About 13 years prior to the main story…

An old woman stood by the window of her apartment, gazing out at the night sky. From her thinning silver hair, her hunched posture, and her wrinkled face, she was clearly getting on in years, perhaps in her eighties. Even a generous estimate couldn't possibly place her younger than seventy.

"Well," she mused. "I feel like it's about time."

She walked over to her desk and checked to make sure that her will was still there, along with the letter to her daughter, who would definitely worry when she couldn't find a body. Even with the letter, the old woman was sure her daughter would worry, but at least it would hopefully quell any hope she might hold.

The old woman put the two documents back into the desk and extracted the apartment key from her purse. Leaving the purse itself behind, she left the apartment and locked the door behind her, then pried open the mail slot and slipped the key back inside. Her daughter had a spare key, after all. There was no point in holding onto this one.

She made for the elevator and rode it to the ground floor, then emerged into the cool night air. It was unusually warm for February, but the old woman was grateful for that as she strode out into the night, walking out towards a park that she frequented. After walking for awhile, just enjoying the night air, she took a seat on one of the benches.

It was around then that something took notice of her. A white creature, almost like a fox but not quite, with tentacles emerging from its ears, tipped with gold bangles. She turned to look at it, tilting her head curiously.

"Ah," the creature said. "So it's you, again."

"Have we met before, sir?" the old woman asked.

The woman didn't seem particularly perturbed by the fact that the strange creature could talk.

"I see you lost your memories yet again," the creature said. "I am Kyuubey."

"Kyuubey, is it?" the old woman said. "Well, I suppose you can just call me Granny. How may I help you on this fine night?"

"I wonder what you're planning to do," Kyuubey said. "With the length of time we have observed you, it doesn't appear that there is any further data we can obtain, so it would help us greatly if you would die."

"Hmm," Granny said. "Well, I did come out here to die, but… somehow I think that's not quite what you mean, is it? The death you speak of might be out of reach for me."

"Even you would surely die if your body and soul were completely obliterated," Kyuubey said.

"Do you really think so?" Granny asked. "But it's not as though I have a way to do something like that in the first place."

"It's true that I cannot be certain," Kyuubey said. "There have been a few times when you managed to survive for a time without a conventional body. One time a magical girl even mistook you for a god while you were wandering disembodied on a mountainside."

"Did something like that really happen?" Granny asked. "But come to think of it, why do you care so much if I die?"

"It is simple," Kyuubey said. "You are something we failed to understand. Although we found a way to avoid a repeat, we still are unsure what caused your contract to misfire. We have obtained sufficient data from your ongoing existence, but your end would no doubt provide additional data which may help us to determine what went wrong."

"Hmm," Granny said. "Well, I wish I could give you what you want."

"It is really such a shame," Kyuubey said. "But it would also be very helpful if you would turn into a witch. We would not get the data, but we would get untold amounts of energy. It should not be possible to live forever. I am confident that one day your end will come."

"I'll look forward to that day," Granny said.

With that, Kyuubey turned and vanished into the darkness. The old woman sat there alone for awhile longer, but eventually, someone else made an appearance. A man and a woman, probably in their thirties or forties, the woman heavily pregnant and leaning on the man for support.

"Thank you, dear," the woman said. "The fresh air really helps. I'll just sit on this bench for a little while, and then we can go back."

"Understood," the man said. "Take as much time as you need."

The woman took a seat next to Granny, then turned to her with a smile.

"Good evening," she said. "Isn't it a nice night out?"

"Yes, that's for sure," Granny said. "You expecting soon?"

"I'm on week thirty-two," the younger woman said. "Probably at least another month to go."

"That sounds about right," Granny said. "Boy or girl?"

"It seems she's a girl. I was going to call her Tsukihi, written with 'moon' and 'fire'."

"It's a nice name," Granny said. "I like it."

"Do you come here often?"

"Now and then," Granny said. "But this is the last time."

"Oh, are you moving away?"

"Not exactly," Granny said. "It just seems that my time has come."

"You can actually tell?"

"Somewhat," Granny said. "It's not something I can explain. It's just an instinct."

"Well, if you're right, that's so sad," the younger woman said.

"It's sad, but it can't be helped," Granny said. "Well… it was nice talking to you."

The old woman turned to the younger one and smiled. The younger woman gasped however, for it seemed as though something was wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on it at first, because it fell so far outside the realm of sensibility that the mind initially refused to comprehend it… but the old woman appeared to have caught on fire. The man was standing a short distance away, facing the road, so he hadn't noticed anything off. The bench also didn't seem to be singed at all by the flames. The pregnant woman watched, transfixed, as the old woman's body burnt away, the smile never fading from her face. Somehow, it was not as grotesque as she would have expected of seeing someone burn up right in front of her, and it was almost as if there was an invisible command forcing her to do nothing, just watch.

