I disembark from the plane in Kamihama International Airport, grab my luggage, and catch a train to Mitakihara. Although I really wanted to see a bit of Kamihama while I was there, it's a pain to carry my luggage around everywhere, so I'll have to come back later when I'm less weighed down. That said, my luggage doesn't feel all that heavy… it must be due to my enhanced magical girl strength. It's just awkward lugging four large suitcases around everywhere, even if they're light as a feather – which of course they aren't.

The student exchange program offers two methods of housing for the exchange students. I could have requested a personal apartment in a building close to the school, managed by an affiliate of the exchange program. Indeed, this is what the real Ashley had done, but while I was getting Dad to fill out the last few details, I'd switched to the other, recommended option.

This means I'll be living with another student in the same year, so once the train arrives at the correct station in Mitakihara, I stop to examine the directions I've been given. Looking around to get my bearings, I eventually figure out what seems to be the correct direction and head off.

I pass a sign labelled "Mitakihara Middle School" and pause to gaze up at the building. It doesn't look much like my image of a school, but I spot a couple of students in uniform despite the fact that it's Saturday. Maybe they have club activities or supplementary lessons or something. It doesn't matter, though. It should be obvious that I won't be attending this school.

Now that I'm finally in Japan, I can see that the written language comes to me quite naturally, more so than I remember in my previous life. Of course, as a player of Magia Record on the Japanese servers, I had learned the language more or less through osmosis, and my knowledge of written Japanese had also been just barely sufficient to play the two PlayStation games, which never got an English release. But it seems that Ashley actually studied the language properly, so rather than taking a minute to muddle through the kanji, I can read it almost as easily as I read English. Also, unlike me, it seems Ashley is fluent in the spoken language as well. Without that knowledge I would've struggled to even talk to officials at the airport.

In fact, when I was in Madrid for the second half of the Christmas holiday, I discovered Ashley can also speak Spanish, although admittedly she seemed a bit less fluent in it than in French or Japanese. It's pretty convenient not to have to directly learn a new language… although, it's not like she has a universal translator, either. But I wonder if there are other languages she can speak… all my attempts to manually dredge up the info from her memories failed, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see, if it ever matters.

I continue following the directions I was given and finally arrive at a good-sized Western-style house, though it's smaller than my house back in California. I check the name plate to make sure it's correct – the kanji look identical to the ones on the directions, and it's read as Hayashi. I have a feeling the old Chelsea would've misread it somehow and had trouble finding the place… or maybe not? It's just a feeling, maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit. Anyway, I take a deep breath, then walk up to the door and knock. The door opens soon after and a woman pokes her head out.

"Hello? Oh, are you Miss Taylor, the exchange student?"

"Yes, that's me," I reply.

"Come in, come in!" the woman says. "I'm Mrs Hayashi. Let's get your luggage up to your room."

I drag my suitcases in, remove my shoes, and start to follow her towards a staircase, where she pauses to look back.

"Do you need some help, Miss Taylor? That looks heavy."

"No, I think I'll be fine," I say. "And please, just call me Ashley."

"Sure, Ashley," Mrs Hayashi says amiably, heading up the stairs. "You know, I wasn't expecting you to arrive so early. I thought you might want to take some time to see the city first."

"Yeah, I thought about it," I say, following her. "But then I remembered I'd have to lug these suitcases around everywhere, so I decided it would be better to stop by here first."

"I see, that makes sense," Mrs Hayashi nods. "Here, this is our guest room where you'll be staying. It may be a little cramped compared to your big American rooms, but hopefully you can manage."

I peer into the indicated room. She's not wrong about the size – it's about half the size of my room back in California. However, I only brought the bare minimum with me, so I think it should fit quite nicely. There's already a desk in one corner, and a single-sized bed opposite it, complete with bedclothes. I've never even seen a single-sided bed before in real life. I thought twin-sized was the smallest they got nowadays. Other than the bed, there's nothing in the room at all.

"Are you going to unpack right now?" Mrs Hayashi asks. "I could help, if you want. Or I could get you some tea and snacks."

"Thanks, Mrs Hayashi, but I think I'm good for now," I say. "Maybe just some tea."

I drop my suitcases in the corner behind the door and start unpacking, piling my clothes onto the bed and extracting my computer and peripherals to get it set up on the desk. Yes – I brought the whole desktop computer on this trip. Ashley didn't have a laptop for whatever reason, and it was just easier to bring the whole thing along. That means there's no chance I miss a crucial file or anything. And I'm going to be here for six months anyway, so it's kinda like moving house.

By the time I have the computer all hooked up and booting, Mrs Hayashi returns with a cup of green tea. She sets it on the desk and comments on the computer.

"That is a nice computer."

