The next morning, I set out with Inui to the abandoned Sakura Church near the border of Kazamino and Mitakihara. The fact that it's a Sunday is a bonus, in a way. I assume it's her Christian upbringing that leads Kyouko to visit the church most often on a Sunday, so in this case it's just convenient that the event I'm trying to get her help to avert here also happened to fall on a Sunday.
"Oh wow, I had no idea there was an old church here," Inui says, looking up at the deteriorating building.
"Well… now you know, I guess. Although, it's not as old as it looks."
There's no sign of Kyouko, but I have a feeling it's only a matter of time. The two of us walk up to the church and step in through the ruined door… but to my surprise, we're not the first ones there. A man in a priest's robe turns from the altar as we enter.
"Oh? That's rare," he says. "People don't come here very often. Why would you come to such a desolate place?"
"That's our line…" I say.
The man chuckles, descending the steps from the pulpit.
"I used to know the pastor of this church," he says. "It may look like this now, but it's been little more than a year since it was a vibrant place filled with love and joy."
Inui blinks. "Only a year…!?"
The man nods. "I often wonder what could have caused him to take his own life and that of his wife and daughter… what could have caused him to fall into such despair that he'd forget God's love…"
"Yeah, I suppose that's the sort of reaction anyone might have upon discovering his daughter sold her soul to a devil to make him popular," I say.
The man seems to find that amusing.
"You have quite an active imagination there, Miss…?"
"If you must know, our name is Ashley Taylor," I say.
"Well, I suppose if the Devil did do such a thing, then perhaps it would indeed have had a terrifying effect on the poor man's mind," he says. "But selling one's soul to the Devil… it's just an old wives' tale, is it not? A metaphor for the evil in men's hearts."
I shrug a little.
"Well, it's hard to say," I say. "But certainly there's more to this world than what you can see with your eyes and hear with your ears, sir."
"Of course," the man says. "I should introduce myself too… Fujimura Shouhei. You are welcome to visit my church at any time."
"Sorry, but I'm not a religious type," I say. "Thanks for the offer, though."
"Ah, that's too bad. I thought perhaps you might be, from what you said a moment ago. By the way… if you happen to see a girl with red hair around here… could you let her know I'm looking for her?"
"I have a feeling that girl is actively avoiding you, Mr Fujimura," I say. "But I'll pass the message on when I see her next."
He looks surprised. "By that, do you mean… you've seen her before?"
"I guess it can't hurt to say yes."
"What a relief," he says. "When I heard she was the only one who survived the fire… ever since, I've been worried about her."
"Yeah… you can stop," I say. "Miss Sakura may not be living the best life she possibly could, but she's getting by, and I think she'd prefer not to be pitied."
Inui blinks. "Huh? Wait, we were talking about Sakura Kyouko?"
"Ah… have you met her too, Miss…?"
"Itsumi Inui," she says. "No, I haven't met her, I just heard the name somewhere…"
"Hmm… well, I'm happy just to have confirmation that she's alive at all," Mr Fujimura says.
"By the way… why was the church allowed to fall into disrepair like this?" I ask. "I mean, if the pastor died, normally you'd appoint a new one, right?"
"Ah… it is a sad story, but I am afraid I do not have the time to tell it now," Mr Fujimura says. "Perhaps another time."
He walks past us and heads out of the church.
"Well?" Inui asks. "Now what?"
"Now we wait," I say. "I bet she'll show up pretty soon. She can't forget this place, after all…"
I take a seat on one of the least damaged pews, and Inui plops down beside me. We don't have to wait long. Kyouko shows up about five or ten minutes later, walking almost all the way to the pulpit steps before she spots us.
"W-whoa! You scared me!"
I stand up.
"Sorry about that, Miss Sakura."
"Ashley Taylor, eh? What brings you to this part of town?"
"Well, it seems Hitomi Lina and her team are in a spot of trouble," I say.
"Is that so?" Kyouko says. "That Lina chick's not even a good leader… forming a team was her worst mistake. But what's any of that got to do with me?"
"Well… isn't it obvious?" I say. "We're going to help her!"
"Count me out," Kyouko retorts. "I ain't got the time to bail out idiots like her."
"But you know… I seem to recall you owing me a favour," I point out.
"W-what? You're gonna waste your favour on something so trivial?"
"It may be trivial to you, but to me… it's important," I reply. "Still, I think there's also something in it for you. If I'm right, we should get quite a few grief seeds on this trip… and if not, I'll give you one of my spares to make up for it."
"Dangit… alright, if you insist," Kyouko says. "I don't like this, but I ain't gonna break a promise. Show me the way."
Then she glances at Inui, who is gazing up at one of the less damaged stained-glass windows which seems to depict two women weeping over a half-naked man wearing only a loincloth. I've never been much of a religious person, but I assume the man is supposed to be Jesus.
"Also, who the hell's this chick?"
"I'm Itsumi Inui!" Inui pipes up, turning to face her. "Nice to meet you!"
"I ain't gonna play all buddy-buddy with you," Kyouko snaps. "I'll just do my job, grab the loot, and get out of there."
"That should be good enough," I say.
"By the way," Inui says. "Who's she?"
She points to one of the two women, who seems to be dressed in fine clothes.
"Uhh… I never could remember which was which," Kyouko grumbles. "But one of 'em's s'posed to be Jesus's mother, and the other's s'posed to be Mary of Magdala."
I blink at her. "Say that again?"
"Um… Jesus's mother and Mary of Magdala?"
"Mary… of Magdala…?"
Kyouko nods. "Y-yeah… something wrong with that?"
My mind races as I make the connection to the Mary who I've met a few times in past timelines. Her name in English is a little different, so I didn't make the connection before.
"She said she's been wandering for two millennia… and keeps talking about God and heaven and other stuff like that… it can't be…"
"What're you nattering about now?" Kyouko asks.
"She doesn't look at all like that, but I couldn't possibly expect depictions to be accurate after over two thousand years…"
"Oy!" Kyouko shouts. "Stop muttering to yourself and tell me what the hell you're on about!"
She bonks me on the head, which combines with the shout to bring me back out of my thoughts.
"Oh… I didn't make the connection until just now, but… I think I met her," I say.
"Met who?" Kyouko asks.
"Mary of Magdala."
She gapes at me.
"You're kidding. Ah! You mean like in a dream or something?"
"No… in the flesh."
"That ain't possible," Kyouko says. "All that stuff, if it really happened, was thousands of years ago."
"That would be true if she was a normal human," I say. "But if she was a magical girl… if she were a magical girl, it would be possible to live that long."
"Y-you're saying one of the most famous saints was actually a magical girl!?" Kyouko gasps. "Th-then… I'm not even… the first…? So why'd I have to suffer so much!?"
Now that I think about it, it wouldn't surprise me at all if someone told me every single female saint in history had been a magical girl. With Mary, Hilda, and Tart, that already makes three.
