Magia: A New Hope

by Pentalithia

A Madoka / Magia Record fan suddenly wakes up in the world of magical girls, as a side character. Features Ashley Taylor. Note: In case it's not obvious, you should expect massive spoilers here for nearly everything in the franchise.

66. In Search of a Memory

Have you heard? Has anyone told you?
The Rumour of a New Hope.
It's said a girl will appear in your dreams and speak to you.
"Come to Kamihama – here, magical girls can be saved."
It's the hottest rumour currently circulating among magical girls.
Will you go? Will you stay away? The choice could decide your fate!

---

March twenty-ninth. It seems Iroha has been on cleaning duty at her school. She puts away the cleaning supplies and heads over to grab her bag. At that moment, her smartphone makes a noise, and she looks at it. It's a call from Kuroe, so she answers it.

"Hello, Miss Kuroe!" Iroha says. "Did you need something? We just saw each other yesterday…"

Kuroe's voice comes through from the other end.

"Yes, um… could you… meet me at the station?"

"Sure thing!" Iroha says. "I'll be there in about… probably ten minutes?"

"It'll take me a bit longer than that, so please wait for me," Kuroe says.

"That's okay! See you soon!"

Iroha hangs up and tosses her smartphone into her bag, then exits the school building at a run, making for the station. Just as Kuroe had indicated, she's not there yet when Iroha arrives, so Iroha stands around waiting.

A few minutes later, a train pulls up and Kuroe gets off.

"Good afternoon, Miss Kuroe," Iroha says.

"Yes… good afternoon," Kuroe mumbles. "And… thank you for coming."

"So um… what's up?" Iroha asks.

"I wanted to… go somewhere," Kuroe says. "And it's… a bit scary to go alone, since it's such a big city…"

"So you just wanted company?" Iroha says.

"Yes… I know we just saw each other yesterday… I hope it's okay?"

Iroha nods. "It's fine… we need to keep in touch anyway. Besides, I don't exactly have any other friends."

As they talk, Kuroe leads the way to a different platform, where they await another train.

"So… did something happen?" Iroha asks. "I know we just encountered a witch yesterday, but that was the first I'd seen since… when was it again? It's been a few days, at least… I guess our efforts have been paying off, huh?"

Kuroe simply remains silent, not responding to any of Iroha's attempts to break into conversation.

"It'll be a problem if we don't get enough grief seeds, but at least the witches aren't hurting anyone," Iroha says.

At that moment, the train arrives, and the two of them get on. It's not all that crowded, but the seats appear to be full, so they simply stand by the door and hang onto the handles. Once the train has started to pull out, Kuroe finally speaks up.

"Miss Tamaki… have you heard this rumour?" she asks. "It's said that magical girls can be saved if they go to Kamihama."

Iroha blinks. "Huh? Saved? What does that mean? Saved from what, exactly?"

"Um… I think it means you don't have to fight witches anymore," Kuroe says.

"So you won't have to fight anymore," Iroha muses. "Wait, does that mean there are no witches in Kamihama? But even if that's true, other cities will be in trouble if magical girls don't keep hunting witches…"

"I don't know the details," Kuroe says.

"Miss Kuroe, who told you about that?" Iroha asks.

"Well," Kuroe says. "I just… heard it somewhere…"

"So someone's going around and saying that magical girls can be saved if they go to Kamihama?" Iroha asks. "That seems kinda suspicious to me…"

"I met another magical girl who dreamed about it," Kuroe says.

Iroha blinks. "A dream turned into a rumour?"

"From what she said, it seems a lot of magical girls have had the same dream," Kuroe says. "I don't know any of them myself though… but they all dreamed about a girl who said 'Come to Kamihama – here, magical girls can be saved.'"

"And they all believe it!?" Iroha says.

"Actually, I had the dream too, last night," Kuroe says. "The little girl who says that… I had that dream. She looks… a bit like you, actually… but younger…" She trails off for a few seconds, then meets Iroha's eyes. "Have you never thought about wanting to be saved? Saved from this fate of having to fight all the time?"

She turns to gaze out the window at the passing scenery. After a minute or two, she speaks up again.

"Miss Tamaki, what did you wish for when you became a magical girl? I just wanted to go out with the person I liked… but we've broken up since then." She sighs. "When I made that wish, it was the only thing that was really important to me, and yet, now… if I'd known it would turn out like this, I never would've become a magical girl. It would've been better if my wish hadn't been granted. Even if you become a magical girl… if you die, it's all meaningless."

Iroha seems somewhat dumbfounded by Kuroe's uncharacteristic monologue, so once she's done, they just fall silent for awhile. Eventually, Iroha speaks up again.

"I don't think I regret becoming a magical girl. Just the fact that we're helping people by getting rid of witches… for me, that's enough."

"Is that so…"

Kuroe trails off, gazing out the window for a minute or so, then turns to face her once again.

"You might be unusual in that respect," she says.

Iroha has no comeback for that. After another period of silence, she comes up with a new topic, something more mundane.

Suddenly, Iroha gasps.

"D-did you feel that?" she asks. "A witch… isn't that the same one we faced yesterday?"

"But that wasn't even around here…" Kuroe says.

Looking around, she realizes that everyone on the current car is staring at the two of them, and spots the witch's kiss on their necks. Then all of them suddenly stand up.

"Ahhh… they've all been kissed!?" Kuroe gasps.

"L-let's knock them out for now," Iroha says. "Then we've got to do something about the witch…"

"B-b-but… yesterday, we ran because it was too strong," Kuroe says. "What can we do now!?"

"I don't know," Iroha says. "But we have to try!"

She leaps forward, knocking out the kissed people one at a time with chops to their necks, then pauses to make sure everyone's still alive, using her magic a little on a couple of them to heal them. Once everyone's out and in the clear, she returns to where Kuroe is standing and shivering, and yanks open the door at the end of the car.

The witch's portal is right there, but before she can step inside, it swallows her up first. The next train car fades away, replaced by an infinite yellow expanse with clumps of scrap metal floating all over the place. A massive flying black lizard-shaped blob approaches, opening its maw to expel some sort of beam. Runes floating in the air behind it spell out the witch's name, Box Wood, as Kuroe and Iroha both transform.

"Miss Kuroe, please! Protect me!" Iroha shouts.

Kuroe leaps out to land on top of the train car, and builds up a wall from puzzle pieces in front of Iroha. The beam strikes the barrier, which at first appears to hold, but after several seconds it shatters, the remnants of the beam reaching Iroha.

"Ugh!" Iroha gasps, glancing back. "O-okay… at least everyone's safe! L-let's see if we can kill it this time! C-can you… make me some platforms to stand on?"

"U-um… sure…" Kuroe says.

She constructs floating platforms like steps leading towards the witch, each one made of puzzle pieces, and Iroha runs out from the train car to approach the witch, firing off arrows while she runs. The witch attempts to chomp down on her, but she leaps into the air and somersaults, charging up power as she flies through the air. Some thrown batons from Kuroe manage to distract the witch from chasing her, exploding on impact and causing the witch to squirm.

"Strada Futuro!"

Iroha unleashes her ultimate attack at the witch, causing the creature to squeal and turn, floating away from them through the yellow expanse. As Kuroe constructs a platform for her to land on, they turn to stare after it for a second.

"D-did I just… scare it off!?" Iroha gasps. "Quick! We've got to go after it!"

The two of them chase after the witch, using Kuroe's platforms to avoid falling into the depths of the yellow expanse, but they're unable to catch up to the fleeing witch. Iroha keeps shooting it with her bolts, but they have little effect. On the other hand, the witch can't seem to lose them. Even when it lashes out with its tail, or flings chunks of scrap metal at them, they manage to keep it in sight.

Then the landscape begins to change around them. At first, it's subtle, with small streams of sand spilling down from above, but then the change becomes more drastic, the sand entirely filling the place. Before long, the only remaining sign of that yellow expanse is overhead, and the two of them are now running through a sandy wasteland.

Suddenly a familiar hops out, a strange caterpillar creature composed of a sequence of spheres loosely connected together. However, it doesn't attack the two girls. Instead, it attacks the witch, flinging its own segments at it. Then several more show up, also attacking the witch, which flails at them and sends them flying. They just keep coming back for more, however.

"W-what's going on?" Iroha wonders. "Those are familiars, right? Why are they attacking the witch!?"

Kuroe looks around. "U-um… this is just an idea, but… what if they're familiars of a different witch?"

Iroha blinks. "Y-you mean… we chased one witch… into the labyrinth of another?" She too looks around. "I guess that does explain why the landscape changed so drastically…"

Suddenly the sand just ahead of Box Wood bursts open, and a huge woman-shaped creature erupts from it, accompanied by runes spelling out her name, Zenobia. She unceremoniously grabs Box Wood's tail in one hand and its neck in the other, literally tearing the other witch apart.

"W-what!?" Kuroe gasps. "Th-this one's even stronger! We'll have to run!"

"B-before that…" Iroha says. "Miss Kuroe! Just for a moment… please build me a shield! I want to try and snatch the other witch's grief seed!"

"O-okay…"

Zenobia is about to reach for the grief seed herself when a volley of bolts from Iroha's crossbow attract her attention. Iroha breaks into a run, leaping right over the wave of Zenobia's familiars and landing just beneath where Box Wood was destroyed. A wall built of puzzle pieces forms around her, caging her in, and just in time – as she kneels to pick up Box Wood's grief seed, Zenobia brings both her fists down upon her. Kuroe's barrier holds this time, however, although the web of cracks forming in it suggest it won't hold for long.

"I've got it!" Iroha shouts. "Miss Kuroe! Let's get out of here!"

"R-right!"

Kuroe brings her barrier down, and they both turn to run, dodging Zenobia's familiars as best they can. They do take a few blows from those spheres, but Iroha manages to heal the damage on the fly once she catches up to Kuroe. They run blindly, veering around corners here and there, not even glancing back to see if Zenobia herself is following. Eventually, they somehow find an exit and emerge into an unfamiliar park, where they collapse panting on a bench. The labyrinth doesn't reappear, so Zenobia must have decided not to chase them down for whatever reason.

Once they've caught their breath, they power down, and Kuroe takes out her phone to check their location.

