Japan, southeast Kishuu Domain. Year 10 of the Tenshou Era.

She ran.

Through the long grass, down the hill, giggling a little.

"Saki, wait up!"

He chased her, scrambling to keep up without giving into gravity and falling into a tumble.

"Nuh-uh!" she said without stopping. "There's no better time!"

"But Saki, they'll get mad if they find we're missing!" the boy said.

"They'll never know we were gone, big brother!" Saki said. "The young masters are training, and her ladyship is taking an afternoon nap! It's the perfect time to sneak out!"

"Ugh, why won't you ever listen to me!?" the boy groaned.

Saki reached the road and spun to face him, grinning cheekily.

"It's only because you say things that don't make sense, big brother!" she said, sticking her tongue out.

Then she spun and stepped out onto the road, straight into the path of someone who'd just come walking by.

"Oof!" Saki gasped.

"Whoa!" the stranger said, a woman's voice. "Be careful!"

The woman caught her before she fell, and Saki looked up at her curiously. She was unusually tall, dressed in unfamiliar clothing, with a hooded cloak partially concealing her face. However, Saki could see her clearly from up close. Although her hair was black like everyone else's, the shape of her face, particularly the eyes, seemed different.

"Um, sorry about that, miss," the boy said.

The woman knelt down to bring her face closer to the two of them.

"Don't worry," she said. "It didn't hurt at all. What are your names?"

"I'm Saki!"

"Um… my name is Noboru…"

"Saki and Noboru, you say… what are you doing all the way out here?"

"We were on our way to the apothecary to get Mother a tincture for her cough!" Saki said.

"Oh? What a coincidence," the woman said. "I was going to look for an apothecary too. Why don't you show me the way?"

"We shouldn't just go along with a random stranger!" Noboru protested.

"We're not going along with her, big brother!" Saki retorted. "She's going along with us!"

"That's the same thing though," Noboru said with a sigh.

Saki hopped a few steps forward and turned to face the woman.

"It's right over this way!" she said.

The three of them fell in step, and as they walked, Saki bombarded the woman with questions.

"Where do you come from, miss?" she asked. "Oh and what's your name?"

"My name is Pernelle," the woman said. "And I come from a place called Paris. It's very, very far away from here."

"Pere…neru?" Saki asked, trying and failing to pronounce her name.

Pernelle chuckled. "Close enough, I guess."

"Are you a foreigner, then?" Saki asked. "You do look kinda funny. Why did you come here?"

"Yes, you're correct," Pernelle said. "I'm on a journey to study herbalism and alchemy of other countries."

"Is someone sick then?" Saki asked. "Since you wanted an apothecary."

"No… no-one I know of, at least," Pernelle said. "I want to learn from them, if I may."

"Oh… are you an apothecary too?"

"Not exactly," Pernelle said. "I'm what you might call a natural philosopher. I seek to unearth all of Nature's secrets. Whether it be alchemy, geometry, medicine, astronomy, or magic, I want to know it all."

"Ooooh, that sounds amazing!" Saki said. "You mentioned magic… are you a sorceress as well?"

Pernelle chuckled. "You could say that," she said.

"Can you show me some magic?" Saki said eagerly.

"Saki, no!" Noboru cut in. "That's too dangerous!"

Pernelle shrugged. "It won't hurt, Noboru," she said. "Let me see…"

She cast her eyes around for a few seconds, then stooped to pick up a stone from the ground, about the size of her fist and a little oblong. She offered it to Saki, who took it in confusion.

"Eh? What?"

"It's just an ordinary rock, right?" Pernelle said.

"Yes… nothing special about it," Saki said. "Why'd you give it to me?"

"So you could be sure I wasn't lying," Pernelle said. "It really is just an ordinary rock, and now you've seen that fact with your own eyes, and felt it with your own hands."

She plucked the rock from Saki's hands, glanced around once more to be sure no-one was watching, and then… the rock changed, shifting shape, form, and colour, to become a single red rose, which Pernelle handed to Saki, who had gasped at the spectacle.

"W-what…? It's… not a rock anymore…?"

"W-what sort of trick did you use!?" Noboru asked suspiciously.

Pernelle shrugged. "No trick. Just a little transmutation."

"That was amazing!" Saki said. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Pernelle shook her head. "Sorry. I've taught people before, but they had magic already. I don't know any way to teach magic from scratch, and I have never known anyone who learned magic in that way."

Saki blinked. "Huh? But then… how else would you learn magic?"

"It's best that you don't—"

At that moment, a strange white creature emerged from the bushes and stepped out onto the path. It looked like a strange cross between a fox and a cat, pure white with a cute yet slightly creepy-looking face – those perfectly round red eyes stared at Saki. There were two weird appendages emerging from its ears, almost like hands, though lacking thumbs. As she turned towards it, Pernelle glanced sharply at her.

"You could make a contract with me and become a magical girl," the creature said.

"Eh!?" Saki gasped.

But before she could respond further, Pernelle stomped on the creature with her foot, cleaving it in two and leaving a deep print in the ground.

"Huh!? Why'd you kill it!?" Saki gasped.

"Eh? Kill what?" Noboru asked, confused.

"That strange fox-like creature!" Saki said.

"I don't see any fox-like creature…" Noboru said.

Pernelle sighed.

"Well, I was about to say it's best that you don't know, but in light of this new development, I suppose I'll have to eat my words… but let's get to the apothecary first, okay?"

"R-right…"

Before they could continue their walk, though, a second of the creatures emerged from the bushes.

"That wasn't very nice, Pernelle," it said. "Didn't we work together to defeat Isabeau? I thought you would've been more grateful for that."

"That was that and this is this," Pernelle said. "I can't control what you do outside of my sight, but I will not allow you to trick young girls where I can see you. Saki, let's hurry."

"O-okay," Saki said.

Noboru looked at the two of them in confusion as they resumed walking.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"To put it simply, there was a being who you could not see, but the two of us could," Pernelle said.

"Like a youkai?" Noboru asked.

"I'm not familiar with that term," Pernelle said.

"Um, it means, um… hmm," Noboru mused. "Like ayakashi, or mononoke, or bakemono… or a spirit… or an ogre, tengu, youko, or akuma…"

"It's hard to tell when you define it mostly in terms of other words I'm also unfamiliar with," Pernelle said. "But it does sound like it might fit."

"Then you can see them?" Noboru asked.

"No, I've never seen any other creatures that fit your description, just this one," Pernelle said.

Saki glanced back as her brother questioned the woman, and noticed the creature just as it finished consuming the corpse of its brethren.

"Ew…" she said. "It just ate the one you killed…"

"Yeah, they do that," Pernelle said.

Silence fell for nearly a minute as they continued walking, during which time they began to pass other townspeople as they neared the town square. One or two of them even nodded to the kids in recognition.

"Anyway… the apothecary is just around that corner!" Saki said.

They slid the door open and stepped into the dark interior of the apothecary, Pernelle stooping a little to get through. The walls were filled with dried herbs, bottles of concoctions, and pickled ingredients. A man sat behind a table at the back, working at a mortar and pestle. He looked up as they entered.

"Ah, it's Saki and Noboru!" he said. "Come in, come in! How's your mother doing?"

"She's still coughing," Saki said mournfully. "Though it seems to be less than before, I think?"

"Then you'd like another tincture, right?" the man said. "I'll see how much I can spare."

"Thank you very much, Masanobu," Noboru said.

Noboru grabbed an empty vial and disappeared into the back room for a minute. When he returned, the vial was half filled with a dark liquid and capped off with a stopper. He passed it to Saki with a smile.

"Give that to her in two doses," he said. "Half when you get back, and the rest tomorrow morning."

"Mind if I see?" Pernelle asked.

"Sure," Saki said.

She passed the vial to Pernelle, who unstopped it, sniffed it, then even dabbed a finger in and tasted it.

"Oh? Honey, ginger, and… is that anise I taste?" Pernelle mused. "With alcohol to draw out the flavours… a strong rice wine, if I'm not mistaken. And something sour that's vaguely familiar…"

"I don't know what you mean by anise," Masanobu said. "By the way… who are you?"

Pernelle recapped the vial and handed it to Saki.

"Ah, I never introduced myself, did I?" she said. "I'm Pernelle, a traveller. I'd love to have a chat about medicine with you sometime."

"You're travelling alone?" Masanobu said, surprised. "A weak-looking woman like yourself?"

"No, I left my husband at the inn," Pernelle said. "Although I doubt he's still there… probably marvelling at the local calligraphy somewhere, or maybe wandering around taking soil or vegetation samples…" She shrugged. "But also, I'm not as weak as I look. That aside… would you mind confirming the ingredients of that tincture?"

"That one's a fairly standard concoction, so sure," Masanobu said. "Dissolve powdered ginger and hakkaku in rice wine, add some daidai juice, then sweeten it with honey."

"What are hakkaku and daidai?" Pernelle asked.

"I can show you," Masanobu said.

He got up from his seat and located a box of a small brown things shaped like an eight-pointed star.

"This is hakkaku," he said.

Pernelle plucked one up for a moment to sniff it.

"So that's where the anise flavour comes from," she mused.

She put it back, then waited as the man located an orange and showed it to her.

"And this is daidai," he said.

"I thought that was called mikan?" Pernelle said.

The man shook his head. "They are similar in appearance, but mikan is sweet while this is sour."

"Oh, I see… like the 'Seville orange' used for marmalade," Pernelle said, nodding. "I guess lemons are uncommon in these parts."

"Saki, we should hurry back," Noboru spoke up. "If they notice we're gone…"

"Alright, fine," Saki said. "We got what we came for, so I guess we have to go back."

"I'll walk you back," Pernelle said. "Masanobu, I'll drop by again later for a chat."

"Sure…" he said.

Saki led the way, taking the main street back out from the town centre, leaving the town entirely.

"So, about magic," Pernelle said once they were out of the town. "The only way I know of to gain magic is to make a deal with a devil. Saki, how old are you, exactly?"

"I'm not quite sure," Saki said. "Around twelve years, I guess?"

Pernelle nodded. "That creature will likely speak to you again, but don't be fooled by its promise of magical powers. Ask questions, figure out what it's hiding from you, and if you still think it's worth the price… then I won't try to stop you."

"Okay," Saki said.

"By the way, what's wrong with your mother?" Pernelle asked.

"Um… she has a cough and a fever," Saki said. "It's been getting worse lately, though…"

"Cough and fever… I suppose pneumonia would be the first guess," Pernelle mused.

"Yeah, that's what Masanobu said too!" Saki said.

"But cough and fever is also pretty vague… it could be any number of things," Pernelle continued. "The common cold, influenza, consumption… those are just a few things that share similar symptoms. Did Masanobu examine your mother?"

"No… he'd never be allowed in the castle just to examine a servant," Saki said. "And she hasn't gotten permission to leave and visit him…"

"Well, how about I take a look for you, then?" she suggested. "I'm no physician, but I've read a number of medical texts, so perhaps I can help."

"But they probably won't let you in either!" Saki protested.

"Don't worry about that," Pernelle said. "Just show me where your mother is. She's in the castle, right?"

"Yeah…"

Pernelle looked around to make sure no-one else was watching, then transformed into a long white robe and grabbed Saki's and Noboru's hands, climbing up an invisible stairway into the air. Or… it actually wasn't quite invisible. There were shimmering circles in the air which they stepped on. Before long, they had a good view of the whole castle from the air.

"Where in the castle is she?"

Saki pointed to the southeast corner.

"And it looks like it's two storeys… is she on the top floor or the bottom?"

"Bottom…"

"What's it like down there? Small rooms, large rooms…"

"That's the servants' quarters," Saki said. "Mostly really small bedrooms, but a bit further that way there's a big room where all the supplies are kept."

"That sounds like it should be good enough," Pernelle said. "I've never ended up in the middle of a wall before, so I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Huh?" Saki said. "Ehhh!?"

They were in what looked like a pantry, right next to a shelf filled with sacks of rice.

"W-what was that?" Saki asked.

"Just a little teleportation," Pernelle said. "From here, it should be easy to sneak in to see your mother, right?"

"Y-yeah," Noboru said. "This way…"

He led them through the complex, stopping twice to let other servants pass by without noticing them, and eventually ducked into one of the small bedrooms.

"Mother!" Saki said. "We brought more tincture from Masanobu!"

The woman in bed sat up, coughing.

"You shouldn't have!" she protested. "What if you'd been found out!?"

The she spotted Pernelle and sort of gaped at her.

"A-and you even brought someone back with you!? How'd you even manage to sneak her in?"

"That is neither here nor there," Pernelle said. "I have some familiarity with medical diagnosis and can more easily enter this place than Masanobu, so I offered to examine you."

"Right… well, since you're here now, what do you think? Pretty awful, aren't I?"

"I'm told you have a cough and fever," Pernelle said. "How long have you been sick?"

"I've lost count of the days," Saki's mother said. "It has been more than twenty, though."

"I see, so that probably rules out the cold or influenza," Pernelle mused. "Those would usually clear up within less than seven days… how's your breathing? Does it hurt when you draw breath?"

"Um… a little bit?" Saki's mother said.

"And your appetite? Have you been eating properly?"

"I've been trying to get some food in me every day, but I don't have much appetite lately."

Pernelle nodded, and continued with a large number of other questions, nodding repeatedly whenever she received an answer. Finally, she smiled.

"Well, thanks for your time," she said. "I hesitate to make a diagnosis on my own, since I'm not a practicing physician, but… rather than pneumonia, there's a chance this could be the consumption. I'll have a chat with Masanobu and see if he agrees with me."

"Does… does that mean I'm going to die?" Saki's mother asked.

"You seem otherwise healthy, so even if it's the consumption, I'd say you stand a decent chance," Pernelle said. "Don't lose hope. I'll contact Saki later and let you know what Masanobu thinks."

She smiled, then stepped outside. As the door swung shut, Saki saw her just vanish, presumably teleporting back to the town.

"Anyway… you have to take this tincture!" Saki said. "Half now, and half tomorrow morning!"

"Saki… although it worries me that you're sneaking out all the time… thank you," Saki's mother said. "This medicine you've been bringing me really does seem to help, at least a little."

"Hello, Saki."

Saki looked up at the speaker. She had retreated to the kitchen garden, a small corner of the grounds fenced off for growing mainly culinary herbs, and that white creature had just stepped out from amongst a patch of coriander.

"Oh, it's you again," she said. "What do you want?"

"I am Kyuubey," the creature said. "I want you to make a contract with me and become a magical girl."

"You said that before… but what does it even mean?"

"It means you would get any one wish granted," Kyuubey said. "In exchange, you would fight witches as a magical girl."

"Oh? What are witches?"

"If magical girls are born of hope, then witches are born from curses. They spread despair and prey upon unsuspecting humans."

"Eh? So they're dangerous… but I don't think I'm cut out to be a hero…"

"If you are worried that you would be too weak, then fear not – when you become a magical girl, you will certainly be strong enough to defeat witches."

"So what kind of wish do you mean?"

"Anything you desire."

"Like… curing my mother?"

"If that is what you want."

"No… she'll probably be fine once Pernelle and Masanobu have figured things out," Saki mused. "Still… you're saying you could cure her?"

"There are no limits on what you can wish for. Even if it seems impossible, it will come true."

Saki blinked. "Oh, wow… but wait, Pernelle said you're trying to trick me, so how do I know any of this is even true?"

"I do not lie or trick. Every word I have spoken is true."

"Hmm… well, let me think it over for awhile."

"Very well. I will visit you again soon."

Saki snuck out of the castle alone, making her way through the town. As she passed by the inn, Pernelle came out and spotted her.

"Oh, Saki!" she said.

Saki blinked at her.

"Ah, good morning, Pernelle…"

"Where are you going this time?" she asked. "That's definitely not the way to the apothecary."

"Well… I was going to pray for Mother to get better," Saki said.

"You realize that won't help, right?" Pernelle said. "God doesn't intervene in human affairs."

"It might!" Saki protested. "You never know!"

"Well… if nothing else, it can help the person praying," Pernelle said. "So I wouldn't call it a waste. Why don't I come along too? I was thinking I'm overdue for a little prayer myself."

"Um… sure," Saki said.

They continued walking in silence until Pernelle turned towards the doorway of one of the buildings near the edge of the town.

