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.

73. Litany of Faces in the Mirrors

Have you heard? Has anyone told you?
The Rumour of the Tangled Shrine!
It's got lots of entangled doors, and
everyone trying to follow the matching ribbon
is getting tangled into knots!
The doors are just waiting to be opened!
Place scissors beneath your bed and drift off into deep sleep,
and you'll be at the Tangled Shrine in no time.
If you snip open little doors and rip open the big door,
you'll get something great as a prize!
It's the hottest rumour among crafts lovers!
Help each other out!

---

That night, I dream about Inui and Riko, but when I wake up the following morning, I only remember a few fragments of the dream. However, the red ribbon ornament I picked up on a whim a couple days ago, which I'd left sitting on my end table, has been cut apart, totally ruined. I know exactly what that means… but I guess I'll have to get the full story from Inui later.

Although Komachi, Hiyori, and I leave the house at the same time, we split up before long, as Komachi is heading to Claire's house. I don't accompany her there, but I do follow her with my clairvoyance. Hiyori also doesn't go with her, instead continuing on to her school. When Komachi arrives, Claire lets her in anxiously.

"So… what are we going to do with her?" Claire asks.

"Heal her, wake her up, I guess," Komachi says. "What else can we do?"

"Y-yeah… you're right… but will it really be okay? Hiyori-chan said she was really difficult to deal with…"

"Hopefully she's calmed down a bit by the time she wakes up," Komachi says. "And also, this time we'll all be there just in case she hasn't."

They head inside, where the girl in question is laid out on a futon in the living room. Although she's in one piece and has no apparent external injuries, there's something awkward about the way she's placed that suggests a broken spine. In addition, her entire midsection is one massive bloated bruise, and her skin is deathly pale. As Komachi said last night, she may have stitched the skin together, but she probably didn't have enough magic to fix the internal damage.

There's nothing recognizable about the girl's face, but I do notice she appears on the older side, looking like a high school student. Her hair is sky blue and splayed out beneath her; it's hard to gauge its length but it must be at least waist length, possible longer. She wears a familiar school uniform, a grey sailor suit with a red ribbon. It's the same uniform that Hiroe Chiharu wears, so I guess they must attend the same school… which, given that it's a middle school, means she's probably younger than she looks, at most fifteen.

"Ashley-chan has also called in another magical girl who can heal," Komachi says. "So you should expect her soon."

"Alright," Claire says.

Komachi powers up, kneels next to the girl, and gingerly touches her midsection as she starts her healing magic. I can't see any visible difference to the injury from her magic, but perhaps that's just because it's so severe and she's trying this time to mend the internal damage first.

She's been there for nearly ten minutes when the bell finally rings. Claire answers and blinks at Yuma standing there.

"Um… hello?" she says.

"Yuma's here to help!" Yuma says.

"Huh?"

"Miss Ashley said someone was hurt!"

"Oh! Um, yes, come in," Claire says.

Komachi looks up as Yuma enters the living room and gasps in horror.

"You're… Yuma-chan, right?" Komachi says. "Can you help her? I'm trying my best but not making much progress…"

"Y-yes!" Yuma says. "Yuma should be able to fix her… Yuma can fix almost anything!"

She transforms and grips her hammer, but this time instead of slamming it she only gently taps the injured girl. That green flash of her repair power flows out, engulfing the girl's body. Komachi closes her eyes for a moment, perhaps sensing the healing taking place.

"Yes… thank you, Yuma-chan," Komachi says. "It seems to be having an effect… let's keep at it!"

"Yes!"

Around then is when I arrive at school. I'm incredibly early, and when I enter the classroom, the only one there is Kaori Sachie. As with the last time we were alone together, she turns from the window as I enter and addresses me, though her words are slightly different.

"Good morning, Miss Ashley. You're without your normal entourage today."

"You mean Komachi-chan and Elise-chan?" I say. "It's not like they're my entourage, but I am staying with Komachi-chan, so it's only natural we'd usually arrive at the same time… but today she had something else to do before school. Oh and um… good morning, Miss Kaori."

"Oh?" she says. "I'm a little surprised you remembered…"

"The heck?" I say. "Is it impossible to satisfy you? If I remember your name, you're surprised, and if I forget your name you're also surprised…"

"I don't really know what you're talking about," Sachie says.

Once I've settled down at my desk, she addresses me again.

"Say, Miss Ashley… do you believe in magic?"

I turn to look at her.

"I'd have to say yes," I say.

Sachie tilts her head. "Oh? You know, I've asked that of a lot of people, but you're the first to actually say yes. There were some who demurred and settled on a maybe, but no-one else came out and just said yes without hesitation."

"Well, I have my reasons… and I think your sample might be a bit biased, too. I bet you haven't asked Komachi-chan or Elise-chan, or even Claire-chan or Hiyori-chan…"

Sachie blinks. "You're right, but… why would you mention them specifically?"

"Well… I think they might say yes too," I say.

Sachie shakes her head. "Elise would laugh and tell me I'm stupid," she says. "Claire would look at me like I'm crazy. Hiyori-chan… she might say yes, I suppose. Komachi-chan… I'm not actually sure…"

"But it's not like you've spoken to them recently, is it?" I point out. "That might've been true once, but things change, you know."

"How could that sort of thing possibly change?" Sachie asks.

"Well… why don't you just try it?" I say. "Try asking Elise-chan if she believes in magic. See what she says."

Sachie makes a face. "I'd really rather not get into a huge argument…"

"Then Claire-chan, if that's easier."

She sighs. "Well… it can't hurt to try, I suppose. But you know, I'm surprised you're just rolling with this… most people want to know why I'd ask such a strange question."

"Well, that's true, it was a pretty strange question," I admit. "If you wanna explain your reasoning, I'll listen."

"I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's been on my mind since Liliane died," she says.

"Elise's sister, right?"

She looks at me in surprise. "Oh… she told you? I'm surprised… I thought she didn't like to talk about it."

"No, we heard from someone else," I say. "But anyway, continue?"

"Well… Liliane was the total opposite of her twin sister, liked by everyone," Sachie says. "Then suddenly she was dead, with no clear cause… almost like she was killed by magic. I just can't get it out of my mind… I'm probably the only one still dwelling on it though."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," I say. "I have a feeling Elise can't completely forget about it either… not that she's said anything to me though…"

"I suppose it's possible," Sachie says. "Even though they were opposites, the two of them didn't really fight all that much… or if they did, they made up quick. Plus it hasn't even been all that long since she died… they found her on the fourth of January, and the autopsy said she'd been dead for three days."

I nod. "So that means she died on December thirtieth."

Sachie blinks. "Huh? Did you mishear me? I said she was found on January fourth, so she would've died on New Year's, right?"

I shake my head. "No, for someone like her… it takes two days for the body to even start to decay, so she definitely died on the thirtieth."

Sachie stares at me. "That date, December thirtieth… it's more significant than you could possibly know."

"Yeah?"

"Because that was the day of the party," Sachie says. "The party where she was bullied and then ran out… plus, there's nothing to account for where she was between then and January first."

"Right, because she actually died soon after she ran out from that party," I say. "Those bullies are basically to blame for her death… by driving her into a grief spiral…"

"A what now?"

"Ugh… I'm not really in the mood to explain from the beginning when you don't even know anything," I say. "I'm not even sure if I should explain… sorry if I got your hopes up. In any case it's probably better if you talk to Claire-chan about it. She knows almost everything I know on the topic, anyway, and I imagine it would be easier on you to hear it from someone you're more familiar with."

Sachie nods slowly. "I see… then maybe I'll grab her at lunch break and give her a good grilling," she says.

"Sounds good."

---

Sachie hoofs it out of the classroom at lunch break, and I open a vision on her as she hurtles through the halls for Claire's classroom. She peeks inside and, finding Claire already there and surrounded by friends, she steps inside.

"Heya, Claire!" she calls.

Claire looks up and blinks as she approaches.

"Ah! Sachie-sempai! It's been so long since I saw you!"

"Yeah, well, after what happened I may have been avoiding you a little," Sachie admits. "I'm sorry about that."

"No, that's totally fine," Claire says. "We all had things to work out after that…"

"So um… I don't want to be a pain but… I wondered if we could eat lunch together?" Sachie says. "And I mean just the two of us, alone."

Claire blinks. "Um… well, I don't mind, but…"

She looks around at her other friends.

"Don't worry, Claire-chan!" one of them says. "You haven't spoken with her for awhile, right?"

"Yeah, go ahead and catch up if you'd like," another says. "We'll still be here tomorrow, after all."

"Alright then," Claire says. "I guess I'm all yours, sempai… where shall we eat? The roof?"

"Sure," Sachie nods.

The two of them leave the classroom and head up to the roof, where they sit down on a bench and take out their boxed lunches.

"So, Claire… could you answer a strange question for me?" Sachie says.

"Uh, sure…"

"Do you believe in magic?"

Claire gasps. "W-what!? Um… well… I think I'd have to say… yes… I guess?"

Sachie blinks. "Huh!? That's so unlike you… I was expecting you to call me crazy…"

"Well… I've changed a bit since we last spoke, I suppose," Claire says.

"I see… so Miss Ashley was right," Sachie says.

Claire blinks. "Huh? What did she say?"

"Just that you'd say yes to that question," Sachie says. "After I asked her the same question this morning."

"Huh… I see," Claire says. "But surely that's not the only reason you wanted to have lunch with me, right?"

"No, of course not," Sachie says. "Actually, I wanted to talk about Liliane."

"I thought so," Claire says. "You were really close to her… weren't you?"

"Well… I don't know about that," Sachie says. "But maybe…"

"So did you mention her to Ashley-chan too?"

Sachie nods. "Yes, I did, and she said something strange," Sachie says. "She said that Liliane died the night of the party."

Claire blinks. "Huh? But the autopsy said New Year's, right?"

"That's what I told her too," Sachie says. "But then she said the body wouldn't start to decay for two whole days, for some reason… any idea what she was talking about?"

Claire gasps. "Oh my, are you quite sure!? She said two days, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

"If Ashley-chan said it, then she must've seen something," Claire says. "Maybe that wasn't the first time she had that conversation…"

"Huh? No way, I'd remember if we'd talked about it before," Sachie says.

"Ah, sorry, forget I said that," Claire says. "But more importantly… why were you even asking about magic? You must've had some sort of reason… I mean, you're not really the type to believe in magic yourself…"

"Well, you're right," Sachie says. "Although I did think Liliane's death seemed like magic, that wasn't what started me thinking about it. No… I already had magic on my mind at that point. It might've been my imagination, but… I swear I saw it once. I looked up and saw Liliane flying through the sky, kneeling on puffy cloud and wearing a strange outfit… there's no mistaking that red hair of hers. It was definitely her. I did wonder if I could've just imagined it though…"

"So it's true," Claire says. "I can't believe we never even knew… and now that I think about it, that cursed power must've been specifically because of Liliane…"

"What are you talking about?" Sachie asks.

"Oh, well um… I'm not sure if I should tell someone who's not involved," Claire says.

"How can you say I'm not involved!?" Sachie protests. "I'm Liliane's friend too!"

Claire blinks. "No… I understand," she says. "You're right… I'm sorry. Alright… I'll tell you, but you'll have to promise me not to laugh, okay?"

"Sure, I promise," Sachie says.

"Based on what you've told me today, Liliane must have been a magical girl," Claire says. "She made a contract with a devil to gain incredible powers, enabling her to fight off invisible monsters that attack humans – we call them witches – but without realizing the true price of her contract. Then… after she fled from the party, she must've entered a grief spiral—"

"Miss Ashley used the same term!" Sachie gasps. "What does it mean?"

"It's something that can happen to a magical girl when she's used a lot of magic or is depressed, or similar," Claire says. "The grief accumulates, which makes the depression worse, generating even more grief, making the depression even worse, and so on… which is why we call it a 'spiral', because it's a feedback loop that leads to disaster. And the end result – the disaster – is that she would've turned into a witch herself."

"So you're saying she became the very thing she was supposed to fight?" Sachie says. "I don't get it… that's so strange…"

"She almost certainly didn't know that would happen," Claire says. "That devil doesn't usually share the details of the contract, so as far as she knew, she was just a magical girl of justice taking down the evil witches. Anyway… hmm… since her body was found, there must've been another magical girl present when she turned into a witch, who was able to immediately defeat the witch and leave the body behind. The two days thing is a quirk of magical girl bodies – after death, the lingering magic preserves the body for that long before it fully dissipates."

"But how do you even know all of this, Claire?"

"Well, first of all, I'm a magical girl myself," Claire says. "And secondly… most of what I said, I actually heard from Ashley-chan. She's a magical girl too, and a more experienced one than me."

"And given how she mentioned Elise, Komachi, and Hiyori-chan… I suppose they are, too?"

"Yeah… they are," Claire says. "The cursed power I referred to earlier was a specific power Elise-chan had been hiding from us until recently. Still… none of us had any idea that Liliane was one. So I'm actually really glad we had this chat."

"Is it possible for anyone to become a magical girl?" Sachie asks.

"Theoretically yes, but… basically it's up to that devil whether he wants to choose you," Claire says.

"Okay, and supposing you're chosen and agree to it… how does it work?"

"When you become a magical girl, you get one wish granted, which influences the kind of magic you can use."

"Then… if I became a magical girl… could I wish for Liliane to come back?" Sachie asks.

Claire blinks. "Well… I think it's possible, yes," she says. "But I can't recommend it, sempai… being a magical girl isn't a glorious profession or anything. It's dark and dreary work with no reward, and only a cursed end awaiting you. Plus… there are almost no witches in town right now, and without witches, we can't survive."

"Huh? How's that work?" Sachie asks.

"Ah, I guess I left that part out," Claire says. "Basically, when we defeat a witch, we get an item that restores our magic so we don't go into a grief spiral."

"Oh… I see," Sachie says. "But this whole thing doesn't make much sense… why would someone create such a cursed system…?"

Kyuubey trots out from behind the bench and turns to face them.

"It is all for the sake of the universe."

Claire gasps. "Kyuubey!?"

"Eh!? A talking stuffed animal!?" Sachie gasps.

"Oh no… you can see him too, sempai?"

"Y-yeah… is that bad?"

"Not bad exactly, but… this is that devil I was talking about earlier. Basically… if you can see him, it means you've been chosen."

"Hello, Kaori Sachie," Kyuubey says. "Since you asked, I will tell you why we have created the magical girl system. In fact, it is an exceedingly logical cycle. At present, the universe is hurtling towards its inevitable heat death, with the amount of useful energy constantly decreasing. For that reason, my civilization sought a means to reverse entropy… a process that could violate the second law of thermodynamics. The process we found was human emotions. The things your kind call emotions generate an incredible amount of energy, far more than the energy that goes into building up and maintaining your body over your lifetime. We investigated several specific emotions and discovered that hope and despair had the highest potential for releasing energy. Specifically, when hope is overturned and becomes despair, when a magical girl turns into a witch, a vast amount of energy is released. We incubators gather that energy and disperse it back into the universe to stave off the heat death."

"When I asked that question, I was not expecting to get a long lecture of cosmic proportions," Sachie says. "I basically get your line of reasoning though… even if I hate that you thought of something so cruel. But, you know… did you never try out love? Surely it has even more potential than hope or despair."

"There were some experiments, but while you are correct that it has slightly higher potential, it proved to be too unstable an emotion to produce consistent results," Kyuubey says.

"Ugh, you even have a logical comeback for that," Sachie says. "Don't you have any empathy for the people you're destroying?"

"Empathy?" Kyuubey says. "Ah… the ability to intuit the emotions of others. Since we incubators lack emotions, we are not capable of such things."

Sachie blinks. "Oh. You have no emotions… that explains everything."

She leans down and plucks him off the ground.

"So basically, you're the one who did that to Liliane, right?" she says. "You're the one who turned her into a witch."

"In a manner of speaking," Kyuubey says.

"Well… here's what I think of your contract," Sachie says.

She twists and tears the incubator in two, flinging its corpse at the fence. She stares at it for a few seconds, startled.

"That… kinda felt good," she says finally. "Although I didn't expect your devil to be so weak…"

Then a new Kyuubey hops up onto the bench behind her, where she'd been sitting a moment ago.

"I wish you had not done that," it says. "It is such a waste."

Sachie spins and gapes at it. "W-what!? But I just…"

"Yeah, he does that," Claire says. "There's no point in killing them because there's always another to take his place. Though if it makes you feel better…" She shrugs.

"I… I see…"

"Should I take that outburst to indicate that you are not interested?" Kyuubey asks.

"No, wait a second," Sachie says. "Claire's description was a bit vague, so can you explain it in more detail before I decide?"

She shoves Kyuubey aside so she can sit back down, and it takes up a position next to her on the bench.

"Are you really considering it, sempai?" Claire asks. "Just to be clear… now that I know the truth, I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone."

"Let me decide for myself," Sachie retorts.

"When you become a magical girl, you will be given a soul gem," Kyuubey says. "As you use magic or experience negative emotions, your soul gem will accumulate impurities. Once it cannot take in any more impurities, it transforms into a grief seed and a witch is born. However, if you defeat a witch, you will usually obtain that witch's grief seed, which you can use to draw out the impurities from your soul gem."

"Ah… I see… so it's not like it's an inevitable downward spiral," Sachie says. "There's a way to avert the worst…"

"Also," Claire says. "Your soul gem is actually your soul… which means you'll die if it gets too far from your body. Although… if that does happen you can be brought back to life just by moving the soul gem back to your body… but if someone who doesn't know this happened to find you, that could be very bad…"

"Okay… so I suppose I'd also die if it broke or something, right?" Sachie says.

"That is correct," Kyuubey says.

"And about this wish… what sorts of things are possible?" Sachie asks.

"Anything you can imagine," Kyuubey says.

"So… I can bring back someone who died?" Sachie says. "Or someone who turned into a witch?"

"There have been many successful instances of both in the past," Kyuubey says.

"Okay," Sachie says. "I may well regret this in a couple of days, but… I'll become a magical girl."

"Are you really sure about that?" Claire asks. "Even though you could become a witch?"

"I know that can happen, so I'll be careful," Sachie says. "Alright… Claire, you're sworn to silence, okay? What I say… that is, my wish… you mustn't tell anyone. Can you promise that?"

Claire nods. "Yes… I promise," she says. "Let me ask Ashley-chan too…"

"Huh? What has she got to do with it?" Sachie asks.

"Well… this is just a guess, but there's a high chance she's watching us right now," Claire explains. "One of her magic powers is clairvoyance, you see."

«Ashley-chan… will you promise as well?» Claire asks, contacting me telepathically.

«I don't really have any reason to tell anyone,» I reply, making sure to exclude Kyuubey. «And I certainly won't tell any of your friends, at minimum. I already have a pretty good idea what the wish will be, anyway.»

"She says she won't tell any of our friends," Claire says.

Sachie blinks. "Huh? How'd you…?"

"Telepathy," Claire says. "All magical girls can use it, though only at a fairly short range… I think it's about one or two hundred metres.»

"I see… well… anyway, I'm ready."

"What is the wish that will make your soul gem shine, Kaori Sachie?" Kyuubey asks.

"I want you to bring Liliane back to life and make all the normal people think she's just been in the hospital these past few months," Sachie says.

"Understood," Kyuubey says.

Sachie lets out a squeal of pain as it reaches out with its ear appendages to draw out her soul gem.

"Kaori Sachie, your wish has surpassed entropy," it says. "One day, you will make a fine witch."

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched," Sachie retorts. "I'm not about to become a witch so easily. But… did Liliane really come back to life? If so, then where the heck is she?"

"I am not sure," Kyuubey says. "Since you wished for people to believe she has been in the hospital since her death, perhaps that is where she is now."

"Hmm… you'd better not have tricked me, you little devil," she says.

"I do not trick," Kyuubey says.

I contact Sachie telepathically. «I think you'll most likely find her at her house after school,» I say.

«Huh? Is that… Miss Ashley?» Sachie asks.

«Yes, it's me,» I say.

«What the hell!?» Elise's voice joins the conversation. «Is that Sachie!? Why the hell would you do something so stupid!? We've got enough troubles with the four of us! There's not enough grief seeds for you!»

«Sorry about that,» Komachi chimes in. «Although Elise-chan is right that there's a grief seed shortage… I guess I can still say welcome to this life? Oh, also… you should probably learn to target your telepathy. That line just now went to all magical girls in range.»

«Ah… my apologies,» Sachie says. «Sorry for disturbing you, Elise…»

«As long as you understand,» Elise retorts.

---

After school, Sachie joins us on the way home, to Elise's great displeasure, and then we split two ways, with Elise and Sachie heading to the Pierrot house and the rest of us going to Claire's place. Hiyori is already waiting for us when we arrive, along with Madoka, so Claire unlocks the door and lets us all in.

