Chapter 39

Cheese. A simple slice of processed cheese. A good part of it wasn't even cheese, just some processed product, but even then just looking at those slices in front of her caused Nagisa's mouth to water. All neatly stacked in front of her. All she would have to do was grab the stack and stuff it into her mouth. Cheese, plastic, and all of it, and she would go through a moment of sheer bliss.

"Nagisa, please pack up two Order Thirteens!"

"Okay," Nagisa replied, the sound of Riko's voice bringing her out of her stupor.

No! Don't eat the cheese. Riko needed it for the customers!

Nagisa quickly went to the back of the small stand they had, grabbed two empty bento boxes, and began filling them with the required food. Once they were filled, she handed them to Riko at the register and went back to sorting the cheese as requested.

It had been weeks since Nagisa had met Riko and during that time she had become a frequent visitor to her home. She ended up sleeping more nights there than not, something which she was incredibly grateful for.

It was nice to have a friend and a place to sleep whenever she got tired from her mission. It was also why she was so eager to agree when Riko asked for help in running her family's stand while her parents were away. Which also happened more often than not.

Riko's parents were gone a lot, busy with work, leaving their daughter alone at home or running their Bento shop. It made it easy for Nagisa to stay over the night whenever she felt like it, which was more often than not. Riko's home was a nice reprieve whenever Nagisa was tired from her mission. Riko was fun to be with and her dog, Mameji, was the cutest doggy ever.

Just thinking about burying her face in his soft bushy fur was enough to take Nagisa's mind off of eating the cheese. Almost.

Nagisa brought the completed orders to the front, ignoring the pink Kyubey watching her just out of sight through a nearby window, and handed it out to Riko as she greeted an older girl with blonde hair and pink highlights. That wasn't that strange in itself, seriously Nagisa had white hair she couldn't judge, but things did get weird when the girl started speaking.

"Oh my god. You got an assistant Riko? You two are so Kawaii! What's your name?"

Nagisa blinked blankly at the girl before turning to Riko.

"This is Ashley," Riko introduced the blonde girl. "She's a transfer student from America, so her Japanese might be a bit different."

Ah, that explained it. Sayaka had joked about those types before. What were they called? Weaboos?

"Welcome to Japan," Nagisa decided to bow her head politely to the enthusiastic, if not eccentric, foreigner.

"Oh wow, you really are cute." Ashley turned to Riko. "We should really take her to that accessory shop you showed me. I can already imagine so many things that would look great on her! Oh, maybe a Gurokawa theme to match her white hair!"

"Gurokawa?" Nagisa asked.

"Combining cute and creepy together," Riko replied. "Ashley explained it to me."

Oh, well then Charlotte would certainly know a lot about that.

"She's also a really strong Magical Girl too," Riko said. "She helped me out more than once."

"You're the impressive one," Ashley replied. "You're so young and yet you're taking charge of your family's shop while they're away and you hunt Witches alone."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Nagisa asked.

"Don't you go out alone a lot too?" Riko replied.

That was different. Riko didn't have a hungry Witch to chomp down on any other Witch that might give her trouble. Of course, they didn't know that.

"Hunting by myself was scary at first when I first became a Magical Girl," Riko admitted. "But I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself; you don't have to worry about me Nagisa."

Well, Riko was reliable for the most part. If she said that she could handle it then she probably could.

"Why don't you two hunt Witches together sometime?" Ashley asked. "Actually, the three of us could go together sometimes."

"I'd be happy to," Riko turned to Nagisa, "but Nagisa…"

"I'm a little busy. There's a mission I have that I have to fulfill," Nagisa replied.

"Ooh, what sort of mission?" Ashley asked.

Nagisa looked around to make sure that no one else was listening before leaning in so that the others could hear her whispers. "I've got to figure out what's making this city so weird."

There were other parts of her mission, mainly figuring out why this Record was outside the Law of Cycles influence, but that was super top secret. Even more secret than what she had just told them.

"You know there are a lot of other girls trying to figure that out too," Ashley whispered back. "Emiri told me that they're fighting with this group called the Wings of Magius."

Wings of Magius? That was a weird name. "What are they about?"

"Don't know much, but I heard they've been going on about helping Magical Girls.

"Do you know where I can find them?" Nagisa asked. Ashley was giving her more information than she could gather in a week, though it might be because the Pyotrs could get easily distracted whenever she sent them out.