"Huh? Where are you going?" Saki asked.

"Ah… is this not where you were going?" Pernelle asked.

It was a wooden building, larger than most, with a cross affixed atop the gables. Unlike most of the other buildings in the town, which were clearly of traditional Japanese architecture, this building had some clear Western influences to it. It even had a small stained glass window beside the door. Saki wasn't sure what it was trying to depict, though.

"Oh… isn't that the Christian church?" Saki asked. "I've never been in there… in the castle they say the Christians are troublemakers though…"

"Well, they certainly were troublemakers in Ancient Rome, so I can believe it," Pernelle said. "But mostly they're just ordinary people like you and me."

"Huh… really?" Saki said. "Are you also a Christian?"

"I consider myself to be one, although I don't attend church every Sunday," Pernelle said. "Why don't you come inside with me? It would be a good learning experience for you."

"I guess…"

They entered the church together. It was really a pretty small church, just a single room filled with pews, with altar and pulpit towards the back. A small desk was jammed into a corner behind the pulpit, and a man sat there, furiously working at something or other on a paper scroll. However, he looked up almost as soon as Saki registered his presence, for the bell attached to the door had jingled, drawing his attention.

"Good morning!" he said cheerfully. "How can I help you?"

Pernelle smiled.

"I just felt a need to pray a little," she said. "Would you mind?"

"Of course not, come in," he said. "What about the girl?"

"Um… I don't even know how to pray in a Christian church," Saki muttered. "I was going to pray at the shrine on the hill…"

"It's easy," the man said. "Just watch this lady, and you'll see."

"I dunno…" Saki said.

"Don't worry," Pernelle said. "Let's go to the shrine after this. I was thinking of heading that way anyway, for my own reasons."

"Alright…"

Pernelle stepped forward to the altar, pressing her hands together in a praying posture, closing her eyes and inclining her head. Saki watched her for a few moments, hesitating a bit before imitating her, while the man got back to his work. After a minute or two, Pernelle opened her eyes.

"Thank you, Father," she said.

"No, thank you," the man said. "Are you visiting? Will I see you next Sunday?"

"Hmm… sure, I may as well see what a Japanese sermon is like at least once," she said. "I'll bring my husband too."

"Then I'll be expecting you," the man said. "My name is Shouhei, by the way."

"My name is Pernelle."

"And what about the girl?" the man said, looking at Saki.

"Um… I don't think I could make it even if I wanted to," Saki said. "I live at the castle, after all…"

"Ah, I understand," the man said. "You've snuck out, haven't you?"

Saki nodded.

"Then I'll see you in a few days, Father Shouhei," Pernelle said.

The two of them turned to leave the church, and Saki posed a question.

"Why did you call him Father?" she asked. "He's not your father, right?"

"It's the traditional way to address a priest," Pernelle replied. "God is our Father in Heaven, so as the most devoted to him, the priests also take on the title of Father."

"Huh… that's weird," Saki said.

"Now, you said you wanted to go to the shrine, right?" Pernelle said. "Then I'll have you lead the way."

"R-right! This way!"

Pernelle followed her as she headed out of town and up a hill. There were even steps carved into the side of the hill.

"By the way, why did you want to come this way?" Saki asked.

"Oh, I just sensed some magic in this area recently," Pernelle said. "I wanted to check it out. It could be a witch, after all."

"Kyuubey mentioned witches too… but what are they?" Saki asked.

"They are monsters born of human emotions," Pernelle said. "Negative emotions such as sorrow, anger, and despair. If left alone, they'll lure in more humans and consume them. But this is the first possible one I've sensed since arriving here… even though it's a small town, that's a little unusual…"

"Why is it unusual?"

"Because witches are attracted to places with a lot of people," Pernelle said. "Of course, that means there'll be more in the cities, but even a town like this has enough people to attract them… so you'd usually expect at least one or two witches to be hanging around the town at any given time. However, I haven't sensed any."

"Didn't you say you sensed one today?" Saki asked.

"Hmm, well… I sensed a magic trace, but I'm not sure it's a witch," Pernelle said. "That's why I wanted to check it out."

"If it's not a witch, then what else could it be?" Saki asked.

"The other possibility would be a magical girl," Pernelle said. "Although it could also be something entirely different…"

"Hmm… are you a magical girl, Pernelle?"

"Well, I'm not exactly a girl anymore, but otherwise yes."

The two of them passed beneath a Shinto shrine gateway, making for the water basin. Saki cleansed herself, then stepped up to the shrine proper to clap her hands together and pray for her mother's well-being. It was a small shrine, but well-frequented, guarded by a pair of fox statues.

When she was done, she turned to see Pernelle just looking around and taking in the scenery. At the same time, she spotted a living fox watching them, just within the surrounding woods.

"Look, Pernelle, there's a fox," she said. "Do you think it could be the god of this shrine?"

Pernelle turned to look where Saki was pointing, and blinked.

"A fox, you say…? That's no fox, Saki."

She blinked. "Huh? W-what do you mean?"

Pernelle took two steps towards the fox, but it didn't flee. It just continued to stare at her.

"Can you understand me?" Pernelle asked. "I'd like to speak to you, if possible…"

She closed her eyes for a second and transformed, donning the long white robe of her magical girl form and gripping a caduceus staff.

"I don't mean you any harm," Pernelle continued. "And I'm not planning to steal your witches, either. I have enough grief seeds to last me for a whole year."

The silenced stretched out for a few seconds as Saki looked at Pernelle in confusion, but then the fox trotted forward out of the woods and transformed into a young woman of about sixteen or eighteen, with her jet black hair so long it trailed on the ground. The transformation to human form was incomplete, her ears retaining the fox shape, and Saki could see a fox's tail poking out from beneath that curtain of hair, too. She wasn't wearing any clothes, although that messy curtain of hair cascaded down her front, almost serving like a makeshift robe. The woman reached up to push the hair out of her face, revealing striking violet eyes.

"Why… have you… come to my… territory?" the woman asked. "This… mine… for six hundred years… I hunted here."

Her language was a little archaic and broken, as if she was unused to speaking. Saki blinked as she noted the time period.

"Eh? You're six hundred years old!?" Saki gasped.

The woman shook her head. "No… older… more than… seven hundred."

"So you're a bit more than twice my age," Pernelle said.

"Eh!?" Saki gasped. "Only twice!?"

Pernelle ignored her outburst. "My name is Pernelle. Who might you be?"

"Name… my name… it has been… a long time, but…" The woman trailed off for a moment. "Kuzunoha. Yes."

Pernelle raised her eyebrows. "I think I heard that name somewhere…"

"Yes… once… I was famous," Kuzunoha admitted. "Perhaps… you've heard of… my daughter… Seimei…?"

"Hmm… I'm afraid I'm not well-versed in the history of this country," Pernelle said. "But perhaps I'll ask around and do a little research. So, this is your territory, right? Have you been living as a fox for six hundred years, while keeping this town safe from witches?"

Kuzunoha nodded. "More… or less…"

"So your unique power is transformation," Pernelle said. "That's quite rare… are there limits to the forms you can take?"

"Um… only land-dwelling animals," Kuzunoha said. "Oh… that includes birds…"

"Well, I didn't really have any business with you beyond introducing myself to the local magical girl," Pernelle said. "But… if you've been here for six hundred years… surely there have been other magical girls here during that time?"

Kuzunoha nodded. "Now and then… someone would contract… no-one lasted more than a year… so, I'd just… stop hunting… until they were gone… when I'm in animal form… grief accumulates very… slowly…"

"What about your daughter?" Pernelle asked. "She's not with you?"

"She… died," Kuzunoha said. "Although… for a magical girl… she had a long life… around eighty years… but even so… she's still gone…"

"Huh, so she was a magical girl too…"

"U-um, Kuzunoha!" Saki spoke up suddenly. "Why did you become a magical girl? What did you wish for?"

Kuzunoha blinked at her.

"Um… you're…?"

"I'm Saki," she said. "Kyuubey said I could become a magical girl, but I don't know what to wish for…"

"You… you shouldn't," Kuzunoha said. "It's… painful… and… and… and painful…"

"You said painful twice… but what did you wish for?"

"My wish… it's been so long… I've forgotten," Kuzunoha said.

"Really?" Pernelle said. "I don't think I could ever forget my wish, though…"

"What did you wish for, Pernelle?" Saki asked.

"Well… that's a secret," Pernelle replied.

"Aww…"

"Is… that all?" Kuzunoha asked. "Can I… go now?"

Pernelle shrugged. "I don't see why not. Like I said, I just wanted to introduce myself so we don't get into a misunderstanding over territory. I'm only visiting here temporarily, and I won't need to hunt witches while I'm here."

"Then… see you… later," Kuzunoha said.

She turned away and transformed back into a fox, vanishing into the woods. Pernelle then powered down.

"So there are magical girls like that too," Saki said. "Amazing…"

"Her name and her daughter's name… were either of them familiar to you?" Pernelle asked.

"Um… I feel like I might've heard the name Seimei somewhere," Saki admitted. "Probably in the castle somewhere… maybe one of the young masters was talking about her…? I could try asking… although they're usually mean to me…"

"I'll leave it up to you whether to try that," Pernelle said. "I'm sure I can find other ways to get that information… and even if I can't, it doesn't matter, as all it would do is satisfy my curiosity."

"Okay…"

"If you're done praying, shall we head back to town?"

"Ah! I need to hurry or they'll miss me!"

"By the way, Saki," Pernelle said as they headed back down the hill. "About your mother… Masanobu agrees that it could be the consumption and has prescribed additional treatment for her."

She dug a vial out from her pocket and handed it over.

"Give her this in four doses, once a day around midday," she said. "You can give her the first dose as soon as you get back."

"Okay!" Saki said. "Thank you very much!"

After giving her mother the medicine, Saki headed for the wing of the castle where the nobles lived, grabbing a cloth and making a show of wiping dust off of things. After a few minutes, she found the younger master arguing with his little sister.

"You're so mean, big brother!" the girl was complaining. "I want to try too!"

"No way!" the boy retorted. "Shogi is not a game for girls!"

"You're just worried I'll beat you at it, big brother," the girl retorted.

"Eh!? There's no way that would happen!"

"Then prove it by letting me try!"

The two of them didn't even notice as Saki slipped into the room and pretended to clean. Perhaps one of the adults would've realized what she was really up to, but not these two. The younger sister, Aiko, was nine years old, but very precocious, and apparently idolized a lady named Ikeda. The boy, Shinsuke, was thirteen and even more of a brat than his sister.

"Hmph, why should I?" Shinsuke asked. "I don't need proof to know that I'm the best!"

"Even though you haven't beaten Daddy even once," Aiko pointed out. "You haven't even beaten big brother before."

"So what!?" Shinsuke retorted. "I'll beat them both someday!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you haven't beaten them yet!" Aiko replied.

There was a sudden sound of running feet, and Saki quickly ducked behind a decorative screen as someone else practically crashed into the room.

"Did you hear!? There's news of the war!"

It was the older brother, Ichirou, who was sixteen and itching to go off to war. He was also feared in the servant quarter for his temper, so Saki inwardly thanked her luck for the presence of the screen. It gave her a chance to avoid encountering him.

"Idiot!" Aiko snapped. "If you open the door so suddenly, you'll break it!"

"That doesn't matter!" Ichirou said. "We just heard that the Takeda clan made a last stand at Tenmoku mountain!"

"Oh! Did they make a comeback!?" Shinsuke gasped.

"No… they were completely and utterly routed," Ichirou said. "Their commander committed seppuku. So that means… the Takeda clan is no more. Mother had friends in the Takeda clan, so she's understandably shocked."

"Huh…"

"I don't think most of them were Mommy's friends," Aiko muttered. "More like people she had to get along with…"

"Also!" Ichirou said. "You're going to come spar with me, Shinsuke!"

"What!? I don't want to!" Shinsuke complained.

But Ichirou didn't give him any room to argue. He grabbed the younger brother and dragged him flailing out of the room, leaving the young girl behind alone. Aiko sighed, glanced sharply at the screen Saki was hiding behind, and then left the room to follow them.

Two weeks passed, and Saki started to visit the shrine almost every day to see if she could talk to Kuzunoha. Some days she would be there, other days she was nowhere to be seen. The ancient woman wasn't very talkative, but she would willingly answer most questions Saki posed her about what life as a magical girl was like, although she tended to emphasize the more depressing aspects of it.

Then one day something happened as Saki made her way back from the shrine. It was a rainy day, but not too rainy, a sure but steady drizzle that soaked to the bone, rainclouds blotting out much of the sunlight. As a result, she didn't notice the woman lying on the ground until she tripped over her.

Saki picked herself up and took a closer look at the woman. She wore a long maroon cloak, but the hood had fallen back when she collapsed, revealing her striking blonde hair. Like Pernelle, her face was different, marking her as a foreigner. But the most striking thing to Saki wasn't her appearance. It was the ring she wore on her finger, with strange writing on it and an oddly dark jewel set in it. Saki gazed at that ring for several long minutes, watching as the darkness within it seemed to shift and move.

"Now, what have we here?" Pernelle asked.

Saki looked up at her in surprise. She hadn't even noticed the other woman – there had been no sound to telegraph her arrival. Maybe she even teleported?

"Oh, um… I just… tripped over her," she said.

"I came this way because I sensed a magic response, but I didn't expect to find someone like this," Pernelle said. "I wonder what she's doing here…?"

"What are you talking about?" Saki asked.

"Let's get her someplace warm first," Pernelle said.

She raised a hand, and magical diagrams extended from it, wrapping themselves around the three. Moments later, they found themselves in a room at the inn, startling an older man who was lounging in a chair in the corner.

"What's this, dear?" he asked. "I didn't expect you back so soon."

"I stumbled across an adult magical girl passed out in the cold," Pernelle said. "You don't mind if I use your bed for a bit, do you?"

The man shook his head.

"No, I won't be needing it for awhile longer," he said.

Pernelle picked up the woman and set her on one of the bundles of bedding, then knelt beside her. She felt for a pulse and blinked, then examined the ring on her finger.

"So, this woman is another magical girl?" Saki asked.

"Apparently so," Pernelle said. "You can tell from this ring she's wearing… and it looks like she needs a grief seed, too."

Pernelle dug one out from somewhere, a black sphere with a spike on the bottom and some sort of emblem on the top. She pressed it against the jewel in that ring, and suddenly all the darkness was drawn out, leaving the jewel a gleaming shade of bright orange.

"She probably collapsed because of the accumulated grief," Pernelle said. "Hopefully she'll wake up in a minute or two."

A few minutes passed in silence before the woman's eyes cracked open. She suddenly sat up, chattering in a language unfamiliar to Saki. Pernelle frowned, gently pushing her back and responding in what seemed to be the same language.

"Um… what is she saying?" Saki asked.

"I'm not entirely confident in my translation," Pernelle replied. "My grasp of her language is fairly basic, although it also helps that it's a bit similar to my native tongue, and also a bit similar to Latin. Anyway, all that's to say that I may misinterpret something. That said… it seems she's wondering where she is and how she got here. I told her that she's safe… looks like that calmed her down?"

Indeed, the woman was now looking around curiously. Saki noticed her eyes were a strange golden colour that matched the colour of her hair.

"So… you don't know her language very well?" Saki asked.

"Well… I've studied it a little," Pernelle replied. "But I'm not fluent. She's speaking Romanian, one of the languages of eastern Europe… I suppose none of that would make any sense to you though, would it…?"

"Y-yeah, you've totally lost me," Saki admitted.

"Romanian, is it?" the man in the corner mused. "Then she must have come from Wallachia or Moldavia, right? Wonder what brought her all the way out here… though I can't really talk. After all, France is even further away from Japan than Wallachia is."

"By the way, um… who are you?" Saki asked, turning to face him.

"Oh, has Pernelle not told you about me yet?" he asked. "I'm her husband, Nicholas."

"Oh… I think… she might've mentioned you, actually…"

Pernelle struck up a conversation with the woman in her native language, and the man seemed to pick up something from the conversation.

"Her name is Laura of Wallachia? Sound like she might've been someone quite important, back in the day…"

"What do you mean?" Saki asked.

"From the way she speaks, she was probably nobility," Nicholas explained. "Perhaps even royalty."