"Looks like… we're in Kamihama," she says. "Shinsei Ward… not far from the university…"

"Then… should we look around a bit?" Iroha says.

Kuroe nods. "Yes… let's do that."

"That witch seemed really strong, though," Iroha says. "I hope it was an anomaly…"

"Me too…"

"Oh right, let's share the grief seed," Iroha says.

She uses it to purify her own soul gem, then offers it to Kuroe.

"Y-you got it… I couldn't…"

"I didn't defeat that witch," Iroha says. "I sort of cheated, letting another witch beat it and stealing the seed. So… I don't think you need to hold back. Besides… I couldn't have gotten it without you, Miss Kuroe. That blow probably would've finished me off if not for your barrier."

"A-alright…"

Kuroe accepts the grief seed and uses it to purify her soul gem, then offers it back.

"Keep it," Iroha says. "It's not like I'll need one for a few days, either."

"Eh… are you sure!?"

Iroha nods. "Yeah… you're younger than me, right? So you should keep it."

"O-okay…"

She puts the seed away, and the two of them get up and start to wander aimlessly through the town for awhile, perhaps an hour or two. However, they don't run into any magical girls or even other witches. They stop for a snack at a roadside stall, then move on.

"It's strange," Kuroe eventually observes. "There seems to be a lot of different traces of magic around here… like there are so many witches and familiars that they all blend together…"

"Yeah…"

"Maybe it'd be better just to go home," Kuroe mutters. "I thought we'd find something about the rumour if we came here… but I guess it's not that simple… and if the other witches are as strong as that one… then we can't beat them even if we wanted to."

As they eat, Iroha's eyes fall upon something that looks a lot like Kyuubey, but about half the size and lacking the ring decorations on its ear appendages. She stares at it for several seconds, and it stares back. Then it hops down and disappears from sight.

Once they've finished eating, they head to the train station and catch a train back to Takarazaki. Iroha gets off first, leaving Kuroe to travel further alone.

When she gets home, she finds both her parents waiting for her.

"Iroha! I was starting to get worried! Where were you?" her mother asks.

"Ah… I was… with someone," Iroha says evasively. "Mom… have your plans been settled yet?"

Her father answers instead.

"Not quite," Mr Tamaki says. "We should know the details by the end of the week, so until then, you'll be stuck with us."

"I see…"

She heads to her room, the right half mysteriously empty, and flops on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

---

March thirtieth. Kuroe is out and about, but she does not appear to be hunting witches, as her soul gem is in ring form on her finger. She moves with purpose, looking at street signs, as if she has a specific destination in mind but isn't quite sure how to get there. Eventually she arrives at a community centre, and a girl standing outside spots her and waves. She has long, pale orange hair gathered into twintails and wears a light blue jacket over her school uniform. That must be Yukari Miyuri.

"Good afternoon, Miss… Kuroe, was it?" the girl says. "You said you wanted to talk, right?"

"Y-yeah," Kuroe says. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Miss Yukari."

"It's about that dream again, right?" Miyuri says. "You said you also had the dream…"

Kuroe nods. "I'm still wondering what it meant," she says. "Um… I went to Kamihama… with another magical girl I know, but… I couldn't find anything. However… there was one thing of interest."

"Oho? What's that?" Miyuri asks.

"W-well… there were witches everywhere," Kuroe says. "We avoided most of them, but… it seemed strange that there were so many. Also, the one we did run into was really strong, so we had to retreat. But it's almost as though… as though the witches from Takarazaki and other areas have been… migrating there…"

"Uhh… this all sounds rather complicated," Miyuri says. "How about you come inside, and let's talk about this with Lady San?"

"S-sure…?"

They head inside the community centre. One of the boys within smiles at Kuroe, but she shivers and hides behind Miyuri, and the other boy with him reprimands him for scaring her. Soon they enter a room where another girl in the same uniform as Miyuri is directing things. After waiting for a minute or two, she shoos all the others out and turns to the two of them.

"So, what's going on?" she asks. "Is this the other magical girl you mentioned, Miyu-chan?"

This girl has silver hair mostly gathered into a pair of side buns, but with two waist-length locks framing her face.

"That's right, Lady San! This is the other girl who had the same dream as Miyu!"

San looks at Kuroe.

"So… you dreamed of a girl who said that magical girls can be saved?" San asks.

"If they go to Kamihama, yes," Kuroe says.

"Can you describe that girl?" San asks.

"Um… she had pink hair… and was dressed in black, or at least very dark colours," Kuroe says. "She looked like a magical girl…"

"That exactly matches Miyu's dream too," Miyuri nods.

"And… yesterday, I went to Kamihama," Kuroe adds.

"Alone!?" San asks, startled.

"No… I asked someone else to go with me," Kuroe says. "Another magical girl from this city."

"Ah… was it Miss Satomi?" San asks.

Kuroe shakes her head. "No… who's that?"

"Never mind… just someone I can't get along with," San says. "Anyway… did you find anything when you went there?"

"Well… the two of us walked around for awhile, and… we sensed so many witches and familiars that I was… actually a little bit scared," Kuroe says. "I'm not very strong, after all… so I was relieved that we managed to avoid being sucked into any more labyrinths, after we barely got away from the first one."

"You're saying there were a great many of them?" San asks.

Kuroe nods. "Far more than I'd ever sensed around here… even before their numbers started to decline."

San frowns slightly. "So… does that mean witches from all over are migrating towards Kamihama?" she asks. "But… why would witches migrate en masse like that…? Hmm… I think we'd better investigate for ourselves. Let me see… yes, I think the boys can handle things without me for the rest of the day. Shall we go right now? Or no… give me half an hour to get a few things sorted out first."

Kuroe nods. "Uhh… sure…"

"Feel free to take a seat in the corner while you wait," San says. "Miyu-chan, you can guard her from the boys if they come in."

"Okay, Lady San!" Miyuri says. "You can count on Miyu, Miss Kuroe!"

With that, San leaves the room. Kuroe pulls out a chair and sits down, fidgeting nervously a bit, while Miyuri remains standing and faces her.

"So… what is Miss Kagura doing?" Kuroe asks.

"Lady San is just making sure everyone knows what to do in her absence," Miyuri says.

"Um… why do you call her Lady San?"

"Because Lady San is Lady San!" Miyuri says happily.

"Uhh… okay…"

With neither Miyuri nor Kuroe being much of a conversation partner, they fall silent. At one point a trio of boys poke their heads in, but Miyuri shoos them away. A little later, San returns.

"I'm ready," she says. "Let's go."

The three of them head for the nearest train station and catch a train to Kamihama. Kuroe remains silent en route, while Miyuri and San chat about inconsequential stuff. When they finally leave the station in Kamihama, San looks around in surprise.

"I thought you were exaggerating," she says. "But there really are a lot of witches here…"

"Should we try fighting one?" Miyuri suggests. "If there's this many, they can't really complain, right?"

"Hmm… it's worth a shot," San says. "Maybe we'll even run into someone who can explain the situation."

San takes out her soul gem and heads north. It only takes her about five minutes to track down a witch's labyrinth, and the three of them step inside and transform. San wears something like a leotard but with flared legs, green from the chest up and cream below. She also has brown tights and a gatling gun mounted on her head. Miyuri on the other hand has a blue dress with gold accents, as well as a bulbous yellow helmet and a pair of rollerblades.

The barrier seems to be composed of fibrous material, with gears showing through various gashes in the wall and floor. Above, massive ropes dangle, forming arc upon arc upon arc as far as the eye can see.

The familiars look like clockwork butterflies, for lack of a better term. Each one hops along on a stilt with a sharpened tip, which it uses to attempt to impale them with by leaping into the air and propelling itself downwards. Miyuri manages to swat a few of them away.

"Gyah! Th-they're like… mosquitoes or something!" Miyuri squeals. "G-get them away from Miyu!"

One of Kuroe's exploding clubs takes out five or six at once, and a burst of fire from San's gun finishes off any survivors. They continue in this vein, with San doing most of the work and Miyuri mostly just complaining, until they reach the central chamber of the witch. The door frame resembles a picture frame, with the witch's name engraved on it in runes – Teresa.

"Um… don't you think there's something strange here?" Kuroe says. "I mean… you're really strong, Miss Kagura, but… surely you've noticed that these familiars are a lot stronger than usual?"

"Indeed," San says. "If the witch proves to be too much for us, we may need to retreat. But, let us at least give it a shot."

"O-oh no!" Miyuri gasps. "I-is it really gonna be okay? W-will we… d-d-die!? Ahhhh… Miyu is scared…"

Suddenly her jaw slackens and her eyes lose focus. She slumps forward a little, leaning against the wall.

"E-eh?" Kuroe gasps. "A-are you okay, Miss Yukari!?"

"Not to worry," San says. "This always happens when she gets near a witch. Fortunately, my own power perfectly complements hers."

Miyuri straightens, moving jerkily like a puppet, then smashes the door open with a roundhouse kick. The three of them hop through the door and look on the witch for the first time. She seems to be rooted directly into the fibrous flooring of the labyrinth, and her body is essentially a giant pendulum bearing a single eye. She immediately swings herself at them like a massive flail. San and Miyuri dodge in opposite directions, while Kuroe constructs a wall out of puzzle pieces. The witch smashes into her wall, sending a web of cracks out from the impact point and shattering it, but the wall has already done its job of absorbing the momentum of the blow, so Kuroe remains unharmed.

"She's really strong!" Kuroe shouts. "C-can you beat her, Miss Kagura!?"

"I've never fought a witch quite this strong before," San says. "But I have seen a few that came close. If I were alone, I would not like my chances, but with the two of you, I believe we can defeat it!"

Miyuri fights without a weapon, punching and kicking the witch at every opportunity, while nimbly backing off and dodging whenever the witch attacks. San backs her up with a near-constant barrage of bullets, and Kuroe focuses on defending San with her walls whenever the witch attacks, flinging some of her exploding batons at the witch right afterwards to take advantage of the fact that she's briefly off guard after an attack. However, the witch is truly powerful, and even after pounding at her for nearly half an hour, she is still standing, flinging her pendulum at them over and over. All three of them by this time are getting low on magic power, but Miyuri, with her up-close combat style, is faring the worst. San does not appear to realize this, however.

That's when it happens.

