CH 47

The Thing Reaching Out

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

–Tsugumi was running frantically down the street carrying Suzushiro, whose consciousness was clouded, on his back.

“Screw you! If you got beat up that bad, you should be dead already!”

He shouted this in frustration, but moved his feet without stagnation while keeping an eye on his back. The situation was very bad, to put it bluntly.

-After that, Tsugumi was able to get out of the burning maze and watch the building that used to be the maze burn and smoke from a short distance away.

“Even a Demonic Beast can’t survive in those flames. It’s only a matter of time before the barrier is lifted. …Oops, you can go back to sleep if you can’t stay awake, okay?”

“Yeah… It’s about time I reach the limit…”

When Tsugumi said this out of concern for Suzushiro, who was staggering, she collapsed onto Tsugumi’s shoulder and began to fall asleep. Apparently, she was pushing himself harder than she looked.

Then, after putting Suzushiro on his back to carry her easily, he began to walk toward where the others were waiting. –Shortly after that, something unusual happened.

A large piece of debris crumbled, and a volleyball-sized fireball covered in black flames flew right next to him. Blood poured from his cheek, which had been cut by the impact.

When he turned around, he saw a black shadow emerge from the collapsing maze.

–It was a Demonic Beast.

It was smaller than the blue Ogre, and its entire body was covered in a rugged black suit of armor. Black flames were gushing out from the gaps in its armor, and given the circumstances, it was safe to assume that the earlier fireball was an attack from this beast.

Tsugumi looked at the scene and gave a dry laugh.

“This has to be a lie, isn’t it?”

–I haven’t heard about this.

Judging from the battle with Mibu, the estimated difficulty level of that Demonic Beast was E-class. Under normal circumstances, it would be strange if it didn’t die from its injuries in the maze. It was impossible to think that it would revive with new abilities in this way.

After thinking that much, Tsugumi firmly supported Suzushiro and tried to leave the place as fast as he could. He didn’t have time to think about this. As long as the Demonic Beast was alive, the only thing he could do was to run away with Suzushiro in his arms.

But almost as soon as he started to run, the black Ogre followed suit.

–It’s fast!

Its speed was almost as fast as the speed at which he was running now. If Tsugumi slowed down even a little, it could easily catch up. And that Ogre also had a long-range attack method like a fireball. If he wasn’t careful, there was a high possibility that he would be finished off in an instant.

Tsugumi wondered if he should wake Suzushiro up, but he quickly shook his head. Her skill was powerful, but its use was limited. In this situation, even if she used her skills, she would not be able to get away.

Then they were back to the initial problem, but Tsugumi’s spirit was near its limit. He was losing his nerve as the distance between him and the attacker was gradually closing, and he was dodging the occasional fireball from behind. With the possibility of death at any moment, Tsugumi frantically analyzed his escape route.

–I can’t just head out to where everyone is waiting. We need to choose a path with some obstacles to buy more time.

…At this point, Tsugumi had completely given up on the dying Magical Girl. Now that the Rikka, the one he relied on, was unable to move, there was no longer any way to defeat the Ogre. The only thing that Tsugumi could do was to keep running away from the Ogre until the Magical Girl, the Master of the barrier, died. As long as his own life was in danger, he couldn’t care about other people.

While protecting Suzushiro on his back, he sensed the slightest killing intent and avoided the flame bullet. The number of fine scratches on his body increased, and he gradually lost the ability to move his legs. Still, Tsugumi could not stop his footsteps. But the limit would soon come.

“–Ah.”

Tsugumi stumbled over a stone at his feet and lost his position. –The Ogre didn’t miss that opportunity.

A black flaming bullet came flying at him from behind. Tsugumi tried to change his position, but he couldn’t avoid it for half a step. With unsettled thoughts, he quickly twisted his body to protect Suzushiro, and closed his eyes.

–In this position, it wouldn’t hit a vital spot. Even if he got injured, he should still be able to move.

He had not given up. Tsugumi had no intention of dying here. And so he gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the impact to come.

But the pain never came.

“…What?”

He opened his eyes and looked behind him.

–There was a person wearing a white hooded cloak. The hood had long rabbit-like ears that swayed in the wind.

The figure stood in front of the Ogre, holding a large board out in front of them like a shield, as if to protect Tsugumi.

At first, Tsugumi thought he had succeeded in stalling the attack. He thought that the dying Magical Girl had died and she had come in to replace her. But an unusual sense of déjà vu negated that.

–He “knew” who it was.

His body shuddered. Physiological tears welled up, and a sob-like voice escaped. He didn’t want to believe it. But the reality in his eyes denied it.

–Why. Why. That person alone – she shouldn’t have become a Magical Girl!

Tsugumi cried out in a trembling voice.

“Ah, ah! Chidori!? Why you!!”

Hearing his cry, the white hooded figure–Chidori–turned and smiled sadly.

“…I’m sorry, Tsugumi.”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

After Tsugumi disappeared into the maze with the Ogre in tow, Chidori walked quickly to the place where Itadori was waiting with an unsettled feeling.

–I’m sure there’s a reason for this, but you don’t have to take Tsugumi as well.

Chidori was really worried about Tsugumi. Not just today, there had been many times when that little brother had stepped into danger the moment she took her eyes off him.

Because of this, she was aware that she had been more overprotective than she should have been since they were kids. But since Tsugumi himself was hardly aware of the danger he was taking, Chidori’s effort couldn’t be measured.

Up until now, Chidori had been lucky and they had been able to spend time without serious injury, but the hospitalization at the end of the year had made her inevitably anxious.

That was why, upon returning to the waiting area, Chidori decided to leave Yumeji in charge of the unconscious Mibu and return to the place where the maze was located.

