March twenty-first. Akemi Homura decides to go out to hunt witches alone. After wandering for awhile with her soul gem out, she finally detects one and follows the trail. Soon enough, she finds the portal and transforms as she steps inside.
"Oh… it's this one…" she gasps.
The witch she has discovered is none other than Izabel, the same witch she blundered into in the first timeline.
"W-well… this time, I can fight," she says resolutely.
She teleports past the familiars, racing towards the witch, and bursts into her chamber. Gazing up at the Arc de Triomphe, Homura begins her assault. Her strategy is simple – teleport a bomb under the witch's nose, then back off until it explodes. When the witch tries to attack her, she teleports to safety. She repeats this several times, but it doesn't seem like she's making much of a dent on the witch.
She's been fighting for about ten minutes when suddenly the trio shows up, Sayaka charging in and narrowly avoiding one of Homura's explosions.
"W-whoa, watch it!" Sayaka gasps.
"S-s-sorry…" Homura yelps.
"Oh, so I was right," Mami says. "There was already someone fighting this witch… but you look like you're having trouble. Do you mind if we help out?"
"N-no, that's fine… I'd like that," Homura says.
"Are you new around here?" Madoka asks.
"Y-yes… I'm transferring to Mitakihara Middle School on Friday," Homura says.
"Oh, then we might even become classmates!" Madoka says.
"Miss Kaname, we should focus on the witch first," Mami says.
"Right!"
With the four of them working together, they do a much better job at damaging the witch. Sayaka narrowly avoids those bombs several more times, which seems to be making her really grumpy. After several minutes, the witch finally falls, and Homura introduces herself.
"U-um… I'm Akemi Homura," she begins.
"Oh, that's such a cool name!" Madoka says. "I'm Kaname Madoka! This is my friend, Miki Sayaka, and our mentor Tomoe Mami!"
Homura nods. "Um, I have something… important to tell you all… Kyuubey has been deceiving you about what it means to be a magical girl."
"Oy," Sayaka snaps. "What good would it do for Kyuubey to lie about that?"
"B-but it's true!" Homura says desperately. "I saw it… magical girls turn into witches!"
"A likely story," Sayaka retorts. "Don't tell me… are you working with that Kyouko chick, trying to split us apart?"
"N-no!" Homura protests. "I h-haven't even spoken to her!"
"Sayaka-chan," Madoka rebukes her. "It's that kind of attitude that really splits people apart…"
"Whatever," Sayaka grumps. "But I don't wanna be in a team with you. I almost got blown up five times today! Madoka and Mami are both long-range fighters, so it doesn't matter, but if something's gonna to explode right in my face, I don't want to be there."
"You do have a good point," Mami admits. "Miss Akemi, do you have any weapons other than bombs?"
"Um… I'll think about it," Homura says. "If… if I think of something… can I fight alongside you?"
"Well, I suppose it'll be fine as long as there's no explosions," Sayaka grudgingly agrees.
Mami nods. "I'd be happy to add another member to my team. I've been alone for a long time, you see."
"H-hey, Ashley-chan, are you sleeping?"
I open my eyes and blink at Hiyori.
"Huh? You're alone today?"
Hiyori nods. "Onee-san and Elise went home. I don't know where Claire is, but probably club activities? But I wanted to ask you something."
I nod. "Okay, what is it?"
"Um… it's about Walpurgisnacht," Hiyori says.
"Komachi-chan should've told you, right?" I say. "She'll show up at the end of April."
As in the previous two timelines, Kyuubey had shown up to pass on Oriko's oracle; however, this time it apparently decided to push the schedule up by a day, so Komachi and I heard it just a few hours ago now… right after we got out of school, to be precise. I kinda wonder why it changed the timing, though. Is it something Oriko said? But hopefully it doesn't matter. I also asked about Lina's team again, but the response was the same as last time – Kyuubey could not predict the outcome of their conflict with Sasa.
"No, it's not that," Hiyori says. "I was just wondering… even a witch like that must've been a magical girl once, right? So I was wondering what kind of person she might have been…"
"You're asking me and not Kyuubey?" I ask. "I mean, the little white devil would be more likely to know than me, don't you think?"
"I… don't want to talk to him right now," Hiyori admits. "I thought you might have some idea…"
"Well, it just so happens that I asked Kyuubey the same question awhile back," I say. "So in other words, you're in luck."
"Oh! What'd he say?" Hiyori asks.