"Well, I think Mary has suffered a lot too," I say. "Maybe in the past she was an upright, saintly person, but the Mary I spoke to was… I hesitate to say broken, but she certainly wasn't entirely sane… so all things considered, I think you may be handling things better than she did, Miss Sakura."
Kyouko stares at me for a few seconds, then sighs, rubbing at her head a bit.
"Well, whatever," she says. "Dwelling on this ain't my style, and besides, it was my father who believed all that stuff about Jesus and what-not."
"By the way, there was a man here earlier, asking if we'd seen you," I say.
"Damn that bastard!" Kyouko groans. "I've seen him snooping around here a few times. What'd you tell him?"
"That I'd seen you? What else was I supposed to say?"
"He just never gives up," Kyouko grumbles. "I ain't taking charity from him just cause he and my father were a little buddy-buddy."
"Yeah, I thought you'd say something along those lines," I say. "I told him not to worry about you. He looked pretty sincerely relieved to hear you're alive though. If he was your father's friend, surely it wouldn't hurt to talk to him?"
"He ain't no friend," Kyouko retorts. "He turned his back same as everyone else."
"Ah, I understand," I say. "But I bet he really regrets that now. I thought he seemed like a good person."
"It's none of your business," Kyouko says. "Come on, let's just get this favour over with."
"Right, let's go," I say.
I met Lina and her team once before the time loop began, so I actually know exactly where they typically meet up. I lead the way there, opening visions on each of the members in turn as I walk. So far, they all seem to be alive and well.
Finally we arrive at the location, and it turns out one of them is already there – the youngest member, Saki Miyako. She's facing the other way, so she doesn't notice us at first, but then she turns at a noise one of us makes and blinks.
"Huh? You're… eh? W-what's Miss Sakura doing here!?"
She looks around in panic.
"Relax, will ya?" Kyouko says. "I'm not gonna pick a fight today."
"O-oh… is… is that so," Miyako says. "Um… so why are you here, then?"
Kyouko hooks her thumb at me.
"Dunno, that one dragged me along for some reason. Said there'd be a lotta grief seeds."
Miyako turns to me. "Ah… I remember you too… Miss Taylor?"
"That's right," I say. "Will the others be meeting up here as well?"
"Probably…"
"Which direction would Miss Youko come from?"
"W-well, Futaba-chan's school is over there… and she lives just past it… why?"
I turn to look in the direction she points. The school is just barely visible from here, or at least, I can see a building that I think could be the school. So… she should be safe… right? Of course, being Sunday, no-one would be at school, so the location of her house was the more relevant detail here.
"Didn't you say these guys are in some trouble, Miss Taylor?" Kyouko says. "I don't see nothin' troublesome."
"Well… you also see only one of the team," I reply. "Be patient."
"W-what kind of trouble?" Miyako says.
"Witches," I say.
"More than one witch?" Inui asks.
"I'm expecting at least three," I say. "Probably even more than that."
I change my soul to gem form to more readily sense magic, but there's still no sign of any witches nearby. We wait for nearly five minutes, during which time Miyako seems to get anxious.
"They're pretty late today," she says at one point.
Then I suddenly sense it – a witch's presence. It's coming from the direction of Youko Futaba's school.
"Miss Saki, can you feel it?"
"I… I can!" Miyako gasps.
"We'll go ahead… when Miss Hitomi and Miss Akane show up, please join us."
"R-right!"
I break into a run towards the school, and Inui and Kyouko follow me.
"It's weird though," Kyouko says. "It's like a whole bunch of them suddenly popped up outta nowhere…"
"There!" Inui says. "The portal!"
We've just rounded a corner, and Inui is the first to spot the witch's portal. I only have a second to register the fact that it's flickering before I've dived inside along with Kyouko and Inui. We all transform at the same time and take a moment to look around.
"What's with this barrier?" Kyouko says. "It's even more screwed-up than usual…"
"And there aren't any familiars," Inui says. "I wonder why…"
"Well, that's better for us, ain't it?" Kyouko says. "We don't gotta waste our magic just to get through them."
"This way!" I say.
Of course, it's the direction I divined with my clairvoyance. The three of us shoot off in the indicated direction, and twice more I pause to determine the direction with my clairvoyance. Then we suddenly emerge into an open arena-like area. There are witch runes floating about in the air, but they seem to be scrambled, perhaps because there are multiple witches here. I'm not sure exactly how many, but there must be at least four or five of them. In the centre of the ring of witches, two magical girls are desperately fighting for their lives. One wears baggy shorts with a short green cape over a white double-breasted dress, her black hair tied in twintails with magatama ornaments. The other wears a green one-piece dress with a pale yellow hem, with a tiny green cap perched upon her short but wavy blonde hair, adorned by a yellow flower.
"Charm them!" I shout.
"On it!" Inui shouts. "Your enemy's over here! Look only at me!"
With that, the witches all stop attacking the two magical girls in the centre and turn to face us.
"Dangit, why'd you have to attract their attention!" Kyouko protests.
"That's not it," I say. "Can't you see they're not attacking? It's our chance!"
"Already on it, you dummy!" Kyouko says.
She leaps for one of the nearest witches, and I leap for the one next to it. While they're defanged by Inui's charm magic, both of us take full advantage and carve them up, and Inui backs us both up with her pink flames. There may be several witches here, but they are on the weaker side, it seems. By the time the charm has worn off, at least those two witches have fallen… and it looks like the other two magical girls have managed to take one down too. There are still several remaining, quite a few more than my initial hasty count suggested.
"This grief seed's mine!" Kyouko shouts.
"No complaints from me!" I shout back. "But I'm taking this one for now!"
The two girls who had been fighting when we showed up grab their grief seed and make a run for it, aiming to escape the encirclement through the opening that the three of us created. We join them as they run through the labyrinth, away from the pursuing witches.
"Thank goodness!" the blonde girl says. "You're… Miss Taylor, right? You saved us… I thought Mio-chan and me were goners!"
"Futaba-chan, we've gotta hurry and warn the others," Mio says. "You saw it too, right? We're not just dealing with witches here…"
"W-what do you mean?" Inui asks.
"Normally, you'd never see so many witches in one place, right?" Mio says.
"Yeah, Miss Ayumi is right," I say. "You might occasionally see two witches in a labyrinth, if you're unlucky enough to catch the moment where one witch tries to devour another… but five or six or however many there are in here? That's practically unheard of."
"Right!" Mio says. "It's her… that has to be it. Somehow, she can control witches!"
"Who?"
"There was another magical girl nearby," Futaba explains. "She wore, how should I describe it… a jester outfit, maybe?"
"Eh? Like Elly-tan!?"
That's Inui's nickname for Elise, not a reference to the Box Witch.
"I have no idea who that is," Mio says. "But right after she appeared and declared she was going to claim this territory as her own… that's when all those witches suddenly popped up out of nowhere. I have no idea where she is now, but…"
At that moment, I spot three more magical girls approaching through the labyrinth – Hitomi Lina, Akane Mai, and Saki Miyako. They've already transformed, too.
