Chapter 13: Blaze

I do not own PMMM or Magia Record. PMMM is own by AniplexNA. Magia Record is owned by f4Samurai


"Hanna!"

Kanae's grip lessened as Mifuyu squirmed out from her gasp. Said girl rushed towards the burning building only to wince and shield herself as a wave of heat washed over her face.

She glanced around anxiously, looking for any sign of the girl not being in the burning building. As she did, she heard running footsteps. She turned around to see a familiar brunette in orange.

"I heard the explosion. What's going on?" Tsuruno called.

Mifuyu felt tears well up in her eyes. "Hanna's in there. I just know it."

"We don't know that for sure," Kanae cautioned.

Tsuruno analyzed the fire with sharp eyes before nodding. "Leave it to me!"

"Tsuruno what are you doing?"

Tsuruno smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Saving a friend."

She ran towards the burning building, her fans raised. "Kanae, I'll need your assistance!"

Kanae was frozen in confusion but nodded, and followed. "Mifuyu, go calm down the crowd. And call Yachiyo!"

"Umm…right!" Mifuyu called, and began to turn but paused. "Kanae!"

The blonde pause. "Yes?"

"Stay safe out there? And bring her home."

Kanae nodded and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll bring her home."

Tsuruno continued to press towards the door, her fans covering her face and head. "I am Tsuruno Yui, the mightiest magical girl and I will never turn my back on a comrade in need!" She shouted as she forced her way through the heat until she reached the door. "Break down the door!"

Kanae, now closely behind, raised her pipe and bashed it into the wooden door. The pipe broke through the weakened wood with easy. A few more swings and the door had completely collapsed, leaving only its mental frame in its place. The two maneuvered their way through the empty frame and entered the fiery inferno.

Tsuruno looked back at Kanae, "which way?"

Kanae plucked her soul gem from her arm, and focused her magic.

Her senses washed over the area but frowned when she couldn't detect anything. She was about to say she couldn't find anything, when she thought it odd. It was odd that she should be able to detect traces of magic. After all, Hanna had been living here for over a year. But instead, she detected literally nothing. Which must mean some sort of illusion in place to stop her.

Kanae flared her personal magic, the ability to pierce obstacles. This illusion was most certainly an obstacle to her, so the magic smashed through the illusion with ease.

Almost instantly the building came alive with magic. The blonde almost staggered from the sudden burst of magic. She focused her senses until she found the biggest concentration of magic. "This way!"

Tsuruno nodded, plowing forwards. The brunette pressed forward, using her fans to wave away flames. Kanae followed, her senses continuing to analyze the situation. It was odd. She could detect Hanna's magic. It was very clear to sense, but she also sensed some other magic. Not just one, but three other magics. They were faint, but the magic seemed to cover and envelop the entire building. Kanae decided to save that information for later. Hanna was the priority.

She stopped at an iron door leading to what looked like was a basement. She gestured to Tsuruno before raising her pipe. She hefted her pipe and smashed it at the handle. The handle broke with a single bash. Two more destroyed the hinges. "Your turn."

Tsuruno nodded and raised her foot. With a mighty kick, the weakened door flew off its hinges to reveal a set of stairs. Kanae didn't even wait for the door to finish falling before leaping down the steps. At the bottom, Kanae found a stunning sight.

Two people stood on the basement floor. One was a middle age woman wearing a faded dress. She stood stiffly and her eyes were dazed, similar to the children outside. And the other, was a purple haired girl in a scarlet dress. She held a wicked staff in her arms and had her back turned towards them. It was Hanna Sarasa.

Tsuruno arrived an instant later and didn't even hesitate. "Hanna there you are!"

Hanna slowly turned around, "So someone actually bothered to show up."

Her voice was cracky, soft, and a bit raspy. Kanae frowned.

"Come on Hanna, it isn't safe here!" Tsuruno called, "Actually, that furnace behind you looks dangerous and could blow up at any moment."

She took a step forward but Kanae grabbed her shoulder. "Hold on Tsuruno."

"What, but-"

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

The laugh was callous, mocking, and taunting.

Kanae frowned, "So you were behind this."

