Magical Girl Raising Project, Vol. 1

by Asari Endou

  Fav: but it seems we’re missing a few people today, pon

  Fav: I hope they don’t think they can just check the logs later, pon

  Fav: No one here seems to be talking much either

  Fav: so let’s try to make this a little more bright and fun, pon

  Fav: That’s what magical girls are all about, pon

  Fav: Now, back on topic

  Fav: Let’s talk about something happier, pon

  Fav: A new girl will be joining us this week~ Clappy clap~

  Fav: Um… She doesn’t appear to be here

  Fav: She’s probably just shy, pon

  Fav: Still, please try to attend next week, okay?

  Fav: Promise Fav, pon

  Fav: Next, what you’re all most interested in…

  Fav: Time to announce who has the least candy this week, pon

  Fav: This week, it was…

  Fav: Ruler

  Fav: Hmm, too bad, pon

  Fav: It looks like you tried really hard, but you just barely lost, pon

  Fav: Hey, hey. Say all you like, Fav is in a pickle, too, pon

  Fav: Oh, and this week’s top earner was Snow White, pon

  Fav: Congrats on two weeks straight~!

  Fav: Everyone, gather lots of candy and aim for the top, pon

  Fav: Well, see you all here next week, pon

  Fav: Bye-bye~!

  The chat ended—only Tama, Swim Swim, the Peaky Angels, Ruler, Cranberry, and Fav had been in attendance. Everyone was probably on high alert and considered the others their enemies.

  “Man, that worked perfectly!” “So magi-cool, huh?”

  The fading light illuminated the run-down temple grounds of Ouketsuji in Nishizenmon. The Peaky Angels weren’t even attempting to hide their glee as they high-fived, clapped, and hugged. They paid Tama and Swim Swim no mind—the former’s expression was mournful, while the latter displayed no emotion. This elicited more from the angels.

  “The nasty girl is gone!” “Ms. I’m-better-than-you!” “Ms. I-won’t-share-the-candy!” “Ms. You’re-nothing-but-idiots-and-morons!” “Seriously, what a nasty girl.”

  To the Peaky Angels, Ruler had been nothing but terrible. She was haughty, greedy, and whenever she opened her mouth it was to insult or belittle. Had she known how Minael and Yunael had talked behind her back?

  In Tama’s eyes, Ruler had been a scary person. Her reasons were the same as the twin angels’.

  But Swim Swim had known—to the three of them, on some level or another, Ruler was a hindrance. So much so that they would easily agree to getting rid of her.

  “So, what do we do with this?” “Take it out into the mountains and bury it?” “It should be easy with your magic, Tama.” “You can whip up a hole in no time.”

  Minael, Yunael, and Swim Swim were discussing the body of a perfectly ordinary young woman in her late twenties. She had on a cardigan over her pajamas and sandals on her feet.

  “Do we really have to go to all that trouble, though?” “Oh, good point.” “Let’s just dump her somewhere in the middle of the night. Someone will find her in the morning.” “Yeah, let’s do that.”

  Ruler had screamed “Why?! How?!” until her very last breath. Even lying on the ground as a normal human, her hands were outstretched as if she were trying desperately to grab on to something.

  Swim Swim stood up and went over to Tama, who was hugging her knees, covering her ears, and shivering. Bending down to her eye level, she soothed her with a pat on the head. Tears welled in Tama’s eyes. Swim Swim relaxed her face, lifted the corner of her mouth slightly, and said simply, “It’s okay.” She patted the other girl on the head again. “I’ll take care of the body,” she declared, picking it up and slinging it over her shoulder.

  “You don’t have to do that, Swim.” “Yeah, yeah. You’re our new leader.”

  “We’re disbanding. You’re all free to do as you please.”

  Behind her the Peaky Angels still tried to argue, but Swim Swim ignored them and pushed open the temple doors. As always, they creaked loudly. She remembered how, when Ruler was alive, she had told them to oil it.

  Swim Swim ducked into a Nishimonzen alley. No moon was out. Compared to other areas, Nishimonzen had barely any streetlamps, some residents complained. But the local government never responded to the complaints, so the alley was dark. She couldn’t sense anyone following her. Ruler had always said, “You’re all free to do as you please” when she got fed up with them, but the angels and Tama seemed to be obeying.

