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The End of the Circus: A Tale of the Yizibajohei
Girls of the Crystal: Bouquet of the Crystal or The Ductile Detective vs The Mikoshiba (Part One)
by Regina Magia

C&C by Fred Herriot and Rose Ash

A side story to The End of the Circle: A Tale of the Yizibajohei, by Fred Herriot

Based on characters and situations in Azumanga Daiō, created by Azuma Kiyohiko; Worm, created by John C. McCrae; Urusei Yatsura, created by Takahashi Rumiko; Sister Princess, created by Tenhiro Naoto and Kimino Sakurako; Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magika, created by Urobuchi Gen, Shaft and Aniplex; and normalman, created by Jim Valentino.

Also including situation references to the movie Superman (1978), written by Mario Puzo; such based on the character of the same name created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Matsumiya (east of downtown Sabae, eighty kilometres north of northwest from Nagoya), the third Wednesday of November in 2012, an hour before supper…

Tene lomher'buo, Aoba Chika...

A smile crossed Hiroe Chiharu's face upon hearing the Conservator's voice echo over the scene, the wall of noise startling a few birds into flight from the surrounding trees; fortunately for her sense of caution, this grove was sufficiently away from urban habitation that a potential crowd of cape otaku wouldn't gather to see what was going on. It hadn't been difficult to convince the nature-loving member of the Tokime Clan to get pre-Gifted. Seeing as how it had only been two days, it was surprising that she'd chosen a Gift already…

Nesu…AHOSA'ARRATOTE!

Mentally imagining the silver-haired student of the Saint Lilianna Academy — a private girl's school that was quite popular among the wealthier families of the metropolitan Fukui area — be draped automatically in the green traditional jumpsuit of the Blessed Gardener of the Sacred Olive Grove, Ahosa'arratote ("Gethsemane"), Chiharu's pace increased as she approached the large black pine tree where the just-Gifted girl's private treehouse had been perched a safe distance above ground. That was a no-brainer, the girl with the umber brown hair done in a high knot mused with a quirky grin. Gethsemane's a high-level chlorokinetic and even able to communicate with animals like that one girl in the Azuma Gang's said to be able to do. That sort of thing's PERFECT for a girl like Chika.

Reaching the trunk of the massive plant, Chiharu moved to lean against it, her own mind drifting back a couple of weeks…

It had started when one of the Maibito of the traditional village of Tokime had came to the Hiroe household…

With the revelation of the presence of so many adopted Yizibajohei now living on Earth — the news briefing by the American government at the White House involving the youngest sister of the world's most famous teenager, she accompanied by one of the many arahitokami born from a lost warship of the Imperial Navy made human, had been the first story in the morning news on television and the Internet — the traditional village head for those who claimed Tokime as their home, the Mikoshiba, wanted Chiharu to make contact with one of the Incubators (whose presence had been known to the couriers who served as the old crone's eyes and ears even in this modern day and age when she didn't have any "real" political power) and make a specific wish. Said desire was to focus on the crimes committed by a local official of the Chōjinji-chō in Fukui. According to the windbag who appeared at the doorstep to berate Chiharu's mother into submission before pressing on with her task — like any sensible woman who loved her precious baby, Hiroe Mayu never wanted to see her only child hurt by undergoing a trigger event and becoming a parahuman — said official had refused to include the Mikoshiba (or her chosen representative) in the investigation of the murder-suicide of a young boy and his parents caused by the child undergoing a trigger event to become a parahuman. While most people in Tokime never openly spoke about this subject, it was obvious; the Mikoshiba wanted her own private army of parahumans to help expand her influence all along this part of the East Sea coast, free from "Western" influences.

In the old woman's eyes, puella magi were simply a different type of parahuman.

One that didn't come with the rather harsh anti-establishment attitudes the Named of Yiziba became on their own empowerment.

Thanks to a previous visit through the region by the would-be Trickster of the Show during the middle years of her great casting drive, what few parahumans had fallen under the Mikoshiba's control had been added to The Book of Pretty Girls — either as primary entries or annex entries for the couple of boys who got the chance to be Gifted — and soon left the region once they moved on to university.

And while such an insult demanded instant retribution, the fact that Tariko Katabarbe and her sisters now counted Imperial Special Agent #49 herself as an adopted sister and legal guardian of sorts despite their own empowerment…!

The brutal execution of the last warriors of the Black Dragon Society by Moroboshi Negako at the end of the Greater East Asia War was all too well-known to those who took any interest in non-magical metahumans and their affairs in the Home Islands.

