A long, long time ago…
"C'mon, big sis, let's go play in the forest!"
"Mom said not to go there, Aoto. It's dangerous."
"Don't worry, we'll be quick! In and out! In, and out."
"Fine. Ten minutes."
Two young children, a girl and a boy, with glowing white skin, eyes, and hair, were walking through a forest of giant trees, holding a basket of fruits in their hands.
"Look, Aoki!" Aoto pointed. "Let's go swim in that pond!"
"No way!" she replied. "We should head for the house before it gets too dark."
"Haha! I'm going to make a splash!"
Before she could stop him, her brother jumped into the water, causing a massive splash that drenched Aoki, and she dropped her basket.
"Aoto…" she growled, balling her fists. "Out. Now."
Aoto groaned. "Yeah, yeah. Party pooper."
He got out of the water, and with a bright glow, his clothes were suddenly dry. Aoki turned to him, expectantly.
"What?"
"Me too, idiot."
"Ugh. Alright. Cleaning Magic: Activate."
With a press of his palm to her shoulder, Aoki's clothes and hair immediately returned to normal. "Good. Let's get back home before any monsters come."
As she grabbed his arm and pulled him along, a shadow danced across the background, disappearing as quickly as it came.
After a long walk, their home came into view.
"Here we are. Home sweet home."
In front of them stood a metropolitan nation, with large skyscrapers and buildings shifting around. A castle stood in the center, and Aoki arrived at the entrance, where two guards, glowing white, stood in armor.
"Halt! State your names!" one demanded.
"Aoki Amasani," she answered. "This is my little brother, Aoto."
"Where are you coming from?"
"We were just grabbing some fruit for our parents," Aoki told them. "But this little idiot held us up."
"Hey!" Aoto exclaimed.
"Be careful next time. It gets dangerous at night. Don't risk your lives again."
They let the two inside, and they walked into the familiar sight of their bustling homeland. An overhead sign read: "Shonora District."
Aoki felt a buzzing sound in her pocket, and she pulled out a device that appeared to be a watch. Clicking on a button, a holographic display popped up, and two adult figures, a man and a woman, appeared.
"Mom, Dad?" Aoki questioned.
"Aoki," the mother stated. "Where are you two?"
"We're coming home now! We just had a little trouble on the way!"
"Okay. Don't make any pit stops. You come straight home, young lady! Do you hear me?"
She nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
Aoki and Aoto pushed through the crowd, heading for their house. Aoki looked at her watch: five minutes before midnight.
"We're still so far away!" Aoto moaned. "And I can't run any further!"
Aoki stopped. "Grab onto me, Aoto!"
"Huh? Why?"
"Just do it!"
Once he did so, Aoki's body glowed white, and a purple card appeared in her hand. "Card Magic: Elevate!"
She threw the card down, rising into the sky along her brother, who cheered. "Yay!"
She pulled him over a row of buildings, finally landing in front of a small house, which had a sign that read "Amasani House."
"Here we are," she announced.
"Mom told you never to use your Magic, Sis!" Aoto reminded her. "Too dangerous!"
"Please don't tell her," Aoki begged. "I don't want her to throw a fit again."
"Hmm, only if you share your berries with me!"
"Whatever, sure!"
She gave him a few of her fruits, and they entered the house, just as the clock struck midnight. As soon as they tumbled inside, Aoki's dad was waiting for her.
"You're ten seconds late," he noted. "You know what that means."
"Dad, please!" Aoki groaned.
"Sorry, kiddos. We have to ground you."
They both sighed. Their mother came over, holding a plate of food. "It's because we love you. Do you know the risks of staying out too late?"
"Yes, yes," Aoki said. "Dangerous monsters come out at night."
"Then you know not to wander for too long. You both can head to your rooms now. I'll let you know when dinner is ready."
They both shared a look and headed for their rooms, with Aoto putting a hand on Aoki's back. "Well, don't be sad! Could be worse!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Aoki headed to her room, a white and red colored room with a lush bed, a small chair, and a TV attached to the wall. She got into her bed and turned on the TV, which showed a video of an icy-haired young man walking through the front gate, with eyes that matched his hair.
"Welcoming General Kenshi Fujii!" the TV announcer stated. "He's survived another attack by those heinous demons! What can't he do?"
A female reporter walked up to Kenshi, putting the microphone to his lips. "Kenshi, can you explain to us the current state of the New War? How are you able to function so well, without the Mistress of Order by your side?"