"Well… it's not as simple as you're imagining," I say. "First of all, Walpurgisnacht is a very old witch. When I met Pernelle in Paris, she said she'd seen Walpurgisnacht many times, and speculated that the witch was even older than she is. And to put that in perspective… according to Wikipedia, Pernelle was born in 1320."
Hiyori gasps. "W-whoa, that makes her… more than… seven centuries old!? A-and you're saying Walpurgisnacht is even older still!?" She blinks. "W-wait… this Pernelle has a Wikipedia page? Is she like, some important person or something?"
"Not really," I say. "She wasn't especially important. The only reason she's on Wikipedia is because she's a magical girl, and all sorts of legends grew up from her because of that. Anyway, my point is, Walpurgisnacht is old… ancient, even."
Hiyori nods. "Right, I get that now…"
"And there's something you might not be aware of about witches, because you don't see it in action very often," I say. "They don't only eat humans – they also eat each other."
Hiyori blinks. "Eh? Witches eat… other witches?"
I nod. "Right, weaker witches in particular are often eaten by other witches before they're killed by a magical girl. And a witch like Walpurgisnacht that has been around for centuries… well, she's probably eaten a lot of other witches. So to sum it up, it's not possible to pin down a single magical girl who she used to be."
"I see," Hiyori says. "That's so sad…"
"Yeah, but it's also sad that no-one's ever managed to defeat her," I say. "All this time she's probably been waiting for it, but she got so strong, no-one could stand against her… that's part of why I want to defeat her once and for all."
Hiyori nods. "I'll help you, Ashley-chan," she says. "I'm sure the others will, too."
"Well… thanks," I say. "To tell the truth, I was going to ask you at some point anyway…"
Hiyori giggles. "I guess I beat you to the punch, eh?"
"Yeah, that you did."
«A-ashley-chan, Elise, everyone!»
Claire's voice suddenly bursts into my head.
«I found it! The theatre witch Ashley-chan mentioned! W-what should I do?»
«W-whatever you do, don't fight it alone!» Elise responds quickly.
«Claire, just run away!» I transmit. «I think it's best to observe her for awhile… we probably need more people to defeat her.»
«B-but what if she eats people?» Claire asks.
«That's not good!» Komachi chimes in.
«If you keep an eye on her, you can make sure she doesn't,» I reply. «And rescue anyone she does lure in.»
«Oh… that's true,» Komachi admits. «As long as it's not hurting anyone… maybe it doesn't matter if we can't defeat it directly…»
«Yeah, let's watch it for awhile!» Hiyori chimes in. «Maybe we can even discover a weakness, so we don't need to call for another person!»
«Alright then!» Elise says. «It's settled! For now, we'll check up on it once a day! Where is it right now, Claire?»
«It's hiding behind the public pool.»
«That's also where I found it last week,» I say. «Maybe it's a witch that doesn't move around much…»
«Well, that's convenient for us then,» Elise says. «Are you still in the labyrinth, Claire?»
«No, I'm already out!»
«Good!»
There's still no sign of Amano Suzune transferring into Akanegasaki Middle School, so when the weekend arrives, I figure I may as well go all out in Asunaro. I had already been planning to ask Yuuri and Airi for a favour, getting them to purify Nico's soul gem before she turns into a witch on Sunday. But if I go there myself for the whole weekend, I should be able to do even better and save Moe as well. So, after breakfast on Saturday morning, I catch a train.
While on the train, I do a little investigation on my phone, so that once I get off the train, I've figured out how to get to several key locations, including Café Lepa Macha, the central police station, La Vie Land amusement park, and the Asunaro Dome. Well… I've already been to that last one, but I doubled-check its location anyway. I also message Yuuri to let her know I'm coming.
"Hello Yuuri! I've decided to come to Asunaro for the weekend and thought I'd let you know. If you're interested, we could meet up or something."
After getting off the train, I walk past the police station so I can view it with my clairvoyance, then head for Café Lepa Macha while keeping a vision open. My goal is to catch Detective Ishijima either arriving or leaving so I can contact her. She's the only one who'll know where I can find Moe. I order green tea and settle down at the café to wait. Mr Tachibana does seem to remember me, but he doesn't say anything.
It's not even an hour before I spot Detective Ishijima leaving the police station. I finish the last of my tea and leave the café. She gets into her car and drives off, and I zoom in on her car's GPS display in the hope that it may reveal her destination. Unfortunately, it seems she knows her own way, so all I can get is her current location.