Along the way, Chidori recalled the conversation she had had with Mebuki earlier.

–Mebuki had determined their relationship as codependent.

Their attachment to each other was far too great, even discounting the fact that they were the only two people in the family. At that time, Mebuki suggested that they should have a thorough DNA test to clarify their blood relationship, but Chidori rejected the suggestion.

Although she did not doubt her blood relationship with Tsugumi, she was afraid.

If I am not Tsugumi’s sibling– Just thinking about it made her shake with fear. It was as if her world would be fundamentally changed.

“Mebuki-senpai said that the relationship between me and Tsugumi was distorted. But still, I…”

–Nanase Chidori truly loved Nanase Tsugumi. Not as a member of the opposite sex, but as a family. But what if the two were not related by blood?

What would I do if that premise collapsed? She didn’t even want to think about it.

With a trace of anxiety in her heart, Chidori continued to run. And when Chidori reached the burning maze, she saw something unbelievable.

“No way…”

The figure of Tsugumi running away from the direction Chidori had run. The black Ogre ran after the two of them, roaring.

Staring at them as they swallowed their screams and ran off, Chidori muttered in dismay.

“…Suzushiro-san failed? No, but that Ogre’s appearance is different from the blue Ogre from earlier, no matter how you look at it. Could it be a new kind of Demonic Beast?”

While saying so, Chidori could only hug her shaking body. The black Ogre was probably more formidable than the blue Ogre that she just saw. It was as fast as Tsugumi, and from what she’d seen, it had the means to attack from a distance.

–If the black Ogre caught up to Tsugumi.

No doubt, Tsugumi would surely die. The chances of escaping were higher if he abandoned Suzushiro on his back, but she just couldn’t imagine that Tsugumi would make that choice.

“What should I do? How can I help Tsugumi?”

–Run and become the decoy.

Impossible. If she did that, on the contrary, Tsugumi would move to attract the Ogre’s attention.

-Wake Mibu up and have her fight.

Even if she woke up, she probably couldn’t fight or make it back in time if they went back now.

She thought of several ideas to break out of the current situation, but they were all unfeasible and lacked decisive action. Then, Chidori came up with a plan that she hadn’t dared to think about.

“If we can get our hands on the Magical Girl lying in the plaza, or…”

And if the newly dispatched Magical Girl came here, everything would be solved. …But that would mean the social death of Chidori.

No matter what the circumstances might be, anyone committing murder would be sentenced to the death penalty. In the first place, injuring a Magical Girl was much more serious than committing an ordinary crime. Considering the social importance of Magical Girls, that wasn’t surprising. Even if they could get through this situation, Chidori and Tsugumi could no longer be together.

She squeezed her trembling hands and closed her eyes. Even as she pondered this, Tsugumi was in danger. –A decision had to be made.

“Huh, uh…”

Tears slipped from her closed eyes as she sobbed. She knew what she had to do to save Tsugumi, but her heart denied it.

For better or worse, Chidori was a good person. It wasn’t easy to be ready to kill someone.

“Are you that worried about your brother?”

Someone said so near Chidori who was crying. Inorganic, youthful voice. Chidori opened her eyes and looked around. But nobody was there.

“Who are you?”

When Chidori asked this question with alarm, the owner of the voice said, “Look down.” Chidori fearfully obeyed the voice and looked down, and there was a white rabbit. Its golden eyes stare at Chidori as if they were assessing her.

“Let me ask you a question. Little girl, can you stand by your brother’s side no matter what?”

Chidori was puzzled by the white rabbit’s abrupt words, but nodded her head firmly. It was only natural that Chidori would take Tsugumi’s side.

-But why is this white rabbit asking such a thing? Before Chidori could ask about the true reason, the white rabbit continued.

“Little girl. What is your name?”

“Chidori. ….Nanase Chidori.”

Chidori answered in confusion and the white rabbit continued matter-of-factly.

“I see. Chidori, your brother will die at this rate. You understand that, don’t you?”

“That’s…”

Chidori bit her lip at those words. She knew that without being told. That was why Chidori was at loss.

–But if. If there’s another way, I would choose anything over killing people.

Perhaps sensing Chidori’s hesitation, the white rabbit made a suggestion.

“-Hmm. Then, let’s make a contract.”

“…Eh?”

“Chidori. I will give you the power to fight. –In exchange, you will fulfill my ‘wish’ when you are done.”

The White rabbit narrowed its eyes and held out a small white hand toward Chidori.

“Choose. I won’t say it twice.”

Chidori’s tear-stained eyes widened as she stared at the white rabbit. –This was a ‘solicitation’ from God.

Chidori was now at a crossroads in her life. Yes–whether to become a Magical Girl or not.

She had heard that stray Magical Girls need to respond to God’s request as well as grant their wish.

Even if she asked what that wish was, it probably wouldn’t answer. What this God in the form of the white rabbit asked from her was only two options: to accept it or not. If Chidori uttered any other words, it would disappear like a dream.

In that case, Chidori’s answer had already been decided.

Chidori thought about Tsugumi as she quietly crouched down on the spot.

–I’m sure he’s going to get angry.

Tsugumi would never allow Chidori to become a Magical Girl. She could easily imagine him yelling at her to retire immediately because it was too dangerous.

Chidori laughed a little and took the white rabbit’s hand. She bowed reverently and said.

“Please lend me your strength. –I want to save Tsugumi.”

“–The contract is completed.”

With these words, a soft, warm breeze surrounded Chidori. Watching the gradual change in her clothes, Chidori asked the white rabbit.

“God, what do I call you?”

The white rabbit tilted its head, as if thinking about something. Then it turned its back to Chidori, looked up at the sky, and said.

“That’s right… You can call me Shiro. –Now, hurry up if you’re ready. We don’t have much time.”