"Is she better now?" I ask.

"Yeah, Yuma-chan's healing magic is pretty strong," Komachi says. "It took a bit of time, but I think she's as good as new… and Yuma-chan's soul gem didn't suffer too much, either."

We head into the living room, and Hiyori kneels down to tuck the girl's soul gem between her hands. She looks much better than the last time I saw her. It no longer looks like her spine is broken.

"You know, isn't it kinda strange that her uniform is in one piece?" Claire asks. "After all, she was literally torn in two…"

"She was in magical girl form at the time though," Hiyori says. "Maybe that's why? I don't really know though…"

We wait patiently for her to wake up. It takes at least five minutes before she stirs, and a few more before her eyes finally flutter open. She blinks a few times, turning her head both ways.

"Are you alright!?" Madoka says anxiously. "I'm sorry, I hurt you really bad…"

The girl stares at Madoka for a moment, then sits up and transforms. Her magical girl uniform is pretty unusual – it's sort of like articulated power armer covering her legs and upper torso, with additional armour plates attached over her stomach and lower back that are not directly connected to the rest. It doesn't completely cover her – there are many points where the black coverall worn below the armour shows through, including on the legs, arms, and around the hips and stomach. The armour itself is a deep black with purple and red highlights, and her soul gem appears to be embedded into the plate on her stomach, a purple gemstone with a gold ring overlaid on it that makes it resemble Saturn. Probably the most similar character in the actual game is Takamachi Nanoha, who isn't even from the Madoka franchise. She doesn't appear to have a weapon, but I see a small drone orbiting her, so perhaps that serves as her weapon.

"Y-you! Witch thieves!"

I grab her by the arm.

"Calm down… you've got the wrong person," I say. "The reason you ran into a witch here is only because it's quite a bit closer than Matsumiya to the place where all the witches are gathering, so there are still a few left here."

"Huh? So… that means someone really is stealing them then, though…" the girl says.

"In a manner of speaking… yes, there is someone intentionally drawing in witches," I say. "But Madoka is not the culprit."

After a few seconds, she powers down with a sigh.

"I… I see," the girl says. "I'm sorry… I jumped to conclusions. Um… my name is Kobayashi Hoshiko. I came all the way from Matsumiya after… after seeing both my friends… d-die right in front of me, so I hope you can… forgive me for being on a hair-trigger…"

"I'm Kaname Madoka! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Hayashi Komachi, and this is my little sister Hiyori."

"My name is Claire Branch. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Ashley Taylor. Your friends… did they turn into witches?" I ask. "Or did their soul gems break?"

Hoshiko blinks at me in surprise. "E-ehh!? You knew those were possible? Um… one of each, actually. Mayumi-chan… turned into a witch all of a sudden, and… while Kotone-chan and I were trying to reason with her, she smashed Kotone-chan's soul gem… I only barely defeated her after that with my orbital strike…"

I blink at her. "Um… did you just say orbital freaking strike!?"

"Uhhh, yeah, it's my ultimate attack," Hoshiko says, nodding. "But it takes several minutes to charge up… it worked out that time because I was charging while Kotone-chan was fighting, but I would've been a sitting duck otherwise…"

Hmm… it kinda seems like her powers are a bit like Kazusa Michiru's, then? Maybe?

"Her magical girl form looks like a mech suit though," Madoka speaks up. "So honestly, an orbital strike is right in line with the theme…"

"A mech suit, huh… yeah, I suppose so, a little," I agree.

"Yeah, but like I said, it's not that strong," Hoshiko says. "More of a light mech suit really, as you saw… I can't move much while charging, either, so even though my attack power is through the roof, I can't even beat a single witch solo."

"Why'd you even attack Madoka then?" I ask.

"Well, she's a magical girl," Hoshiko says. "I may be a poor match against witches, but if I'm facing off against a magical girl, I can interfere with their soul gem to bring them down. That is, as long as I can get close enough…"

"Oh, huh… sounds like you might be a potential Coordinator…?"

"A what?"

"Well… if you used your soul interference power to help instead of hinder…"

"That doesn't answer the question," Hoshiko says.

"Oh, right… Coordinator is a term we use for magical girls who do that," I say. "In exchange for grief seeds, they interfere with a magical girl's soul gem to make them more powerful. They're not all that common though, from what I understand…"

"Eh? Huh… maybe I could actually make it on my own if I could do that," Hoshiko says. "But I'd be worried about working it out on my own… I'd probably just hurt them instead… I don't suppose you know anyone who could teach me?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," I say. "Her name is Livia Medeiros, and last I heard she was in Sapporo. I haven't met her myself, only heard of her, but it seems she's the first one to work out the technique, and has taught all the others."

Hoshiko blinks. "Sapporo… that's a long way… but it's not like I have anyone to miss me, so maybe…"

"Wait… you don't have family?" I ask.

"Um… how should I put this," Hoshiko says. "After I became a magical girl, my parents pretty much disowned me because I brought them bad luck…"

"Eh?"

"I mean, it was true, so I don't really mind," Hoshiko says. "And it's not like I was interested in making cosmetics anyway… on the contrary, I'm just glad to be free of that family. My little sister's a better choice for heiress anyway."

"So you're actually someone really important?" Madoka says.

"No, no way," Hoshiko says. "I'm just a nobody."

"Your parents, then."

"Even that's a stretch," Hoshiko says. "They nearly went bankrupt after all… but I guess they did barely recover after I left, sure."

"Can you perhaps tell me when exactly your friends died?" I ask.

"Oh… that?" Hoshiko says. "It's only been two days."

"So on Monday?"

"No, Sunday evening."

"I see… so, Miss Kobayashi—"

"Please, call me Hoshiko," Hoshiko says. "My surname usually just brings up bad memories."

"Sure, but… just saying… if you don't want people to use your surname, maybe you shouldn't introduce yourself with it," I suggest. "Anyway, Miss Hoshiko… what will you do now?"

Hoshiko ponders a bit.

"Do you know what the witch situation is like in Sapporo?" she asks.

"I'm afraid not," I say. "My understanding is that only Shinriku has been wiped clean, but there may be some minor reductions in the mainland witch population too. I've never even been to Sapporo myself. Kyuubey would probably know more though."

"Then… maybe I'll try your suggestion," Hoshiko says. "I've got nothing to lose, anyway. Thank you for being so understanding… in fact, I think I'll head to Asunaro right now to catch a ferry."

"You're not gonna catch a ferry from Matsumiya? It's also a port on the north coast, isn't it?"

Hoshiko shakes her head. "There's a small port there, but it's almost all shipping, no passenger ferries."

"I see… well then, good luck."

She looks around at everyone present.

"Please… accept my gratitude," she says. "I can't offer you anything material, but… someday, if the opportunity arises, I'll try to repay you."

And with that, she hops up and leaves without another word.

"Well… this is actually convenient," Madoka speaks up. "I've been wanting to have a chat with you for quite awhile, Ashley-chan, but somehow the chance never arose… um… is it okay to discuss things around these three?"

"If you mean the time travel and stuff, then yes," I say. "Weren't you there when I told them all about it?"

"Was I?" Madoka asks. "The past few weeks have been so hectic that I barely even remember that first day after we came back… anyway, what I wanted to talk about was all the witches of Mitakihara."

"Oh yeah, that's right," I say. "I'd almost forgotten, but… I managed to identify when a few of them were born myself."

"Oh! That's awesome!" Madoka says. "Which ones?"

"Actually, most of them are ones I'd forgotten about in our earlier discussion," I say. "There are two witches I know of in Kazamino – Cecil and Rosasharn, and I was able to identify when Cecil is born. Unfortunately, it's the same day we come back, so I'm not sure if I can save her, but… if we do go back again, I'll at least give it a shot."

Madoka nods. "And what about Rosasharn?"

"I didn't learn anything about her," I say. "My suspicion is that she's beyond saving. If I recall correctly, she's the one where Kyouko meets Yuma-chan, so it's not totally out of the question, but…"

"Ohhh, Yuma-chan, huh?" Madoka says. "By the way… do you happen to know when those two met?"

"Not exactly," I say. "I think it's likely in the first week… either that or maybe the day after Oriko contracts? So we'll probably have to forget about Rosasharn… I did remember two other witches from Oriko's region, though. Virginia I literally stumbled into right as she was transforming, so I know exactly when and where to be to save her if time is reset again… in fact, I've already saved her in this timeline, thanks to Elise's power. The other, Stacy, I don't know anything else about. Actually… I'm not quite sure if she's from Oriko's region. As far as I know she's supposed to be defeated by Mami, and yet, in this timeline I saw Oriko and Kirika fight her together. That was not long after Kirika contracted… I don't remember the exact date off the top of my head, but I've noted it down on my laptop. March, uhh… twenty-ish, I guess? Probably late twenties?"

Madoka nods. "That's actually interesting, because in my investigations there was one missing girl I managed to identify around that time period," she says. "She attended Sakuragasaki Middle School… do you know of it?"

"No, I don't…"

"It's in the former industrial district," Madoka says.

"So it's probably the school Tamura attends…?"

"There's a good chance of that, yes," Madoka says.

"Actually, I can confirm that," Hiyori speaks up. "She came by… I think it was around the end of March? She just asked if we knew anything about the shortage in witches… I don't remember what I said exactly, but she was definitely wearing a Sakuragasaki uniform."

"Huh, okay," I say. "So, Madoka, what you're saying is that a few days before that, a girl was reported missing at the same school?"

Madoka nods. "Yes… so I wonder if maybe she could've been Stacy?"

"Do you have any physical details about her?" I ask.

"Not really," Madoka says. "Um… oh, I think one of the articles said she wears glasses…? And she was also described as really short, but that's all I've got."

I nod. "Glasses… yes… I feel like that fits the extremely limited info I have on Stacy, so she seems a promising candidate… and when did she disappear exactly?"

"I noted down the date, one sec," Madoka says.

She whips out her phone and checks the notes app.

"Right, here it is… she was in school on the twenty-second but never showed up on the twenty-third."

"Okay, so we might be able to save her," I say. "The other witch I was able to identify was Elsa Maria, the one that's like a sun tree that Sayaka fought last time."

Madoka nods. "Yeah, I remember that one… it was so dark inside that labyrinth…"

"She's Ayano Hikari, a friend of Tamura," I say. "Presumably also a Sakuragasaki student. In this timeline she's still safe – I think I have the Wings of the Magius to thank for that, actually. She, Tamura, and one other friend ended up joining them."

"Huh, okay, that's helpful," Madoka says. "But just… are you quite sure she's the one? I mean… you should try to at least see her unleash her doppel once, to be sure, right?"

"Ahh, yeah, you're probably right," I say. "But at the same time I don't really want to push it on anyone…"

Madoka shrugs. "Okay… is that all from your end, then?"

"Let me think a sec," I say. "Virginia, Cecil, and Elsa Maria… yeah, that's it from me. Oh, I also remembered one other witch, Fliegende Krake, who I encountered on the very first weekend… I think the day before Oriko contracted? So that's Saturday the uhh… nineteenth? She was in the former industrial district."

"I see," Madoka says. "I didn't find any other reports of missing girls from that area, though…"

"Yeah… it might just be much too late for her," I say.

"But I think I may have identified Patricia too," Madoka says. "Actually, I think she's from your school." She checks her notes. "On March thirtieth, the class president of one of the then first-year classes missed school. She didn't show up the following day either, and was reported missing a couple days later."

"That does seem to fit what I understand of Patricia," I say. "Did you get her name?"

"I'm afraid not," Madoka says. "You know how the media is about outing minors."

"Ahh… right, right," I nod. "Still… if I know she's a first-year at Mitakihara High School, and a class president at that, it shouldn't be too hard to find her if we reset time again. Um… do you have any physical features for her, to narrow it down a bit? Or anything else that might help."

"Um, actually, I might know the very girl you're talking about," Claire speaks up. "The president of my class went missing… I don't remember the exact date, but I do remember it was just before the end of the month. She was kind of timid, not really suitable to being a president honestly… though she managed to do the job somehow."

"The information I have also describes her as timid," Madoka says. "So I think it's pretty likely she's the one. I don't have any physical details though… but it did note that she was in the top twenty students in her year."

"If I recall correctly… I think Miss Takara was number twenty in our year, so she barely fits that description," Claire says.

"Okay… this is kind of amazing," I say. "I hadn't even thought about saving the incidental witches, but to think so many of them are actually saveable… I've gotta thank you for suggesting the idea, Madoka."

"Oh, it was nothing," Madoka says. "Okay, so um… according to my notes from our last conversation, you mentioned Patricia, Izabel, Roberta, Elsa Maria, and Matasaburo, right? And just today you added Cecil, Rosasharn, Stacy, Virginia, and Fliegende Krake… is that correct? Oh, and there was also Elly who you'd already identified back then." I nod. "So that means we've found enough information to save over half of the ones we know about."

"Yeah, that really is amazing," I say. "I'm pretty sure we can also save Matasaburo, if I can just identify who she is. I don't supposed you learned anything that could possibly point to Izabel?"

"Hmm… I hate to say this, but it might really be too late for her," Madoka says. "Given that we encountered her on the Monday after we returned… still, I did look into disappearances from that time period, just in case there was anything of interest. She's kinda an artsy witch, so I figured maybe the girl she came from was an artist, but I couldn't find any mention of a missing girl who fits that description. I do have three possible candidates, but none of them seem like a strong fit."

"Well, let's hear them," I say.

"Okay… the first is a student at my school," Madoka says. "She was only reported missing on the sixteenth though, so if she's the one, it's most likely too late, right?"

"Yeah… given that being reported missing is probably at least a day later," I say.

"So we can't do anything if she's Izabel," Madoka says. "Then there was a girl at Shirome Middle School who was reported missing on the eighteenth. She wasn't an artist type, exactly, but for some reason the article noted that she was president of the calligraphy club, so maybe that sort of fits?"

"Yeah, I can't really comment on that, I'm afraid," I say. "Since that's Oriko's school, we should probably ask her if she knows anything."

"Ah, I'm way ahead of you there," Madoka says. "I spoke to her as soon as I learned about it… she said she didn't know the girl, but she had heard about her disappearance."

"Okay… and the third possibility?"

"Nagisa-chan mentioned that one of her classmates suddenly vanished on the twenty-second," Madoka says. "That is to say, she was in class the previous Friday, the nineteenth, but must have gone missing over the weekend. Although the report is the day after we faced Izabel, it barely fits into the time frame if you assume she turned into a witch on the weekend."

I nod slowly. "Okay… so there isn't really anything we can use to tell which of those it could be, huh?"

Madoka nods. "Unfortunately, no."

"Hmm… but… when you talked to Oriko about it, that was long after the fact, right?"

"Yeah, we'd already beaten Izabel by then," Madoka says.

"So… if we talked to Oriko before it happens… perhaps she can foresee what'll happen," I say.

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea!" Madoka gasps. "Incredible… I was starting to think there was no way to solve this!"

"Well… that probably only helps us if Nagisa's classmate is Izabel," I say. "But it's worth a shot at least. On the other hand, if Izabel is the calligraphy club president, that's before Oriko contracts, so that approach won't work, and I'd rather not meet Oriko before she contracts, just to be on the safe side."

"Then, what about Miss Asako?" Madoka suggests.

"Oh? You even know her too?"

"She and her little sister were both there when I questioned Oriko about the calligraphy club president," Madoka explains. "She didn't say all that much, but it sounded like she also knew of that girl."

"I'd already met Miss Asako before the sixteenth," I say. "So talking to her is a possibility… but she's not the easiest person to deal with… and at least at that point in time, I don't think she knows the truth about witches, so I can't really explain why I'd want to find the calligraphy club president… I guess it's a valid starting point, though." Suddenly I blink. "Actually… I just realized, but eighteenth…? I'm not quite sure exactly when Miss Sakura met Yuma-chan, but it must've been around then, and it's also the same general area, so I wonder if there's a chance that the calligraphy club president is Rosasharn…"

"That would be awesome if so," Madoka says. "Alright… that's everything I was able to find. I couldn't find anything that might link to Roberta."

"I actually think Roberta may have been an adult when she turned into a witch," I say. "Like… twenty-one or thereabouts? Just barely old enough to be allowed to drink alcohol… I don't actually know what age that is in Japan…"

"I think it's still twenty," Claire says. "There was some talk of lowering the drinking age to nineteen, but I don't think anything ever came of it…"

"And if she was an adult," I continue. "Then something Kyuubey told me proves it's far too late for Roberta."

"Oh? What did Kyuubey tell you?" Madoka asks.

"It told me that there haven't been any adult magical girls in this region for about a year," I say. "And that the adult magical girl who died about a year ago was Mikoto Tsubaki, who definitely isn't Roberta. Her witch is called… uhh, what was it again… right! Carmen!"

"I see," Madoka says. "And Kyuubey doesn't lie, right?"

I nod. "Yeah, I've never yet caught it in an outright lie… omitting info, misleading comments, but never a straight falsehood." Suddenly I blink. "Huh? Wait a second… a year ago…? Maybe there is a chance to save her…"

"What do you mean?" Madoka asks.

"Ah… I'm not really sure," I say. "But… recently I ran into someone who met me a year ago, but I don't remember that happening…"

"Oh, so you mean there might be other ways to time-travel besides Homura-chan," Madoka muses. "Well… even if that's the case, it's probably pointless to think about it right now, right? If the chance comes up you can take it… otherwise… I think it's already amazing we might be able to save so many."

"Yeah, I agree," I say. "Okay… could you send me all your notes, just in case something happens to you? That way I can make sure I have that information if I reset time again… although, I've gotta admit, with the sheer volume of new information I've learned this time around, if I reset again it might be difficult for me to keep it all in my head during the journey back in time… but I'll do my best!"

"So, what're you going to do now, Ashley-chan?" Madoka asks.

"Well… I was thinking of hunting a few witches in Kamihama," I say. "Maybe I'll even take that trio along with me and see if I can get them to unleash their doppels… or is that too cruel…?"

"W-well… I don't think I'd call it cruel," Madoka says. "Assuming they unleash it because they used too much magic and not because you're being mean to them or something."

"Yeah… okay then," I say. "I'll consider it, in any case… by the way, do you know if Miss Tomoe will also be heading to Kamihama today?"

Madoka shakes her head. "She's taking today off from witch hunting, is what she told me."

"I see… cool. Then, I'll see you later."

---

April thirteenth. Iroha hurries into the Coordinator's office and calls out a name.

"Miss Mitama!"

But the only one there is Mokyu, who jumps up onto her shoulder, making one of its cute noises.

"So she isn't here," Iroha says. "And you haven't seen her since you came back here last night?"

Mokyu nods, making another of its cute noises.

"Then… I guess I should ask Miss Yachiyo if she learned anything," Iroha says.

She hurries to the Crescent Moon Villa, where she finds that Felicia has already settled in, hugging her plush cow as she reads a manga. Tsuruno is also there, playing a game on a portable console.

"Ah, Miss Tamaki," Yachiyo says, looking up from the couch. "What has you looking so worried?"

"Well… it's about Miss Mitama," she says. "I thought I'd check in and see if she was back, but there was no-one there except Mokyu…"

Yachiyo nods. "It seems like she's been missing for three days," she says. "Getting close to four days… since Saturday evening…"

"That's the same day I saw her last, when I went to Endless Mirrors with Tsuruno-chan," Iroha says. "You said you were going to check on her, right? Did you learn anything?"

"Only what I just told you," Yachiyo says. "I'm not quite sure where she lives or goes to school, but I asked a few acquaintances, and one of them checked with Mitama's family."

"I see," Iroha says, nodding slowly. "So she's not just sick…"

"In fact, I was planning to ask her to investigate with me," Yachiyo says. "Would you care to join me?"

"Hmm," Iroha says. "Maybe… I wonder where Miss Mitama could've gone?"

"When you were in the Mirror Witch's Mansion on Saturday, did it feel off to you, Miss Tamaki?" Yachiyo asks.

"Well, it could just be my mind playing tricks on me," Iroha says. "But… I just have a feeling…"

"Hey, hey!" Tsuruno pipes up. "You think maybe she got lost in the labyrinth?"

"She's not the type to make that kind of mistake," Yachiyo says. "I mean, she's not you, Tsuruno…"

"That's true, she's not me, so…" Suddenly Tsuruno blinks. "Hey, hold up, whoa!" she says. "That's really mean, Yachiyo!"

"Mitama had been holding vigil just outside the Mirror Witch's Mansion…" Yachiyo muses. "And seemed to understand better than anyone what was going on inside of it. Isn't that what she told you too, Miss Tamaki?"

"Yes," Iroha says. "She said she'd tell me what she knows next time…"

"I don't think a girl who knows as much as she does would go in unprepared," Yachiyo says.

