Potentia, an ability that some individuals receive during the human stage. Within the mysterious universe and its countless planets, there are those who receive these powers.These people are given the mission of being responsible for maintaining the harmony of their worlds.But if that is so… why does someone cry so much?
Planet Utopia, November 12
On that special night, Akiko, a young girl with lilac hair and light blue eyes, hurried toward the hall filled with crystals and rose quartz.
Of average height, she wore a draped dress with firm ruffles along the sides. Its iridescent colors matched her outgoing personality. Upon reaching the main hall, she spotted a group.
— Hello, girls! I got here early, see? — she greeted them.
— Wow, what a surprise, Akiko... — Naoko replied sarcastically.
Naoko had black hair and eyes that contrasted with her fair skin. Her dress was long, with different shades of blue, and small white details that evoked the sea.
— You only get here early when you're curious — Miyu said, looking serious.
Miyu had dark skin, green hair, and green eyes. Made of structured fabrics, her dress imitated foliage, while the pearl details resembled morning dew.
— Akiko is here? Am I late? — Megumi joked, pretending to be surprised.
Megumi was a tall woman with wavy blonde hair. Her lips were painted with red lipstick. Elegance showed in her long, flowing dress, which lightly outlined her body and reflected a subtle glow.
— Well, well. What a surprise, isn't it? — Sayuri said with a friendly smile.
The most mature of the group was Sayuri. Her hair was short, black, and wavy, and her eyes were blue. Long and light, her dress flowed like the wind.
— HEY! WHAT IS THIS CONSPIRACY? — Akiko complained as the others laughed.
Amid the laughter, a small girl approached the group, asking permission in her timid voice. Her name was Matsui, a little girl with reddish hair, wavy at the ends and tied up high on each side. Her dress was delicate, made of organza with structures shaped like flower petals.
— Sis! Come here! — Akiko called, looking back.
Beside the little girl stood a tall woman with hair the same color as Akiko's. Dressed in the colors of the rainbow, Mrs. Yajima, Akiko and Matsui's mother, looked at her eldest daughter.
— Take good care of Matsui, okay, Akiko? I don't want to see you running around. Don't get dirty, don't be late... You know her party is tonight.
— Mom! — Akiko complained. — I already got it!
At that moment, Sayuri approached Akiko's mother and placed a hand on her shoulder.
— Don't worry, Mrs. Yajima. I'll take care of them.
— Good to know. Thank you, Sayuri. I trust you.
Soon, Mrs. Yajima looked affectionately at her daughters and said goodbye:
— Well, I'm leaving now. See you later!
Shortly after she left, a light emerged from the crystal altar, taking the shape of a woman before revealing her striking presence.
Tall, with tanned skin and long, wavy brown hair. She wore an asymmetrical black dress that emphasized her imposing presence. With an authoritative expression, she stared at the group of young girls.
— Good evening, everyone. I, Ayami, Potentia of Judgment, am here to lead you all tonight — she introduced herself, in a manner that made every word sound like a command.
Little Matsui was confused by the woman's sudden appearance and asked where she had come from. Sayuri pointed toward the crystal core, which was glowing intensely:
— She came from there. That place is like a door that connects our world to other, more distant ones.
Ayami paid no attention to the interruption and continued speaking:
— Potentia of Utopia, I came earlier than planned because I would like to invite the seven of you on a mission.
— But, ma'am... We're six. There isn't a seventh one — Akiko corrected her innocently.
— Ah... that's right. The seventh one is on Earth — Sayuri confirmed.
— She went there again? — Naoko asked.
— Yes! Aino lives there. It's been so long since she last visited us — Megumi replied.
A sudden tension filled the place. Ayami's expression of power and superiority quickly disappeared, and she furrowed her brows.
— What? What did you say? Why?
— Lady Ayami!? Is everything all right? — Megumi was startled by the sudden change and became concerned.
— I've decided... — Ayami said harshly, looking down at them. — I don't want your help anymore.
She raised her hand toward the crystal altar from which she had emerged. The metallic threads of her dress glimmered like sparks, following the movement. A dark energy formed in her hand.
Ayami fired her Potentia, a black sphere that quickly spread through the area, striking the center of the altar. It was so fast that the girls had no time to realize what had happened. Suddenly, the void swallowed everything in front of them.
The massive explosion left an empty space in that planetary system. Utopia had ceased to exist.
Ayami remained protected inside a rounded, translucent shield that surrounded her entire body. Looking at the nothingness before her, she remarked with disdain:
— Hmm... Yeah, maybe I went a little overboard.
There was neither compassion nor regret in her eyes. She seemed calm, until she felt a presence that was slowly approaching. She quickly turned around and saw someone standing behind her.
That was when an expression of astonishment took over her face.
The presence belonged to another woman with long pink hair, who stared at her in silence.
— You! — Ayami's eyes widened.
Planet Earth, November 12, night
At the exact same moment that the void was forming in that corner of the universe, on the distant planet Earth, a young girl with long black hair and bangs tossed and turned in bed, unaware of what was about to come, having trouble falling asleep.
— Damn it! — she muttered, annoyed. — What a strange feeling... I can't sleep.
Planet Earth, March 1 of the following year
In a spacious two-story house located in one of the upscale neighborhoods of City C, an alarm clock rang frantically. It was six in the morning, time to start the daily routine.
— Oh, no... I'm still sleepy — complained a man with black hair and eyes named Guang.
Sayuri, who was lying beside him, couldn't hold back her laughter.
— But we have to get up. I'll wake the girls.
She got out of bed and headed to the other room, quietly opening the door to wake the girls.