Kenshi shrugged. "Sometimes, you gotta learn to be independent."
He also held his hand out, forming a katana of ice. "Plus, I can do this! Wicked, right?"
The crowd around him gasped and stared in awe. From her bedroom, Aoki smiled. "Wow, he's so cool…"
After asking a few more questions, the channel shifted to the news, and Aoki turned the TV off. "Okay. It's about time I get some sleep. Maybe I'll try and get ungrounded tomorrow. Maybe…"
As sleep came, Aoki had but a fleeting dream. In her vision, there was a human boy with dreadlocks, with glowing orange energy erupting off his body. As Aoki slowly approached the boy, she called out.
"Who are you?" she asked.
He turned towards her, muttering only two words.
"Dachii Jones."
And then, he disappeared, and a flash of red flickered.
BOOM.
Aoki jolted awake. Her parents quickly ran into her room as she blinked, dazed.
"Aoki!" her mom shouted. "We need to leave, now!"
"What's happening, Mom?"
Screams of people outside could be heard, and Aoki noticed shadowy figures rummaging through the streets, snatching up civilians.
"No time to explain!" her mom answered. "Grab Aoto! We need to get you two to the capital!"
Aoki quickly got up, getting dressed and grabbing Aoto, who was just as groggy as she was. With their parents hurrying them out of the door and into a silver car, Aoki's dad hit the gas pedal.
"Shit, move, move, move!"
He drove past the chaos, with the shadows jumping and massacring the people around them.
"Dad?" Aoki questioned, worried. "What is this? What's happening to our home?"
"They got in!" he replied. "It's not safe anymore! It's not safe—!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was stabbed in the chest with a claw that burst through the windshield. The rest of the family screamed, and his wife shook him. "Akito! AKITO!"
He coughed up blood. "Go…leave me…"
When Aoki saw the perpetrator, she noticed a female figure with greenish-gray hair standing on the hood of the car. Her skin was as black as the others around her, and she licked the blood off her claws.
"Aww, isn't this cute!"
A male landed beside her, this one with yellowish-orange hair.
"We're not here to play, sister. Kill them."
He tapped the hood and it detonated. As the car rolled over, Aoki and Aoto fell out of it.
"Mom? Mom!" she cried out.
Her mother was trapped under the dashboard. "I can't move…run away you two! Get to the capital! Don't stop until you get there!"
"No! I can't leave you!"
"You have to! Stay safe! And remember, I—-!"
With another explosion, the entire car blew up into pieces.
"NO!"
As the siblings approached, Aoki quickly grabbed Aoto and ran away. The brother watched for a moment. "Cowardly."
Aoki pulled him as fast as she could, while he lagged behind. "Sister? What are we going to do? Mom and Dad are dead!"
"I don't know! I'll figure something out! I promise!"
She navigated through the chaos, and she saw a sign that read: "Now Entering: Asuka District."
"We're almost there!" she assured, "We just need to keep going!"
The hand of a dying young man grabbed her foot, but she forced herself to shake it off and continue. Behind her, she could hear the cries and tears of more victims.
"This can't be happening…" she thought. "This has to be a dream! It has to be!"
Up ahead, the castle began to get closer even as her legs began to burn.
After more running, they blended with the crowd, heading past a sign that read "Capital District: Aleora."
"We made it!" she said, relieved. "Quick, we have to get into the castle!"
People tripped over each other as they scrambled to get into the doors, and they quickly packed the castle hallways. Aoki and Aoto slipped inside.
"We made it…" Aoki tearfully trembled. "We did it."
"What do we do now?" Aoto asked.
"The throne room!" Aoki realized. "If we can tell the King and Queen, maybe they can stop this!"
"Ooh, good idea!"
Aoto followed her as she pushed past the survivors, her eyes set on the throne room down the hall. People watched as she moved purposefully, finally reaching the end.
"Your Highnesses! Please! Your people need your help—-!"
She stopped abruptly, her eyes wide.
Standing in front of them was a large black dragon, with purple eyes and a glowing crown. In its jaws was the body of the King, while the Queen lay dead at its feet. "H…huh?"
When it opened its mouth, its voice sent shivers through Aoki's spine. "What do we have here…?"
The people crowded the halls behind Aoki saw it as well, and in the next moment, it became hectic.
"RUN! EVERYBODY RUN!"
"IT'S A MONSTER! A MONSTER!"
With a swipe of its claws, it slashed through the back half of the fleeing citizens. Aoki pulled Aoto down before they could be struck.