"Hmmm," Tsuruno says. "I wonder what happened…"

Suddenly Felicia giggles, drawing everyone's attention for a moment, but she's still deep in her manga, so she must've just been laughing at that.

"Perhaps something happened that even she couldn't account for," Yachiyo suggests. "That, or… she threw herself in danger on purpose?"

"You're saying she might have known it was a risk, but went in anyway?" Iroha asks.

Yachiyo sighs. "Presuming she actually did go in and get lost, yes. It's also possible that she just went out somewhere on a trip."

"She would do something like that," Tsuruno says.

"True," Iroha says. "No wait… without even telling her family!?"

"Ah, you have a point," Yachiyo says.

"Considering what usually happens in there, I can't help but worry!" Iroha says.

"Yes!" Tsuruno says. "It's important to go with your gut! I'm starting to feel real suspicious about that place now!"

"Come on," Yachiyo says. "You're just saying that because of Miss Tamaki."

"No, I feel it too!" Tsuruno says. "Honestly!"

Yachiyo sighs. "What do you want to do then, Miss Tamaki?"

"I really… I really think there's something…" Iroha begins.

But then Yachiyo's phone rings, and she blinks as she checks the call display.

"Ah… sorry, Miss Tamaki, I should probably take this call…"

She answers the phone.

"Hello? … I see… okay, I'll meet you there."

Then she hangs up.

"Um… is it a lead on Mitama?" Iroha asks.

"I'm not sure," Yachiyo says. "It could be… since it does involve Endless Mirrors."

"Hmm… actually, I think… I'll sit this one out," Iroha says. "I'm still a little tired after fighting the rumour yesterday… and I had trouble sleeping last night… so, as much as I'd like to help find Mitama, I'm worried I'd nod off in the middle of battle or something."

"That's not good," Yachiyo says. "So… you think the Mirror Witch's mansion is suspicious, Miss Tamaki?"

"Maybe I'm overthinking it," Iroha says. "But… I have this sort of hunch…"

"Alright… I'll look into it," Yachiyo says. "Feel free to take a nap in the room you'll be staying in starting next week."

Iroha nods. "Thank you… I'll do that. So, Miss Yachiyo… please do your best to find her, before it's too late!"

She heads upstairs, and Yachiyo sighs.

"What about you, Tsuruno?" she asks. "Are you going to come meet with Miss Shizumi too?"

"Actually… I gotta get to Banbanzai," Tsuruno says. "Right around now, Dad'll probably be getting the evening rush of delivery orders… so Felicia! Let's go!"

"Ehhh… right now!?" Felicia exclaims, looking up from her manga.

"You betcha!" Tsuruno says. "We gotta go help Dad out and earn you some money!"

"Ah! Money!" Felicia says, jumping up. "And staff meals, right? I'm coming!"

"But you can tell Konoha-chan I said hi!" Tsuruno says.

The two of them rush out together, and Yachiyo sighs.

"Guess I'm doing this one alone," she murmurs.

She heads out and takes a train to the designated meeting place, which appears to be a park… maybe even the same one where Kyouko fought those two witches and nearly died. When she arrives, Shizumi Konoha is already there, waiting for her on a bench, in her Sankyoin uniform. She jumps up as she spots Yachiyo approaching.

"It's been a little while since we last met," Yachiyo observes.

"Yeah, a little while," Konoha says.

"Are the other two still doing alright?" Yachiyo asks. "Gotten over the false accusations already?"

"Yes, they're doing just fine," Konoha says. "And no-one's accused us of anything ever since Miss Sarasa… killed herself… I think Miss Tokiwa must have helped to spread the word of our innocence. She's well-respected among the magical girls of Kamihama, east and west alike."

"I see," Yachiyo says. "So, what did you want to talk to me about regarding Endless Mirrors?"

"It's about how Mitama went missing," Konoha says.

"Ah yes, I've heard. Honestly, where could she have gone off too…? I was just about to start looking for her when you called."

"We've actually been searching for her too," Konoha says.

"Ah, really?"

"If she's nowhere to be found, all the magical girls in Kamihama will be in trouble," Konoha says. "Especially since Kyuubey's not around anymore, so we have no other way of disposing of grief seeds… right?"

"I suppose that's true," Yachiyo says. "Although… I thought I heard of someone else who could dispose of grief seeds, but I don't recall her name… anyway, her various eccentricities aside, Mitama certainly is essential to the magical girls of Kamihama."

Konoha nods. "And so, there's a few things we've managed to find out so far," she says.

"A few things…?" Yachiyo blinks.

"I thought it best to share the information with you," Konoha says.

"Why's that?"

"Because we've run into another issue as a result of all this…"

"That being…?"

"The trio from the Daito Apartment Complex," Konoha says. "Hazuki told them about Endless Mirrors yesterday."

"So those three girls…"

"Exactly, we think they might've gone into Endless Mirrors and gotten lost. We can take care of searching for them ourselves though… so what I'd like to request from you is, your cooperation in searching for Mitama."

"Why Mitama?" Yachiyo asks. "Wouldn't finding the three of them be more pressing?"

"It's just… I feel like there's been something building up," Konoha says.

Yachiyo tilts her head. "Building up?"

"Yes. Something… something stagnant. That's why things are flowing in a bad direction… one bad thing leading to another, like dominoes…"

"Is that just your intuition talking?" Yachiyo asks.

"Yes," Konoha says. "I know there's no basis for it, but I can't shake this ominous feeling… so I want to deal with this in parallel, rather than just addressing the most obvious problem."

"Do you think there's a chance that Sarasa Hanna wasn't working alone?" Yachiyo wonders.

"I'm not sure," Konoha says. "Maybe it's more that she left behind a little… surprise for us after her death. But you're not wrong… this feeling… I think it may be linked with that girl…"

"Alright," Yachiyo says. "So that'll let us resolve all of this much quicker, then."

"Right," Konoha says. "I understand that it's somewhat of a selfish request, but since I imagine you have a stake in this too…"

"Actually, one of my housemates feels the same," Yachiyo says.

Konoha looks thoroughly startled. "Huh!?"

"One of my housemates has a strong intuition about this as well," Yachiyo says.

"Y-your… your housemate…!?"

"We've had some strange experiences of our own around that mansion," Yachiyo says. "I've been looking into it for quite some time now, but… if I think about it, it does seem to have gotten a little more active, ever since Sarasa Hanna's death… almost like that was a trigger…"

"She could control witches, after all," Konoha points out. "Perhaps she was the only reason the Mirror Witch stayed docile all this time… though that doesn't seem to fit with the way she operated, but who knows."

"Let's work together on it," Yachiyo says. "It'll be a big help to us, too."

"Thank goodness," Konoha says. "I was worried you might turn me down…"

"So, what's the information you wanted to share?" Yachiyo asks.

"Right, I'll explain," Konoha says. "We've been looking into the places Miss Mitama frequented before she went missing. After all, if it was around the same time, there could be a connection. And so, we found a particular place that Miss Mitama had visited several times. It just happens to be not too far from the Daito Apartment complex, so we requested those girls' cooperation as well… but they weren't able to locate her, in the end."

"Couldn't that just mean that your guess was incorrect?" Yachiyo suggests.

"Maybe," Konoha says. "However… out of all the information we received, that was the only place with multiple eyewitness reports of her. I can't help but feel that this particular possibility is strong…"

"Intuition again?" Yachiyo asks.

"Not enough evidence for you, I take it?" Konoha says.

"I wouldn't say that," Yachiyo says. "I'm putting my money on a hunch too, after all. So what's the location…?"

"A section of Daito Ward called Nishimachi," Konoha says.

Yachiyo blinks. "Nishimachi? The place they call…?"

"Yes… Swindler's Road," Konoha says.

"A fairly busy part of town," Yachiyo muses. "And a somewhat dangerous one, too… it was even in the news lately, right? A gang fight with terrible injuries?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that sort of thing happens every day," Konoha says. "But incidents like that aren't uncommon there, yes…"

"Why would Mitama go there…?" Yachiyo wonders.

"I have no idea," Konoha says. "But from what we heard, it seemed like she was looking into something. Maybe even looking for something?"

"I see," Yachiyo says.

"Do you think that's a lead worth following?" Konoha asks.

Yachiyo ponders for several seconds before nodding.

"Yes… I'll accept the job," she says.

"Thank you," Konoha says.

"So, what will you three be doing?" Yachiyo asks.

"Going back into Endless Mirrors," Konoha says.

"Be careful in there," Yachiyo says.

"Naturally," Konoha says. "We'll share anything we learn there with you."

"Then thank you advance," Yachiyo says.

Konoha hesitates for a bit before offering one final comment.

"Really, thank you for your support," she says.

"I'm actually kind of surprised," Yachiyo says.

"By what?"

"You're not usually this straightforward."

Konoha frowns.

"Hmph… it just doesn't come across to some people, that's all!" She sighs. "Well, best of luck!"

Yachiyo chuckles a bit as the other girl turns and leaves, muttering to herself.

"Now then," Yachiyo mutters.

She grabs her phone and taps one of the many contacts within – Mao Himika.

"Hello? Yes, it's about Mitama again… yeah, I've received some information on where she was sighted before disappearing. … In Nishimachi, Daito Ward. … Yes, exactly, Swindler's Road. I'm not familiar with the area, so I'd like to ask you some things. Do you think we could meet in person? … Alright, I'll see you there soon."

She leaves the park and catches a train heading east into Daito Ward.

---

I get off the train and make for Fendt Hope, donning my feather robes to gain entry and heading into the lobby. It's largely deserted at the moment, but Mifuyu is there apparently giving the orientation lecture to a brand-new member. She's so new she hasn't even donned a feather robe yet. I also don't recognize her school uniform, a high-waisted dark grey skirt buttoned up the front coupled with an off-white sailor-style shirt with a dark grey collar and a short red tie – not a bow tie or a ribbon tied into a bow, but an actual tie. Not that that's especially unusual, since both Chuo and Kosho also have a tie. Her black hair is tied into a ponytail with a forest green ribbon, and a white swirly hairclip holds her bangs away from her eyes.

Both Mifuyu and the unknown girl look up as I enter.

"Oh, welcome," Mifuyu says. "You are…"

"Lita," I say. «Short for Ashley Taylor,» I add telepathically, to Mifuyu alone.

"Ah, right," Mifuyu says. "I wasn't expecting to see you today… I was just letting the new recruit know how our organization works. Can you believe, she came here all the way from Jouetsu?"

"Eh? I have no idea where that even is," I say. "Oh, I assume she's okay with you telling me…?"

"Yeah, it's fine!" the unknown girl says.

"I'd never heard of it either," Mifuyu says. "Turns out it's on the coast of Niigata Prefecture."

Niigata is… uhhh… almost Tohoku? I think? So well to the north of Tokyo, in any case. That probably makes her the most distant recruit, I'd imagine.

"Oh… wow… that is a long way," I say.

"But!" the girl says. "I saw a dream! It told me to come to Kamihama, so… I punched right through and here I was!"

"Ah, I see, so I guess your unique magic is some form of teleportation…?" I say.

"Um… well… I guess I wasn't supposed to say that," she says. "Whoopsies!"

She sort of cutely knocks on her head with a fist and sticks her tongue out.

"But, y'know… I had no idea magical girls would turn into witches," the girl says. "I knew sempai was hiding something from me but I didn't expect that…"

"You sounded like you had your suspicions," Mifuyu says. "And you seem to be a fairly mature young girl, so I thought perhaps you could handle the truth… that's why I told you everything."

"So um… yeah!" the girl says. "I don't want sempai to turn into a witch either, so… I definitely think magical girls need to be freed from their curse! Count me in!"

"Alright," Mifuyu says. "I'll get you a feather robe and assign you a room and a task. Hmm… Lita, do you think you have enough feathers to guard your rumour?"

"Huh, me?" I say. "I've probably got way more than enough… either we face Miss Izumi or Miss Nanami and don't stand a chance, or we face one of the other magical girls around town and it's kinda overkill… though I guess those two aren't the only strong ones around… but still."

"Yeah, I thought so," Mifuyu says. "Then… would you mind joining the witch farms?"

"Witch… farms?" the girl asks.

Mifuyu nods. "We carefully raise witches up from familiars. Among other things, it's intended as a safer source of grief seeds, and it also helps us to gather the energy we need for liberation."

"Huh… that sounds really weird!" the girl says. "I'd be interested in giving it a try though!"

"Alright… then Lita, did you need anything from me?"

"Not really, though since you're here… do you know if any of my team is around? I thought I'd take them out on a witch hunt… you know, to practice those chain techniques."

"I think there are a few of them around somewhere," Mifuyu says. "You could try contacting them telepathically."

"And one other question… do you know how to get to Swindler's Road?"

Mifuyu blinks. "Do you mean… Nishimachi? Why on earth would you want to go there?"

"I have some business there," I say. "Witch-related business."

"Well… it's well to the southeast," Mifuyu says. "I'm afraid I can't give you exact directions, but… do you know the old prison on the east lakeshore? If there's a witch on Swindler's Road, you should be able to sense it from either there or from just a little to the east."

"Okay… I think that should be sufficient," I say. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem, but Lita… be careful down there," Mifuyu says. "It's a bad part of town."

"Of course I will."

I try contacting Tamura telepathically. Normally I would've chosen Inui first, but she's supposed to be on the rumour-guarding shift tonight with Tomomi, so she wouldn't be around.

«Hello? Tamura? You there?»

«Eh!? Is that Miss Ashley? I didn't expect you to stop by today…»

«Could you bring those two friends of yours and meet me in the lobby?» I ask. «Maybe Miss Hifumi too if she's around.»

«Sure… can I ask what's up?»

«I'll explain once we're together.»

While I'm telepathing, Mifuyu and the unknown girl head upstairs. I wait a bit untik three black feathers descend the steps… so I guess they were unable to find Chiyoko.

"So what's up, Lita?" Chihana asks.

"Well… I wanted to take you witch hunting," I say.

"Eh? What for?"

"No particular reason," I say. "I mean… you can practice those chain techniques, and you can get some grief seeds, so there's no downsides, right? And you must be pretty bored just lounging around here."

Chihana giggles. "You got that right! Wow, I didn't expect it to be so boring around here! So glad I brought my game console along with me!"

"Um, but… what do we need grief seeds for?" Hikari asks. "I mean… we're in Kamihama… so there's the doppel field, right?"

"I thought they explained this somewhere… or was that when it was just me…?" I say. "You don't need them for yourselves, but the Magius need them for the witch farms. As for me, there are a bunch more magical girls in Mitakihara that I'd like to give some to. So if we take down a bunch of witches and say, split the spoils fifty-fifty, I think that would be fine, right?"

"You mean… half to your friends back home, and half to the Magius?" Chihana asks.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean," I say.

"Well, I don't have a problem with that," Chihana says. "Yeah… sure."

"Sounds good to me," Hikari says.

So we head out from Fendt Hope and start tracking down witches. There are actually quite a few even just near the railway yard. We take out a Rebecca, a Suleika, an Albertine, and a Shin, working our way towards the lake. At first I'm surprised to see Mitakihara witches wandering around in Kamihama, but then I remember… all the witches have been migrating, so of course that would include the Mitakihara ones, right?

Then, after crossing the river and heading towards the old prison, we accidentally stumble into a labyrinth of the Witch of Symbols and find ourselves swarmed by its egg-like familiars.

"W-what the!?" Chihana gasps. "Why're there so many of them!?"

"Oh, this is a rather unique witch," I say. "We won't find a grief seed here unfortunately… but I guess we'd better at least destroy the familiars."

Each of the familiars resembles an egg with legs, two knobbish outgrowths on the sides, a hole on the front, and a sort of stem at the top. The legs are clothed in polka-dotted stockings in various colours and wear high-heeled shoes, and the stem at the top of each bears an emblem which appears to reflect the familiar's element. I can see red-and-black flames for fire, a bluish-white wave for water, a sort of green sprout for forest, a yellow smiley face for light, a black starburst which I think is darkness, and a black-and-purple ringed planet which I assume indicates the null element. I'm not certain about the last two, mind you – perhaps it's the other way around, and the planet is darkness while the starburst is null.

I see a few evolved familiars mixed in too, but only the first evolution – the legs are now replaced with a tripod, and there's a sort of… tail attached directly to the bottom. All three knobs have disappeared, but they now sport what appears to be the back of a chair attached to them. These also come in six variants; I don't bother to try and identify which is which element.

"So this is just a familiar's barrier?" Chihana asks as she whips her chains around, smashing as many as possible.

"Yeah… the strange thing about this witch is, from what I've heard, no-one has actually seen her," I say. "There's tons of the familiars running around, but no sign of the actual witch… and the familiars are able to multiply all on their own."

"Huh… seems like quite the dangerous witch!" Chihana says.

"Y-yeah," Hikari says. "Even more so when you realize what would normally happen when your soul gem is filled up…"

The four of us face outwards, imbuing magic into our chains and swinging them at the mass of familiars that just refuses to stop coming, throwing themselves at us like they have a death wish. Suddenly Tamura gasps, and I turn to face her.

"I… um… f-feel… c-c-cold…!" she stammers.

Almost in contradiction to her statement, I can see a brown fluid starting to leak out from her skin, dripping down and pooling at her feet, emitting a rich scent of chocolate. She grabs her head and screams wordlessly as that fluid rapidly builds up, coating her entire body except for her face and even growing a pair of bunny ears to boot. It's so different from the doppels I've seen before that I almost don't realize that's what it is until I see the witch runes hanging in the air before me, spelling out Matasaburo. Huh? Seriously!? Then that means… Yoshida Tamura is Kuro, the nameless black feather who appeared in Homura's valentine story!?

The giant chocolate bunny bearing Tamura's face stomps across the labyrinth, smashing familiars left and right as Chihana and Hikari look on in shock.

"Ah… ah… ah…!" Hikari gasps. "T-t-t-that's a… a… a d-d-d-doppel!?"

"Seems so," I say.

"W-wow," Chihana says.

"It's p-p-pretty s-scary…" Hikari says.

Then she screams, and I look at her in surprise. Is she about to unleash too…? Yeah, sure enough, bark is growing all over her skin, and a literal tree emerges from her back as she collapses to her knees. The tree shoots up over our heads, then sprouts a dark red bud which opens up into a flower resembling a red sun. Once that sun is open, glaring down at all of us, the doppel starts to lash out at everything around it with its branches, each of which ends in a mouth filled with sharp teeth. The witch runes hovering in the air confirm beyond a shadow of doubt what I'd strongly suspected – Hikari is indeed Elsa Maria.

Chihana and I hop back and watch as the two doppels between them decimate the familiars. Within the space of about a minute, all the familiars are destroyed, and as the labyrinth collapses, both doppels retreat back into the girls' bodies. They fall on the ground, panting heavily.

"W-w-what… t-that was… r-r-really scary!" Tamura gasps. "I… I never thought… a doppel would be… so scary!"

"It was pretty awesome, though!" Chihana says. "Now I kinda wanna try mine, too…"

She checks her soul gem.

"But it looks like I've got plenty of magic left still," she sighs. "Maybe later…?"

I take out my soul gem and try to locate a magical signature that I'm familiar with – that of the Coordinator, Mitama. To my surprise, I actually do pick it up, right on the edge of my detection range, so I turn to head in that direction, the others following me as they nervously discuss the two doppels and speculate what Chihana's might be like.

---

Yachiyo gets off at the last stop before the train crosses the eastern border of Kamihama, heading south through the streets until she reaches the designated meeting place, an underpass where a street passes below the main road. There are a number of other people around, various passersby, a few beggars, a homeless guy snoozing on a cardboard box. On the whole it seems like a pretty seedy area of town, completely different from the clean, well-maintained areas I've been to.

Himika is waiting there in her school uniform, and turns to wave the moment she spots Yachiyo.

"This was such a surprise!" she says. "I never expected Miss Yachiyo of all people to request a meeting!"

"That's not many other people I could ask to show me around here," Yachiyo says. "The only other option would be Kanagi… and I didn't want to have to deal with her."

Himika nods. "I suppose I can understand that…"

"This Swindler's Road place, though," Yachiyo says. "This might not be the best way to say it, but… it's quite unsettling."

"Yeah," Himika says. "Even people from Daito don't come here all that often…"

Suddenly she spots something shiny on the ground.

"Ooh! Spare change!"

She darts forward to pick it up, but it's not actually currency. It's a mirror coin.

"Hey now…" Yachiyo protests.

"Those who mock a single cent shall soon cry over a single cent!" Himika proclaims. "That's the Mao family motto!" Then she notices what she's picked up. "Wait, huh? This is one of those coins from Mirrors…"

"Oh, you're right," Yachiyo says, surprised.

Suddenly Aino Mito walks up and collides with Yachiyo. Her friends, Leila and Seika, are close behind, and each of them hold a plastic shopping bag stuffed with mirror coins. Yachiyo squeaks and turns to face them.