Tsuruno turned to the blonde in shock, "What?"

"That's right!" Hanna jeered back, "So I'm the one who started the fire. So what?"

"So this was your revenge." The blonde guessed, "Your act of vengeance against all the wrong committed against you."

"Ohh?" Hanna shot back, "Mifuyu told you bout that did she?"

Kanae nodded. "She told me you had suffered, and how she wished to free you from it."

"Well now you don't need to! I'm already free of this wretched damned place!"

"Look at what you're saying Hanna!" Tsuruno pleaded, "This isn't like you! You're a nice girl and you can still come back!"

Hanna paused as she sent a death glare at the girl. "Huh? You? Knew me?" She asked haughtily, "You actually think you know anything about me?

"You're always this annoying do gooder who can't read a room at all!" Hanna continued, "Mighty this! Mighty that! It's so grating on the ears that I nearly go mad! Can you be any more lame? I bet you don't even know why I'm doing this. Why it is utterly meaningless to keep going. Why it's pointless to even try anything else! Our lives were forfeit the moment we made the contract with that damn rat!"

Tsuruno turned to the blonde, "What is she talking about?"

Kanae frowned, "Look, now is not the time. Hanna, you're coming back with us whether you want to or not."

She shot back a glare. "Oh yeah? And how are you going to do that? Are you going to fight me? I'll have you know that-"

Kablooom!

The aforementioned furnace exploded, sending everyone flying in flame and debris.


Kanae was far enough to be up on her feet instantly and surveyed the wreckage. She coughed as she tried to get the smoke out of her lungs. "Tsuruno? Hanna?" She rasped.

"I'm here!" Tsuruno's voice called out.

Kanae jerked herself head to see the brunette, with mild burns across her outfit and arms, but generally fine. The girl was limping towards her, a body slumped across her shoulder. "I'm fine, but she needs medical help."

Kanae recognized the older woman and nodded. She surveyed the wreckage and noticed a shade of purple in the wreckage. "Hanna!"

She rushed forward and kneeled, pushing the wreckage of the destroyed boiler off of charred body. She barely could recognize the girl, but her hair remarkably had escaped the explosion. Kanae scooped up the body and checked her chest. She gasped when she saw a murky black soul gem, nearly fully corrupted.

"Tsuruno, do you have a grief seed?"

Tsuruno silently nodded, kneeling to lean the woman against the wall and pulled a black spinet from her pocket.

Kanae snatched the seed from her and pressed it against the gem. Almost immediately, the ruby red gem regained its color. Kanae let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, let's go!"


Mifuyu fretted as she wandered back and forth. "Please let Hanna be ok, please let Hanna be ok." She muttered.

Just then, she felt a familiar magical sense. She looked up to see two familiar figures. Tsuruno limped out of the building, carrying an older figure on her back. On the other side, Kanae exited the building carrying a small body in her arms. Mifuyu gasped as she rushed towards the two, "Hanna!"

Kanae cracked a small smile. "She's pretty badly burned, but she's alive and her soul gem is purified."

The white haired girl nodded as she looked over her girlfriend. The girl's outfit was torn in places but generally looked fine. "I'm just glad you're all alive."

"And so are we."

The trio turned around to see yellow and orange uniformed men wearing yellow helmets. The first man took one look at the group and yelled back. "Hey Minagi, we need stretchers stat!"

The firefighter turned back to the party. "Do you kids have any idea how dangerous that was?"

Kanae flashed a slight grin, "We're sorry."

"Our friend was in there." Mifuyu explained.

Tsuruno grinned, "And we can't just abandon our friends."

The firefighter groaned, "We get it, but please. Next time leave it to the professionals."

A few minutes later, both Hanna and the older woman were on stretchers and being wheeled off towards the ambulance. Mifuyu put down her phone as Kanae, all bandaged up, walked towards her.

"Yach-chan said that we should accompany Hanna to the hospital. She'll take over the mirrors witch hunt."

Kanae nodded, "And what about the coordinator?"

"Mitama is being shuttled there as well. I'm going to use suggestion magic to bring her in as a fellow doctor." Mifuyu explained.