"You've hit the nail on the head, dear," Pernelle said. "She claims to be the daughter of Vlad Dracul, which is quite a strange coincidence, because I knew him when I was supporting Elisa in her father's court. In fact, he was the one who taught me the basics of the language. Sometimes the world seems like such a small place…"

"Yes, you've got that right," Nicholas agreed.

"There's only one problem," Pernelle said. "I never heard he had another daughter besides Alexandra…"

"Perhaps she was illegitimate?" Nicholas suggested.

"That is of course a possibility," Pernelle admitted. "He did get around a lot with the women."

"Um, you've lost me again," Saki complained. "Who is she exactly?"

"I guess you could say she's a lost princess of Wallachia," Pernelle said. "As for why she's here… she told me she's been meandering east for about a century ever since she ran from her family. She didn't say why she ran, though."

"To take a hundred years to get from Wallachia to Japan… that's quite some impressive meandering," Nicholas said.

"She also referred to herself as a 'cursed princess', though I have no idea what she means by that," Pernelle added. "It seems like something she doesn't want to talk about. Still… it sounds like a claim I should investigate…"

"If she's cursed… does that mean we'll be cursed too?" Saki asked.

"No, I don't imagine so," Pernelle said. "But I'll let you know if I think there's a problem."

"Right… then… I should probably get back to the castle."

Pernelle nodded. "Since it is still raining, I will accompany you there."

She said something to Laura in her own language, then took Saki's hand and teleported the two of them to the edge of the town. They walked in silence for a few minutes, and then Saki took off, cutting up the hill to the side entrance she usually escaped through.

"Are you sure you don't want to make a wish?" Kyuubey asked.

"I still haven't decided," Saki said. "I don't know what to wish for. Mother is already feeling a little better, so it seems like a waste to use my wish for her if she can be cured without a wish…"

They were out in the herb garden again.

"There are many other things you could wish for," Kyuubey said.

"I know… I've been thinking about it," Saki said. "I just need more time, okay?"

"Very well. You can call me if you ever think of something."

With that, Kyuubey turned and disappeared into the darkness. Saki stared after him for a minute or two, but then she was distracted by a commotion from inside. She hurried inside and made for the source of the noise, curious as to what was happening. Stopping just short of the front entranceway, she listened in.

"What!? Are you sure?"

That was the master of the house, the minor lord who governed this town.

"I'm quite certain, milord!" another voice said.

That voice was unfamiliar, but by carefully peeking around the corner, Saki discerned him to be a soldier, all done up in armour. He wasn't one of the ones who guarded the castle, though.

"Lord Oda is definitely dead," the soldier continued. "I saw the body myself, although only from a distance."

"This could be troublesome," the lord said. "How did he die?"

"From what I heard, General Akechi turned on him," the soldier said. "He committed seppuku at Honnou Temple."

"So General Akechi holds Heian-kyou," the lord mused. "And Lord Toyotomi and the third son are engaged elsewhere… so it would seem General Akechi has the advantage." He nodded. "Thank you for reporting this. When you return to the troops, tell them they should cooperate with the general."

"Very well, milord," the soldier said.

"Daddy's a fool," a new voice muttered.

Saki glanced to the side in surprise to find Aiko eavesdropping with her.

"Eh?" she says. "W-why?"

Aiko glanced at her.

"You're a fool too," she retorted. "Why should I explain to a peasant servant who doesn't understand anything?"

Silence fell for a few seconds, during which the soldier left the castle, and the lord headed further inside. Then, remembering what Aiko had been arguing with her brother about some time ago, Saki ventured an offer.

"W-what if… I offered to play shogi with you?" she suggested.

Aiko snorted with laughter. "You!? You don't even know the rules, do you?"

"Well… no," Saki admitted. "But I could learn them…"

Aiko stared at her for a few seconds, then shrugged.

"Hmm… I doubt there'd be much point in playing the likes of you, but… maybe it'd beat playing by myself. Come."

She grabbed Saki by the hand and practically dragged her off through the mansion.

"I doubt you could comprehend large shogi, so we'll see how you fare with small shogi," Aiko muttered. "With only nine types of piece, maybe you can manage…"

The two of them entered one of the rooms of the castle, which looked like it might actually be Aiko's quarters. She pulled out a nine by nine board divided into squares and a box containing numerous small tiles marked with various kanji, and started setting out the pieces on the board, leaving Saki to just watch in confusion.

Once the board was set up, she started to explain the rules, briefly turning over some of the tiles to show the writing in red on the inverse side. Saki listened closely. Despite what Aiko had implied, it didn't seem like the rules were overly complicated… they weren't exactly simple either, though.

"Um, so… the king can move one step in any direction," Saki mused. "The flying chariot can move as far as it wants either horizontally or vertically… the angler can move as far as it wants on diagonals… but neither can switch direction in mid-move, right?"

"Of course not," Aiko retorted. "If they could, they'd be able to move anywhere instantly."

"Then the incense chariot and the foot soldier can only move forward… but the incense chariot can move as far as it wants at a time while the foot soldier can only move a single space per turn."

Aiko nodded. "You're picking it up faster than I expected… what about the laurel horse, then?"

Saki blinked. "Uhh… it moves two steps forward, then one step to the left or right… is that correct? And it can also jump over other pieces."

"Correct! And the gold and silver generals?"

"Ehh… those awere the most confusing," Saki said. "Uhh… silver can go forward either straight or diagonal, right? Or backwards on a diagonal. Gold can go any direction except backwards on a diagonal… and the drunken elephant can go any direction except straight backwards. All three of them can only take a single step per turn."

Aiko nodded. "And what about the promoted pieces?" she asked.

"That's easier," Saki said. "The silver general, laurel horse, incense chariot, and foot soldier all promote to a gold general, right?"

"Uhh… yes, I suppose that's one way of looking at it," Aiko admitted.

"The angler promotes to dragon horse, which moves either like the angler or like the king," Saki said. "And the flying chariot promotes to dragon king, which moves either like the flying chariot or like the king."

Aiko blinked. "Eh? You're already comparing them to other pieces…"

"And the drunken elephant promotes to crown prince, which is the same as a king," Saki finished.

"Well… if you already understand that much, we might as well get started," Aiko said. "Since you're new to this, I'll let you go first."

Saki moved a random foot soldier forward, and Aiko blinked.

"Eh? You're sure that's what you want to do?"

"Well, I have no idea what's a good move, but they need to get out of the way before any of the pieces in the back row can do anything, right?" Saki said.

"Well… you're not wrong, but… argh, whatever."

She moved her central foot soldier forward.

"So um… why did you call your father a fool?" Saki asked.

"Didn't you hear him yourself?" Aiko asked. "He's aligning himself with a traitor, right? What do you think will happen when Lord Toyotomi returns to Heian-kyou? What do you think will happen to us?"

"Eh? I… I have no idea," Saki admitted. "I mean… I'm just a servant, so… would it even affect me?"

"So naïve!" Aiko said. "Your move, by the way."

Saki gazed at the board for a minute before making a move.

"So what's so naïve about it?" Saki asked.

"This is just the worst possible case, but they could wipe out the whole town," Aiko retorted. "I don't think that's very likely but it could happen."

"Eh… that's so awful…"

"Well, it's also possible that the traitor comes out on top in the end," Aiko admitted. "So we might be okay… but still, I don't want to be Lady Ikeda's enemy."

"So I guess there's no need for a miracle," Saki mused.

Aiko snorted. "Hah! As if miracles exist! Well… it's too early to be sure, in any case. By the way, that's check."

Saki blinked and moved her king out of the path of Aiko's angler.

"So, this has nothing to do with the current situation, but… have you heard of a woman named Seimei?" Saki asked.

Aiko tilted her head. "Seimei? The only Seimei I know of is Abe no Seimei, but he was a man… a famous diviner in the Imperial Court about six hundred years ago."

"Eh? The time frame matches though…"

"What are you talking about?" Aiko asked.

"Well, I met a woman who said Seimei is her daughter…"

Aiko blinked. "Ehhh!? You met the youko!?"

"W-well… I suppose you could call her that…" Saki admitted. "She was a fox at first…"

Aiko seemed to be lost for words and didn't even notice when Saki made her move on the board. Finally, Saki waved and pointed at the piece she'd moved.

"Um… also… I think that's check?" she said.

Aiko blinked at her and looked at the board, where Saki's angler was now threatening her king. Her eyes widened as she realized that the king's escape routes had somehow been cut off. At first glance it seemed like it would be over for her… but then she spotted something on a different part of the board.

"Hah! That was a close one!" she said. "You've got my king, but…"

She moved her elephant one step forward, into the third row counting from Saki's side of the board, and flipped it over.

"The crown prince is still safe!"

Indeed, the square she moved it to was unthreatened.

"Eh? You never mentioned that rule!" Saki complained.

Aiko giggled. "My bad! I never thought you'd actually get this far!"

Saki narrowed her eyes. "You… you're making up that rule, aren't you?"

Aiko shook her head. "No, no, I've seen Daddy do it too," she said. "The crown prince is like a second king, so you need to capture both to win."

Saki sighed. "Fiiine… let me see…"

After a moment of hesitation, she moved her angler to capture Aiko's king. Several moves later, despite her efforts, she found her own king surrounded. Saki's elephant had been lost many moves earlier, so she was unable to make a comeback by promoting it.

"So um… I guess that means… I lost?" Saki ventured.

"Wow… that was so much fun!" Aiko exclaimed. "I've never actually played it with another person before! Let's do another game!"

"E-ehhh!?"

Ten games of shogi later, one of which she somehow managed to win, Saki trudged back to her own quarters, where she found her brother Noboru anxiously pacing back and forth. When he spotted her, he turned to grab her by the shoulders.

"Saki!" he shouted. "Where have you been!?"

"Um… I'm sorry, big brother," she said. "Lady Aiko dragged me to her room, so I couldn't get away…"

Noboru blinked. "Eh? That sounds rough… what did she want?"

"W-well… she just wanted to play a game," Saki said. "Young master Shinsuke refuses to play with her, so I guess she decided to grab me instead…"

"That sounds like a huge pain," Noboru said.

"It wasn't that bad," Saki said. "I mean, the game was kind of fun…"

"Well… since you weren't here, I gave Mother her medicine," Noboru said. "And she's asleep now, so let's not disturb her."

"That's fine… I'm pretty tired after all that thinking, anyway," Saki said.

From that day on, Aiko kept dragging Saki to her room to play shogi whenever she got a chance, to the point that Noboru had to fetch their mother's medicine by himself most of the time. However, that also meant that Saki got daily updates on the status of the war. It seemed that the traitorous general was preparing for a siege in Heian-kyou, as the third Oda son and Toyotomi Hideyoshi were heading back to confront him.

It was about five days after their first game when Aiko suddenly announced that she wanted to meet the fox demon.

"What?" Saki asked, confused.

"The youko!" Aiko said. "The one you told me about!"

"Did I…?"

"The mother of Abe no Seimei, remember?"

"Oh! Her…" Saki nodded. "Um… but to meet her… we'd have to go to the shrine on the other side of the town…?"

"Well then, let's go!"

"E-ehh!? Are your father and mother going to be okay with that?"

"Daddy's obsolete, and Mommy's taking an afternoon nap," Aiko retorted. "Let's just sneak out."

"Well, if you're going to sneak out, you should dress like a servant," Saki suggested. "Otherwise you'd draw too much attention in town…"

"Hmm… I suppose," Aiko said. "Then you can dress me."

"R-right…"

About twenty minutes later, they snuck out via the route Saki normally took, with Aiko dressed in Saki's spare clothes. Noboru caught them on the way out, however.

"Saki…! Don't tell me that's…? You're really gonna get in trouble this time!"

"Only if I get caught," Saki said. "And what else am I supposed to do, anyway? She's the one who insisted on sneaking out!"

"Well… you have a point," he said. "Okay, I'll come with you."

"I don't need you," Aiko retorted. "Stay here."

"You've never been to the town, have you, milady?" Noboru asked. "It's better to go with more people, to be on the safe side."

"Big brother's right," Saki said. "I think it's better if he comes."

"Ugh… whatever," Aiko muttered. "Oh, but… don't call me 'milady' while we're in town, alright?"

"Um… what should we call you, then?" Saki asked.

"Just call me… hmm… Ai," she said. "Just Ai."

"Well… if you insist," Noboru said. "Anyway, let's get going."

They headed out, Aiko complaining a bit about the rough ground they had to cover. Because of her, they took longer than usual to descend the hill. Fortunately, they still managed to pass unnoticed, and as they reached the road, Aiko flopped on the ground, gasping for breath. Saki and Noboru looked at her, not even slightly out of breath, bemused at how quickly she got tired, but they chose not to comment on it, giving her some time to recover.

Once Aiko was able to move again, they headed along the road and entered the town, making their way slowly across it. Along the way they stopped to fetch the medicine from Masanobu. He gave Aiko a sharp look as she entered but thereafter acted like she wasn't even there. Once they had the medicine, they made for the opposite border of town.

"Oh my. Is you."

They were almost at the edge of town when someone addressed them unexpectedly. Saki blinked up at the tall, blonde woman observing them from the shade of a nearby house. Aiko also gazed up at her suspiciously.

"Ah… Miss… no, Lady Laura!?" Saki gasped. "Wait, you can speak Japanese?"

"I learn from Pernelle," Laura said. "Is needed if staying here, yes?"

As would be expected of a beginner, her Japanese wasn't actually very good, but it was readily comprehensible, showing pretty good progress for a mere five days.

"Last time, missed chance… therefore, thank you," Laura said.

"Eh… I didn't really do anything though," Saki said. "I may have found you first, but Pernelle would've found you even if I wasn't there…"

"Maybe so," Laura said. "Who… are these? And… your name?"

"I'm Saki, and this is my big brother, Noboru," Saki said. "And this is…"

"Ai," Aiko said quickly.

"Where you going?" Laura asked.

"We're on the way to the shrine," Saki said.

"Then… I escort," Laura said. "Is dangerous. They say bandits are around."

Saki blinked. "Eh!? Since when? It's always been pretty safe…"

"Don't know," Laura shrugged. "Maybe Pernelle does. Come, you lead."

So we ended up with the tall foreign woman tailing us all the way to the shrine. As we left the boundaries of the town, Aiko leaned close to whisper to me.

"Who is that woman?" she asked. "Why were you referring to her so politely?"

"Ah… well… she's just… a visitor?" Saki replied. "I don't really understand it, but it sounded like she was a princess from far to the west who ran away…"

"What was she running from?" Aiko asked.

"Why don't you ask her?" Saki suggested.

"Hmm… maybe I will," Aiko said.

They walked slowly, to accommodate Aiko. Despite her words, Aiko did not question Laura, and they simply walked in silence, Noboru occasionally glancing awkwardly in her direction. Due to the slow pace, they took nearly half an hour to reach the steps leading up to the shrine, fortunately without encountering any bandits. At that point, Aiko flopped down on the bottom step with a groan.

"Argh, are you serious!? There's sooo many steps… I'll die if I climb those!"

Saki and Noboru exchanged glances.

"But you wanted to meet Kuzunoha, right?" Saki pointed out.

"Yeah, but… I can't go any further!" Aiko complained.

Saki sighed. "Hmm…"

Laura suddenly jerked her head to the side, staring down the main road.

"Still very far, moving slowly, but… a witch is coming," she said.

"A witch!?" Saki gasped.

Aiko glanced between them.

"What do you mean by a 'witch'?" she asked.

Laura ignored the question, instead adding another layer of observation.

"The town small… perhaps witch can swallow completely?"

Aiko gasped. "Th-that sounds bad…"

"B-but you and Pernelle are here, so it should be fine, right?" Saki said. "And Kuzunoha too!"

"I wonder," Laura mused.

"A-anyway, let's just go visit the shrine now!" Saki said quickly. "Hopefully she'll be there!"

Aiko groaned again. "I'm telling you, I won't make it…"

Saki sighed. "Say, big brother, why don't you…?"

"No, no, no way!" Noboru protested. "She's the one who wanted to come here! Why should I have to carry her?"

Aiko jumped up and seized his arm.

"That's a great idea!" she said. "Carry me, carry me!"