A burst of dark energy explodes from Miyuri's soul gem, swirling into the shape of runes that spell out a word – Oxford – before settling into the form of a giant shoe with Miyuri inside, as if riding in a boat. A vast array of legs in all shapes and colours emerge from the shoe, as if there were an unknown number of people stuffed headfirst into it… though no two legs seem to match up. The legs flail randomly, and as San and Kuroe gape at the strange phenomenon, the witch swings herself at it.

But then that shoe leaps into the air and plunges down on the witch from above, smashing her to smithereens. Then the shoe and all those legs crumbles into dust as the barrier collapses, leaving Kuroe and San to gape at Miyuri laying on the ground alongside the grief seed, her soul gem now gleaming and pure. The seconds stretch out, both of them seemingly shocked speechless.

Suddenly Miyuri's eyes flutter open, and she blinks at them.

"Huh? Lady San? Miss Kuroe? Is it over?"

But neither of them answer, for at that moment, someone starts clapping, slowly. San and Kuroe spin to face the newcomer, a magical girl in a grey fur-lined coat over a grey blouse and skirt with corset-like lacing up the front. She also wears two hair ornaments that are like ribbons tied into her hair and dangling down, only rather than ribbon it's some sort of thick yet soft rope-like material.

"Incredible," she says. "I came because I was a little worried when I sensed an unfamiliar magical presence. Recently, the witches in Kamihama have greatly increased in strength, so I feared you may not be able to defeat it… but even before your friend there unleashed her doppel, it looked like the witch was on her last legs."

"Who are you?" San asks. "Are you a magical girl from this city?"

"Yes, my name is Azusa Mifuyu," she says. "I am a veteran magical girl of seven years."

San blinks. "Whoa… that's amazing," she says. "My name is Kagura San, and my companions here are Yukari Miyuri and…" She blinks. "Ah… what was your name, again?"

"Um… Kuroe Kana," Kuroe says.

"Now that introductions are out of the way," San says. "Would you care to explain yourself? What exactly is this… doppel… that you speak of?"

"I only recently learned of it myself," Mifuyu admits. "So I don't think I can explain it very well. In a sense, it is a new type of attack available to magical girls, which consumes the grief that accumulates in a magical girl's soul gem. Are the three of you aware of what normally happens when the soul gem is filled with impurities?"

San shakes her head. "I've never let mine get that bad, nor seen it happen to anyone else."

"Ah… that's unfortunate," Mifuyu says. "But I suppose it's worth explaining it now. You can confirm this with Kyuubey, if you don't believe me. Normally, when your soul gem is filled with impurities, it transforms into a grief seed, and a new witch is born."

Kuroe gasps. "N-no… no way… th-then that girl… she must've… n-no wonder I never saw her again…"

"However, here in Kamihama, the Magius have deployed a novel doppel field, which prevents the witch transformation and instead allows us magical girls to release all that power as a doppel," Mifuyu says. "If you are interested, I am sure one of the Magius would be willing to explain it more detail. Since I joined them, we have been slowly recruiting new members."

San nods slowly. "I see… I would certainly be interested in meeting these… Magius."

"In that case, please come with me," Mifuyu says.

She powers down, and the others follow her example. San leans down to retrieve the grief seed, and then everyone falls in line as Mifuyu leads them northeast through the city.

"Um… what exactly is a doppel?" Miyuri asks. "Miyu doesn't get it…"

"It looked as though Miyu-chan turned into a giant shoe and stomped on the witch," San says. "I do not understand it myself, though…"

"That's really confusing," Miyuri says.

"Y-yeah… I don't get it either," Kuroe mutters.

Along the way, they're joined by an anxious-looking Tsukasa.

"Um… you're looking a little pale, Tsukasa," Mifuyu says. "Did something happen?

"I-it's about Kanagi," Tsukasa says. "She chased me down… I couldn't get away… and then she grilled me… so I had to tell her about us."

"Ah," Mifuyu says. "Perhaps I should've anticipated that… and? What did she say?"

"She asked… she asked if the Magius had explained how they're planning to free us," Tsukasa says. "And then… she said she'd never join them… she thought it might be a trap… what do you think, Miss Azusa?"

Mifuyu smiles. "I can't rule out the possibility," she says. "But I can attest that the power of doppels is real, and as near as I can tell, the Magius seem trustworthy to me."

"She didn't seem surprised when I mentioned that magical girls turn into witches, either," Tsukasa says.

"Well, I imagine it's hard to survive as a magical girl for six years without finding out about that," Mifuyu says. "Though, that said, I myself only found out about a year ago."

Then Tsukasa suddenly notices the other three.

"W-wait… who are these?" she asks.

"Potential new recruits," Mifuyu says. "They managed to beat the pendulum witch almost all on their own… although the redhead did unleash her doppel at the end."

"O-oh, wow… that one's a particularly tough one… even though it can't really move…"

It's around then that they arrive at a café. Mifuyu peers through the window for a moment before heading inside. There are three others there – one girl with long dark brown hair in a dark green school uniform and wearing a red beret, and another with light brown hair in pigtails wearing a red school uniform. The third is a double of Tsukasa, but with a different school uniform – her twin sister, Tsukuyo.

"Ah, Mifuyu, you're back!" the long-haired girl says. "And… huh? Who's that you've got with you?"

"Let me start with introductions," Mifuyu says. "These are two of the three Magius – Satomi Touka, and Hiiragi Nemu. Miss Touka, these three are magical girls from out of town who managed to beat a local witch. They seemed interested in your ideals, so I brought them to meet you. This is Kagura San, Yukari Miyuri, and Kuroe Kana."

"By the way, I'm Amane Tsukasa," Tsukasa adds. "It's nice to meet you!"

"And I am her twin sister, Aka— Amane Tsukuyo," Tsukuyo speaks up. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Tsukasa pulls over a chair to sit next to her sister, leaning into her a bit, and Tsukuyo seems to try and comfort her. Based on their expressions, they're probably communicating telepathically.

"Is Alina… not here?" Mifuyu asks.

"She's out collecting witches," Touka says. "I'm sure she'll be back eventually. I'm not really worried about her."

"Did you say… collecting witches?" San asks.

"Of course!" Touka says. "Our plan requires a large amount of energy, and capturing witches is one way to obtain that energy."

"But don't witches prey on humans?" San asks.

"Don't worry about that," Touka says. "Witches don't need to kill humans in order to grow stronger. We just need to be careful in raising them… it's not all that different from raising dogs, right?"

"I see your point," San says. "Although I think it seems more like raising tigers, rather than dogs. Well then… Miss Azusa said that you would explain everything to us. Especially this… doppel thing."

Touka nods. "I'd be happy to! And I'm sure you'd be a great addition to the Wings of the Magius!"

---

So I've already learned quite a bit just from that. For example, the fact that Kagura San is seemingly as close to being a founding member as Mifuyu is… and the fact that Kuroe found out about the Magius through her is also quite interesting. I expect to meet Kuroe myself the day after tomorrow, so perhaps I can ask her a little about it then.

Anyway, now that I've confirmed that the Wings of the Magius have been founded, I believe it's about time to pay a visit to Oriko. However, it's getting late, so I decide to defer it to the following day. Therefore, the next day I meet up with Inui after school to let her know what I'm up to.

"Oh! I didn't expect you to come meet me halfway!" Inui gasps.

"Well, there was somewhere I wanted to go," I reply.

"Okay, so what's going on?"

"I'm gonna go see Oriko," I say. "Wanna come along?"

"Of course!" Inui says.

So we head south towards Oriko's house. We're almost there – the gate is even in sight – when I suddenly sense a strange magical signature. Inui seems to sense it too.

"H-huh?" she says. "Is that… a… magical girl… or…?"

"Oh no!" I gasp. "C-could it be…?"

The signature seems to be coming from somewhere almost straight ahead. The two of us break into a run, racing past the gate to Oriko's place and rounding a corner. There we see a tall girl, almost as tall as me, wearing the uniform of Oriko's school. She has a bow tied into her hair, and were she not crying, I think the slant of her eyes would give her face a rather severe look. She gasps at the sight of us.

"Ah… no… d-don't come any closer!" she says. "I'm… I'm… done for…"

Sure enough… she's grasping her soul gem between her hands, and it's riddled with cracks and filled with impurities. Despite that, just in case, I whip out a grief seed and try to press it up to her soul gem… but as I thought, it's too late and has no effect. The girl blinks at me.

"Oh… you're…" She trails off for a second, then nods slightly. "G-good… p-p-please… end me…"

But before I can pull out my sword and shatter her soul gem, it hatches on its own, transforming into a grief seed as a faceless, armour-clad automaton emerges from it.

"Oh… oh my god," Inui gasps. "S-so… so that's… what it's like…"

"Yup…"

The labyrinth spawns around us, a twisted construction of classical columns, and I spot the runes spelling out her witch name – Virginia. I see… like Cecil, this is another of the named witches from the Oriko Magica manga. I had no idea that today was the day she was due to appear, nor that she had been a student of Shirome Middle School, but I guess that's how it is.

I transform and leap in to seize the girl's body before the witch can consume it, raising my sword to fend off the witch's own sword as I pass through her zone of control. Then Inui transforms and shouts, deploying her charm.

"Look at me!"

She then summons her flame whip and strikes at the witch, while I back off, hampered by the body and unable to do much. Still… there is one thing I can do. I summon a trio of teddy drones and instruct them to fire on the witch.

Suddenly, Kirika comes flying in, landing a kick on the witch's mask that sends a web of cracks running through it, then slashing at her with the scythe-like claw weapons attached to her hands. A moment later, Oriko steps up beside me, one of her orbs floating beside her and firing off a laser beam whenever there's an opening.

"That girl," she says. "Did you save her? She's the former student council president who just graduated… is she okay?"

I shake my head.

"No, she's not okay," I say. "She's the witch."

Oriko blinks. "Huh? Since when was she a magical girl, though…?"

I shrug. "I don't know," I say. "Her contract could be very recent… yesterday, even just earlier today. But I honestly have no idea. What's her name, by the way?"

"Um… I think it was… Chihiro-sempai," Oriko says. "I am afraid I do not know her given name, however."

"I see… well… it looks like Inui-chan and Miss Kirika can handle her on their own, at least."