"What's going on?" Lina says. "We suddenly felt a strong witch's presence, but… is it my imagination, or is there more than one here?"
"Miss Hitomi, could you perhaps put up a barrier?" I suggest. "Otherwise we'll have to fight them all at once."
"Ah! That's a good idea!"
She does as I say, raising her stun baton and surrounding all of us with a barrier that crackles and shocks the lead witch as she slams into it. Then she seems to realize who said it.
"Huh? Wait… what are you three even doing here?" she asks. "Miss Taylor, Miss Sakura… have you decided to invade our territory?"
"No!" Futaba says. "They saved us!"
Lina glances at her.
"Even if that's true, the fact that they're here is suspicious," she says.
"I don't know what their motivations are," Mio says. "But they haven't said anything about invading… however, there's another magical girl somewhere nearby who did."
"Right! She said her name was… what was it again?" Futaba says.
"Yuuki Sasa, I think it was," Mio says. "She just walked up to us and declared this territory is hers now… and then those witches popped up out of nowhere. I think she must be able to control them somehow…"
"A magical girl controlling witches?" Lina says. "That's crazy…"
"Can't magic do pretty much anything?" I point out. "You don't have time to dismiss a possibility just because it seems crazy to you. More importantly, if we don't defeat these witches now, some of us will die."
I summon Teddy Mk II and a swarm of drones, reserving three drones to charge my attack while the others spread out to sow havoc amongst the witches. Kyouko watches them go.
"Huh… did you like, power up or something, Miss Taylor?"
"Who knows!" I say. "Maybe I always had that ability and just hadn't noticed."
"Right! We can deal with formalities later!" Lina says. "Our priority right now should be defeating all these witches! We'll focus on them one at a time and take them down!"
Kyouko said that Lina's not a good leader, but I don't think that's entirely true. She has some major flaws as a leader, but she does have the basics down. I watch her give her team orders like a commander while I charge my ultimate. Meanwhile, Kyouko picks a witch at random and lays into it all alone. In the end, it seems, the eight of us aren't fighting as a team at all – Kyouko is solo, I'm a duo with Inui, and Lina's team of five moves like clockwork. But that's probably better, anyway. If we tried to integrate into their team, we'd only get in each other's way, and it's not like there's a shortage of witches to bring down.
"By the way!" Kyouko shouts as she defeats her second witch of the day. "It's first come first served on the grief seeds, so no hard feelings, you got that?"
Lina's team are already on their second witch by this point.
"Yeah, whatever!" Lina shouts back.
After Inui and I finish off our fourth witch of the day, the labyrinth finally collapses, ejecting us all out into the real world right in front of a startled Sasa. She gapes at us.
"W-what!? How… how could you…?"
Then she spots the three extras.
"Oh, I see, you called in reinforcements! How sneaky! B-but I still have more witches at my command!"
She pulls out a grief seed, and it immediately hatches, creating a new labyrinth. But she only has time to summon the one witch before Inui gets to her.
"Look at me!" Inui shouts.
I dart forward and get behind Sasa, pressing my blade to her throat. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kyouko turning to face down the witch. Lina's team seems more interested in Sasa, however.
"W-wait, wait, wait wait!" Sasa gasps. "Don't kill me! I'm just doing what I can to survive as a magical girl! I'm sorry!"
"I don't really care what happens to you," I say. "And you'd better not try using your magic – otherwise I'll kill you right now. That said… I really don't like the idea of killing someone. Inui-chan… can you get her soul gem?"
"I see, so you'll take her powers away, is that the idea?" Lina asks. "Regardless of your motivations, I suppose I must thank you for the support, Miss Taylor."
Inui steps forward and uses a lick of flame to sever the end of the central tassel on Sasa's hat, catching the soul gem in her hand.
"So, what'll we do?" Inui asks. "Crush it, or keep it?"
"If you were listening to what I said just now, shouldn't that give you the answer?"
"True, I just thought maybe you were a bit too naïve," Inui says. "But what about the body?"
"W-what do you mean?" Sasa gasps. "Y-you're really gonna kill me after all?"
"No, I have no intention of ending your life," I reply. "Hmm… Miss Hitomi, do any of your team have healing magic?"
"Um, I do!" Futaba says.
"Then, could I ask you to take charge of Sasa's body, Miss Youko?" I ask.
"U-um… what do you mean by take charge?" Futaba asks.
"Just keep her in a safe place and use your healing magic on her a little bit each day," I say. "By a safe place, I mean where no-one would find her. You don't want to be arrested, after all."
"R-right…" Futaba says. "B-but I can't really think of a good place…"
"What are you planning to do with me!?" Sasa gasps.
"I'm going to give you a taste of oblivion," I say.
"Mai, you live alone, right?" Lina suggests. "So you could keep her at your place, and Futaba could come over whenever she's needed."
"That sounds good to me," I say. "Just try not to let anyone see you taking her body into your house."
"I just have one question," Lina says. "Why do you keep referring to 'Sasa's body' as if she's going to be killed? Aren't you just talking about imprisoning her?"
"Because I'll be taking her soul gem," I reply. "So the body will just be a body. I guess none of you are aware of this, but… if your body and soul gem are separated by more than one hundred metres, then you won't be able to do anything. From an outside perspective, it's as if you died."
"But you'll come back to life if they're brought back together," Inui adds. "So that's why we need you to take care of her body for us. I think Ashley-nee means to reunite them later."
Lina's team looks startled by this revelation, though I suspect they don't entirely believe me yet.
"Assuming what you say is true," Lina says. "How long do you plan to hold onto Miss Yuuki's soul gem?"
"I'm not sure," I say. "I'm open to suggestions, though."
"Hmm… she attacked us without warning or provocation," Lina muses. "How about… two weeks?"
"W-what!?" Sasa gasps. "That's not fair! I didn't even do anything, really!"
"No remorse at all… maybe you're beyond saving," I mutter. "But even so… I still have to try."
Without glancing back, I address Kyouko.
"Miss Sakura, how's that witch going?"
"Almost got her!" Kyouko says. "Don't worry about me!"
"In that case, Inui-chan and I will be heading back!" I say.
"So I guess we're even now, right?" Kyouko says. "Gotta say, I didn't expect your favour to net me so many grief seeds, so I guess I'll say thanks. Seeya!"
I look at Lina.
"You won't attack Miss Sakura, I hope?"
"As long as she leaves immediately and doesn't attack us first," Lina says. "We got several grief seeds as well, so all things considered, I suppose Miss Yuuki has unintentionally done us a favour."
"Okay… let's go, Inui-chan."
"Yes!"
I shove Sasa in Lina's direction, and we run off. We haven't gotten far when the barrier collapses, at which point we both power down. I keep an eye on them with my clairvoyance until we've passed the hundred metre limit and Sasa collapses. Kyouko seems to have run off already by that point, so she doesn't even notice. I'm not sure if she was listening when I told Lina's team what would happen.