"Yeah, I didn't have a laptop, so…" I shrug. "I probably need this for school too, right?"

"It's recommended but not required," Mrs Hayashi says. "Even now, there are still families who can't afford even one computer."

Even now there are people that poor? Really? Even a few decades later?

"Huh… that's awful," I say. "It's like nothing ever changes…"

"Pardon me?" Mrs Hayashi says.

"Ahh, sorry, I was just rambling," I say. "Pretend I didn't say anything."

I take a sip of my tea and log into the computer, doing some quick checks to make sure everything is working correctly. Then I return to my suitcases, taking everything out and finding a place for it. Mrs Hayashi helps me out a little as well, and within the space of maybe half an hour, I've got everything unpacked.

"By the way, you had a daughter too, right Mrs Hayashi?" I ask. "Where is she?"

Mrs Hayashi nods. "Yes, in fact I have two," she says. "They're out with some friends. I expect they'll be back soon though. After all, both of them were looking forward to meeting you. In fact, I should probably start getting lunch ready."

"Oh, is it lunchtime already?" I ask, blinking. "Now that you mention it, I am a little hungry from all the unpacking…"

Mrs Hayashi chuckles. "You're still a growing girl, right? Just wait, I'll make you something tasty."

She leaves the room, and I open up one of the documents I've created to record what I can remember of the Madoka franchise. I'm finally in Japan. It's about time to start figuring out how the timelines of the spin-offs connect to the main story. I've already got a rough outline of how I expect things to align, but I'll need to use my clairvoyance and some good old-fashioned reconnaissance to check a few things out.

There are a lot of manga spin-offs in the Madoka franchise, many of them one-shots, and some of them clearly not viable as canon, but I'm focusing on two of the biggest in particular right now – Suzune Magica, and Kazumi Magica. Neither of them contain any clues on how their timelines connect to the timeline of the show, however. Kazumi Magica does have a cameo of both Sakura Kyouko and Tomoe Mami in the backstory, so that proves it's somewhat close to the events of the anime, but Suzune Magica doesn't even have that, so based on the manga alone there's no way to know if Suzune even exists at this point in the timeline. However, the Magia Record game featured crossover events with both series, which allows me to try and situate them in the timeline. Since I've become Ashley Taylor, a character from the game, I'm working under the assumption that I can use Magia Record at least as a reference point.

My conclusions were fairly simple.

The crossover event with Kazumi Magica does not feature any rumour witches, which places it near the beginning of the time loop, before the Magius was formed. The events depicted in the crossover could only have occurred early in the manga series, so that means the events of the manga must fall roughly within the span of the time loop. And based on the backstory of the antagonists and the cameo of Tomoe Mami, I have surmised that they made their contracts to become a magical girl not too long before the manga began. Therefore, I have a chance to change their destiny. If I can prevent just one girl from becoming a witch… I might be able to almost double the number of magical girls I can ask for help.

The first crossover event with Suzune Magica does not feature any rumour witches, but the second one does. That first crossover is squarely prior to the events of the manga, as Suzune has not yet met the other characters, but the second event is less clear. It could be either just before the manga begins, or maybe early in the first chapter. Once again, that puts the events of that series within the region of the time loop. However, unlike with Kazumi Magica, there doesn't seem to be a single event that sets the entire plot in motion. Still, I should at least confirm whether my theory is correct, by scoping out magical girls in Hohzuki and seeing if I can find Suzune.

After a few minutes of pondering, I open a browser and load Ashley's twitter account. Before leaving California, I followed a particular account, and I have been monitoring it on and off for several days now. As I scroll through the tweets, I hear voices on the floor below as someone enters the house, a girl by the sound of the voice. No, more than one girl. I click on a link in a tweet and scan the page it leads me to, and then I hear the sound of someone softly climbing the stairs.

"Ohhh, Slice Akiyama!" a cheerful girl's voice says from behind me. "You interested in cooking, Miss Taylor? He's pretty popular among the girls at school, probably because he's so good-looking. Not really my type though…"

I turn to face her, a short girl with long purple hair tied in twintails, wearing shorts and a sweater, with tights under the shorts for added warmth. Then I blink, for there's one other unexpected visitor perched on her shoulder. I narrow my eyes at Cube for a second, or I suppose I can call him Kyuubey now that I'm in Japan, but then I flick my gaze to the girl's face. Cube… Kyuubey merely tilts its head at my stare.

"Ah… maybe a little bit?" I demur. "I figure I should at least be able to make my own meals, even if they're not restaurant quality. By the way… I'd prefer it if you called me Ashley."

The girl glances at Kyuubey for a split second. No doubt she noticed my reaction to him. However, it seems she doesn't want to bring the issue up right now, although from subtle changes in her expression I suspect she might now be engaged in a telepathic conversation… though that could just be my imagination.