"D'oh, sorry!" Mito says.

"C'mon, Mito, you can't get distracted while you're walking!" Leila says. "You've gotta look where you're going…"

"Um, we're very sorry," Seika says nervously.

Yachiyo blinks at them. "You three…"

"Hey, it's Miss Yachiyo!" Mito says.

"What are you doing here, of all places?" Yachiyo asks. "I heard you got lost in Endless Mirrors…"

"Ah, we did for a bit, but we managed to get out!" Mito says. "Then we ran into Miss Tokiwa, who asked us to investigate this place…"

Mito shows Yachiyo a pair of mirror coins she's holding in her hand.

"So just now, we were just picking these up while we walked," she finishes.

Yachiyo blinks.

"Mirror coins…?"

"Mito, that's not quite…" Leila complains. "Um, actually, we've been searching for Miss Mitama. It seems like she left her shop with a lot of coins on hand… and when we came here, we found a ton of those coins lying on the ground."

"So we've been collecting them," Seika says.

"I guess we've followed the trail in a full circle by now," Mito says.

"Yeah," Seika says.

"Coins she took with her," Yachiyo muses. "A full circle…?"

"Does that bring anything in particular to mind?" Himika asks.

"This is just my best guess," Yachiyo says. "But there's a strong chance Mitama put those coins there for a reason."

"Huh!?" Leila gasps.

"So um… should we have left them alone, then…?" Seika asks.

"I'm afraid that might be so," Yachiyo says.

"Oh no… what now!?" Seika gasps.

"There's probably not enough time to put them all back," Yachiyo says. "If she was forming a circle with them, that circle was likely meant to surround something. Can anyone tell us what would be in the centre of it?"

"Allow me!" Himika says. "I'll draw a map on the pavement here…"

She whips out a stick of chalk, of all things, but before she can put it to use, Mito offers an alternate suggestion.

"Why not use our phones' maps instead? They're portable and all…"

"Ugh!" Himika groans. "To think I'd be reminded of our income gap here…"

Mito uses her phone to pull up a map, indicating the area they'd walked through while picking up the mirror coins. The three of them head through the streets towards the centre of the circle and find an apartment building next to an old abandoned factory. Yachiyo takes out her soul gem.

"She's close," Yachiyo says. "I can sense her magic…"

They head inside the abandoned factory and find Mitama there, crouched down in a praying posture next to a portal bearing the Mirror Witch's emblem, concentrating on something. She's in her magical girl outfit, as always.

"There she is," Yachiyo says. "Mitama!"

Mitama gasps, opening her eyes to look at them all.

"Yachiyo!?"

"Mitama, thank goodness… you were here after all," Yachiyo says.

"I thought I was going to run out of magic and just wither away here," Mitama says.

Her soul gem is quite cloudy, perhaps around eighty percent full.

"Yes, you've consumed a terrible amount," Yachiyo says.

"I've been stuck here for sooo long," Mitama sighs.

"Does anyone have any grief seeds on hand…?" Yachiyo asks.

"Not us," Leila says.

"Yeah, I'm all out," Seika says.

"I've got one!" Himika says.

"Could we use it?" Yachiyo asks. "We'll pay you back double later."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Himika says. "The Coordinator's done me more than enough favours already!"

She takes out the grief seed and hands it to Yachiyo, who uses it to purify Mitama's soul gem.

"Thank you," Yachiyo says. "So Mitama… what have you been doing here?"

"Yachiyo… it seems Mirrors has started to move," Mitama says.

Yachiyo blinks. "Move…?"

"You see, one of the Mirror Witch's familiars reached maturity in this area," Mitama explains. "We can't leave a new Mirror Witch's labyrinth unattended… so as soon as I realized what had happened, I was going to inform everyone. But then the original witch's signature suddenly got larger… so I had to go and head it off right away."

"Its signature got larger," Yachiyo says. "Does that mean it was moving this way?"

"Most likely, yes," Mitama says.

"So the Coordinator's been here, holding it back, this entire time!?" Himika exclaims.

"Huh?" Seika says. "But Endless Mirrors was still over in the Mirror Mansion just a little while ago…"

"Yeah," Leila says. "But the Coordinator thought the Mirror Witch was moving closer…"

"How's that supposed to work?" Mito wonders.

"I'm not sure of that myself, either," Mitama admits. "But I'm sure I felt the Mirror Witch's magic signature getting stronger… and if it found out about Swindler's Road thanks to the new witch it birthed… I feel like I understand why it would come this way."

"Hmm," Yachiyo says. "As far as the Endless Mirrors that Miss Ibuki's group mentioned is concerned… it makes sense if you think of it as 'the labyrinth growing large enough to reach Swindler's Road', doesn't it? Though that's hardly a comforting thought… were you not able to call for help…?"

"I mean… it's near my home, so I thought I could just go out here on short notice," Mitama says. "And there's hardly any girls who come near Swindler's Road, either."

"Yeah," Himika says. "Even the local magical girls don't come here very often…"

"On top of that, I did manage to make a barrier with mirror coins to pen it in," Mitama says. "But I had to constantly stay nearby in order to maintain it."

"Mirror coins?" Leila says.

"Pen it in…?" Seika says.

"So that's what they were for…!" Himika says.

"Uhh, guys?" Mito says. "We picked all those coins up!"

"Are you serious!?" Mitama gasps.

"W-w-w-we're sorry!" Leila says. "Was that a bad thing!?"

"Those coins are the cores from the copies made in Endless Mirrors," Mitama says. "So by lining a large number of them up… I was able to trick the witch into thinking its allies were forming a wall outside. If the coins were removed… the effect should be starting to wear off right about now. Do you think there'll be enough time to pen it in again…?"

"We'd still need someone to constantly maintain that barrier," Yachiyo says. "Are we supposed to just do the same thing if another familiar matures elsewhere?"

"What else can we do, then…?" Himika asks.

"Well, we now have plenty of magical girls who can fight, unlike Mitama," Yachiyo says.

"Aha!" Mito says. "So if we all work together, we might be able to beat it!"

"Exactly," Yachiyo says. "If we act fast, we should be able to deal with a weak hatchling!"

"Then I'll be going in with you," Mitama says.

"Adding another person for us to protect doesn't sound like a good idea to me," Yachiyo says.

"I feel like I can find a chance for us to defeat the witch, though," Mitama says. "So let me go with you this time."

"Alright," Yachiyo says.

"Okay, everyone, let's join forces!" Himika says, transforming.

"Yeah, let's go beat this baby Mirror Witch!" Mito says, also transforming.

The other three also transform at the same time.

"This isn't the time to be having fun with it," Seika says.

"But when you think about it," Leila says. "We'll be the first magical girls to actually see the Mirror Witch."

"That's so exciting!" Mito says.

"Yeah, a little!" Leila says.

As they step inside the labyrinth, they find themselves in an environment similar to Endless Mirrors, though with less of a mansion theme. It looks more like a collection of street and house parts mashed together as if viewed through a kaleidoscope. Straight ahead is a door in a glass wall, with a bowtie-shaped sign above it bearing witch runes. They say "Welcome to Mirrors", in English.

Suddenly, the door opens and several magical girls step through. Nanaka and Meiyui are leading the way, with Hazuki, Konoha, and Ayame just behind them.

"W-who's there!?" Meiyui gasps.

"More copies!?" Nanaka asks. "No… they don't seem like it…"

"Miss Tokiwa…!" Yachiyo says. "How did all of you get into this labyrinth?"

"This is weird!" Mito says. "Y'see, the three of us, when we ran into her… she said she was going into Endless Mirrors…"

"So, you all came to this labyrinth from the Mirror Mansion?" Yachiyo asks.

"Yeah!" Ayame says. "Then something was showing us these awful dreams… it was the worst!"

"Hazuki and I also got involved in that," Konoha says. "Honestly, if we hadn't heard Miss Nanaka's voice, we would've been in deep trouble."

"Her voice?" Seika says.

"Yes," Nanaka says. "The two of us were also being shown a similar illusion."

"But when we reached out to the voice we heard, it vanished," Meiyui says. "Since then, nothing has made much sense… the door we found in the labyrinth turned out to be a dead end… and as we were all searching for another route… the path suddenly opened up, and we met all of you."

"Right around when my barricade of mirror coins broke down," Mitama says. "The original witch most likely noticed, and began moving again."

"So the labyrinths suddenly connected, and you popped out here on Swindler's Road…?" Himika says. She blinks. "Does that mean you basically teleported!?"

"I-is something like that even possible…?" Seika gasps.

"Well, they did arrive here from Endless Mirrors," Leila says.

"It may have just been an illusion," Hazuki muses, "but we saw outside scenery inside of Mirrors for the first time… if the Mirrors familiars aren't just copying our appearances and abilities… but even our memories as well…then they could obtain just about any information imaginable."

"That's a very likely possibility," Nanaka says.

"It's just a theory," Hazuki says. "But if they linked two real-world regions together, using that power to show us lies in the form of illusions… and that was reflected back on reality…?"

Nanaka blinks. "Do you mean to say that the two regions would actually become linked just from that!?"

"That's ridiculous…!" Yachiyo says.

"Tell a lie enough times, and it can become true," Meiyui says primly.

"Huh…?" Ayame says. "D'you mean you can even make lies into reality…?"

"It's too much of a leap," Yachiyo says. "We have no evidence with which to solidify that theory. All we can be sure of right now is that Mirrors can show us illusions… and the possibility that our memories are being copied as well. And how right now, the labyrinths have been connected regardless of physical distance. Labyrinths are already separate spaces that exist parallel to our world. It's not particularly surprising that the two of them became connected to each other. Really, what's frightening now is their ability to interfere with other spaces… the Mirror Witch could just keep running and running, without us ever catching it…"

"Even if it doesn't attack people, we certainly can't leave things in this state," Nanaka says.

"Right," Seika says. "If it keeps on maturing, eventually it'll be too late…!"

"We've gotta take it down together!" Mito exclaims.

"Yeah," Leila says. "At least this ex-familiar witch, if nothing else. We have no way to be sure the new witch will be as docile as the main one."

"If the Mirror Witch is headed for Swindler's Road," Mitama muses. "Then… I can think of at least one civilian who's likely to die as a result…"

"A witch's nature is to attack people, after all," Yachiyo says. "But what do you mean by 'at least one'? Are you thinking of a specific person…?"

"Yes, I am," Mitama says. "But it's no more than speculation on my part…"

"We can talk about the details later," Meiyui says. "Our main issue right now is how to deal with this pesky witch."

"The witch that's not at the Mirror Mansion is still young, right?" Leila says.

"Yeah," Seika says. "So maybe we could manage to actually find it?"

"That being said," Nanaka says. "We're still within the same bizarrely complex Mirror Labyrinth… if we start wandering around aimlessly, it's likely to be a waste of time in the end."

"And it'll only be more trouble if the witch moves again in the meantime," Yachiyo says.

"But if that's all true, our only hope is to kill it in one shot!" Himika proclaims. "Some sort of big boom, to take the whole labyrinth out with it!"

"I don't have any sorta big bombs like that," Ayame says regretfully.

"Yeah," Hazuki says. "A bomb big enough to take out a witch is hard to imagine in the first place."

"It might be possible if you imbued something with magic," Konoha suggests.

"Hmm, a big, labyrinth-sized, boom," Mito muses. "Imbuing something with magic…" She gasps. "The mirror coins! D'you think we could use these!?"

She shows a couple that she's still holding in her hand.

"Well, they are filled with magic already," Mitama says. "And they have some similar properties to a soul gem, so I could probably tune them and force them to self-destruct… but the coins you picked up wouldn't be nearly enough."

"Oh, actually," Leila says. "We have a whole bunch of them with us!"

"Yeah!" Seika says. "We went to your shop and took as many as we could carry…!"

The two of them lift their plastic shopping bags filled with mirror coins, producing a distinctive jangling sound.

"Oh my goodness," Mitama says.

"Mitama, what would happen to the labyrinth if we used this many?" Yachiyo asks.

"Could we blast it straight off the map!?" Himika asks.

"I can't be sure," Mitama says. "But if we factor in that it's a freshly-matured witch… we might have at least some chance."

---

Backing up a bit…

Around when Yachiyo meets up with Himika, the four of us run into another witch. This one seems relatively weak, so I hold back and let the others take care of it while I watch what Yachiyo is up to. It's a copy of Zenobia, the Sand Witch.

The trio manages to take out all the familiars and work their way right to the central chamber, at which point they gaze up at the witch, a little overwhelmed.

"She's so huge," Hikari murmurs.

"W-what!? Sandstorms!?" Tamura gasps.

"My soul gem…" Chihana says, checking it. "Alright! Leave this one to me! Just this once, I'll use my unique magic!"

She summons a pair of shotguns and fires them, each bullet exploding on impact. The witch rears up and tries to fight back, but she keeps it effectively pinned down, holding it at bay… but then… it seems she's out of magic, for something sprouts up from her back, forcing her to the ground. It's hard to describe what I'm looking at… I suppose the basic form is sort of like a mouse? But you can't really call it a mouse, because it's composed of what appears to be random chunks of scrap metal in garish colours thrown together haphazardly. I also don't recognize the name spelled out by the witch runes that accompany its appearance – Linnaea.

Moments after appearing, the doppel opens its mouth and expels tons of miniature copies of itself, which swarm over Zenobia and seem to literally tear her apart. Within mere seconds, the witch is dead, and the doppel retreats back into Chihana's body. She picks herself up and dusts herself off as the labyrinth collapses. Tamura steps in to retrieve the grief seed at the same time.

"Y-yours is also pretty scary," Hikari says.

"Was it really?" Chihana says. "I couldn't really tell what was going on…"

"N-nor could I, w-when I unleashed mine," Tamura admits.

"Y-yeah… I kinda blacked out for a moment as well," Hikari says.

"Um, sorry to bother you guys," I say. "But I'm continuing on, so unless you want to be left behind… you'd better hurry up and follow me…"

This is around the point in time where everyone meets up with Mitama. I hurry towards that signature on my radar, finally arriving at the same abandoned factory that the others went into. When I go in, there's nothing there but the Mirror Witch's labyrinth.

"Okay… could I ask you three to wait here this time?" I ask.

"Huh? Why?" Chihana asks.

"Because we're not alone," I say. "There are others inside. Just stand over there or something and wait for me to come back."

"Uhh… alright, I guess so," Chihana says.

I banish my feather robes, leaving me in just my magical girl uniform, then step into the barrier.

"I can't be sure," Mitama says. "But if we factor in that it's a freshly-matured witch… we might have at least some chance."

"I'd like to ask you to reconsider," I say.

"Huh? Who're you?" Himika asks, startled. "I've never seen you around here before…"

"You're just going to hop into a conversation without even knowing what we're discussing?" Yachiyo asks.

Okay… what should I do here? Is it better to own up that I was spying on them, and come across a little creepy but – hopefully – at least honest? Or is it better to spin some kind of lie? Is there any kind of lie that could explain how I know what they were talking about? Ehhh… I can't think of anything.

"On the contrary," I say. "My unique magic is clairvoyance. I've been watching you from afar for some time now, and I heard the entire discussion up to this point."

Yachiyo blinks. "Whatever would you be watching us for?"

"The thing is, I just really want that grief seed," I say. "I'd considered negotiating with you for it after you defeated the witch, but I think your plan is going to obliterate it, so… again, I'd like to ask you to reconsider."

"That's your only motivation?" Yachiyo asks. "Well… can you offer us any alternative, though?"

"As a matter of fact, I can," I say. "My power can address Miss Tokiwa's complaint. The one about wandering aimlessly? I should be able to lead you all straight to the witch's chamber."

"Is that really possible…?" Ayame wonders. "Why should we trust you? You could also just lead us the wrong way on purpose and then ditch us…"

"Hmm, I don't get the sense that you're an enemy," Nanaka muses.

"Oh? Well, I'm flattered," I say. "I was a little worried you'd say otherwise… thank you, Miss Tokiwa. Miss Mikuri… I can't deny that I could indeed do that. All I can say is that I have no intention of ditching anyone deep in the labyrinth."

"But even if Nanaka vouches for you," Meiyui says. "That's not enough to make me trust you."

"Yeah!" Ayame says. "You just came out of nowhere! And you were spying on us!"

"Like I said, I was just after the witch," I say. "You were after it too, so I took a closer look to see what you were up to. I'm not interested in explaining my motivations in any more detail, especially not right now when time may be of the essence."

"There's one thing I don't understand," Yachiyo says. "There are tons of witches in Kamihama, even just around here… why don't you just take one of those instead? One grief seed is just as good as any other, isn't it?"

I shake my head. "I'm afraid not, Miss Nanami… I specifically need a grief seed of the Mirror Witch."

"Hey," Himika speaks up. "Maybe we'd be a little more willing to trust you if you at least introduced yourself… you seem to know all of us, but we have no idea who you are."

"Oh… sorry, I got a little carried away there," I say. "My name is Ashley Taylor. I'm seventeen years old, a magical girl from California, currently on a student exchange in Mitakihara."

"Mitakihara… then do you know Miss Tomoe?" Yachiyo asks.

"A little, yes… why?"

"Ah… no reason," Yachiyo says. "If you're living in Mitakihara, then what brings you to Kamihama?"

"Ah, I suppose you Kamihama natives wouldn't be aware of the crisis currently afflicting the entire prefecture," I say. "There are almost no witches left anywhere on the island, other than here in Kamihama. If I want grief seeds, my only choice is to come here… or take a flight to the mainland, but that's not worth the effort."

Yachiyo blinks. "Seriously…? I had no idea something like that was happening… if I'd known, I wouldn't have tried to drive people away quite so hard…"

"It's really hard to believe," Hazuki says. "Why would they be gathering in Kamihama of all places?"

I shrug. "It's apparently the doing of a certain shady group working here in Kamihama," I say.

Yachiyo blinks, presumably catching on to my reference, and it seems like Mitama also understands who I'm referring to.

"Well, that's not the important thing right now," I say. "Can I get back to the topic at hand? I need the Mirror Witch's grief seed… diving into Endless Mirrors is not an option, because it's far, far too deep and probably much more powerful than I could even manage to defeat on my own, but this freshly-matured one just so happens to be exactly what I was looking for."

"And what do you need the grief seed for?" Yachiyo asks.

"I was going to ask that too," Mitama says. "What on earth could you need a specific grief seed for?"

"Hmm…"

I consider what to tell them. If I tell them the truth, that I'm hoping to use it to establish a conduit between here and Santa Cruz so I can hop back and forth at will even after the summer holidays, then I have a feeling they'd shut me down instantly. On the other hand, I can't think of any other… no, wait, what about resurrection? Ah, but they probably wouldn't believe something so incredible, and besides, I don't even have the slightest clue where Sena Mikoto's body might have gotten to.

"I'm sorry… it's kind of a personal reason," I say. "So I'm really not comfortable in sharing it… but it's really important to me. But rest assured that I don't intend to hurt anyone."

"Well… although Miss Taylor's motivations may be potentially questionable," Nanaka speaks up. "The fact remains that she has offered us an alternative means to bring down the witch, which does align with our goal here. So… shall we try Miss Taylor's method? Or shall we overload the mirror coins to blow it up?"

"Well… to tell the truth, I was a little disappointed by the mirror coin plan," Mito admits. "I mean, I was all excited that I'd finally get to see the mirror witch, but then we're just going to blow it up instead? It's a bit of a let-down…"

"I kinda feel the same way," Leila says.

"I… I'm not sure," Seika says. "So since I'm not sure… I'll support Leila and Mito since they're my friends."

"I'd rather take the surefire method," Konoha says. "I vote we blow it up."

"Honestly, that idea worried me a little," Hazuki says. "Are we quite sure the explosion won't escape into the real world? I think… I think I'd prefer the slower but safer method…"

"I'm in favour of blowing it up," Mitama says.

"Me too!" Ayame says. "After all, explosions are awesome!"

"I concur," Meiyui says. "Even if there is a small amount of collateral damage in the real world… this factory is long abandoned, so it is an acceptable cost."

"Hmm," Himika says. "I guess I'm pretty curious what the Mirror Witch looks like, so I vote for Miss Taylor's method."

"As for me," Yachiyo says. "I feel that Mitama's idea is safer and more efficient."

"Well… then that leaves me to break the tie," Nanaka says. "I must say, I was not expecting it to be so close… hmm… but I believe I will have to side with Miss Yusa, and for the same reasons."

"Then… I guess I'll lead the way," I say. "You don't all have to follow me if you don't want to… heck, I may even be able to defeat the witch on my own, if I have to."

I close my eyes and use my clairvoyance for a few moments to dig into the labyrinth, locating a route heading inwards. Then I open my eyes and locate the corridor I detected in my vision, heading down it. No-one takes up my offer to stay back, however – even Mitama joins the group heading deeper into the labyrinth.