  She had idolized Ruler. When she’d suddenly become a magical girl and had no idea what to do, it was Ruler who had come and taught her. She’d reminded her of the princesses in her dreams, and Swim Swim loyally carried out her teachings.

  “Your leader must be the object of your affection. The organization is most effective when everyone tries to imitate her.”

  And so Swim Swim obeyed. Her mentor was a princess, and princesses were always right. She was strong, clever, lovely, and overflowing with leadership. Swim Swim tried to be like her, but Ruler herself was the biggest thing in the way of that goal. Two rulers meant that neither was truly in charge, because a ruler stood above all. Swim Swim adored and revered Ruler, but in order for her to take the final step, her leader had to die. The night she realized this, Swim Swim threw up everything she’d eaten that day and broke into a fever. She’d skipped two days of school. But it had to be done. Swim Swim wanted to be like Ruler more than anything.

  But Ruler’s magic was powerful. Swim Swim would have to work hard to take her out. She knew the Peaky Angels and Tama were unhappy with Ruler, but even with their help, she would still have to deal with the leader’s orders. She decided to wait for the right opportunity.

  It wasn’t long before that chance presented itself: the plot to steal Snow White’s magical candy. Of Snow White’s nearly 50,000 pieces of candy, she took 37,000, grabbed the dazed Tama underneath the steel tower and forced 35,000 onto her, and reported to Ruler that there had only been 2,000 pieces. The 35,000 pieces she’d given to Tama she split evenly between all the magical girls except for Ruler, Snow White, and La Pucelle. Some were suspicious, some were on guard, some were openly hostile, and some fired before asking questions. Nobody welcomed them, even though they were there to share their candy, but nobody turned it down.

  She’d used Fav to contact the others. His connection with everyone allowed him to contact any magical girl, even if they tried to hide where they were. Fav was short-spoken and tended to not explain well, but he tried to help as much as he could when they asked. Swim Swim had learned this from Ruler, too.

  Divided among eleven people, the 35,000 pieces gave them 3,180 each. She’d left Snow White with more than 10,000 pieces, meaning if she split evenly with La Pucelle, they’d each have 5,000. And so Ruler, convinced that her 1,044 pieces meant she couldn’t possibly get the ax, ended up with the lowest amount of candy.

  The Peaky Angels had enthusiastically agreed to the plan, and Tama, though clearly a little guilty, also agreed. They accepted Swim Swim as their leader.

  She had succeeded in taking out Ruler without giving her a chance to use her magic or even realize she’d been betrayed.

  She laid the body at the end of the main street. It was light to carry, even for someone without magical strength, and long gone cold.

  “Good-bye, and thank you for everything.”

  Swim Swim bowed deeply, turned her back on Ruler’s corpse, and disappeared into the darkness of the alley. Ruler was gone, but she’d left behind her many teachings. No matter what the future held, she’d stay true to them. Wiping a tear with her fingertip, Swim Swim ran off into the gloom.

  CHAPTER 3

  THE MAGICAL KNIGHT

  As the days went by, the leaves on the evenly spaced gingko trees lining the main street turned from green to yellow, completing their transformation. It felt like just yesterday that the sun was high even during evening, which made the rust-red sky seem
lonely and almost colder than a normal winter’s day.

  Shizuku Ashu drew the curtains closed and spoke to the room.

  “People look so small from a sixth-floor apartment. The smaller they look, the less human they seem.”

  “You think so too, Shizuku?”

  “I suppose it’s not very magical girl–esque of me to say.”

  “But it’s certainly Shizuku-esque of you to puzzle over ideas.”

  Nana Habutae chuckled, and Shizuku’s expression softened. It seemed like ages since she’d last smiled. Whether as Nana Habutae or as Sister Nana, she only wore sadness and tears lately, never smiles.

  The apartment was in Nana’s name, but Shizuku was practically her roommate. She came and went freely, returning to her own place barely even once a week.