"Indeed," Oriko says. "But are you planning to hold onto the corpse?"

"Well… I thought I should at least try, since I had the luck to catch her right as she transformed," I say. "If my experiment to turn a grief seed back into a soul gem works, then she could still be saved."

Oriko blinks. "Is that even possible!?"

"It's possible, it's just… making it repeatable is an issue," I say. "But I have an idea for that, hence the planned experiment."

"I see," Oriko says.

"On that note… could I ask you to look after her body for a few days?" I ask. "If the experiment doesn't work out though, we'll have to leave her somewhere to be found…"

Oriko nods. "I understand," she says. "Do I need to do anything special?"

"No… just give her some magic about once a day," I say.

At that moment, Kirika lands the finishing blow on the witch, and the labyrinth collapses. She snatches up the grief seed and runs over to us, Inui trailing a step behind.

"Here you go, Oriko!" Kirika says.

"Thank you," Oriko says, accepting it.

I power down, and the others follow my example.

"Now then… I actually came here to see you, Miss Oriko," I say. "Could we have a little chat?"

"In that case, allow me to invite you inside," Oriko says.

Instead of going around to the gate, I leap into the air and hop over the wall, landing in Oriko's garden. A few moments later, the other three come in through the gate, and we all head inside. I lay Chihiro's body down in a corner, and Oriko leaves the grief seed on the table and goes to make tea.

"Hey, hey, what's with her?" Kirika asks. "Is she dead?"

"More or less," I say.

Kirika blinks. "What do you mean, more or less?" she asks. "You're either dead or you're not…"

"It's complicated," I say. "She's the witch you just fought, so she's not exactly dead, but she's not exactly alive, either."

"Ohhh, I see," Kirika says. "She's a witch… huh…"

"Yeah… she witched out right in front of us," Inui says. "It was my first time seeing that… and now I can't unsee it… it's one thing to know that's what happens, but it's completely different to actually see it…"

I'm not sure whether I thought of it on my own or if it's Ashley bubbling up a little, but I reach out and put an arm around Inui, pulling her close into a half hug.

"Ah… I'm okay, Ashley-nee," Inui says. "Or at least… I will be. But thanks. That helps."

Silence reigns for a minute or two, until Oriko enters the room. She looks around, raising an eyebrow.

"It sure is gloomy in here," she says.

"I'm sure you'd be gloomy too if you'd just seen someone turn into a witch," I retort.

"Well, you're not wrong," Oriko says.

She sets down the tea on the table, along with a plate of cookies, and takes a seat herself. After taking a sip of her tea, she questions me.

"So… you said you wanted to talk, and I'm sure it was not about Chihiro-sempai. What is on your mind?"

"It's about the events I predicted," I say. "I've confirmed some of them have come to pass, and I would like to discuss our next course of action with you."

Oriko nods.

"I understand. Could you explain in more detail?"

"Of course," I nod. "I have confirmed the formation of a magical girl group calling themselves the 'Wings of the Magius', who plan to save magical girls from the fate of becoming a witch."

"If I recall correctly, you said there are some major flaws in their approach, right?" Oriko says.

"Yes… the leaders are, well… it wouldn't be a stretch to call them 'tyrants in the making', I think. And if their plans go as they hope, Kamihama will likely be levelled."

Oriko blinks. "Wow… that's an impressive claim," she says. "Do you intend to stop them, then?"

"Partially, at least," I say. "The thing is, I believe some degree of destruction in Kamihama is actually a net good, as long as no-one dies. Kamihama has a class problem, and adversity brings people together."

"It's not like Kamihama is alone in that," Oriko points out. "Do you intend to destroy part of Mitakihara too?"

"I'm not going to destroy anything," I say. "I'm just going to focus on saving people, not buildings. Buildings are acceptable collateral damage."

"Okay," Oriko says. "So… if you ask me, the plan should be to infiltrate this 'Wings of the Magius', right?"

I blink, for I actually hadn't even thought of that, but now that she's said it, it seems about ten times better than any of my half-baked plans.

"Um… yes, let's just pretend that that's the exact reason I came," I say. "In fact… could I perhaps borrow Miss Kirika to help me out with that?"

"I don't see why not," Oriko says. "As long as Kirika herself is okay with it."

"I dunno," Kirika says. "Would it be helpful for you if I did that, Oriko?"

"Hmm… given that my primary goal is to ensure that Miss Madoka does not turn into a witch, and these 'Wings of the Magius' have a way to prevent witchification, I think it would indeed be helpful to me," Oriko says.

Kirika nods. "Alright, then I'll do it," she says. "What do I need to do?"

Oriko looks at me for the answer, and I nod.

"Right… um… have either of you had a dream about a girl who says magical girls can be saved in Kamihama?"

Oriko and Kirika both shake their heads.

"I do not recall any dream matching that description," Oriko says.

"Alright, then I think the best thing to do would be… Miss Kirika, make sure you go to school tomorrow, and after school, go with Inui-chan. We'll fight a witch together and hopefully meet someone who can introduce us to the Wings of the Magius. But don't let on that we know about them ahead of time… although, if you do have that dream tonight, you can mention that."

Kirika nods. "I got it! I'll see you tomorrow then, Miss Inui!"

Inui nods. "That sounds good. So… what do we do after we meet this person?"

"We set a time to meet her in Kamihama," I say. "Or possibly we accompany her back there on the spot, depending how she feels about it."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Oriko asks. "Like how to deal with this organization?"

I nod. "Um… I don't think there's anything else you need to know urgently," I say. "But if you have any specific questions, I can try my best to answer them."

Oriko nods. "Then I will be sure to ask you if anything comes up," she says. "Do you have any questions, Kirika?"

"Hmm… not really?" Kirika says. "Maybe I'll have some once I meet them…"

"In that case… is our meeting already finished?" I ask.

"I believe so," Oriko says. "But… what of Chihiro-sempai? From what you said earlier… you will require her grief seed, correct?"

"Ah, yes," I say. "If you wouldn't mind… and I can compensate you with a different one if that helps."

"Indeed, that would be appreciated," Oriko says.

I take out a grief seed and pass it to her, then claim Virginia's grief seed from the table, examining it closely. Although all grief seeds share a general form, each one is in fact unique, so I seek obvious clues that I can use to distinguish it from my other grief seeds, to ensure that I don't use it by mistake. The spherical portion is tessellated in the pattern of a truncated icosahedron, that is, the pattern of a soccer ball, pentagons surrounded by rings of hexagons. One of the pentagons along the sphere's equator bears a mark, which looks like a triquetra with a dot inside each of the loops, or a knot formed by three intertwined eyes. At the top of the seed, a wire frame in the shape of a typical kite shield juts out.

"Thank you," I say. "If I can find a way to bring her back to life, then I will do so."

I stand up, and Inui quickly follows suite.

"And I will hope that your infiltration of this… 'Wings of the Magius'… goes well," Oriko says. "Kirika, would you mind taking… Chihiro-sempai… to one of my guest rooms?"

Kirika nods and jumps up. "Got it, Oriko!"

She picks up the body and follows the two of us out of the room, at which point we go in opposite directions, with Inui and I heading outside.

"You know, Ashley-nee… I'm starting to get a little excited," Inui says. "We're going to… infiltrate those guys, right? So it kinda feels like we're spies or something."

"Well… that's one way of looking at it, Inui-chan… and let's hope we can get things to go the way we want."

With that taken care of, we head back to the Hayashi house, where I check in on Iroha's progress.

---

March thirty-first. Iroha is on the train to Kamihama again, this time alone. She seems to be brooding over something. As before, after disembarking she wanders aimlessly for awhile, getting a snack from a roadside stall. Once she's finished eating, she takes out her soul gem and looks around a bit. After a moment, she ducks into an alley and finds a labyrinth right there. The portal is flickering, indicating that someone is fighting within.

"There must be another magical girl here," Iroha mutters to herself. "Maybe I can follow her magic trace and ask her a few questions…"

She transforms and steps into the labyrinth, a sandy wasteland with cityscapes in the distance.

"She's pretty close," Iroha murmurs. "And this… it looks like the same labyrinth as last time…"

Suddenly, a girl lets out a scream a little further in, and Iroha takes off at a run. She discovers Kaede, struggling against a single familiar.

"O-oh no, I need to get out of here!" Kaede gasps.

Although she's called up some vines, it seems the caterpillar-like familiar is too agile for her to ensnare, and it keeps pummelling her with spherical chunks of its body which then bounce back and return to their place after attacking. Iroha lets off a volley of bolts from her crossbow, which just manages to pulverize the familiar, likely already weakened from Kaede's magic, and Kaede lets out a little gasp as it falls.

"Are you okay!?" Iroha asks.

"Eh!? Um… yes…"

"Thank goodness!" Iroha says. "Why don't we get out of here?"

"Yeah!" Kaede says, nodding eagerly.

The two of them quickly flee the labyrinth, heading back the way they came and managing to locate the exit. Another familiar bars the way, but Iroha defeats it the same way as the first one, though it takes three volleys this time. Once they're out, Kaede lets out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like we lost them," Iroha says. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Y-yes," Kaede says. "Sorry for the trouble… and thank you for saving me…"

"Don't worry about it," Iroha says. "I was a little surprised at how strong those familiars were, though…"

"Strong?" Kaede blinks. "Um… are you not from Kamihama?"

"Huh? No, I'm not…"

"Then you should probably go home," Kaede says. "Lately the witches in this city are much stronger than they used to be… those ones were actually on the weaker side…"

"No way…" Iroha says.

"I'm not kidding!" Kaede says. "So um—"

"Thanks for your concern," Iroha says. "But I can't go home yet…"

"No, really, I mean it!" Kaede protests.

"Ah, it's not like I don't believe you!" Iroha says. "It's just… I have my reasons for coming here, so…"

"What kind of reasons?" Kaede asks.

"Oh, maybe you've seen it!" Iroha says.

"Seen what?" Kaede asks.

"I'm looking for a small Kyuubey," Iroha explains. "Like a baby Kyuubey, maybe? I caught a glimpse of it last time I came here…"

"A small Kyuubey?" Kaede blinks.

"Never mind, I guess you haven't seen it, huh?" Iroha says.

"No, actually I have!" Kaede says.

"R-really!?" Iroha gasps.

