Starlight

Chapter 2 - Sweet Dream (Elysia POV)

My eyes flutter open harshly allowing the bright morning light in, I instinctively shield my face from the piercing sun and sit up to examine my surroundings... I'm no longer in that room anymore? Where am I now?

The pillows and blankets are so soft here... Suddenly a warm drop of water pelts my arm and trickles down onto the pillowcase. Am... I crying?

knock knock

The door creaks open a bit, tendrils of purple hair loom from behind the door. "Ah you're awake." She promptly takes this as permission to enter and sits down at the end of the bed. "I've made breakfast!"

Ah, I must've smelled the food and woke up... Mei...

---

"This is so good!" I murmur between mouthfuls of omurice.

"It's nothing special... But I'm sure you're unimaginably hungry after such a long slumber?" She picks at her food a bit with a fork before redirecting her attention back to me, who was now shoving my face with rice. "Where are my manners!? My name is Jyuri (j-you-ree)"

"You have a pretty name." I reply meekly, realizing how messily I've been eating. I wipe my mouth carefully with the napkin placed delicately beside my plate. Jyuri really puts care into everything she does, huh?

"Thank you." She tilts her head and peers over at my plate with a satisfied look on her face. "You like the omurice?" She asks

I look across at her plate, untouched... With ketchup drawn in the shape of a star on top. "It's delicious." I reply nodding between chews. "My sister..." I pause for a moment and gaze into my lap as I reminisce on all the times Mei made breakfast for me. "My sister used to draw things on our omurice." I begin to feel myself choke up a bit as I speak, I've cried more than enough for a lifetime... I resolve myself and choke back my tears with a mouthful of omurice.

She looks at me solemnly, despite my best attempts at seeming 'okay', she can tell I'm still shaken up about everything. "Anyways, my name is Elysia." I cut in amongst the awkward silence.

"Now your name is interesting! Are you foreign perhaps?" She asks. The way she leans in waiting for an answer it's as if she expects me to claim heritage from some far away land.

"I'm actually from Fukui..." I finish my plate clean and wash it down with the glass of orange juice beside me. "This is really good by the way!... Ahem, anyways my sister told me it's greek. She liked the stories there."

Jyuri leans back in her chair and brings her hand to her bottom lip. "I see... Your sister? Where are your parents?"

I let out a soft sigh, I've been asked this question a couple times before and people always seem so surprised to hear that "I don't have any, well, I don't know them anyways."

She nods slowly and speaks again "And your sister?"

Flashes of Mei's face cycle through my mind, her smile, her scowl, her frowns, and even the very few times I saw her cry. Mei always had a strong front around everyone, but I knew she struggled deep down.

"My sister... Mei." My voice trails off a bit, why is this so hard to talk about. "She found me when I was just a toddler and kinda raised me herself. But she-" the words give out in my throat, my own body isn't willing to accept her loss...

"I'm sorry..." Jyuri says quietly. "The invasion was disastrous, Japan has been launched into pure chaos since it happened."

My mind wanders to how the Akihabara district probably looks now, last time I saw it, buildings were crumbling to pebbles and people were panicking in the streets. To think that used to be the most beautiful place I'd ever seen... And Hana, I still can't believe she's gone... My first true friend.

"Just how much really happened?" I ask cautiously, I'm not sure I really even want the answer.

Her expression falters for a sec before bouncing back to refine and poise. "Nearly a third of the population was wiped out in the span of a couple hours... Most major cities have been reduced to ruins and the government is in disarray." She briefly pauses to caress her forehead, just talking about the situation has Jyuri drawing up a headache. "What's more, the invasion isn't necessarily over either."

"What? But it's been a month!? Hasn't the military-"

"No." She cuts me off abruptly, her tone is suddenly grim. "Regular weapons don't work on them... Society has shifted to weaponizing commercial forces of magical girls to combat the lingering Twili."

"I thought Twili and magical girls were just myth and television?" I ask, I can't even mask the skepticism in my voice. Faint and fuzzy memories of that day start passing through my mind like snowflakes melting in my hand before I can examine them...

She lets out a soft giggle and looks up at me through her hair. "Where do you think myths come from anyways? Magical girls are history, lost history... We've done a good job keeping Twili under wraps for over one hundred years, but since the invasion, the situation is too out of hand for us to handle adequately... So now we've been thrust into the public eye."

We...? "You mean?"

"Yes." Jyuri twirls her finger a bit, cascading purple energy follows behind her finger before dissipating into the air. "I'm a magical girl, but it's not all parlor tricks and fancy outfits... Being a magical girl demands responsibility that would crush most." She states proudly. Just from the way she speaks about being a magical girl, she takes this seriously.

"I'll explain further later, I have a few visits to make today. Please make yourself at home." She gracefully stands from her seat and collects our dishware before retreating to the kitchen.

Either this lady is totally crazy and I've been kidnapped, or she's right... I'm not sure which is worse.