November 17th
“…Eat your meal.”
“…Okay.”
Yuki felt a sense of gratitude even while looking at a simple meal of pickled plums, stir-fried anchovies, and miso soup.
She could eat without having to kill the monsters raining down like black rain from the sky.
There was a warm blanket in a house, so she didn’t have to burn the soil contaminated by the monsters’ poison and lie down.
She didn’t have to worry about whether the raider Magical Girls had set traps to steal her starlight.
Slurp…
The miso soup, clumsily made by Dad, felt warm going down her throat, and it made her shed a few tears.
“…Sniff.”
“…….”
Shikishima Ryota awkwardly looked at his daughter, who suddenly bowed her head on the table and cried, and handed her a few tissues.
A week ago.
His daughter, who had spent time outside without going to school, suddenly ran into the house and hugged Ryota, who had been drunkenly asleep. Yuki repeatedly touched Ryota’s face as if she couldn’t believe he was there, and she screamed.
“Ah, Dad…!!!”
“Yuki…!?”
Even after becoming a Magical Girl, Ryota couldn’t treat his daughter as he used to because the memory of her face melting before his eyes haunted him. The father and daughter had slowly drifted apart due to guilt towards each other, but they finally hugged for the first time in five years.
Waaah…
“Uu…Uuuh! Sniff…!”
Seeing his small, delicate daughter bury her face and cry made Ryota suddenly tear up as well, and the two of them embraced each other and wept for a long time. Ryota cried so much that he lost all energy to go out for a drink, and after years, he went grocery shopping with Yuki and had a meal with her.
“…….”
“…….”
The awkwardness and guilt that had built up between them over the years didn’t disappear in an instant, but at least they made a promise to eat together. They slowly started to get closer, accompanied by unexpected tears.
Yuki calmly shared the difficulties of school life that she had not been able to express before with Ryota, and the two awkwardly held hands and consulted with the teacher.
Due to a proposal for flexible attendance regarding Magical Girls, Yuki was able to have her attendance counted and decided to take a break from school for the remaining period.
“…Take a bath first.”
“…Okay.”
After finishing her meal and soaking in warm water, Yuki quietly cried again because the bathtub was too warm. After taking a bath, Yuki wrapped a towel around her damp hair and entered her room.
My room.
The scratches on the wall where I had recorded my height until I was 9 years old.
The middle school uniform hanging on top of the wardrobe.
The narrow, old desk and boxes of bandages bought for the burns.
The blanket that Mom had sewn before she passed away.
Using her flame magic, Yuki skillfully dried the moisture from her hair and carefully wrapped herself in the blanket before lying down.
As she closed her eyes, she caught a faint whiff of her mother’s scent coming from the stuffed toys next to her pillow.
‘Ahh…’
If this is a dream, please let it not break.
“…….”
But Yuki couldn’t simply fall asleep. Habitually, she took out her red glass star, which she had kept in view while bathing.
“…There really is only one light left.”
The star, which had grown brighter with every battle and accumulation of magic, had once shone like the sun just before the final trial, but now it emitted a pitiful glow. It had become a 1-Star born with only one light instead of three brilliant lights.
“Although I returned… something felt off…”
While she was deliriously happy to be reunited with her dad, she was surprised to see a Blooming Magical Girl wandering the streets. For Yuki, Blooming Magical Girls had only appeared after the war in 2012.
“Magical Girls in Japan were all caught in the struggle of [War] and were cruel…”
They had no qualms about killing each other.
They would kill innocents without a second thought for a single meal.
The act of stealing and being stolen had become an everyday occurrence…
“…Magical Girls of [Start].”
A girl appeared and shouted to the adults.
Magical Girls shouldn’t be tainted by the greed of adults as they blossom into dreams.
Thus, she accumulated numerous achievements and led the Magical Girls toward hope.
Japan had quickly transformed into a realm of [Start], no longer marked by [War].
For Yuki, it was an ‘unwritten history’ and a rather awkward situation.
The regression magic she had executed to return to the first turning point of her life at age 9 had somehow brought her back to the day she decided to run away, which was relatively recent. And thus, the Japan she returned to was a world filled with hope under the guidance of the Magical Girls of [Start].
“…I want to meet her. I wonder if the chance will come.”
The brutal [War].
The apathetic [Revelation] and [Death].
The incomprehensible [Plague].
