Chapter Text
There were a couple of things that evil lieutenants were forbidden to do.
They couldn't show up drunk to their duties: they were evil, not irresponsible.
They couldn't dress inappropriately: they had to make it clear to their opponents that, above all, they maintained good taste.
And above all, they couldn't fall in love.
Lieutenant Mira knew this perfectly well, although it had never been clear to him why this particular rule was in place. He assumed it was because love was a human feeling and they, not being humans , were not supposed to experience it. But the real reason was unknown to him, and he had never cared to find out anyway.
And then, she appeared.
The evil kingdom had little information about magical girls, and when the king had given him the mission to terrorize planet Earth it had not been just for the pleasure of doing so, but to obtain enough information about her magical adversaries.
This girl, however, was both an open book and a complete enigma, in equal parts.
Within a matter of weeks, he had discovered that her name was Mimori Byakuya and that her guardian, that hideous giant cat, was a complete pervert.
He had also discovered that she liked red roses, soft desserts, and foods that had a lot of vegetables.
Mira had become obsessed not only with getting to know the magical girl better, but with making sure she was well and satisfied. He knew the deplorable little room that cat sheltered her in and it made his blood boil to think that she could live much better if she would just give him the chance to help her.
But why would he help her? They were mortal enemies after all.
But wouldn't it be bad for him and his organization to defeat her so easily just because she was so exhausted from living in such pitiful conditions? He couldn't lose his pride like that.
So he continued to visit her whenever he could, bringing her food and small gifts that would keep her healthy and in good condition for when it was time to fight her.
That afternoon he showed up at their usual meeting place, but there was no news of the magical girl. He waited for hours, until he finally gave up: she wouldn't be coming.
His common sense told him to go back home, to the realm of evil. Instead, he found himself walking down the path that led to her house. When he reached the decrepit housing complex and climbed up to the small room on the second level, he was surprised to find that she wasn't there either.
That wasn't normal.
“Is she working one of her thousand jobs?” He thought, as he tried to see through the windows, that the apartment was indeed empty. “It's possible... one of these days she'll end up getting sick, I have to stop her or she'll collapse one of these days.”
Mira finally headed back home. But he couldn't stop thinking about his magical girl, and her tireless sacrifices. It's as if that girl received personal gratification for being a martyr to her own circ*mstances.
Humans were certainly strange creatures. Or at least, Byakuya was.
A long time ago, that bird-headed guardian had questioned her about whether she chose her friend, the other magical girl, or him. And Byakuya had answered without hesitation that she chose him. Although he wasn't entirely sure if Byakuya understood the depth of what she was agreeing to, he wondered if it might be possible to convince her to stop being a magical girl…
And start over with hi…
Mira stopped his train of thought when one of his minions caught his attention. He said that they had a surprise for him, that they had been waiting for him all afternoon to show him.
He still had a strange feeling in his stomach thinking about the magical girl, exhausted from overwork, as he followed the entourage of minions leading him to the castle dungeons. He had a slight déjà vu.
Indeed, upon reaching the dungeons, he was able to confirm that his minions had caught Byakuya once again.
This time, the dungeons were not only guarded by his minions, but also by Fomalhaut, Bellatrix, Sadalsudh, and Betelgeuse.
Mira tensed as he watched his comrades inspect his magical girl, and the conditions of her capture.
“Well done, Mira” Betelgeuse congratulated him, patting him on the shoulder, “the evil king will be quite pleased with your mission here.”
“Certainly” Sadalsudh conceded, “I will prepare all my equipment to test her soon, we must understand how a magical girl works. The sooner we give the report to the evil king, the better.”
“Miss magical girl, don't worry” Fomalhaut added, addressing the prisoner directly, “we will treat you with all due care, just agree to cooperate in the interrogation.”
“If we treat her gently, it would not be torture” Bellatrix inquired monotonously.
Mira kept a serious, inscrutable face, but inside him everything was falling apart in an uncontrolled vortex. He couldn't take his eyes off the magical girl, and to his mortified delight, she was staring back at him.
When he finally calmed down, he said:
“Still, I haven't managed to get enough information for the evil king… so I'd better take her to the tower of lamentations.”
Everyone gasped, including the minions.
“B… but Mira” Fomalhaut stammered uneasily, “maybe the tower is too…”
“Nonsense!” Sadalsudh exclaimed, “Mira is right, there are still things we need to know about the magical girl, and a productive stay in the tower could be beneficial for the mission.”
Bellatrix nodded, Betelgeuse patted Mira's shoulder once again in approval. One by one they began to leave the dungeon to leave Mira and his prisoner alone. When only the minions remained, Mira gave them a menacing look, forcing them to leave as well.
Once the dungeon was empty, and Mira was able to make sure they were really alone, he threw himself on his knees and exhaled heavily.
What the hell was she doing here again?! Couldn't she learn to run away from his stupid minions for once?!
He looked up at her, who was just watching his misery in silence. Only then did he realize that he hadn't heard her speak since he entered the dungeon.
“So, how did you end up here again? Don't you have a survival instinct?”
The magical girl didn't answer, and just limited herself to looking at the floor, seeming to feel guilty.
“Why do you keep doing this?”
“I'm sorry” Byakuya finally answered, with her characteristic monotony in her voice. As if she really didn't regret it, but knew it was the most appropriate response at the moment.
“I deserve it, but I can't regret it anymore” Mira complained, not wanting to admit that, despite everything, he was glad to have her there, “I already warned you, now you'll have to prepare yourself for what's next…”
“Am I going to be killed?”
Mira clenched his fists, feeling his nails dig into the palms. Even though she was just asking, there was a silent acceptance of her tragic fate that bothered him.
Always ready to give up.
“You're going to tell me everything about the angels, and then we'll keep you prisoner as a test subject” he let out a little of the air he was holding in his chest, “As long as you're a prisoner, your safety matters little, or if you become completely mine…”
His lascivious speech was interrupted by a soft sneeze from the girl. He closed his eyes and let out another sigh. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't be cruel to her.
He took off his heavy jacket and threw it over her shoulders, in that tiny little outfit she must have been freezing cold. Then he took out a handkerchief from his pockets and blew her nose softly.
“For now, let me find you a heater…”
