Two-Dimensional Heroic Girls

Bang, bang bang bang—

That was the sound of knocking at the door, making Yazuki twitch his eyebrows mid-rush on his draft. Reluctantly, he went to open it, only to find it was, as expected, that booze-hound old woman—Hiratsuka-sensei. She seemed to have sobered up a bit.

"Why aren't you asleep yet? What are you doing?"

"Well, I didn't want to trouble Yukinoshita, you know? She's already hosting Yuigahama for the night. Me staying over too would be too much of a bother. It'd feel awkward."

"So it's okay to come bother me instead?"

"What's the difference? As a guy, you should be more generous."

And just like that, Hiratsuka-sensei, completely ignoring the disastrous state she was in earlier, shoved past him like she owned the place.

"What happened to the booze I brought? I remember I didn't drink it all."

"I poured it out."

Anticipating this exact situation, Yazuki delivered a line that dealt a heavy blow to Hiratsuka Shizuka.

"P-Poured it out?! Are you insane?! Some of those bottles were precious—ones I'd been saving for ages!"

"Like I care."

Ignoring this hopeless teacher, Yazuki returned to what he was doing.

Well, before getting back to work, he handed her some of his manga and games to keep her busy since she clearly wasn't planning to sleep anytime soon.

"Hey, isn't this the new game series being hyped by the big-name studio [Maltz]? You're the character designer for this new series?"

At some point, Shizuka had silently started watching him draw from beside him. When he paused to sort out his drafts, she suddenly shouted in surprise, having recognized something.

She knew he was an illustrator, sure—but to be working with such a big-name studio? That was genuinely shocking to her.

"If you're that amazing, could you get me an autograph from the author of XXXX?"

"Come on, could you please learn the difference between a concept artist, an illustrator, and a mangaka?"

Normally, Yazuki wouldn't bother responding, but her comment was just too much to ignore.

"Is there really that big a difference?"

"Look it up yourself."

"Then why don't you become a mangaka? Wouldn't that make more money? It could be adapted into anime, and you'd get famous easier, right?"

"I refuse to answer such a dumb question."

Drawing manga was a massive pain—he'd have to come up with plotlines, storyboard everything, consult with editors, deal with all sorts of red tape... It was way too restrictive for someone like Yazuki who preferred freedom.

Drawing doujinshi was more his style.

"Hey, Yazuki, are you getting cocky? Is that how you talk to your teacher?"

With a tone that could pass for a yakuza boss threatening someone, Hiratsuka-sensei now acted even more like one.

She pulled a pack of Seven Stars cigarettes from her nearly bursting chest pocket, tapped one against the table like a middle-aged man, then lit it with a 100-yen lighter.

After exhaling a puff of smoke, she looked down at Yazuki with a smug, dominating gaze.

Yazuki ignored her completely and opened up an anime streaming site, ready to check for any updates on the series he was following.

"Wait, scroll back! Isn't that XX Magical Girl? Has episode 7 dropped? Hurry up and play it!"

Suddenly, a body pressed up against his back, pressing down on him with a shocking softness. It made Yazuki quite uncomfortable.

"Alright, alright, don't lean on me like that—it's hot!"

"Aren't you a fan of shounen battle manga? And you're acting like a kid, watching this family-friendly show?"

"None of your business. Just hit play already!"

And so, a typically childish and formulaic magical girl anime began to play.

In this world, magical girl shows and manga all followed the same formula—light-hearted and healing in nature.

Why hasn't anyone made a grimdark magical girl story?

Wait—grimdark magical girl?

At that moment, memories surged through Yazuki, surprising even himself.

It was about a particular magical girl manga—one that was seriously messed up. So messed up he'd wanted to send the author a mountain of razor blades.

Strange… why is he only remembering this now? He immediately grabbed his tablet and searched the internet. No matter how much he searched, there was no sign of that grimdark magical girl manga.

It didn't exist in this world.

So was this... an original idea he'd just had?

Original idea, my ass. It felt way too vivid, like he'd already seen it somewhere.

Forget it—while the memory's still clear, he should reproduce it now. No way should he suffer alone from this level of emotional damage.

Time to make others feel it too.

(T/N: Good job my g)

It really was a super grimdark magical girl story. But he had to admit, the plot was extremely compelling—so unique that it practically redefined the genre.

In that world, there was a mysterious creature the size of a cat named Kyubey. If you formed a contract with it, you could become a magical girl and have one wish granted.

Yup, a familiar setup—most magical girl stories had some kind of cute mascot like that.

But once you became a magical girl, you were tasked with fighting monsters called witches.

Magical girls were supposed to be bringers of hope, while witches were the ones who spread despair. When humans acted out of character—like committing suicide for no apparent reason—it was usually due to a witch's curse.

To transform, magical girls used items called soul gems. After defeating a witch, they'd receive something called a grief seed, which was beneficial to them.

Up to this point, the setting was still similar to many magical girl stories.

But wait... if he was going to recreate this series, maybe he should tweak it a bit. Add in a lot of cuteness, make the early episodes feel like the typical cheerful magical girl fare. That way, when the big emotional gut punch hits—it hits hard.

(T/N: While your at it draw some Euphoria shit or smth, maybe Kuroinu or Boku no Pico. If your feeling pretty great then do 177013 and animate 2 girls 1 cup just for the SHITS and giggles.

Or maybe yet, do some wholesome manga called Mai-chans Daily Life.)

"Hehehe…"

"What are you laughing at? Can you not laugh like that? It's super creepy."

Hiratsuka-sensei looked at him in disgust, which only made Yazuki's grin even more wicked.

It's decided, then. You'll be my first test subject, Hiratsuka-sensei!

And the second victim—Eiriri.

She's a sucker for magical girl shows too. He could already imagine her freaking out and threatening to murder him after watching it.

"Hahahaha!"

Amidst the ongoing thunderstorm, Yazuki laughed like a villainous final boss in an anime—totally spine-chilling.

Later that night, Shizuka couldn't resist the drowsiness any longer and passed out ungracefully on the couch.

As for Yazuki, he had stopped drawing and was now studying the feathers he'd taken from the fallen angel.

"Oh? As I thought—these feathers can partially negate the restrictions reality places on the supernatural... It's just a shame they get consumed too fast."

He muttered to himself, regretting not having grabbed a handful more when he had the chance.

He was now seriously considering setting up a bait to lure out another angel.