Umaru Doma made her way home from school. It had been a long day, and she was tired. She wanted nothing more than to kick back and play games. As she made her way home, she wondered what her brother Taihei would make for dinner. She had bought a plethora of snacks on the way home, and he would probably scold her if she ate too much, but she didn't really care. She knew her brother would give up any attempts to lecture her sooner or later. It was simply the way things worked. She walked up the steps that led to the apartment they shared. She made her way inside and closed the door behind her.

"Umaru's home!" she called, despite knowing the apartment was empty. Her brother, of course, wouldn't be home from work for a little while more. She kicked off her shoes and tossed her school bag aside. With a pop and an 'Umarun!' she changed to her indoor persona, appearing as a tiny child instead of a teenage girl.

She was just about to change out of her school clothes and into her favorite hamster hood, when she noticed something very odd. Sitting in the middle of her room was a small white creature that looked like a cross between a cat and a rabbit. It had bright red eyes and was looking up at her.

"Hello, Umaru Doma!" the creature said.

"Oh, wow!" Umaru exclaimed. "A talking cat-rabbit!"

"I'm Kyubey!"

"Hello, Kyubey." Umaru replied, bending down to pet him. She rubbed his head gently, and he seemed to enjoy it. "Oh, you're so adorable!"

"Thank you."

"Did you come here to visit?"

"Yes. I've been waiting for you, Umaru. I came here to talk with you. I want-"

"You did? That's nice. It's just my brother and me here usually, and he's not a cute little talking animal. I wonder…" Umaru trailed off and mumbled to herself. It wasn't every day a talking cat-rabbit showed up in one's apartment. Did her brother buy this pet and forget to tell her? Granted, Kyubey wasn't wearing a collar or anything, so she wasn't sure.

"Umaru?" Kyubey said.

Umaru looked back at him. "Yes?"

"Back to the reason I've come here: I want you to make a contract with me and become a magical girl!"

"A magical girl? You mean like one from an anime?"

"Yes, but real. You certainly possess the potential to become a magical-"

"Really? Me, a magical girl?" Umaru giggled and twirled around like a ballerina. "Umaru Doma, magical girl: savior of the people, defender of justice, drinker of cola!"

"And in return, I'll grant you one wish, anything you-"

"Wait." Umaru stopped twirling around and looked at Kyubey. "I become a magical girl, and you'll grant me a wish?"

"Correct. I-"

"Any wish?"

"Any wish," Kyubey confirmed. "It's-"

"Well, that sounds like a good deal. There's a lot of things I could wish for. But would I actually have to do the standard magical girl stuff?" Umaru asked. "Or is it all just cosplay and looking cute?"

"You'd battle witches. If you agree and make a contract, I'll introduce you to another magical girl, and she can mentor-"

"Wait, there are other magical girls already?"

"Yes, and they-"

"Do any of them go to my school? Because I try to keep my school life separate from my non-school life."

"No, there are none at your school. But, there are others around, and-"

"Oh. Maybe I should just let them battle witches then," Umaru shrugged. "That sounds like a lot of work. And I bet it would cut into my video game and manga time."

"That's likely. Furthermore, it's not an easy life and is often quite dangerous. You-"

"Hey!" Umaru cried suddenly. "I've got an idea!"

"What is it, Umaru?"

She picked Kyubey up. "Can you talk while I record you? I want to see how many views I can get from a video of a talking cat-rabbit! Maybe you could do a few tricks too. Can you actually perform any tricks?"

"That wouldn't do you any good, Umaru Doma. Normal humans can't see me. Anyway, if you're unsure about becoming a magical girl, then maybe-"

"I know! I can record myself dancing with you!" Umaru said, not paying any attention to Kyubey's words. She spun around, holding Kyubey out in front of her as she did. "I bet I look super-cute doing this! Ooh, that was a bad idea. I feel kind of dizzy now…"

At that moment, Umaru heard the front door of the apartment open. Taihei was home! She ran to the door to see her brother and to show him the little creature that had visited them.

"Hello, Umaru," he greeted her. Umaru saw that, in addition to his work briefcase, he was carrying a grey shopping bag. "How was school?"

"Welcome home, welcome!" Umaru held up Kyubey for her brother to see. "Look, a talking cat-rabbit! His name is Kyubey. Say hello, Taihei!"

Taihei frowned at her. "What are you talking about? Is that a manga reference?"

"Can't you see it?"

"See what?"

"I told you, Umaru," Kyubey said. "Normal humans can't see me."

Umaru grumbled and looked down at the floor, feeling silly. Taihei smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry about it, Umaru. Haven't you been under a lot of stress recently with exams and such?"

Umaru was unsure of what to say and didn't reply. It wasn't that Umaru minded looking and acting foolishly; she simply preferred to keep those instances to when she was trying to get something from her brother or when he was bugging her while she indulged in her hobbies. It was one of the ways she kept the upper hand in their relationship.

"Ah, but cheer up!" her brother continued. "You've done quite a bit lately. You aced all your exams at school once again, and I'm proud of the way you've been helping cook and clean lately. I think you've definitely earned something for your efforts, so I got you a present on my way home from work."

Umaru looked up. "A present?"

"Here," Taihei replied. He reached into the bag he was carrying, pulled out a video game, and held it out to her. "This just came out today, and you've been looking forward it, right? Enjoy."

Umaru's eyes lit up. Not thinking, she tossed Kyubey aside. He hit the wall with a thud and landed on the floor. Umaru snatched the game out of Taihei's outstretched hand and threw her arms around her brother, hugging him tightly. "I have been waiting for this game for a while! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome, Umaru," Taihei chuckled, hugging her back. "You've worked very hard lately; please keep that up. But in the meantime, enjoy the game. It's a holiday weekend, so you'll have a lot of time to play, right? And just for this weekend, I won't say anything about how much you play."

"Whee!" Umaru cried. She bounded over to her console and plopped herself in front of it. She tore open the game box, slid the disc in, and started it up. Soon enough, she was engrossed in the game completely, paying little attention to anything else, only occasionally taking a hand off of the controller to munch on a snack or drink some cola.

Hours passed. Day turned into night. Kyubey wandered over and sat on the floor next to Umaru as she played the game, his eyes watching the screen. Umaru ignored him. Finally, he turned to her and spoke up. "So, Umaru Doma, have you decided on your wish yet?"

"Huh?" Umaru looked over. "Oh. You're still here." She turned back to the screen.

"I am," Kyubey said. "And I was wondering if you've decided on the wish that I'll grant you when you make a contract with me and become a magical girl."

"Uh, would you mind being quiet, please?" Umaru asked. "I'm trying to play this."

"But don't you want to make a wish and become a magical-"

"Yeah, yeah, when I feel like it," Umaru interrupted. "Maybe after I've beaten this. I don't have time for all that right now. Now, where is the exit for this level? Hmmm."

Umaru continued playing. Eventually, Kyubey stood up and headed for the front door of the apartment. He turned back to Umaru one time before he left. "This seems pointless. But if you ever want to become a magical girl, embrace a destiny of battle, and have your wish granted, then I'll be waiting, Umaru Doma."

"Whatever," Umaru replied, not taking her eyes off of her game.