"I don't know where their base is, but you can look for Magical Girls wearing black and white hoods. Apparently, they don't like revealing their identities because of whatever it is they're doing."

Huh. A hood to hide her identity might actually be a good idea. That way Nagisa could bring out Charlotte in front of other people and not have them try and hunt her down after she took off her disguise.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Riko asked. "This sounds dangerous."

"I'm a big girl now, I can handle it."

"Excuse me."

All three girls yelped as they turned and found that another customer had come while they were all whispering to each other.

"Hi Tsukasa!" Riko greeted the girl once she composed herself. "Here to pick up your dad's order?"

"Yea, same as usual," Tsukasa replied with a smile. "And also a fried chicken bento for me."

"Nagisa one fried chicken bento please!"

Tsukasa looked curiously at Nagisa. "You hired someone new?"

"I'm just helping out, today. Riko's been a big help to me," Nagisa said as she began to prepare Tsukasa's order.

"So, you made a new friend then," Tsukasa commented to Riko.

"Yep!"

Hearing that made Nagisa… bubbly on the inside. She didn't really have any friends back when she was human.

"I'm Ashley, I'm their friend too!" Ashley introduced herself.

"Tsukasa Amane, it's nice to meet you," Tsukasa introduced herself. "What were you three talking about anyway? You all looked really into it."

"We were just talking about this group called the Magius. Nagisa was really curious about them."

So apparently Tsukasa was a Magical Girl too. Small world.

As Nagisa handed the order over to the Magical Girl she noticed that the girl suddenly had a strange look on her face.

"Why are you asking about the Magius?" Tsukasa asked Nagisa.

"Apparently Nagisa has a secret mission to figure out why there are so many weird things happening in this city," Ashley whispered. "It's super important to her."

"Who… exactly put you up to this?" Tsukasa asked.

"It's a secret," Nagisa replied as Riko nodded in agreement. "Don't worry though. It's for the good of the world!"

"Wow you really are ambitious," Ashley commented. "Good luck saving the world!"

"Oh, nothing like that. I'm just doing my part to make it better," Nagisa said smugly.

"Um… good luck with that," Tsukasa replied hesitantly.

"Thanks for always coming here," Riko said as she handed over the girl's change.

"Anytime! The food here is delicious and always re-energizes me!" Tsukasa turned to Nagisa. "And maybe you should avoid messing with the Magius. Things could get pretty dangerous if you do."

With that Tsukasa left, leaving Nagisa to mull over her words. Nagisa didn't mull much though. She was sure that she could handle whatever the Magius were doing.

Nagisa sighed as she sat on top of a roof and snacked on a piece of string cheese.

Another day and Nagisa was having no luck in locating any of the Magius. And now the Pink Kyubey was looking at her in silent disappointment.

Why exactly did the Goddess use that thing to guide her again?

It wasn't like she wasn't trying either. But anytime she ran into anything remotely suspicious it was just another of those Witches. Well, the good news was that she had plenty of Grief Seeds on her now… Seeds that she couldn't exactly use.

Maybe she could give some to Riko? She always just seemed so busy; maybe not having to hunt so much would let her take a break.

"Where are these Magius?" Nagisa sighed as she laid down and brought a Pyotr out so that she could pet it while it rested on belly. "We're all working so hard and we can't find a single one."

Her familiar remained silent and simply snuggled up against her belly. They never were much good for talking, as cuddly as they were. Still better than that Pink Kyubey, which never gave her a straight answer.

"You know Pyotr." Nagisa lifted her familiar with her hands and held it in the air. "I've always wondered why the Law of Cycles chose me."

Pyotr stopped squirming and looked at her curiously.

"There are a lot of Magical Girls she could've chosen as her stewards. Older, tougher, stronger than me when they were still alive."

Pyotr rotated its head and began wagging its tail.

"I wasn't even a Magical Girl for a whole day before I turned… So why me? I mean I'm glad she has me doing stuff, but why?"

Pyotr suddenly became alert and jerked its head forward.

Nagisa bent her head back and saw that there were now several Magical Girls wearing black hoods on the rooftop with her.

"Are you playing with a familiar?" one of the girls asked.

"Oh, uh…" Nagisa sat up and casually threw Pyotr off the roof. It'd be fine. Probably. "No?"

"That was a familiar."

"No, it wasn't," Nagisa denied again.

"Can you control them?" Another girl asked. "Are you able to use a Witch's power without turning?"

