Work Text:
“...massive ships were seemed to be mid-construction…apprehended by police, suspects have been assumed to be linked….projects and-”
“Ah, this old piece of junk can’t seem to be working properly!”
Resorting to some percussive maintenance, the girl continued to bang on the small radio until finally scratches of noise started to seep through the speaker. Although, the sounds of rain splashing against the tin roof only made it harder to hear.
Despite it being mid-June, the sky was overcasted with grey clouds and cold rain cleansing away the busy streets. Dark alleyways with lines of clothes still hung blocked her view of the earth below. The dense architecture and tall structure of the buildings formed walls around the entire city; electrical wires and drains cluttered the walls while the broken glass on the doors and windows were taped up. Residing in this particular city meant heavy rainfall and wind was typical, but due to the monsoon season being at its height, it was quite unpleasant. She could not remember the last time she had seen sunlight in a very long time.
Suddenly, the audio piqued her interest and she carefully tuned in closer to what the station was reporting.
“...and tonight's weather will be a surprisingly clear night with a chance of… and a full moon visible from-”
Standing up, the girl quickly turned off the device and left through the roof hatch. She thought about jumping off with her purple umbrella, magically floating her down to the ground as she had read in Mary ***pins, but decided not to, avoiding the risk of getting stuck between the crevices of the apartments.
Vermillion hair swaying left and right, she quickly sped down the concrete stairs, careful not to trip over the empty crates and bags full of trash. Luckily, the flickering fluorescent lights lit up the pathways as she dashed through the maze-like halls. At first glance the complex would seem to have no openings nor ends, but like all small creatures and bugs, they always manage to find a way in and out.
When finally reaching the 10th floor, the girl opened the door to her apartment. The door was rusty with cobwebs on the sides that draped over the residence sign. Her excitement was drained as she was unpleasantly welcomed by her bald father, wearing a pink apron. And also her white puppy, Sadaharu.
“Kagura! Where have you been this whole time? I waited hours for you to-have you been off on the roof again?”
Flopping her shoes aside and brushing him aside, she petted her dog and went into her room. “Like you’re the one to talk to, I haven’t seen you since two weeks ago.”
“Thats a different story that doesn’t apply to you, I’m just worried,” he gruffed.
“Well, my story doesn’t apply to you then-” she opened her small closet, the white paper now peeling off the wood. Kagura shoved her clothes in an orange duffle bag on the floor, wrinkling the shirts while trying to squeeze them in. “Besides, I think I’m old enough to make my own decisions now.”
“Don’t tell me you're thinking about leaving already? Fourteen is still early young lady, I’m not letting you-”
“Mami went out when she was my age too! Plus, we’re told, all Yato, when they turn thirteen, must leave their home and live independently for a year in order to hone our skills and become the strongest-”
“It's dangerous out there, you could do it somewhere nearby like in our district.”
She sighed, “I already delayed it a year because of you, I’m not waiting any longer than I have to.” Kagura struggled to close her bag, deciding to take out some of her clothes in exchange for more room for snacks. “I’m always alone here anyway, Baka-aniki doesn’t even come home anymore.”
Umibozu sighed before leaning on her door. “Its a lot different out there than it is here.”
“I can’t just be cooped up in here anymore, Papi…” she muttered, getting her bags to close and standing up. However, just before she could leave, she was stopped.
“Okay, just have dinner with me before you go.”
___
The rich scent of spicy tofu and beef* filled her stomach just by smelling it. Kagura sat at the table, watching her balding father finish cooking their dinner. She patiently waited for the meal to be ready, listening to the sauce boil and the steaming up. Finally, he turned off the stove and brought the pan over the bowl, mixing it with the fresh rice.
Umibozu could see the sparkle in his daughter's eyes, and felt proud of his work.
“Thank you for the meal!*”
Digging in almost immediately, she savoured the first bite and let out a sigh of satisfaction for how tasty it was. Luckily her father knew how to cook well, especially her favourite meals.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’m getting full just by watching you eat, my gluttonous daughter,” he smiled.
“I’m guessing you got money for killing some big-shot alien huh?”
“Of course, who would I be to not? I’m the biggest alien buster around here!”
Kagura giggled, “Just you watch, when I come back, I’ll be kicking butt right beside you Papi…”
The bald man thought to himself about the dangers since it was an old, abandoned tradition. Despite his fear of his daughter turning into what became of his son after his venture, he ultimately concluded that it was up to her to decide how she would live. He could sense the immaturity and naiveness, but put all his trust and support into his daughter. Afterall, as her father, that he could at least do for her.
Standing up, Umibozu ushered Kagura to come towards the storage room. The metal shelves were covered in dust as if they hadn’t been touched in nearly a decade. Pulling out a cardboard box, inside it had a black dress with a dark navy undertone.
“This used to be your mother’s dress when she first arrived here, and this is the very dress I met her in.”
The dress was quite plain and simple but it held elegance, something Kagura remembered seeing in an old picture. She took it, excited and nervous to wear it, but nevertheless dashed to her room to change into it.
The cloth was soft and fit perfectly on her. The fabric draped right over her knees and the bell sleeves flaring at her elbows. Looking into the mirror, she found herself looking more like her mother. Kagura spun around with glee and showed it off to her father, who seemed content with her excitement.
