Origin: How I Became A Magical Girl’s Hapless Sidekick In A Craptastic World

Stretching out in a satisfied yawn, I picked up my lunch and began nibbling on a piece of sous vide chicken. As I chewed, I looked over in curiosity at Morada and Zuri, who were huddled over their tablet, sharing giggles every couple of seconds.

 

"What's that?" I asked, peering over at it in curiosity.

 

Morada and Zuri both turned simultaneously to look at me with matching smiles. "It's an event poster by Celestial Sonata. She's doing a livestream concert in two weeks!" They cried out in delight.

 

I leaned closer to get a better look at the poster. It was very pretty with vibrant colors and intricate designs. The background had stars twinkling in gold, pale blue, and pink hues. In the center of it all was a young, pretty girl smiled while wearing a frilly dress and crown, holding a sparkly harp in one hand.

 

"Wow... it's really cool. But are you guys really into that stuff? I've honestly never had the chance to tune in to her stuff before."

 

"We have been since we were both kids!" Morada chimed in. "Sonata really only started establishing a presence in the last three years, but we've been following her ever since."

 

The perky girl with the goth makeup ticked off the reasons on her fingers, "We both agree that Sonata's music is soothing, classical, but with a beat and melody, and very varied. She's also a super nice person, too. She's always giving encouraging messages on social media whenever she gets a chance."

 

Zuri nodded in agreement. "She's a great singer and musician... and she's a really cool person in general."

 

Zuri trailed off with a happy sigh. "Ahhh, I just love her!"

 

"You should hear about all of the charity stuff she does for local food banks." Morada gushed, "It wasn't public stuff but well, the internet sniffed it all out."

 

"That's sweet," I said finally. I gave the poster one long last look and then turned to Morada and Zuri.

 

"You two really like her, huh?"

 

"She's one of the best people I know," Zuri affirmed.

 

"Like a role model, really," Morada added with a wink.

 

I looked over at them in their blissful daze and wondered if this was what day to day life on Terra was like. It had certainly never been like this while I was back on Earth.

 

The family I had there had its own troubles to deal with, not to mention my own complexities. So I sat there and watched as the two girls babbled on about their idol, laughing at the posters and music videos.

 

"Hey, I think I'm gonna try tuning in with you guys," I grinned. "See what the fuss is all about. I'd be up for a group viewing next week, if you'd have me."

 

Morada beamed and Zuri gave me a thumbs up.

 

"Of course!" said Zuri, who looked like she was about to launch into a in-depth analysis of all the reasons why I should love Sonata.

 

However, a loud rumble erupted from her stomach and her mouth closed as she swallowed her words. "Ahhh, I forgot. I haven't had anything to eat yet."

 

Her chocolate brown cheeks turned in embarrassment, and she scooted off to the lunch line.

 

"We need to make sure she eats," Morada said, her eyes tracking Zuri. "She forgets to eat when she's playing her games or autoplaying videos when studying. That's why she's always so thin. Zuri doesn't always eat enough."

 

"Hmm, I know the type," I nodded. "I'm pretty good at making sure people who under-eat get enough to eat, let's just say that."

 

Morada grinned at me and nodded. "That's good."

 

There was a short pause.

 

"I'm actually surprised that you'd give this stuff a go though, Ikki."

 

Morada said, looking at me from the corner of her eye.

 

"Huh?"

 

"Well, between you and me, I thought you were more of a... you know..."

 

She trailed off and pursed her lips, leaving it up to me to guess.

 

"I don't think I'm following..." I said, tilting my head and giving her a quizzical look.

 

"I just thought you were more of a... you know... I'm a cool, hard, stone-faced badass and that's all that counts' kind of guy." she said, scrunching her nose. "I didn't take you for someone who'd stan for a magical girl idol."

 

I blanched. "Wait, what the heck even gives you that impression?"

 

"You just seem like..." she looked around, before going into an exaggerated swoon. "That guy. The rugged guy who's all quiet and lone wolf and keeps to himself, hating everyone. Then, when someone presses his sense of justice, he swoops in and saves the day! You got that rep after standing up to the Kongs the way you did, you know."

 

I groaned. "No, I'm not! I'm not some antisocial loner who hates the world and blocks it off. But I do consider myself a big softie."

 

Man, this really caught me off guard. Did people really see me that way here?! Was that the perception people had on top of Willis putting me on his shit list?

 

"A-are you kidding me?" I said, continuing, "I'm actually a pretty social guy... I just... I don't know. I carry myself differently from the kids here, that's all."

 

"Weirdly, I understand," Morada said, shrugging her shoulder before winking at me. "People draw a lot of conclusions about me without talking to me, too. My choice in style definitely doesn't help."

 

"Yeah, I'm just not very... expressive. It's just... what I'm used to and all? I grew up in the kind of place where you were a mark if you didn't seem tough, so I made myself seem tougher than I really am."

 

"I get it," Morada nodded in understanding. "So, hey, if you ever want to hang out or talk, you can hang out with me, okay?"

 

"Sure, that sounds good," I shrugged.

 

"Great," Morada chirped, smiling. She took out a small notepad and wrote down her cell phone number. "I'll give you my number so you can text me anytime. Let's make lunch with me and Zuri a thing, kk?"

 

"Uh, sounds good!" I said, taking the small scrap of paper from her.

 

"I'll text you later tonight or tomorrow morning! Let's plan this out."

 

She looked over to Zuri as she came back, and I tried to take a minute to process while I finished my lunch.

 

Holy moly.

 

Just how out of touch was I? I wouldn't have even guessed that Morada or anyone else saw me as the 'lone wolf type.'

 

I was just starting to get used to the idea of being in a new place and trying to adjust to a new life that was completely different from what I was used to.

 

And now, with this little miscommunication, I had to face the fact that I was still totally out of touch with what others thought about me.

 

It was kind of scary to bring it back full circle. Anyway, there was no use fretting over it. I was getting worked up over small stuff that really didn't matter.

 

The important thing was that I had made new friends and that was something to celebrate. I grinned, looking up at Zuri and Morada as the bell rang.

 

"Well, I should get going," I said, standing up and stretching.

 

"Yeah, me too." Zuri said, giving Morada a high five.

 

"It's been great chatting with you, Ikki" Morada said, walking out of the hall with us. "And don't forget to text me!"

 

We all laughed and waved goodbye as we walked our separate ways.

 

The rest of the day passed without incident. Of course, I wasn't expecting there to be anything out of the ordinary. I guess I was just glad that things just 180'd so quickly for me, horrific Chaos Event aside. Suddenly, I had two friend groups in the robotics club and these honor students. Morada and Zuri were both super passionate about the stuff they liked.

 

I thought about the conversation Morada and I had about me not being 'antisocial'. It was kind of hilarious, and a bit sad.

 

The idea that I was some guy who looked like I hated the world and acted like a loner was kind of funny. If Morada and I hadn't hung out earlier, I would have had no idea that she thought that.

 

I was really starting to reconsider how I came off. I was glad that I hung out with her, because she had a very different idea of me than I had of myself.

 

Soon, I was on my way home for the weekend.

 

The cool autumn wind blew around me and for a moment, everything felt right in the world. Things were looking up, and nothing could possibly go wrong.