21st Century Magical Girls (20th Century Boys X Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

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Author note:

"So, to help you understand: the characters' traits from '20th Century Boys' will be embodied by the original characters in this fic. One of them will have the same personality as Kenji, the other will have Otcho's, another one will have Fukubei's (Kimpachi Hattori), and so on. Sorry for any confusion."

Enjoy.

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We thought something would happen.

We thought something would happen...

Something...

The technology has advanced so much, but...

Nothing happened...

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A cricket's insistent chirping cut through the stillness of the sprawling field, its rhythmic song weaving with the whisper of grass bending in a gentle breeze. The endless sea of yellowish-brown, dotted with dry branches, stretched into the horizon, isolating the four children squatting in the dirt from the world beyond.

One child, gripping a stick with purpose, scratched a mark into the earth. The others watched, their skin glistening with sweat under the relentless sun. The fourth child, momentarily lost in the cricket's call, refocused on her friend's task.

It was one of those rare days when time seemed to stand still-no school, no responsibilities, no voices pulling them away from their secret plans.

A calm hung in the air, masking the churning thoughts of what they might do next.

The boy with the stick grinned as he finished. "This," he declared, "is the symbol for our base."

"Here?" one boy echoed skeptically. "Among all these dry plants and mosquitoes?"

"Exactly! It's the perfect hideout from those guys. We could trap them easily if they come looking."

"Or we'd get trapped ourselves," the other kid quipped, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

The boy holding a stick shrugged, his eyes fixed on the earthbound symbol.

The girl who had been distracted earlier turned to him. "Hey, can I ask something?"

"Hm?" He met her gaze.

She nodded towards the mark. "What is that? I've never seen anything like it."

"Cool, right?" he said, eyes alight with excitement. "I can't believe I came up with it."

"It's ominous."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," he admitted. "No one's ever used this before."

The boy who doubted their location spoke up. "It's original. Where'd you get the idea?"

The sarcastic girl chimed in, "Probably from Sasaki picking his nose."

The creator flushed red. "Gross! No way!"

Laughter erupted, but the girl kept her focus on the symbol. It felt mysterious, like something a secret society might claim. It's an eye with a closed back hand inside it, where the index finger was pointing upward. The hand also has an eye in the center of its back.

"This!" the boy shouted, pride swelling in his voice. "This is our symbol!"

The girl glanced from the mark to her friend's beaming face. "It might look creepy, but it means something else entirely!"