I take out my phone and head in the same general direction. There's not much point trying to catch up to a car on foot, so I'm hoping I can catch her once she stops somewhere. Before long, she pulls into a coffee shop, parking the car to head inside, and I dart into an alley and wall-jump up to the roof so I can travel as the crow flies, from rooftop to rooftop. Even unrestricted by the layout of the roads, it takes about five minutes to reach the coffee shop, but fortunately it's a busy time of day, so I end up on the coffee shop's roof before she emerges. To an extent, I'm fortunate – she chose a coffee shop not too far from Lepa Macha. If she had headed in the opposite direction, I would've had a much harder time following her.
After checking to see that no-one is looking, I hop down off the roof behind the coffee shop and run around the front, just in time. I see her leaving the coffee shop and call out her name.
"Miss Ishijima!"
She stops and turns to me in surprise. I suppose it would be weird to see someone you've never met calling your name. I take a moment to catch my breath, and she fills the silence with a question.
"Excuse me?" she asks. "Do I know you?"
"No, this is the first time we've me," I reply. "Miss Ishijima… do you believe in magic?"
She blinks at me, and I hold out my ring hand, palm up, and touch the ring with two fingers of my other hand, transforming it into gem form briefly, then back to a ring. Just enough for her to get a glimpse. Even if she doesn't know what a soul gem is, the sight of it seemingly appearing out of nowhere should be meaningful
"Magic?" she asks, annoyed. "What kind of non…sense…"
She trails off as she spots the soul gem, and her eyes widen.
"W-what was that just now…?" She narrows her eyes. "You're not trying to sell me something, are you?"
I try to calm her with a smile.
"No, nothing like that," I reply. "I'm looking for someone, and you're my best lead."
She raises her eyebrows. "Well, I can't promise I'll be of any help, but you've got me curious," she says. "Who are you looking for?"
"A girl named Shiina Remi," I say.
Detective Ishijima gasps. "Where did you hear that name…?"
"I'm sorry, I can't answer that question," I reply. "But I guess I can say… magic was involved."
She frowns a little. "Are you making fun of me?" she asks.
"I guess that depends on the answer to my first question," I shrug.
She looks sharply at me, meeting my eyes.
"Why me?" she asks.
"Coincidence, I guess," I reply. "As I said before, you're the best lead I have."
"Okay… and just who are you?" she asks.
"My name is Ashley Taylor," I say.
"And what do you want Shiina Remi for?" she asks.
"Hmm… broadly speaking, I guess I would say I'm seeking allies? Although I do have other reasons to seek her out specifically… I don't think you'd understand them though. Do you want me to list them anyway?"
"N-no, that's fine," she says. "Unfortunately, you're eight years too late… Remi-chan vanished without trace back then."
I nod. "I was aware of that," I say.
"Then why did you ask!?" she asks.
"I have reason to believe that she reappeared about a month ago."
Detective Ishijima gapes at me for a few moments.
"You… you can't be serious," she says. Then she frowns slightly. Is she rethinking her statement? "B-but even supposing that's true… why come to me?"
"Yeah, it's weird, right?" I nod. "I managed to find out a lot of stuff about her, but I wasn't able to figure out where she lives. I can see where she is, but not how to get there."
"And why would you expect me to know where she lives?" she asks.
"Because you two used to be friends, right?" I reply. "You should at least know where her house is… assuming her family didn't move in the last eight years."
"You realize how creepy this makes you sound…"
"Yeah, I really regret that," I say. "There's just no way to avoid it. Or… if there is, I guess I'm not smart enough to come up with it."
"Are you… like Remi-chan?" she asks.
"You mean… am I a magical girl?"
"Right…"
"I am."
"And does this have anything to do with… with…"
"With witches?" I prompt her.
"Yeah, that."
"Hmm… yeah, I suppose you could say it's related," I say. "This is supposed to be secret, mind you, so don't go telling everyone."
"As if anyone would believe me anyway," she retorts.
"So… will you take me there?" I ask. "Or even just give me the address?"
She frowns. "I don't have a lot of free time right now… it can wait until tomorrow, right?"
I shake my head. "It can wait a bit, but tomorrow is too late. There are lives at stake here."
Her eyes widen again.
"Lives…? You're saying… someone is going to die?"
I nod. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
"Who, when, and where?" she asks.
I chuckle. "Just like that, you're already treating me like a seer, huh?"
"Just answer the question!" she snaps. "It doesn't matter how unreliable the source is… if there's a chance I can prevent a death…!"
I sigh.
"Fine. Without intervention, Shiina Moe will die just after midnight, at the Asunaro Dome," I say. "But I'm telling you this out of courtesy, by the way… if you value your own life, you should stay clear of the event."
"But if Remi's sister is going to be murdered, I should be there to stop it!" she protests. "That's what the police are for!"