As the last of the old woman's body and clothing burnt away, all that was left was a pile of red crystals. Although they were of standard crystalline shapes, like quartz prisms with faceted tips, the collection of different sizes made them look eerily akin to bones, as if the woman had had bones of crystal. But the flames didn't go out now that there was nothing left to burn. They continued to burn until the crystals first melted down into a molten pool, then evaporated into a fine mist that coloured the orange flames an eerie blood red.

That was when the fire and crystal vapour began to move towards the pregnant woman, as if it had a will of its own. She urged her body to move, but it refused to obey her commands. The flames washed over her, but somehow, they didn't hurt at all. She could feel the warmth, but it wasn't hot enough to burn. The flames licked all over her body, squirmed under her clothing without leaving a mark, and were seemingly absorbed into her body through her navel.

As she recovered from the strange and unsettling event, even the memory of what had happened began to fade away. By the time she called out to her husband, she'd forgotten there was ever an old lady sharing the bench with her in the first place.

Back to the present day…

"Argh, onii-chan, what on earth is he thinking!?"

Araragi Tsukihi was flopped upside down in an armchair, one leg hooked over the back, the other resting on the arm. Given that she wore only a kimono, someone at the right angle probably could have gotten a glimpse of her underwear, but since she and her older sister were the only ones home, she had no worries about that. Her head protruded over the edge of the seat, her long hair trailing on the floor, and she gripped a smartphone in one hand, glaring at it.

Her older sister, Karen, leapt clear over the chair to land next to her head.

"What's this, what's this!?" she asked. "Something up with onii-chan?"

"Look, look!" Tsukihi complained, showing her the phone. "I sent him a mail asking where he disappeared to, and what do you think he said!?"

Karen took the phone from her little sister and looked at it, reading the email out loud.

[Sorry. Going to do some soul-seeking. Won't be back for awhile.]

Karen burst out laughing.

"That's hilarious!" she said. "Onii-chan doing some soul-seeking! Who'd've thought he had it in him!?"

"I know, right!?" Tsukihi complained. "It's not like him at all! What on earth came over him?"

"Maybe he met a girl," Karen suggested.

Tsukuhi gasped. "Y-you can't be serious… onii-chan with a girl? That's… I can't even imagine it…"

"Yeah, it's pretty had to imagine," Karen said. "I mean, there's the time he fixed Nadeko-chan's bike, but that was years ago…"

Tsukihi flipped herself off the couch, somersaulting to her feet and sitting back down in a more normal posture.

"Still, I can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong," she said. "There's been an uncomfortable tension in the air since spring break started. Maybe onii-chan got caught up in something dangerous…"

"Tension, you say?" Karen said, startled. "Why didn't you say anything before!? As heroes of justice, we should be investigating it!"

"Well, at first I thought it was just my imagination," Tsukihi said. "But it simply wouldn't go away…"

"Alright!" Karen said. "We've got nothing better to do, so let's go out and do it!"

Tsukihi groaned. "Does it have to be right now…?"

"When better?" Karen retorted.

Tsukihi sighed. "Alright, but at least let me take a shower first."

"Fine, let's do that together then," Karen said. "It'll be faster."

So after washing up and changing into clean clothes, the pair of them headed outside. Karen wore her signature outfit, yellow cargo pants and open-fronted hoody with a tank-top underneath, and had her hair tied into a ponytail. Tsukihi had merely changed into a different kimono and tied her hair up in pigtails.

"So, can you get a direction on this tension?" Karen asked.

"Hmm," Tsukihi said.

She extended her arms and closed her eyes, slowly turning in place for a minute or so. Finally, she came to a stop and opened her eyes again.

"I think it's a bit thicker in this direction, maybe," she said. "But I might just be imagining it. I'm still not even sure I'm not imagining the feeling in the first place."

"Still, it can't hurt to check it out!" Karen said. "The worst that could happen is we find nothing!"

"You're right," Tsukihi said.

So they headed in the direction Tsukihi was facing. Every so often they stopped to allow Tsukihi to verify the direction. After awhile they came across a blonde-haired girl wearing a worn-looking skirt and blouse. She also looked like she hadn't bathed in over a week.

"Hey, you there!" Karen exclaimed. "Have you seen anything out of the ordinary around here?"

The girl spun to face them and gasped, a look of fear suddenly spreading across her face.

"Ah! I… I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "I didn't mean to intrude on your territory! I was just on my way out, anyway!"