"So… what should we do with that girl's soul gem?" Inui asks. "Just keep it in a drawer or something?"
"Um… well, I can't think of anything else, so sure," I say. "We'll return it in two weeks and see if she feels like apologizing and making amends… though I have a feeling she'll be unrepentant."
"She did seem like that sort of person," Inui says. "Kinda like the Sleepwalking Spectre… though at least she wasn't as strong."
"Well, I don't think she's quite like Yu, more of a narcissist than a psycho, but… sure."
"So we're going home now, right?"
"Not quite… we have a stop to make on the way back."
Inui and I gaze up for a couple of minutes at the small mansion that Oriko lives in. Finally, she speaks up.
"This was your stop?" she asks. "Who the heck lives here?"
"This is the home of Mikuni Oriko," I say.
"Eh? The Mikuni family? They're pretty awful people though…"
"Well, the real bad apple is the family head, Oriko's grandfather," I say. "Her aunt and uncle aren't so bad, and her deceased father really is a good guy."
"W-wait… wasn't there a scandal about a Mr Mikuni who hanged himself to get away from it?" Inui asks. "Is that her father? If that's the case, he's not really such a good guy…"
"Well, he was framed," I say. "That's the real reason he hanged himself."
"Ohhh… I see… but how do you even know that? Is that also something you learned in another timeline?"
"Something like that… anyway, let's go see if she's home."
We walk up and knock on the door. After a short waiting period, Oriko opens the door and peers out.
"Yes? How may I help you?" she asks.
"My name is Ashley Taylor," I say. "I was wondering if I might be able to make use of your unique skills."
I hold up my hand to show off the ring I'm wearing, having already confirmed that she has a similar one. It was a slight gamble – I wasn't quite sure when she made her contract – but it looks like I was worried for nothing. Her eyes widen a little, but then she nods.
"I suppose it can't hurt to hear you out," she says. "Come in, and I'll make you some tea."
She shows us into the living room like the last time we visited, and after a few minutes she comes out with tea and snacks. This time it's sugar cookies instead of madeleines, but they're the dual-coloured sugar cookies – half-white and half-chocolate, some square and checkered, others round and spiralled, even some with crosses like the first aid sign.
"So, what is it that you wish to talk about?" Oriko says. "What unique skills might you be referring to?"
"You can see visions of the future, right?"
She blinks. "The future, you say… even if that's true, how could you possibly know?"
After a moments' internal debate, I decide to come clean with the truth.
"I've come back in time," I reply. "From my perspective, this isn't the first time we've chatted."
"That is a hard claim to swallow," Oriko says. "Can you offer me any proof?"
"Hmm… well, I can tell you that there's a notebook in your father's study that contains information about his downfall that you were unaware of. I know this because you discovered it before I came back in time."
"I see," Oriko says. "You appear to be a magical girl too… is that your power?"
I shake my head. "No… I borrowed someone else's power," I say.
"So if we assume all you've said is the truth, then there's at least one other person who came back in time," Oriko says.
"That's true," I say. "However, I have no intention of sharing that person's identity."
"I suppose that's fair," Oriko says. "So, you wish to know what I've seen in the future, is that correct?"
"That would be a good start," I say.
"A terrible disaster is coming," Oriko says. "I'm not sure exactly when, but probably sometime during the summer, or May at the earliest, a witch more powerful than any seen before will be born. It is so powerful that its barrier will swallow up the entire planet. I have decided to devote myself to ensuring the witch never sees the light of day."
"W-whoa… a witch even more powerful than Walpurgisnacht!?" Inui gasps. "That's awful…"
"You've set yourself a noble goal, Miss Mikuni," I say. "However… I can't agree with your methods. Could I convince you to change them?"
Oriko tilts her head. "I have yet to settle on a method of attaining that goal," she says. "So I am open to any suggestions you may have… but it will be I who makes the final decision."
"Um… what method did you have in mind in the first place?" Inui asks.
"The only way I could come up with is to eliminate the seed of that witch's birth," Oriko says.
Inui blinks. "Huh? Wait… the seed of her birth means… isn't that just murder? You're just gonna kill that magical girl just because she might turn into the worst witch in history?"
Oriko blinks, then nods. "Yes. I see you are also aware of the true nature of magical girls, so that makes this easier. My current best plan is to kill that girl before Kyuubey can find her and make a contract with her."
"But are you aware that the girl in question has a powerful protector?" I ask. "Even you would have trouble defeating her. Oh, and I'm not offering my support to help you do so."
Oriko nods. "I did get some inkling of a protector in one of my visions," she says. "But I can get around the protector, if I must. Even so, if you have an alternate means to prevent the witch's birth, I shall listen… so could I ask you to start explaining now?"
I nod.
"Yeah, I don't have any method as foolproof as killing her, I'm afraid… but that method is only foolproof if you succeed, and I believe the chances of success are actually quite slim. The protector is already aware of your existence, and would most likely kill you proactively if she sensed any trace of interference from you."
"I assume you have a method in mind that at least still has a high probability of success," Oriko says.
"Of course," I nod. "In a word… befriend her."
Oriko blinks at me.
"Huh? How is that supposed to help?"
"First of all, in this timeline, that girl came back in time with me and remembers the truth," I say. "So it would take a dire situation to make her contract. Unfortunately, such a dire situation is all but inevitable, which means her contract is also all but inevitable. That said, the protector wishes for her to not contract, so once she does, that protector will disappear from the picture, allowing you to swoop in. As a friend, you can then keep an eye on her and ensure that she does not become a witch."
"So basically, I just need to destroy her soul gem if it ever seems the transformation cannot be prevented," Oriko says. "And if she trusts me, it should be easy to get close on a regular basis for that."
"Right, and you don't even need to hide your motives," I add. "I think she'd be happy to have someone to watch her back so she doesn't become a witch."
"Hmm… this doesn't seem like a very reliable plan, though," Oriko says. "Do you really think the chance of success is higher than with my original plan?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure of the chance of success for either plan," I say. "Neither of them is anything close to foolproof, not when you factor the protector into your original plan."
"If the protector truly disappears after that girl contracts, then perhaps it is more viable," Oriko muses. "There is no trickery to your plan… an open and straightforward approach. Still… I find it a bit hard to swallow. After all, there are bound to be innumerable openings when I am not with her, during which she could turn into a witch. Is it really more viable?"
"Neither method is very reliable, right?" I say. "But with the straightforward method, I think it will be easier to adjust your plans on the fly. I also know some measures that can be taken to reduce the chance of a witch transformation."
Oriko nods. "If nothing else… if she herself knows the fate of a magical girl, it is true that she is less likely to turn into a witch… surely anyone who knows would be more careful with their power. But what measures did you have in mind?"
"It would be possible to craft a magic weapon that helps her to control her magic better, so she doesn't use as much magic when she fights," I say. "If she uses less magic, the chance of unexpectedly running out is lower."