Technically she was still a Witch, but she probably didn't think it was a good idea to say that. "Who are you?" Nagisa asked instead.

"We are the Wings of the Magius."

"The Magius!" Nagisa quickly sprung up onto her feet which caused them all to tense despite them all being taller than her. "I've been looking for you!"

"… Do you wish to join us?"

"I dunno, I was just sorta curious about you guys," Nagisa admitted. "Maybe I'll decide once you show me what you guys do?" She wasn't lying either. If what they did would help support the Law of Cycles then there would be no issue helping them. If it didn't… well she would just have to give them a light beating.

"… Follow us then. We'll introduce you to some of our leaders."

The hooded girls, Black Feathers they called themselves, would eventually lead Nagisa to an abandoned building. That made Nagisa a bit uncomfortable. She didn't exactly have good experiences with those.

Still, she marched on to the doorway they pointed to and once she was inside found that there were at least ten or so Magical Girls already inside. What stood out the most were the two in White hoods addressing the rest of them.

They were noticeable and it wasn't because they were the leaders or that their robes were much brighter. It was because Nagisa knew one of them.

"Tsukasa! I didn't know you were part of the Magius."

Tsukasa turned to Nagisa with a confused look on her face. "How do you know Tsukasa?"

"Aren't you Tsukasa?" Nagisa asked, confused.

"I'm Tsukasa."

Wait what?

Nagisa turned her head and finally noticed the second Tsukasa standing to the side. She looked back and forth between them. "Tsukasa you have a clone!?"

"No, that's my sister," Tsukasa? Sighed. "And that's Tsukasa, I'm Tsukuyo."

"Oh…" Nagisa looked at the two closely and noticed that there were some slight differences between them. "Yea, your breasts are bigger than hers."

"Why does everyone need to bring that up," Tsukasa grumbled before walking up to Nagisa. "And what are you doing here?"

"I told you! Investigating the Magius!" Nagisa replied cheerfully. "I would've asked you to show me around if I knew you were one of them."

"We saw her playing with a familiar," one of the Black Feathers that brought Nagisa here commented. "It was placated and was able to exist outside of a labyrinth."

"Nagisa, does your magic allow you to control familiars?" Tsukasa asked.

Nagisa shook her head. "No. I can blow bubbles though."

"Bubbles?"

"They explode."

"Okay then," Tsukasa glanced at Tsukuyo and they both shook their heads. "Do you know the truth about Magical Girls?"

Nagisa did.

She turned to look at the Magical Girls around her.

But it wasn't usually a good idea to tell people without warning. They tended to react… badly. Especially in a world outside the saving influence of the Law of Cycles.

"We all know the truth," another Black Feather spoke. "That we all become Witches. It was why we joined the Magius. For protection and salvation from this fate."

"Oh, ok then," Nagisa nodded. "I know we all become Witches."

"You seem rather calm about it," Tsukuyo commented. "Is it because you no longer have to fear that fate?"

"Right?" Tsukasa said.

"Right," Tsukuyo replied.

"To summon and control a familiar, it must mean you achieved a Doppel," Tsukasa said.

Nagisa tilted her head in confusion. "Doppel? What's that?"

"It is a manifestation of our Witch," one twin said.

"Our despair taken form. Coursing through our bodies rather than our Soul," the other said.

"It is proof that we can be saved."

"That Magical Girls can escape their fate."

"So, you found a way to save Magical Girls once they become Witches?" Nagisa asked. Huh and here she thought that only the Law of Cycles could pull off that.

"No, it only prevents that process by forcing a partial manifestation of it and cleansing the Soul Gem in the process," Tsukasa replied.

"You would have access to it too, if you're able to use the power of a Witch. Right?" Tsukuyo asked.

"Right." Tsukasa replied.

"Could you show us that power? The one that allowed you to control your familiar?"

Well, if that wasn't that much of a secret anymore.

Nagisa covered her face with her hands, lifted her head up, and popped her hands open. The Black Feathers jumped back and the Twins flinched as Charlotte revealed her face to them. Charlotte then opened her mouth, showed her many sharp teeth to the Magical Girls, and then barfed out a Pyotr onto the floor. The familiar began to clumsily pick itself up as Nagisa reverted the transformation and her face returned to normal.

"Pyotr's are a bit clumsy and are easily distracted," Nagisa commented as she picked up her familiar and began to pet it in her arms. "But they work hard. And I have a lot of them."