"Aoto, get up!" Aoki ordered. "We need to leave as quickly as possible!"
"But my legs…!"
"I'll carry you! Come on!"
With another swipe of its claws, the dragon smashed an entire wall, killing more people.
"Damn it, damn it!" Aoki thought. "Hurry up and move!"
As they tried to get through the door, the dragon's claws wrapped around Aoto, pulling him back. "Aoto!"
Aoki immediately turned around, rushing back into the throne room, where the dragon was examining him. "Aoki!"
"Let my brother go!" she demanded.
Without hesitating, she summoned a batch of red cards in her hand. "Card Magic: Explode!"
She threw them at the dragon, which stumbled back and crashed into a wall, while Aoki caught Aoto before he could hit the ground.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah! That dragon's scary!"
"I know, but now we have to move!"
Before they could leave, the dragon slashed the wall above them, blocking the entrance with rubble. "Shit!"
Aoki turned back to the dragon, which shifted into the form of a large figure, who had shadowy armor covering his body and a shadow sword in his hand. "How interesting…Rikuna…come."
Aoki held Aoto close as a dark-haired woman emerged from the shadows, holding a sword in her hands. "Yes, Master?"
"Do not let them escape," he ordered.
"As you command, My Lord."
Aoki formed another red card in her hands, throwing it at Rikuna, but she blocked it with her sword, sending it into the ceiling. "Don't come any closer! I won't let you hurt us!"
Rikuna raised her blade, her gray eyes shining in the moonlight. "You'll do nothing."
SLICE.
Aoki winced, but she found that she was left unharmed. Instead…
Her brother was in front of her, bleeding heavily from his chest. "AOTO!"
He collapsed to the ground, and Aoki caught him. "Aoto! What did you do? No…all this bleeding…!"
Blood gushed from his mouth. "I couldn't…let her harm…my big sister…"
"You idiot! Just stay still, I'll fix this, I promise!"
"Please…promise me…you'll be happy…Big Sis…that…that makes me happy…"
And with that, his body went limp. "NO!"
As Rikuna raised her blade again, a black card dropped from Aoki as she sobbed uncontrollably, and as it hit the floor, a massive wave of black energy struck Rikuna, knocking her back.
"YOU BASTARDS! I'LL MURDER YOU! ALL OF YOU! YOU BASTARDS! YOU—-!"
The "Master" hit her with a blast of black energy, causing her to bleed and knocking her to the ground. "You…shall perish…"
Aoki collapsed, watching as the man prepared to attack again, and the last thing she saw before her vision went black was a dragon of ice swooping into the throne room.
And then it all went dark.
The key…Deity…is the Key…
Aoki woke up, with a young man standing over her. "Hello? You alive? Intact?"
She squinted. "General Fujii…?"
Fujii examined her. "Wow. You took quite the beating. I'm impressed you managed to last against such powerful foes!"
"Aoto…" she murmured. "Where's…my brother…"
"Oh," Fujii remarked, pointing to a tarp, as medics extracted a body. "I'm really sorry about that."
Aoki began to burst into tears. Fujii put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you're a brave girl. If you'd like, I can give you a new home!"
"A new…home?"
He nodded. "See, I haven't had any members for a long time now. No one's really strong enough to stand by my side. But, you just helped save a lot of people! So, what do you say?"
"Join you…?" she asked.
"Yep! Squad S-1! Strongest Military Squad in history!"
"But…why? Why did they do all this?"
Fujii tapped his chin. "They're looking for something. I don't know exactly what it is, but I do know that it's dangerous. Whatever comes next, it won't be easy. Do you wish to join?"
Aoki wiped her tears. "But I'm only 10!"
"That doesn't matter!" Fujii assured. "You've got more heart than most grown men! I can take you, train you; and sharpen you into the finest woman this nation's ever seen!"
"Is this what I want?" Aoki thought. "Is this my path?"
She lingered for a moment, before she nodded. "Okay. I join."
"Great! Come with me! I've got something important to show you!"
He paused for a moment. "Also, you might wanna take this."
He showed her a silver katana, handing it to her. "Every soldier needs a weapon."
She took it, standing up. "Yes, sir."
As he led her along, another image of the boy flashed in her dreams. "Key…find the key…"
"Who is that boy?" she wondered. "And where will I find him?"
There was no response.
"Okay. Well, whatever it takes, I will get justice for my family, and stop those evil demons! If this boy is the key…"
She took a deep breath.
"…then I'll find him."
And then, the boy woke up.
—-