A pack of familiars suddenly appears before us, the easel type that records the data used to produce copies. I summon a few Teddy Drones and zap them at will, and the other girls besides Mitama also attack them, so they're dealt with in very short order. We continue onward, and several times I select a turn at a fork without hesitation. After about two minutes and several more brief skirmishes with the easel familiars, I pause at an intersection to use my clairvoyance again, probing the routes inward until I've found one that ends at the door leading into the witch's chamber.

Unfortunately, it turns out the last turn was wrong.

"Looks like I made a wrong turn," I say. "We have to backtrack just a little."

I lead the way back to the last fork and take a different path.

"You're really sure this is the right way?" Yachiyo asks. "Is this always how you fight witches? Selecting the route without hesitation?"

"Yeah, of course," I say. "Well, most of the time. Why wouldn't I use the power I was given? It's kinda convenient, honestly…"

"Clairvoyance," Nanaka muses. "Indeed, it seems like quite the underrated power… if someone had simply mentioned it to me, I may have considered it a weak power, but seeing it in action is another matter entirely… you can very likely take down a witch in half the time of most other magical girls."

Huh… I honestly hadn't thought about it that way… but anyway, that's not important. I lead the way through the branching paths until the twelve of us finally arrive at the door leading into the witch's chamber. It's pretty similar to the adjoining door that linked this labyrinth with Endless Mirrors, but the runes on the bowtie sign read Sarah Mirabilis W instead of the welcome message on the other door.

"Here we are," I say.

"Quite impressive," Mitama says. "I never thought there'd be a chance of locating the witch so quickly."

The Daito trio pass the bags of mirror coins to Mitama to hold onto while Yachiyo kicks the door down. Everyone then piles into the central chamber, looking around curiously. The witch looms before us, a semi-translucent body reminiscent of a dragon. Her motif is spirals – nearly every part of her body is composed of spiralling forms, from the horns upon her head, to the many tails lashing out behind her, and even the six tentacles extending from beneath her chin, resembling a pair of grasping hands. The only thing that's not a spiral is her face, a solid white mass that seems to glare down at us, resembling a pair of human faces in profile looking outwards with a downwards-pointing spike in the centre. As for the environment, we seem to be in a chamber made entirely from mirrors – the walls, ceiling, even the floor reflects the intruders into infinite illusory corridors. It makes it slightly tricky to tell which image is the real thing and which is a mere reflection.

"So this is the true form of the Mirror Witch?" Mito says. "I've never seen a witch quite like it…"

The witch shudders, then suddenly attacks with those tentacles. The targeted girls dodge, however, and we smoothly transition into battle. Himika pounds the witch with her fist-shaped hammer, Konoha generates some fog to confuse the witch, Ayame swings her blade at the tentacles, and Meiyui leaps in close to slash with her claws. After watching for a few seconds, Nanaka follows up on Meiyui's attack with her twin katanas. Mito stands back and fires arrow after arrow from her bow, while Leila leaps forward to stab the witch, with Seika just behind her cracking her whip. Mitama stands back next to Mito and I, just watching. Yachiyo jumps foward to stab it with her spear. And as for me… naturally, I summon Teddy Drones and bombard the witch with those beams of mine.

With eleven magical girls attacking without pause, the witch doesn't last long. As Nanaka lands what appears to be the killing blow, I dart in and pull out my sword, slashing the remnants of the witch in half and grabbing the grief seed out of the air. Moments later, all twelve of us are deposited back into the abandoned factory, startling the three black feathers who are still waiting there. Yachiyo and Mitama gasp almost in unison.

"Y-you…!?" Yachiyo says.

Tamura takes a step forward.

"Um… uhh… M-miss T-taylor? W-who are all t-these people…?"

Yachiyo looks at me. "You know these three?" She suddenly blinks. "Wait… then you too…?"

"Ah… sorry for not mentioning it," I say. "This was a personal request, not something done at the behest of the Magius, so I figured it wasn't worth complicating the situation. Although I'm sure the Magius would also love to get their hands on this grief seed… but I don't plan to give it to them."

"So you're with the Wings of the Magius," Yachiyo says coldly. "Perhaps I should have you hand over that grief seed right now…"

"I'd be happy to hand over any other grief seed I have on me," I reply. "Just not this one. Do you intend to get into a fight over it? I absolutely won't back down, however."

"Alright, alright!" Mitama speaks up. "We defeated the witch, so let's not get into a silly little squabble right afterwards!"

"I must concur with Miss Mitama," Nanaka says. "Although I do not understand who these… Magius are… or why Miss Nanami would be so hostile towards them… the fact remains that Miss Taylor did not display any hostility."

"You're right," Yachiyo admits. "Very well… I'll let you go, this time… but next time we meet, it'll most likely be as enemies."

"Oh, I'm anticipating it," I say. "Although, I wouldn't say I'm looking forward to it. But thank you for your understanding, Miss Nanami."

I pause to examine the Mirror Witch's grief seed more closely. The spherical part is crisscrossed with lines seemingly at random, almost like cracks, or the borders in a stained-glass window. There's a symbol of lips on one side of the sphere, and a spiral emblem attached to the top. Once I'm satisfied I can recognize it, I tuck it away and pull out a different one, tossing it in Yachiyo's direction. She catches it easily.

"Here… this is to make up for me absconding with the Mirror Witch's grief seed," I say. "You can decide amongst yourselves who gets it. You three… come on, let's head back to headquarters."

With that, I lead the three of them out of the abandoned factory. Once outside, I don my white feather robes again as we make our way back to Fendt Hope.

---

Yachiyo watches us go with a sigh, then turns to her companions.

"Just wondering, but… have any of you heard of them?"

"No, this is the first time I've met girls like that," Konoha says.

"Likewise," Nanaka says.

"I haven't heard anything like that before either," Leila says.

"Nor have I," Mito says.

"I've actually run into them once or twice in Minaminagi Ward," Meiyui says. "They would always run away like frightened rabbits before I could talk to them…"

"I've seen them a couple of times too," Himika says. "But it seems like they try to avoid me for the most part. They did talk to me one time, but I didn't understand anything they were saying, so I turned them down…"

Mitama says nothing, but Yachiyo appears not to notice her lack of comment.

"I see," Yachiyo says. "So they're showing up all over the city…"

"Anyway, the important thing is that we defeated the baby Mirror Witch!" Mito says. "That was pretty exciting!"

"Yeah!" Leila says. "It was a pretty strange witch, too…"

After a few more inconsequential remarks, they agree that Himika should get the grief seed. Then there's a round of farewells and the group splits up, with Yachiyo accompanying Mitama back to her office. Mitama almost immediately flops onto an armchair with a sigh.

"Are you doing any better?" Yachiyo asks.

"Yes!" Mitama says. "My magic's all topped up, and I'm feeling juuust fine! Honestly… when I was holding the witch back by myself… I thought I might've just died out there!"

"That's just how severe the situation was, I'd say," Yachiyo says.

"Are all the other girls doing alright?" Mitama asks.

"Seems so," Yachiyo says. "I haven't heard from them since they headed for home, though. They did look like they had a lot of questions, but those can wait for another day."

"I see," Mitama says.

"I'd also like to know," Yachiyo says. "What you know about Endless Mirrors, that is. Feel free to tell me anytime."

As Yachiyo turns to leave, Mitama suddenly speaks up again, and Yachiyo pauses.

"There's something that I… suspect," Mitama says. "I think that Endless Mirrors is trying to make friends for itself in an imaginary house… so that it can play with a pretend family."

Yachiyo blinks, then sighs and turns to face her again.

"Alright, I'll bite," she says. "Would you happen to have any tea?"

"Yes," Mitama says. "I'll put the kettle on…"

"I'll hear your theory once we've sat down," Yachiyo says.

A few minutes later, they're both seated and sipping at the bag tea that Mitama prepared for them.

"So, with all this about 'playing house', and about a specific person dying," Yachiyo says. "What exactly do you know?"

"It's all just speculation," Mitama says. "But I believe that Endless Mirrors used to be a magical girl from Daito Ward."

Yachiyo blinks. "From Daito…?"

"Yes," Mitama says. "I'm referring to Sena Mikoto… though I never met her in person."

Yachiyo gasps. "Sena Mikoto…? That was the name of Sarasa Hanna's one friend…!"

Mitama nods. "Yeah, that's the one."

"I see," Yachiyo says. "Please continue… I imagine you still have a reason to believe it was her, right?"

"Yes," Mitama says. "It started when I first became the Coordinator and learned about the witch transformation from sensei. While I was looking into magical girls who'd gone missing in Kamihama, I heard the name Sena Mikoto from Kanagi, and began investigating her. Eventually, my search led me to Swindler's Road…"

---

Mitama stepped into the Daito municipal graveyard, where those who couldn't afford proper funeral arrangements were usually buried with just a tiny gravestone marked by their name. The graveyard was almost deserted but for a single woman gazing down at a specific grave on the far side. The woman had silver hair that fell to her shoulders, tied into a ponytail, and she wore a nondescript business suit.

Acting on instinct, Mitama hurried towards the woman to get a look at the name on the gravestone. Sure enough – it was Sena Mikoto's gravestone. The woman looked up as she approached, startled that there was someone else there.

"You… did you know…?"

"I was a close friend of Sena Mikoto," Mitama says. "I heard she'd been buried here, so I thought I'd check in and see if it's true…"

The woman stared at her for a few seconds.

"A friend, you say… it makes me happy to know that she had friends. Say… why don't you come have a chat with me at my place? I can only offer cheap tea, but…"

Mitama nodded. "Sure… I'd be happy to. You must be her mother, right?"

"Yes… that's me," Mikoto's mother said.

The woman led Mitama out of the graveyard and into a slightly better part of town, where it appeared she had a tiny apartment. Mitama took a seat and looked around the apartment a little. In one corner, there was a small Buddhist altar with a photo of a girl in front of it, a smiling girl with light purple eyes and sky blue hair wearing a Daito uniform. She looked to be around ten or eleven years old in the photo. There was also a single slim campus notebook resting there.

"Um… do you mind if… I look at that notebook over there?" Mitama asked.

"Ah… no, you were her friend, so I think it should be fine," the woman said.

As she got to work preparing tea, Mitama picked up the notebook and slowly flipped through it. It was something like a diary. Mikoto had even written a little about her life as a magical girl, but for the most part it was all about her ideals and regrets. She wrote about how her household had fallen apart because of her wish, how she wished she could've been raised by a more proper mother and father, how she couldn't believe her mother had run away… to Mitama, it seemed almost as though she'd been drawing out an ideal family in her head, and convincing herself that her real-world family were imposters. And it seemed like she didn't trust anyone apart from one single magical girl, who she somehow never got around to naming.

The most shocking part about the diary, however, was the dates. The date on the final entry, bearing a few words of despair, was the exact same date on which Mitama had made her wish to become a magical girl. But that… that, she could never share with anyone…

"I'm surprised that she actually had a friend," the woman said, sitting down and pushing a cup of tea towards Mitama. "May I ask how you got to know her?"

"Oh… it was entirely by chance," Mitama said. "Yeah… there wasn't anything particularly special about our meeting… or at least, it didn't seem that way to me…"

"But I suppose you made a bigger impression on her than you thought," the woman said.

"Yeah… I never expected her to suddenly go missing," Mitama said. "And then turn up dead a few years later…"

"To tell the truth, that grave is empty," the woman said. "Her body was never found… when I heard she'd been missing without trace for at least nine months and presumed dead, I begged the council to make her a grave, so at least there'd be something to remind people that she once existed."

"How is it that it took you nearly a year to discover that?" Mitama asked.

"That's my greatest regret," the woman said. "My husband… he was an abusive man and a drunkard. In my haste to drag myself free of him, I abandoned her, my only daughter… I should have just brought her with me. The man disappeared at the same time as she did, so presumably he too is dead… but I'll always, always regret that I didn't bring her with me when I left him."

"I see," Mitama said. "This has been… a very interesting chat. Thank you for your time, Miss, uhh… oh, I suppose you're not a Sena anymore…?"

The woman nodded. "Of course not… I took back my maiden name. That reminds me… you never introduced yourself, either. I'm—"

---

"Of course, she didn't write any of that down in literally those words," Mitama concludes. "But as I read through her notebook and thought about it… that was essentially the gist of what was in there."

"I see," Yachiyo says. "So your theory is that Endless Mirrors is a space where she can build her ideal family…?"

"It's just a feeling I have, but yes, I think so," Mitama says. "And the way it closes off its heart, not making contact with anyone… it's just like the way she was in life. I think this also explains the copies it creates… and in addition, the unique magic she originally had was 'suggestion', right?"

"Right…"

"That'd be the perfect ability to use if you were a witch who wanted to prevent people from seeing you as dangerous, right?"

"That really seems like quite a stretch," Yachiyo says. "Or… was the fact that I said that itself a result of suggestion?"

"You just start going in circles from there," Mitama says. "So I can't really think about it too deeply… but if she came out of her usual hiding spot and were to attack a human… I feel like that'd be the last nail in the coffin… the proof of her identity."

"You'd know whether it's Sena Mikoto based on who the witch cursed?" Yachiyo asks.

"Yes," Mitama says. "She staked her life on her wish in order to support her mother, who was suffering in their household… but as her mother became free and uninhibited, she abandoned them and disappeared. If there was one person the witch would resent, despite being so reclusive… I thought it could only be her."

"So today… the fact that her mother lives close to Swindler's Road is what made your hypothesis into reality," Yachiyo says.

"Yes," Mitama says.

Yachiyo sighs. "I don't think I would conclude that just yet," she says. "The whole thing strikes me as a lot of circumstantial evidence being forced together. But, I suppose it's better than not hypothesizing at all."

"I'm sorry, Yachiyo," Mitama says. "I just felt the need to let it all out."

"It's okay," Yachiyo says. "We all feel that way at times… and I think it's a hypothesis well worth considering."

"Thank you," Mitama says. "Now then! Let's put this whole topic to rest, shall we? I think I'm going to refrain from exploring Mirrors for a little while. Connecting to a whole other labyrinth was just such a bizarre thing, after all! It would be best to resume activity after getting the whole situation sorted out for ourselves."

"I agree," Yachiyo says.

"I'll find a good time soon to contact everyone and let them know," Mitama says. "Oh, and I'd better put up some posters in the shop too!"

"Before I go," Yachiyo says. "Do you have any idea what Ashley Taylor might have wanted that grief seed for?"

"Well… there's only two things I can think of that would require a specific grief seed," Mitama says. "The first… is probably too far-fetched… but if there were a way to turn a grief seed back into a soul gem…"

Yachiyo blinks. "You're suggesting she actually plans to resurrect Sena Mikoto!? Assuming that's who the witch is… but there's no way that's possible, right?"

"Well… like I said, it's pretty far-fetched," Mitama says. "But the only other thing I can think of is that she plans to transplant it… to take the grief seed somewhere else and let it hatch."

Yachiyo blinks. "That's… not good," she says. "Why would she even want to do that, though? Oh… and she also said she didn't intend to hurt anyone… wouldn't that hurt a lot of people?"

Mitama shrugs. "Yes, I think so," she says. "So in the end, I have no idea."

"I see… thanks for answering."

Yachiyo gets up and leaves, heading back to Crescent Moon Villa, where she finds Iroha now awake, sitting on the couch and sipping at a cup of tea. She blinks as Yachiyo enters.

"Oh! Miss Yachiyo! Did you find Miss Mitama?"

"Yes, I did," Yachiyo says. "A lot of things happened… I even ran into the Wings of the Magius…"

Iroha blinks. "R-really? Did they attack you?"

"No… what happened was, Mitama found another Mirror Witch that had matured from a familiar," Yachiyo says. "For some reason, the girl from the Wings of the Magius really wanted its grief seed…"

"Huh… but I don't get it. Why would it have to be that grief seed specifically?" Iroha asks. "Aren't all grief seeds about the same in the end?"

"I don't know," Yachiyo says. "I said the same thing as you, but she insisted it had to be that one. I'm just hoping I won't regret letting her take it…"

"So who was it?" Iroha asks. "One of the twins?"

"No… she was a new one," Yachiyo says. "She didn't have her robe on, so I'm not sure if she was a black feather or a white feather…"

Iroha blinks. "Huh? If that's the case… how did you know she's in the Wings of the Magius?"

"She was accompanied by three black feathers," Yachiyo explains.

"Ahhh, that makes sense," Iroha says. "So the Wings of the Magius are also interested in Endless Mirrors, huh…"

"It seems that way," Yachiyo says.

"Hmm," Iroha says. "You know… I think… maybe I'll visit Endless Mirrors after all tonight… just for a little bit. Would you come with me, Miss Yachiyo?"

"I've had quite enough of Endless Mirrors for one day… why don't you ask Momoko or something?"

"I don't want to bother her for something so trivial," Iroha says. "I guess I'll just go alone then… I'll just pop in for a few minutes and look around a bit, okay?"

"Do you have something in mind?" Yachiyo asks. "Something you want to check out?"

"Hmm… you could say that," Iroha says.

"Still… it's not good to go alone," Yachiyo says.

"I think I should be fine if it's just for a bit," Iroha says.

Yachiyo sighs. "Alright, fine… I'll come with you."

"Y-you're sure!?" Iroha gasps. "I thought you'd had enough of Endless Mirrors…"

"It's better than letting you go in alone when I can't talk you out of it," Yachiyo says.

"Ah, alright… thank you, Miss Yachiyo…"

They head out together and take the train into Minaminagi Ward, disembarking and heading north towards the Mirror Witch's mansion. However, before arriving there, both of them appear to suddenly sense something.

"W-what's going on?" Iroha wonders. "There seem to be a lot of magical signatures around here…"

"They don't seem strong enough to be witches," Yachiyo says. "Let's split up and take them out… we'll meet back up at the Mirror Mansion."

"Okay!"

They head in opposite directions, and a minute or two later, Iroha spots a portal bearing the emblem of the Mirror Witch and transforms as she charges inside. There's a single solicitor familiar within, as well as a girl in an unfamiliar school uniform. She wears a green sailor-style shirt with a white collar, a white skirt, and a red plaid bowtie. She has blonde hair to her shoulders and clutches a mandrake plushy under one arm. The familiar isn't currently attacking and seems to be just waiting as she examines the note it presumably flung at her.

"W-what is… this…?" the girl wonders. "A piece of paper…?"

The paper has writing on it, of course, but it's not an invitation to the Mirror Mansion like Iroha received. Instead, it bears the following ominous words:

"Written oath: I swear to destroy all magical girls."

Or at least, it would read that way if you fixed all the spelling and typographical errors. At the bottom is a blank underlined space labelled "Name", as if requesting the girl to sign her name.

"I don't know," the girl says. "I don't know anything about magical girls…"

The familiar responds by flinging another one at her, which appears to be identical to the first.

"It's true!" the girl protests. "I really don't know anything!"

It throws a third one, and the girl lets out a squeal.

"U-um… it'll be okay if I just sign here, right?" she says, indicating the name field.

But before she has a chance, Iroha comes to her senses. Perhaps she was just startled to see someone there besides the familiar, and someone who didn't seem to be in immediate danger at that. In any case, she fires a volley of bolts, driving the familiar back.

"Huh!?" the girl gasps.

"Are you okay!?" Iroha asks. "Wait just a moment, I'll defeat the familiar right away!"

She guns it down with another volley of bolts, and it backs off, looking like it's about to flee. However, she manages to defeat it before it gets the chance, and she powers down as the labyrinth collapses.

"Great, I managed to defeat it," she says with a sigh.

"Um… w-what are you?" the girl asks.

Iroha blinks. "What…? Not who? Um… I'm Tamaki Iroha, and I'm a magical girl… it's nice to meet you!"

"Ah… I… I see… s-so um… a m-m-magical girl is…?"

"Oh… well, you see, there exist dangerous beings called witches and familiars that bring harm to people," Iroha explains. "That was a familiar just then… a witch is similar, but much bigger and more dangerous. It's the duty of magical girls to destroy things like that."

"H-huh… um… okay, I see… um… I… I g-gotta go!"

With that, she just turns and runs off, leaving Iroha to stare after her for a bit. Then she comes to her senses again and runs off to defeat a few more Mirror Witch familiars wandering around nearby, eventually ending up at the Mirror Mansion itself where she finds Yachiyo already waiting for her.

"You took your time, Miss Tamaki," she says.

"Oh… there was someone in one of the familiar's barriers," Iroha says. "So I had to make sure she was okay…"

Yachiyo blinks. "A Mirror Witch familiar?"

Iroha nods. "It was strange… it wasn't really seriously attacking, but… I don't really know what was going on. Anyway, I defeated the familiar, and the girl is safe, so that's what matters, right?"