"I got it, Ashley-chan!" she says. "I'm Hayashi Komachi. Come, join us for lunch!"

She grabs my hand and practically drags me from my seat, so I give in and follow her down to the living room, where Mrs Hayashi has laid out a rather extravagant lunch. I settle down between her and her daughter and take a look at the other guests, three more girls with brightly-coloured hair. Komachi takes it upon herself to introduce us.

"Um, so these two are my friends, Elise and Claire," she says. "The midget is my little sister, Hiyori-chan."

Something about that series of names jogs at my memory, and I look around at the three of them as I struggle to place it. Elise is the tallest, her hair dyed a deep red. Claire is just a bit shorter, with bright green hair. And Hiyori has dyed her hair light brown. I can tell by the rings on their fingers that they are all magical girls. Then it hits me.

Way back when Madoka was new, just a few months after the series had aired on TV, there was a gacha game based on the series. It wasn't very successful and only lasted for about a year, but it did introduce four original magical girls. Their names were Elise, Claire, Komachi, and Hiyori. I had actually completely forgotten about that game. Of course, I did play it a little towards the end of its life, since at the time I was totally obsessed with everything Madoka; and even after it went offline, I avidly watched videos of its storyline. But it didn't leave much of an impression on me, possibly in part because I had to play with a dictionary in hand to understand anything at all. Try as I might, I can't remember any details of the plot, other than the names of these girls and some fragmentary knowledge of their powers and wishes. I certainly don't remember anything about two of them being sisters… but in the end, I don't think it matters. No other work in the Madoka franchise has ever featured these girls, so I don't think they can be all that important. Still, the more girls I can gather to fight Walpurgisnacht, the better. That makes this a rather pleasant surprise.

"It's nice to meet everyone," I say with a smile. "Thanks for the meal."

I take a bite of the food and blink.

"And wow, this is so tasty!" I exclaim. "I could eat this every day!"

"Well, today is a bit of a special occasion, what with your welcome and all, so I went all out," Mrs Hayashi says. "I'm glad you like it."

While we eat, the girls ply me with questions about what life and school is like in America, and I answer as best I can, sometimes dredging up Ashley's memories. After the meal, Mrs Hayashi suggests that they show me around the city, and all four of the girls pile out of the house with me in tow, leading me to a nearby park. That's when their attitudes markedly change.

"Well damn, I never expected the exchange student to be a magical girl!" Elise groans. "What are we going to do now?"

Hiyori looks me over, a concerned look on her face. "There's barely enough grief seeds around here for the four of us, after all… it's not that we're trying to be mean or anything…"

Elise shoots me a glare. "You're not expecting to hunt on our turf, are you Ashley-chan?"

I tilt my head. "Well, I suppose I'll hunt wherever I can? But don't worry, I have a few grief seeds in reserve, so I can probably last awhile without hunting if I have to."

Claire raises her eyebrows. "Just how many grief seeds do you have?"

"Four," I reply.

The four of them gape at me.

"Y-you must be really strong!" Komachi exclaims. "It takes all we have just to get one or two! There's no room to go after the stray familiars, either…"

"Maybe I can deal with a few of those, then," I suggest. "Depending on how powerful they are."

"Hmm… since Ashley-chan will be staying awhile, the best outcome would be to find a way for everyone to get grief seeds," Claire says reasonably. "Kyuubey, what do you think? Is there somewhere in Mitakihara where she could hunt without getting in anyone's way? I know Lina-kun's gang in the south also has trouble getting enough grief seeds, so that won't be a good option…"

"Hmm… if you wish to avoid clashing with other magical girls, then the territory of either Itsumi Inui or Tomoe Mami seems like the safest place," Kyuubey says.

"Tomoe Mami goes to my school," Hiyori explains. "She's been a magical girl for a long time… her territory is the region near the school, mostly. She's really nice and occasionally gives grief seeds away to new girls who are having trouble, so her territory does seem like a safe place to hunt. As for Itsumi Inui… I don't know her. Is she new?"

"Itsumi Inui made her contract five days ago," Kyuubey replies. "She claims the territory near the hospital, but she seems to hate fighting. I do not have high hopes for her."

Itsumi Inui is such a minor character in Magia Record that she doesn't even have a full character design. If I recall correctly, the witch she becomes is the first and last opponent of Momoe Nagisa, better known as the witch Charlotte from the original anime. I should try to save her if possible, but… even if I did, I have a feeling she wouldn't be any help in defeating Walpurgisnacht. There's also the magical girl who ultimately defeats Inui's witch form, another incredibly minor side character… I don't think she would be helpful either, though for completely different reasons… so, yeah. They're not on my list of magical girls to keep alive, but I'll save them if the chance arises. I'm not going to let someone die when they're right in front of me, no matter how much I dislike them.