"Y-yes," Kaede nods. "Recently, it's been the only Kyuubey in town…"

"I'm looking for that Kyuubey!" Iroha says eagerly. "I only saw it once, and I don't know how to find it again…"

"Oh, in that case, you'd better hurry!" Kaede says. "I think I saw it in that labyrinth we were just in! Although I could be wrong…"

"Ehhh!?" Iroha gasps.

She looks around wildly for a moment.

"Um… thanks for the info!" she says. "I'll go track that witch down now!"

"Okay… but be careful," Kaede says. "That small Kyuubey is really skittish… you've got to approach it slowly."

"Got it, thanks!"

"No, thank you for saving me!"

As Iroha runs off, Kaede wonders out loud.

"I wonder what she's planning to do when she finds it… maybe I should call Momoko-chan…?"

Iroha tracks the witch out into a less crowded area of town, finally running into it in an alleyway.

"It's… close by!?" she gasps. "No… coming closer!?"

The labyrinth manifests around her on its own, and she looks around in surprise. There are no familiars in sight, but after a moment, she spots the small Kyuubey, which makes a cute noise, drawing her attention.

"There it is!" she gasps.

She cautiously takes a step towards it, but then to her surprise, it trots over in her direction. Before they can meet though, a pair of those caterpillar-like familiars pop up in the middle.

"Ugh, what terrible timing…"

Then several more pop out, startling her.

"Ehh!? Why are there so many!?"

She starts rapid-firing bolts, aiming at the closest ones first, and manages to take down a few of them. However, she's caught off guard by another pair sneaking up from behind, and takes quite a hit from their segment missiles. She looks around wildly for an exit, but she's now completely surrounded. The only way out would be to jump right over the enemy lines. Just as she's about to attempt that, she's pummelled by spherical segments from all directions, letting out a shriek and collapsing to her knees.

She manages to take out one or two more before they completely overwhelm her, but just as she seems to be on the verge of losing consciousness, someone else shows up, a girl in blue – Yachiyo. The newcomer calls down a rain of spears, taking out all the familiars in one go, and stops to glare at the fallen Iroha.

"You don't belong here," Yachiyo says coldly.

Then Iroha powers down as she loses consciousness. Before Yachiyo can do or say something else, a third girl shows up. This time it's Momoko.

"Yachiyo!? What are you doing!?" Momoko shouts. "Leave her alone!"

"I didn't do anything," Yachiyo says. "She was surrounded by familiars… all I did was destroy them."

"Then why do you have that murderous look in your eye!?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Yachiyo says. "I always look like this. In any case, now that you're here, I'll leave her in your capable hands, Momoko. Make sure you make it clear that she's not welcome here in Kamihama."

"Wait a second!"

But without further ado, Yachiyo moves deeper into the labyrinth. Momoko sighs and scoops Iroha up in a princess carry, taking her outside and laying her down on a bench in a nearby park, staying close to keep an eye on her.

It's at least ten minutes before Iroha comes to, sitting up and looking around in confusion.

"Huh? I… what?"

"Oh, you're finally awake!" Momoko says cheerfully. "How're you feeling? Like I have to ask… must be terrible, huh? You're lucky Kaede called me in!"

She giggles a little, and Iroha blinks at her.

"Eh? Um… who are—"

"Who, me?" Momoko says.

She transforms all of a sudden.

"See? I'm a magical girl just like you."

"Ah…"

Momoko powers down again.

"Hey, hey, are you alright?" she asks. "Better pull yourself together, unless you wanna get jumped by someone like me!"

"Eh!?"

"Just kidding!" Momoko says. "Hey, you survived, so look alive!"

"Survived…?" Iroha blinks. "Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't—"

"Don't worry about it," Momoko says. "Saving someone like you's all in a day's work for me. That said, it's really not good for you to be getting beat by familiars like that… so! To make sure you can survive any more encounters in Kamihama from here on out… let's go see the Coordinator!"

"Huh!?" Iroha blinks. "The… Coordinator?"

"Yep, you're new to Kamihama, right?" Momoko says. "All the magical girls in Kamihama know the Coordinator."

"Is that so…"

"Sure is! It's especially helpful now that the witches in Kamihama are a lot stronger. See, she can enhance your magic, introduce you to other magical girls, or even provide you with tools or information if you need it."

"Th-that sounds… almost too good to be true!" Iroha gasps.

"You'll see if it's true or not soon enough," Momoko says. "Follow me, and I'll take you to her!"

"W-wait! You don't need to do that!" Iroha protests. "I'll be okay, really…"

"You didn't wander in here by accident, right?" Momoko says. "You've got a reason to be here."

"…Yeah," Iroha nods.

"Then where's the harm in asking for help?" Momoko says. "Got nothing to lose, right?"

Iroha falls silent for a moment, then nods.

"I'm sorry, you're right," she says. "Please take me to her."

"That's the spirit! I'm Togame Momoko, nice to meet ya!"

"Um, I'm Tamaki Iroha," Iroha says. "Thank you for everything, Miss Togame."

"Oh, one more thing," Momoko says. "Let's skip the formalities… just call me Momoko!"

Momoko leads Iroha to the Coordinator's place, which as always looks like an abandoned building from outside. It only takes a few minutes to get there.

"Okay, here we are!" Momoko says. "She's just in there."

"Inside this abandoned house?" Iroha asks.

"Yeah, the Coordinator can't fight witches and familiars herself, so she usually stays away from places where they'd gather," Momoko says. "Fortunately, they don't tend to go places where there aren't a lot of people, so I guess this is a safe spot for her to do business."

As they step inside, Momoko raises her voice.

"Yo, Mitama!" she calls.

Mitama looks up from where she's sitting in an armchair. She's in her magical girl outfit, as always.

"Oh, hi Momoko," she says. "It's been awhile… I've missed you!"

"Ha, I doubt that," Momoko retorts. "With all the customers you've had lately, I'm sure you're too busy to be thinking about me."

"That's not true," Mitama says. "Oh! I don't think I've met your friend yet."

"That's right," Momoko says. "I'm not here for myself today. I'm here to introduce a new customer."

"Um… is she… the Coordinator?" Iroha asks.

"Yes, I'm the Coordinator," Mitama says. "Nice to meet you! My name is Yakumo Mitama. You can just call me Mitama. Come see me whenever you like!"

"R-right… um, I'm Tamaki Iroha. Nice to meet you too!"

"Now, Mitama," Momoko says.

"What is it?" Mitama asks.

"I want you to tune Iroha-chan's soul gem."

"I'm running a business here," Mitama retorts. "I assume you have a payment?"

"Of course!" Momoko says. "It's on me today."

"Ehh!?" Iroha gasps. "W-wait, I really couldn't, Miss Momoko! I mean, you've already helped me so much…"

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Momoko says cheerfully. "Magical girls gotta look out for each other, right?"

Iroha still looks hesitant, so Momoko plows on.

"Come on, shouldn't you be happy?" she says.

"R-right," Iroha says. "Thank you very much. So um… Miss Mitama, what does it mean to 'tune' my soul gem?"

Mitama giggles.

"It means that I can reach inside your soul gem and make it more efficient!" she says. "I can infuse another type of magic, or bring out your hidden potential."

"Is that really possible?" Iroha asks.

"I think you'll be surprised at how you feel once you try it," Mitama says. "So on that note… shall we get started?"

"R-right!" Iroha says.

"Okay then!" Mitama says. "Please take off all your clothes and lie down on that bed."

She points through an open door leading to the next room, through which the bed is just visible.

"Got i— w-wait, what? Take off my clothes!?"

"Yes, just put them in that basket by the door," Mitama says.

Iroha looks uncomfortable at the request.

"Hey, hey, Mitama!" Momoko protests.

"O-okay then, I got it!" Iroha says.

"No you don't!" Momoko protests. "C'mon Mitama, stop teasing her!"

Mitama giggles.

"I was joking, Iroha-chan. But you do need to lay down on that bed. And hand over your soul gem."

Iroha does so, and Mitama closes the door, shutting Momoko out.

"Alright, now please relax," Mitama says. "Take a deep breath… relax and leave everything to me…"

She takes Iroha's soul gem and begins prodding at it a little as she continues with her soothing meditational phrases. After several minutes of that, she gives the soul gem back, and they return to the waiting room together.

"Well? I bet you feel great now, right?" Mitama says.

"Um… yeah, I do feel much better," Iroha admits. "My body feels… somehow warmer…?"

Mitama giggles.

"That means it worked. You might feel a little worn out or even uncomfortable at first, but you'll soon get used to it."

"Okay… thank you very much," Iroha says.

Mitama's face suddenly grows serious, to the point that Momoko feels the need to comment on it.

"Huh? What's wrong, Mitama?" she asks. "You look so serious all of a sudden…"

"Um, well… Iroha-chan?" Mitama says.

"Y-yes?"

"You see, when I touch someone's soul gem, I can see into her past a little," Mitama explains.

"You… you do?" Iroha says.

"Yes… so when I touched yours, I saw your past too," Mitama says.

"Oh…"

"I apologize for snooping," Mitama says. "I promise I won't tell anyone what I saw. But there's one thing I'd like to ask you."

"Um… what is it?" Iroha asks.

"What was your wish?" Mitama asks.

Iroha blinks.

"Huh? My wish?"

"Do you remember it?" Mitama asks.

"Yes, of course," Iroha says. "I um… I wished… huh? Wait… my wish was…" Suddenly she lets out a gasp of pain. "Ah… it's her again… why!?"

"Iroha-chan!" Momoko gasps.

"W-who is that girl?" Iroha wonders. "Does she have something to do with my wish?"

"I'm sorry," Mitama says. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm sure that small Kyuubey has something to do with me," Iroha says. "It was only after I glimpsed it two days ago that I saw that girl in my dream…"

She turns and runs outside, and Momoko runs after her, grabbing her arm.

"Iroha-chan! It's too early for you to go out there!"

"Please let me go! I really need to go find that small Kyuubey!"

Momoko blinks. "Small Kyuubey? What are you planning to do with it?"

"This all started when I saw it," Iroha says. "After that, I had such a vivid dream about some girl I'd never seen before. Now for some reason I feel like… like I miss her… I don't know what's going on. So even though I don't know what's going to happen, I need to find it! I need to know what that dream was all about!"

