The Mirror Witch, The Arctic Fox and The Dress-up Darling

Episode 3: Encounter! The Witch and The Gal

Noel Kagami. A former resident of Hisashiro, and one of the people who recently brought the city to a lofty status in all of Japan, thanks to her writing.

 She just had finished a three-hour drive, and when she arrived in the city's entrance, the only thing she saw was a few people passing around and the dim lights of lamp posts as she came closer to the city's residential districts. 

***

After getting to the room in the house she lived during her childhood, Noel went on to her room. She barely had finished setting up her belongings, took a shower and went to rest. In the other day, her phone in hand, fingers swiftly wiping up and down for any kind of comments in social media. 

As a novelist, she had been taking the entire light novel scene by storm with "A White Rose Tainted Red", a thriller of romance and mystery set in victorian era Europe, where the heroine, Amélie, fought against a corrupt court in order to bring justice to her fiancé, François, murdered by a rival. And recently, her new works, "The Mirror Witch Saga", a series of light novels loosely based in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, became best-sellers in a few weeks.

And, with the popularity of said book, Noel earned the nickname of "Mirror Witch" herself.

But as much as she enjoyed the fame that came with the popularity of that work, she soon faced a problem that almost every writer in the world has or will have someday: Writer's block.

To make matters worse for her, the writers' convention was getting closer. And while the novelist was excited to meet with her fans, a thing like that could put her entire career in jeopardy. Noel felt that something was missing... until an idea came to her mind. 

She decided that she would make a new novel, something fresh, and put a pause in the Mirror Witch Saga for a while. Alas, her hometown seemed to be the perfect spot for the inspiration needed.

***

Weekends in Hisashiro were the same as any big city. Noel was visiting a commercial street and talking to some fans. A trio of boys passed through her, and one of them caught her interest as she almost lost track of her thoughts. 

To say he looked like a girl would be an understatement, but his two other more masculine looking friends didn't seem to be bothered by that, and given the long hair and delicate facial features, putting him in a sailor suit would make him no different from any high school girl. Noel suddenly felt a spark of creativity take over her.

'Who's this boy? He seems to be the perfect... inspiration for my new hero.'

Meanwhile, Chris Falcon walked with two classmates whom he befriended, Musashi Aonuma and Benkei Ichimonji. Musashi had a pair of thick glasses and trimmed hair, and Benkei seemed to be a bit chubby. With Chris, they formed a strange trio of sorts, but the differences only made them unique in their own ways. Still, despite that, there was something that made their friendship strong: the passion for video games.

The trio were playing some games at the local arcade, with Chris being fascinated with the variety of things that he could only see via emulator softwares in a computer screen, but seeing the arcades in all of their glory were an unique, different experience. Musashi was the biggest nerd of the trio, teaching his buddies the tricks and secrets of almost every gaming cabinet they came across.

Noel got away from them, smiling softly as she got into a convenience store. Marin Kitagawa was in the line to the cashier, buying some ice cream, when someone shouted to her, gazing into the character merchandise wrapped around her belongings.

"Hey, you're such an otaku!"

Marin looked at the person, visibly irritated. "Go to hell, you piece of shit!" She then sighed as she paid the ice cream and sat down on a bench.

'Always the same thing. People should enjoy what they like without being judged!' With that in mind, she calmed down and started eating. The novelist looked at her. 

'This girl. Such energy! And... she stands out so much. Just like that pretty boy. I think I'll go have a nice talk with her.'

With that in mind, Noel slowly approached Marin, smiling softly at her. "Excuse me, but... mind if I have a seat?"

The girl looked at the novelist. Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she realized who she was talking to. "N-No way... The real Noel Kagami, here?!"

Still, the older woman kept smiling and looking at her. "Something wrong?"

"Uh... n-nothing! I-I mean... I love your novels!" Marin smiled, trying to hide her surprise.

Noel had no reactions, but she smiled and remained calm. "Thanks... it's always nice seeing people who like my works. And seeing what happened a while ago..."

Marin then looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"The guy who laughed at you, darlin'. People haven't been this rude before."

"You saw that, too?"

"Oh, yeah! I was passing by and that guy was close to me, so... oh. Never mind. And forgive my lack of manners. Still, happy to see you know who I am. But... what's your name, my dear?"

The girl smiled briefly to her. "I'm Marin Kitagawa."

"Nice to meet you, Marin-chan!" Noel smiled back, "I was looking for ideas for a romance. Something different, you know?"

"Really? In the middle of a shopping center?" 

"Why not? I've found the main 'hero' of my new story. There was a really cute boy nearby. He kind of looked like a girl, but there was something deep about him, I felt like he was the perfect protagonist."

The words rang in the gyaru's head. A cute boy, who looked like a girl. "Hey! I know. You must be talking about my classmate, Chris Falcon." Marin's eyes sparked with a shine.

Noel smiled at Marin. "Chris Falcon? Mind telling me more about him?"

"Sure!" Marin almost exploded with enthusiasm. "He's from Brazil."

"And, what is he doing around here?"

"From what he told me, his grandparents are Japanese and they live here, they worked in Brazilian farms but returned here after a recession or something. And, his dad's restaurant went bankrupt. Now, his Sister is helping him live here."

"And do you like him? You seem to be so excited whenever someone mentions his name."

Marin blushed. "Ummm... Well. Sorta."

"You know, he does like interesting, I'll agree with you on that, Marin-chan. And he seems to be happy living around here."

"Yeah, maybe... To be fair, I was the first person he befriended! That is, according to his own words."

Suddenly, the conversation was interrupted by the sounds of two people arguing.