Kanae let out a sigh of relief. "Right then…I guess what happens next is…dealing with the cause."

The white haired girl frowned, "Is it true? Did…"

"Yes, she was behind it. I have a theory as to why, but what's more important is how we're going to deal with the authorities."

"I'll do what I can. Maybe we can convince them it was a gas leak or something." Mifuyu assured Kanae.

Despite all that happened, neither of them wanted the purple haired girl to face public punishment for her wrongdoings. Magical girls take care of their own. And that includes fixing and covering for them when they make mistakes.

The two of them turned back only to hear a sharp cracking noise. Spinning around, they were met with a shocking sight. The Azaela house, which had been crumbling apart and in a fiery blaze, had changed. The fires vanished leaving not even a puff of smoke in its wake.

"What in the world…" one firefighter muttered in disbelief.

Creak!

Little by little, piece by piece, the wreckage of the ruined orphanage rose into the air. To the group's astonishment, the house began to rebuild itself. Beams mended themselves, walls restored themselves, windows unshattered, and the front door reattached itself. Once reconstructed, the newly restored building landed back on its foundations, as though the fire never even happened.

Kanae watched flabbergasted while Mifuyu quickly regained her senses. She transformed and flared her magic out to the crowd of orphans, onlookers, and first responders. The group froze stiffly as she replaced the image of the orphanage with an illusion of the fire wrecked one.

"There was a small fire in the kitchen of the Azaela house!" Mifuyu explained, her voice calm, collected, and dominating. "You came to provide first aid. There was no major fire."

The group of civilians nodded slowly before dispersing.

Mifuyu watched them load the girls onto the ambulance before canceling her transformation. "That…was harder than I thought." She muttered.

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her. "Hey, you did good."

Mifuyu giggled as she nuzzled her head in the warm, strong arms of her girlfriend. "Thanks."

Kanae smile lasted a moment before turning back to the restored building. "Now…what happened here?"

Mifuyu frowned, "I-I don't know. But there's something magical that happened."

Kanae agreed, "Yeah, when we were inside, I could sense a powerful magic embedded within the walls. But-"

"Ummm…Mifuyu? Kanae?"

The two paused to see Tsuruno standing behind them. "Umm…" she began, "Can I ask you some questions?"

Kanae nodded, "Of course Tsuruno."

"Well…Hanna mentioned something about our contracts with Kyubey and I was wondering…if you were…not telling me something?"

Mifuyu froze, but had an inkling of what happened, "You're right Tsuruno, there is something we absolutely need to talk about."

She gestured to the ambulance. "But you mind if we talk about it on the way? I'm worried about Hanna."


"And so you're saying that you want information on these surprise attacks?" Kanagi asked.

Homura nodded, "That is correct. This witch is causing problems all across Kamihama and it's imperative that we work together."

Kanagi gazed at the map and nodded, "I see. Well, if that is the case," she pulled a pen out of her bag and began circling areas on the map. "My girls have been attacked in these particular locations."

Homura looked over the map and frowned. "You know, ideally I would say that the witch must be located here." She pointed at a location in Chuo ward, "but if that were true, Hinano would have found it by now. So what if, it wasn't in Chuo but down south in Sakae or Minagi wards?"

Kanagi nodded, her own brow furrowed in thought. "That is a fair assumption. Though Minagi ward is difficult due to its sheer size."

"We could try scouring it. I'm sure that if we keep jumping around, we'd be bound to find it."

"I dislike the idea of just guessing around to make things happen."

"But do we really have much of a choice?"

"Umm…"

"It's better to analyze the situation and formulate a proper plan of attack."

"But do we even know we'll find it in time?"

"Umm hello?"

"Do we even have the magical girls capable of finding it?"

"I'm sure we would have enough."

"Excuse me you two bickerfaces!"

The two stopped to see a certain blue haired magical girl glaring at both of them. "If you guys would calm down for a moment, I have important information."

Kanagi quickly recomposed herself, Homura a step after her. "Well what is it?"

Rolling her eyes, Meiyui gestured to her phone. "Momoko just called. They found the witch. It's in Mizuna ward."


The three arrived on the scene only 20 minutes later.