She wrests her arm free of Momoko and runs off.

"Dammit!" Momoko groans. "If you go out there now, she'll definitely find you!"

But Iroha doesn't hear her. She stops for a moment, looking around wildly.

"Where is that witch…?"

She makes for the park where she met Momoko, then takes a moment to take her soul gem out and feel for presences. Then she shoots off in a certain direction. As Iroha runs, presumably tracking the witch's trail, someone else catches sight of her and follows her. It's Yachiyo again. The witch must have escaped before she could defeat it.

"Oh no, the magic is starting to fade!" Iroha gasps.

"Stop right there," Yachiyo says, stepping out in front of her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry!" Iroha says.

"I told you to stop!" Yachiyo insists.

"Um, it's really urgent!" Iroha says.

"If you're dead set on going ahead, you'll have to defeat me first," Yachiyo says.

"But why!?" Iroha gasps.

"You of all people should know exactly why," Yachiyo says. "You're the one who lost so badly back in that witch's labyrinth."

"Ah! Does that mean you were the one who—"

"That's right," Yachiyo says. "So you were still conscious. If you remember, then I'll cut to the chase. I was interrupted before, but… now I can chase you out of town without any distractions."

"Chase me out…?"

"Yes, you made it clear you don't have what it takes to survive here. Go home."

"No," Iroha says. "I came to this town for a reason, so—"

"So what? Do you want to die without achieving what you came here to do?"

"But… I had the Coordinator tune my soul gem," Iroha says. "So I should be fine… right?"

"I see Momoko's at it again," Yachiyo sighs. "Fine then…"

"So you're letting me go?" Iroha asks.

"As long as you can prove that you're strong enough," Yachiyo says.

She transforms.

"Bring it on. I will judge for myself whether or not you can survive here."

Iroha transforms as well.

"Are you prepared?" Yachiyo asks. "Now's your only chance to surrender."

Iroha doesn't say anything at all, just looking at Yachiyo with a determined look on her face.

"You look like a timid girl, but you're pretty stubborn, huh?"

Then she attacks with her spear, and Iroha leaps back, attempting to avoid the blow and letting out a squeal when she fails. She lands several blows in a row, driving Iroha back.

"The Coordinator might've given you a boost, but in the end you're still inexperienced," Yachiyo says.

Iroha points her crossbow at Yachiyo.

"Oh? Still want to fight?"

"Please, all I want is to find that small Kyuubey!" Iroha says. "I have to find it!"

Yachiyo blinks. "The small Kyuubey?"

"I finally found it, but… the familiars got between us…"

"I see… you can approach it without it running away?" Yachiyo says. "But that doesn't matter… give up already!"

"Waaaaait!"

At that point, Momoko barrels in, already transformed, raising her massive sword in a defensive stance as she lands in front of Iroha. Both Yachiyo and Iroha let out a small gasp at her sudden entrance, and Momoko lets out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like I was right to follow you!" she says.

"M-miss Momoko!?" Iroha gasps. "Why are you here…?"

"I had a hunch Yachiyo would attack you," Momoko says. "I see you're as unlikable as ever…"

"I just don't want any more people to die in vain," Yachiyo retorts. "That's all."

"Ha, don't make me laugh," Momoko says. "You just don't want the witches to thin out, right? The more magical girls in town, the fewer the grief seeds for you… that's what this is all about, right? That's why you're trying to drive her away instead of taking her to the Coordinator!"

Yachiyo stares at Momoko for a few seconds, then sighs.

"I'm tired of being misunderstood like this," she says. "It's not a good feeling. Okay… fine. Hey, you."

She points at Iroha, who gasps.

"You said you found the small Kyuubey, right? Where'd you see it?"

"Eh? Um… it was in that witch's labyrinth," Iroha says. "The one with all the sand and the caterpillar familiars…"

"Alright, how about this?" Yachiyo says. "If you can beat that witch before me, I'll acknowledge your abilities. To make it fair, I'll fight alone, but I don't mind if you two team up. How about it?"

"I feel like I'm talking to a wall…" Iroha says. "Um… as long as I can find the small Kyuubey… then I don't mind."

"Alright!" Momoko says.

"Eh!? Wait, Miss Momoko!? I don't really care if she acknowledges me, you know…"

"You should!" Momoko says. "This is an easy way to get her to back down. Plus, if you win her game, you'll be free to search for that Kyuubey."

"Well…"

"Let's do it, Iroha-chan!" Momoko says.

"Okay, I'll do it," Iroha says with a sigh.

"Alright, we agree to your conditions!" Momoko says.

"Good," Yachiyo says.

For several minutes, they track the witch through the city, eventually locating it near a run-down old building that looks a bit like a warehouse.

"There it is!" Iroha says.

"It's hiding pretty deep," Momoko says.

"It's only natural it'd want to run away when there's a group of magical girls chasing it," Yachiyo says. "It probably only felt strong before because the girl it ran into was so weak. As soon as it met me, it turned tail and ran."

"Weak… you're talking about me?" Iroha says.

"Or possibly Kaede," Momoko says.

"Anyway, I intend to stay true to my word and maintain that handicap," Yachiyo says. "Good luck, you two. Since your magic has been enhanced, at least try to put it to good use."

"Ugh, could you be any more annoying?" Momoko grumbles. "We're doing exactly what you wanted… aren't you happy?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Yachiyo says. "If you prefer, you can beat me in a direct battle instead."

"Um, Miss Momoko, don't let her get to you," Iroha says. "She was right when she said I was weak… and besides, that small Kyuubey might be inside this labyrinth. So, I'm going to do this!"

Yachiyo chuckles.

"Well, I look forward to seeing you try," she says.

Momoko just sort of groans, and then the three of them step into the labyrinth. Almost immediately, a horde of familiars pops up and surrounds them. Yachiyo however leaps right over them and heads further in.

"Shoot, we're surrounded!" Momoko gasps.

"I've got your back!" Iroha says. "I'll protect you!"

"Alright!" Momoko says. "I'm going to make an opening! We can't let Yachiyo get ahead!"

Yachiyo pauses to look back as they break through the encirclement with a few volleys of bolts and some wide sword swings.

"I'll be on my way now," she says. "Take your time."

Then she disappears around a corner.

"Ugh, she's so fast," Momoko grumbles. "Iroha-chan, let's hurry!"

"Um, wait a second!" Iroha says.

"What are you stopping for!?" Momoko protest. "We don't have time for… um, Iroha-chan?"

"It's the small Kyuubey," Iroha says.

Sure enough, it's standing off to one side, staring at them. As they look at it, it makes another of its weird, cute noises.

"It's right over there!" Iroha says.

"Iroha-chan!" Momoko says. "The witch comes first!"

"But it's the reason I came here!" Iroha says. "All I need to do is talk to it… then I can go home!"

"It's not that simple," Momoko says. "Iroha-chan, I know it may have something to do with your wish, but it's not guaranteed you'll understand everything after talking to it."

"You could be right… but still!"

"If you need to come back to Kamihama, she'll definitely interfere again," Momoko says. "So let's take care of the witch first."

The small Kyuubey makes another cute noise, and Iroha addresses it hesitantly.

"Um… Kyuubey…?"

The small Kyuubey repeats the same cute noise.

"Huh? What's that mean?" Momoko asks.

"Are you… telling us to follow you?" Iroha asks.

Another cute noise.

"Wait, are you going to take us to the witch!?"

Another cute noise.

"Hmm, I see," Momoko says. "So the little one also wants us to focus on defeating the witch."

"Is that what you want?" Iroha asks it.

Another cute noise.

"Yeah, alright, lead the way!" Iroha says.

"I'm really not sure if we should believe the little one," Momoko says. "How can you even tell what it's saying?"

"I'm not sure… I just sort of… get it? But if Kyuubey knows where the witch is, then at least we won't get lost."

"True… fighting the normal way, it'll be tough to keep up with Yachiyo," Momoko admits. "So maybe we should chance it."

"Let's go!"

The small Kyuubey turns and runs off, and they chase after it.

"You know, if you win, you'll be one of us," Momoko says. "One of the Kamihama magical girls."

"Why would that make you happy?" Iroha asks. "Isn't it better to have fewer rivals?"

"I'd be happy either way," Momoko says. "It'd be like having more friends!"

The small Kyuubey leads them through narrow paths with almost no familiars. They take down one or two along their way, but that's it. After a few minutes, it leads them back out into a main passageway, right next to the doorway leading into the witch's chamber. The runes above the doorway spell out her name, Zenobia.

"So this'll lead to the deepest level," Iroha says.

"Yeah, that's the witch's private chamber," Momoko says. "I wasn't so sure about the little one, but it seems it really did guide us here."

"Did we make it here before Miss Yachiyo?" Iroha wonders.

"I guess so," Momoko says. "Let's go in before she gets here."

They step into the witch's chamber, and almost immediately, an attack comes their way, like a small tsunami rolling across the room.

"Iroha-chan, watch out!" Momoko gasps.

But she's too late. While Momoko manages to barely dodge, Iroha takes the brunt of the attack and is knocked down.

"Oh, you finally made it," Yachiyo says coolly.

It wasn't the witch's magic but Yachiyo's that had struck her. The witch herself seems to be briefly stunned by the attack.

"Y-you knocked out the witch with a single blow!?" Iroha gasps.

"I was tired of waiting, so I decided to play with the witch a little," Yachiyo says.

"You've gotta be kidding," Momoko groans. "You're way too fast…"

"Too fast?" Yachiyo says. "More like you two are too slow. Momoko, you should've known that I'm stronger than both of you combined. Anyway, it's pretty obvious who the winner is… but just this once, I'll give you another chance."

"Y-you will!?" Iroha gasps.

"Yes," Yachiyo says. "Defeat the witch by yourself. Then you'll have my permission to stay here. It's unfortunate that it's already been weakened by me, though."

"That's enough!" Momoko shouts. "Stop messing with her!"

"What an awful thing to say," Yachiyo says. "I'm having second thoughts, not messing with her. Besides, this is none of your business. It's up to her. So… what are you going to do?"

Iroha thinks for a moment, then nods.

"In that case, I'll defeat this witch, right here, right now," she says.