Karen blinked at her. "What are you talking about? Territory? I just asked you a simple question."

The other girl blinked too. "Huh? B-but aren't you a magical girl…?"

She glanced nervously at Tsukihi, who tilted her head.

"Magical girls?" Tsukihi said. "What nonsense is this… eighth-grade syndrome?"

The girl stared at her.

"Ah… um… I must've been mistaken," she said. "S-sorry…"

"Perhaps we should start with introductions," Tsukihi suggested. "I am Araragi Tsukihi, and this idiot is my big sister, Karen."

"Who're you calling an idiot!?" Karen protested.

The girl blinked. "You're related to… Araragi…kun…? Ah, um, I'm called Episode…"

"You've seen onii-chan!?" Tsukihi gasped.

"Um, w-well… seen isn't exactly how I'd put it," Episode muttered. "B-but I guess it's close enough…"

"So can you just answer the question?" Karen asked.

"R-right, something out-of-the-ordinary," Episode said. "Um… I can't say I've seen anything… b-but there was a rumour about a vampire going around… or so I heard…"

"A vampire!?" Karen gasped. "How have I not heard… oh wait! I did hear that rumour a few days ago! I dismissed it because I thought it was nonsense, but is it possible there's some hidden truth to it?"

"W-well, I wouldn't exactly call it hidden," Episode said. "U-um… Miss Tsukihi… you're really not a magical girl… right?"

"Of course not," Tsukihi retorted. "There's no such thing as magic."

"R-right… of course," Episode muttered. "W-well then, um… I'll just… be on my way…"

She slowly backed away, nervously, as if she expected one of them to suddenly pounce on her. Then, once she'd gotten enough distance, she turned and bolted.

"What a strange girl," Karen said. "Does she live around here? I've never seen her before…"

"Nor have I," Tsukihi said. "What's with her obsession with magical girls…? It must be eighth-grade syndrome… though she looked a little young for that…"

"Well then, let's keep investigating," Karen said. "Which way?"

"Hmm," Tsukihi said. "I'm still not sure that this isn't just all in my head, but that girl seemed to have a weird… pressure to her… it seems like it could be related to that tension…?"

"So do you think we should follow her?" Karen asked.

"I guess there are worse things we could do," Tsukihi said.

But when they rounded the corner that Episode had disappeared around, there was no sign of her, and no hints to show where she'd gone.

"Well, whatever, I guess we'll just keep going this way," Karen said. "Maybe we'll run into her again."

But they never saw Episode again. By following Tsukihi's unexplained feeling, the two of them slowly worked their way out of the town centre until they found themselves gazing up at an old, abandoned building. A faded sign nearby bore the name, Eikou Cram School.

"Is this the place?" Karen asked. "You think onii-chan could be here?"

"I think… we should go back," Tsukihi said. "We shouldn't get any closer than this."

Karen blinked at her. "Huh? Why are you getting cold feet all of a sudden?" she asked. "You're the one who brought us here in the first place…"

"It's just… now that we're right in front of it, I have this deep, foreboding feeling," Tsukihi said. "I can't explain it, but I think if we step through that gate, there'll be no going back…"

"You got that right, you little squirts."

A man stepped through the gate, glaring down at them with startling golden eyes. He was tall, but walked with a slightly hunched posture, wearing dark cargo shorts torn-off at mid-calf and a pink Hawaiian shirt left unbuttoned. His short blonde hair was incredibly messy, and he wore traditional wooden geta on his feet. A Christian cross hung on a pendant over his chest, but it was upside down for some reason, the longest leg pointing up instead of down. He also wore a matching earring in his right ear. There was an unlit cigarette in his mouth. In fact, it was a fresh one that had never been lit.

"W-who are you?" Karen asked. "Have you kidnapped onii-chan!?"

The man snorted in amusement. "What, kidnapped? I wouldn't do something like that. I'm just hanging around to see how things go down. But believe me, you girls shouldn't get involved. Go home while you still can."

"B-but we're heroes of justice!" Karen proclaimed. "We can't just back down at a time like this!"

"Karen," Tsukihi said. "We should do what he says… this is… not something we can handle."

"Come on…" Karen grumbles. "Fine, but… can I at least ask you a couple of questions?"

"You can ask all you want," the man said. "I can't promise I'll answer."

"Have you seen onii-chan?" Karen asked. "Have you seen Araragi Koyomi?"

"Sure," the man said.

"Is… is he safe?"

"I would say he's not in any immediate danger," the man said.

"T-then he might be in danger!?" Karen gasped.

"I ain't a damn seer," the man said. "I can't predict what'll happen in the future."

Karen sighed. "And… he'll come home… right?"

