Fan (1)
This world is home to monsters called Negatives. They're kaiju that invade through dimensional rifts, creatures that proved emotions themselves are a form of energy. Divided into kaijin, kaiju, and Infected, they're objects of terror that attack humanity without respite.
The military can't handle Negatives. Guns, explosions, blades—nothing touches them, no matter what you try. Negatives are irrational monsters. They envelop themselves in barriers made of an energy humans can't wield, unleashing one-sided violence that nothing else can counter. If these things kept invading relentlessly, it would be natural for humanity to have no way to endure.
But everyday life didn't change much. That's because this world doesn't have only Negatives.
How many years had passed since kaiju started appearing across the globe and weird academic terms began popping up? The world that everyone thought was doomed somehow kept turning just fine. It was all thanks to the magical girls who suddenly appeared, declaring they'd protect people from the kaiju invasions.
The Defense Force's unified global branches allied with the magical girls; megacorporations like True Vision—who you might suspect were torturing actual aliens—churning out all sorts of gear; and above all, the ever-growing number of magical girls as time went on. People were gradually adapting to the absurd reality of kaiju invading from other dimensions and magical girls holding them off with magic.
No, adaptation turned into outright enjoyment for some. Magical girls are idols. Beautiful young women saving the world with magic ordinary people can't use. With nothing but tantalizing elements, it's only natural fans form clubs around them.
Kaiju outbreaks were a hassle, but they didn't feel as dangerous as before. The real danger was for the magical girls fighting kaiju and kaijin head-on; ordinary folk just got help from the girls, hunkered down in shelters to cheer them on, then came out after.
If you were unlucky, you might die or get kidnapped by kaiju... but they'd come rescue you first. As that routine repeated, people's fear of kaiju shifted to fascination with the magical girls.
The Defense Force even created an Information Management Division to boost armaments and PR. They set up individual ViewTube channels for each magical girl. The content was just combat footage, rescue clips, and Defense Force ads—pretty dry stuff—but people went wild for it anyway.
It wasn't some bizarre scheme. Magical girls could claim their channel revenue as base support funds, with the Defense Force handling operations. They'd occasionally measure and quantify the girls' power into a Power Rank. They also tallied Service Scores based on rescues.
ViewTube subscribers, Power Rank, Service Score... The Defense Force ranked the girls by these three metrics and allocated support funds accordingly. Every magical girl was a Defense Force combat idol.
Magical girls protected people from Negatives, but the way people saw them wasn't like soldiers, guards, or bodyguards. Dangerous as it sounds, everyone loved them—and behind closed doors, lusted after them.
Fighting Negatives gave them healthy bodies; the unknown energy made them stunningly beautiful. There were many magical girls, all different types of beauties, so everyone had at least one to their taste.
No one knows a magical girl's true identity. An ordinary girl could awaken as one at any moment, and no one knows why. Basically... they're shrouded in secrecy, guardians protecting people.
Ideal looks, defending us all—beautiful, strong women. Any normal guy would fall for magical girls. It's only natural.
Not all hide their faces. You can tell what they look like, who they might be. But even if you figure out their identity, you're strictly forbidden from mentioning it. Probably to protect their daily lives.
In summary, magical girls are guardians who crush invading Negatives with magic, idols drawing popularity with their perfect looks. A ranked, competitive combat idol group maintaining a mysterious concept to safeguard their private lives.
And I'm just an ordinary office worker in A City who loves those magical girls. Name's Aenger, profession: programmer. My favorite is the 'Saint,' Rapid.
I applied to be a Defense Force communications officer to see Rapid and Ash, flunked the exam, then took a job in A City—Rapid's patrol zone. Hobbies: debating Rapid's exact bust size and shape; saving her raw ViewTube footage from outbreaks before Defense Force censorship; and sneaking into attack sites to collect her leftover hair strands.
Today, I left work early again to collect Rapid's hair from the attack site.
"CCTV... okay, this one's busted."
Filming magical girl battles or lingering in evacuation zones is all illegal. Get caught on CCTV, and they'll trace you, fire you, drag you in for a full investigation.
I crept through the ruined streets, avoiding camera fields, and pulled out my Vision Phone—True Vision's portable terminal. I replayed the video I'd saved from ViewTube before it got deleted.
The guy who shot this wasted no time filming his rescuers, Rapid and Ash, even as kaiju attacked him. With all Negatives eliminated and the girls gone, he's probably safe in a shelter now.
Idiot uploaded it to ViewTube bragging—after evacuation lifts, Defense Force will haul him in for questioning.
I checked the deleted video to map Rapid's movements.
"This way...?"
The attack site was wrecked: buildings with walls punched through, shops in ruins, sealed shelters, kaiju corpses everywhere. You might spot bodies if unlucky, but not human ones where Rapid fought.
Upended asphalt, shattered sidewalks, splintered street trees... The path was unrecognizable, but tracking her route in the video was enough.
Following it, I activated the mana sensor on my Vision Phone. Mana is the power only magical girls and Negatives wield—ordinary folks can't handle it. It's meant to help people flee battle sites quickly, but it works for this too.
Guided by the screen, I headed where mana spiked. When it hit a threshold, I scanned around.
"There!"
Ash and Rapid have so much mana, even shed hair retains it. It fades over time, but fresh drops register strong.
Brown, curly—Rapid's hair, from her battle spot, high mana reading. Jackpot. Not one strand, but several.
"Haa... haa..."
I carefully plucked Rapid's hairs with tweezers from my pocket, slipping them into a plastic case. No splits or damage, perfect condition. Follicles still moist. Top-tier.
I sealed the case just as other hunters—late arrivals—showed up.
"Hey~ Long time no see again... hehe."
"Oh, White Honey Thread."
I'm not the only one with this hobby. He goes by White Honey Thread online, an infamous Ash maniac on the secret magical girl fan site.
"Heehee... L-long time..."
Beside him was White Hair Stamp, another notorious Ash creep from the site. Brothers in perversion: one collects her hair, the other peels up tiles crushed by her signature bladed heels.
"Y-you already got 'em?"
"Figured Rapid got her hair yanked by that werewolf."
"Hehe... T-too bad, just this one Ash hair... You scored big."
"M-me too... She didn't step much today... Can't peel asphalt..."
"Ahahaha! Good to see you all! Makes sense—Rapid and Ash today!"
As we chatted with the creeps, the real deal arrived—a true deviant fan.
"Jam Stamp!"
"No way, Jam Stamp...!"
"Rapid and Ash together? Even he shows up."