As the representative got into an argument with a desperate Mayu about the latter "volunteering" her daughter for such a "noble" cause, Chiharu herself was quick to note the small pouch containing something which the Maibito had placed on the kitchen table. Wondering what such a thing would be, she moved closer, her eyes quickly detecting a flash of silver emitting from the pouch's opening. Reaching over to pull the pouch open, her jaw dropped on seeing that a crystal about the size of something that would have been used on the planet Krypton — according to the reality of the Superman movies from the 1970s and recent years — such crystal glowing!

Her memory then recalled one point of Saeru Hinako's interview with the media at the White House…

The proportions were right, size was as had been described, plus the way it glowed…

Oh, Fates!

This was a GIFT CRYSTAL from YIZIBA!

Realizing that a way to get out of this situation had just been handed to her by the Fates themselves, Chiharu snared the bag and quickly withdrew from the kitchen, heading to the front door and to get to a place where she could either use the crystal itself or get to someone who could help throw a spanner into the Mikoshiba's plans. Just as she cleared the door and moved to pass through the front gate of her property, an outraged shriek echoed from inside the building. "THIEF! Come back here, you stupid child!"

By the time the Maibito could get out of the house, Chihiro had ducked down one side alley, then the next behind an office building, one with a fire escape ladder which could get her to the roof quickly enough; given that the stupid woman was dressed traditionally, she would have a LOT of issues trying to ascend such a structure and the owner of the office building didn't care one bit about what the Mikoshiba might desire. Knowing that the Mikoshiba and her lackeys could never be trusted — according to Chihiro's mother — she soon hid herself behind the safety wall framing the roof, her fingers pulling out the crystal from the pouch.

"Stupid girl?! Where are you?!"

Scowling with fear and anger at such a demand, Chihiro's fingers squeezed hard against the glowing mesonium shard…

A gasp escaped her as something seemed to SURGE into her whole body from where she grasped the crystal…

And then came the MEMORIES…

Tene lomher'buo, Hiroe Chiharu...

Memories of a private detective from the equivalent of the Midwest United States — Ayu'urin in Nesetimtuto, an awakening part of her mind corrected — who had become disgusted at the tyranny of the police force during the early years of the Dawn of Power...

Oh, Fates! Hinako-chan's first-self survived THAT?! And became the Spirit of Innocence along the way?!

More memories, showing how said detective had gained and mastered his Gift — the ability to stretch/compress any part of his body in any way he chose — to aid the local civil rights movement protesting the imposition of martial law and the all-too-many actions of the local authorities to "keep the peace", doing so quietly at first…but then openly defecting to the "rebels" when the time came.

Memories of Sasobo Gefome, the first incarnation of…

Nesu…R'BOR'BAOM!

As the afterglow of the Gifting burst out over this part of Tokime, an outraged scream echoed from the alley on the other side of the safety fence. Scowling — she had an idea of what the Mikoshiba would do once she leaned how her wishes had been "defied" in such a matter — the newest incarnation of the Ductile Detective, R'bor'baom ("Enquêteur"), allowed herself to effectively SURGE past the safety rails and drop down the six metres distance to land on top the stunned Maibito; even if the officious windbag had been angered at what just happened, the sheer intensity of the Gifting process was quite hard on people's eyes. And soon enough…

"Listen closely, umale," Chihiro then growled with the flare of maturity that overcame teenagers in instances like this, she just having flexed her arm to stretch her captive painfully enough to prevent resistance. With a stretch of her neck to lean close to the older woman's ear, the Ductile Detective ominously added, "Here's what's going to happen. You are going to return to the village and tell the Mikoshiba that her days in power are numbered, because I'm going to find some friends, and then…

"Then…we're coming for her."

"Hiroe-san!"

Snapping out of her flashback, Chiharu stretched herself up to the treehouse as Chika peeked out a window. "Plant manipulation and animal communication, huh?" the former then mused with a knowing smirk. "Fits you perfectly. And it should come in handy."

The latter's eyebrow arched. "It's time already?"

A sad nod answered her. "There's been an increase in Puella Magi activity in Kamihama. It's got something to do with 'saving' puella magi." Here, the Ductile Detective shrugged. "Probably a plan to trip the Incubators up, I'm guessing."

"Why do I get the feeling this one's doomed to failure as well?" the Blessed Gardener moaned, rubbing her forehead in exasperation.

Chiharu gave her a "what can you do" look. "Nonetheless, people who are trying to get puella magi Gifted are becoming more active all over Japan. With what Tariko-san's done over the years now out in the open, I'll bet that it's only a matter of time before we unleash a Mother of All Fight Scenes on the Incubators and the Sidines. The more Gifted we can bring along to that MOAFS, the better."

Chika nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for?!"

The End…For Now

WRITER'S NOTES

This snippet occurs at the same time as Part 33 of Boy Meets Girl Meets Metahuman.

Quick translation of Yizibajohei: Ayu'urin — Local equivalent of the American state of Colorado.