Yachiyo was already waiting. "What took you so long?"

Homura frowned, "We were-"

"-they were too busy bickering over how to best help you." Meiyui cut in, her shoulders slump. "Homura, when someone says they want to help, just accept their help, ok?"

Homura sighed, "fine."

Yachiyo paused, "Wait, you listen to her?"

Homura shrugged, "I guess?"

Actually that was a good point. Why was she taking this girl's advice so easily? This wasn't like her at all. Something to consider in the future.

"Sorry for the delay," Kanagi apologized, "I thought it best to call for reinforcements."

Yachiyo understood. "It's fine. Momoko and Rena are currently watching for possible escaping familiars."

Homura glanced around until she froze as a realization hit her. "Yachiyo. I know this place."

Yachiyo raised her brow, "What?"

Homura shifted uncomfortably. "This witch, it's in the location of where Mikoto Sena witched out."

Kanagi spun her head around. "Sena witched out?"

"You knew her?"

Kanagi sighed, "She was one of my girls. I had teamed up with her before. To learn that this is how she met her fate…saddens me."

Yachiyo remained silent, but Meiyui put her hand on the white haired boss's shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss. May her soul dwell in eternal glory."

Kanagi raised her brow, "Oh?"

Meiyui chuckled, "It's what we would tell each other in Hong Kong. Loosing friends and teammates is very hard, and if there was even a sliver of a chance that they would find happiness in the afterlife, we were willing to take it."

Kanagi took her hand and held it saccharinely, "You have my gratitude Miss Chun."

Meiyui blushed at the gesture. For some reason that she couldn't explain, Homura felt like she wanted to shoot the Boss of the East, but she pushed down that feeling. "So I imagine this witch is going to be rough."

Yachiyo nodded, "Honestly, I don't want to tackle the witch until we're at full strength."

"Makes sense," Kanagi agreed, "Where's the rest of your team?"

Homura sensed a changed in the air as Yachiyo's face darkened. "They're unavailable at the moment. There was an incident in Sankyou that left the girls unable to fight."

Homura sensed there was more to it than that but kept silent. "So how are we going to make up their numbers? If you think the seven of us can defeat that witch without casualties, you're believing a lie."

Yachiyo sighed, "I was hoping we could postpone the assault till tomorrow. Mifuyu and Kanae should be well enough to come tomorrow. And maybe even Tsuruno if I can believe her text about being mighty enough to recover in a day."

Kanagi frowned, "I don't like it. This witch is already dangerous as it is. Waiting till tomorrow is bringing up the possible risk of more attacks across Kamihama."

"Then what do you suppose we do?" Yachiyo shot back.

Kanagi smirked, "I called for back up."

Homura felt a multitude of magical signatures pop up on her senses as she turned around.

She recognized Hinano, the short leader of Chuo. Alongside her, four other magical girls accompanied her. In addition, Homura realized she knew the other two girls: Tsukuyo and Tsukusa Amane, the twins of Kamihama. Alongside there were at least four other magical girls. Homura did the math and realized that almost 11 magical girls had just reinforced their assault team.

Meiyui whistled at the sight. "Now we have a proper group."

Yachiyo smiled warmly, "If you think they can handle it, then we can strike tonight. Let me just call Karin and we'll be good to go."

Homura nodded, picking up her phone to make a call. Kamihama truly was the city of magical girls. If one group is incapacitated, there was always four more to take up to fight.


"Big sis! Big sis! You've got to see this! The Azaela house is on fire!"

A blue haired girl put down her copy of the local newspaper and jerked her head to see the TV screen. Her eyes widened as she saw the building in flames. "But…that's impossible." she turned to the bubblegum haired girl, "go get her over here!"

A moment later, three sisters sat on the couch, frozen in terror. The blunette turned off the tv in disgust.

"But how?" The tall blonde asked, "Our wish should have protected the building."

"Apparently it doesn't stop fires," the blunette snarled.

The bubblegum haired girl turned to her older sisters. "So what are we going to do?"

The blunette's eyes narrowed like a hawk's. "Pack your things. It seems to we need to take a visit to Kamihama."