"It's not exactly murder," I say. "But even if it was, there's nothing you can do. It's a situation that can only be resolved by someone like me… a magical girl. Although I'd much rather prevent it entirely, which is why I'm looking for the two of them now."
She falls silent for a time, then finally lets out a sigh.
"Alright… you seem sincere enough to me. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Miss Taylor, but I'll be coming with you," she says. "And it'll have to wait an hour or two, just until I finish my current assignment. Is that alright?"
I nod. "Should I wait for you somewhere?"
She considers a moment. "If you don't mind, you can come along and wait in the car."
I nod. "Sure. That's fine with me."
I climb into her car, and we head off. It seems it's not that far to her next stop, so I wait in the car like she said. While waiting, I check my phone and find that Yuuri has responded to my earlier email.
"Hi Ashley! I'd totally like to meet up! Is four o'clock a good time? We do something together and then have dinner. Maybe a movie, or we could hit the bowling alley? Of course, Airi would be there too. By the way, you said you'll be here for the weekend? Where will you be staying?"
Where will I be staying…? I didn't even think about that! Maybe I can find a cheap hotel to crash at? I guess in the worst case I could just sleep in a park or something. It may still be a little chilly, but I'm a magical girl, so I should be able to handle it. I send her a response.
"Hi Yuuri, I think four o'clock sounds good! Did you have a meeting place in mind? As for where I'm staying, I'm such a doofus that I forgot to book anything… do you know any good places I could get at such short notice?"
I also try scrying on the Pleiades Saints and Kazumi. The former yields nothing of interest, but it appears that Kazumi is locked in a shed, which is about what I expected… although I wasn't quite sure how long she'd be left in there.
I end up dozing off and am startled when the detective returns to her car.
"Alright, that's finished," she says. "It went better than I expected, so I have a bit more time to spare than I thought I would. This is basically my lunch break."
"Okay," I say. "Thanks a lot for lending me your time."
She drives me to the Shiina house, and we go up to the door. While the detective rings the bell, I use my magic to double-check that Kazumi is still in the shed. Then I hear Mrs Shiina calling from within, just barely loud enough for my enhanced hearing to pick it up.
"Could one of you get that? I'm in the middle of something!"
"On it!" Remi's voice responds.
A few seconds later, Remi opens the door. "H-hello, how can I help… huh?"
The detective gapes at her.
"N-no way… that's… that's impossible, right? You couldn't really be…"
"Oh my god, is that you, Misako-chan!?" Remi gasps, hugging her. "I was wondering if I'd ever see you again… Mom never mentioned you."
"B-but wait… how is this…"
Misako trails off, uncertain how to phrase the question, and Remi steps back with a grin.
"Well, it's a long story, but it's really me, Misako-chan. But what brings you here? You couldn't've come just to catch up… I haven't spoken to anyone I used to know since I got back, not even Dad or onii-chan… so there's no way you could've known."
I step out from behind Misako and show off the ring on my hand, and Remi's eyes widen for a moment.
"Well, this young lady is the reason I'm here," Misako explains. "She said she was looking for you and your sister for some reason… and somehow she knew you'd be here."
"Hello, Miss Shiina," I say. "My name is Ashley Taylor. Is it alright if we come in?"
Remi nods slowly. "Yeah… I guess that's fine."
«Just a heads-up, if you intend to make trouble, I won't hesitate to kick you out,» she adds, for me alone.
She steps aside to let Misako enter, but I don't follow suit.
"Why don't you invite Miss Kazumi as well?"
Remi blinks in confusion, but then a sudden realization dawns on her as I turn to look pointedly at the shed. She glances nervously at Misako, who's still in uniform, then shoots me a look.
«H-how did you know!?» she asks.
«Short answer – I saw you last night,» I reply.
"You can just go into the living room," Remi says out loud. "I'll grab some tea and snacks."
«I didn't sense another magical girl nearby last night," Remi counters.
«One of my powers is seeing things far away,» I reply.
«I see…»
«I'd like to talk both to you and to Miss Kazumi,» I explain. «Oh, and I don't intend to cause any trouble. I'm just here to talk, nothing more.»
Misako disappears into the living room after removing her shoes, and I follow suit, keeping tabs on Remi with my clairvoyance. As expected, she slips on her shoes and heads out to open the shed. Kazumi sits up to look at her, and Remi removes the gag.
"Hey, um… would your name happen to be Miss Kazumi?" she asks.
"Yes, but how did you know?" Kazumi asks.
"Do you know a foreign magical girl with blond hair?"
