Tokyo: Magical Girl Shatters My Dream of Going Public

2023 4 Month 20 Day.

Outside the factory, Kurokawa was making final preparations for departure.

The company is just starting out, and its only vehicle is a second-hand van.

The enclosed compartment provides basic privacy protection.

"Headllight, hydraulic shears, jack, three batteries, Bluetooth speaker, small remote control car..."

The equipment will be loaded onto the vehicle piece by piece.

These are basically all the items needed for this mission.

In addition, Kurokawa had already put on his combat suit, and covered it with a casual outfit to conceal it.

Kurokawa glanced at the time on his phone again: 4:32 PM.

School should have let out by now, but the girl named Suzukawa Chinatsu still hasn't arrived...

"Could it be that they realized yesterday that this isn't Yagi Heavy Industries, so they deliberately didn't come today?"

Kurokawa waited in the same spot for another eight minutes, but the other party still hadn't arrived.

He was very disappointed.

"Looks like we've been tricked..."

He didn't wait any longer, got in the car, and prepared to go to his destination alone.

However, just two or three minutes after he drove off along the only road outside the factory, he saw a petite figure running hurriedly from a distance.

When she saw a car coming out, Qianxia subconsciously moved to the side of the road.

Only after confirming he hadn't mistaken the person did Kurokawa pull over to the side of the road. Through the half-open passenger window, Kurokawa asked in confusion, "Why are you only arriving now?"

Chika exclaimed in surprise, her gaze passing through the half-open car window before she saw Kurokawa.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, sliding down her cheeks and shimmering in the sunlight.

She was panting, her voice cheerful: "Oh, it's you, Uncle. Sorry, the bus stop is a bit far from here, it took me a little longer to run here..."

Did you come from the bus stop? Not the train station?

There is a bus stop on the main road outside the factory, but because it is at the end of the line, only a few buses pass by each day.

The bus stop not far away, however, had a lot of traffic.

The bus stop is only two or three kilometers away from the factory as the crow flies, but if you take in the winding roads, it's at least six or seven kilometers away.

And she actually ran all the way here?

The slight dissatisfaction caused by the other party's lateness vanished instantly.

"Get in the car, we're off." Kurokawa's voice was deep, but slightly gentler than usual.

Chika responded with an "Oh," opened the car door, and climbed into the passenger seat.

I had just run six or seven kilometers when I stopped, and sweat started pouring out uncontrollably.

As she looked for a handkerchief, Kurokawa pulled a stack of tissues from the storage compartment with one hand and handed it to her.

"Use this."

"Thank you!" Chika took it, wiped her face haphazardly, and stray hairs clung to her flushed cheekbones.

The bread truck bumped along the dirt road until its tires touched the smooth asphalt surface.

The street scene outside the window began to flow by, and the wind blew in through the window cracks, carrying away some of the stuffiness.

As Chika's breathing evened out, she suddenly turned to Kurokawa, her eyes filled with curiosity: "By the way, Uncle. What should I call you?"

"?"

Kurokawa glanced at Chinatsu beside him in surprise, speechless.

"You're about to risk your life with me, and you're only now asking me my name?"

"Hehe... I was so happy yesterday I forgot to ask you..."

"..." Kurokawa was speechless. "Kurokawa Yoru. When addressing someone at work, just call me President from now on."

"Yes, President!" Chinatsu hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously, "By the way, President...where are we going next?"

"..." Kurokawa focused on driving, only saying, "You'll know when you get there."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Nighttime, 19:21 PM.

Tokyo, Kita-ku, Shimo Subway Station entrance.

The bread truck slowly came to a stop.

Kurokawa looked out the car window at both sides of the road.

The houses on both sides of the road are all low-rise residential buildings, and you can hardly see any houses with lights on along the entire street.

The only light in front of me was the blue and white sign of a 24-hour self-service laundromat.

There is also a children's playground on the left side of the road, and you can vaguely see the hardened sandpit by the dim light.

A gust of wind swept by, and the rusty swing groaned as it swayed slowly.