Noboru groaned, but quickly gave in, bending down so that she could climb onto his back. Once she was securely in place, they began the climb, stopping three times to let Noboru sit down and catch his breath, and finally reached the top, where Noboru set Aiko down and let out a sigh of relief. There was no-one else there, but the three of them ventured forward towards the altar. After pausing to cleanse themselves at the water basin, they approached the shrine, where they all clapped their hands together for prayer, with Aiko retaining the pose for longest. Laura didn't join them – she just leaned on the shrine gateway at the top of the stairs and waited.

"So… is she here?" Aiko finally asked, looking around.

"I don't see her," Saki said. "But she might be nearby…"

She peered into the woods around the shrine grounds, looking for the fox form that Kuzunoha typically took, but there was no sign of her. After several minutes, Saki had an idea and ran up to Laura.

"Um… Lady Laura?"

Laura blinked at her. "What?"

"Can you tell where she is? You're also a magical girl, after all…"

"Oh… yes," Laura said. "That way."

She pointed into the woods, seemingly at random, a little right of the shrine proper.

Saki followed where she was pointing and peered into the woods again, but she still couldn't see anything. But then, the fox emerged from the undergrowth and trotted towards her.

"You're here!" Saki gasped.

Aiko immediately came running over and gasped at the sight of the fox.

"Is… is that… really her!?"

Then the fox transformed, as she always did, taking on the nearly-human form with a few remnant fox features. As always, she didn't wear clothes, a fact which seemed to distress Aiko.

"W-w-wait, why are you naked!?" she shouted.

Kuzunoha tilted her head.

"Have you… ever met… a fox who… wears clothes?" she asked.

"Eh? Well… now that you mention it… I guess not…"

"Are you… a candidate… too?" Kuzunoha asked her. "You seem… awfully young…"

Aiko tilted her head. "Um… a candidate for what, exactly?"

"Then… you are not…"

"More importantly, is it true?" Aiko asked. "Is it true that Abe no Seimei is your son?"

Kuzunoha shook her head.

"Seimei was my… daughter," she said. "Though she… often dressed like… a man…"

"Huh… so it really is true," Aiko said. "But… if Seimei was actually a woman…" She trailed off for a moment. "I mean… there are descendants, right? Which means… if she was a woman… she must've… you know… and yet, even so, no-one found out?"

"It must… be so," Kuzunoha said. "But I was… not with her… during that period. So I cannot… say…"

"Why do you live out here in the woods?" Aiko asked. Then she suddenly gasped. "Ah! That's a stupid question… you're a youko, after all, right?"

Kuzunoha shook her head. "No… it's not… stupid," she said. "I was… not born as… a fox."

Aiko blinked. "R-really? But all the stories say…"

"Stories are… just stories," Kuzunoha said. "There is… much embellishment… in what I… have heard. I was… a commoner… born around… I think… the second of Ninju…? Then… I gained the power to… take animal form. Eventually… the form I… used most… the fox… started to… stick… as you can see…"

She puts a hand to her head, indicating the fox-like ears atop it.

"I live… out here… because… to society… I am dead," Kuzunoha continued. "And I… got used to… living in the… wild… sometimes… I almost forget… I was human…"

Saki suddenly hugged her, startling both Kuzunoha and Aiko.

"Well, you've got me now, at least!" she said. "You don't have to be alone anymore!"

"A-a-a-nd um… I guess… you have… me too," Aiko said.

"And Pernelle and Lady Laura," Saki added, glancing back towards where Laura still waited at the gateway.

"That… is true… although… it won't be… forever."

"W-what do you mean?" Saki asked.

"One day… you will… grow old," Kuzunoha said. "Then… you will… die… and I will… be alone… again."

"I… see," Saki said. "You have a point…" Suddenly she gasped. "No, wait… if I became a magical girl, then—"

"No," Kuzunoha said. "If that… happened… most likely… you would die… far sooner. Long-lived… magical girls… like Laura… Pernelle… me… are very… rare. Most… live only… a few months. I have… seen it… many times… over… and over… and over…"

Saki blinked. "Ah…"

"Huh? W-what's this 'magical girl' thing?" Aiko asked.

"It is… better… not to know," Kuzunoha said.

"That's not fair!" Aiko complained. "I'm the only one who doesn't know! That's so not fair!"

"You… should leave," Kuzunoha said. "I am… hungry… are you not… also?"

Saki blinked. "Actually, I guess I am…"

Aiko sighed. "F-fine… let's go back," she said.

Kuzunoha took on the form of a fox once more and disappeared into the woods, and the two girls rejoined Noboru and Laura by the shrine gateway. Then all four of them headed back to the town. As they approached the boundary, a familiar man joined them.

"Ah, if it isn't Laura and Saki," he said.

"Um… Nicholas… was it?" Saki said hesitantly.

"Please, just call me Nick," the man said.

"Um… so Nick, you're alone?" Saki asked. "Is Pernelle around?"

"Nope," Nicholas said. "She headed off to the capital to get a read on the political situation over there. Seems things are getting pretty unstable, so we were thinking it might be about time to jump ship."

"Ehh!? Y-you're leaving?" Saki gasped.

"Well now, I can't be sure yet," Nicholas said. "That's why she went to Heian-kyou, to evaluate the situation. I expect her to be back soon, actually… would you like to wait for her with me?"

"So she's been gone awhile…?" Aiko asked.

"No, she left early this morning," Nicholas said.

"W-what!?" Aiko gasped. "Even if she had a fast horse, it should take at least three days to get from here to the capital!"

"Um, I'd like to wait for her," Saki said. "I'm a little interested in what's happening too… I heard a few things from L– from Ai…"

"I need to get the medicine back to Mother," Noboru said. "So if you're going to wait, Saki, then I'll go ahead on my own."

"Okay… be careful, big brother!"

They split up at the inn Pernelle and Nicholas were staying at, with everyone other than Noboru following the man inside. At Nicholas's urging, the two girls took a seat at the table, and he served them glasses of some sort of citrus juice. Somehow, the juice was ice cold and refreshing.

"This is unlike any citrus I've tasted," Aiko said. "It's not mandarin, or yuzu… it's not kumquat or daidai…"

"It is the 'Seville orange', which from what Pernelle tells me is similar to your daidai," Nicholas said. "It may be a little different, though. Also, it has been sweetened with a little honey."

"Oh… is that so," Aiko said.

Suddenly, an array of magical diagrams in the corner of the room heralded Pernelle's arrival, causing Aiko to let out a shriek. Pernelle blinked at her.

"Oh? There's an extra today… what brings the young lady of the castle to my room?" she asked.

"I-I-I-I have n-n-no idea what you're talking about!" Aiko said.

"Don't try to fool me," Pernelle said. "I saw you lurking in a corner when I stopped by to greet your father."

"Eh, really!? I thought I'd hidden very well!" Aiko gasped.

"Um… your husband told us you went to Heian-kyou," Saki said. "What's going on there?"

"Total chaos under a veneer of normalcy," Pernelle said. "General Akechi has control of the capital for now, but he doesn't have enough troops to hold it. From what I could gather, Lord Toyotomi and the young Lord Oda are marching to the capital. The only thing that isn't clear is… which side will Lord Toyotomi take? From what I've heard of him, it seems more likely that he will side with the Oda clan, but opinion in the capital seems evenly divided, so it's anyone's guess as to what will happen next."

"And um… Daddy sent troops… right?" Aiko said.

"Yes, your father's troops are already in the capital," Pernelle said. "It's a bold move, but those troops aren't enough to make any difference. If he was smart, he'd ignore whatever grudge he holds and keep out of this quarrel…"

Aiko blinked. "How did you know about Daddy's grudge?"

"Same way I noticed you eavesdropping," Pernelle said. "I used my eyes and ears. If you pay attention, there's lots of information that others would usually miss. As a natural philosopher, I must be a careful observer if I want to understand how the world works… but the skill also comes in handy when dealing with people."

"I see… and… if General Akechi is defeated… how do you anticipate they will respond?" Aiko asked.

"I'm sorry… it's too early to say," Pernelle said. "I'll pay another visit in a few days, though."

"I am worried," Aiko said. "What happens if… if Daddy is… declared a traitor…?"

Pernelle shrugged. "I have no way to speculate on that."

"The best-case scenario if that happens is probably for him alone to be executed," Nicholas said. "But there are worse possibilities, and I'm not familiar enough with your culture to speculate how likely they are. I think the worst-case scenario would probably be that the entire town is razed."

"I th-thought of that too," Aiko said nervously.

"D-d-do you think that could happen!?" Saki gasped.

Nicholas shrugged. "I don't have enough information to say," he said. "But I've heard of such things happening in the past, back in my homeland."

"If… if that happened… maybe I could really do it," Saki muttered. "If it was to save Mother and Masanobu and everyone I know in this town, I think I wouldn't hesitate to become a magical girl."

"Well, the decision is yours," Pernelle said. "I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't do it. But you should at least be aware that there are downsides to the contract. You could easily die, or worse, become the monster you're trying to fight."

"Kuzunoha said I shouldn't do it just a little while ago," Saki said. "She said… most magical girls only live for a few months."

Pernelle nodded. "You're in a very unusual situation," she said. "You've met me, Laura, and Kuzunoha, all of whom have lived over a hundred years… but we're anomalies in the magical girl system. Magical girls nearly always die young. Even if they survive past their first year, they rarely live longer than the age of twenty. I've long since lost count of the number of magical girls I've met who have contracted, fought, and burnt out almost before I realized."

"Say, um… Kuzunoha can't remember her wish… and Pernelle wants to keep it a secret… but, Lady Laura… what did you wish for?"

Laura blinked at Saki, startled at being suddenly addressed.

"Me?" she said. "That is… bad example. My wish was… death."

Saki blinked. "Eh? But doesn't that mean it wasn't fulfilled at all!?"

Pernelle shook her head. "That depends on how you define 'death'… and if someone came across Laura sleeping, they'd definitely conclude she was dead."

"W-what do you mean?" Saki asked.

"She has no heartbeat," Pernelle said. "Although she breathes normally while awake, when sleeping, she doesn't breathe at all. And her body temperature is well below normal for a living human, although it does seem to be maintained somewhat above room temperature."

"Wasted," Laura said. "I could have anything, but asked for… death. Regret."

"I… I see," Saki said. "I can't imagine what you must've been going through that it was the first thing to come to mind…"

"Can someone please explain this conversation to me?" Aiko asked. "None of this makes any sense! Lady Kuzunoha said it was better for me not to know, but I don't like it!"

Pernelle shrugged. "Well, it is better for you not to know, but I'm not one to hold back things to protect someone's innocence. What would you like to know?"

"Pernelle!" Nicholas protested. "Are you really sure about this? You know there's a chance that she too…"

He trailed off, but Pernelle seemed to know what he meant and nodded.

"All the more reason for her to know before that happens," Pernelle said. "That is, Lady Aiko, if you think you are prepared to handle the knowledge."

Aiko nodded. "Just tell me! What is a magical girl?"

"A magical girl is someone who makes a contract with an incubator and gains magic powers, as well as getting a wish granted," Pernelle said. "But in exchange, they must fight witches to survive."

"Lady Laura said there is a witch coming here," Aiko said. "She said it could swallow the town… is that dangerous?"

Pernelle nodded. "Yes, I have sensed that witch too," she said. "It's capable of wiping this entire town off the map, if it is not stopped. If a newly-contracted magical girl faced that witch, she would almost certainly die. Even I could probably not take it down alone."

Saki blinked. "So the one you and Lady Laura sensed… is a lot stronger than most witches? Could it be the strongest witch alive?"

"It's not the strongest," Pernelle said. "The strongest witch alive is Walpurgis, the Witch of the Stage who belongs to the night. She is a creature that travels in a typhoon and leaves vast destruction in her wake. No… this one comes nowhere near Walpurgis… if it were to approach the capital, for example, there would certainly be magical girls there who could defeat it. Out here, however… there is probably no-one who can defeat that witch."

"Eh? But there's you, and Kuzunoha, and Lady Laura!" Saki protested. "Surely if you worked together…?"

Pernelle shook her head. "I won't say it's impossible, because it's not, but… as magical girls go, the three of us are actually quite weak. None of us even have any strong attack magic. Besides that, we're old, and magic power diminishes with age. So, there's a chance we can beat it if we work together, but there's no guarantee."

"Th-then doesn't that mean… I have to do it?" Saki asked.

Pernelle shook her head. "No, it doesn't mean that," she said. "There are always other options. You could run away, for example. Or someone else could make a contract. In any case, even if you wish to become a magical girl, there is still time to decide. At its current rate of movement, I expect it to take five to ten days to arrive at this town. And I think there are other towns along that path, so perhaps someone else will finish it off before it gets here."

"I see," Saki said. "I hope so…"

"To think that such monsters actually exist," Aiko said. "It's… a frightening thought…"

After the shrine visit, Saki almost thought Aiko had started to consider her a friend, despite their differing social status, although the younger girl never called her by name. They played shogi almost every day, and Saki became skilled enough to beat Aiko in about two out of every five games. Once, the bandits actually dared to attack the town, but they were fended off by the town guards, most of whom were soldiers in the service of Aiko's father. Of course, Saki only heard about this second-hand, both from Pernelle and from Aiko, who heard it from the guards. It sounded like most of the bandits had been killed in the attack, and there had been no casualties in the town.

It was seven days later that Pernelle visited the capital for the second time, returning with a report that the Oda forces, led by Hideyoshi, had soundly defeated the rebellious Akechi forces at Mount Tennouzan.

"Most of the forces surrendered at Shouryuuji castle," Pernelle finished. "But Lord Toyotomi has dispatched detachments to chase down the few remnants who fled, including your father's forces. As for General Akechi himself, rumour has it that he fled alone and was killed by bandits, but I didn't stop to verify that claim."

"Oh no!" Aiko gasped. "That's exactly what I was worried about…"

Saki and Aiko had snuck out to visit Pernelle and hear the news, and were currently in the room at her inn. Laura was nowhere to be seen this time, and Nicholas had been heading out just as they arrived, so it was just the three of them.

"If I know him, Daddy's probably going to lead the troops against them even if it's hopeless," Aiko muttered. "Then he'll be killed in the fighting, and… and…"

"What would happen to the town then?" Saki asked.

"I don't know," Aiko said. "Maybe it would be okay, but I have no way to tell…"

"And… the castle?"

"Well… most likely, someone else would be placed in charge of it," Aiko said. "They might keep on some of the servants, but it's impossible to guess which ones… and given that your mother is unwell, she's likely to be let go."

"This is all so… so unfair," Saki said. "All these lords and generals have nothing to do with me… why should my life be at their beck and call?"

"Some people think they're better than others," Pernelle shrugged. "There's honestly not a lot you can do about it, other than avoiding those people."

"Then… maybe we should just… leave," Saki said.

"That's not an easy thing to do though," Aiko said.

"She's right," Pernelle said. "People get used to their homes. It's hard to convince them to get up and move to another place. And even if they did move, it's possible they would be chased down."

"Then we'd need a place to hide, somewhere we wouldn't be found," Saki said.

"That's going to be difficult too," Aiko said. "It's not like there are any unexplored areas in this country."

"Well, it's always possible the town will be unharmed, though," Pernelle said. "Why don't you wait a few more days and see? There's also the possibility that the approaching army gets swallowed up by that witch… I expect them to reach the town at about the same time."

"Okay," Saki said. "I'll wait and see."

Two days later, Aiko's fears were proven right. When the troops returned with the news of General Akechi's defeat and the detachment that had been chasing them back, Aiko's father put on his armour and headed out to join the troops in a last stand. Even though Aiko and her mother begged him not to go, he would not listen. The eldest son, Ichirou, also insisted on joining the troops. Once they were gone, Aiko dragged Saki to her room for a chat, and this time, Saki also dragged Noboru along.

"We have to do something," Aiko said. "I don't know what, but there has to be something… at this rate, the soldiers will likely end up fighting in the town itself… maybe even all the way back to the castle…"

"Do you think… do you think you can convince the townsfolk to leave?" Saki asked. "If fighting's likely to spread into the town, then it's not safe there… so maybe you can use that as an argument."

"I might be able to," Aiko said. "But where would they go?"

"Let me take care of that," Saki said. "And take my brother with you. He's a familiar face, so he might be helpful in convincing them."