"Well, I'd have to ask him," the man said. "But if I were to make a bet, I'd wager on him returning by the end of spring break."

"Then… fine," Karen said. "You're not usually this assertive, Tsukihi, so I guess…"

With Tsukihi persistently tugging on her sleeve, Karen reluctantly turned and walked away.

Finally, the first day of school had arrived. Tsubasa woke up early so she could take a shower before Hitagi and also wash her uniform, which was the only clothes she possessed at the moment. Once the uniform was clean, she did some emergency repairs to cover the hole. You could still tell it had torn if you looked closely, but it would have to do until she could get a replacement. Then she ate a quick breakfast and left the house before Hitagi, because she couldn't wait to see him. He hadn't come by the day before, after all. She had stopped by the cram school to satisfy the strange hunger for Shinobu's blood within her, though. It hadn't felt urgent, and she thought she could've gone a few days without before it got overwhelming, but she figured it was best to satisfy it sooner rather than later.

She found him standing at an intersection and waved. The walk light had just turned green and he was about to cross.

"Koyomi-kun!"

He stopped and turned to look at her. He didn't cross, but instead waited as she broke into a run and joined him, by which time the walk light had turned red again.

"Tsubasa-chan…"

She grinned. "That's it, just like that," she said.

She peered at his neck. There was still a bite-mark from the last time Shinobu had fed.

"So the scar stays," she said.

"Yeah…"

"How much of a vampire would you say you are now?" Tsubasa asked.

"It's a bit early to say," Koyomi said. "But I do heal faster, still… I think that's about it, though."

"That's not much," Tsubasa said. "Guess it's about the same as me, huh?"

"Guess so… looking at it optimistically, I've become a human again, but there are some aftereffects."

"Aftereffects, huh?"

"I may not be fully human now, but honestly, just not feeling pain from the sun anymore changed my world," he said.

"That's so positive!" she said.

Koyomi shrugged, and they walked the rest of the way to school in silence. Tsubasa found herself continually sneaking glances at him. Finally they reached the crosswalk in front of the school, where that first fateful meeting had taken place. This time, however, it was crowded with other students.

"By the way, I've been wondering, Koyomi-kun," Tsubasa said. "What exactly is our relationship? Are we just friends? Or are we girlfriend and boyfriend?"

"That… I'm not sure," Koyomi said. "Maybe we're halfway in between…"

Tsubasa giggled. "I suppose that's an option too."

They crossed the street and headed into the school.

"I have to stop by the office for a minute," Tsubasa said. "So I'll see you in class, Koyomi-kun!"

"Yeah."

She headed to the office and got the attention of the staff there.

"Excuse me!"

"Yes… oh, Miss Hanekawa, welcome back. What can I help you with this morning?"

"Yes, um… it's something of a strange request, but please humour me," Tsubasa said.

"Of course," the woman said.

"Could you tell me my home address?"

The woman blinked at her. "Come again?"

"Could you tell me my home address?"

"Ah… I must be hearing things… did you say your home address?"

"Yes, that's correct," Tsubasa said.

"Well… I did say I'd humour you," the woman said. "One second…"

She looked up the answer in the computer and recited it out to Tsubasa, who carefully wrote it down on a slip of paper. As she was about to leave, the woman addressed her again.

"Mind giving me some explanation?" she asked. "It's not like you don't know where you live, right? Why'd you have to come and ask me?"

"Ah, um… lots of stuff happened over spring break," Tsubasa said. "And I sort of forgot where I live. I was staying with… a friend, the past few days…"

The woman stared at her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she said. "Maybe you should see a doctor…"

"I'm perfectly fine," Tsubasa said. "I just forgot a few things, that's all. Thanks for the concern, though."

Without waiting for further questioning, she made for class. Koyomi was already seated, and he turned to smile at her. She smiled back and made for her seat in the front row, some distance from Koyomi's central seat. Then she turned and gave him a little wave. He blinked at her, startled, but didn't wave back.

Her actions had already caused a buzz of conversation wondering about how the two of them had become close… but she was okay with that. Hopefully, he was too.

She was looking forward to spending her final year of high school with him.

After school was out, she followed Koyomi to the lockers, the boy glancing nervously at her a couple of times.

"Why are you following me…?" he asked finally.

"I thought I could come see your place," Tsubasa said.

"But didn't you get your address from the school?" he said. "So you should know where you live now."

"Well, that's true," she said. "But I'm in no hurry to go home. I can do that whenever."

"Well… if you say so," he said. "I won't stop you."

So they started to walk home together. She knew there were people around them commenting on it, mainly other students, but she shut out those voices. It didn't matter what other people thought. It was difficult for her to tell, but it seemed Koyomi was also doing his best to ignore them.

