A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! And a special Merry Christmas to Aiko Isari – my draw from the hat for the secret santa gift exchange. And because she loves Hikari torture and PMMM just as much as I do…well, this idea was born. It's split in to three parts because it seems to flow overall better that way, so enjoy Aiko. :D And anyone else who decides to read as well of course.

Hikari the Magical Girl

Part 1
The Contract

It was easy to mistake him for a cat in the dark, but it wasn't a mistake she should have made.

Not that she could have known that at the time, carrying the small rain-soaked little form home with her, huddled under her jacket. Though she shouldn't have been doing that anyway, because she needed both hands to hold the little creature so she'd slung her umbrella over her arm. And the hood of her raincoat was only so good at keeping the rain out, particularly when it was blown off, so she came home properly soaked herself and earned a scolding from her mother.

But soon both she and the creature she'd mistaken for a cat were nice and warm in the bathtub – and now that she was indoors and the light was on and she was scrubbing away at the fur without the creature trying to scramble out of her hold like cats did, she could see quite well it was not a cat.

'Hello,' she said, surprised. 'I wonder what sort of creature you are.'

'An incubator,' the creature replied, causing little Hikari to blink in surprise. Maybe she would have screamed if she were older, or less innocent, but she wasn't either of those things so she simply blinked.

'Incubator?'

'My name is Kyubey.' The Incubator, or so it said it was, licked a paw, then dipped it delicately in the water.

Hikari followed the movement with her eyes. 'Do you like it?' she asked. 'I can make it warmer if you like?'

'It's fine.' The tail flicked. 'More importantly, do you have a wish?'

She blinked again. 'What sort of wish?' she asked. 'Like, for a birthday cake?'

Kyubey laughed. 'Say I'm the genie in the lamp and could grant you one wish. Are you familiar with the story?'

'Yes,' said Hikari, but a little hesitantly. It wasn't a Japanese tale, so she only knew it because her brother's friend's father had told it to them one time. Sora was nice. Her father was a good story-teller too, but he wasn't like her mother that always made them yummy cookies when they went to visit and made small talk. He reminded Hikari of a grandfather more than a father…and she'd only met him once or twice as well. Even Taichi, who often went to Sora's without her as well, said he barely saw her. Their father was always home on weekends and before they went to bed on school nights, even if he was late getting home because he'd gotten stuck in traffic or had gone out drinking with his friends first. Their mother scolded him, but Hikari found it funny how he'd always nuzzle his stubbled cheeks to her own. Taichi found it funny as well.

But their father was a businessman, not a folklore expert. That was Sora's father, and Aladdin and the Genie in the lamp wasn't a story for the bedtimes of Japanese children. Hikari wondered why Kyubey had saw fit to mention it.

'Not many young Japanese children would have heard of it,' Kyubey remarked. 'Once they're older, influences from other parts of the world creep in, but you're young still.'

'My brother's friend,' Hikari explained, though she dropped a little at the comment. Young, inexperienced…and she still needed protecting. From people. From the elements. From the demons in her dreams and the viruses and bacteria in her own body that struck her down the moment her defences against them wavered a little. She was fine then, but that time in the rain was going to give her a cold tomorrow, even with the warm bath.

She smiled though. 'We'll just have to make sure you won't get a cold then,' she said, rubbing Kyubey's fur firmly. The Incubator purred just like a cat at the treatment, though it did comment. 'I won't get sick.'

'That's good.' But Hikari rubbed it more anyhow. It was better to be safe than sorry. 'I will, probably. But I don't want to. Being sick isn't fun.'

'Of course not.' And Kyubey sounded sympathetic. 'What would you do if you weren't?'

'Hmm…' Hikari closed her eyes and blew a few bubbles in the bath. 'Play with my bother. And get stronger. Somehow.'

Kyubey smiled. It had a funny sort of smile, Hikari noted. Sort of like a cat but not quite. 'I can grant you that wish.'

Hikari stared. Kyubey looked like it really could. It could talk after all. And it looked almost just like a cat and they were talking nicely – but Taichi was always talking nicely to her too, except he was also always trying to protect her and this was a little different… Kyubey wasn't trying to protect her. It was offering to help her become strong enough to protect herself, so Taichi – and even Taichi's friend Sora – wouldn't have to protect her any more.

Kyubey offered a paw. Hikari smiled and took it.

She didn't even feel herself losing her soul.