"Like Nico-chan?" Kazumi suggests.
"N-no… she said her name was Ashley Taylor…"
"I don't know her," Kazumi says. "Are you going to let me go now? I really am the victim here… your sister attacked us and carted me off…"
"I can't believe Moe-chan would do something like that," Remi says doubtfully. "But Miss Taylor wants to talk to you for some reason, so… do you want to come inside?"
"Sure," Kazumi says. "As long as I can walk there myself."
Remi unties her, and then the two of them enter the house, leaving their shoes at the door. Remi heads for the kitchen, while Kazumi joins us in the living room. I turn off my clairvoyance – there's no need to watch Remi prepare tea and snacks.
Kazumi sits across from me and looks at the detective in surprise.
"Oh… it's you," Misako says, startled. "The girl from that bomb threat incident, right?"
"Yeah… sorry about that," Kazumi says. "Was your body alright after all that?"
"What are you talking about?" Misako asks. "I haven't gotten sick or injured recently…"
"I guess you don't remember," Kazumi sighs.
"Good morning, Miss Kazumi," I say. "My name is Ashley Taylor."
She looks at me. "Um… good morning. Have we met before? I kinda lost my memories…"
I shake my head. "No, we've never met," I reply.
"So what's this all about?" Kazumi asks nervously.
"Let's wait until Miss Shiina gets back," I say. "Then I'll do my best to explain everything." I glance at Misako. "To be honest, it might be better if you didn't hear it… there's not much you can do with the information. But I won't stop you if you really want to."
"You'd have to give me a bit more idea about the subject first," Misako says.
"Little-known facts about my kind, I suppose you could say," I reply. "Or if you wanna be dramatic… all the deep, dark secrets of magical girls."
"…secrets?" Kazumi asks nervously. "Dark secrets?"
"There's no point in explaining twice, so please be patient, Miss Kazumi," I say.
Remi reappears a minute or two later, carrying a tray with cups of tea and a stack of cookies, which she sets on the table before sitting across from Misako.
"So, care to give me an explanation, Remi-chan?" Misako asks. "You've been gone for eight years, and yet you look like you haven't aged a day. What on earth happened to you, Remi-chan?"
"Well, those eight years don't exist for me," Remi says. "When I woke up about a month ago, I was just as you see now, as if it had only been a couple days since I last saw you."
"You know, when you disappeared, your little sister made some rather… outlandish claims," Misako says.
"I can imagine," Remi sighs. "She was only three, after all…"
"She said you had become a magical girl who fights witches that bring disaster to the world," Misako says.
"Y-yeah, that sure does sound crazy…" Remi says with a nervous laugh.
"Eh?" Kazumi speaks up. "But you are, right?"
"It's supposed to be a secret, you dummy!" Remi hisses.
"O-oh, I'm sorry," Kazumi says.
"Well, it seems like Misako-chan has already figured it out though," Remi says.
"But I always wondered about those words of hers," Misako muses. "After I became a police officer, I realized there are many unsolved cases where evidence was dismissed because it couldn't be explained by modern science… people going missing without a trace, especially young girls… unexplained suicides…"
"It's true that those sorts of things are often caused by witches," I say. "Though I wouldn't give them too much credit… the world's already pretty bad even before you factor in the existence of curses."
The others look at me in surprise.
"What happened to it being a secret?" Kazumi wonders.
"I dunno," I shrug with a smile. "I just feel like I can trust this person."
"Can you tell me what happened when you disappeared?" Misako asks. "It could be helpful in solving other, similar cases."
Remi shakes her head. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think anything I say would be able to help you. My case is pretty unusual to begin with. To tell the truth… eight years ago, I think I died."
Misako gasps. "You… you died?"
Kazumi also looks startled. "Th-then how are you here!?"
"When you become a magical girl, you get a single wish granted," Remi explains. "She hasn't said it outright, but… I think I'm here because of Moe-chan's wish."
"Then your little sister's a magical girl too," Misako says.
"So she wished for you to come back to life!?" Kazumi gasps. "How could someone who wishes for another's life start deliberately spreading curses!?"
Remi blinks at her. "Huh? What do you mean, deliberately spreading curses? Moe-chan wouldn't do something like that… I think…"
"Let's not get too far off track," I interrupt. "We'll get to that soon enough. Miss Shiina, can you tell us anything more about how you died?"
Remi blinks at me, then glances at Misako and Kazumi, and looks back at me.
"Well… there is something, but I'm not sure if I should say it…"
"It's better to find out in a friendly setting like this, wouldn't you agree, Miss Shiina?" I suggest.
