Chapter 2: A Bomb / Magic

“Oh, shit! There! That should contain the blast. Leaf, why was there a bomb in your bag?” Rin asked, creating a force field around the bag, containing the explosion.

They looked at her, stunned.

Leaf gestured rapidly again.

“Even I know what she just asked. Rin, What the heck was that?” Charm asked

“Nothing, don’t worry about it. Anyway, leaf, can you explain from the beginning? Why are people trying to kill you? Why did your bag have a bomb in it?” Rin asked, changing the subject.

Leaf flashed a few more gestures, and showed Rin the back of her hand. It had a serial number printed on it, as well as a jagged symbol.

“Oh. No wonder you freaked out. Charm, she didn’t have any bags in the first place.” Rin said

“What about her hand? Why did she show you that?” Charm asked

“That’s a long story. Charm, you know who my father is, right?” Rin asked

“Yes. I do. Obviously. He’s a world renowned genius. Like you” Charm said

“Then do you know my mother? Probably not.” Rin said

“No, why? What does this have to do with Leaf?” Charm asked

“Well, I’ll explain that in a bit. First, I have to let you know a bit about what’s happening in the background of this entire situation. My mother is the head of the largest criminal organization in the world.” Rin said, frowning

“Oh….I still don’t understand.” Charm said

“Well, I’m not done with my explanation. Anyway, since it’s the largest, rather than just the only one, that means criminal organizations, outside of the one my mother is the head of, exist. Some of them aren’t exactly friendly with my moms’ side. Mostly due to the fact that she actively works with world governments on limiting crime to certain areas. Her organization actively supports this as well. They have taken many different things into account. Due to her active role with world governments, they are given a bit more freedom, after all. It’s pretty much a good deal with slight compromises on both sides. Crime won’t just disappear, so why not minimize its effects on people who are uninvolved. That’s the idea. Since some people don’t like this, they actively work against us. There was a time where they successfully stole research data from one of my fathers projects.” Rin said, deathly serious

“Um. What?” Charm said, worried

“First thing I have to open your eyes to, is this.” Rin said

She made a small flame appear above her hand

They stared at it

“Rin? What’s going on?” Charm asked, nervous

Leaf made a few gestures

“It’s exactly what it looks like. Magic. The research data had information relating to this. Magic has become a little bit more widespread after my fathers research got out, but it’s still not well known and generally considered a myth. Leaf is….An experiment by one of the organizations outside of my mothers, that conducted research on how to fuse magic and humans to create a living weapon. Rather than experiment, Leaf is technically a failed attempt at actually creating one. I have absolutely no idea how she escaped, but it explains why she’s being chased. It’s possible that she holds information on them that they don’t want to be leaked out, too. Her existence to them is dangerous. In fact, she’s a liability to everybody. It would have been better if she had died. Now, I’m not trying to be mean when I say that. It’s just that she is an extreme hazard to anyone around her. She can’t control mana, or release it. But her body is constantly storing it. Every time it gets too full, it will explode. When it explodes, magic is going to cause a disaster in a certain area around her.” Rin said

“Rin, I need to process this. Can you wait for a second?” Charm asked

“Sure. Sorry. I think I picked up the habit of lecturing like that from my dad. I’ll cut to the chase with the rest of the explanation, whenever you two are ready.” Rin said