"So, um… what should we talk about?" Koyomi said.

"Well, it's not like we have to talk," Tsubasa said.

"Ah… true."

They'd been walking for a couple of minutes when a car pulling a large caravan suddenly drew up beside them, honking its horn and rolling down the passenger side window. The two of them turned to look at it in surprise. The driver was a dark-skinned woman with black hair. She wore white skinny jeans and a black tank top with a translucent gauze covering her shoulders, plus a beret and glasses. There's a ribbon accessory with beads and small feathers pinned to the beret. Tsubasa could also sense something from her – she must be magical girl!

"Oy, you two!" she shouted. "Ya know a place I can park this beast for awhile? Like several days to a month."

"Huh? Um, let me think," Koyomi said. "Eikou Cram School would work…"

"No, I don't think so," Tsubasa said. "It's not really accessible by car from the street, right? There's a bunch of barriers…"

"Ah, you're right," Koyomi said. "Then where else…"

"I have just the place," Tsubasa said. "But it's a bit hard to describe the directions… just a—"

"In that case, why not hop in and gimme directions on-the-fly?" the woman suggested.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea!" Koyomi protested.

"Actually, I'd like that," Tsubasa said. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, Koyomi-kun."

"No, if you're going, then I'll go," Koyomi said. "If I didn't go and something happened to you…"

Tsubasa opened the back door and climbed in, followed by Koyomi, and they buckled themselves into the back seat. Then Livia pulled away from the curb and continued driving.

"So hey, the name's Livia," the woman said. "Livia Medeiros."

"I'm Hanekawa Tsubasa."

"Araragi Koyomi…"

"Ah, turn left here," Tsubasa said. "By the way, Miss Medeiros, are you a magical girl?"

"Ah, does your boyfriend know about it then?" Livia asked. "You betcha. I'm a travelling Coordinator, in fact."

"A Coordinator!?" Tsubasa gasped.

"I-I'm not her boyfriend…" Koyomi muttered. "I think…"

"Ya heard of us?" Livia said. "We call ourselves Puella Care. Sorta like a doctor's association, but just for magical girls."

"I heard someone mention you, but he didn't really explain anything," Tsubasa said. "So you're like magical girl doctors?"

"Ya got it," Livia said. "But it ain't like healing's our specialty, ya know. Oh, we can do it, a little, but our primary service is Coordination. All I gotta do is poke at your soul gem a little, and you'll get stronger!"

"That sounds too good to be true," Tsubasa said. "Oh, take a right here."

"It does, doesn't it?" Livia said. "But it sure works. We got a lotta satisfied customers under our belt, ya know."

"Um… do you think I could learn it?" Tsubasa asked. "The person who mentioned Coordinators to me thought I might be able to."

"Well now, it's hard ta say without knowing more about ya," Livia said. "If ya let me tune you up, then I should be able to tell ya. But it'll cost ya. One grief seed per service."

"I don't have a grief seed right now," Tsubasa said. "I just used up my last one… so I guess I'd have to get a new one first."

"That's fine, take yer time," Livia said. "I ain't going anywhere. I'll be in town for awhile. Until I get bored again, I suppose."

Tsubasa nodded. "Alright," she said. "By the way, there's a narrow driveway just up ahead that you need to turn down."

"Got it," Livia said.

"Isn't this really close to Namishiro Park?" Koyomi said.

"Yeah, there's an old ruined shrine back here," Tsubasa said. "Not many people know about it. I don't think they'd mind you parking there."

"Coolio," Livia said. "Then I'll plop this beast down there and go spread the word to the other magical girls around here."

Then for some reason she switches over to telepathy. «Ya know of any?»

Though she didn't quite understand why Livia had switched, Tsubasa figured it would be polite to respond in the same way.

«Hmm… the only other one I know in the area is Senjougahara Hitagi,» Tsubasa said. «Ah, and Shinobu-chan. Maybe you've heard of Laura of Wallachia?»

«The name rings a bell, but I can't place it,» Livia said.

«Well, she's here. She's going by Shinobu-chan now.»

«Must be more than just the three of ya,» Livia said.

Tsubasa shrugged. «Apparently there's also one called Hachikuji Mayoi, but I haven't met her. I'm not sure if there are any others.»

«Then I s'pose I'll ask the others,» Livia said. Then she switched back to regular speech. "Ah, I see, there's a broken shrine gate here… guess it's as good a place as any. Thanks fer the tip!"

She pulled up in front of the broken shrine gate and hopped out of the car, running over to unfasten the caravan trailer. Koyomi and Tsubasa also hopped out.