After the second Red Broadcast, the four born 3-Star Magical Girls that appeared were, unlike other Magical Girls who showed some humanity, somehow mechanical and frightening. As if they were judging to forcefully continue [Magical Girl HAZARD]…
‘Why aren’t they trying to protect the people!!’
‘That is not our given role.’
They simply continued to manage their domains indifferently in the North and South, somewhere in the sea, and in Japan.
No matter what the Evil Gods said or how the monsters came down, they didn’t care if it wasn’t their territory.
But [Start] was different.
Even if it was an unknown past, her voice speaking of dreams and hope on the broadcast felt genuine. Despite being a pitiful 1-Star Magical Girl herself, she wanted to assist in creating a better future by meeting her.
While explaining the achievements of her comrades who vanished beneath the flame of regression, she wanted to inform them of the direction they should head.
She wanted to speak and hold hands about how great their accomplishments were.
“Would anyone believe me if I said I have a future that only I know?”
With the fear of an ‘unknown past,’ along with a glimmer of hope that perhaps she could become a comrade to face that nightmarish future together.
“A place… where I… can exist…”
Yuki slowly fell asleep, wishing that the Magical Girl of [Start] would be kind like she appeared on the debut broadcast.
The announcement for the <1st Magical Girl Friendship Mock Battle Tournament> sent by the Walpurgis Council quietly rose over Yuki’s glass star.
＊
Ichika was feeling down.
“Sigh… I’ve completely lost it.”
While using the public restroom and idly scrolling through her smartphone, watching a Hong Kong martial arts movie, she unconsciously set her phone on the tank of the toilet as she prepared to leave…
Splash!
“What?!”
Ichika gasped at the sound that should not have been heard.
The tank of the old public restroom was cracked, causing her smartphone to sink beneath the surface.
“No!!! No!!! Aaaahhhh!!!”
Splash!
Rushing to retrieve her smartphone, she nervously touched it, but the screen was flickering.
There might have been a slight chance if she had quickly powered it down and rushed to the service center, but in her panic, Ichika repeatedly pressed the power button to turn it on and off…
“……”
Devastated by the ridiculous turn of events, she lay quietly at home.
She thought about trying to create a new one with magic at the glass star shop, but most electronic devices made that way quickly disappeared. Deciding against unnecessary actions, she quietly made plans to work more hours.
“Huh? Captain? Are you tired of Hong Kong movies now?”
When Kyoko, who had returned from work at the café in the evening, cheerfully asked, Ichika remained quietly lying down. Kyoko proceeded to prepare dinner.
Slurp…
Slurp…
After sharing udon, Ichika washed the dishes and lay down again.
“Hmm? Captain? Aren’t you going out today?”
“……”
…Sometimes, even the tough guys of Tokyo should have a breather, don’t you think?
Thinking about it, the legend of the green rogue wouldn’t easily fade away, even if she went out for only a day.
Yeah.
Today, at least, her fists did not roar.
Kyoko looked at Ichika, puzzled by her abnormal behavior, and said.
“Oh, Sato asked me to play in the garden square, so I’m off!”
“……”
Pop!
Without even looking at the bright light of Kyoko disappearing into the corner of the room, Ichika was estimating how she could quickly earn money by hopping on and off at a certain time.
Ding!
“Eh?”
Small text began to rise slowly over Ichika’s green glass star.
<1st Magical Girl Friendship Mock Battle Tournament>
– To help Magical Girls apply their abilities in realistic situations in preparation for dangerous circumstances, this matter was decided by the Walpurgis Council…
– The arena, made of the illusion barrier of [Start], will allow Magical Girls to conduct mock battles under completely identical conditions without suffering any harm…
– A public mock battle will be conducted for all Magical Girls belonging to the respective domains…
– Participation applications will be accepted through the glass star, and anyone can withdraw at any time…
– The matches of Magical Girls who passed the preliminaries in the 4 sections will be broadcast live…
[Top-ranking Magical Girls will receive smartphones, electronic devices, clothing, cosmetics, and other products sponsored by various companies…]
“Smartphone?”
Smartphone.
A product that’s a smartphone.
“Count me in!!!”
Ichika rapidly tapped her green glass star to express her intention to participate and jumped up from her spot.
“Well, it seems I shouldn’t skip even a day of going out! Hahahahahaha!”
[Transformation!]
Revitalized, Ichika dashed into the night streets of Tokyo, waving her green sailor uniform.
“Wait for me, smartphone!! Hahahahahaha!!!”
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