four years, managing to keep Thoki safe. But the village was not ready to accept it.
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