"Alright," Yachiyo says. "Show me that you can defeat a Kamihama witch."

"You can do it, Iroha-chan!" Momoko says.

"Get to it," Yachiyo says. "The witch is moving."

"Miss Momoko, could you watch Kyuubey for me?" Iroha asks.

"Of course!" Momoko says.

The small Kyuubey makes a cute noise as Iroha steps forward towards the Sandbox Witch. She aims her crossbow at it and lets loose a volley of bolts, then dodges as the witch flings a glob of sand at her with her shovel. Iroha circles the witch, firing a constant stream of bolts as the witch attempts to pin her with sand globs. Then the witch suddenly seems to throw a tantrum, and numerous sand-filled whirlwinds spring up, all shifting their paths to track towards Iroha. She dodges the first two, leaps high into the air to avoid the next two, then lands right on top of the final one, which has just enough strength in it to send her flying back into the air before they all die down.

Iroha somersaults through the air, releasing a volley of bolts from above the witch, then manages to land out of range of the witch's arms and resumes bombarding her with bolts. The witch pounds the ground with both hands, producing a mild shockwave, but Iroha hops over the wave and charges her crossbow with magic, aiming at the ceiling.

"Strada Futuro!" she shouts.

Her glowing bolts rain down upon Zenobia, culminating in one massive blast of light from above. It seems it's not enough to finish her off, but then Iroha leaps in close and kicks the witch's head clean off for a finishing blow. She dissolves into just a pile of sand, leaving behind her grief seed. As Iroha snatches it from midair, the barrier collapses, depositing them back out in the city.

"Great job, Iroha-chan!" Momoko says.

"Thanks!" Iroha says. "I did it!"

"Whaddaya say now, Yachiyo!?" Momoko says.

"Why do you sound so smug, Momoko?" Yachiyo asks. "You didn't even do anything. In any case…"

"What? Planning on giving her even more trouble?" Momoko asks.

"Oh no," Yachiyo says. "I acknowledge her strength. I figured she'd be fine from the start."

"Huh? R-really?" Iroha gasps.

"Yes, I just had that sense," Yachiyo says. "I can tell what people are capable of."

"Oh, so that's why you let me finish the witch off…"

"No, she's just toying with you," Momoko says.

"I'm doing no such thing," Yachiyo says. "I just arranged things so I could achieve my objective."

Iroha blinks. "Arranged things?"

"Yes… perhaps I was a bit too harsh on you, but that small Kyuubey kept avoiding me."

"Huh!?"

"The small Kyuubey," Yachiyo repeats. "It's an irregularity that was impossible until now. Every normal Kyuubey in Kamihama suddenly vanished, and before anyone realized, this little Kyuubey was the only one left. No matter how you look at it, it's dangerous."

Iroha gasps. "Miss Momoko!"

"Dammit!" Momoko gasps.

"Too slow!" Yachiyo says.

The two of them try to keep her from reaching the small Kyuubey, but she darts in before anyone can react. The Kyuubey lets out a cute noise or two but fails to escape.

"No, Kyuubey!" Iroha gasps.

"Finally, I can dispose of it," Yachiyo says.

"Nooooo, stooooop!"

Iroha leaps at Yachiyo, trying to get her to release the Kyuubey to no avail.

"You don't catch on well either," Yachiyo says. "That Kyuubey is dangerous."

"What has it done wrong!?" Iroha protests.

"Nothing yet that I know of, but it might in the future," Yachiyo says. "It's best to eliminate risk sooner rather than later."

"But if you do that, I won't be able to ask it about… about that girl… I want to figure out who she is! She might be an important person to me!"

Iroha struggles against Yachiyo's grip on the creature, and somehow manages to worm her way in enough that the creature can slip free, which it does, hopping up onto Iroha's head with a cute noise. Iroha then hops back, panting, and grabs the Kyuubey from her head, holding it protectively to her chest.

"I give you credit for making it this far," Yachiyo says. "But this is the end of the road!"

She points her spear at Iroha.

"Don't!" Iroha shouts.

"Let it go, or you'll be impaled too," Yachiyo says.

"No! I won't!" Iroha says.

Suddenly she gasps, not in surprise, but in pain, falling to her knees. The small Kyuubey slips out of her arms and runs off while Momoko calls out her name.

"Iroha-chan!"

Yachiyo sighs.

"I told you… this is your own fault," she says.

Then Iroha blacks out. Momoko shoots Yachiyo a glare as she picks Iroha up for the second time that day. With a huff, she turns and heads for the Coordinator's place, where she barges in with a shout.

"Mitama, you still there!?"

"Oh my, what's this?" Mitama asks. "It's Iroha-chan… is she hurt?"

"I don't know!" Momoko says. "She just collapsed all of a sudden…"

"Hmm… well, you can lay her down over there, I suppose," Mitama says, indicating one of the couches.

Momoko does as she suggests, then flops down on another couch to wait for her to wake up. Mitama checks on her quickly.

"As far as I can tell, she's fine," Mitama says. "I think she's just sleeping."

It doesn't take very long for her to awaken, though. Iroha's eyes flutter open and she lets out a long sigh.

"Oh my!" Mitama says. "Momoko, Iroha-chan is waking up!"

"Really!?" Momoko gasps. "Iroha-chan, are you okay?"

"Miss Momoko… Miss Mitama…"

Tears well up in her eyes, startling Momoko.

"What is it? Is something wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I… remembered," Iroha says. "Why I became a magical girl… for my little sister… I became a magical girl because I wanted to cure her. How could I forget… something so important…?"

"What do you mean, you forgot?" Momoko asks. "Have you been living apart for awhile or something?"

"No… we've always been together," Iroha says. "Until recently, until she was hospitalized, less than a year ago… we slept together, ate together… but everything is gone, almost as if… as if she never existed…"

"That's… impossible," Momoko says.

"I thought so too, but it's the truth," Iroha says. "I haven't felt strange at all coming home and not having Ui there. I've been living with my parents, just the three of us. Until just now I didn't even think I had a little sister…"

"So if that's true," Mitama says. "If you've met her before… then that means you've forgotten her, right?"

"Yes… I think…"

"Could a witch be to blame?" Mitama asks.

"I've never heard of a witch that did that," Momoko says. "And I've been fighting them for awhile…"

"Then why…?"

"Maybe there's something else that I don't remember," Iroha suggests.

The little Kyuubey hops up from behind the couch and makes a cute noise. Mitama blinks at it in surprise, and Iroha reaches out to touch it. It hops into her lap, and she strokes it a little.

"Kyuubey… I can't remember anything else even if I touch you," she murmurs. "But you helped me remember Ui, right?"

It makes a cute noise again.

"Yeah, that's got to be it," Iroha says, smiling for a moment despite the tears.

Then her smile fades as she wipes the tears away with her handkerchief.

"Alright, that's it," she says resolutely.

"What is it, Iroha-chan?" Momoko asks.

"I'll be back," Iroha says. "I'll come to Kamihama again."

"But you found what you were looking for," Momoko points out.

"Yes, but now I need to look for Ui," Iroha says. "I'm sure I'll be able to find more clues about her here in Kamihama. The cause of her disappearance… where she's gone… after all, this little Kyuubey, who helped me remember Ui, is here."

"Perhaps that memory is false, and it was planted in your head for some reason," Mitama suggests. "It's not impossible."

"Maybe," Iroha says. "But I trust this memory. Because of all the love I have for Ui, this memory is clear as day… it gives me confidence that she really existed. More than anything, I feel like… without Tamaki Ui, I can't truly be Tamaki Iroha."

"So there's no Tamaki Iroha without Tamaki Ui," Momoko muses. "Then you're going to trust that memory, and search for your little sister, here in Kamihama."

"That's right!" Iroha says.

"Hmm, I see," Momoko says. "Alright… I'm more than happy to welcome you! The more the merrier!"

"I'll get another customer, so I won't try to stop you either," Mitama says.

"Always a saleswoman, huh?" Momoko says.

Mitama just giggles.

"Well, I'll watch over the little one until you come back," Momoko says. "Since it seems like it doesn't want to leave Kamihama."

"Thank you!" Iroha says.

"By the way, Iroha-chan," Mitama says.

"Yes?"

"You should name it."

"Name it?"

"Don't you think it'd be sad to keep calling it 'little Kyuubey'?" Mitama asks. "I think we should call it something else… something simpler."

"Are you sure it's okay?" Iroha asks nervously.

"I think so," Mitama says. "It seems like you have a strong bond with it, after all. Until now, it always ran off whenever someone spotted it, but it seems to like you."

"Hmmm… um… Kyuubey-chan?"

"My, my, you sure you want to go with that?" Mitama asks.

"No, but… hmm…"

The little Kyuubey suddenly lets out one of its cute noises again.

"How about Mokyu?" Iroha says.

Mitama giggles.

"Because it keeps saying 'mokyu, mokyu', is that it?" she asks. "It's a good name! I like it!"

"Mokyu!" Mokyu says.

"The little one seems to like it too," Momoko says.

Iroha smiles a bit.

"Mokyo, will you help me look for Ui?"

"Mokyukyu!" Mokyu replies.

Iroha giggles.

"Thank you!"

---

I don't really understand why, but it seems my own memories of Ui have not been affected by what happened. Perhaps it's because the erasure was subconsciously done by Ui herself, and she's unaware of me? Or if it was done by Nemu, that would still fit. At least it means I won't be going in at a disadvantage now that the Magius have finally appeared.

And then, that night, it happens. The dream inserts itself into my head sometime during the night. An image of Tamaki Ui appears, a pink-haired girl clad in the black and purple outfit of her magical girl form, repeating the same words over and over again.

"If you want to change your fate, come to Kamihama. Here, magical girls can be saved."

---

As planned, I meet up with Inui and Kirika after school the next day, and we head north, to the haunted house. Sure enough, Nikola's labyrinth is there, but this time the portal's not flickering. Kuroe is not fighting the witch. Instead, she's standing outside, transformed, staring at the portal as if steeling herself to step inside. I transform, and Inui and Kirika follow my example.

"Um… are you new to this?" Inui asks.

Kuroe spins to face us, blinking.

"Uhh… actually… I've been a magical girl for… several months," she says. "But now… I'm scared… what if my soul gem…?"

"How is now any different from other times you've fought witches?" Inui asks.

