Puella Magi Soul Magia

Chapter One -Otome-

Floating.

That's what it felt like.

I was floating in a place made of shadow and light.

As I slowly pealed my eyes open, all I could see was a bright light high above me. And then when I was squinting so I could try to see what might have been beyond the light better, a young adult female's figure came into view. The brightness of the light seemed to fade a little, but the woman's body had a slight glow to it as well.

"Otome Akazuki. Accept this gift and protect this world from the monster's known as Shadee!" Her voice said as she opened her clasped hands and a small, golden-orange key comes flying down towards me. I didn't know why, but I slowly raised my hands and grasped the key in my hands before it flew right out of them and attached itself to my neck using a thin metal string. I then started getting this feeling - like I was falling. It was then that I noticed that the light above me was getting dimmer and seemingly farther away from me. Putting together the feeling and the shrinking light, I came up with a conclusion - I actually was falling.

"Ahhhh! I'm going to die!" I screamed as it sunk in that I was hurtling towards the ground and I would have had no chance of surviving it. Then, right before I hit the ground, my eyes snapped open and I was laying in my bed safely inside my bedroom at the Magician's House.

"It was just a dream," I said as I let out a sigh of relief. I glanced towards the wall clock that was above my bookshelf and that's when I noticed the time. I quickly scrambled out of bed and got read for the day - and my very early morning patrol for Shades.

Once downstairs, I saw Reika Oshiro and Seiren Himekawa sitting at the dining room table, each of them eating oatmeal - silently of course. When I walked into the room, Seiren looked up and once she she saw me, a large smile graced her facial features

"Hey Otome!" She cried out as she stood up to give me a hug. Flinching when she made contact with me, that seemed to trigger her memory of me not liking to be hugged or even touched much at all. She rubbed her arm nervously and shuffled her feet too.

"Sorry, Otome," she said as she rubbed the back of her jead before continuing. "I kinda forgot about that again." I offered Seiren a small smile before walking over ti the kitchen counter and grabbing a granola bar to eat on the way. Reika just watched me and Seiren the whole time. I adjusted my hair before grasping the key on a chain that was around my neck. Taking a deep breath, I hovered the key over the center of my chest and turned it to the right. After I did so, I was enveloped in a bright golden light. As the light faded, my outfit and hair had changed.

"That's okay, Seiren," I told when I noticed she still stood off to the side wjth her head facing downward. I then added before taking off out of the door"I'm going out on my patrol now." As the door shut behind me, I could practically feel all of the magic energy all around me. I knew that when first transform, all my sense would go crazy and I wouldn't be able to tell what was what kind of energy, but now that I have been doing this for four months now, I can tell the differences.

I kept my pace quick, yet I kept an eye out as I jumped from roof to roof. I had no idea when or even if I would come across a Shade, but I definitely knew at least a single Tainted would make an appearance this morning. So I had to keeo watch, and just in case, I had my hand on my gun as I went about running around my patrol route. A few times along my way, I stopped to help out local citizens with quick things. And every once in a while, I would stop to battle a Tainted and help them go back to normal. In fact, a couple of times I had to purify them more than once. But, I surprisingly prevailed and continued

When I reached the old footbridge, I noticed that there was a single girl standing on it. Yet, the bridge hasn't been veru popular lately, that it seemed weird that anyone was there at all. Then, I sensed it.

I just couldn't believe that a gitl who looked to be so young and innocent could be...

An actual Shade...