A pure white fluff ball floated in the distance outside her 25th-floor window. It bobbed carelessly in the breeze, catching the light of the full moon. Mii pressed her forehead to the cool glass. What's that? As it drifted closer, a pair of long, drooping ears became visible. A rabbit-shaped ball. How strange.
With a sigh that fogged the glass, she slid the balcony door open. The smells of cold wind greeted her face. The city sounds rushed in, a distant hum of a life she observed but never touched. Just as she stepped out, the fluffy thing plummeted into her balcony floor with a comical sound.
Boing. Boing. The absurd sound reached her ears as though the creature were producing its own sound effects. She must be losing her mind. It was a rabbit. An impossibly fat, ridiculously soft-looking rabbit. With that bouncines, it could have even safely landed on the ground below without being splattered.
It frowned, dusting itself off with tiny paws. "Must you think so loudly? I can sense malicious, intrusive thoughts from you, girl!"
Mii blinked. Okay. What in the world of talking rabbit is it?
"Hey, hey! If you've got something to say, say it to my face. Don't mutter in your head." He squeaked with voice a blend of cute and annoyed.
Before she could process it, she'd reached out and grabbed him. He was every bit as soft as he looked, a perfect, warm, living plushie. She gave an experimental squeeze. The finest stuffed toy.
"I said stop! Nooo, how could an honored Moon Rabbit like me be toyed with like this?"
She loosened her grip, more out of surprise than obedience. He wobbled on his haunches, shooting her a look of pure annoyance. "So. You gonna talk now?"
"I thought you might be fake," she said, her voice felt flat. "That this was just another weird dream."
The rabbit caught his breath. Wobbled upright on his fat little body. Then of all things, the rabbit pulled a conductor's baton from nowhere and waved it like he was leading an orchestra.
"Toudou Mii. The Council has issued you an invitation. You have been selected to become a Magical Girl!!"
Mii stared. The baton. The pompous declaration. The sheer absurdity of it all, silhouetted against the moon over a clear night sky. She let out a long, weary sigh.
"...In a manga, the riddiculous mascot is always evil. So, no thanks."
The rabbit hopped onto the railing, as light as a ball of wool. "Not an unreasonable suspicion," he said primly, "but maybe you've read the wrong manga."
The rabbit cleared his throat, brushing past her objection. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal. You don't want to miss it!" He gestured with his baton at the sprawling apartment behind her.
A cold knot tightened in Mii's stomach. "Leave it for what?"
"A brand new life. A fresh start. Something you've always wanted. Leaving all this behind." His beady eyes glinted, seeing right through her.
Leaving everything behind… yeah. She'd thought about it. Too many times. But there had to be a cost. Always.
"What is the price? There must be a catch."
The rabbit's ears twitched.
"It's not much. But the world you'll be living in… probably worse than this one."
Mii's fingers tightened on the cold metal railing. The very one she'd leaned against so many nights, wondering what the pavement below would feel like. Not that she'd ever do it. The thought of creating a scandal for this family is still beyond her.
"Are you trying to not sell me on this?" she asked, her voice quieter.
The rabbit giggled, "You won't refuse. Nobody refuses me. I only make the offer to someone desperate enough to throw everything away."
He was right. This luxurious apartment was a cage lined with silk. Every day here was a facade. Toudou Mii, the perfect, quiet, step daughter. A baggage. She was tired of playing a normal family member role in this family.
"Why should I trust you?" The last, feeble defense.
"You have other choices. Stay. Fade away. Or take even more desperate option you can imagine." The rabbit's cheer didn't dim. "But my offer is the only one that comes with a new future for you. Despite how grim it might be."
Her heart hammered against her ribs. This was insane. But the comfortable lie of her life here was a slower, quieter insanity.
"Where do I sign?"
The rabbit produced a scroll of parchment, blank except for a faint, silvery flower pattern along the edges. "Anywhere you like."
Why is it blank? What is she even agreeing to? The questions surfaced and were immediately dismissed. Hesitation was a luxury for people with something to lose. She took the quill and wrote the name she hadn't used in years, the one that still felt like her own: Tsukishiro Mii.
The ink shimmered, burning with moonlight before settling into the page. The contract was sealed.
The rabbit rolled up the scroll with a satisfied smack of his lips. "Excellent! No refunds, no regrets. Transportation will commence immediately."
He turned back to the dizzying drop, the city lights stretching out like a bed of jewels far below. "You know, the Toudous aren't so bad. You could have leeched off this comfort forever."
The wind whipped her long, silky hair, the same as her mother's. "There's something I want to achieve on my own. Staying here would just make me forget how important it is."
"Puberty hits hard for young girls." The rabbit said with infuriating wisdom.
Before she could retort, he raised his baton. "Enough chatter! Load: Telekinesis!"
"Let's make our exit a memorable one!" Enthusiastic as ever, the rabbit jumped for a moment and...
An invisible force yanked her forward. Her stomach lurched into her throat as her feet left the safety of the balcony.
"W-wait! WHAAAAAAA—?!"
The scream was torn from her lips by the rushing wind. The 25 floors screamed past her. This was it. She'd been tricked. This was the price a splat on the pavement. Panic was a white-hot fire in her veins.
But the Moon Rabbit fell beside her, limbs splayed comically, a blissful smile on his face.
"Wheeeeeee!"
Just as the street below rushed up to meet her, a brilliant, blinding light erupted from the rabbit, swallowing the world. The air cracked with energy.
"See you on the other side! 3... 2... 1!"
The light vanished. So did the sensation of falling. For a heart-stopping second, there was nothing but void.
Then, gravity reclaimed her with a vengeance. She was falling again, but this time into a sea of darkness.
"Welcome," the rabbit's voice echoed from somewhere beside her, "to the mist-shrouded city of Lunaris!"
Mii's eyes snapped open. From thirty thousand feet above the ground, a full-blown city engulfed in total darkness stretched before her.