Remi blinks at me. "You sound like you already know…"
"Well… more or less," I say.
Remi nods slowly. "Right… the thing is, it's not like one of the witches finally got the best of me," she explains. "The last witch I fought eight years ago… it was a tough fight, but I defeated it. However… I ran out of magic, and I had no grief seeds to spare."
Kazumi tilts her head. "Huh? What do grief seeds have to do with this?"
Remi blinks at her. "How can you not know that!?"
"Kazumi, can I see your ring?" I ask.
Briefly confused by my apparent non-sequitur, Remi looks at Kazumi's hands, and her eyes widen. For her part, Kazumi looks confused.
"My… ring? I'm not wearing a ring…"
"I thought you were a magical girl too," Remi says. "You had Moe-chan in a chokehold… no normal human should be able to do that!"
Kazumi looks confused. "What? I am a magical girl…"
"But what about your soul gem?" she asks. "You should be wearing it as a ring on your finger…"
"It's right here," Kazumi says.
She reaches for one of her bell earrings, which transforms into her soul gem.
"It looks kind of strange though…" Remi says.
"Eh? Really?" Kazumi says.
"Um… I feel like I'm being left in the dark here," Misako says. "Everyone's throwing around terms that I don't understand…"
"Remember what I showed you at the coffee shop?" I say. "That was my soul gem. It's a magical girl's source of power… we usually transform it into a ring and wear it on their finger. It's one of two ways that you can tell someone's a magical girl just by looking… the other is the mark on their fingernail."
I show off the teddy mark on my own fingernail in demonstration, and Remi also reveals the stopwatch mark on her fingernail, but Kazumi blinks and looks at her fingernails. None of her fingernails bear a mark, so she's probably wondering why she's different from other magical girls.
"As the name suggests," I finish, "it's our soul in compact form."
"Eh? Is that really true?" Remi says, startled. "Wait, what does that actually mean?"
"We're getting a bit off track here," I sigh. "Um… I'll get back to your question, but could you finish answering mine first?"
Remi nods. "Right! Like I said, I was all out of magic, and there was a surge of emotions… despair and hatred and resignation, or something. After that, my mind mostly went blank… but I have a few hazy memories of people attacking me."
"So… what does that mean?" Kazumi asks.
"Um… I've thought about it a lot since I revived," Remi says. "And… I suspect I turned into a witch myself."
Kazumi blinks. "E-eh? That can happen!?"
I nod. "Yeah, it can happen… I've seen it," I say.
"I'm confused," Misako says. "Why would that be the case? That doesn't seem to fit what Moe-chan said all those years ago. If magical girls fight witches, why would they turn into them?"
"Well, that's a long story, and I don't really want to get into all the details today," I say. "It's just one of the realities of being a magical girl. To answer your question, Miss Kazumi, a grief seed restores your magic and purifies your soul gem. And as for your question, Miss Shiina, it's pretty much like it sounds. The soul gem is your soul, so you can't let it get too far from your body."
"R-right," Remi nods.
"Huh… I didn't know grief seeds actually had a use," Kazumi muses. "But why don't the Pleiades Saints use them like that, then?"
"They forgot how," I say. "If you get a chance, you should consider reminding them."
"R-right…"
"Anyway… in the end, the real reason I wanted to meet you, Miss Shiina, is because of your sister," I explain. "As Miss Kazumi mentioned, over the past few weeks she has been using so-called 'evil nuts' to turn ordinary people into pseudo-witches, just to harass the Pleiades Saints… and on top of that, I don't think she's been using grief seeds at all. If this keeps up, she's going to turn into a witch tonight."
Remi gasps.
"Those pseudo-witches have killed people!" Kazumi says. "And for some reason, I'm the only one who can sense them!"
"They have killed people, but not as many as real witches," I say. "Still… Miss Ishijima was lucky that you were there to stop her."
"R-right…" Kazumi nods.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Misako says. "But I do have one other question… who are these Pleiades Saints?"
"They're a strong team of magical girls who live in this city," I say.
"B-but w-why would Moe-chan do something like that!?" Remi asks.
"That's also a long story…" I say. "Do you know about her friend?"
Remi nods. "I think her name was Mura Fumiko?"
Misako gasps. "Mura Fumiko!? She's been missing for a month now…"
Remi nods. "Moe-chan said the Pleiades Saints killed her… that's why I've been avoiding them…"
"Th-there's no way they could've done something like that!" Kazumi protests. "They're not bad people! I'm sure they wouldn't murder someone!"
"But you've only known them for about a week, Miss Kazumi," I point out.
