02. First Steps Are Hard
You know, upon learning that this world is besieged by demons on the regular, your first question might be: 'Who's doing something about this obvious threat to everyone and everything?'
The answer—unsurprisingly—is a severely underfunded government-contracted company that hires out freelancers to battle the forces of darkness.
Why freelancers, you ask?
Well, death benefits are pretty steep for a full employees. Freelancers? Not so much.
Also, there's something about noble traditions. Everything needs a fig-leaf. The Demon-Hunters Guild has existed for ages, after all, and some freelance mercenary system that goes back centuries isn’t about to be scrapped.
Nowadays, it even has a nice app and the need for an official license.
(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)
Can’t be hunting demons without a license, can we?
Also, no demon hunting without proper weaponry. Your regular stuff won’t cut it.
Literally.
You need a Hunter’s Mark, a small Bluetooth-enabled wristband that allows you to summon weapons made from your own personal mana.
And that thing is not included with your license. Ya have to buy it yourself and it isn’t cheap either.
Anyway, I got my license, and after cutting my meals in half for a month, the Hunter’s Mark too. The whole process was more a formality than anything.
Okay, I did run into a small hiccup at the Demon-Hunters Guild.
The lady at the counter got a minor heart attack reading my family name—pretty boy’s family is, after all, a renowned warrior clan who has been battling demon for generations.
Big shoes to fill—not for me tho.
I had to do the whole song and dance of; 'well you see I got disowned and cast out'. I don’t think it particularly improved my standing with the local branch office. The lady at the counter was giving me a rather disapproving stare by the end of it.
But with everything sorted it's my time to shine.
Or so I thought…
Turns out summoning a weapon and maintaining it is harder than expected. Takes a lot of concentration. You really need to focus. The 'protagonist' of the light novel made it sound so easy! I think it wasn’t even mentioned as a difficulty.
Typical.
The only thing I got to stick around for any amount of time is a very basic short sword and even that starts flickering after a few minutes.
So I resign myself these days to simple training at home to get the weapon summoning down.
Shiro remarked that I clearly wasn’t cut out for demon-hunting. That my mana was simply too low. That I should give up before I hurt myself or die, but what does he know?
────୨ৎ────
Weeks go by, and one day at the end of a shift in the breakroom, Hikari tells me she's happy that my mood has improved.
She noticed?
I explain that I have a goal now and show her my Hunter’s Mark. I tell her that I’m going to become an A-rank hunter.
Shiro laughs, but Hikari encourages me, says she believes in me.
The scene settles into its usual routine and I start inhaling my rice cake.
I got paperwork duty, have to write everything up for the shift change and I want to be home early so I can train more.
Sitting across, I catch Hikari staring at me. She has these very sharp eyes I find quite intriguing and such a fine and beautiful face. She's far too good for this place.
I keep asking myself how a girl like her, two years my junior, ended up in such a dead end job. To be fair, she does part time, isn’t around half the week, but I don’t know what she does outside the konbini.
Who are you Nagata Hikari?
Shiro is easier to pin down, he's just a loser. No different from me, but in his case he's burning all his money on his gacha addiction, instead of on rent. He still lives with his big brother, some bland salaryman.
I heard them arguing once, outside the konbini.
Makes me think Shiro is going to land on the street one of these days.
I mean he seems to be begging for it and I kinda have experience on that front now.
Hikari is still studying me.
“What are looking at? Do I have something on my face?”
“You know Katsumi, you have such pretty face. I think with a dash of make up I can make you look like, totally cute.”
That has Shiro laughing again.
He says something that I ignore, as it has about three different slurs in it.
~*☆ Important lesson! If one aspires to be a girl one day, as I do, one has to take such opportunities when they present themselves. ☆*~
Get in all the girl training you can get, as early as possible.
I don’t want to fail at being a girl when I finally am one, that would be so embarrassing!
Putting down my meager meal, I say:
“You think so? Can you try, like now?”
Hikari’s face lights up.
Her eyes sparkle.
Oh no. I’ve unleashed some kind of monster!
Please have some mercy, I’m actually quite sensitive.
(இ﹏இ`｡)
Shiro groans in the background and lets us know that he's off — doesn’t want to stick around for any of this.
He leaves.
With Shiro out of the picture, Hikari pulls out her make-up kit and I’m instantly mildly intimidated.
“Let’s make you even more pretty Katsumi!”
Okay this may have been a mistake.
I can practically feel my heart trying to escape my ribcage.
I’m suddenly so fucking nervous.
Hikari comes closer.