"I don't know how much help I can be," Noboru said. "But I suppose I can try. That said… how exactly are you going to take care of finding a destination?"

"That's… I'll tell you later," Saki said. "I'll meet you in the town square once I've dealt with another matter."

"O-okay…"

"By the way, what about your other brother?" Saki asked.

"Big brother may be an idiot, but if everyone's going, I'm pretty sure he'll follow," Aiko said. "Okay… Noboru, come with me. I don't know how much time we have, and it'll probably take quite awhile to convince everyone, so we need to start as soon as possible. We should start with people who seem like they'll be easy to convince. They can then help us convince the others."

"Then we should start with Masanobu," Noboru said. "If Saki and I are going, obviously Mother would be coming too, and I think he likes her… why else would he be making her medicine for free?"

Aiko nodded. "Then let's start with him."

The two of them jumped up and left the room, leaving Saki alone. She pondered the situation for a minute or two, then raised her voice.

"Kyuubey! Are you there?"

"I have been waiting for this moment, Saki," the incubator said.

Kyuubey hopped up onto the table, but Saki didn't see where exactly the creature had come from.

"Are you ready to make a wish?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Saki said. "My wish is…" She trailed off for a few moments. "…to have a land where I can live freely with my friends and family."

"Understood," Kyuubey said.

The creature reached out its ear appendages, plunging them into her body and drawing her soul out. It hurt worse than anything she had ever felt, even when Ichirou was in a bad mood and taking it out on the servants, and Saki let out an involuntary shriek of pain. Fortunately, the pain lasted only a moment before the gleaming forest green soul gem formed, spinning around and falling into her hands.

"Your wish has surpassed entropy," Kyuubey said. "I have high hopes for you, Saki."

Saki marvelled at her soul gem's lustre for a few moments before jumping to her feet. Kyuubey hopped onto her shoulder and settled down there.

"Kyuubey… how do I detect witches?" Saki asked.

"Hold your soul gem in your hand like that," Kyuubey said. "When you get near a witch, you will sense a reaction from its magical signature."

"Can I detect other magical girls in the same way?" she asked.

"Yes, you can," Kyuubey said. "A magical girl's signature will have a different quality from a witch's."

Saki ran outside, sneaking out the way she usually did, but once she was outside, she didn't run down the hill. Instead, she transformed, donning her magical outfit, which resembled a forest green kimono cut short at the knees. It had black knee-high stockings, silver sandals, forest green gloves that extended just past the elbow, and a clover-leaf ornament gathering her hair into a high side tail.

Then she sank into the ground, burrowing in like a mole yet leaving no upturned earth to mark the place she entered. Knowing the approximate direction of the shrine, she burrowed in that direction at an incredible speed, moving through the earth as if it were a body of water.

Five minutes later, she surfaced once more, now in the forest. Looking around, she saw no signs of the shrine, but it wasn't the shrine itself that she was looking for. She powered down, holding her soul gem in her hand as she sought a magical signature. There!

She ran in that direction, crashing through the undergrowth, occasionally brushing by a thorny branch that tore at her clothing, until she finally arrived at a tiny hut set deep within the forest. Though she had lost all track of time as she ran, it must have taken at least an hour to reach the hut, perhaps even more. The signature she sought came from within the hut, so after placing her soul gem on her finger in ring form, she ran up to the door and banged on it.

The door opened almost immediately, startling her with its suddenness. As usual, Kuzunoha was naked and partially foxy, and the two of them stared at each other for several seconds before Saki broke the silence.

"Kuzunoha… we're leaving this town," Saki said. "I wanted to ask you to come with us."

"…what?" Kuzunoha said. "Why?"

"Because… because, I can tell you're lonely living alone out here," Saki said.

"I… can't live… with people… anymore," Kuzunoha said.

"That's fine," Saki said. "You don't need to live with people, but you could live near people."

"Where… are you… going?" Kuzunoha asked.

"East," Saki said. "To the coast, to find a boat."

Kuzonoha blinked. "Is that… so… and then?"

"Then… I'll know the place when I see it," Saki said. "There's an untouched island just waiting for us somewhere out there. I know it exists, because that was my wish."

"I… see," Kuzunoha said. "As I thought… you made… a wish."

"Also, before that, I'd like to ask you to help me defeat that witch," Saki added. "The powerful one that has been slowly approaching the town for the past few days. Even if we're abandoning the town, it wouldn't be right to leave that witch around to terrorize other nearby towns."

Kuzunoha nodded. "Very well… let me… put on some… clothes," she said.

Saki blinked. "Eh? You actually have some?"

"Of course… though… they are somewhat… old and worn… but… I kept them… safe… from moths… and the like."

Kuzunoha grabbed a comb from somewhere within and tore it roughly through her hair, spending a few minutes getting all the tangles out, unceremoniously snapping off or pulling out any strands of hair that refused to comply. Then she threw on some clothes that were tucked away in a corner, a simple blue yukata and some basic wooden geta. Once she was fully dressed, she partially coiled her hair up into a bun, pinning it in place with a pair of crossed chopsticks and leaving good amount of hair emerging from the bun, like a ponytail almost to her waist. Then she threw various small objects into a sack and turned to face Saki, who had been impatiently tapping her foot the entire time.

"Okay… I am… ready."

Saki blinked at her.

"I'm surprised you agreed so readily," she said. "I thought I'd have to work to convince you to come…"

"It has… been so long," Kuzunoha said. "So long, since… I have… travelled. This… is but an… excuse… to see… new lands."

She stepped out of the house, taking her soul gem out and leading the way through the woods.

"You used to travel a lot, then?" Saki asked.

"Yes… I have… seen much of… the mainland," Kuzunoha said. "But… after a… couple hundred… years… I settled down… here…"

"Huh… so you're not even from around here?" Saki said. "Where were you born?"

"It was… a village… near Edo Bay," Kuzunoha said. Suddenly she blinked. "Ah! My wish… I just… remembered…"

"Huh? How does that remind you of your wish?" Saki asked. "And… what was it?"

"It was… nothing… special," Kuzunoha said. "My village was… destroyed… when the mountain… exploded… I just… wished… to survive."

"Eh!? The mountain exploded!?"

Kuzunoha nodded.

"It was… so long ago… I barely… remember… but… hot ash… rained from the… sky… and molten rock… flowed down… the slopes. The Senoumi lake was… split in two… from the flows."

"A-amazing… to think a mountain could explode like that…"

Suddenly, the two of them emerged from the woods onto a narrow road, and Kuzunoha looked to her left.

"It is… close," she said.

"I feel it too," Saki said. "Do you think we can beat it?"

"I am… uncertain," Kuzunoha admitted. "But… if it is… too strong… we can… retreat."

"I hope we don't have to," Saki said.

"That witch may be strong, but you are strong too," Kyuubey said. "Your karmic destiny was unusually high, for a servant girl. Perhaps you are destined for great things."

Kuzunoha shot the incubator a glare.

"You…"

"I do not see what you are so angry about, Kuzunoha," Kyuubey said. "I did not force Saki to contract. She made the choice on her own."

"I can hear something," Saki said. "It sounds like… shouting… and metal clanging…"

"Sounds of… battle," Kuzunoha said. "The witch is… probably… on the battlefield. Come."

The two of them broke into a run, heading left down the road. The sounds of battle slowly grew louder, and after ten or fifteen minutes, they rounded a bend and finally looked out onto the battle itself. Although Saki didn't recognize anyone in the opposing forces, she was able to single out Aiko's father, urging his men on, and his eldest son, fighting on equal footing with the soldiers. However, they appeared to be vastly outnumbered. Only a convenient rocky outcropping prevented the enemy from completely overrunning them, offering just enough shelter from the enemy musket fire to make brief forays out into the open while the musketeers were reloading.

"There," Kuzunoha said.

She pointed not towards the battle but towards the woods, a little further along the road. Saki followed her in the indicated direction, and then suddenly there was something strange hanging in the air before them, a round circular design.

"That is the witch's portal," Kyuubey explained. "If you step through, you will enter her labyrinth."

"So this is what a witch is like…"

Kuzunoha stashed her sack just out of sight within the woods, and then Saki and Kuzunoha both stepped inside and transformed. Kuzunoha's magical outfit vaguely resembled the costume of a miko, but like the kimono of Saki's outfit, it was modified to cut off above the knees. Unlike Saki, her arms and legs were bare, though each foot bore an anklet of dazzling red… not stones… shells, perhaps? Her hairstyle was a bun identical to the one she'd styled earlier, if a touch neater, but the chopsticks were now bright crimson, with a long red ribbon attached to each and trailing down behind her. The fox tail and ears vanished, rendering her completely human for the first time since Saki had met her.

The interior of the labyrinth was very bizarre. It didn't even look like the real world – it was as if Saki had stepped into a Heian era picture scroll, a world that lacked shadows to give it depth, complete with a papery texture. The space was still three-dimensional, but it completely messed with her depth perception, and at first she stumbled every few steps due to misjudging the distance to an obstacle.

The scroll seemed to depict a dense forest, and as the two of them began to progress into the forest, strange creatures emerged from among the trees. They were shaped like humans, but their faces were on their chests, leaving the heads eerily blank, and they dressed in garish, clashing colours. They also seemed to lack hands and feet, instead possessing sharp-looking claws.

"These are the witch's familiars," Kyuubey explained. "You will have to get past them before you can face the witch."

Kuzunoha summoned five cracking yellow balls in a ring in front of her as she warily watched the approaching familiars. It made Saki think of the stories she'd heard of kitsunebi, lights that appeared at night to lead travellers astray, although she had never seen such lights herself so there was no way for her to know how similar Kuzunoha's power actually was.

"Huh? Wait, I thought you had no attack magic?" Saki asked.

"It is… a stretch… to call this… attack magic," Kuzunoha said. "Watch…"

With a gesture, she flung the balls towards the familiars. Each familiar struck by a ball was sent flying backwards, usually slamming into a tree… but each one quickly recovered and continued approaching.

"See? It is… at best… a distraction."

She summoned a double-edged sword with a curved pommel and a leaf motif on the hand guard – a tsurugi sword similar to ones that might have been used back in the era she was born in.

"To kill… I must use… this."

"Ah… so your weapon is a sword," Saki said. "Mine's an iron fan, so that means you have more reach than me…"

"Then… I will… take point," Kuzunoha said.

She stepped forward, driving off most of the nearby familiars with her crackling yellow balls, then charged in with her sword to stab the nearest familiar in the head. It burst into a cloud of smoke that rapidly dissipated.

"Okay… let me try now," Saki said.

She raised an arm and summoned rocky spikes from the ground, impaling three familiars in one go.

"Not… bad," Kuzunoha said.

The two of then continued to venture further into the painted woods, taking out the familiars as they went. After a little while, the trees gave way to something that vaguely resembled a village, with domed huts contained within a wooden palisade wall. Familiars leapt out from every doorway as they passed, but between Kuzunoha's sword and Saki's earth magic, they made quick work of the familiars each time they appeared.

Beyond the village was a high wall with a gate, which Kuzunoha unceremoniously kicked down. Strange runes were engraved above the gate, unlike any writing Saki had seen before. Or… no, it was similar to the writing she'd seen on Laura's ring. She had never learned to read in any case, though.

Kuzunoha followed her gaze and looked at the runes as well, tilting her head for a moment.

"Those… do have meaning… but… I never tried… to decipher… them," Kuzunoha said. "If you… examine your… soul gem ring… you will see… similar symbols. I assume… it is… your name."

"Huh…"

They ventured inside the wall, where they found what appeared to be a living castle. As they approached, it gathered itself up and slammed an arm down on them. Saki quickly raised an earthen rampart to ward off the blow, and the two of them darted in opposite directions as the thing's fist smashed into the rampart.

A voice sounded in Saki's mind.

«I will keep it distracted. You punch it until it gives up.»

Instinctively, Saki responded in the same way.

«Got it!»

Kuzunoha summoned her crackling yellow balls once more, pummelling the monstrous living castle with them. The barrage seemed to draw its attention to her, and it turned to face her. Then the witch opened its maw, the entire top floor of the castle opening up like a hinged lid on a box, and spewed out a torrent of… water. The torrent tore through the barrage of crackling balls, but as the balls disintegrated, the sparks comprising them travelled up the torrent of water, back into the witch's maw.

While all that went on, Saki conjured up several earthen dragons, which emerged from the ground and rammed into the witch from three different directions, smashing into the sides and causing it to buckle a little. It shuddered from the impact of Kuzunoha's sparks, and since it seemed to be momentarily stunned, Saki took advantage of that to ram one of her earthen dragons right down its maw while smashing another down from the top. The action forced the maw closed, biting off the earthen dragon she'd rammed inside.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to bring the creature down. After a few seconds, it recovered from the stun effect and spun to face Saki, forcing her to raise another earthen rampart in defense as it brought two fists down upon her. She was about to plan another avenue of attack when a familiar voice entered the fray, shouting something that sounded like pure gibberish to her ears.

"Kiss Shot! Ace Laura Orion, Heart-under-Blade!"

Well… she made out one familiar word in there, which was the name of the person shouting. Laura leapt through the gate, clad in a pink frilly knee-length dress with white petticoats, horizontally-striped purple and white knee-high socks, a pale pink bow tied at her back, an orange ring-shaped gemstone at her throat, and a purple bow atop her head. In addition to her outfit, she had grown wings, large demonic wings emerging from her back.

Flapping her wings and wielding a pair of swords of unfamiliar design, quite unlike the katanas that the guards at the castle used or the tsurugi that Kuzunoha used, Laura climbed high into the air, drawing in light around her blades until they gleamed more brightly than the sun before plunging down at the witch from above, blades crossed. As she struck the peak of the castle witch's roof, the light cloaking the blades extended and sharpened, somehow carrying the cutting edge far beyond the physical end of the blades.

The entire approach and attack took no longer than the time it took for Laura to call out the strange incantation that telegraphed it. As the witch cracked open like an egg, Laura landed next to it with a satisfied expression. whipping her left sword back to rest the wider, dull edge upon her shoulder.

"Take that, stupid witch!" she shouted.

Unfortunately, while it was certainly a major blow to the witch, it was not enough to finish it off. The ruined castle walls peeled off, and, emerging from the ruins like a butterfly from its cocoon, the witch's true body loomed. It was like a massive crab with a human female torso attached to the centre of its back. A torrent of water emerged from the neck of the human part, where the head would normally be attached, aimed this time at Laura, who squealed and leapt into the air with her wings to avoid it.

Saki conjured up three more earthen dragons to slam into the crab's sturdy shell, while Kuzunoha, no doubt remembering the effectiveness from last time, flung her crackling balls directly at the stream of water. As before, the sparks disintegrated but travelled up the stream to zap the witch's body, crackling all over its body and even spreading slightly onto the earthen dragons as they came in contact.

"A crab!?" Laura groaned from her vantage point far above. "I hate crabs! Alright, that does it! Feel my curse!"

An ominous-looking orange fog descended upon the witch, clinging to the body and seeming to slightly restrict its movement. It let out a keening cry and shuddered violently as it switched off the water torrent, then lunged at Kuzunoha with its pincers. However, Kuzunoha easily darted out of its way, flinging more crackling balls at it. Although they had little effect now that it wasn't spewing water, they did seem to at least keep the witch's attention on Kuzunoha. It scuttled in circles, attempting to catch her, but she flitted about with incredible speed, always a step ahead of it.

After several seconds of this. Saki spotted an opening and directed one of her earthen dragons to lunge in, smashing the thing's carapace once again. This time, the blow seemed to leave behind cracks on the carapace, an encouraging sign indeed. Saki smashed the same spot several times whenever an opening appeared, until she once more heard a voice in her head.

«Hold off next time! Let me stab the thing to death!»

«Uh, sure.»

So next time an opening appeared, Saki did nothing. Instead, Laura folded her wings and went into free-fall, blades extended downwards. Both blades stabbed right into the cracks left by Saki's earth dragons, and the witch once again let out a keening cry, this time long and sustained. That drew its attention away from Kuzunoha, who lunged in with her own sword to vertically bisect the humanoid portion of the witch, then stab down at the base of the cut into the crab itself.