"Th-that's true…"
"They did in fact do 'something like that'," I continue. "But there's a misunderstanding… how should I explain it… have either of you heard of 'Hyades'?"
"Y-yes," Misako gasps. "There were records of messages from an account called 'Hyades' on some missing girls' phones… Mura Fumiko was one of them…"
"I saw her a couple of times, talking to Moe-chan," Remi says eagerly. "She seemed kinda shady to me. I even managed to snap a photo."
She digs out her phone and opens it up, showing us all a blurry photo of Hijiri Kanna. Kazumi gasps.
"Th-that's Nico-chan!?"
I shake my head.
"That's not Kanna Nico," I say. "That's Hijiri Kanna, a double of Kanna Nico who was created when she made her wish to become a magical girl. I believe she's the one who told Moe-chan that Fumiko is dead."
"So wait… you're saying she's not?" Remi asks.
I nod. "That's right. I'm almost certain she's alive."
Suddenly the door slams open and Moe charges in, grabbing me by the throat.
"It's a lie!" she shouts. "I saw it with my own eyes! She wasn't breathing!"
"G-good morning, Shiina Moe," I gasp.
I exert some force to free my neck from her grasp.
"I had a feeling you might be eavesdropping…"
Moe blinks at me. "H-huh!? Just who the hell are you!?"
"I'm the person who came to save your life," I retort. "You should be grateful."
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Moe snaps.
"Moe-chan, please!" Remi says, jumping up to grab her shoulder. "Calm down! I'm still not sure whether we can trust her, but it can't hurt to listen, right?"
Moe pouts, but takes a seat next to her sister, glaring at me. I look at Kazumi.
"Miss Kazumi… can I trust you not to hurt me at all?"
Kazumi blinks, then nods. "Y-yeah… what reason would I have to hurt you?"
I take my ring off and hand it to her. She blinks as it transforms into gem form.
"O-okay… now what?"
"Just go outside and run off for a bit," I say. "You need to get about a hundred metres away from the house. And whatever you do, keep that safe! It's fragile, so don't squeeze it!"
Kazumi nods. "G-got it!"
I can feel her hands on my soul gem as she jumps up and runs out. It's almost as if someone is softly embracing me, like a ghostly presence at my back. I activate my clairvoyance, and as she reaches the intersection with the main road, my vision of the living room cuts out and I can feel my consciousness begin to fade. Before that happens though, I transmit a message to Kazumi.
«That's perfect, Miss Kazumi,» I say. «Take me back now, and put the soul gem next to my body.»
"Right!" Kazumi says out loud.
She runs back and heads inside, startled at the commotion caused by my apparent sudden death. As instructed, she steps forward and sets my soul gem on the table in front of me. A moment later, I regain control of my body, sitting up with a gasp.
"W-whoa, that felt weird," I say. "But is that enough to convince you that Fumiko is alive, Miss Moe?"
"I… I think I get it," Moe mutters. "So a magical girl can die without dying?"
"Um… I suppose you could say it that way," I shrug. "But the point is… she's alive, so you should just use a grief seed already and stop all the Hyades nonsense."
"Even if she's alive, I still can't forgive them for taking her from me," Moe mutters.
"That's fine," I say. "You don't have to forgive them. You don't have to like them. Just stop hurting people."
"Do you know where Miss Mura is?" Misako asks.
"Hmm… I'm not entirely sure," I say. "The entrance is in the teddy bear museum, Angelica Bears… but it's concealed by magic, so I have no idea if the actual location is also there… and it might need one of the Pleiades Saints to open it."
"I'm one of them," Kazumi says. "Does that count?"
"Probably," I say. "But I'm not quite sure… it's possible that you haven't been granted access yet. Or maybe anyone can open it if they just know how… I'm not sure."
"You're not one of them," Moe contradicts her. "You're different. You're–"
"Moe-chan, I think we should let them tell her that," I interrupt. "And besides, her magic at least is still the same."
"Eh? What?" Kazumi blinks.
"You should ask the Pleiades Saints about your missing memories," I say.
"Yeah, I was thinking about that too," Kazumi says. "They still haven't come back…"
"So, you've told us all sorts of things," Remi says. "But how do we know you're telling the truth? I mean, we've never met you before, and a lot of this just sounds too convenient to be true…"
"I understand why you'd think that way," I say. "A stranger barging into your house to warn you about the future, addressing you by name and telling you about things that no-one else should know about… it must be pretty creepy, right?"
"I-if you knew that, then why would you…?"