"I've never seen such fine control of a Doppel," Tsukuyo commented. "To be able to call upon that power and dismiss it so easily, and without losing any control."

Technically it wasn't a Doppel. Nagisa was just a fully evolved Witch, but that was a detail that she should probably keep to herself.

"We could definitely use your help," Tsukasa said. "The Doppel system is still incomplete, and we need to find a way to expand it so that it isn't just limited to this city."

"Ok," Nagisa agreed. "What do you need me to do?"

"We'll take you to our founders first. They'll be interested to see how well you can control your Doppel. Then they'll probably have you assigned to a squad to gather Grief Seeds or protect an Uwasa."

Wait a second.

"Aren't Uwasa those weird things that aren't Witches that also hurt people?" Nagisa asked.

One of the twins froze. "They do bu-"

"Doesn't that make them bad then?"

"We need to protect them because they're necessary for the Magius's plan."

"So, you need to protect Uwasa to stop Magical Girls from becoming Witches?" Nagisa asked.

"Yes."

"Doesn't that make the Magius bad? We shouldn't be hurting people. Especially if they aren't involved."

That was what The Law of Cycles and Sayaka would tell her at least. Sayaka would definitely be mad at getting innocents involved.

"It's a price we have to pay for salvation," Tsukuyo said. "The lives of a few to save every Magical Girl, now and in the future!"

"You have to accept this if you want to be a part of the Magius," Tsukasa said.

"… Then maybe I don't want to be a Magius then." As Nagisa finished, she noticed the Black Feathers moving to surround her. The twins likewise took stances in front of her to block her way.

"We can't just let you go away," Tsukuyo said. "Not when you know so much and have such control over your Doppel."

"We'll bring you to our HQ. The founders will need to see you and your Doppel and you'll be kept there so that you won't get in the way of our plans." The twins took out a pair of flutes and held them to their sides. "I know you're Riko's friend and I don't want to hurt you. Just come with us peacefully and we'll make sure you're comfortable while you're staying with us."

Nagisa blinked, looked at the twins, blinked again, looked at the Black Feathers behind her, and then looked down at her familiar. "Sorry about this," she said before throwing Pyotr into Tsukasa's face.

"Tsukasa!" Tsukuyo shouted as she desperately tried to pull the panicking familiar off the struggling Magical Girl.

"Get her!" One of the black feathers shouted. Chains immediately flew from their robes in an attempt to bind and capture Nagisa.

Nagisa simply ducked under one, slapped away another with her trumpet, and then brought her weapon to her mouth. She blew and bubbles emerged from the end to quickly cover the battlefield.

"No you don't!" Tsukuyo shouted as she stopped helping her sister briefly in order to bring her flute to her mouth. She blew a note that began to push away the bubbles.

Or at least that was her intent. Instead they exploded, peppering the area with fire, debris, and smoke that covered the entire battlefield. Nagisa ran under the cover of that smoke and was already out the front by the time a Black Feather shouted.

"She's getting away!"

Nagisa sprinted, blew out several bubbles, and used those as platforms so that she could get to a rooftop.

"Well, I don't think that went so well," she said as she summoned her familiars and sent to slow down the Magical Girls chasing her. She then noticed the Pink Kyubey observing events from a distance. "I know, I'll try to get away."

She couldn't really stay and fight. Even Charlotte would have issues with that many Magical Girls fighting her. Also, Riko liked Tsukasa. Probably best not to eat her and her twin sister. Even if they would be pretty tasty.

Nagisa jumped over a chain, used her small frame to run on top of it, and then slammed her trumpet down on the Black Feather holding the other end. As the Black Feather fell unconscious Nagisa yanked the chain out of the girl's hands and then swung and hooked it onto another building so she could swing across.

These chains weren't actually Magical Girl weapons, so they didn't disappear upon their users' defeat. Also, Nagisa always wanted to try swinging on a rope like she saw in the movies.

At the apex of her swing, she released the other end of the chain, flinging herself high up into the air. She went high above the pursuing Black Feathers. They only had a brief moment to stare in shock before Nagisa swung the chain around and used that to bind two of them together.

Pretty good weapons, Nagisa mused as she let go of the chain and continued running. She would have to see if she could get the Goddess to make her one of those.

Thankfully the Black Feathers she took care of seemed to be the fastest of the bunch, so it didn't take much more running before she ended up losing the rest.