"But I do not know anyone who'd be capable of creating such a weapon," Oriko says.
"That's okay – I suggested it because I do know someone," I reply. "She would have to meet the girl in question herself… I'm not completely confident that she'd be willing to do it, but I think Miss Kaname is sufficiently similar to a certain other girl she used to know, so hopefully that's enough to convince her."
"I see… if you do not mind, I would like to pay this person a visit myself," Oriko says.
"Sure, I can give you her current address. It's actually not far away."
"And what else?" Oriko asks. "You said 'a few things', so I assume you have more than one."
"Of course. The second thing that I believe could help is an organization known as Puella Care. They specialize in magical girl treatments, sort of like doctors… you yourself would likely benefit from them too."
"And where might I find these people?" Oriko asks.
"There's a magical girl in Kamihama who's known as the Coordinator," I say. "I'm not sure if she's an official member of Puella Care, but she was personally trained by their leader, so she's your best bet in this area. Her name is Yakumo Mitama… I know how to get to her place, but I'm afraid I don't remember the address. However, she's well-known in Kamihama, so you should be able to ask any magical girl for directions. She'll expect a grief seed as payment for her services."
"Hmm… are you sure that this Coordinator can help?" Oriko asks.
"Not totally sure," I admit. "But I think it's worth a try… perhaps there's a treatment that can improve Miss Kaname's magical stamina. And… there's one more thing I had in mind, but this one's something of a long shot, and probably well outside your means."
"It can't hurt to say it anyway," Oriko says.
"Right… the basic idea is, eliminate witches from Mitakihara and place a barrier that keeps new witches out."
Oriko blinks. "But… wouldn't that have the exact opposite effect?"
"You'd probably have to fight witches outside of Mitakihara for a little while," I admit. "And you'd have to make sure all the other magical girls in Mitakihara are on board with it, so they don't accidentally ruin the plan by turning into witches. And of course… you need a way to create that barrier in the first place, which is undoubtedly the toughest part. Oh, and you'd probably need to keep Kyuubey out too, as it would definitely try to stop you. So, it really is a long shot. But if you can pull it off… then Mitakihara will produce a constant stream of grief seeds in greater numbers than you can imagine."
"I do not understand," Oriko says. "How could that be possible without witches?"
"There's a type of monster that can only spawn if there are no witches in the area," I say. "They appear in groups and drop large quantities of grief seeds when killed. I could've shown you the proof if I'd thought ahead a bit more, but… I've seen them myself, and the person I mentioned who could craft a weapon also knows quite a bit about them."
"I think I understand your proposal," Oriko says. "Your claims are quite incredible, but I can spare some time to verify them in my own way, and if it seems like they are plausible alternatives, then I will consider them."
"I guess that's all I can ask," I say. "I'll write down the address of that person… would you like my contact info as well?"
"I suppose it cannot hurt," Oriko agrees.
So I write down Pernelle's name and current address on a slip of paper, and then Oriko and I tap phones to exchange our contact info.
Two days after I had my little chat with Oriko, I watch after school as she's attacked by Kure Kirika and barely pulls off a win. Then, once I get back to the Hayashi house after hunting a witch with Inui, there's a story on the news about some politicians and ex-politicians who were found dead in their homes, among them Mikuni Shuuichiro and Yaegashi Kenzaburo. Inui is sitting beside me in the living room when it comes on, and she blinks.
"H-huh? Mikuni…? How is he related to Oriko?" she asks
"Her grandfather, I think."
"…think she did it? You did say he's probably the worst of them…"
"Most likely… I guess that's the choice she came to," I say.
"Maybe you shouldn't've told her about the notebook, Ashley-nee… in a way, this is also your fault now."
Maybe I won't tell her, next time… or I'll wait awhile before telling her. After all, last time she decided to let Mr Yaegashi live.
"Yeah… you're right," I say.
At that moment, Komachi and Hiyori come in, returning from their afternoon witch hunt.
"We're home!" they call out.
"Welcome home!" Mrs Hayashi calls from somewhere in the house.
The two of them then come into the living room.
"By the way, Hiyori-chan," I say. "Did you manage to talk with Miss Kure at all like I asked last week?"
Hiyori nods. "I ate lunch with her three days in a row, but today she skipped school again. We didn't talk that much, but… I did my best."
"And she wasn't a magical girl last week?"
Hiyori shakes her head. "No, she wasn't."
"Which means in previous timelines she must've made a contract sometime between Friday lunch and today after school," I muse. "Since I clearly saw her attack Oriko earlier today, and she was definitely a magical girl… and that also means just getting close to her like you did won't be enough…"
"Why exactly do you want her not to become a magical girl, Ashley-chan?" Hiyori asks.
"Well… it's not that I don't want her to, but… it's for her sake in a way," I say. "Her wish destroys her free will and makes her utterly dependent on Oriko…"
"Ah, that's… not good," Hiyori says. "But Ashley-nee… you know this is partly your fault too, right?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well… you didn't give me enough information," Hiyori says. "All you said was 'try to make friends by the end of the week'. You didn't say anything about her wish…"
"Um… yeah, you're right," I say. "I'm sorry… I had a lot on my mind Wednesday morning… and of course, I hadn't yet told you about the time travel, so that might've been a barrier too…"
The next day, Oriko has a picnic under the moonlight where she's unexpectedly joined by Chitose Yuma, who has not contracted at this point in time. Then the day after that, she encounters Asako Komaki in a labyrinth, but like last time, she chooses not to reveal her status as a magical girl. Then, later that night, I watch as Kazumi and the Pleiades Saints defeat the witch Alexandra. This time, however, Moe does not show up at all, and they go home afterwards without any hostile interruptions. It must be because Remi and Hijiri explained things to Moe.
And over the weekend, I check in on the Asunaro situation a few times. I see Hijiri defeating the Souju twins, and I briefly watch Pernelle, Yuuri, and Airi fighting that witch. This is the first time I've actually looked in on that battle, so I'm startled to see that the witch they're fighting is Lucy – the Tokime's Wavering Deity, or rather, one of her matured familiars. I guess those familiars have spread all over. Unlike the last two times, Tamura doesn't pay me a visit… perhaps she just didn't see any visions she thought were worth sharing this time.
Then April comes, and Inui and I help Kuroe and Iroha defeat Nikola. This time Iroha claims she's been a magical girl for two weeks, so even without me doing anything, it would seem the timing of her contracting is slowly slipping backwards. Although, there are those hundred or so timelines I missed, so maybe it's actually slipped as far back as it ever will without interference. Still, it's probably far enough. Two weeks before April first is almost the beginning of the time loop – it's the same day I saved Inui from becoming a witch.
Just a couple days after defeating Nikola, it's time to return Sasa's soul gem to her and see how she'll react. I take her soul gem and head south with Inui to meet the five of them at the same place as before. This time we're the first to arrive, so we stand around and wait.
Lina shows up alone a couple of minutes later and spots us, shooting me a look.
"You… Miss Taylor," she says. "What are you doing here?"