"It's just… back then, I didn't know what I know now," Kuroe mutters.

Inui blinks. "W-wait… don't tell me… did you… see someone… witch out?"

Kuroe blinks at me. "Eh!? Y-you've actually seen it!? I was just… told about it… s-so then, it really is true…"

"W-well… so was I," Inui admits. "But then I saw it happen yesterday… she wasn't anyone I knew, but… it was… still terrifying…"

"Why don't we go in and fight this witch together?" I suggest. "My name is Ashley Taylor… these are Itsumi Inui and Kure Kirika."

"Ah… I'm… Kuroe Kana," she says. "Um… if you don't mind… then I will be happy to help…"

The four of us step inside, and Inui and Kirika make short work of the first wave of familiars. As always, thanks to my clairvoyance we're able to reach the central chamber quickly, where the battle against the witch herself commences.

"Inui-chan, please keep her charmed!" I call. "Miss Kirika, attack up close! Miss Kuroe, please attack with everything you have! I'll be doing the same!"

"R-right!" Kuroe gasps.

She summons a circle of batons and begins charging her ultimate. For my part, I summon seven teddy drones and prepare to fire.

"Look at me!" Inui shouts. "I'm over here!"

Kirika leaves forward, slashing at the witch's… face, for lack of a better word.

"And Inui-chan, can you connect with both of us?" I ask.

"Got it!" Inui says.

Kuroe blinks in surprise as Inui slaps her hand and mine at the same time.

"H-huh!? How do you know how to connect? Have you met Miss Mitama too!?"

"Who?" Inui asks. "I learned it from Ashley-nee…"

"Are there other Coordinators like Miss Mitama?" Kuroe asks. "Is Miss Taylor one?"

I shake my head. "There are others, but I'm not one. I did meet one in Paris though."

"Paris!? As in, France?"

"I'm an exchange student from America," I explain. "But I've also travelled a fair bit in Europe, so yeah… alright, are you about ready to unleash your attack?"

"Y-yeah…"

I summon Teddy Mk II.

"Then hop on, and let's fire at her from the air."

"Okay…"

I hop onto one arm and Kuroe hops onto the other, and we shoot up.

"Aim for the hole at the top," I say.

"G-got it!" Kuroe says.

"Great Teddy's Ionic Bombardment!"

Though Kuroe doesn't call her attack, she unleashes it at the same time as mine, aiming for the hole at the top of the witch from where Nikola would normally expel exploding presents, if Inui wasn't holding the witch docile with her charm. When the dust and smoke clears from the attack, all that's left of the witch is her grief seed. As the labyrinth collapses, I step forward to grab it, offering it to Kuroe.

"Would you like to use it first?" I ask.

Kuroe checks her soul gem, which is no more than thirty percent polluted.

"Ah… I think I should be fine until I get back to Kamihama," she says. "You go ahead and keep it."

I tilt my head. "Are you sure? I already have some spare grief seeds…"

Kuroe blinks. "R-really!? I've never once had a spare grief seed… you must be really strong!"

"I don't think I'm all that strong…"

"Um… say… Miss Taylor… Miss Itsumi… Miss Kure… what do you think of the idea of saving magical girls?" Kuroe asks.

"From what?" Inui asks.

"W-well… you seem to know about what happens when the soul gem goes dark," Kuroe says.

"Yes, that's true," I say.

"But, it's not like you want to…?"

"Of course, I don't want to turn into a witch," I agree.

"Then… what if there was a way to ensure you never would?" Kuroe asks.

"I'd be very interested," I say.

"Um… there is a way," Kuroe says. "If you come to Kamihama with me… I can introduce you to the people who have made it possible."

"That sounds very interesting," I say. "Are you suggesting we go right now?"

"Oh, um… I'm sorry," Kuroe says. "I have to do something for my mother, so I'll be going home to Takarazaki tonight… but I could meet you in Kamihama tomorrow!"

"Sure… after school? Where should we meet?" I ask.

"Um… after school is fine," Kuroe says. "How about um… how about we exchange contact info, and I'll send you the location tomorrow?"

I nod. "Sure, sounds good to me."

We whip out our phones and tap them together, and the beep of a successful transfer sounds.

"Um… so… I'll be going now," Kuroe says. "B-but… I'll see you… tomorrow."

"Yes, see you, Miss Kuroe."

With that, she turns, powers down, and runs off. As we too power down, Inui looks at me.

"So um… that was… easy?" she says.

"A little too easy, perhaps," I say. "But then again, it's not like these people are trained secret agents or anything. They're ordinary young girls like you and me."

"I see…"

"Okay… I'd like to head home now," I say. "Would you like to use the grief seed, Miss Kirika?"

Kirika shrugs. "I think I'll be fine."

So I pass it to Inui, who purifies her soul gem, and Kirika goes her own way while the two of us return to the Hayashi place.

---

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.

Yukari Miyuri
遊狩ミユリ

Age: 14
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Orange
Origins: Takarazaki, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Sky blue five-pointed star
Soul Gem: Light blue oval gem on her scarf
Element: Water
Weapon: Roller blades
Powers: Fast-forward, water manipulation
Wish: "I want time to speed up whenever I feel nervous."
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Black Feather)

Speed: 5
Magical Stamina: 3
Offensive Power: 3
Defensive Power: 5
Initial Power Usability: 1
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

Kagura San
神楽燦

Age: 15
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Silver
Origins: Takarazaki, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Red torch
Soul Gem: Circular red gem on her collar
Element: Forest
Weapon: Gatling gun
Powers: Absolute defense, healing, dispel, puppeteering
Wish: "I want the Hikarizuka Fire Festival to remain."
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: White Feather)

Speed: 3
Magical Stamina: 8
Offensive Power: 8
Defensive Power: 10
Initial Power Usability: 10
Learned Powers: 2

Azusa Mifuyu
梓みふゆ

Age: 19
Eye Colour: Teal
Hair Colour: Silver
Origins: Mizuna Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Black crescent moon
Soul Gem: Silver orb at her throat
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Melee chakram
Powers: Illusion
Wish: "I wish that I could at least be free in my dreams."
Affiiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: White Feather)

Speed: 6
Magical Stamina: 5
Offensive Power: 4
Defensive Power: 7
Initial Power Usability: 5
Learned Powers: 3

Satomi Touka
里見灯花

Age: 11
Eye Colour: Brown
Hair Colour: Brown
Origins: Hokuyo Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Yellow four-pointed starburst
Soul Gem: Red bow-shaped gem at her throat
Element: Fire
Weapon: Parasol
Powers: Energy conversion
Wish: "I wish for the power to convert!"
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Magius)

Speed: 7
Magical Stamina: 10
Offensive Power: 8
Defensive Power: 4
Initial Power Usability: 3
Learned Powers: 3

Hiiragi Nemu
柊ねむ

Age: 11
Eye Colour: Purple
Hair Colour: Light brown
Origins: Sankyo Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Yellow hollow eight-sided star composed of two squares
Soul Gem: Circular orange gem on the tassel of her hat
Element: Forest
Weapon: Book
Powers: Manifestation
Wish: "I wish for the power to manifest!"
Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Magius)

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

Kana Kuroe

Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: Black Feather)
The rest of her profile may be found in chapter 23.

Amane Tsukasa

Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: White Feather)
The rest of her profile may be found in chapter 61.

Akatsuki Tsukuyo (Amane Tsukuyo)

Affiliation: Wings of the Magius (rank: White Feather)
The rest of her profile may be found in chapter 61.

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Doppel Corner

Whenever a new magical girl unleashes her doppel, I'll include a doppel description here. Note that most of these are direct quotes from the Magia Record game rather than being written by me; they are simply reproduced here for interest. I'll mark any original doppels with a dagger symbol (†).

Oxford (Yukari Miyuri)

The Doppel of stark candor. Its form is a shoe. The master of this emotion is dumbfounded by the countless legs sprouting out from her vicinity and pressing in on her. However, she doesn't actually seem bothered by them, and is in fact staring blankly into space from a sheer overload of joy. Meanwhile, her Doppel has had no luck whatsoever in its search for a foot that will fit it, and has filled itself to the brim with nothing but dud legs to dispose of. But it still hasn't given up on meeting its soulmate (sole-mate) one day, and thus tends to throw tantrums out of frustration. It vents its stress by leaping high into the heavens, then falling back to earth in a plummeting stomp. Apparently, it can relieve more stress the higher it flies.

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So I know I said it would be two weeks, but it turned out the next chapter was closer to completion than I thought. This roughly corresponds to chapter 1 of the game or episode 1 of the anime, with a reference to Kanagi's side story. The Wings of the Magius are already in full swing and going all out on recruiting, starting with the Instructor, Kagura San.

You may also notice two new side segments in this chapter. From now until the next appearance of Walpurgisnacht, I will lead each chapter with the text of a Rumour featured in that chapter. Obviously the chief Rumours featured in the game's main story will be included, but I expect to have more than nine chapters before Walpurgisnacht shows up, so some chapters will feature other Rumours instead. Secondly, there is a new Doppel Corner which I will include in any chapter that features a girl unleashing her doppel for the first time. We get started with what may be one of the least skilled magical girls, Yukari Miyuri. And you may have noticed a few profile amendments in this chapter's Magical Girl Corner. I'm only going to do these for affiliation changes though, not for new powers, updated stats, or any other new information.

Next, I've corrected a few issues I noticed in the last two chapters. In chapter 64, I mixed up Masuyo Mari's age relative to her deceased sister, which was established in previous chapters, so I went back and changed instances of "onee-san" in her speech to "Mari-chan". Then in chapter 65, I consistently mispelled Emiri's surname as Kirisaki, instead of Kisaki, so I've corrected that. (Thanks to JAGwin for spotting the latter issue.) I also slightly tweaked Kaede's profile in chapter 38 to more accurately describe her fingernail mark.

Finally, even though this chapter came out faster than I expected, I see no reason the next chapter will do so, so please continue to expect a wait of two weeks until the next chapter. It's fairly close to being done, but there are still several large holes to fill in that are almost entirely original, and then I have to find a good splitting point (since it's gotten really long) and put it through several rounds of proof-reading. That does mean that the next chapter after that is likely to take only one week, however, as by that time it will be complete and only need proof-reading.