"That's true," Yachiyo says. "Then shall we head inside?"

Iroha nods, transforming again and stepping into Endless Mirrors with Yachiyo. As they progress through the labyrinth, taking out the familiars that pop out, Iroha looks around closely at the surroundings. After about ten minutes, she speaks up.

"Well… part of that uncomfortable feeling… it seems to be gone now," Iroha says. "But the other part… I think what it is is like… we're being watched? And… I think… something's trying to draw us further in? Something like that?"

Mokyu, still riding on her shoulder, makes one of its cute noises, and Iroha nods.

"Yeah, exactly like that!"

"Hmm… so you're saying, you sensed multiple things?" Yachiyo asks.

"Hmm… maybe… yes, I think so," Iroha says. "Although I'm still not sure… maybe I should have a chat with Miss Mitama after all… but at least… whatever it is… it seems like maybe it's… calmed down? Just a bit?"

"I wouldn't drop by today, however," Yachiyo says. "She's probably exhausted… in fact, she probably went home already."

"Right… maybe tomorrow, then," Iroha says. "Alright… let's go home."

And thus they turn around and leave the Mirror Mansion behind them.

---

On our way back to Fendt Hope, we manage to collect three more grief seeds, for a total of eight including the Mirror Witch. That means that if I leave four with the Wings of the Magius, I'll have three to hand out to the quartet or whoever needs one back in Mitakihara. I don't need any myself, as I still haven't used the grief cubes I've been holding onto since the beginning of this loop… although I may hold onto one of those three anyway, to be on the safe side.

When the four of us enter the lobby, I'm unexpectedly greeted by Inui, who jumps up from one of the couches and runs over. There's only one other person on the couches, likely Tomomi.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you were stopping by!" she says angrily. "How could you do this to me!? I only heard from Mifuyumin!"

"Eh? Um… I just thought…"

"No you didn't!" Inui says. "You didn't think how much I'd like to see you! I don't care if it was my shift tonight, I would've totally dropped everything if I knew you were in town!"

"B-but that's—"

"No buts!" Inui says. "Tomo-chan even said she would've been okay with it, right Tomo-chan!?"

She spins on the other black feather who'd been on the couch with her, who twitches in surprise at being addressed so suddenly.

"Ah! Um… yes, I did say that!" Tomomi says.

Inui turns back to glare at me.

"It's not like anything was actually happening!" she says. "If there'd been someone investigating the rumour, that might've been a different matter, but I don't think anyone's even heard of it yet! Or if they did, they haven't thought to actually try it. Don't do that to me again, Ashley-nee! Promise me you'll tell me whenever you're coming to town, no matter what!"

"Ah… um…"

I blink a few times, momentarily lost for words, but then I remember one little thing I told her way back at the beginning of the loop.

"No wait, hold on a second," I protest. "It's not like I'm beholden to you! I even specifically said I'd sometimes want some space to be alone, away from you!"

Inui shakes her head. "No, that's not what this is about," she says. "You've entirely missed the point! Even if you wanted to be alone, you could've still told me you'd be here! And besides, that's not why you didn't tell me anyway, is it?"

"Well… this time it wasn't, no," I admit.

"So you just took the decision into your own hands without considering my feelings!" Inui says. "That's why I'm angry! Seriously, don't do that to me again! Promise me you'll tell me whenever you're in town! Promise!"

"Um… well… I… s-sure," I say.

Suddenly Inui hugs me out of nowhere.

"There, that's not so hard, right?" Inui says happily. "Wow, I'm really happy to see you though… I can't believe how happy I am…"

She backs off a little and beams at me.

"That said, I'm pretty surprised you're here," she says. "I thought you'd be at the party with the others…"

I blink. "Huh? They're having a party?"

"Yeah, something about Elly-tan's sister or something? I said I couldn't make it… but I thought you'd at least be there…"

"Ah! I totally forgot about that!" I gasp. "Also I didn't expect them to have a party about it…"

"Well, now that you're here, you'll stay the night with me, right?" Inui says.

"Huh? I was going to head back to distribute the grief seeds I gathered."

"No, no!" Inui says. "You've gotta make it up to me somehow, and since it's this late, there aren't many other ways to do that!"

"I can't just… make it up to you later?"

"Not on your life," Inui retorts. "If I let you put it off, I bet you'll just combine it with another favour later on and try to call it even."

"Well… I can't say for sure that I wouldn't do that," I admit.

"Well then… stay with me," Inui says. "You can hand out the grief seeds tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I guess that's true," I say. "Fine… I'll stay the night."

"Yaaay!" Inui cheers. "Alright… let's go up to the room!"

"Hold on a second," I say.

I turn to the others, who have just been watching this entire time.

"Okay… I'm going to give each of you a grief seed," I say. "And I'd like you to turn them in to the Magius or whatever… I assume you know where you're supposed to do that?"

Chihana nods. "I think it's Lady Alina's office. But… why give us one each instead of just turning them all in at once?"

I shrug. "No strong reason… just don't want her to get suspicious of anything, I guess. Plus this gives each of you the opportunity to decide whether you want to turn it in at all, or if you'd prefer to keep it for yourself, like to visit home or something. But if you think I'm being paranoid, I guess you can just turn them in all at once if that's easier… anyway, here you go."

I hand out four of the eight grief seeds we gathered today – one to Tamura, one to Hikari, one to Chihana, and one to Tomomi. Inui pouts a little.

"You don't have one for me?" she asks.

"Well… do you need one?" I ask. "I have an extra I could give you if you do."

"Nah, I'm kidding," Inui says. "I have no plans to leave Kamihama, so I don't really need one."

"Alright then."

We head upstairs, and halfway up I notice what appears to be the Amane twins talking amongst themselves. They're wearing their white feather robes and are facing away from me, but I recognize the voices.

"—and they arrived at an abandoned building," Tsukasa is saying. "That's what Riko-chan told me."

It seems relevant, so I lay a hand on Inui's arm to stop her, and she turns to look as well.

"That is a rumour," Tsukuyo says firmly.

"That's for sure," Tsukasa says. "Ugh… even if it's for liberation… I don't like the idea of anyone I know getting involved in one…"

"I share that sentiment," Tsukuyo says.

"For sure!" Tsukasa says.

At that moment, Nemu herself suddenly steps around a corner, carrying what looks to be a bundle of books. She's not even transformed and is just in her school uniform – the brown uniform of Sankyoin Academy.

"If you're talking about the Tangled Shrine, it's not dangerous," Nemu says.

The twins gasp in unison.

"H-how long have you…!?" Tsukuyo asks.

"Perhaps you shouldn't talk in the middle of a public corridor?" Nemu suggests.

"Yes," they agree in unison.

"Furthermore," Tsukuyo adds. "What is the meaning of 'it's not dangerous'?"

"Rumours sway people's emotions and gather their emotional energy," Nemu explains. "You already know that much, don't you?"

"Of course," Tsukasa says.

"That rumour is a little different," Nemu says. "It was created as an experiment to observe how much emotional energy could be gathered by converting the negative emotion of distress into the positive emotion of resolution."

"Then, what would've happened if Riko-chan failed…?" Tsukasa asks.

"In the morning, regardless of whether they'd solved the problems or not, they would have returned as if waking from a dream. In other words… there would be no harm done."

"Thank goodness," Tsukasa says.

"You said this was an experiment, Lady Nemu?" Tsukuyo says. "What do you intend to do with it from now on?"

"I won't erase it," Nemu says. "But I won't create any more rumours like it, either. It's not as efficient as it could be."

"I see…" Tsukasa says.

Having said her piece, Nemu moves on, heading into the stairwell and proceeding downwards.

"That… what they were talking about," Inui says. "They even mentioned Riko-chan… could it be the thing from last night?"

"Yeah, I think so too," I say. "In fact, I'd like to ask you to tell the whole story once we get to the room."

"Sure thing! But first…"

Inui steps out of the stairwell to approach the twins.

"Um, excuse me?"

The twins turn to face her in surprise.

"Yes? How may we help you?" Tsukuyo asks.

"Well, I happened to overhear what you were talking about," Inui says. "So I just wanted to apologize."

"I do not understand… what is there to apologize for?" Tsukuyo asks.

"Ah! C-could you be… the girl from yesterday?" Tsukasa asks.

"That's right," Inui says. "I promised not to get Riko-chan involved in rumours, but then we had to run right into one of those… things… whatever you call them… like a familiar but not…"

"Do you mean the rumour spreaders?" Tsukuyo asks.

"Yeah, I guess so," Inui says. "I did consider trying to talk Riko-chan out of trying it, but I wasn't sure how to make a good argument… so I decided it was better if I do it with her in case it's dangerous."

"I see," Tsukasa says. "But don't worry about it… it's not like you dragged her in or were actively investigating the rumour, right? It was just a coincidence."

"Yeah… I guess it was," Inui says.

"And no-one was hurt, so no harm done," Tsukasa says.

"For sure!" Tsukuyo says.

"Alright… thank you very much!"

Inui turns to rejoin me on the stairwell, and we continue on our way upstairs. When I step into the room, I blink in surprise, for the layout has changed a bit. There's no top bunk anymore, and the remaining bed is significantly wider.

"Huh? What happened here?" I ask.

"Well, I asked Nemu-chi to make a few changes," Inui explains. "I know it was a bit of a squeeze for you on the weekend, so I told her we'd prefer to sleep together rather than in separate bunks, and she just altered the specifications a little… it's pretty awesome how she can do that, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah… I guess it is," I say.

It's not quite as big as the bed at the Hayashi house, but… it should be plenty large enough for the both of us now. I close the door and banish my feather robes, and Inui does the same. Then we take a seat on the bed.

"So… you were going to tell me about the Tangled Shrine, right?" I say. "I only remember a few fragments of what happened, I'm afraid…"

"Oh… I'm surprised you even remember that much," Inui says. "I thought for you it'd be nothing more than a dream that's forgotten immediately…"

"I don't think that would've allowed the problems to be resolved," I retort. "Anyway… let's hear the full story."

"Well… it all started when I dropped by the Coordinator's with Rii-chan the day before yesterday…"

---

"Inui-nee!"

"Oh! It's Rii-chan!" Inui gasped.

She finished packing up and headed out of the classroom to find Riko waiting.

"What's up, Rii-chan?" Inui asked.

"Um…" Riko lowered her voice a little. "I just thought, maybe you'd like to go to the Coordinator's…"

"Hmm… well, I don't particularly need to go," Inui said. "But if you want to go, I'll come with you."

Riko nodded. "Ah, okay! I was also thinking I should stop by too, so that's perfect!"

"Alright, then let's go!" Inui said. "I don't know the way though, so you'll have to show me."

"Sure!"

They headed out and took a train west to Mitama's office. When they arrived, they found two other girls there, but neither of them were Mitama. One had brown hair in loops and wore a white and blue sailor style uniform, while the other had black hair in a long braid and wore a black uniform with a red ribbon buttoned into a cross shape.

"Excuse us!" Riko said.

"Oh, is this the first time we've met?" the girl with hair loops asked. "I'm Awane Kokoro."

"I'm Mao Himika!" the girl with the braid said. "Nice to meet you! Though I already know Riko-chan."

"I'm Itsumi Inui," Inui said. "I just moved to Kamihama, actually."

"And I'm Chiaki Riko!"

"So, Riko-chan," Kokoro said, nodding.

"So you stopped by for your first tune-up, is that it, Miss Itsumi?" Kokoro asked. "Unfortunately, it looks like that might not be possible today…"

"Huh? Where's Miss Mitama?" Riko asked.

"No idea," Kokoro said. "She wasn't here, so I thought I'd wait a bit… and then…"

"And then I showed up," Himika said.

"And then I noticed we both had the same ribbon," Kokoro said.

She showed off an accessory made from red ribbons, and Inui blinked. Himika also had an identical one.

"Huh? I think I've see that before," Inui said. "Where was it… oh right! Ashley-nee had one!"

"Oh, really? That's such a coincidence," Kokoro said. "So your friend also has one? We must've gotten it at the same store… that's amazing."

"It kinda puts me at ease when I hold it," Himika said.

"Oh yeah, I know what you mean," Kokoro said. "It makes me feel so relaxed, too… like it just makes my worries go away…"

"It is pretty cute," Inui said. "I kinda wish I had one too now…"

"That's such a coincidence though," Riko said.

"Yeah, a little strange," Inui said. "So… what's up with the Coordinator? Is she like… missing? Or just out sick?"

"I'm not sure," Kokoro said. "It's not often I show up and she's not here…"

"Yeah, she's pretty reliable," Himika said. "Maybe I'll ask her little sister about it at school tomorrow…"

"Oh? She has a little sister?" Kokoro said. "I had no idea!"

"Yup! She's really cute!" Himika said.

"Is she a magical girl too?" Kokoro asked.

"Well… I've never really asked," Himika said. "She seems a bit young to be one, though… she's in sixth grade."

"Oh, so she's about my age," Riko said. "Only one year older…"

"So it's totally possible, huh," Inui said.

"By the way, you two go to Kosho Academy?" Himika said.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Inui said.

"Oh, it's probably nothing, but I was a little curious," Himika said. "You see, I heard a rumour about something going on at Kosho Academy… something behind the school building?"

"Oh… something to do with a shrine?" Inui asked.

"It might've had something to do with a shrine," Himika said. "Have you heard about it?"

"Hmm… well, there is a shrine there, apparently," Inui said. "Though I didn't see it myself… oh! Does the rumour have to do with people hearing voices around there?"

"Voices?" Himika said. "I don't remember anything about that… but I can't be sure. The person I heard it from was pretty vague about it to begin with…"

"Why don't we ask around tomorrow?" Riko suggested. "It sounds interesting!"

Inui shrugged. "Well… sure, why not. It can't hurt, right? And I could let you two know if I hear of anything."

"Sure," Kokoro said.

She and Inui whipped out their phones and tapped them together to exchange contact info. Then Inui looked questioningly at Himika.

"Do you… not want to share your contact info?"

"Ah, no, I don't mind," Himika said. "I was just feeling a little jealous of your fancy phones…"

She took hers out as well, a small flip-phone with a keypad.

"Oh… does it even support tap to transfer?" Inui asked.

"I'm not sure," Himika said. "It's not that old a model, so maybe? Or I can read out my details to you… or just show it to you…"

"Well… it can't hurt to try it, right?" Inui said.

She tapped her phone against Himika's, and there was a beep as the contact info showed up on Inui's screen.

"Oh! Looks like it does work," Inui said.

Kokoro and Riko then tapped their phones to hers as well, and Kokoro and Riko also tapped them to each other, completing the round of information transfer. They waited around a bit longer to see if Mitama would show up, but eventually they dispersed and headed home.

After school the next day, Riko once again met her outside her classroom.

"Inui-nee! Wanna go check out that shrine again?"

Inui looked over at Rui, who appeared to be spaced out in her own little world.

"Hey, Rui-chan! Rui-chaaan! D'you wanna come with?"

"E-eh!?" Rui gasped, startled out of her reverie.

"I'm checking out that shrine behind the school. D'you wanna come with?"

"Ah… um… w-well…"

"Don't worry about her," the girl in front of Rui said. "She turns everyone down… but we don't really mind, because don't you think she's just so cool?"

"Hmm?" Inui said. "What are you talking about? Didn't she just say yes she'd come?"

The girl blinked at Inui. "Huh? H-how'd you get that from just a few noises!?"

"Because I was looking at her face the whole time," Inui said. "Come on Rui-chan, let's check it out together! You know the way there, right?"

"Eh… yeah…"

Inui headed out of the classroom ahead of her.

"So what's up, Rii-chan? Hope you don't mind me inviting Rui-chan along, since we're checking out her favourite shrine."

"Eh? What do you mean, her favourite?" Riko asked.

"Don't you remember when we went there with Ashley-nee and she was there?"

Riko blinked. "Oh… the vengeful spirit?"

"Sure… the vengeful spirit," Inui agreed. "Ah, that's right, I never did introduce you two, did I…?"

At that moment, Rui exited the room as well, blinking at the two of them.

"Well then… this is Mizuki Rui," Inui said. "And Rui-chan, this is Chiako Riko."

"Oh… I… hello," Rui said.

"Nice to meet you!" Riko said. "But what was that all about last time…?"

"Ah… can we not… talk about that here?" Rui muttered.

"Well, in any case, lead the way, Rui-chan!"

"R-right…"

"Oh, actually!" Riko spoke up. "Maybe we could ask Tsukasa-sempai if she knows anything first?"

"Hmm… I guess it can't hurt," Inui agreed.

So the three of them made for Tsukasa's classroom, where they found her still packing up. She blinked at the sight of Riko.

"Oh… Riko-chan?" she said. "Did you need something from me…?"

"I wanted to ask you something!" Riko said.

"Sure," Tsukasa said. "If it's something I can help with…"

"Have you heard any rumours about the shrine behind the school?"

"Rumours!?" Tsukasa gasped. "Riko-chan, you shouldn't go investigating rumours… they could be dangerous, you know!"

Riko blinked. "Huh? But they're just rumours… how could they be dangerous?"

"Well, she's right though," Inui said, poking her face around the corner. "Some types of rumours might just swallow you up."

"Y-yeah, what she said," Tsukasa said.

"Hmm… you know, I think I've heard your voice somewhere," Inui mused. "Hmm…"

"Um… it's possible," Tsukasa said.

"Right, right! It was at F—"

Inui cut herself off with a gasp, flicking her eyes towards Riko for a moment.

"Ah! I mean, it was at Mifuyumin's place, right?"

"O-oh… yeah, I don't think I remember you, but it's definitely possible," Tsukasa nodded.

«So you're also a member of the Wings of the Magius?» Tsukasa asked.

«Pretty much! Never expected to run into another one at school though!»

«Actually, there's one other here at school that you might run into… though I won't say her name, as she might prefer to remain anonymous.»

«Oh, interesting… but only three of us in the entire school?»

«Well… there aren't that many magical girls here in the first place. I only know of two others who aren't members, and it looks like you have them both with you.»

«Oh duh, good point.»

«Anyway… I would like it if you could refrain from encouraging Riko-chan in the investigation of rumours,» Tsukasa said.

«Hmm… I get where you're coming from, but… I don't think this rumour is that kind of rumour… but I promise I'll be careful!»

«Thank you…»

"So um… you don't know anything, Tsukasa-sempai?" Riko asked.

"Hmm… no, I don't think I've heard any rumours about that little shrine," she said. "Sorry, Riko-chan."

Riko closed the door, and Rui decided to speak up.

"U-um… c-could it be… these rumours are my fault?" she asked.

"Really hard to say, Rui-chan," Inui said. "They might be, or they might not be…"

"B-but… I went there because it's supposed to be a power spot…"

"Hmm… that's sort of like a rumour too," Inui said. "Though I guess it doesn't quite fit what Himi-tan said… well! Let's just go see for ourselves! Lead on, Rui-chan!"

So Rui lead the way out the back gate of the school and up into the forested area where they'd run into her last time. Instead of stopping halfway, this time they went all the way to the shrine. There was nothing really special about this shrine – it certainly wasn't like the one with the Tokime emblem or anything, and the guardian statues were standard lion dogs.

"Oh! It's really a shrine!" Riko said. "That's kinda cool… it's so tiny though! Wow…"

"Hmm," Inui said. "I don't sense any magic… so it's probably safe, Rii-chan! Yup!"

Riko blinked. "Huh? Why would there be any magic?"

"Hmm… well, you never know, right?" Inui shrugged. "There could be a witch anywhere."

"Oh, I suppose that's true… wait…?" Riko looked at Rui. "Um…"

"Oh…" Rui showed off the ring on her finger.

"So you're a magical girl too! That's awesome!" Riko said. "How long have you been one?"

"Oh, awhile," Rui said vaguely.

"So! Where should we go next?" Inui asked.

"Hmm… we could ask some other people about the rumour," Riko suggested.

"Um, if it's okay… I want to… stay here awhile," Rui said.

"Sure thing!" Inui said. "In that case, Rii-chan, let's go! Seeya later, Rui-chan!"

"Y-yeah…"

"Okay!"

They headed back to the school and asked a few more questions of various students, learning that there were several rumours about the shrine, including that it was haunted, that people had heard strange voices, and that it was rumoured to be a power spot. However, one person said something weird about scissors and ribbons.

"I heard that if you cut the ribbon, all your problems will be solved!" she said. "Or something like that…"

After splitting up to cover more ground, with Riko focusing on elementary school students and Inui on middle and high school students, they reconvened at the school gate and compared notes.

"Hmm," Inui said. "Other than that one thing about ribbons, it sounds like this is just about Rui-chan after all…"

"Yeah, it sounds just like what happened the other day," Riko said.

"I don't really understand the ribbon thing, either," Inui said. "Should we just forget about it all and go grab a croquette or two?"