"Huh? Didn't I say I'd be back in two weeks?" I point out.
Lina glares at me.
"That's true, but you never said anything about turning Miss Yuuki into a corpse," she retorts.
"I'm quite sure you would've eventually decided to kill her if I didn't help you out that time," I say. "But in this case, she's very much alive. That's why I'm here. And it's not like I didn't explain things… I clearly told you what to expect."
"Well, I can't say I really believed you," Lina says. "I said we should dump her, but Futaba-chan insisted you wouldn't've asked her to heal her if she was dead, so as we discussed, she's at Mai's place."
"Care to show me the way?" I ask.
"No," Lina says. "Mai and Futaba-chan will show you. I'll go hunting with Mio and Miyako. I don't wanna go anywhere near that girl."
"I guess that's good enough," I say.
We wait a bit longer for the others to show up. Miyako appears first, followed by Mio and Futaba together, and finally Mai. They all seem a little surprised to see Inui and me there, but no-one says anything.
"Mai, you know what to do," Lina says. "Futaba-chan, you go with them. Miyako and Mio, let's go hunting."
"But what if Futaba-chan's in danger?" Mio asks.
"Mai will be with her, so don't worry," Lina says.
"I will be sure to protect her from any danger," Mai agrees.
"L-let's go then," Miyako says, glancing at me nervously.
The three of them turn and head off, and I watch them go.
"What's up with Lina and Miyako, anyway?" I ask.
"You really don't know?" Mai says. "Well, whatever. All I want is to get rid of this corpse taking up space in my house. It's over here."
"I'm telling you, she can't be dead!" Futaba says. "Why would Miss Taylor tell me to heal her every day if she was dead!?"
"Well, Mai is right though," I say. "There's no life in Miss Yuuki's body… but that's because I'm holding her life in my hands."
Mai leads us to a small four-storey apartment building and takes us to an apartment on the fourth floor. It's a two-room apartment, with one room set up as living quarters. There's no kitchen area, but Mai does appear to have a rice cooker plugged into a corner wall outlet. She leads us into the second room, which appears to be used primarily as storage. Yuuki Sasa's body is laid out in the centre of the room, her hands laid on her chest. I notice that one of her middle fingers still bears a faint mark, an orange theatrical mask with a comic expression. So the mark only disappears if the soul is either destroyed or has found a new body, then.
"Just to be on the safe side, could I ask you to tie her hands and feet, Miss Futaba?" I ask. "If I recall correctly, you were using vines when we fought her witches before."
"R-right," Futaba says. "I'll try…"
"What's the point of that?" Mai asks.
She transforms and kneels next to the body. Within a few seconds, thick vines spawned and coiled themselves around Sasa's ankles and wrists
"I think Sasa's mind control magic requires physical contact," I say. "So it's a precaution against her taking control of us. Inui-chan… if you could wait in the other room and be ready to use charm if things go bad, that would be appreciated."
"Got it," Inui says.
Futaba gets up and backs away from the body, and I kneel beside it and tuck the soul gem between Sana's hands before also rising and backing away. Several seconds pass with no visible effect, but then I notice the mark on her fingernail seems less faint.
"Are… are you sure she's going to come back to life?" Futaba asks anxiously.
"I'm about eighty percent sure," I say.
"Only eighty percent!?" Futaba gasps. "You did this on such an unreliable hunch!?"
"Well, I've seen girls who were separated for longer get revived," I say. "The only problem is, those girls' bodies were preserved in a different way, and I'm not sure how that would affect this process."
"B-but that means… we might've killed her…?"
However, at that moment, Sasa suddenly convulses and gasps for breath.
"Sh-she's alive!?" Mai gasps.
"W-whoa!" Futaba gasps. "It really was true! I told you so!"
"W-where am I!?" Sasa gasps. "What is this place!?"
"You're in my apartment," Mai says. "You've been out of it for two weeks."
"Um, how do you feel, Miss Yuuki?" Futaba asks anxiously.
"The hell kinda question is that!?" Sasa gasps. "I feel terrible! Two weeks!? W-what happened to… to my…"
She trails off, leaving the sentence unfinished.
"Your family?" I suggest.
"R-right…" Sasa says.
"If you're wondering about your family, um… I never heard anything on the news," Mai says.
"Ah… come to think of it, I made them forget about me," Sasa muses. "That shitty family doesn't deserve an awesome daughter like me, anyway."
"So you don't like your family, huh?" I say. "But then… if that's the case, why is it that they're the first thing you ask about?"
"Idiot!" Sasa retorts. "I've been missing for two weeks! Who else would've noticed, huh!?"
"I suppose you made your classmates and teachers forget about you too?" I ask.
"Well duh," Sasa retorts. "Those guys were even worse than Mom and Dad."
"So you're telling me you were bullied by your classmates," I say.
"No!" Sasa retorts. "They just couldn't see how great I was!"
"Um… okay then?"
"So what's your deal, stupid?" Sasa asks. "You gonna let me go or what? I thought you said the deal was two weeks, didn't you?"
"That's assuming we can trust you not to attack anyone again," I retort.
"The hell!?" Sasa gasps. "You telling me you lied to me!?"
"No, I'm totally ready to let you go," I reply. "There are just some… conditions to it."
"Why should I agree to any conditions?" Sasa retorts. "Everyone better than me will obey me anyway, so what difference does it make?"
"Isn't that a contradiction?" I point out. "I thought you believed yourself to be better than anyone, so wouldn't that mean no-one should obey you?"
"Th-that's not how it works!" Sasa gasps. "It's the people who are better at me at one thing! It doesn't mean they're better overall!"
"Huh, is that how it works," I say. "Still, that's an attitude that won't make me want to let you go."
"Please, I beg you!" Sasa says. "I'll change! I'll do anything you ask, just… let me… let me live!"
I raise my eyebrows. "You'll do anything I ask, is that correct!?"
"Y-yes, almost anything!" Sasa says.
"Well, the one thing I want is for you to promise not to attack magical girls again," I say.
"I promise!" Sasa says. "I won't attack anyone except witches!"
"And I also want you to promise not to feed ordinary people to witches," I add.
"I… I… I'll promise that too!" Sasa says. "Just… just let me go!"
I nod slowly. "Well… on the face of things, it seems like that's enough to let you go," I say.
"Th-then… these ropes…?"
"But there's just one problem," I say. "I get that you've promised, but how do I know you'll keep those promises?"
Sasa blinks at me. "E-ehh? B-because I… because I promised…"
"But aren't you the type of person to say whatever you think will get you out of a given situation?" I point out. "I can't read much sincerity into your promises."
"Th-then… what would you have me do!?" Sasa screams. "Would you rather kill me!?"
"I'm ready to kill her, if that's what you think is best," Mai says.
"Honestly, I don't like the idea of killing a person," I say. "Even someone like Miss Yuuki… heck, even against the Sleepwalking Spectre, I was hesitant."