Her leg brushes against mine and I’m ready to jump.
I have never been this close to a girl before.
This is terrifying.
But I must remain strong, for the sake of future girl-me! She will thank me for this.
Hikari takes my face between her fingers.
Her touch is warm and welcoming, almost hesitant.
Is she being careful or gentle?
Her face up close is stunning, I watch both amusement and concentration wash across it.
The tranquility holds and for a moment I escape the dreary breakroom and my rotten circumstances.
Just Hikari and me.
Then I’m told to tilt my head this and than way; eyes open; eyes closed.
The instructions keep coming, they're spoken with a soft and kind voice.
I lose myself in the bliss of the moment.
To have all this attention—how wonderful.
I feel almost dazed when Hikari signals that she's done.
This was so nice!
( ꈍ◡ꈍ)
I want to do it again!
Hikari steers me to the small mirror and it makes no sense.
There's a second girl.
Like genuinely.
No pretty boy, just Hikari and another girl.
Hikari copies my shocked expression and spins me around to face me.
I’m again reminded how extremely close we are.
Her breath falls across my skin and I hope that I don’t smell. I shower twice a day, but guys do stay kinda smelly. Girls smell so much nicer.
Hikari looks as if she wants to apologize.
“Something wrong Katsumi?”
I grab her hands, a bright smile plastered across my face.
“Please teach me how to do that.”
Her lips curl into a mischievous grin.
“Oh, I’m totally going to teach you.”
The eyes of predator stare back at me.
Eep!
Hikari can be really frightening if she wants to!
────୨ৎ────
So, to my expenses, I add the make-up essentials Hikari recommended. This will all come in handy when I finally get to be a girl. A down payment. An investment into girlhood.
I try my very best every evening after work to improve my skills. Also, apparently applying make-up before my sword summoning training helps me concentrate, or… something.
It goes a lot better!
I'm able to maintain it for at least two hours, which is quite the jump from before.
I'm ready.
Okay… almost ready.
Most of the regular demon-hunters fight in their street clothes, but that's no good for me. The A-ranks all have some stellar outfits while hunting, cool coats or fabulous dresses, all following a theme. And since I’m going to be an A-rank, it would be kinda awkward when I change my outfit half-way through my career.
Also having a special outfit for when I go out hunting sounds fun!
I got my theme already, or most of it. I aspire to be a girl one day and, with the approach Hikari showed me, I’m going to get as much girl training in as possible. So I’m going to crossdress!
That’s the plan.
Also I got really lucky on that front with pretty boy anyway. He's nothing like his big brothers—my big brothers, it’s about time I start thinking like that. My older siblings have that intimidating handsome man look. Sharp lines, broad shoulders.
Not me tho, pretty boy got cursed with an androgynous face and slender figure, kinda frail and meek, but ideal for my purposes. Like seriously how is this guy supposed to be the descendant of a proud line of warriors?
Angling myself in the mirror to take better look, it’s really apparent.
Pretty boy looks like a pathetic weakling.
I look like a pathetic weakling.
But fear not, once I get my hands on the restricted hunter’s gear, this will become the body of a graceful beauty! I mean, with this face and height, it's going to be my fate. I can see it.
It's want I want to be.
Graceful, demure and maybe a bit mysterious.
I scour online until I find want I need.
The perfect outfit, incorporating some of pretty boy’s history. He comes from a long tradition of demon hunters, so let’s go with something more traditional.
Something flowing too, because well… I need hide this male body.
(╥‸╥)
Life can be so unfair!
I just want to be cute already!
Sigh.
Back to my task.
In this world there once existed shrine maidens dedicated to the hunting of demons, and they still sell their outfits. It’s more cosplay than anything these days, but whatever.
I’ll add some accessories and see if I can the really high quality stuff.
And of course the rest — can’t forget the essentials like a long haired wig.
Inconspicuous in black.
And underwear.
Okay that feels wrong again.
Whatever.
Done.
Everything ordered!
────୨ৎ────
So, I do another month of starvation.
These plain onigiri will be the death of me.
(×﹏×)
Hikari gives me a wry smile in the break room and asks what I'm up to this time. I tell her I did some outfit shopping and may have gone overboard. She giggles and gives me this look I can't interpret.
Later, while I’m kneeling to restock some of the chips—for whatever reason the local salarymen population is enamored by these things today—Hikari hands off one of the older hotdogs we have, signing to me that she paid for it and puts it to the side.
Why is she being so nice?
I can do very little but smile.
When I get my first pay out as a demon hunter I’ll pay her back.
I swear.
Soon.