"Ooh, a croquette! Yes, that's a good idea!"

But then, on the way to Chiaki's, they ran into a strange creature – a rumour spreader. It was chatting with a couple of other girls, repeating the same words over and over again, but they were too far away to quite make it out.

"Huh?" Riko said. "Inui-nee, there's something weird… is that a familiar? But it's not in a labyrinth…"

Inui blinked at it. "Huh? I've never seen anything like it…"

"Those girls are talking to it like it's normal, but… that's not normal, right…?" Riko asked.

Inui took out her soul gem for a moment.

"Hmm… it's definitely magical," she said. "It doesn't feel like a witch or a familiar though… more like a magical girl… but not quite…"

"And it doesn't have a labyrinth," Riko said.

Suddenly, the rumour spreader left the pair it was chatting to and came towards them.

"W-whoa!" Riko gasped. "It's coming this way!"

Now they could hear what it was saying properly. They listened in confusion as it spouted the full text of the Rumour of the Tangled Shrine. And once it was finished, it just vanished, causing them both to gasp.

"It's gone!?" Inui said.

"What was that…?" Riko wondered.

"Hmm… I wonder," Inui said. "It seems an awful lot like… a rumour…"

"Why don't we try that spell tonight?" Riko suggested.

"Eh? But I promised Tsukasa-chan…"

"Huh? What did you promise?"

"Um… hmm… it did say there'd be a reward or something… Rii-chan, are you set on trying that spell?"

Riko nodded. "It could be related to a witch, right? And it was definitely magical! So I don't think we can afford to ignore it as magical girls!"

"Okay… if you're intent on doing it, then I'll try it too," Inui said. "Maybe we'll both end up in that… 'tangled shrine'… together. Hopefully, at least…"

"Okay! Then I'll look forward to it!" Riko said.

"Though I'll admit, there's also a personal reason," Inui said. "It was talking about ribbons, right? Doesn't that remind you of something?"

"You mean that one girl you talked to?" Riko said.

"That too, but I meant something from yesterday."

"Oh! That ribbon accessory!"

Inui nodded. "I don't know if it's related, but… Ashley-nee definitely has one. If it's related… maybe I can help Ashley-nee solve whatever problem she's having difficulty with."

"I see… that would be cool," Riko said. "I'd like to help her out too!" She giggled. "Although I'm a little nervous!"

They continued on to Chiaki's, where they ate some croquettes together before Inui left alone. Since she didn't have any scissors at Fendt Hope, Inui stopped by a convenience store to buy a pair before returning.

Once it was time to sleep, she placed the scissors under the bed in her room before getting changed into her pyjamas and climbing into bed.

---

Inui wasn't sure exactly what happened. She definitely remembered going to sleep in her bed at Fendt Hope, and at some unspecified point in the future, she found herself waking up again, but not in the same place.

"Ugh… where am I…?" Inui murmured.

She opened her eyes and sat up to find Riko kneeling beside her, also in pyjamas. They appeared to be in an old building of some kind, with all sorts of doors in all different sizes. The place also had the sort of ethereal quality of a witch's labyrinth, with a sort of sepia overlay on the world and various floating symbols that resembled kanji, though Inui couldn't recognize any of them.

"Oh, Inui-nee! Are you awake…?" Riko asked.

"Oh! Rii-chan!" Inui said. "So we did come here together!"

"Looks like it! And the spell is real!" Riko said.

"Did you wake up first?" Inui asked.

"Oh, I think I got here just a little bit earlier than you," Riko said. "Maybe it was because I went to bed early?"

"Oh, I see, that makes sense," Inui said. "I did go to bed fairly late… not as late as usual though… around ten o'clock, I think…"

"I went to bed at nine o'clock," Riko said.

"Whoa! So early!" Inui gasped. "Though when you're young, I suppose it's good to get to bed earlier…"

Riko giggled, and Inui took another look around.

"Well… it certainly looks like a deserted mansion," she said. "But I thought it was supposed to be a shrine…? Maybe it's a more generic sense of the word 'shrine'… not specifically a Shinto shrine…"

"It looks like there are little doors and big doors," Riko said. "And medium-sized doors too."

"And I can definitely sense magic power," Inui said. "In fact, this almost looks a bit like a witch's labyrinth…"

"So, what should we do?" Riko asked.

"Okay… let's just try opening one of the doors!" Inui said.

She grabbed the handle of the biggest door in front of her and tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge.

"Huh? This one won't open…"

Suddenly an unknown voice projected itself into their heads.

«Geez, why are you suddenly picking the most difficult door?»

"Huh!?" Riko gasped. "I heard a voice…!?"

"It's telepathy!" Inui said. "That's definitely telepathy!"

«Haha! The big door won't open until you've solved some smaller doors! Guess I'll have to make it easier for you to understand.»

There was a sudden flash of bright light, and Inui shielded her eyes.

"I-it's so bright…" Riko gasped.

Once the light cleared and their eyes had readjusted to the darkness, Inui looked around again and discovered a red ribbon wrapped around the door handle, effectively tying it shut. It wasn't just the one door, either – all the doors, or at least nearly all of them, were now tied shut.

"Now the doors all seem to be tied shut with ribbons," Riko noted. "I wonder how we're supposed to get through them…?"

«Go on, now,» the voice said. «If you can open a small door and two medium doors, the ribbon on the big one will be untied. Do your best, starting from there!»

"Who are you?" Inui asked.

«To put it simply, I guess you could call me a guide for this place? I know I sound suspicious, but I'm not. Just think of me as a voice-only guide, okay? You can't go wrong by listening to me.»

"It knows it's suspicious…" Riko notes.

"So… you're the Rumour of the Tangled Shrine that Nemu-chi created?" Inui asked.

However, the voice totally ignored her question and continued speaking as if she hadn't said anything.

«Now it's time for me to be a guide and give you guidance! Behind each door, you'll meet a different girl who has a different problem. Solve everyone's problems and you'll clear the mission! Then you'll be able to leave this place! I recommend starting with the small door over there. It'll be a simple problem, something like a tutorial!»

"Huh? We're even getting a tutorial?" Inui said. "That's so helpful… wow…"

"So what should we do?" Riko wondered.

"It's weird," Inui said. "That voice is somehow really hard to hate… which just makes it even more suspicious…"

"But it didn't feel bad to me," Riko said.

"Well… I suppose we might as well do as it says," Inui said. "Do you see a little door that's not tied up?"

"Right over there!" Riko said.

She pointed at a small door about half Inui's height, with no ribbon holding it shut. Inui darted over to it and yanked it open, crawling through. Riko followed her as well, and then they found themselves in a house, specifically a kitchen complete with table, fridge, sink, rice cooker, and microwave. There was even an old-school paper calendar hanging on one wall.

"So… we're in someone's house?" Inui said. "I hope they don't get mad at us for breaking in…"

"Eh? Miss Inui? And Riko-chan?"

And there was someone else there. It was Himika, wearing her school uniform.

"Ah! Himi-tan!" Inui gasped.

"Did you appear in my dream because I met you yesterday?" Himika wondered.

"It seems we're here to solve your problems," Inui said.

"You're just going to come right out and say it?" Riko asked, startled.

"Whoa!" Himika said. "Definitely a dream! What a sudden and mysterious development!"

"Oh, is there nothing troubling you?" Inui asked.

"Well, um… I don't have any idea what's going on here, but… suddenly being asked that is also kinda troubling," Himika said.

"Oh yeah, you have a good point," Inui said. "Well, you see, there's this rumour around town that you can solve people's problems if you stick scissors under your bed, so we tried it out and here we are!"

"I see, so that's what's going on here," Himika said. "Some kind of rumour…? Huh… like the monster type of rumour?"

"Oh… have you heard of them?" Inui asked.

"Well yeah, I fought the Rumour of the Crossing Street awhile back," Himika said. "It was a pretty tough fight."

"Oh! With Miss Nanami, right?" Inui said.

"Whoa!? How'd you know that?" Himika gasped.

"Well, I just heard she'd fought that one, so… that's all," Inui said.

"What exactly are you two talking about?" Riko asked.

"Oh… it's nothing important, Rii-chan," Inui said. "Anyway… how about we get back on topic? We gotta solve a problem to get outta here, so… throw one at us!"

"Hmm… I can't say I'm really troubled by anything," Himika mused. "Although, there is something that I regret a little, but…"

"Well, I guess it'll have to do," Inui said. "What is it?"

"I couldn't give movie tickets to my family," Himika said.

"Huh?" Inui said. "Movie tickets…?"

"Oh!" Riko piped up. "Miss Himika's family is really big! She's got lots of little brothers and sisters."

"Oh wow!" Inui said. "A big family, huh? I wonder what that would've been like… I'm an only child myself…"

"It's a lot of fun!" Himika said. "We're very fortunate to have each other! However, we're poor, so we can't afford luxuries."

"Like a smartphone?" Inui said.

"Right, like a smartphone. However… the other day, I was offered free tickets to a movie screening. But… they only offered two tickets. I turned it down because I couldn't go with my whole family… but since it's such a rare opportunity, I thought maybe I should've gotten it and decided who would go by playing rock-paper-scissors… but then again, my siblings who couldn't go would be sad, so maybe it was the right decision after all…" She sighed. "So now, I just keep thinking about how nice it would've been if we could've all seen it together…"

"Aww, that's kinda sad, Miss Himika," Riko said.

"Huh," Inui said. "To tell the truth, I've never been to a movie either… I never really had any friends until I met Ashley-nee…"

"Oh… maybe you can't relate, huh?" Himika said.

"Oh no, that's not true at all," Inui said. "I've always wanted to go to a movie. Anyway, this isn't supposed to be about me… hmmmm…"

Inui pondered a little.

"So… the obvious way to solve your problem would be to find a way for your whole family to watch a movie together, right?" Inui said.

"That's right!" Himika said.

"And… hmm… I guess you're specifically thinking of cinema rather than just on a TV?"

"Yeah… we don't even have a TV, anyway."

"Well… there's this girl in my class, Mihono Seira," Inui suggested. "I heard her talking about wanting to make a movie for the school festival. It wouldn't be quite the same as a professional movie, but assuming she actually gets it done, I expect it would be screened in the auditorium, so maybe that would do? You don't need to pay to enter the school festival, do you, Rii-chan?"

"Um… as long as you have an invitation from a student," Riko said. "I think they charge admittance if you don't have an invitation, to discourage random pervs from wandering in… but there's no limit to how many people a student can invite. Although, maybe students of other schools don't even need an invitation? I'm not quite sure…"

"Hmm… do you know anything about the movie your classmate is making?" Himika asked.

"I'm not sure," Inui said. "I think even Sei-nyan hasn't quite decided yet… but it sounded like it would be a work of fiction, rather than a documentary or something."

"And you go to Kosho Academy… what's the auditorium even like there?" Himika asked. "Daito's auditorium is kinda small and dingy… and greasy because it doubles as a cafeteria during the day… so if it's anything like that it's probably not worth it…"

"It's huge!" Riko said. "It's kinda like a concert hall, I think? Though I've only been to one of those once…"

"Oh, then that might just be the thing…" Himika said.

"There's one other possibility I can think of, but it might be a long shot," Inui said. "If that offer for the free tickets is still open, you could always ask if they can give enough for your whole family."

"That really does sound like a long shot," Himika said. "There's a big difference between two tickets and eight tickets…"

"That's true, but it's not like they're only giving away two tickets," Inui said. "They're probably giving away a hundred or two hundred tickets, or perhaps even more. Looking at it that way… if nothing else, it can't hurt to ask. The worst they can do is say no, right?"

"Yeah… that's true," Himika said. "Unfortunately, I don't think the offer is still open… but seeing your classmate's movie in the auditorium seems like it'd be cool, even if it's not quite the same thing! And if I get offered free tickets again, maybe I'll ask. Thanks!"

Suddenly the scissors Inui just bought appeared from somewhere, together with another pair of scissors that must have belonged to Riko. They floated through the room, bobbing gently.

"Huh…?" Riko said. "Those scissors are moving on their own!?"

"They're floating!" Inui said. "What's going on?"

Both pairs of scissors attacked the ribbon accessory that Himika was wearing, snipping it to pieces.

"And it cut your ribbon…" Inui said. "Sorry about that… I didn't expect that to happen…"

"W-whoa," Himika said. "The flying scissors gave me a scare, but… I don't mind it that much."

"Huh? Didn't you say that ribbon calms you down when you hold it?" Inui asked. "I thought you really loved it…"

"Well… I'm not really sure why I liked it," Himika admitted.

"Huh… really?"

"Yeah, looking at it now… it's really weird," Himika said. "Why did I even like it so much…?"

"Well, as long as you're okay with it, that's all that matters!" Inui said.

And just then, there was a flash of light, and Riko and Inui found themselves back in the room with all the doors.

"Oh! Now we're back where we started!" Inui said.

"Yeah, that's what it looks like!" Riko said.

"Okay… so we need to choose a medium door, right?"

"I guess so?" Riko said.

«Haha! You're back already!» that mysterious voice said. «That wasn't so hard, was it?»

"It's the voice from earlier!" Riko gasped.

"So is that what you wanted us to do?" Inui asked. "Just… solving problems like that? Like the rumour spreader thing said… if we solve the other two problems just like that one… then we can open the big door, right? And we'll get an awesome reward…?"

«Yes, yes, bravo, bravo!» the voice said. «You did well, so I'll give you some advice! Well, I'd give you some advice even if you failed though. My next advice is that all the problems that need to be solved have one thing in common, so keep an eye out for that! So, keep going! Why not take it up a notch? It'll be a little more difficult for you two.»

"Can you be any more vague!?" Inui protested.

There was no response however, and she sighed.

"And it doesn't even respond to questions once it's finished talking…"

"That's what you call a free-spirited… person… I think?" Riko said.

«No, no, I'm not a person! Just a guide!»

"Oh! It replied this time!" Riko said.

"Whatever!" Inui said. "Which door should we try next? It should be a medium one!"

Riko looked around and pointed at one.

"How about that one?" she suggested.

"Why that one in particular?" Inui asked.

"I dunno, it just seems kinda cool?"

"Well… I guess that's as good a reason as any?" Inui shrugged.

She tugged at the door, and the ribbons tying it came loose, allowing the door to open. The two of them headed inside and found themselves in a different house, this time in a living room with a rug and a low table. Mitama was there, looking startled, dressed in casual clothes – tight black pants and a white sleeveless turtleneck.

"Huh?" she said. "Oh my, did I fall asleep? That's not good… gotta wake up…"

"Ah! That's Miss Mitama!" Riko said.

"Riko-chan, is it? I can't believe you'd even come see me in my dreams," Mitama said, giggling a bit. "Although I'm fairly delighted…"

"So this is the Coordinator," Inui said.

"Sorry to bother you," Riko said. "This is my friend, Itsumi Inui!"

"Oh my, nice to meet you!" Mitama said. "I'm even meeting new people in my dreams now… I must really be tired…"

"So, this might seem totally random, but have you got anything on your mind?" Inui asked.

"Hmm… well… like the Mirror Witch?"

"Hmm," Inui said. "I'm not sure if that'll do… it seems too different from the last one. What about something not involving witches?"

"Why do you ask, anyway?" Mitama asked.

"Because I'm here to help!" Inui said.

"Hmm… now that you mention it… there is one other thing," Mitama said. "Maybe Riko-chan could understand it…?"

"Huh… me?" Riko said.

"Well, my little sister, who's about Riko-chan's age, had been looking down in the dumps," Mitama explained. "So I tried to make her some of her favourite sweets, but… she's even less energetic now… or at least, she was when I last saw her…"

"Huh? I don't get it," Inui said. "She didn't want her favourites?"

"What were you trying to make?" Riko asked.

"Candy!" Mitama said enthusiastically. "She loves candy! So I prepared a variety of ingredients! Flour of course, and sugar, soybean flour, chocolate, curry powder, mayonnaise, natto, horseradish, kimchi, shrimp, lemon, chilli pepper, soy sauce, pickled plums… I decided to mix my little sister's favourites with some secret ingredients to make it more luxurious!"

Riko lets out a shrill shriek.

"Y-you mixed all those things together…!?" she gasped.

Mitama nodded.

"T-that…" Inui said, blinking. "Um… c-could you just… wait a minute…?"

"Huh? Okay?" Mitama said.

Inui contacted Riko telepathically.

«Riko-chan… can you tell what she was trying to make from that…?»

«No… I have no idea,» Riko said. «But, I think I know why her little sister lost her energy…»

«Yeah… seriously, what was she even thinking…?»

Inui frowned a bit.

«So we somehow need to solve Mitamin's problem… and also save her little sister…»

«Y-yes, that's right!» Riko said.

«Hmm… what should we do…?» Inui wondered. «This is the type of thing where you gotta be firm… but we don't wanna be too rude, either…»

«Can't she just go buy some candy?» Riko suggested.

«It's worth a try,» Inui said. «Let's see if we can persuade her! It's easier than trying to change her cooking strategy!»

"So, Mitamin, I was wondering," Inui said out loud. "Couldn't you just go out and buy some candy? It'd be so much easier, right? A-and uhhh… it also comes all nicely packaged, too! Maybe that's uhh… part of the… experience…?"

"Hmm… wouldn't it be better to make it by hand, with love and care?" Mitama asked.

"Uhh… well… hmm… maybe your little sister feels bad about it taking up so much of your time…?" Inui suggested.

"I suppose it's possible," Mitama said. "But she shouldn't worry about that…"

"Um, plus, if her favourite sister gives her her favourite candy!" Riko piped up. "She'd be happy that you remembered her favourite… um… it'll make her feel better!"

Mitama blinked a few times.

"Hmm… I think I kinda get it? Alright! If Riko-chan says so… then I'll give it a try!"

Mitama blinked in surprise as the scissors suddenly appeared and attacked her ribbon accessory.

"And, there it goes again!" Inui said. "Sorry about that, by the way… your ribbon's all ruined…"

"No, that's quite alright," Mitama says. "I'm not sure why I liked that so much anyway…"

"Well… it looks like we did it!" Inui exclaimed. "That's two down now!"

"I'm so glad it worked out!" Riko said.

"That said," Inui said. "I'm just wondering, Mitamin, but… did you try any of the candy you made for her yourself?"

"Huh?" Mitama said. "But I made it for her…"

"Don't you think tasting it to make sure it's perfect is part of the love and care of cooking?" Inui said.

"You think so?" Mitama said. "There'll be less for her though if I do that…"

"If that's the only problem, all you need to do is make the batch a little bigger," Inui said.

"Oh, I never thought of that," Mitama gasped. "Hmm… thank you very much! You've given me so much to think about!"

At that point, there was a flash and the two of them were back in the room with all the doors.

«Haha! You were able to help someone with their problem… why are you so pale?»

"Mitamin's cooking skills are terrifying," Inui said, shaking her head.

"Miss Mitama really can't cook at all," Riko said, shuddering a little.

"Maybe that last tip I gave her can help her improve," Inui said. "We can only hope… if her tastebuds are all messed up too, tasting the food won't help her…"

«Now, because I'm so kind,» the voice said, «I'll remind you once more of something that you seem to have forgotten. Did you find something in common?»

"Oh, that?" Inui said. "That was sooo obvious. They're all gonna be family issues, right?"

«Well, I wonder,» the voice said. «Try the next door and see if you're right about that.»

"The way you say it, does it mean I was wrong?" Inui asked.

But the voice ignored the question and just continued talking.

«This next one may be a little tricky, but you have all the pieces, so I think you two can handle it, but it'll be tough. So here's a hint… it might be a good idea to look closely at the room on the other side of the door. There could be an important clue lying around.»

"That's such a blatant hint!" Inui gasped.

"So there'll be something in the room that gives us clues to the problem?" Riko said.

«Yes, yes!» the voice said. «If you can find the clues and solve the problem, you'll clear it! Although… if you push a little harder, you may be able to unearth an even better solution…»

"Ah!" Inui said. "My tip about Mitamin's cooking, doesn't that qualify as pushing a little harder?"

The voice didn't seem to want to answer though, so after a pause, Inui continued speaking.

"So it's more than just solving problems," she mused. "We need to find the best solution we can…"

"Hmm," Riko said. "That sounds difficult…"

"Hey, mister voice," Inui said. "If we can't solve a problem… what happens then?"

«You can't leave this place until you've solved all four problems,» the voice said.

"What…!?" Riko gasped.

"That sounds really scary!" Inui said. "I might never see Ashley-nee again!"

«Haha, I'm joking,» the voice said. «I won't do anything bad to you, so don't worry.»

"Oh, thank goodness!" Riko said.

"Still… what'll actually happen if we fail?" Inui asked.

But apparently the voice had decided not to answer again, so she sighed and looked around at the doors, eventually picking one at random and pulling it open. As before, the ribbons simply fell off as she tugged at the door.