Inui blinks. "Eh? Were you the one who killed her?"
"Well, not this time," I say. "Anyway, that's beside the point."
"Do you have any alternatives?" Mai asks.
"I do have one idea… the question is whether I can convince Sasa to do it," I say.
"I'll do anything!" Sasa says desperately.
"Would you use your own power on yourself?" I ask.
Sasa blinks at me, startled. "Th-that depends…"
"Hmm… something like…" I trail off, thinking for a bit. "Say you ventured to Mitakihara to get away from Lina and her team and ran into a magical girl in black," I say. "She turned out to be immune to your power and was about to kill you when I stepped in to save your life. Because of that, you're eternally grateful to me… something like that?"
Mai and Futaba look at me in surprise.
"That… that didn't actually happen, right?" Futaba asks.
"Well, it could've happened," I say. "If I hadn't showed up two weeks ago, and the five of you had barely driven her off, then… things might've played out similar to that."
"But then, you're telling her to give herself fake memories," Futaba says. "Isn't that… a little cruel?"
"I suppose it could be," I say. "But I have two counterpoints for you. First, it's far less cruel than what she planned to do to all of you, and second, if she does it voluntarily—"
"It's not exactly voluntary if the choice is that or death," Futaba retorts.
"Hmm… I guess you do have a point there," I say. "But do you have a better suggestion? I'm all ears."
"I… I can't think of anything," Futaba says.
"Ugh," Sasa says. "If I did that… would you really let me go?"
"Hold on," Mai says. "Even if she says she did it… how do we know she's telling the truth?"
I blink. "Ah, you have a good point…"
"The best thing would be to have someone else with a similar power who we can trust," Mai says. "But I have no idea where we'd find someone like that…"
"Actually, come to think of it, I do know a couple others with that kind of power," I muse. "The only problem is the trust part… Hinata Kagari definitely can't be trusted, and Kure Kirika probably doesn't even realize she has that power…"
"Then we don't have much choice," Mai says. "I don't really like it, but it's not like she's all that strong, so if she lies and says she did it and then returns to her old ways, we can just hunt her down, right?"
"I guess that's true," I say. "Okay, Miss Yuuki, here's the conditions to be allowed to go free. First, alter your memories like I described. Second, promise once again that you won't attack magical girls or feed humans to witches. Is that acceptable?"
"It's not fair!" Sasa complains. "You're just gonna kill me if I don't agree, right? You're not leaving me any choice here!"
"That's kinda the point," I say. "But it's not like I'm asking you to rewrite your whole personality or anything… plus, the only reason I'm asking this much is because you've shown me you can't be trusted. If there's another way to hold you to those promises, I'm open to it."
"But how am I supposed to make my pets stronger!?" Sasa protests.
"What makes you think they can only get stronger by eating humans?" I ask. "Witches can absorb emotional energy from the air, you know. In other words, they'll slowly get stronger even if they don't eat any humans."
"Huh? Is that really true!?"
"Or you could feed them other witches," I add.
Sasa glares at me.
"I really hate you, you know."
"I kinda expected as much," I reply.
The girl continues glaring at me. Eventually, she shakes her head.
"I don't wanna die, but I just can't do what you ask," she says. "Come at me, then!"
I guess… this means I have to kill her? I pull out my sword and point it at her forehead. I didn't really want to do this though… sure, I was all ready to kill Yu, but she's a literal serial killer. It's easier to shut off my empathy when the enemy kills over and over without remorse, to the point of even boasting about it. Well, boasting isn't even right… she just states it as if it's obvious. Sasa on the other hand… she's killed people in some timelines at least, but…
At that point, a completely unexpected development takes the decision out of my hands. Contrary to my desires, I spin to face Mai and Futaba, who look at me, startled. It's Ashley seizing control out of nowhere.
"I've had enough of this farce!" Ashley shouts. "You two… don't try to stop me."
"E-eh!?" Futaba gasps. "W-what's… going on…? I… I can't move…?"
Ashley spins to face Sasa again, cutting her bonds with two flicks of her sword, then steps aside.
"Go, before I change my mind," she says. "And don't even think about using your powers on us!"
Sasa stares at me… us? … for about ten seconds. Then she jumps to her feet and transforms. At the same moment, Inui slides the door open.
"Look at me!"
Sasa freezes up, affected by Inui's charm just like Mai and Futaba have been affected by my… our charm. Ashley turns to face her.
"Are you going to get in my way here, Inui-chan?" Ashley asks.
"Isn't that what you asked me to do, Ashley-nee?" Inui retorts. "You wanted me to step in if Sasa-tan took control of your mind, didn't you?"
"That's true," Ashley says. "But I've decided this on my own. I'm not under Miss Yuuki's influence."
"Can you prove it?" Inui retorts. "From where I'm standing, it sure looks like you are… suddenly changing your mind and letting her go? That's exactly what you'd do if under her influence, isn't it?"
We glare at each other for a good five seconds, during which time the charm on Mai and Futaba wears off. Mai transforms and leaps at Ashley, who jumps back and also transforms, meeting Mai's sword with her own.
"Enough!" Ashley shouts. "Teddy Circle!"
Mai blinks and steps back, looking confused. Inui crosses her arms in front of her, glaring at her.
"Don't think you can use your charm on me, Ashley-nee!" she shouts. "I have that same power! I won't be charmed so easily! Look at me now and tell me you're really you!"
I can sense Inui activating her charm, but it seems Ashley manages to avoid it somehow, probably similar to how Inui avoided ours. I try to take control back from Ashley, but to no avail.
"What the hell is going on now!?" Sasa suddenly shouts. "You're suddenly fighting amongst yourselves!?"
"I don't get it!" Mai agrees. "You were the one most in favour of this, weren't you?"
"That wasn't me," Ashley retorts. "This was all Chelsea's idea to begin with… I was going to go along with it, but… I won't become a murderer. Nor even an accessory to murder."
I manage to take back enough control to speak.
"You didn't complain when it was Yu!" I shout.
"Yu's an exception," Ashley says.
"But Sasa-tan's just as bad as Yu, isn't she?" Inui protests. "She was going to kill all of Lina-chi's friends!"
"She's completely different!" Ashley shouts. "I've seen two of the ways her plotting can turn out, and they were both terrible, but neither of them comes close to the level of monster that Yu is! She doesn't deserve to die just because she made some terrible choices!"
"U-um… so, we're going to let her go, right?" Futaba suddenly speaks up.
Everyone turns to her in surprise, starting with Mai. Even Sasa gives her an incredulous look.
"You're only saying that because you've been charmed, right?" Inui says.
Futaba blinks. "Ah… um… am I? I'm not sure…"
"All three of you should be charmed," Ashley says. "I… this is the first time I've actually used magic, but… I've watched Chelsea doing it all this time, and I'm pretty sure I can still sense my magic on you."
For her first time using magic though, it's kind of strange that it's magic that I myself have never performed. How exactly did that happen, I wonder?