"Um… how do we get out of here…?" he said. "Do we have to walk back down that driveway?"

Tsubasa shook her head. "No, there's an old foot path just over there that links to Namishiro Park," she said. "It's a bit overgrown, but still traversable."

"Okay," Koyomi said. "Um, see you later, Miss Medeiros."

"Ya don't have a reason to come back," Livia said sharply. "You're not a magical girl. Well, I'm not gonna snap at ya if ya decide to drop by, but there's just no reason for ya to do so."

"S-sure…"

He grabbed Tsubasa's hand and made for the foot path she'd indicated.

"See you later, Miss Medeiros!" Tsubasa called.

And then they were among trees for a short time before emerging into the park.

"That was… really strange," Koyomi said. "What a strange woman…"

"Hmm… you're right, but I think she's a good person," Tsubasa said. "Now then… shall we continue on to your place?"

"Fine…"

He led the way through the streets, eventually arriving at a fairly three-storey western-style house built at the top of a hill. It was painted a striking lemon yellow, with black-roofed gables. The house was somewhat set apart from the rows of generic white townhouses on one side and a couple of four-storey apartment buildings on the other. Koyomi opened the door and kicked his shoes off, so Tsubasa followed his example.

"I'm home!" he called.

"Sorry to intrude," Tsubasa said.

Two girls practically exploded from the living room, the younger with long hair in a kimono, the elder with short hair in shorts and a tank top.

"Oh my gosh!" Tsukihi said. "Onii-chan brought a girl home!"

"I can't believe it!" Karen exclaimed. "Onii-chan really brought a girl home!"

"This is shocking!" Tsukihi exclaimed. "It's beyond shocking! It's a bombshell!"

"My name is Hanekawa Tsubasa… nice to meet you."

"Karen, Tsukihi," Koyomi said, indicating the elder and then the younger sister. "No, she's not my girlfriend."

"Aww, lame," Tsukihi retorted.

Leaning in close, she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in Tsubasa's ear.

"Is onii-chan stringing you along, Tsubasa-neesan?"

"Not at all," Tsubasa said. "It's just that we haven't decided whether we're going to date."

Wondering why she sensed a magical reaction from Tsukihi, Tsubasa grabbed both of the younger girl's hands to look at them, but there wasn't a single ring on any of her fingers… so she couldn't be a magical girl, right? Was she imagining it? But there was a mark on one of the girl's fingernails. It looked like the outline of a red bird with spread wings and a long tail. It was the exact same location as the red cat face marking on Tsubasa's finger.

Tsukihi tilted her head.

"Is there something on my hands, Tsubasa-neesan?" she asked.

"What's this mark?" Tsubasa asked.

"Dunno," Tsukihi said. "That's always been there… guess it's a birthmark?"

That almost seemed like a more plausible explanation than being a magical girl… she really must have imagined it, then?

"Even if you're not dating, I can't believe onii-chan actually has friends," Karen said. "I'm so moved!"

"Stop being so melodramatic about it," Koyomi retorted.

"Will you be staying for dinner, Tsubasa-neesan?" Tsukihi asked.

"Oh, well, I hadn't thought that far," Tsubasa said.

"Then you must!" Karen said. "Or won't your parents allow it?"

"Um… I think they'd be okay with it?" Tsubasa said. "But I don't want to impose… will your parents be alright having me over?"

"Mom and Dad won't be back till late, if at all," Tsukihi said. "So it'd just be the four of us. Come on, join us! We don't have guests over very often! It'll be fun!"

"Well, if you're sure," Tsubasa said. "Perhaps I could even help with dinner a little…"

"Ah, if you want," Karen said. "I'm not that good at cooking, anyway…"

"Then you're in luck!" Tsubasa said. "Alright, I'll help out, then!"

Somehow or other, Tsubasa allowed herself to be talked into sleeping over, and ended up in a sleeping bag on the girls' bedroom floor. The girls had even lent her pyjamas and washed her uniform for her.

She woke up early the next morning. Both girls were still fast asleep in their beds, owing to staying up late chattering about all sorts of things. Tsubasa slipped out of the sleeping bag and changed back into her uniform, writing a quick note so they wouldn't worry before heading outside.

It really was quite early – the sun hadn't even finished rising above the rooftops yet. Somehow, she felt like she was used to getting up pretty early – maybe not quite this early, but not that far off. She set out across town, just rambling here and there, and before she knew it she found herself at Namishiro Park. That reminded her of the promise to Livia, so she took out her soul gem and started searching for a witch. Surprisingly, she found one almost immediately, tracking it down to a nearby alleyway. This was the first time she'd fought a witch by herself, but it turned out it wasn't as hard as she'd feared. Her exploding cocktails quite handily cleared the path of familiars, and once she managed to find the central chamber, it took only two shots of Shampoo Fire to take it down. It was the same tentacle witch she'd faced with Hitagi, so she already knew how it moved and attacked.

