"Raise. Bow. Be seated."
Like every morning, the class followed the set ritual that would
announce the arrival of the old teacher and the beginning or yet
another school day. Horaki Hikari took a certain pride in being part of
it through her role of class representative, but she couldn't help but
give a worried look toward a certain empty desk. She sighed. He was
late again. As if to confirm her thoughts, the class door swung open
and a dark haired boy dressed in a track suit entered the class,
breathing hard from an obvious attempt to actually make it on time.
Fuyutsuki-sensei, the class history teacher, gave a long look
toward the student, who gulped at the gaze.
"You're late, Suzuhara. Again. Go stand in the hall. You should
know where to find the buckets."
The others students chuckled, but not Hikari. She knew that Touji
had his reasons for being late. She frowned as she heard her best
friend, Sohryu Asuka Langley, whisper the word "idiot" for all those
within hearing range.
"Ah man..." complained the youth, but said nothing more, not
wanting to get himself yet another detention. Katsuragi-sensei would
usually let him get away with being late, but Fuyutsuki was inflexible.
Shoulders slumped, he picked up the buckets that would have to be
filled with water, and headed outside the class. Hikari gave him a
pitied look, feeling sad for him.
From the looks of things, it seemed that it would be yet another
ordinary day in Tokyo. Little did Hikari know that it would be far from
it.
=======================================================================
Neo Magical Girl Pretty Hikari
An Evangelion Magical Girl story
Based on characters created by and copyright GAINAX
Written by Alain Gravel
http://www.geocities.com/rakna01/
=======================================================================
As the light of the sun peering through a window caressed her back
with its warmth, the woman sighed in contentment. It seemed it would be
yet another perfect and beautiful day in the peaceful magical kingdom
of Gehirn. Of course, everyday *was* a perfect one. She, Lilith,
Goddess and Queen of Gehirn had seen to that.
And so, the Queen hugged her pillow tighter, not the slightest in a
hurry to leave the comfort of her warm and fluffy bed, despite the fact
that the morning was well advanced already and that all of her subjects
were up and already at work.
If Lilith was considered by all the most powerful magic user of the
kingdom, as well as a fair and kind ruler, it was also well know that
she tended to be an airhead. The ruler of the kingdom simply appeared
to care more about trivial matters, like sleeping and eating, than
important duties of state, which she left into the hands of the Royal
Council.
Truth be told, perceptions her were unfair. If the Queen took life
easy, it was only because her sole wish as ruler was for herself and
her subjects to have a nice, comfortable, enjoyable life.
The Queen, however, was unable to indulge herself with another lazy
morning, as a small furry mass jumped on her bed, then on her pillow.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! It's terrible!"
Lilith's eyes fluttered open, to see the panicked face of the
little furry animal standing on her pillow. The brown talking animal
seemed like a strange blend between a cat and a rabbit. The Queen
smiled sweetly at the cabbit and rose a hand to pet him.
"What is it, Ryo-oh-ki? Surely it's not so important and
terrible..."
"It's Adam!" said the cabbit, interrupting the woman. "He escaped!"
The cabbit could only blink in stunned surprise as the Queen shot
out of bed, used a spell to replace her sleeping gown with her
ceremonial attire and shot out of her bedroom in a very unlady like
manner.
As the Queen headed toward the Council room, servants gave her
worried gaze. Very rarely did she look this serious. At that moment,
they were reminded exactly why that woman was their ruler.
The Council room doors shot open, as the Queen entered with a
determined and serious look in her eyes.
"Report!"
"It's terrible, your Highness!" said one of the twelve council
member, an older looking man in white robes like the rest of them. "The
Dark Sorceror Adam escaped from his imprisonment!"
"How? No one ever escaped from Nerv."
It was true. Nerv was the one and only prison facility in all of
Gehirn. It had been built by the strongest magics to be able to
withstand attacks from within and without. Of all the dangerous
individuals that had been imprisoned within its walls, none had ever
escaped.
"It would appear that we haven't caught all of his accomplices. A
young magician by the name of Kaworu helped him escape."
The Queen gasped. Kaworu? But he was such a sweet polite boy! Her
gaze hardened as she reminded herself to remain focused.
"Where is Adam now?"
"He and his supposed apprentice fled to Earth, my Lady."
There was an uneasy silence. Earth. The realms of mortal humans, a
world where magic had faded. The ideal hiding place, since the ancient
laws forbid to get involved with its development and fate. The perfect
place for Adam to slowly recover from the stripping of his powers and
his imprisonment. What sort of horrible things would Adam do there, if
not stopped?
"Then there is no choice..."
While the ancient laws forbid to get involved with Earth, certain
possibilities existed to defend it, should one like Adam choose to
ignore the laws and threaten it.
A sickly sweet smile appeared on Lilith's face.
"Oh my! I guess I will have to go to Earth and choose an avatar.
Maybe I'll try one of their chocolate parfait while I'm there," she
said as she pulled a menu from her robes. "And the triple fudge sundae
looks so delicious! Oh, and..."
The Council members fell to the floor in a collective groan.
- - -
Since it was a nice summer day out, Hikari was sitting outside with
Asuka at their favorite lunch spot, under the shade of a tall tree.
(aside of cherry trees, what other trees is there in Japan???) On clear
days, most of the class did likewise, dividing into groups to eat and
gossips about either boys or sports, depending of their genders. The
only exception to the rule was an introverted student by the name of
Ikari Rei. Currently, Hikari was looking at the spot the quiet girl's
twin brother was seated, among his friends, Aida Kensuke and more
importantly, Suzuhara Touji. Noticing that the class representative
didn't seem to listen to her ranting, Asuka followed her gaze and
groaned as she noticed where, or rather whom the ponytailed girl was
looking at.