This time the two of them found themselves in a bedroom, with a bed at one side and a desk at the other. There were a bunch of knitting supplies strewn around, and some finished products as well.

"Oh wow!" Inui said. "Knitting! That's amazing!"

"There are a lot of different accessories!" Riko said.

Suddenly Inui bent down to pick up a specific accessory. It was a hair scrunchy identical to the one Ashley had sent her a photo of a few days ago.

"Huh? This one looks familiar," she said.

"Huh?" a voice said. "Miss Itsumi and Riko-chan…?"

They turned to see Kokoro there, in her school uniform.

"Oh, hi, Koko-wan!" Inui said. "Sorry to disturb you while you're sleeping!"

"Um… are you in my dreams?" Kokoro asked. "Or in my room…?"

"Both, I guess?" Inui said. "It's kinda hard to explain. By the way… all this knitting stuff… are you perhaps, really good at knitting, Koko-wan?" She held up the scrunchy she'd picked up earlier. "This one's pretty nice!"

"Oh that," Kokoro said, sighing. "I don't use that one anymore…"

"Huh… why's that?" Inui asked.

"But it's so cute, though!" Riko said.

"I'm not sure about that," Kokoro said.

"Um… what's wrong?" Inui said.

"Oh, nothing!" Kokoro said, forcing a smile. "I just couldn't get it right! Don't look too closely, it's embarrassing!"

"Huh… I don't even know what you're talking about," Inui said. "I can't seen any flaws in it… you should be more confident in yourself… and Rii-chan's right, this is pretty cute."

"No, it's not cute at all," Kokoro retorted. "Because, my mom…"

"Oh, your mom…?" Inui said.

Kokoro sighed.

"Well… I gave Mom a matching one, but… I've never seen her use it, and… just yesterday, I saw it tucked away in the back of a drawer… I'm sure it bothered her because it wasn't cute…"

"Aww, Miss Kokoro…" Riko said.

"Hmm," Inui said. "I see, I see. This must be what Ashley-nee was telling me about last week… say, Koko-wan, your mother never actually said she didn't want it, did she? Did she even once come right out and say it was a bother?"

"No, but it seems that's how she feels," Kokoro said.

"Are you… close with your mom?" Inui asked.

"Well… we're not exactly distant," Kokoro said.

"I see… now I get it," Inui said. "Koko-wan… you misunderstood your mom's feelings. I even have proof!"

"Um… what sort of proof?" Kokoro asked.

"So you know something about this, Inui-nee?" Riko asked.

"Well, you see… a friend of mine ran into your mom a few days ago," Inui said.

"What…?" Kokoro gasped.

"She was on her way back to HQ when she saw this very scrunchy fall to the ground," Inui said. "Since it was so cute, she sent me a photo… so I'm certain it was the same one. And, you know what your mom apparently said when she gave it back? She said it was precious to her because her daughter made it for her! She was really glad she hadn't lost it!"

"N-no way!" Kokoro gasped.

"And she also overheard your mom muttering about putting it in a safe place so she wouldn't lose it again," Inui concluded.

"Oh, Mom…!" Kokoro said.

"I guess… how should I put this," Inui said. "There are some people who prefer to use their best stuff until it's worn out, and others prefer to save it for special occasions, storing it in a safe place the rest of the time."

"I see," Kokoro said. "So it's not because she didn't like it… she just didn't want to risk losing it again…"

"I can't imagine anyone disliking this scrunchy," Inui said. "Well… unless they hated pink… but I know you'd never make your mom something in a colour she hates, right?"

"Huh… you really think it's that great?" Kokoro said.

"Of course!" Inui said. "It's just like a flower! And flowers are pure awesome! Not to mention cute!"

Kokoro giggled. "Pure awesome, you say… yeah, I think you're right. I wanted to make Mom happy, so I tried to make it as cute as possible… I guess I should've been a bit more confident in my skills!"

At that moment, the scissors appeared once more, shredding the red ribbon accessory that Kokoro had been wearing.

"Oh!" Riko said.

"I guess that means your problems are solved," Inui said. "But… you know what? You still live with your mother… she's even a nice person… so don't you think you should tell her how you feel more often while you still can? Like, if you want her to use the scrunchy, you should just say so!"

"Ah, that's…" Kokoro said hesitantly. "Yeah… yeah, you're right. You're right, but it's a little difficult to say it…"

"You're scared?" Riko asked.

"Y-yeah…"

"So you need a way to find some courage, is that it?" Inui said. "Hmm… that's a tough one for me though… I'm the type to just charge in and do things. What do you think, Rii-chan?"

"Hmm… sometimes, when I'm scared, it helps to hug Mameji," Riko said. "It makes me feel really encouraged!"

"Ah, your dog? Hmm… a pet… or even a stuffed animal," Inui said. "Something cute, even… I guess that could be a sort of armour for you?"

"Yes!" Riko said. "I think so too!"

"Do you have something like that too, Koko-wan? Something to give you courage?"

"Ah," Kokoro said. "Actually… I think it's this scrunchy. It's probably just like Mameji is to Riko-chan, I think."

"Well then!" Inui said. "Get out there and tell your mom how you feel!"

"Yeah, thank you so much, Miss Itsumi… and Riko-chan too!"

Then there was another flash, and they found themselves back in the room with all the doors. As they watched, the ribbons on that big door came free and slipped down onto the floor.

«Haha! Well done!» the voice said. «You were able to solve the misunderstanding, and even give her a push to get her to tell her mother she wants her to use it! Bravo!»

"That one was tougher than the previous one," Inui said. "But I still did my best to go above and beyond! Still, this time the starring role went to Rii-chan."

«So then, have you figured out what they all have in common?» the voice asked.

"I'm sticking by my previous guess," Inui said. "But I'll add one more thing – that ribbon accessory. Everyone so far had one of those ribbons."

«Yes yes, correct correct! Now, there's only one big door, you know?»

"Right… so is there one more to come?" Inui asked. "Probably Ashley-nee, since she had a ribbon too…? But the fact that she's saved for last… her problem's even bigger than the others?"

«Good guessing! The last one is the biggest, most difficult problem. It's a little different, but the way to solve the problem is the same, so make sure you have no regrets.»

"Huh? What do you mean by that…?" Inui asked.

But it didn't respond.

"Aaaaand, it went silent again," Inui grumbled. "But look, the ribbon's gone!"

"Yeah, now we can open it!" Riko said.

"Let's gooo!" Inui said. "Ashley-nee, I'm coming!"

"Huh, you're sure it'll be Ashley-nee?" Riko said.

"Yeah, you didn't see it, but she definitely had a ribbon when I last saw her!" Inui said.

"But I can't imagine what kind of problems Ashley-nee might have," Riko said. "I hope it's not something to do with… you know…"

"I don't know either," Inui said. "Which is why, we've gotta get in there and find out! Let's go!"

This time, they ended up in an extremely messy apartment. The floor was strewn with so many clothes, books, and other paraphernalia that it was hard to find a safe place to step. In one corner was a bed, where a brown-haired young woman lay face-down, her hair all tangled and messy.

"Huh?" Inui blinked. "It's… not Ashley-nee…!?"

There was a desk shoved into another corner, with a director's chair in front of it, and a rather old-looking computer placed atop it. The desk was also messy, covered in papers, with barely enough space for the keyboard and mouse to be squeezed in. There was a video-game controller on the desk too. The walls were covered in posters bearing various anime girls, and Riko gasped as she spotted a familiar face, pointing.

"T-that's Tsukasa-chan!? And I guess her twin sister…?"

"Oh wow, you're right!" Inui said. "Though it's a cartoony version of her, but she's still pretty recognizable… huh? There's Miss Tomoe and her team… except it has Miss Sakura instead of Nagisa-chan… and Homu-chan has her hair braided and is wearing glasses. Oh! There's one of Nemu-chi and Miss Touka too! But who's the pink-haired girl with them…?"

Riko looked around a bit and gasped again.

"That one's Miss Kokoro! I don't recognize that white-haired girl with her, though…"

"Oh wow, you're right! And that one has Oriko and Kirika and Yuma-chan… there's one of Miss Mifuyu over there too… so many familiar faces! Anyone else you recognize, Rii-chan?"

Riko looked around a bit before shaking her head.

"No… I don't think so," she said. "Ah, no… that's Miss Mitama in the corner there, isn't it?"

"Ah, is that what her magical girl form looks like?"

"Yeah, we almost never see her out of it, actually," Riko said. "And I think that's Miss Izumi with her?"

"But this biggest poster… those five have gotta be the most important, right?" Inui mused. "I don't know any of them though… a blue girl with a spear… another pink-haired girl… orange girl with fans… yellow girl with a hammer… green girl with a shield… I gotta try and remember that… I bet it's important somehow…"

"Umm… the blue girl," Riko said. "I'm not quite sure, but… I think she might be Nanami Yachiyo… but I've only heard of her, so I can't be certain…"

"Oh! Nanami Yachiyo, huh? Interesting…"

At this point, the woman on the bed rolled over and sat up, rubbing at her eyes and blinking at them.

"Eh? Ahh… Riko-chan… Inui-chan…"

"Huh? How do you know us!?" Riko gasped.

"What? What are you talking about?" the woman asked.

"Um… I'm pretty sure I've never seen you before, miss… uhh…?"

"It's me… Ashley Taylor…"

"N-no way!" Inui gasped. "Ashley-nee's not that old!"

"Huh? I'm old?" the woman said, startled.

"Yeah! You look like a college student or something!"

The woman looked around the room, blinking.

"Huh? Come to think of it… this is my apartment back in Vancouver!?"

"Um… is Vancouver where you lived in California?" Riko asked.

"No, it's a big city in Canada," the woman said.

"Oh, wait a sec," Inui said. "I think I get it. You're not Ashley Taylor after all, right? You're Chelsea…"

"Huh?" Riko said. "Oh right, the other personality… but wait, why would the other personality be older? Shouldn't they be the same age?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you," Chelsea said. "But these aren't exactly normal circumstances…"

"Why do you have all those posters?" Riko said. "Tsukasa-chan, Miss Mitama, and all the others…"

"Um… I'd really rather not talk about that," Chelsea said. "Sorry… so I guess you're here as part of the Rumour of the Tangled Shrine, right?"

"Yeah," Inui said. "Which means we gotta solve your problems somehow, so… what's been bugging you lately, Ashley-nee?"

"Hmm… something about family, right?" Chelsea mused. "I can't think of anything though… unless Ashley's family counts…?"

"Well, Ashley's family is your family, right?" Inui said.

"I mean… sort of, yes?" Chelsea said. "I originally had my own parents, but I do think of hers as my parents too, now…"

"Well, let's try it," Inui said. "What's up with Ashley-nee's parents?"

"Dad's dying," Chelsea said. "He has an incurable disease… I don't know how much longer he has left. He was opposed to Ashley coming to Japan because he wanted to spend as much of his remaining time with her as possible… but I managed to talk him out of it… that's why I've been calling him twice a week ever since I came to Japan. It was his condition for allowing us to come. But anyway, I kinda feel sorry for him a bit, depriving him of precious time with his daughter…"

"Oh yeah, I noticed you were calling home rather a lot," Inui said. "So that was because of your father, huh…?"

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure he's still alive at the moment," Chelsea said. "At least, I haven't yet received the sign that he died."

"What sort of sign?" Riko asked.

"Before he dies, he'll ship me a stuffed animal that he thinks Ashley will like," Chelsea explained. "So, when that arrives, I'll know he's dead."

"Ah, because shipping overseas takes time," Inui nodded. "I get it… but the stuffed animal hasn't come yet?"

"Yeah, so he should still be fine," Chelsea said. "Plus I talked to him the day before yesterday, so…"

"I think I understand the issue," Inui said. "You're worried about Ashley-nee losing her precious dad, aren't you?"

"W-well… maybe a little?"

"I see, I see," Inui said. "But isn't the solution like… really obvious?"

Chelsea blinked at her. "Huh? What's so obvious about it?"

"Come on now, Ashley-nee! How many people do you know with healing powers!? Off the top of my head I can name Yuu-tan, Mado-tan, and Koma-chin, and I bet there are others too!"

"Yuma-chan, yes, and Moe-chan, and Hinata Matsuri, and I could probably go on and on," Chelsea said. "Uhh… but what's your point, exactly?"

"Well, why don't you just ask one of them to heal your father?"

"Huh? How's that supposed to work?" Chelsea asked. "I can't just drag one of them onto a plane on short notice! They might not even have passports!"

"Ah, that's actually a good point," Inui said. "Oh, wait! There's that girl! Hozumi Shizuku!"

"Huh? Shizuku? Oh, the one who can make portals…"

"Right, couldn't she just sneak you over with a healer or two?" Inui said.

"I'm not even sure if her portals can go that far," Chelsea said.

"It can't hurt to ask, can it?" Inui said.

"Plus, how am I supposed to get them into the hospital when they're there illegally and can't even speak fluent English?" Chelsea asked.

"I think you're being paranoid," Inui said. "No-one's gonna know they're there illegally, whatever that even means. You'd just be popping in and back out before anyone realizes. And they don't need to speak at all. You can do all the talking."

"I see… well, alright," Chelsea said. "I'll definitely give it some consideration, then. Thanks, Inui-chan."

Suddenly, those scissors appeared again, cutting Chelsea's ribbon accessory to shreds.

"Um… by the way, um… Chelsea-nee?" Riko said. "Um… are you feeling a bit… how do I put this… I mean, you had your own parents, but now Ashley's parents are your parents, so maybe it doesn't quite feel real?"

"Um… I suppose you might have a point, Riko-chan," Chelsea said. "Heck, maybe this entire ordeal doesn't quite feel real yet… despite witnessing tragedy several times already… or maybe even because of that…"

"So… I think you should tell your parents about your two personalities!" Riko said.

"Huh? Wait… how'd you even know I hadn't told them?" Chelsea said.

"Um, well… it just sort of… seemed that way to me," Riko said. "Because, you know… you used to be two separate people, right?"

"Ohh, that explains a lot!" Inui gasped. "I assumed she just developed two personalities, but…"

"Yeah, we were originally two separate people," Chelsea said. "I used to live in Vancouver… Ashley lived in Santa Cruz… and then one day we got mashed together. We even lived in different times, not just different places."

"Oh, so that's why your computer looks so old," Inui said.

"Yeah, but for its time it was reasonably up-to-date," Chelsea said.

"So as I was saying… I think your father deserves to know that he has another daughter!" Riko said. "After all… he's your father now, right?"

"Huh… I honestly never even thought of it that way," Chelsea said. "I suppose… if I do manage to save him… then I'll tell him all about it."

"Well then, seeya later, Ashley-nee!" Inui said.

"Yeah… I think it must be about time to wake up by now anyway," Chelsea said. "Ah, but just one thing… could you both promise not to share what happened here with anyone else? And Riko-chan, that also means you can't get a tune-up from the Coordinator, because she can see your memories."

"Oh… yeah, of course I'll promise," Inui said.

"Eh? No tune-ups?" Riko said. "B-but what if I really need one?"

"Come to me, and I can take you to someone else who can give you a tune-up," Chelsea said. "Or… if I've gone back in time again, then you don't need to worry anymore and can just go to Mitama."

"Oh, I see," Riko said. "And if you went back in time, it would be the end of the month… so I should be okay until then, at least… alright! My lips are sealed, and I'll stay away from Miss Mitama for the rest of the month!"

There was another flash, this time accompanied by a ripping sound, and Riko and Inui found themselves in a bright white space for a moment.

«Bravo! You've reached a happy end! I'll give you lots of gold stars! Well then, if you have any more problems, let's meet again! Bye-bye!»

And then, suddenly, they woke up, and Inui found a few gold cardboard stars scattered across her pillow.

"That's the awesome reward?" she muttered. "Cheapskate…"

---

"Right, it mostly came back to me," I say. "Damn… now Riko-chan and you know my secret… although, it could be worse. At least I know I can trust the two of you."

"Actually, I feel closer to you now that I know," Inui says. "So I'm really glad I stumbled into that rumour. But there's just one other thing I want to know… if you're from the past, how is it that you have posters of girls who weren't even born yet?"

"That… is still a secret, for now," I say. "But I'll tell you someday… maybe after Walpurgisnacht is beaten?"

"I'll hold you to that, Ashley," Inui says. "And don't think you can go back in time and make me forget, cause I'm coming with you if you do."

"Oh, you're dropping the honourific now?"

"Yeah, that's fine, right?"

"Of course… I said it was fine all the way back when I saved you from Yu, didn't I?"

"Oh yeah, so you did! I totally forgot! Oh, and you're forbidden from using honourifics on me from now on, got it?"

She suddenly grins at me.

"Ashley, Ashley, Ashley, Ashley!"

"W-what is it?"

"It's time to strip!"

"Um… you mean, get changed, right?"

"Yeah… that's… what I meant," Inui says.

So we get changed into our pyjamas and climb into the bed. She snuggles up to me, giggling a little, and falls asleep in no time, but I remain awake for a little while longer, musing on what I'd heard. It seems she managed to solve the problems in slightly different ways than the Ashley of the game, and in fact, even outperformed her in some small ways.

What an amazing little pink gremlin she is… she could even tell what Rui was thinking, and somehow she's become crucial to my quest to save everyone… how did that even happen? She was just a bit character in the game, but now, she's practically the co-star? It's so strange… but I can't say I mind. I've gotten pretty used to having her beside me, after all. If she disappeared… no, I don't even want to contemplate it.

Please… let this be the final run. It's at the point where it's starting to become overwhelming… if I have to do more than one or two more loops, I feel like I might go crazy. Although… at least if I do have to go back again, I'll have Inui by my side.

Alright. Tomorrow is the day when the Hohzuki team should be getting together to discuss the rumour of the ripper girl. In the first few timelines they followed that up with a witch hunt, which in the original source material led to Chisato's death, but this time… will things go differently? I suspect they will, so I'm going to check up on them tomorrow.

---

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.

Kobayashi Hoshiko
小林星子

Age: 15
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Sky blue
Origins: Matsumiya, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Green circle with kite-shaped hollow
Soul Gem: Purple ringed planet over her navel
Element: Null
Weapon: Mechanical drones
Powers: Nullification, soul gem interference
Wish: "Give me the power to end it all."

Speed: 2
Magical Stamina: 4
Offensive Power: 15
Defensive Power: 4
Initial Power Usability: 2
Learned Powers: 1

Mizuki Rui
水樹塁

Age: 14
Eye Colour: Red
Hair Colour: Ash blonde
Origins: Kosho Ward, Kamihama, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Green cat head
Soul Gem: Green irregularly-shaped gemstone on her left hip (like a skull with cat ears)
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Scythe
Powers: Perception and manipulation of fate
Wish: "Please heal my familiar's eyes."

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 5
Offensive Power: 4
Defensive Power: 7
Initial Power Usability: 4
Learned Powers: 0 (unknown)

---

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 (†).

Matasaburo† (Yoshida Tamura)

The Doppel of regret. Its form is a Valentine's chocolate. The master of this emotion, unable to overcome her shyness, allows the Doppel to run rampant, smashing everything scary in its path until it melts down into a puddle. This Doppel protects its master from the terrors of the outside world, not allowing her to escape.

Elsa Maria (Ayano Hikari)

The Doppel of self-righteousness. Its form is a shadow. The master of this Doppel continually prays for all of creation and drags all life equally into her shadow without breaking her posture. The only thing capable of breaking through her shell is the blackest anguish.

Linnaea† (Masumi Chihana)

The Doppel of recklessness. Its form is a lemming. The master of this Doppel refuses to stop and think first, so it always charges straight forward without regard for any danger ahead. If it encounters an obstacle in its path, this Doppel voraciously devours it before continuing on.

---

So, uhh… this could be a tough one, or it could be really easy, but I wonder if anyone can identify the unnamed girl who Ashley meets at Fendt Hope in this chapter? She's not an original character, just for the record. I'm not sure if I made her identity glaringly obvious or not.

If you're wondering why Matasaburo is marked as original, it's because there's no canonical doppel description for it in the game, so I had to make one up – the name is canon, but that's it. And if you're now wondering why Elsa Maria isn't marked original despite her also lacking a canonical doppel description in the game, it's because I cribbed it from her witch description, just lightly adapting it into the doppel format.

In case anyone's wondering, I designed Yoshida Tamura to be Kuro's identity right from the very beginning, well before the anime even hinted at her identity – even her personality is based on that equivalence. So, in this fic, the girl haunting Kuroe is not Kuro.

You may also notice that some events have occurred in this chapter that in the original game post-date Iroha's move to Kamihama but here pre-date it. That's not a mistake; I did that on purpose. Things need to shuffle around a bit in order for everything to even fit into the shorter original-anime time-frame.

The next chapter still isn't finished, so it'll be at least a week before it's posted.