Now in possession of a fresh grief seed, she headed back to Namishiro park and took the path to the abandoned shrine. Livia was there, sitting outside her tent trailer and cooking over an open fire.

"Oho, someone's up early!" she said. "Got a grief seed for me?"

"Yeah," Tsubasa said.

"I'll tend to ya right after I get some grub in me," Livia said. "Take a seat anywhere and wait."

In addition to the folding chair that she was sitting on, she'd also set up a folding lounge chair, so Tsubasa took a seat there and waited.

"Ya eaten yet?" Livia asked.

"Ah, actually, no I haven't," Tsubasa said. "But you don't have to worry about me. I'll pick something up on my way to school."

"Well, have it your way," Livia said with a shrug.

Her breakfast appeared to be just a cup of miso soup with a rice ball on the side.

"I didn't expect you to be eating such a Japanese breakfast," Tsubasa noted.

"What, ya thought I'm a foreigner just cos of my skin colour?" Livia said. "Well, yer half right though. Born in Brazil, but my Grandda's from Japan, and I spent most of my childhood here. So I'm whatcha call a half, right?"

"I see," Tsubasa said.

Once Livia had finished eating and cleaning up after her meal, she turned to Tsubasa.

"Right then, come along inside," she said.

Tsubasa followed her into the tent trailer, and Livia gestured to the bed.

"Lie down over there."

"Isn't that your bed…?"

"It's okay," Livia said. "And gimme your soul gem and the grief seed. Don't let them touch."

Tsubasa did as she was instructed, handing over the soul gem and grief seed before laying down on the bed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Livia set the grief seed aside and then start poking at her soul gem. A few seconds later, visions filled her head, but they were blurry, like she was viewing them through rainswept glass. She couldn't make much out. It looked like there were two adults, a man and a woman. They did a variety of things, but she got the impression they were angry. She couldn't figure out who or what they were angry at, however.

Then, she was abruptly snapped back into reality, sitting up with a gasp. Turning her head, she saw Livia looking at her thoughtfully.

"Um… is… is something wrong?" Tsubasa asked.

"Well now, that depends on whatcha call 'wrong'," Livia said. "Yer memories are all scrambled, aren't they? And yer soul's gotten all tangled up. Most people'd say that's wrong, I reckon."

"Ah… I suppose you could say that," Tsubasa said. "I remember a lot of things clearly, but there are also some things that are clearly missing from my memory… Miss Senjougahara said it's probably caused by my wish. But I don't feel like there's anything important in those missing memories."

"Given that yer magic manipulates memories, it's all but certain that your wish caused it," Livia said. "I didn't see your wish itself in your memories, but I could tell ya wished for a curse."

Tsubasa tilted her head.

"What… do you mean, exactly?"

"It's a tough thing to explain," Livia said. "But yer magic's different from most magical girls. It's like my magic."

"Oh… does that mean I can learn what you do!?" Tsubasa gasped.

"Yep, I can teach ya," Livia says. "But you've gotta make me three promises."

"Um, okay," Tsubasa said. "What promises?"

"Firstly, that thing ya did the other day is right out," Livia said. "I'll let it pass this time since it was afore I met ya, but if ya do that again, you're out."

"Um… what are you referring to?" Tsubasa asked.

"Entangling yer soul with that vampire's," Livia said.

"Huh? W-wait, how did you know about that…?" Tsubasa asked.

"Saw it in yer memories," Livia said. "Which brings me to the second promise. Whatever ya see in someone's memories when working on them, you're not to share it with anyone else. Ya can talk about it with the person you learned it from, of course, though I recommend not, unless they ask you."

"Um, okay," Tsubasa said. "And the third promise?"

"Never to hurt someone with Coordination, cept in self-defense," Livia said. "This power I call Coordination is capable of many things. It can do much to help magical girls, and it's also capable of horrific evil. I ain't gonna turn the blind eye if I see ya turning to the dark side, ya hear?"

Tsubasa nodded. "Alright… I promise I won't hurt anyone with what you teach me, and I won't tell anyone what I read from other people's minds. Is that good enough?"

"It'll do," Livia said. "Now, since I just tuned yer soul gem, ya should be able to perform a connect skill. It's a way of sharing magic with an ally to boost their attack. Ya should try it out next time ya fight in a pair. Ya just gotta slap hands with the other girl, and the magic'll flow right through."