Still, she wasn't taking any chances, not after that one Masked Magical Girl ambushed her through a concrete wall, so Nagisa continued to run well into the night.

After making sure to loop around to make sure she had lost the Magius completely, Nagisa landed in front of Riko's home.

"Well, at least I learned that the Magius are making this city weird," she said to herself as she undid her transformation and entered the front door with the guest key that Riko had given her. The house was empty, except for the dog, which wasn't unusual considering that Riko's parents were often busy and that Riko liked to go hunt by herself during the night.

"Bark!" Mameji greeted her from where he sat on the center of the three-person couch

Nagisa simply took off her shoes and sat down to the right of the doggy so she could bury her face in its fur. What a cute fluffy doggy. Nagisa had wished she could have had one of these in her previous life. At least she wouldn't have been lonely at home all the time.

It wasn't long before Riko came home, though her hair was a bit singed, and her arms looked a bit bruised.

"Are you ok?" Nagisa asked as Mameji whined at Riko in worry.

"I'm fine. It was a bit scary, but I was able to kill the Witch," Riko said as she took a seat next to the left of Mameji and began to heal her own wounds. "The Witches here are weak compared to the rest of the city, if I can't do this by myself then I won't be a good Magical Girl."

Riko was already much better than Nagisa had ever been, considering she actually lived after her first day fighting a Witch. They would've been about the same age but Riko was always so mature. Running her family store by herself, staying at home by herself, and hunting by herself. And it wasn't because her parents were bad either. Nagisa had been afraid that they were neglectful at first, much like her own mother had been, but it only took a bit of watching to learn that they loved their daughter. They were just really busy trying to give her a good life.

For some reason thinking about all of that made Nagisa's stomach grumble a little, and she wasn't even hungry.

"So, did you find the Magius?" Riko asked once she finished healing her wounds and began stroking Mameji's fur.

"I did," Nagisa replied as she began to scratch under Mameji's neck. "I think they're bad though. They're protecting the Uwasa even though they hurt people."

"That's terrible," Riko shook her head. "We can't let them do that."

"I know," Nagisa sighed as she leaned back on the couch and stretched her arms. "That's why I had to run away. They're going to be after me now."

"Do you need help?"

"No. You're already super busy and I don't want them chasing you too."

"What are you going to do now then?" Riko asked.

Nagisa began to think about it.

She still didn't know where their base was or where they would show up. They also had a lot of people in their group. More than she could handle, especially if they ganged up on her all at once. The only thing that she knew for certain was that they would protect the Uwasa. And if there were a lot of Uwasa that meant they would have to spread themselves out in order to protect them all. There really was only one option at the point then.

"I think I'm going to go hunt down some Uwasa."

"It's been a while since we did this," Kyoko said as she scrubbed Yuma's hair in the shower.

After five days Yuma had started walking around again and she would make a full recovery soon enough, according to Archer. After everything that had happened, hearing that news and seeing Yuma active again, it filled Kyoko with relief.

Unfortunately, that relief didn't take away the anxiety Kyoko felt over when and how they were going to tell Yuma that they were leaving her here. Maybe that was another reason why she enjoyed this. Because it would be one of the few times they could spend before she left, and it would be a while before they'd be reunited.

If you live to that point.

Kyoko made sure to ignore the intrusive voice in her head as she pushed Yuma's hair aside so she could get it at the roots. With how long Yuma had spent in bed, a deep cleaning was needed. Once she started exposing Yuma's scalp though, Kyoko saw it.

A white hair. A single strand of hair that had become white at the roots. Something that you wouldn't notice unless you were up close like she was, but it was there.

Magical Circuits produced heat. Overusing them puts a strain on the body and those who pushed past their means constantly would have their body change gradually over time. It had happened to Archer, his once red hair turning a bright white. And now it was happening to Yuma.

It was happening to an eleven-year-old girl.

You did this to her.

"Kyoko wha- OW!" Yuma shouted as Kyoko yanked the hair off. "What was that for!?"

"Sorry," Kyoko apologized as she discreetly bundled the hair in her hand and burnt it until there was nothing left but ash to be washed away. "There was a knot there."

"Could've warned me," Yuma grumbled as she rubbed her head.

Kyoko simply rinsed her hair in silence.

No more. Soon Yuma wouldn't have to fight anymore. That white hair, it would be the only one she would ever have.