"Alright, then it's settled!" I say. "I'll try to do most of my witch hunting near the hospital. That said, if you encounter a witch you can't beat alone, don't hesitate to ask for my help! I'll even let you keep the grief seed. I know it's hard, but I think we magical girls should get along as much as possible."

"That's what Miss Tomoe always says, but unfortunately it just doesn't work like that," Elise retorts. "We only band together because we have no choice if we want to survive. I'm sure we'll all go our separate ways someday."

"I wouldn't like that though," Komachi protests. "Even when we become stronger, I want to keep fighting together!"

"So, besides Miss Itsumi and Miss Tomoe, are there any other magical girls of note in the city?" I ask. "I notice you mentioned a Lina-kun…"

"Yes… they're a magical girl trio in Kazamino," Claire explains. "We have to be careful not to run into them if we venture too far to the south, because Lina-kun gets really scary when she's mad. Besides them, I know of three more magical girls in Kazamino. Sakura Kyouko's a loner, but fortunately she ranges more to the east so we don't run into her often. Then there's Ayumi Mio and Youko Futaba, who are a pair working together. Occasionally they team up with Lina-kun's gang as well. The last one that I know of is Asako Komaki, who patrols the area near Shirome Middle School. She's nice, if a bit brusque, though she draws the line at others hunting in her territory."

With the obvious exception of Kyouko, all those names seem to come from the Oriko Magica spin-offs, though Mio and Futaba's surnames were never revealed in the manga. Obviously missing are the main characters – Mikuni Oriko herself, along with Kure Kirika and Chitose Yuma. Those three probably won't make a contract until we enter the time loop, at least. I also note the absence of antagonist Yuuki Sasa, who I'll have to keep an eye out for. The manga doesn't give a good indication of when she made her contract, so she could pop up before the time loop begins.

"Huh… so there's actually quite a few magical girls around here," I say. "What about to the north?"

"I'm sorry, I've never had a reason to go there," Claire says. "So I don't know."

"So, now that we've settled the grief seed problem, let's show Ashley-chan around the city!" Komachi says eagerly.

"I agree!" Hiyori says.

Elise sighs. "Fine, I guess I'll come along."

"Well, I guess that's settled?" I say. "I'm looking forward to this. Please take care of me!"

And thus begins my tour of Mitakihara City. We pretty much check all the boxes I remember from the anime – the bridge where Madoka threw away Sayaka's soul gem, the hospital, the observation tower, both middle schools, and more besides. By some sheer stroke of luck, we don't run into any other magical girls on patrol, although I think I sense one once or twice nearby. I'm not sure if they noticed us in return, but since they didn't confront us, it probably doesn't matter either way.

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.

Elise Pierrot

Age: 17
Eye Colour: Brown
Hair Colour: Deep Red
Origins: Mitakihara, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Jester hat
Soul Gem: Oval red gem on her collarbone
Element: Fire
Weapon: Jester staff
Powers: Summoning monsters to fight for her
Wish: "I wish my parents could overcome their grief over the death of my sister."

Speed: 2
Magical Stamina: 8
Offensive Power: 3
Defensive Power: 6
Initial Power Usability: 5
Learned Powers: 1

Claire Branch

Age: 16
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Bright Green
Origins: Mitakihara, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Lightning bolt
Soul Gem: Square yellow gem on her left thigh
Element: Forest
Weapon: Mace
Powers: Lightning, flash move
Wish: "I wish my parents would pay attention to me."

Speed: 9
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 10
Defensive Power: 1
Initial Power Usability: 8
Learned Powers: 2

Hayashi Komachi
林こまち

Age: 17
Eye Colour: Purple
Hair Colour: Purple
Origins: Mitakihara, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Five-pointed star
Soul Gem: Star-shaped teal gem worn as a hair ornament
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Naginata
Powers: Healing, energy drain
Wish: "I wish for a cure to my disease, so I can live a long and fruitful life."

Speed: 8
Magical Stamina: 7
Offensive Power: 7
Defensive Power: 4
Initial Power Usability: 7
Learned Powers: 2

Hayashi Hiyori
林ひより

Age: 15
Eye Colour: Brown
Hair Colour: Light Brown
Origins: Mitakihara, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Harp
Soul Gem: Orange oval gem on her right wrist
Element: Water
Weapon: Harp
Powers: Sonic attacks, bewitch, bind
Wish: "I wish Mom would acknowledge my musical talent."

Speed: 5
Magical Stamina: 10
Offensive Power: 2
Defensive Power: 6
Initial Power Usability: 5
Learned Powers: 3