As even that seemed insufficient to defeat the monster, Saki decided to join in as well, conjuring up five separate earthen dragons from the ground around the crab and smashing its carapace from all directions. As they made contact with the witch, those cracks from the earlier attack suddenly spread rapidly through the carapace. Moments later, it shattered, the fragments scattering as Laura and Kuzunoha leapt back.

But it still wasn't over. Beneath the crab-like carapace was a strange shadowy creature, a bit like a snake coiled up, and the moment it was free of its prison, it whipped out and lunged at Saki. Though startled, she managed to erect an earthen rampart in its way, while Laura and Kuzunoha also leapt into action.

"Wow, three forms?" Laura said. "This is a really tough one… it has surely been more than fifty years since I fought a witch like this."

They both struck the shadowy snake-like creature with their blades, but they seemed to sort of slide off without leaving a mark.

"Huh… incorporeal, is it?" Laura mused. "Then I suppose we must use magic…"

She leapt back and shouted, holding her hands out with thumbs and forefinger touching, forming a triangle as if framing her target.

"Kiss Shot!"

Her hands briefly flashed, and a hole opened in the snake's body, as if struck by a bullet. However, the wound rapidly closed.

"Guess my curse already wore off," Laura mused.

"Why do you say that?" Saki asked.

"Well, one of its effects is to neutralize regeneration abilities," Laura said. "But it just regenerated, so that means…"

"Ah, I get it…"

While the two of them were talking, Kuzunoha tried pummelling it with her crackly balls, but that did nothing but draw its attention onto her. However, that in itself was probably a good thing, because this third form of the witch was really fast, and of the three of them, Kuzunoha was by far the fastest. As the snake-thing lunged at her, it actually came close, missing her by a hair as she dodged.

"So… any ideas?" Laura asked.

"Hmm…"

They watched as the snake tore off a strip of the castle-cocoon from the first form and used it like a whip, swinging it at Kuzunoha. The speed seemed a bit much even for her, so Saki blocked it by an earthen rampart that then morphed into a dragon and tore the strip from its grasp.

"First, let's isolate it," Saki said.

She clapped her hands together in the Shinto praying posture, and suddenly the landscape changed, an infinite grassy field extending in all directions. All trace of the witch's labyrinth was gone, leaving behind only the shadowy snake witch itself and the three magical girls facing it down. Laura blinked in surprise.

"Wait… is this… a labyrinth of your own!?" she gasped. "Amazing! I've never seen a magical girl do something like that!"

"At least it can't use its own corpse as a weapon now," Saki said. "Maybe you should use your curse again… it also slows it down, right?"

"Good point," Laura said. "Feel my curse!"

Again she emitted that ominous orange fog, encasing the witch in it and slowing its movements as it played cat-and-mouse with Kuzunoha.

"That um… light magic of yours… Kiss Shot or something? It seemed effective," Saki said. "Can you do it in a barrage or something?"

"Do you mean, many of them all at once?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, exactly."

"Hmm… I have never tried… but I think I could do it," Laura said. "I will need… probably thirty seconds to build up the magic."

"Well… with how things are going now… I think you have the time," Saki said.

Indeed, the witch was so focused on Kuzunoha that it seemed to have forgotten about the others entirely. Saki stepped forward just in case, ready to raise an earthen rampart if the witch suddenly decided to turn on them, and behind her, Laura began to build up magic power.

It was only about twenty seconds later when the witch suddenly abandoned its chase of Kuzunoha to lunge at Laura and Saki. She quickly raised an earthen rampart to block its charge, but it only took it barely five seconds to change direction and hop over the rampart. Saki gasped, extruding a shelf back from her rampart to block its now-downward lunge, but again it quickly corrected its direction and rounded the edge of the shelf. With no options left to fend it off, Saki summoned her weapons, a pair of iron fans, using one as a shield placed directly the witch's face, while the other snuck up to slash at it from below. That's when Laura let off her attack.

"Ace Orion Multi Kiss Shot!" she shouted.

As she spread her arms, a series of bright flashes occurred along their length. Instantly, the snake was full of holes. Then Saki did a backflip to put some distance between her and the witch, and Kuzunoha leaped in from behind, thrusting her sword straight into one of the holes before it could close and dragging the blade through the whole length of the witch's body right up to its head.

It was finally enough to overcome the witch's amazing resilience. Instead of healing its wounds, the witch disintegrated into dust, leaving behind nothing but a black orb with a spike on the bottom and a crab shape at the top.

"That is a grief seed," Kyuubey said helpfully. "You can use it to purify your soul gem. If you look, you will see it has lost quite a bit of its usual lustre, since you used a lot of magic in this battle.

Saki grabbed her soul gem from its position just above the obi of her outfit and looked at it. Sure enough, its originally bright forest green had turned quite murky and dark. Laura scooped up the grief seed and handed it to her.

"You go first," she said.

"Is that okay?" Saki asked. "You probably both need it too… right?"

"At my age… you learn… to be very… efficient… with your… magic," Kuzunoha explained. "So… I am… less in need… than you."

"As for me… I'm not really in danger even if I don't get one," Laura said. "If it gets too dark, I'll just black out until someone's kind enough to share one. It's happened many times before, so I'm used to it."

Saki blinked. "Eh, but… if you seemed to be dead when that happened… what if someone buried or cremated you?"

"Been buried a few times," Laura said. "I've managed to avoid cremation… that might actually be the end of me… although I can't be certain. Then again, that wouldn't be so bad, either."

"Well alright… if you're both sure…"

Saki accepted the grief seed and pressed it against her soul gem, drawing out all the impurities. Then she offered it to Kuzunoha, who proceeded to to the same. Her soul gem was apparently mixed in with the red shell-like objects on her left anklet. It was red and shaped like a teardrop. Then Kyuubey spoke up again.

"Looks like that's the most use you can get out of it. Let me take care of it."

But Laura had other ideas.

"Let me have it first," she said. "I can probably squeeze in a little bit more."

She grabbed the grief seed and pressed it to the ring-shaped gem at her throat. As she said, it managed to draw out a little bit of impurities, although it didn't seem to have much effect on the lustre of her soul gem. When she was done, she flung it at Kyuubey, who flipped and caught it in the round marking on it back, startling Saki since she hadn't realized that it was an opening.

"By the way… since when did you speak Japanese so well, Lady Laura?" Saki asked.

"Pernelle's been teaching me hard," Laura said, grinning. "And I already knew three languages, so I guess that makes me a fast learner."

"Three languages…?"

"Romanian, German, and Latin," Laura said.

"I have no idea what any of those are, but sure," Saki said. "Um… okay, I guess I should dispel this labyrinth…"

As she said that, the infinite grassy plain vanished, depositing them at the edge of the woods. The battle that had been going on when they entered seemed to have moved – they could still hear the sounds of battle, but it seemed like they were closer to the town. Kuzunoha took a moment to retrieve her sack from where she left it before they entered the labyrinth.

"Hey, um, Laura… since you can fly, do you think you could carry us back to the town?" Saki asked.

"Hmm… sure, why not," Laura shrugged. "I need to say goodbye to Pernelle, anyway."

She grabbed Kuzonoha's and Saki's hands and flapped her wings, lurching up into the sky.

"Huh? Wait… why are you saying goodbye?" Saki asked. "Why not come with us?"

"Well… there isn't really a reason," Laura said. "I guess I just feel like seeing more of this country, that's all. Maybe we'll meet again though. You never know."

"I see…"

They fell silent for the rest of the journey. They passed over the battle just outside the town, and while she hadn't counted the men earlier, it seemed like the troops on the side of Aiko's father were somewhat diminished, although his eldest son was still alive. Laura carried the two of them to the town square, where it seemed everyone in the town was gathered around Aiko, Noboru, Pernelle, and, unexpectedly, the lady of the castle. Several covered wagons had been set up off to the side, one of which was crammed with all sorts of stuff, at least some of which looked like it was probably food. Their arrival was swiftly followed by shouts of surprise.

"You… you're the god of the shrine on the hill!?" one old man gasped.

"Yes… I suppose… that is what… the people of this town… have come to… know me as," Kuzunoha said. "Although… I regret… to say that… I'm no god… I'm… human…"

"Those aren't mutually exclusive!" the same old man retorted.

"So you went and did it, Saki?" Pernelle said.

"Yes… I made my decision," Saki said.

"Well, that's fine with me," she shrugged. "The crowd has been waiting for you, you know. Lady Aiko has given you some truly glowing praise."

Saki blinked. "Ehh!? L-like what?" she asked.

"Now's not the time for that!" Aiko retorted. "You have to give them a speech! But… before that… you're our leader, so you need a family name!"

Saki blinked. "Eh!?"

"I was thinking it'd be cool to take the kanji for 'woman', since you're a magical girl," Aiko said. "And then maybe add the kanji for 'time', because it's sort of a good omen that suggests your house will last a long time."

"I have no idea what any of that even means," Saki said.

"It's fine, it's fine!" Aiko said eagerly. "Just tell me which one you like! For 'time' the best readings are probably toki or shi, and for 'woman', maybe me or jo… so just consider ways of smashing those together. Or if you don't like any of them, we can think up something else!"

"Um… Shime… Shijo…" Saki muttered.

"You could also reverse the order," Aiko pointed out.

"Joshi… Meshi… Jotoki… Metoki… none of those sound good," Saki mused. "Tokijo… Tokime…" She trailed off for a moment. "I guess Tokime sounds nice…?"

"Are you sure?" Aiko asked.

Saki hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Yeah… I kinda like it."

"Then Tokime it shall be!" Aiko said. "And what about your given name?"

Saki blinked. "Eh? You don't know it?"

"Well, we never formally introduced ourselves," Aiko said. "I think someone might've mentioned it once or twice, but that's not enough to make it stick in my memory… and besides, you're starting a new life today. It's your chance to pick a new name, if you'd like!"

"Um… Saki… no…" She trailed off. "Saki… Sakura… Saku…ya? How does that sound?"

"Like Sakuya-hime, the goddess of Mount Fuji?" Aiko exclaimed. "I like it!"

"Eh? Wait… is it okay to name myself after a god?" Saki gasped.

"It's totally fine!" Aiko said. "Nobles often take on names based on the gods."

"Alright then… let's go with that."

Aiko turned to the crowd and raised her voice, somehow not shouting yet still making her voice carry across the entire square.

"Here she is!" she said. "Our new leader, Tokime no Sakuya, the diviner who will lead us to a new land! Let's hear her speak!"

"Um!" Saki… Sakuya said. "What I want is a land free from the nobles who push us around, fighting over stupid things and trampling over us! A land where we can work for ourselves, rather than for our selfish overlords! And that land waits for us now, to the east! All we need to do is make our way there!"

Her words were met with scattered cheers from the crowd. When she was finished, she stepped back and let Aiko take over again.

"After hearing that, is there anyone who's still reluctant to come with us?" Aiko shouted.

Dead silence fell.

"In that case… children, elderly, and sick, get in the wagons!" Aiko's mother said, speaking up for the first time. "Everyone else will have to walk! And there's still a little room in the luggage wagon, so if there are any valuables or family heirlooms you've left behind, now's the time to fetch them! Let's get going, before the fighting reaches the town!"

Most of the townspeople made for the wagons, although one or two seemed to remember something they'd forgotten and ran off to grab it. While they were doing that, Laura turned to those in the centre of the square, grabbing the edges of her skirt and drawing them outwards while putting one leg behind the other and bending her knees, at the same time bowing her head slightly.

"Thank you, Pernelle, for all the help you've given me," Laura said. "I have decided I want to see more of this country, so I will not be accompanying you on this journey. Farewell, and good luck."

Pernelle nodded. "Before you go, let me give you a few grief seeds. You look like you could use one right now."

Laura nodded. "If it is not too much trouble, I would be very grateful for it," she said.

"It's okay," Pernelle said. "I have enough with me to last a whole year without fighting any witches, and I have even more back home in Paris. So it won't hurt me to part with a couple."

She pulled out two grief seeds from somewhere and handed them to Laura, who accepted them.

"Thank you very much," Laura said.

"Farewell, Laura of Wallachia," Pernelle said.

With that, Laura flapped her wings and took to the sky once more, wheeling once over the town before turning to head north.

«Looks like the fighting has entered the outskirts of town,» she said. «Thought you should know.»

«Thank you for the information,» Pernelle responded, sharing the link with Sakuya as well. Then she turned to Kuzunoha. "What about you?" she asked. "Will you be staying behind as well?"

Kuzunoha shook her head. "Saki… Lady Sakuya… invited me to… join her," Kuzunoha said. "Since it is… about time… for a change of… pace for me… and… I have indeed… been lonely for… the past… few hundred… years… I have… chosen to… accept her… invitation."

"Then, we'll be happy to have you," Pernelle said.

"Indeed, I believe the god of our shrine joining us was the deciding factor for those of the people who were on the fence," Aiko's mother said. "So, thank you for joining us."

"Um… where's Mother?" Sakuya asked.

"Don't worry," Pernelle said. "She's already in one of the wagons, with Masanobu. She's asleep right now."

"Oh… good," Sakuya said. "Um… I almost hate to ask, but… what about Aiko's brother?"

"Big brother is… around somewhere," Aiko said. "He didn't want to come, but when I said the alternative was probably death, he reluctantly climbed into one of Pernelle's wagons. Or maybe it was Mommy who managed to talk some sense into him."

"He was fast asleep when I last checked," her mother added.

"Speaking of which… where did those wagons come from?" Sakuya asked.

"I transmuted them," Pernelle said. "Several of the townsfolk were kind enough to let me use the wood from their houses to create them. As for the horses, we took them from the castle stables. The ox pulling the luggage wagon was a work animal donated by one of the farmers."

"So everyone from the castle is coming too?" Sakuya asked. "I mean, all the servants… since they're the only ones left."

Aiko's mother nodded. "Everyone is here. All our servants, the townspeople, and four or five farmers who work the surrounding fields. Even the Christian priest agreed to come… I hope he doesn't make trouble though."

"Ah, Father Shouhei," Sakuya nodded. "He seemed nice, so I guess I'm happy to have him…"

Aiko's mother looked surprised at her observation, but just shrugged and chose not to comment.

"Looks like it's time for us to join the crowd," Pernelle said.

Sure enough, several of the townsfolk had grabbed the reins on the horses and ox, and the wagons were beginning to move, surrounded by the younger adults of the town.

"I don't think I'd even fit on the wagon now," Aiko said.

"Then I'll carry you," Pernelle said.

She bent down to let Aiko climb on her back, and they all fell in behind the crowd. Once they were out of the confines of the town, the magical girls circled around to the front so that Sakuya could lead the way.

After a couple of days of travel, during which a couple more farmers joined up with their families, the party arrived at a tiny fishing village on the coast. Aiko went with her mother and Pernelle to talk with the residents about using their boat, and after some negotiations, they returned.

"So… will they let us use their boats?" Sakuya asked.

"Actually… we convinced them to join us," Aiko said. "At least some of them."

"Y-you're kidding…" Sakuya said. "Really?"

"They're spreading the word to the rest of the village," Aiko said. "But I think it's likely the whole village will join us. We're trying to build a whole new community here, so the more the better, right?"

"Yeah… you're right," Sakuya admitted. "I'm happy these people have decided to join us."

While we waited in the village square for everyone to decide, an imposing giant of a man emerged from a tiny inn at the side of the square, stooping to fit through the doorway. He was dressed like a samurai and towered over everyone else in the village, and his skin was almost as dark as charcoal. Sakuya had never seen someone like him before and couldn't help herself – she stared at him as he paused to look around the square, seemingly a little startled by the number of people there. Then he did a double-take before striding right towards her.

"W-w-wait!? He's coming over!?" Sakuya gasped.

Hearing her exclamation, Pernelle turned and spotted him. She blinked.

"Oh? Is that…?"

The man reached her and bowed slightly.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" he asked. "Is this truly the great Pernelle Flamel before me?"

Pernelle nodded. "Indeed, it is I. I remember you well. Your name was… Yisake Yasufe, if I recall correctly, right? Last time we met, you only came up to here… you've grown quite a lot since then."

She gestured to just below her chest, indicating the man's height at their last meeting.

"Yes, it has been many years," Yisake said. "But I never thought to encounter you in this strange land. I swear you look like you have not aged a day since that time. What brings you to this place?"

"I came to study the eastern medicine and alchemy," Pernelle said. "What about you?"