"We've arrived. Get off the bus."

Chika glanced at the sign for Zhimao Station on the now-closed subway station entrance.

As she unbuckled her seatbelt, she asked, her voice unconsciously lowered, "President, weren't we going to Akabane-Iwabuchi Station? How did we end up at Shimo Station?"

Kurokawa had already arrived at the back of the car and, while opening the trunk, explained.

"The Akabane-Iwabuchi subway station collapsed a year ago. If we want to get there, we can only enter from Shimo Station and walk along the subway line to that place."

"I see..."

Chinatsu followed Kurokawa to the back of the car, where Kurokawa handed her a headlamp and told her to put it on.

Then he handed the backpack containing the battery, hydraulic shears, military shovel, and other items to Chika.

"Also, carry this on your back."

It took Chika quite a while to put on the headlamp, and the backpack was much heavier than she had imagined.

She didn't understand why Kurokawa was stuffing several batteries into his backpack.

As for those other toys, remote control cars and Bluetooth speakers, I have no idea what their purpose is.

But she didn't complain, waiting for Kurokawa to take off his civilian clothes to reveal his combat suit underneath.

She asked curiously, "President, why didn't you just wear your combat suit?"

"....."

Kurokawa removed the jack from the car and simply asked the other person a question without saying a word.

"Do you think we're magical girls who can transform into anything? If we're damaged in battle, we'll have to walk home ourselves, unless you want to go back naked..."

"Hmm..." Chika didn't expect the reason to be so realistic.

Without saying another word, Kurokawa pushed the jack and arrived at the entrance of the subway station.

This subway station had long been closed and no longer in use due to the previous disaster.

The somewhat rusty roller shutter door in front of us became the biggest obstacle.

Kurokawa wedged the crowbar into the gap at the bottom of the roller shutter, pressed it down with his weight, and twisted it.

A gap appeared in the rusty metal roller shutter.

Standing to the side, Chika, who was doing something like this for the first time, asked worriedly, "President, isn't this place sealed off? Is it really safe for us to sneak in like this...?"

Kurokawa remained silent. He pushed the jack under the roller shutter door and turned to the side, instructing, "You press it down."

Chinatsu didn't hesitate and followed Kurokawa's instructions, continuously pressing down the hydraulic rod.

Squeak squeak squeak—!

The piercing sound dragged on for a long time in the empty street.

The few remaining lights in the room were quietly turned off.

Suddenly, a completely different cold wind, carrying the earthy smell of the ground, rushed out from the gap with a "whoosh".

The wind instantly dried the sweat from Qianxia's temples, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin.

She subconsciously took half a step closer to Kurokawa behind her: "President, opening such a large entrance should be..."

The words came to an abrupt halt.

Behind him, Kurokawa was recording a video on his phone, which he hadn't noticed at the time.

"President... what are you doing?"

"Me?" Kurokawa said matter-of-factly, "I'm recording evidence of your crimes."

"Eh? Eh—!" Chinatsu's eyes widened, and she pressed down three more times in fright.

Kurokawa chuckled, calmly put his phone away, and said in a low voice, "From now on, we're in cahoots. You know how to keep it a secret, right?"

"I, I..." Chinatsu stammered, unsure of what to say. "We really were doing something illegal!"

She now deeply regrets having unknowingly boarded this pirate ship.

"Don't worry, we just entered the restricted area without permission. Even if we're caught, at most we'll have to pay for the shutter and get a verbal warning..."

Upon hearing Kurokawa's words, Chinatsu breathed a sigh of relief.

"snort."

Seeing her flustered appearance, the mischievous smile on Kurokawa's face finally disappeared completely, until there was not a trace of a smile left.

"Okay, let's end the joke here."

He turned on his headlamp, illuminating the cement ground covered in a thick layer of dust.

He solemnly instructed Chinatsu: "From now on, if you don't want to die, follow my orders."

Chika swallowed quietly; her throat was already a little dry.

She nodded hesitantly, "I...I understand!"