"But even so," Futaba says. "I don't like the idea of killing people either… not even if they tried to kill me. If it was in self-defence and I had no choice, maybe that would be different, but that's not what this is! Even if I'm charmed… I don't think it would change how I feel about that!"
"Charm only affects how you feel about the person who charmed you," Inui says. "So… it probably wouldn't affect your opinion on something like that unless you were on the fence to begin with…"
"There, you see?" Futaba says.
She turns to face Sasa.
"Miss Yuuki, instead of fighting with us, why don't we become friends?"
"E-eh!?" Sasa gasps. "I don't need friends! Especially not people who are stronger or smarter than me! Those people should just be my slaves!"
"But what about people who aren't stronger or smarter than you?" Futaba asks. "I'm not very strong, and I'm probably not the smartest girl around either… but I'd really like to have another friend."
"Not happening," Sasa retorts. "There's no way I could ever get along with Lina's group."
"I… I see," Futaba says. "B-but it's not like you'd have to… you could just be my friend! I could take turns joining you or Lina in witch hunts!"
Sasa blinks. "Why the hell do you want to be my friend so badly!?" she shouts. "Are you trying to get close to me so you can kill me?"
"I'd never do something like that!" Futaba shouts.
Sasa tilts her head. "If you wanna be my friend, you gotta call me Lady Sasa, is that alright with you?"
"Ah! So you want to be on a first-name basis, Lady Sasa?" Futaba gasps. "I-in that case, please call me Futaba-chan!"
Sasa blinks. "Eh? Um… what? Well… no, I can't do that."
"Eh? Why not?" Futaba asks.
"I can't address someone beneath me with chan," Sasa retorts. "So you'll have to make do with just Futaba."
"That's fine!" Futaba says.
"Um… are you sure you're okay with this, Futaba?" Mai asks.
"I've been thinking ever since that time," Futaba says. "Wondering if we could be friends… wondering if there was some other way… so I'm sure. I think this is the best outcome!"
She steps forward and grabs one of Sasa's hands in both her own.
"From now on, Lady Sasa, let's do all sorts of things together!"
"H-hold on!" Ashley says. "If you do that, she'll take control of your mind!"
Sasa shoots me a glare.
"What a pain you are," she retorts. "Why would I need to waste magic on someone who's already willingly become my minion? Are you an idiot or something? Come on, Futaba, let's get out of here."
She pulls away from Futaba's grasp, although the other girl manages to retain a grip on her hand, and steps towards the door.
"Not so fast!" Mai says.
She jumps in front, holding her sword and preparing for a slash.
"Don't do it!" Ashley shouts.
"Look at me!" Inui shouts.
Mai is hit with both charms at the same time, which causes her to twitch, stumble, and fall to the ground. Inui steps aside as Sasa practically drags Futaba out of the room. Once they're gone, I finally regain control of our body and power down, stowing the sword away.
"Sorry about that mess," I say. "I didn't expect Ashley to outright rebel against my plans…"
"It's okay, Ashley-nee," Inui says. "I don't think it was the wrong thing to do."
"Think it was the right thing though?" I ask. "I'm pretty worried about Miss Youko now…"
"Yeah, well, I'm really not sure…"
I kneel by Mai and poke her.
"Are you okay, Miss Akane?"
Mai blinks at me.
"Um… I think so," she says. "For a bit there I was just… overwhelmed by… strange feelings."
"I'm sorry for charming you," I say. "It really wasn't my plan to just let Miss Yuuki go like that…"
"I think I kind of get what happened," Mai says. "You have a dual personality, don't you?"
"That's pretty much the situation," I say.
Mai sighs. "Well, I don't like this reesult one bit, but… what's done is done," she says. "All I can do now is keep an eye on those two. That said… I hope Mio will be okay. She's the closest to Futaba, so if anything happens…"
"Yeah, if Sasa does use her mind control, then Mio would be a sitting duck," I say. "Who better to send as an assassin than the person's closest friend?"
Mai blinks. "That's a good point…"
"Somehow, I don't think it'll come to that," Inui speaks up. "Her wording notwithstanding, I think Sasa was actually very happy to have someone who wanted to be her friend."
Mai and I both look at her incredulously.
"But she was clearly treating it as a subservient relationship," Mai says.
"Yeah, she called Miss Youko a minion, right?"
"But she also said she didn't need to use her magic on Futaba," Inui points out. "And like I said, I don't think she meant any of that the way she said it. I bet she never had a real friend before now. She just doesn't know how to treat a friend."
"Well… I don't want to tell Mio to be wary of Futaba," Mai says. "So instead, I'll stick to Mio for awhile and see how things go."
"Let me know if something bad happens," I say. "I'll give you my contact info."
I take out my phone, and Mai locates hers in the next room, and we tap them together, hearing the beep that indicates an exchange of contact info.
"I'll warn Lina and Miyako to be careful too," Mai says. "As for you… to be honest, I don't think I want to see you again, but if worst comes to worst, I'll contact you."
"In that case, farewell," I say.
I take Inui's hand, and we leave Mai's apartment together.
"Are you satisfied with this outcome, Ashley-nee?" Inui asks.
"I have no answer to that question," I say. "I don't know what to think about this outcome."
"Well… I don't think it'll come to the worst," Inui says. "Have a bit of faith in Fuba-chi, okay?"
"I guess."
Still, Ashley's betrayal came as a surprise. It's the first time she's been so proactive about something, and also the first time she's managed to seize control of my body against my will. Well, I guess it's actually her body, but still. Do I need to start worrying about her as well? I really hope that's not the case. All that said, I can't deny I felt a bit relieved not having to kill Sasa. Was that hesitation the reason she was able to seize control, I wonder?
I can't decide whether to thank her or curse her.
This chapter was delayed because I got stuck on Sasa's characterization, but eventually I decided to give her a slight tsundere shade, so here it is. Will things really be okay like this? I suppose we'll find out in a few chapters…
And we finally get almost-incontrovertible confirmation of Mary's true identity, although I think I was pretty obvious about it so I'm sure many of you already guessed. I suppose that's probably why she came in last in the reader's poll from chapter 43, since she's the only one of the three who's a real historical figure.
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.
Ayumi Mio
歩美緒
Age: 16
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Kazamino, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Orange magatama (like half the yin-yang)
Soul Gem: Orange circular gem on her chest, usually hidden under her cape
Element: Fire
Weapon: Sword and shield
Powers: Chains
Wish: "I want the people who did this to be caught and punished."
Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 7
Offensive Power: 7
Defensive Power: 3
Initial Power Usability: 6
Learned Powers: 2
Youko Futaba
妖孤双葉
Age: 16
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Light brown
Origins: Kazamino, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Green five-petalled flower
Soul Gem: Green flower-shaped gem on her hat
Element: Forest
Weapon: Spade
Powers: Plant growth
Wish: "Please restore my flower garden!"
Speed: 2
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 5
Defensive Power: 5
Initial Power Usability: 6
Learned Powers: 1