"Truly, I did not have a particular goal in mind when I boarded a Portuguese trading vessels in Mozambique in the company of a Jesuit missionary," Yisake said. "We stayed on board for a number of years as they travelled across the globe, carrying goods of every description and bringing the Word of the Lord to many different people."

Pernelle made a face.

"A missionary… I've always hated those types," she muttered. "In my view, the Word of the Lord should be spread to those who seek it out, not thrust upon strangers in a strange land. Who are we to judge what salvation means for foreign people?"

Yisake simply shrugged. "I was primarily along as a bodyguard, to be clear. Anyway, when I disembarked in Osaka and met Oda Nobunaga, I decided to join his cause as a warrior."

"Then… you were an actual retainer of Lord Oda!?" Aiko gasped. "Did you know Lady Ikeda? She was one of his warriors…"

Yisake nodded. "Do you mean Ikeda Sen? I was aware of her, but we didn't often speak."

"I suppose that's my one regret to running away like this," Aiko said with a sigh. "Now I'll never be able to meet her myself…"

"If you were fighting for his cause… then what brings you to this remote village?" Pernelle asked.

"In the end, my respect for the man himself outshone my belief in his cause," Yisake said. "After he was forced to commit seppuku, I fought General Akechi's men alongside his eldest son, but we were soundly defeated, and I was taken captive. Any lingering attachment I had evaporated when that oaf of a general insulted my honour and carted me off to a nearby Christian church in Heian-kyou. Fortunately, as I was a fellow Christian, the minister there sympathized with my plight and allowed me to depart unchallenged. Since then I have been travelling. I only arrived in this village late last night."

"So that aside… do you want to join us?" Aiko asked eagerly.

Yisake blinked. "In what venture?"

"We're heading to a new land across the sea," Aiko said. "And I think it can't hurt to have someone like you who knows how to fight. After all… even if it's peaceful when we arrive, it's not like it always will be, right? Someday, others will follow us. We should at least have a few people to pass down fighting skills."

"I suppose you're right," Sakuya said. "I should have thought of that… maybe my wish wasn't such a great one after all…"

"Don't say that," Aiko said. "I don't know what your wish was, exactly, but if it lets us be free, I'm sure it had to be a great one."

"Hmm… I had considered returning to my homeland," Yisake said. "But it is not as if I have much of a home to return to. If you will have me, I would be happy to offer my services as a warrior. And if as you say the place we are going is peaceful, then my skills as a hunter will also come in handy."

Sakuya nodded. "Yeah, sure… that's great. Um…"

Before Sakuya had a chance to question him about his appearance and the various references he dropped in his conversation with Pernelle, someone from the fishing village came up to say that yes, everyone was open to joining the exodus. By the time they were finished with that, Yisake had moved away to chat with Nicholas, so Sakuya decided to put off any questions for later.

It took almost two days to get everything organized. Pernelle transmuted the wagons into boats, and the villagers brought out all their fishing boats for additional capacity, but it still wasn't quite enough to fit everyone, so several of the men chopped down a few trees and brought them in for Pernelle to fashion into additional boats, marvelling at the speed with which she could reshape the wood with her magic. In the end they had a fleet of nearly thirty small boats, including enough room for some animals. There were several oxen, including the one who had pulled the luggage wagon, and all the horses that had been taken from the castle. There were also several chickens brought by the same farming family who added the additional oxen, and there were some dogs and cats as well, though it wasn't entirely clear whether someone had intentionally brought the cats or if they just jumped in of their own accord.

By the end of the second day, they were out of sight of the mainland, and could only see water in every direction. Only Sakuya's internal compass remained to keep them on course, and some of the people were beginning to express misgivings. Fortunately, there had been no storms, and no ships had gotten separated from the fleet, so she was able to reassure them that they were getting close.

"Can you estimate how much further it is?" Pernelle asked on the third day.

"I think… we're just about there," Sakuya said. "We're just… a little early."

The two of them were both transformed, gazing out from the bow of one of Pernelle's transmuted ships. Sakuya had made a habit of staying transformed whenever she was awake, to emphasize her position as their leader and diviner.

"What do you mean?" Pernelle asked.

"It's… growing," Sakuya said. "It's been growing every since I made the wish, I think… but the sea here was originally quite deep, so it took a long time. Now that we're here though, I think I can… accelerate it a little."

She closed her eyes and expanded her power downwards, through the sea and into the sea floor. It was not, as one might expect, the downward slope of a receding continental shelf. There was a massive bulge below which was slowly growing bigger, and as Sakuya infused her power into that bulge, the rate of growth increased.

"Looks like… I was right," Sakuya said, eyes still closed. "It's right there, under the sea… growing larger…"

Pernelle blinked. "Hold on… you don't mean… is it going to erupt!? If so, it'll be dangerous to be so close…"

"Erupt? Um… no… it's just… growing," Sakuya said. "I think it should break the surface by… the end of the day."

"Well, this should be good," Aiko said, walking up behind her.

"That fast?" Pernelle said. "It's already midday, so about six hours?"

"I think… I can… see something… already."

Kuzunoha had walked up behind them unheard, and Sakuya and Aiko turned to look at her, startled. She looked the same as when she'd left her tiny hut on that fateful day, complete with the foxy ears and tail. Those ears twitched as she gazed out over the water.

"And… there's a… sound," Kuzunoha added. "Water… movement…"

"She's right," Pernelle said. "It's faint, but I can hear the sound of water being displaced."

"I can't hear anything," Aiko said.

"That's only natural," Pernelle said. "Magical girls have keener hearing than regular humans. But you will be able to hear it before long, I think."

In addition to the sound, there was a disturbance in the distance, like the water was being stirred up by something far beneath. It must have been what Kuzunoha spotted.

"By the way… midday meal is… ready," Kuzunoha added.

"I'm not hungry," Sakuya said.

"I'll bring you something then!" Aiko said.

She ran off, Sakuya half turning to watch her go.

"But I said…"

"She's right, though," Pernelle said. "You should eat a little, even if you're nervous."

"I suppose…"

Sakuya turned back to watch as that disturbance in the water slowly, ever so slowly, grew larger. Aiko returned a little later with food, and Sakuya found herself hungrier than she'd thought, wolfing it down in no time flat. After that, Aiko tried to tempt her into a game of shogi, but Sakuya refused, fixing her eyes on that patch of turbulent waters far ahead.

The sun was hanging low in the sky when it abruptly expanded. The small waves that had been buffeting the ships until then suddenly grew to three times the height, flinging them up into the air for a moment only to plunge them all down the other side. Thankfully, the sailors among them had already turned the boats sideways – though surely they never could've foreseen such an abrupt surge, it had been clear for at least an hour that the waves were only going to get higher.

And there it was – a massive barren body of rock emerging from the sea, the waves pushing the boats back. Sakuya seized Pernelle's hand, squeezing it.

"From above!"

Pernelle nodded, and they were suddenly a hundred metres up, standing on an invisible platform and looking down upon the island as it emerged from the sea. It was truly massive, enough that even from that height Sakuya could not ascertain its full extent. Pernelle took her even higher until they could make out its outline. There was a large bay on the southwest, and mountains leading from the northeast towards the centre where they petered out into rolling hills before giving way to a wide plain bordering the bay. From that height, the ships looked like mere ants, floating just north of the island towards the west.

"Impressive," Pernelle said. "But it's just rock… that can't possibly…"

"It's fine," Sakuya said. "Just wait. But for now… let's return to the ship."

"Right," Pernelle said.

The moment they returned, they were hailed by Masanobu.

"Lady Sakuya!"

"I told you not to call me lady!" Sakuya protested. "It's one thing for everyone else, but you're like a father to me!"

"Sorry, but um… where should we land? It looks barren…"

"Don't worry about that," Sakuya said. "Head west along the coast, then south… there should be a large bay where we can land. By that time, the magic should have finished making the place livable."

"That'd be good," one of the sailors spoke up. "A bay will shelter our ships from the weather, to a degree. Alright boys, let's get that tack going!"

They unfurled the sails and began heading west as instructed. Sakuya stayed up as the sun sank into the sea, watching the land go by. Pernelle left her there, but Aiko and Kuzunoha snuggled up with her, the former falling fast asleep.

"You do not… need to… stay awake," Kuzunoha said.

"I want to," Sakuya said. "I want to see the land my wish created with my own eyes before anyone else."

Kuzunoha didn't seem to have anything to say to that. The sailors continued all night long, taking shifts on the watch, and by the time the sun was peeking up over the rim of the new island, the coast had already started to veer significantly south. They followed it for the whole day, and Sakuya marvelled as she saw vegetation bloom over the course of the day – grass, trees, and flowers springing up in the blink of an eye. She wasn't the only one to gasp at the sight, either – it seemed everyone was awed by it.

The sun sank into the sea once more, and they continued south, seeking the bay Sakuya had spotted. They finally found it around midday the following day, rounding a peninsula only to spot another one ahead, and they steered their ships into the bay. By the end of the day, they had a makeshift camp set up on the shoreline.

"Well, this should be interesting," Pernelle mused. "I wonder how long it'll be before witches find us here…"

"There's even animals here!" Aiko said, running around excitedly and pointing. "Look! There's a rabbit! And squirrels! Even monkeys!"

The animals didn't seem to have any fear of humans. They just watched curiously as everyone ran around setting things up.

"Nick dear, let's go map the place out," Pernelle said.

"Good idea," Nicholas said. "I'll grab some parchment."

A few minutes later, the two of them vanished. Sakuya peered up into the sky, but she couldn't see them anywhere, so she got right back to helping everyone unload. One of the oxen was too frightened to disembark, so Sakuya hopped onto the ship, hefted it over her shoulder, and leapt back to shore before setting it down again. Kuzunoha then leapt in to calm the frightened animal.

Once she was sure everyone was safely off the ships and into a shelter, Sakuya finally gave into her fatigue, flopping down onto a pile of straw and falling fast asleep.

When she was woken by Aiko, it was midday. She sat up, blinking.

"Huh? Did I… sleep all morning?"

Aiko giggled. "Way more than that, Sakuya!" she said. "You slept through two whole days! This is the third full day since we landed."

"O-oh no!" Sakuya gasped. "There must be a whole lot of things I need to do!"

"There isn't really anything," Aiko said. "Not yet, at least. Everyone managed pretty well so far. They've been cutting down trees and building a proper town! And Pernelle just got back this morning."

"Oh… she was away for two days too?"

Aiko nodded. "You've gotta come see her map! It's amazing! And she found out so much about this island of yours!"

Aiko grabbed her hand and dragged her out of what seemed to be an actual wood building. Looking around, Sakuya quickly realized that it was the only building that had been completed. All the other houses she could see were still lacking a roof, and some didn't even have walls yet.

"W-why'd they make my place first!?" Sakuya complained.

"Forget that," Aiko said. "Pernelle's over there."

Aiko led her over to a gathering around a wooden table set in what looked like it was right on track to becoming the town square. Pernelle and Nicholas were both there, but Kuzunoha was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, you're finally up, Sakuya," Pernelle said. "Come, take a look at my map."

Sakuya did, and gasped at the level of detail. It gave a good feel of the elevation of the island, emphasizing the northeastern mountains in particular. She spotted at least three rivers and several small lakes. There were also drawings of animals in some of the open spaces. Sakuya recognized horses, cattle, deer, and rabbits, and there were a few she didn't recognize too. She placed her finger on one of them, lurking around a forested area.

"Pigs," Pernelle said. "There seem to be quite a few of them, actually."

"And you found horses?"

"A small breed, but yes," Pernelle said. "I spotted two distinct herds on the south-central plains, but there could be more."

Sakuya moved her finger north, towards the mountains.

"This looks like a dog…"

Pernelle nodded. "Wolves, and quite a large number to judge from the cadence of the howls we heard. They're not depicted, but we saw several foxes too, mostly red foxes but I also spotted a white fox… possibly an albino, but it could also be a separate species."

"You've been astonishingly thorough," Sakuya said. "This is a huge help!"

"What's most astonishing to me is that it appears that the predator-prey dynamics are surprisingly well-balanced," Pernelle said. "If we hadn't come, this island probably would've continued to exist just as it is now, with no major changes. There are scavengers too, such as the crows."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I still think your attention to detail is amazing," Sakuya said. "So… should we come up with a name for this place?"

"Everyone's already calling it Shinriku," Aiko said. "Because it's our new land. But… this town hasn't been named yet."

"Has anyone proposed anything?" Sakuya asked.

"Not yet," Aiko said. "Although… I do have an idea."

"Go ahead," Sakuya said.

"Mitakihara," Aiko said. "The mi is from 'to see', taki for 'rapids', and hara for 'field'. Although, the meaning isn't that important… I just liked the sounds and picked kanji that fit. There are rapids further upstream, though."

"Upstream?" Sakuya said. "Oh, there is a river not far from us on the map…"

"The river's pretty close," Aiko said. "We actually moved from the original landing spot specifically to be closer to the river. See, we landed over here, but now we're around here."

She indicated two spots on the map within the bay.

"Well, it sounds nice, so if no-one else has any ideas, we might as well go with yours," Sakuya said. "But let's ask everyone else first, okay?"

"Okay!"

Aiko ran off to start asking around, and Sakuya let out a sigh.

"So… it looks like my wish was fulfilled," she said. "But… I also have to fight witches, right?"

Pernelle nodded. "I haven't sensed any though," she said. "Given how far we are from mainland Japan, it might be quite awhile before any witches find their way here, so just let me know if you need grief seeds. I can share what I have, which should be able to last about four months, I think."

"Before you said they'd last a year," Sakuya said.

"That was assuming I was the only one using them, of course," Pernelle said. "And I already gave two to Laura. Plus I don't need a lot of grief seeds… nor does Kuzunoha, likely for similar reasons. Having a newly-contracted magical girl around, however… and all the transmuting I did to create those wagons and boats… it really eats into my supply. So… I'm going to have to ask you not to use magic more than necessary."

Sakuya nodded. "I understand," she said. "If there are no witches, I don't really have any reason to use magic, so I just won't. Has Kyuubey been seen?"

"He was here earlier, but he left," Pernelle said. "Did you want him for something?"

"Not really, just wondered if he had any idea how long it might take for witches to find us," Sakuya said. "I can just wait for the next time he shows up."

"I have sensed some magic."

Sakuya looked up from the table where she was practicing her calligraphy.

"Kuzu!" Sakuya exclaimed. "Where have you been for the last week?"

Kuzunoha, or Kuzu as those closest to her had begun to call her, simply tilted her head.

"I was exploring the forest in fox form," she said. "Pernelle's map is useful but misses the fine details of the terrain, especially in forested areas."

She had also gotten more used to speaking over the past few months, and her speech was no longer all disjointed.

"But that is beside the point," Kuzu continued. "You should come with me. I have already summoned Pernelle."

"Alright," Sakuya said. Turning to Aiko's mother, who was acting as her tutor, she apologized. "This is important, so I'll just have to drop this and go. We can just do a little extra next time."

The woman nodded. "I understand," she said. "The diviners of Mitakihara have their own duties that must be attended to."

The two of them left the room and met with Pernelle at the town border. Sakuya's residence, which she shared with Aiko's family as well as Masanobu, was just northeast of the town proper.

"So, I hear you've sensed a witch," Pernelle said.

"I am not sure," Kuzunoha said. "It was definitely a magic signature, but it seemed… different… from a witch."

"Where was it?" Pernelle asked. "I didn't sense anything, so is it outside of the town?"

"No… it is right in the town square," Kuzu replied.

Pernelle blinked. "Really? I just came from that direction… how could I have missed it?"

"From what I can tell… it is a little intermittent," Kuzunoha said. "I sensed it twice, but the first time it faded after about a minute. The second time lasted a little longer, so I believe it to be slowly growing stronger."

The three of them arrived in the town square after a couple of minutes, and Pernelle and Sakuya looked around curiously.

"I don't sense anything," Sakuya said.

"Hmm," Pernelle said. "It's faint, but… I think I can sense something… not a presence, but a trace of something that was here before. Have there been any reports around here that could be attributed to a witch?"

"Two people fainted," Kuzu said. "I am not certain, but I believe each of them corresponded to one of the times I sensed the magical signature. Both victims are still unconscious, but it does not seem like they are in danger."