Tsubasa nodded. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"Ya might also find it a touch easier to move yer magic around," Livia said. "Each time ya get a tune-up it'll become just a touch easier, up to a limit."

Tsubasa nodded. "That sounds really convenient, honestly," she said. "I can get stronger without even practicing? It's like a cheat…"

"It's not like a cheat," Livia said. "It is a cheat. As a Coordinator I imbue the experience into your soul."

"Could I do Coordination on myself?" Tsubasa asked.

"That would be extremely dangerous," Livia said. "Even if ya could, ya can't imbue experience ya don't have."

"O-okay, that makes sense," Tsubasa said.

"Well, looks like the time's getting on," Livia said. "Ya should be getting to school soon, right? We can have yer first lesson later."

Tsubasa nodded. "Alright… thank you very much, Miss Medeiros!"

With that, she left the tent trailer and made her way towards the school, stopping off for breakfast along the way.

Over the next month, Tsubasa kept finding excuses to avoid going home. She slept over at Koyomi's place, or at Hitagi's place. She dozed off during an evening lesson at Livia's place. She stayed up all night hunting witches. She snuck into the library late at night to get in some extra studying. Despite repeatedly saying she'd go home the next day, it just kept being pushed off.

Perhaps some instinct within her still remembered what that home was really like and was urging her to stay away.

But she wasn't someone to be guided by instinct. As Golden Week approached, she finally ran out of excuses. After leaving school on the final day before the holiday, she spent the afternoon hunting witches, obtaining two grief seeds and destroying a whole lot of familiars. She stopped by Livia's place, but the woman was out, which left her with no other options.

Tsubasa steeled herself and took out the address she'd scrawled down almost a month prior, heading there and gazing up at the house it pointed to. It was a small two-storey construction with blue bars fencing off the upper balcony and a tall fence surrounding it, blue glass panes blotting out the lower floor.

She'd procrastinated for quite awhile, and the sun was already pretty low in the sky. It was time to learn what she had forgotten.

Tsubasa pushed the gate open and stepped up to the front door. Unexpectedly, it was locked, but she knew she had a key in her purse. She fished it out, and sure enough, it fit perfectly. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, removing her shoes as she called out.

"I'm home!"

There was no response. After locking the door again behind her, she peeked into the living room. A man was sitting on the couch there. He glanced at her, but said nothing. Hanging on a rack in the corner of the living room was a set of pyjamas that she somehow recognized as her own. It was the only familiar thing here, but that alone was proof that she was in the right place. Plus, if the man hadn't recognized her, he would have reacted differently. For some reason, there was also a futon neatly folded next to that rack.

Peeking into the kitchen, Tsubasa found a woman preparing a meal, but it was only enough for herself. The woman also glanced at her and said nothing. Tsubasa decided to slip in and prepare some food for herself as well. They worked next to each other in dead silence. Once the woman was finished, she left the room without a word, leaving Tsubasa to finish up her own food.

Was that really how family was supposed to be? When she had stayed over at Hitagi's place, the three of them had eaten breakfast and dinner together, and talked about stuff. Hitagi and her father clearly got along really well. When she had stayed over at Koyomi's place, it had been noisy all the time thanks to his rambunctious little sisters. But here, there was nothing but silence… an eerie, cloying silence.

After finishing her meal, Tsubasa searched for her place in the house. Upstairs, there were two bedrooms, and it was obvious that one was for her father and the other was for her mother. Downstairs, the only rooms were kitchen, living room, bathroom, and toilet. That could mean only one thing.

The carefully folded futon in the corner of the living room must be hers. She had no room of her own – she slept in the living room. Seriously, was that how family should be? How long had she lived in this house? Had she just accepted that as normal? It was so weird.

But what could she do about it? The silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife. She wasn't sure if she had the courage to speak up. So for now, she decided she'd just use that futon, like nothing had ever happened, like she'd never been gone. Perhaps, after a few days of that, she would be able to do more.

Magical Girl Corner

Whenever a new magical girl is introduced, I'll include a brief profile of her here. Some details may be redacted, or contain minor spoilers. You have been warned! The numeric ranking values are on a scale of 1 to 10.

Livia Medeiros

Age: Unknown
Eye Colour: Purple
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Brazil
Symbol: Blue design of concentric circles and diamonds (the Puella Care symbol)
Soul Gem: Oval purple gemstone on her forehead like a third eye
Element: Null
Weapon: Top hat and playing cards
Powers: Soul gem adjustment
Wish: Unknown
Affiliation: Puella Care

Speed: 2
Magical Stamina: 8
Offensive Power: 2
Defensive Power: 1
Initial Power Usability: 0
Learned Powers: 4