“I was told it is the traditional dress girls wear, so wear it with honor. Be careful when you go, look both ways before crossing the street, don’t spend all your money on food, don’t get a boyfriend while you’re there, attack the groin first before going for the-”
Kagura ran to hug her father, “Thank you.”
______
Both on the rooftop, they were beneath the bright full moon, a rarity in this time and place of the city. Before leaving the apartment, Kagura made sure to bid farewell to her mother in front of the picture on the side table. She felt saddened by the fact of leaving her home, but also proud to follow in the steps of her mother.
Hugging her father one last time before departing on her journey, she took her orange bag, put her dog inside the bag, and took a deep breath. She took out her purple umbrella and began to mount it.
“Oh before I forget, I brought you my own umbrella, this one is sturdy and won’t be broken easily.”
“But look how cute mine is! I don’t want your dirty umbrella, it looks ugly…”
“Whose umbrella are you calling ugly! Anyways, this one will guide your way even when it's dark, trust me.”
Hesitating, she finally took the large umbrella and mounted it. Light winds began to circle around her, and she felt herself being lifted upwards. Even though her hair was short, it was brushing all over her face in all sorts of directions. The ground felt smaller and farther away as she rose above the antennas and satellite dishes. Her feet were dangling and suddenly became more unstable the more she elevated, but all she could hear was Sadaharu barking from the sudden shift.
Kagura wished she practiced flying on her umbrella more often, or else she wouldn’t have been struggling so much. A gust of wind hit her and smacked her towards one of the roof hatches, but she gained control of her umbrella before lightly grazing her cheek.
“H-hoooww dooo I sstopp sspinninnngg?” she screamed while falling down the building walls.
“Look forward, don’t look down!”
In what felt like an eternity of rolling down, Kagura raised her broom and jumped up to the sky. It gave her quite a shock, but soon leveled down as she got the hang of flying. The new witch (or Yato?) waved excitedly goodbye to her father and her home, looking forward to starting anew.
Umibozu waved back, his voice betraying his composed face “I hope I did the right thing Kouka,” he muttered.
______
For the first time in what seemed like forever, Kagura was able to see the moon, shining brightly down on her. Warm winds breezed through her and she felt like swimming through the ink-spilled sky and glittering stars.
“Hey, Sadaharu, can you get the radio out of my bag?”
She replied with a bark and the white dog pulled out the busted up device. She hung it on the tip of her umbrella and tuned it towards her favorite station CR2 FM 90.3*.
Kagura hummed the tune to her favourite song that was playing, filling the night with her booming voice. Singing whenever she was lonely always made her feel less sad, and it became something she enjoyed whenever it got too quiet. Passing by the different train tracks and roads, she felt the exhilaration of freedom.
“SORE WA DESUTINII-
“Excuse me, could you turn down the music?”
Kagura was startled by the sudden interruptance, and was greeted by another witch with long, chestnut hair tied back. Everything about her screamed elegance in the way she was flying to her posture. Her umbrella had a small lantern up front and behind her had a small mouse as her pet.
“O-oh of course! Sorry I thought I was the only one out here,” she laughed awkwardly as she shut off her radio.
The mysterious girl smiled, “Don’t worry, I’m assuming you're a brand new witch? I just finished my year and I’m coming home. By the way, I’m Mutsu.”
“I’m Kagura! Nice to meet you!”
“I see, have you thought about your plan once you get there? Luckily I ended up in a pretty busy town so it wasn’t that hard to find them.”
She found herself caught off guard, “O-oh yeah… I have something in mind,” she replied, trying to sound confident.
“Well, that's good, I have to head down now, good luck!”
Kagura waved down in awe, admiring her poise on her gracefully descending down to the town with brightly flashing lights. It became very quiet, as even the winds blended in with the silence in the air. All that was left was the moon, a girl, and her pet dog.
“I wonder how I’m going to catch all one hundred aliens in a year…”
Suddenly, a bright light blinded her view and seconds later came thunder from all around her. The vermillion haired girl could feel the clouds behind her squeeze the water, cascading waterfalls down onto the earth. Sent into a panic, she tried to fly faster to escape the rain but was caught.
“The radio said it was supposed to be a clear night! What is going on-”
In the stroke of luck, a lighter vessel was resting on the coast of a river, with cargo bundled up on the boat. Taking this chance for shelter, Kagura sped down onto the boat and hid inside one of the open cargo boxes. Inside, the wooden box had small open windows covered with cargo nets. Luckily, neither the wind nor the rain came in, insulating the container. It was empty inside…with the sole exception of the dozens of pigs peacefully sleeping on the ground, of course.
Before she could blurt out and wake them up, she quietly flew down to a vacant corner and looked around at her situation.
“At least we have somewhere to sleep tonight, right Sadaharu?” she tried to sound hopeful as her journey would only just begin.
________
“Ah geez, we forgot to close one of them!”
Continuing to pour, the men on board quickly checked the cargo on board, counting them before taking off. The rain was only getting harder and without a second glance, the able seamen pushed up the lid to close the opened cargo box, hatching it onto the chains on top.
Unfortunately, they didn't notice the sleeping girl among the pigs, and would not notice until the next day.