"So you're saying we just need to watch and wait?" Pernelle said.

"Mostly," Kuzu said. "However, I chose this time to summon you because the time since the second occurrence has been about the same as the time between the first two occurrences. I surmised that they could be happening at regular intervals."

"No way to be sure from only two occurrences," Pernelle said. "But it's probably the best guess you can get. Let's see if you're right."

But nothing seemed to come. They waited for nearly an hour with no sign of anything untoward. They were just about to break up and go their separate ways when Sakuya gasped.

"L-look…! What's that mist!?"

A black mist was rising up from the ground. It had a similar quality to the impurities that corrupted a magical girl's soul gem, and before the other two could react, it was all around them. Though there were a few other people in the square, chatting, they didn't seem to notice the mist.

"This… what is this?" Pernelle wondered. "It does seem to be a work of magic…"

Suddenly dark giants loomed from the mist, three of them towering over the trio. They looked like they were on the verge of disintegrating, but even so they each raised a fist and slammed it down at the trio.

The three of them scattered and transformed, the fists slamming into the building behind them and shattering its roof. Kuzu leapt at the nearest one, shredding it with her sword. Sakuya called up a pair of earthen dragons from the ground beneath her feet, slamming them into the second one and smashing it to smithereens. And Pernelle pulled a stone spear right out of the ground and stabbed the third one from beneath. It too gave in quickly, collapsing into dust. With the giants all defeated, the mist dissipated and vanished.

"Oh, interesting," Pernelle said. "The mist erased all the damage… see, that building behind you is intact once more. Even the ground I made my spear from has been restored."

Sakuya turned to look at the now-intact building. "Oh wow…"

"That is certainly what I sensed," Kuzu said. "But… what exactly is it?"

Pernelle knelt on the ground and picked up a small black cube. Sakuya spotted a few more and also knelt to check them out. They looked a lot like grief seeds, except for their shape.

"Well, it seems I've learned something new today," Pernelle said. "This environment without witches has given rise to a completely new type of monster, it seems… and this cube… can it purify a soul gem, I wonder?"

Sakuya tried pressing one to her soul gem, watching as it drew out the impurities.

"Looks like it can!" she said.

"And there are a lot of them," Kuzu said. "One, two…" She trailed off, continuing the count silently. "Eleven in all."

"Well, I had been thinking about heading back to Paris," Pernelle said. "But this changes everything. I simply must study these new monsters. It seems like you'll be stuck with me for awhile longer, Sakuya."

"But at least we won't have to worry so much about grief seeds now," Sakuya said. "This was good timing, right? You were almost out."

"Actually, the one you used a couple of days ago was my last one," Pernelle said. "So it really is perfect timing."

The three of them powered down, and they made their way back towards the outskirts of the town. There they split up, with Kuzunoha making for the woods, Pernelle heading for the hut she shared with her husband, and Sakuya returning to her residence.

"Are you okay, Sakuya?" her mother asked worriedly as she returned.

Thanks to three months of constant treatment, she was finally well enough to move around a little. Masanobu was insisting she keep taking the medicine for a few more months though, just to make sure.

"I'm fine," Sakuya said. "It turned out to be really weak."

"Ah, that's good to hear," she said. "With you a diviner and Noboru learning to hunt, I'm starting to be afraid every time you leave the house…"

"We'll be fine, Mother," Sakuya said. "Noboru's pretty strong, and I'm even stronger. There's no reason to worry about us."

"Maybe you're right," her mother said wistfully. "Well… I have to admit that the forest here is quite a bit safer than it was on the mainland. For one thing, there are no bandits around."

"Yeah, because we're the only ones here," Saki giggled. "It kinda feels a little strange, to be honest."

"Not as strange as my daughter being the leader."

"Well… that just kind of… happened," Sakuya muttered. "Let's talk about something else…"

Several days after the first appearance of wraiths, Sakuya's tutoring was interrupted once again, this time by Pernelle.

"Hmm? What's up now?" Sakuya asked. "Did you find more of those monsters?"

Pernelle shook her head. "No… but I made something for you," she said. "I know you have your iron fans, but the range on such a weapon is quite short, so I thought you might want an alternative."

She set the bundle of cloth she was carrying on the table and unwrapping it, revealing a brand-new, gleaming tsurugi sword, with Sakuya's four-leafed clover emblem stamped on the base of the blade, just above the simple, functional hand guard. Sakuya blinked at it.

"Eh? You made that?" she asked. "For me!?"

Pernelle nodded.

"Why a tsurugi?" Aiko's mother asked. "From our perspective, it's quite an archaic design… the modern swords of Japan are single-edged, such as the katana."

"I'm afraid those modern swords use a method of smithing that I am unfamiliar with," Pernelle said. "This tsurugi, as you call it, is made with the smithing skills I acquired in my homeland, so while it may resemble Kuzu's sword in shape and form, the method of smithing was likely different."

Aiko's mother nodded. "I understand… you didn't want to experiment when crafting such an important weapon. "

"So um… this is really mine!?" Sakuya gasped. "It… it really looks… pretty…"

Pernelle chuckled. "It's not meant to be pretty," she said. "It's meant to cut things. Try picking it up."

Sakuya closed her hand around the hilt and lifted it, blinking in surprise.

"W-whoa… it's… so light…"

"That's not entirely true," Pernelle said. "It feels lighter than it is because it is carefully balanced. I found a deposit of starmetal that I used for the blade, which actually makes it a little heavier, but that was not hard to counterbalance."

Sakuya blinked. "Eh? Starmetal? Metal… from a star?"

Pernelle nodded. "Occasionally, when a star falls from the sky, it leaves behind a small chunk of resilient starmetal," she said.

"B-but… why would that be here?" Sakuya asked. "I haven't seen any falling stars recently…"

Pernelle shrugged. "That's impossible to say for certain. Perhaps it fell a long time ago and sank to the bottom of the sea, only to be brought back up to the surface by your wish."

Sakuya stepped away from the table and swung it a few times, experimentally.

"Well… it seems like an amazing weapon," she said. "Thank you so much!"

"Try transforming," Pernelle suggested.

"Eh? Why?"

Despite her questioning, Sakuya did as instructed.

"Now power down again," Pernelle said.

Sakuya blinked. "Eh? But I just…"

"Just try it."

She powered down, and the sword vanished from her hand entirely. Sakuya gasped.

"Ah! It's gone!"

Pernelle nodded. "I have enchanted it so it can be stored inside your soul gem when you're not using it," she said. "I am also making a sheath for it, in case you want to lend it to someone else for example, but for the most part you will not need it. Try transforming again."

Sakuya transformed, and the sword reappeared in her hand.

"So I can only use it when transformed?" she asked.

"No, you can pull it out or stow it away even without transforming," Pernelle said. "But you'll need to learn how to do that… it might take some time."

"Alright," Sakuya said, powering down again. "I'll try it out next time we find some of those monsters. Thank you so much!"

"I'll bring the sheath over in a day or two," Pernelle said. "So for now, I'll let you get back to your lessons."

And with that, she turned and left.

"That woman has done so much for us," Aiko's mother mused. "I can't help but wonder what her motivation is…"

"Oh, that's easy," Sakuya said. "I'm pretty sure she's motivated almost entirely by curiosity. She just wants to know how the world works."

"I don't know if that can explain all she's done, though…"

Sakuya shrugged. "Still, she's done it, so I think that's what matters. Now, um… what were you saying this kanji means?"

"Ah, yes, that would be the kanji for fox…"

It had been four years since the town of Mitakihara was built, and it was already a thriving settlement surrounded by cultivated farmland, living off bounty of the land and sea combined. Today, Aiko was the last one to remain behind at the training ground, practicing her swings over and over with her wooden sword. The sun inched lower and lower into the sky, but she didn't stop. It was safe here, anyway – there were no wild beasts to worry about. Although bears had been spotted a few times, they only lived up in the mountains and never came close to the town.

"It is time to rest."

The voice was deep and accented.

"No… I can still keep going!" Aiko said. "I have to prove that I'm not weak just because I'm a girl!"

But the voice would not have any of that. It repeated the same words, more firmly this time.

"It is time to rest!"

"No, Master Yasufe! Let me keep going!"

"If you keep going, you will only injure yourself," the giant of a man said. "Rest now, and practice more in the morning. If you do not learn to pace yourself, you will never outstrip the boys."

Aiko sighed. "I can't win if I hold back on my training, either!"

"You are still young," the man said. "Even if you do not surpass them today, one day you will be strong enough to be their equal. Now come. I have brought you soup for your evening meal."

"Alriiight, fiiine," Aiko groaned. "But will you at least play a game of shogi with me?"

"I would be happy to," Yisake Yasufe said.

She took the cup of soup offered to her and sipped at it as she headed down the hill alongside the former samurai. He accompanied her all the way to the small house she now shared with her mother and brother, having moved out from the main Tokime house when Sakuya's little sister was born. She slid the door open and shot her brother a glare, though he was just sitting there wolfing down a bowl of rice.

"What!?" Shinsuke protested.

"You're an adult now!" Aiko said. "Try acting like one! You need to eat more slowly!"

"Stop nagging me," Shinsuke retorted.

"Lady Sakuya isn't going to like you if you wolf down your food like that," Aiko shot back.

The young man blushed a little.

"Shut up! Don't bring Lady Sakuya into this!"

"Whatever," Aiko said. "Get out of my way so I can set out the shogi board. Where's Mother, by the way?"

"Fine, fine," Shinsuke grumbled. "You and your shogi obsession… I can't believe you got so good that I couldn't beat you even once… and I have no idea where Mother is. I think she's visiting someone?"

"Master Yasufe and Lady Sakuya certainly are a challenge to play against," Aiko said. "But I suppose I should thank you for at least trying. It's an improvement from four years ago when you insisted it's not a game for girls."

"Don't bring that up now!" Shinsuke protested. "I was just a boy then, okay!?"

"Whatever."

Aiko pulled out a large shogi set, a board with a fifteen by fifteen grid and a whopping sixty-five pieces per player. She rapidly placed the pieces on the board, and Yisake settled down across from her. They played through the night, but eventually Aiko managed to barely eke out a victory, after which she slumped back on the floor and fell fast asleep.

"Asano Aiko. Make a contract with me to become a magical girl."

Aiko's eyes fluttered open, and she saw the creature sitting on the floor next to her.

"I've been waiting for you," she said.

"Then I imagine you have a wish ready," Kyuubey said.

"Of course!"

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. Note that the ages in this section are all relative to the time period of the interlude.

Laura of Wallachia

Age: 134
Eye Colour: Amber
Hair Colour: Blonde
Origins: Wallachia
Symbol: Black bat
Soul Gem: Orange torus-shaped gem on her choker
Element: Light
Weapon: Twin falchions
Powers: Blood thralls, grief endurance, light manipulation, healing, curse of sluggishness and anti-healing
Wish: "I wish to die."

Speed: 6
Magical Stamina: 10
Offensive Power: 4
Defensive Power: 3
Initial Power Usability: 6
Learned Powers: 2

Kuzunoha
葛の葉

Age: about 7 centuries
Eye Colour: Violet
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Edo bay area, Japan
Symbol: Red leaf
Soul Gem: Red teardrop-shaped gemstone on her left anklet
Element: Fire
Weapon: Tsurugi sword with a leaf design on the hand guard
Powers: Ball lightning, fire and heat resistance, animal transformation (mammals, birds, reptiles only)
Wish: "I want to survive!"

Speed: 9
Magical Stamina: 10
Offensive Power: 2
Defensive Power: 5
Initial Power Usability: 4
Learned Powers: 4

Tokime Sakuya (Saki)
時女咲耶（さき）

Age: 12-13 (at time of contract)
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Kishuu Domain, Japan
Symbol: Green four-leafed clover
Soul Gem: Green oval gem just above the obi
Element: Forest
Weapon: Iron fan
Powers: Earth manipulation, labyrinth creation
Wish: "My wish is to have a land where I can live freely with my friends and family."
Affiliation: Tokime Clan

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

Asano Aiko
淺野愛子

Age: 13 (at time of contract)
Eye Colour: Brown
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Kishuu Domain, Japan
Symbol: Violet half-sun
Soul Gem: Deep blue oval gem on her headscarf
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Katana, throwing stars, sickle and chain
Powers: Shadow manipulation
Wish: (redacted)
Affiliation: Tokime Clan

Speed: 7
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 7
Defensive Power: 4
Initial Power Usability: 9
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

So here it is – the first interlude, the story of how the girl who would found the Tokime clan met Pernelle and ended up becoming a magical girl. There are a number of appearances of or references to real historical characters and events, which is kind of fun. Can you spot them all? It got so long that I considered splitting it into two chapters, but since I would've probably posted them both at the same time anyway, I decided there was no point.

The results of the reader poll from chapter 43 only slightly favoured Sakuya over Oyura, with two votes to Oyura, three votes to Sakuya, and one vote that could have been for either one, which would've meant I'd need to break the tie anyway, so I just ignored that vote. There were precisely zero votes for Mary, however, so it will be quite awhile before her story is revealed. I'll post Tokime Oyura's story as an interlude at the end of Act 2.

The second question didn't really get any interesting answers, unfortunately. It's fine, because I intend to take at least a cursory look at basically every event and magical girl story to see if it can fit in, so hopefully I won't be able to miss any… but there are a lot, so I might end up giving up halfway through.

Since chapter 63 is basically 100% complete already, I will probably post it this weekend, so come back in a couple of days. Chapter 64 is about 80-90% complete, so I can't imagine taking more than a week to finish it off. After that, I'm not sure how long things will take. I have partial drafts of 65 and 66, but they still need a lot of work to be ready to post.

In between working on this interlude, I have also made a few revisions to earlier chapters. Chapters 57 and 58 were updated to revise Ashley's pronoun usage (basically more uses of "we" instead of "I"). This is relatively minor, so I wouldn't expect people to go re-read those chapters, but I'm just setting it out here so people who've followed this story as it comes out are aware.

I also adjusted references to this story in earlier chapters, as I discovered at some point that I'd mixed up my Japanese history. Somehow I got it into my head that Nobunaga was at the end of the Sengoku period when in fact he was more like halfway through. This affects chapters 13, 34, and 52, but the revisions are mostly very minor in the early chapters. However, chapter 52 has a few new paragraphs correcting Ashley's misconception, if you want to go back and read those.

I've removed the reader's poll from chapter 43 now, but it is reproduced it below for posterity's sake.

Reader Poll
(now closed; originally posted on chapter 43)

Now that the story is getting close to the advent of the Magius, I'm going to pose two questions to the readers on what you'd like to see in future chapters. You can answer the questions either via private message (recommended) or by posting a review. This poll will remain here until I post the first interlude, at which point I will delete the poll from this chapter in its entirety and any additional votes will not be considered.

Question 1

The story I've planned out is divided into acts, and between acts, I plan to post an interlude episode giving some backstory for one of my original magical girl characters. Which original character would you most like to see a backstory for?

• Mary of Magdala
• Tokime Oyura
• The as-yet-unnamed Tokime girl whose wish created the island (note: revealed in chapter 48 to be Tokime Sakuya)

Note: I plan to write all three of these; this poll will at most affect the order they are posted in.

If you really want to, you may also choose a magical girl not on the above list, as long as she is an original character in this work. If you're not sure who's original, you can look it up online or ask me in a private message.

Question 2

The Magia Record game has tons and tons of event stories. Is there any single event story that you'd like to see play out under Ashley's interference? It can be either from the first arc or the second arc, but it needs to be canonizable – for example, New Years or Valentine's events from the first arc won't work because they are impossible to slot into a timeline that takes place entirely in March and April. If you're not sure, feel free to ask anyway; I'll let you know if I consider it non-canonizable, and you can make a different choice.

Note that anything in the main Magia Record storyline is already slated to be covered, so there's no need to vote for those! I'm looking specifically for stories from time-limited events, although the magical girl side stories are also an acceptable choice.

There is no guarantee that this vote will affect my choices in writing the story. However, it could also draw my attention to an interesting event I'd overlooked, so please don't hold back if there's one event you especially love.

Note: If anyone sends multiple private messages with a vote, I will only consider the vote expressed in the most recent message. Private votes will also take precedence over public votes stated in a review.