"Well, because time was short," I say. "I guess my other choice would've been to show up at the Asunaro Dome tonight, but… to be honest, I'm trying to avoid the Pleiades Saints. It's not because I'm afraid of their strength or anything… it's complicated."
"So back to the original question," Remi says. "Why should we trust you?"
"Hmm… I suppose it wouldn't help if a friend you also don't know vouched for me," I muse.
"Obviously," Remi retorts.
"Then I frankly have no idea," I reply. "I don't think there's anything I can say to convince you that I'm not lying. If you don't want to believe me, then I'll leave you be and ask that friend for help instead."
"But if all of this is true…" Remi muses. "Then Moe-chan and Fumiko-chan could be reunited… while if it's not true… I can't think of anything bad that could happen… other than Moe-chan becoming a witch…"
I notice that Moe doesn't seem surprised at the idea that she could become a witch. Maybe Hijiri already told her about that?
"I don't really understand all the magic stuff," Misako says. "But I think it can't hurt to check out her claims. Actually… I've been in charge of investigations for most of the missing girl cases. There were a few clues that seemed to point towards Angelica Bears as being somehow involved, but closer investigation never turned up any leads strong enough to prompt a search warrant. My point is… Miss Taylor says that Angelica Bears is involved, and I've also seen clues that suggest it might be, so it all adds up. If there really is a secret room underneath the museum…"
"Yeah, you're right, Misako-chan," Remi says. "It's not like Miss Taylor is telling us things that are completely out there… it lines up with things we already know and fills in some gaps. And Moe-chan, you'd better use a grief seed… you must have one or two, right?"
"N-no… I was giving them all to… to her," Moe mutters.
"Ohh… so that's how Miss Hijiri got enough grief seeds," I say. "I was wondering about that…"
"I have a spare that you can use," Remi says, taking it out. "Here…"
"Fine…" Moe grumbles.
She accepts it and turns her ring into gem form, drawing out the corruption until it gleams once more. I let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Whoa, I can't believe you let it get that bad," Remi says. "Although… if you haven't used one since the beginning, that's also pretty amazing in its own way…"
"Well, I should get going," Misako says. "I've basically skipped lunch to come here…"
"Oh my…" Remi says. "I could whip you up something real quick, if you're hungry…"
Misako shakes her head. "No… I think I'll be fine," she says. "The cookie should be enough to last me until I get off work."
"Then why don't you come over for dinner?" Remi suggests.
"If your mother is okay with that, I'd like to," Misako says.
The two of them pull out their phones and tap them together to exchange contact info.
"Remember," I speak up. "You can't tell anyone about what you heard today, Miss Ishijima. We'll deal with the missing girls."
"Right… I understand," Misako says. "I've realized one thing after listening to you, and that's that this is all out of my depth."
She gets up to leave, and once she's gone, I check my phone. There's a response from Yuuri, and it's almost one o'clock.
"I need to get going too," I say. "I promised to meet someone at four o'clock… and I have a few other things to do before then."
"Is that the friend you were talking about?" Remi asks. "The one you said would vouch for you?"
I nod. "Yeah. Anyway… do you know Café Lepa Macha?"
The three girls shake their heads.
"It should be easy to find though, right?" Remi says. "Just check the maps app."
I nod. "Right… then can we meet there tomorrow morning?"
"Sure," Remi says.
"Yeah, I guess that's fine," Kazumi says.
"The girls I'm meeting tonight… if they agree, I'll probably drag them along too," I add. "Is that okay?"
"Fine with me," Remi says. "I'm guessing they're also magical girls?"
Moe just shrugs, and Kazumi nods.
"Yeah, they're a strong duo," I say. "They might even be stronger as a team than the Pleiades Saints."
"O-oh wow…" Kazumi says. "The Pleiades Saints are pretty strong though… I think…"
"Well… in that case, I'll see you tomorrow," I say.
And with that, I too get up to leave.
"Um!" Kazumi says. "Do you mind… if I come with you for a bit?"
I glance at her. "Sure, if you want."
"See you later!" Kazumi says.
"You too!" Remi replies.
As a result, we both leave the Shiina house together.
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.
Miki Sayaka
美樹さやか
Age: 14
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Blue
Origins: Mitakihara, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Blue treble clef
Soul Gem: Blue C-shaped gemstone just above her belt
Element: Water
Weapon: Cutlass
Powers: Regeneration, speed burst
Wish: "I want you to heal Kyosuke-kun's arm!"
Speed: 7
Magical Stamina: 2
Offensive Power: 6
Defensive Power: 1
Initial Power Usability: 5
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)