— Good morning, girls! It's the first day of school, let's wake up!
There were two simple beds and a bunk bed in the room. Megumi was already stretching and waking up. Naoko wasn't in the room; she had already gotten up and was getting ready.
— Good morning, Sayuri — Megumi greeted her.
In the other bed, little Matsui was sleeping deeply. Miyu, who slept in the lower bunk, slowly sat up in silence, gradually waking up. On the top bunk, Akiko hid her face under the pillow and covered herself up again.
— No, no, no... — she repeated like a mantra, indignant that she had to wake up so early.
Three and a half months after what happened in Utopia, the girls were trying to lead a normal life in their new home. Accustomed to the routine, Sayuri already knew what to do and, in a friendly tone, told them:
— Come on, hurry up. Guang needs to work and he's giving you a ride... Oh, and whoever takes too long won't get breakfast.
— WHAAAAAT?
Akiko jumped up in an instant, there was no way she was going to miss her morning meal.
It didn't take long for everyone to get ready and have a generous breakfast. Megumi, who was no longer of school age, was able to enjoy the moment and go through her daily routine at her leisure.
— Let's get to the car. I can't be late — Guang called.
Before leaving, he approached Sayuri and kissed her, telling her he would be coming home earlier that day.
Guang's car was spacious enough for him and the girls. The school was on the way, so he dropped them off there first and continued on to work.
When they arrived, they got out of the car and looked around at their new surroundings. The school had three floors, the vegetation at the entrance gave it a welcoming atmosphere, and there seemed to be a lot of students.
Miyu had a particular fondness for studying and was excited. Akiko was impressed by the size of the school. Naoko, more down-to-earth, reminded them that it was just a school and there was no need to make such a big deal out of it.
It was the day to wear their school uniforms for the first time. The white knitted T-shirt with the school logo printed on it was loose and allowed the children and teenagers to move around freely. The boys wore pants, while the girls usually wore red skirts. The school dress code also required white socks with white or black sneakers.
Upon entering the school, they saw many students gathered around, looking at sheets of paper posted all over the walls. The sound of students talking among themselves, mixed with the incessant noise of footsteps, showed just how chaotic the place was.
— Look, Akiko, there's a big group over there. It must be to see the class lists — Miyu said, pointing toward the spot.
— Ahhhh, you're right, let's go check!
They managed to get close to the lists for the first year of high school and saw that they were all in the same class. Besides that, another name on the list caught their attention.
— Miyu! It's fate! We're in the same class as Aino!
— It must be, it must be...
Miyu started looking around and spotted her friend. She touched Akiko's shoulder and asked:
— Akiko, isn't that Aino over there?
Akiko turned around, saw her friend, and shouted as she ran toward her in a completely unrestrained manner:
— AINOOOOOO!!!
— WHAT THE—? — Aino froze.
— Aino! I've missed you so much! Your hair looks so pretty! It's so good to hear your little voice, like a kitten meowing!
Aino was tall, with tense shoulders, brown hair with thin blonde streaks, dark eyes, and very fair skin. Her voice was higher-pitched than usual. Her main concern in life was maintaining her reputation, as she didn't like drawing unnecessary attention to herself. Something Akiko, with her spontaneous nature, was not allowing.
She had wrapped herself around Aino's neck and didn't look like she was going to let go anytime soon.
— I'm making a fool of myself... — Aino complained, but it didn't help.
Passing by, a student saw the scene and decided to join in, hanging from Aino's other shoulder. Akiko and the girl ended up exchanging glances.
— Hi, I'm Akiko. This is Miyu, nice to meet you! We're Aino's friends. — She let go of Aino's shoulder as she introduced herself.
— My name is Yukino. I'm Aino's third cousin.
Yukino was a young girl with fair skin, long black hair with bangs, and brown eyes. She wore the boys' school uniform.
— Wow! How cool, meeting one of Aino's relatives here in the wor—
Akiko was suddenly interrupted by Miyu, who covered her mouth.
— Nice to meet you, Yukino! — Miyu smiled awkwardly. — Tell us, what is the school like?
— The school? Okay, let's see. The teachers explain things pretty well. Some of them are nice. But there are some things that aren't necessary. School events and sports competitions, for example... they're not exactly the problem, but they make everyone participate because the winning team gets points, but in the end, everyone gets the points anyway. Which is fine, but everyone argues because they think they're not going to get anything. And as for the students, most of them are going through an annoying phase. They even seem to be in heat. All they care about is who can kiss the most people in one day... But there are some nice people too — Yukino said without pausing, keeping her expression neutral.
Miyu and Akiko couldn't hide their astonishment as they listened to the girl describe her experiences there. Internally, they wondered if they should have asked, but soon decided that she might have been exaggerating.
Meanwhile, Naoko, who was tall, easily made her way to the list of classrooms for the final year of high school.
"302, whatever. I don't know anyone anyway," Naoko thought.
The girls went to their classrooms to attend their lessons. Akiko couldn't stop thinking about how new everything was to her.
During her activities, the young girl daydreamed, never having imagined how exhausting her first day of high school would be.
"It was a whole morning of classes. The first day was pretty tiring. The first teacher didn't even introduce himself and handed out the test schedule all the way through the middle of the year.
The students spent most of the class talking badly about each other. I didn't make any friends.
Aino was drooling over the math teacher, and several girls were too. I couldn't understand why.
They complained that I was too pale and should get a tan to look pretty. But they also complained about Miyu because she was too dark. I didn't understand anything.
Maybe Yukino was right. This place is a jungle."
Akiko's mind was stuck in an endless loop of thoughts about that morning, which was so different from her days in Utopia.