Until today, the only girls who ever fell for me did so metaphorically—and even that was mostly wishful thinking on my part.
But this time, she literally fell on me.
From the sky.
And she wasn't wearing much.
Let's rewind.
My name's Yuuta Aikawa. Seventeen. Second-year high school student. Average grades, average looks, above-average ability to go completely unnoticed. Which is exactly how I liked it.
In my world, "heroes" exist.
Not the kind in comic books. I mean the real thing—Mahō Shōjo. Magical girls. Beautiful warriors in frilly outfits who fly across the sky, blasting energy beams and shouting attack names that sound like desserts.
They fight Creatures of Chaos—big, nasty monsters that show up out of nowhere, smashing buildings and scaring the hell out of everyone.
But honestly? It's all gotten kinda… normal.
Mahō Shōjo have been around since I was a kid. These days, you see them everywhere: on morning news reports, in top 10 rankings, even on late-night talk shows."Kaori Lumi's new transformation wows fans!""Mahō Shōjo Luna defeats Chaos Beast #471 while rescuing kittens!"
They're like pop idols crossed with superheroes.Except no one knows who they really are. Secret identities and all that.
Just last week, our class watched a news clip of Mahō Shōjo Tempesta fighting some tentacled thing in downtown Osaka. I remember thinking, I hope I never see one of those things in person.
The universe, apparently, took that as a challenge.
Which brings us to now.
It was lunchtime, and I'd decided to eat outside on the rooftop—my usual escape from the noisy classroom. The weather was nice, sky clear, not a single ominous cloud in sight.
I had just unwrapped my convenience store sandwich when I heard it.
A whistling sound.
Like something falling.
Something big.
Then—
THUMP.
Air exploded out of my lungs as something landed square on top of me.
Correction: someone.
I was pinned flat on my back, body aching, vision spinning. Something warm pressed against my chest.
No… not something.
Two somethings.
I blinked. A face was inches from mine. Pale skin, flushed cheeks, a strand of silvery hair falling over one eye.
Big. Bright. Violet eyes.
Wide open.
Staring.
"Ugh..." she groaned. "Ow. That was not a controlled landing."
Controlled landing?
I looked down.
My hands—God help me—had instinctively gone to her waist to steady her.
She wasn't hurt.
But she also wasn't exactly dressed.
I mean, sure, technically she was wearing clothes—some kind of glossy white-and-pink bodysuit with detached sleeves and ribbons. It looked like something from an anime convention.Except this wasn't cosplay.
My brain screamed the words before I could stop it:
Mahō Shōjo.
She sat up suddenly, straddling me.
Which made things worse.
Much worse.
"Are you okay?!" she asked, her voice panicked now. "Did I break anything? Wait—why do you smell so—"
She paused. Sniffed. Her eyes narrowed.
"Oh no," she muttered. "You're compatible."
I blinked. "I'm what now?"
Then she grabbed my face with both hands and stared into my eyes.
Her face turned bright red.
"Crap," she whispered. "I just found a source."
Before I could ask what that meant, she leaned in and—
Kissed me.
Not a peck.
A kiss.
Soft lips. Warm breath. Her body pressed tight against mine.
Every neuron in my body fired at once, trying to make sense of what the hell was happening. And then—
FLASH.
A burst of light exploded around us.
Her outfit glowed, shifting colors—white turning to deep pink, ribbons floating like they were underwater. Symbols lit up along her gloves. A translucent heart hovered behind her, pulsing.
She pulled back, gasping.
"I'm charged."
"You're what?"
"No time to explain," she said, leaping to her feet with a kind of supernatural grace. "A Chaos Beast is coming."
And then I heard it.
A low, grinding roar, like metal and fire being chewed together. The sky darkened. Something massive flew overhead—a twisted creature of gears and smoke, like a centipede fused with a jet engine.
It screeched. Windows shattered.
My heart nearly stopped.
The girl—this Mahō Shōjo—raised one arm. A rod of glowing energy appeared in her hand.
"By the Contract of Hearts, I summon the Spear of Love! Transformation: Starlight Piercer Form!"
A beam of pink light exploded from her weapon. She launched herself into the air like a rocket, twirling, spinning, slashing through the beast's tail with one dazzling strike.
People screamed below.
But she didn't falter.
She dodged a spray of acid, blasted a hole through its midsection, and—before I could fully process it—detonated the thing's head with a final, radiant thrust.
The monster exploded into shards of light.
Silence.
I realized I was still lying on the ground. Still dazed. Still tasting strawberries.
She floated down gently and landed beside me. Her transformation flickered, then faded, returning her to a slightly disheveled version of the girl from before.
She looked at me, hands on hips, and sighed.
"Well. That was a first."
"A first what?"
"A first you. Most people can't generate that much LOVE in one hit."
I stared. "Love?"
She nodded. "That kiss? You charged me with an insane amount of emotional energy. Enough to go full combat mode without my normal battery routine."
"Battery… routine?"
She waved it off. "Doesn't matter now. Look, you didn't see anything, okay? I'm just a normal girl. If anyone asks, you passed out from low blood sugar and had a weird dream."
"You kissed me."
"Shut up," she muttered, her face red again. "Emergency protocol. Trust me, it's not how I usually get power."
"So… who are you?"
She hesitated.
Then smirked.
"You'll find out. Probably sooner than you'd like."
And with that, she leapt off the rooftop and vanished.
Leaving me alone.
Flat on my back.
And very, very confused.