  Shizuku had been popular in middle and high school. Ever since childhood, she had received compliments for her face, fair as an angel’s or an elf’s, and becoming Winterprison didn’t change her outer appearance much. She was most certainly a girl, but the androgynous and mysterious air around her made her popular with about 30 percent boys and 70 percent girls. She had experience with both, having dated both sexes, but none of those relationships ever lasted very long. However, her relationship with Nana had lasted, uncharacteristically so.

  The two first met in a university seminar. Eventually they became friends, spending weekends together, and Nana showed Shizuku the game she’d been playing recently, Magical Girl Raising Project. Thus, it seemed like fate that when she was chosen, Nana was, too. However, that wasn’t the reason they remained together. Shizuku wasn’t a doe-eyed young girl, enamored with “soul mates” and the like—she’d been drawn to Nana since before her transformation.

  “I guess her smile’s just too cute.”

  “Did you say something?”

  “No, just muttering to myself.”

  She sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and rested her weight on the armrest. Nana constantly insisted it was unsightly, that it could hardly be comfortable, and that it looked like a monk’s self-flagellation, but this position was most relaxing to Shizuku. She could only be like this when she was in a safe place, free of the danger of being attacked.

  The bookshelf was packed with romance novels, manga, and collections of romantic poems, and the light pink wallpaper, upon close inspection, bore a faint heart pattern. Pinned to a corkboard were pictures of Sister Nana and Winterprison, aka Nana Habutae and Shizuku Ashu, smiling. One in particular drew Shizuku’s eye, and she stood up. One of its corners was bent, so she flattened it out and made sure it was straight, then returned to the couch.

  “You’re such a perfectionist.”

  “Some would just call it fussy.”

  “So you’re aware, then?” Nana laughed again. “Don’t make me laugh while I’m dealing with fire.”

  “Is today’s menu curry?”

  “Close, but no cigar.”

  “Then is it stew?”

  “That’s right, a spikenard cream stew. It’ll take a while to remove the bitterness, so be patient, okay?”

  Shizuku’s expression clouded, in stark contrast to Nana’s as she lightly stirred the pot with a ladle. Spikenard? Cream stew? It’s not even the season for them…

  Nana was constantly worrying about the fact that she was heavier than normal. Because of this, she refused to eat what she would have liked to in the name of her diet.

  “You don’t need to suffer to get skinny. Besides, your roundness is healthy and, more importantly, cute.” The one time Shizuku had tried to give her heartfelt advice, Nana had ignored her for three days. You’re skinny when you transform into a magical girl, so what’s the problem? she thought to herself, but made sure to never say it out loud. She could never understand Nana’s maiden heart, but she had to pretend to or she would get the cold shoulder again.

  Lately Nana had not only restrained her appetite, but tried to limit herself to vegetables. Somehow she procured mountain vegetables for dishes Shizuku had never heard of. Of course, alien dishes meant alien flavors, and each new one puzzled Shizuku.

  Still…

  It’s just good to see her smiling, she thought.

  Nana was normally a cheerful girl, and she had glowed with joy over being able to save others as a classic heroine. But ever since the number of active magical girls within the city had hit sixteen and they had been forced to fight one another, that glow had faded.

  Shizuku—Winterprison—knew what she had to do.

  Nemurin. Ruler. So far there had been two. Only six remained to be cut. She had to make sure Sister Nana did not end up one of them. Just imagining her death broke Shizuku’s heart.

  Something hadn’t seemed right about Ruler’s demise, and Swim Swim’s offer of a massive amount of points for free was definitely related. Some among them weren’t content to simply gather candy like the rules stated.

  She picked up the glass fish decoration on the table and peered through it at Nana working in the kitchen. The distorted figure of the other girl appeared much slimmer. A smile crept onto her face, so to disguise it she called out to Nana.

  “Let’s go out after we eat. You have any plans today?”

  “I was thinking of going to Mount Takanami.”

  “I don’t approve of you going out too far. It’s dangerous right now.”

  “I’ll be fine with you around. But I really must go today.”

  “Why?”