"I swear, Hikari! You can do so much better than that jock! Why
fall for him, of all people?"
Hikari snapped from her reverie and clasped her hand against her
best friend's mouth.
"Not so loud!" she hissed.
With a sigh of relief, she noticed that no one was paying attention
to the gaijin girl and she then scolded at her friend.
"Touji isn't as bad as you try to make him look, Asuka," she said
in a hushed tone.
"Ah, come on Hikari, he's an idiot! He can't even make it on school
at time! I mean, he's spending half of his mornings in the hall. Anyone
with half a brain would have caught the message, by now."
"He's got his reasons..."
This peaked at Asuka's curiosity.
"Oh? Like what? I bet he's late because he does perverted stuff
every morning first thing out of bed..."
Despite herself, Hikari's mind conjured some rather interesting
images that she hurried to dismiss.
"He's not!"
Hikari blushed as her outburst attracted the stares of most other
students. A glare from Asuka quickly convinced them to look some other
way.
"His sister is weak and gets sick easily," explained Hikari. "His
father has been very busy lately, so Touji takes his sister to school
every morning to make sure that she gets there okay." Hikari crossed
her arms and shot Asuka a glare. "There, satisfied?"
"Oh..." Somehow, Asuka was disappointed. But she couldn't argue
that it seemed a justified reason. Still... Asuka was Asuka.
"Okay, so he's a good older brother. I still say he's an idiot,
though."
Hikari couldn't really counter that, but it was alright, she told
herself with a smile. Touji had more than enough redeeming qualities
for his lack of brains. Asuka groaned at the smile growing on Hikari's
lips.
"Oh, for the love of God..."
Mentally, though, she couldn't help but envy the jock's sibling. It
must be nice to have family who cared that much for you.
- - -
As every school day tends, the end of classes eventually came, to
the joy of the students. Ikari Shinji was leaving school when his
friends caught up to him.
"Yo! Shinji! Wanna hit da arcades?" asked the taller boy of the
group a certain redhead had dubbed "the three stooges".
"Yeah! I hear they just got a new giant mecha game! It's about
those giant invaders that threatens to invade earth and you're the
pilot of a biomechanical robot! It looks so cool!"
The enthusiasm of Kensuke, well renown military and sci-fi otaku,
was obvious. From afar, Hikari and Asuka watched the exchange with
interest... for their own reasons. Not that Asuka would admit hers.
"I don't know..." said Shinji, uncertain. He gave a look to his
blue haired sister. "Will you be okay returning home alone, Rei?"
The boy's twin nodded and silently was on her way. Shinji's friends
cheered and soon, the trio were off toward the arcades.
"I swear... that girl creeps me out," commented Asuka.
It was obvious who she was talking about. For some reason Hikari
couldn't phantom, the redhead seemed to hold a grudge against the Ikari
girl.
"Now, Asuka, be nice. She's not... that bad."
"Oh, come on! She never speaks to anyone else but her brother. And
look at her hair and eyes... Okay, the blue dye isn't so bad... but red
contacts?!? What sort of idiot would wear such a thing? I tell you,
this girl is a freak."
Hikari sadly shook her head.
"I don't know... I think she's just lonely..."
"Whatever," shrugged Asuka. "Want to go tot he mall?"
"Sure!"
With that, the two were off.
Unknown to them, from a nearby ice cream shop, someone had watched
the whole discussion with interest, as she enjoyed her second chocolate
parfait.
- - -
All day long, Lilith watched the young girl she had chosen. As she
had suspected, the girl had a strong sense of duty and of justice. She
also had a kind heart. She would be perfect.
Because the laws of her Kingdom forbid direct contact, she appeared
to her in a dream. The girl seemed somewhat startled to see a scene of
her having a picnic with that boy she liked to suddenly change for a
more colorful landscape. While they were still outside, they now stood
in a field of multi-colorful flowers.
"Who are you?" asked the girl, visibly confused.
The Queen gave her a warm smile, which seemed to relax the girl.
"I am Lilith, Queen of the Magical Kingdom of Gerhirn."
Hikari nodded, obviously dubious.
"Umm... okay..."
"I am in need of your assistance, Hikari."
"My assistance?"
The Queen nodded.
"Yes. An evil mage called Adam has escaped from our Kingdom and is
now hiding himself on Earth. Because of the ancient laws, we cannot
intervene directly. Therefore, I would like you to become my Avatar.
You would become a magical girl, capable of fighting for love and
justice."
The girl blinked. Then shrugged.
"Sure, I'll do it..."
Lilith beamed with joy.
"Marvelous! I'll be sending your magical pet advisor on Earth! I'm
sure you'll be the best magical girl ever!"
The Queen hugged the smaller girl, and with a flash of pink, the
dream dissolved.
- - -
With a yawn, Hikari stopped her alarm clock. What a weird dream she
had last night. A magical girl? She hadn't dreamed of stuff of that
since she had been a kid. And it had seemed so realistic too...
And so it begins...
"So, Lilith has chosen an Avatar... then I will choose an Avatar
myself. An Avatar of chaos!"
"Hey kid. I'm Pen-pen. Your magical pet adviser, trainer and
whatever. Got any beer here?"
"Isn't that Ikari's father? What's with the tinted glasses and the
black uniform?"
"Gutten Morgen, Pretty Hikari!!! I'm Sexyyyy Asukaaaaa!!!! .... And
I'm going to KILL YOU!"
"Pretty Mecha activate!"
(
geocities.com/tokyo/teahouse/2236) (
geocities.com/tokyo/teahouse) (
geocities.com/tokyo)