  “The Musician of the Forest, Cranberry, contacted me and insisted we meet. Maybe she’s heard about our efforts. Maybe this time she’ll agree to help…”

  Nana smiled weakly. She was probably stressed because Top Speed hadn’t reacted favorably and Ripple was pretty much hostile. Shizuku just wanted to give her a hug.

  The meeting was at two in the morning, in a quarry at Mount Takanami.

  The Musician of the Forest, Cranberry—Nana had seen her in chat before, but had never met her in real life. She had only “seen” her and not “talked with” her because, though Cranberry had a high chat attendance rate, she hardly ever said anything. All she did was serenade them with background music. She was a mysterious one. Didn’t everyone who attended the chat—except for Winterprison, who was only there to accompany another—do so because they wanted to talk? But despite the fact that she attended every chat, she remained silent and never interjected.

  Sister Nana was excited for a potential new comrade, but Winterprison was on her guard. Sometimes the ones with no obvious goals or principles were more trouble than those who were openly dangerous.

  Cranberry arrived right on time.

  “Good evening, Sister Nana. Weiss Winterprison.”

  “Good evening, Musician of the Forest, Cranberry.”

  “Just Cranberry is fine, Sister Nana.”

  “Very well, Cranberry. I’ve seen you many times in chat, but this is our first time meeting in person.”

  “You two are just as I imagined. I’m a little surprised.”

  While Winterprison simply lowered her head slightly and gave a curt “Thanks,” the other two conversed merrily and easily. In chat, Cranberry was stubbornly taciturn, but actually talking to her, she seemed like a modest adult woman fluent in societal niceties.

  Long, pointed ears poked out from beneath her casually flowing blond hair, while thin vines dotted with flowers of all sizes wrapped around her shoulders, feet, waist, and thighs. She wore a frilled blouse and grass green jacket held together by an amber pin, and the top half of her outfit seemed quite modest. But downstairs, her thighs were almost completely exposed, and this, combined with her twenty-year-old appearance—ancient for a magical girl—made it all the more stimulating. After listening to Sister Nana’s passionate proposal, she slowly opened her mouth.

  “I have a question for you, if that’s all right?”

  “Yes, please. We’ll answer anything we can.”

  “Could you stop this?”

  “Huh?”

  “Stop trying to spoil the
game.”

  Sister Nana turned to Winterprison for help. She seemed absolutely baffled. Winterprison removed her right hand from the pocket she’d stuck it in, and a smile crept onto Cranberry’s face.

  “Err… What is the meaning of that?”

  “Exactly what you think it means.”

  Winterprison took a step forward in front of the confused Sister Nana, shielding her.

  “Winterprison. I’ve wanted to fight you since the day I heard the rumors.”

  “What?”

  “That no one’s ever successfully made you use your right arm in hand-to-hand combat.”

  Winterprison quickly took note of her surroundings: to the right, a cliff; to the left, piles of gravel; below her, stones scattered about. The weather was fairly clear, and she could see no traps or ambushes prepared. The quarry was more accurately an abandoned quarry, as the construction company that owned the land had disbanded long ago. Everything valuable, from machines to supplies, had already been seized and dismantled, the useless junk left among the stones of various shapes and sizes. Cranberry’s courteous behavior remained unaffected. Her aura hadn’t changed, either.

  Slowly, she took a step forward.

  She was in range. The moment Winterprison realized this, Cranberry unleashed a lightning-fast high kick. Winterprison managed to block with her left arm, but the blow was heavy, and her bones creaked. The tremendous force tousled her scarf. With a small yelp, Sister Nana fell onto her butt.

  “That long scarf suits this quarry quite nicely.”

  Cranberry’s fingers shot toward her opponent’s face, causing Winterprison to use her magic—wall creation. The material of the walls changed depending on where she was, so in a quarry it was stone. Standing six feet high, three feet wide, and an inch thick, the monolith split the ground between them. Cranberry’s assault, however, pierced through it easily and turned it to rubble, forcing Winterprison to roll on the ground to dodge.

  Cranberry was stronger physically than the average magical girl, but she didn’t simply attack. She used martial arts. Beneath her movements flowed the confidence of a veteran. Without hesitation she had struck at the eye—and the brain right behind it. She was clearly aiming to kill.