Chapter 15: The State of Generational Change
What in the world had happened to her father and her boyfriend?
Hana Tanakaâs heart was a chaotic, churning maelstrom of anxiety. She had no idea if the two of them, the two most important people in her life, had simply⌠died⌠inside the silent, empty void of her private dimensional space.
Of course, she possessed the means to investigate the interior of her own space, to check on their status. Setting aside the basic functions of the space itself, she also had more advanced, esoteric spells similar to "Astral Eye" that she could theoretically use for remote, non-invasive viewing. But having the means to investigate, she was quickly, painfully discovering, did not mean she possessed the courage to actually do so.
She was terrified. Terrified that she would finally work up the nerve to open the space, to peek inside, and find⌠nothing at all. Just an empty void where they had once been. Or, even worse, that she would be confronted with the horrifying, traumatic sight of their two lifeless bodies floating silently in the darkness.
But she had to look. She had no other choice. She had to look.
She wrestled with this internal conflict for a full, agonizing day. She remained there, by the thundering, indifferent waterfall, continuously, stubbornly trying to emulate Magical Girl Blackâs form, to sit in the very center of the cascade, to find some semblance of her strength. She told herself, in a desperate, prayer-like mantra, When I succeed, when I can finally sit there without being washed away, then, and only then, will I look inside the space. Then Iâll face whateverâs in there. I promise.
However, relying on her own meager, untrained strength alone, this was an incredibly difficult task. Her stamina was constantly, relentlessly being drained by the crushing force of the water. Even with her stubborn, unwavering will, it became harder and harder with each failed attempt. And yet, though it grew more difficult, though her muscles screamed in protest, she was, with each try, getting closer, just a little bit closer, to the waterfallâs thundering, almost sacred center. She was becoming familiar with the waterâs crushing weight, with the slippery, treacherous terrain of the riverbed. She was learning, through pure, painful trial and error, when and how to apply her strength, how to brace herself against the unrelenting torrent. Until, in a single, transcendent and miraculous moment, she truly, finally, with a gasp of triumph, sat down in the very center of the waterfall. Feeling the full, immense and cleansing impact of the water crashing down from the sky above, she knew, with a certainty that was painful, that this was an arduous, almost impossible form of training.
But when she had truly, finally done it, when she had conquered the waterfall, she felt in that instant a sense of unparalleled, divine tranquility. She felt a deep, profound sense of harmony and peace wash over her weary soul. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, more beautiful, more wonderful than this feeling.
And so, in that state of perfect, hard-won calm, she finally, with a steady heart, reached out with her senses, to perceive her own private space, to gently, cautiously peek inside at the situation within. She, of course, held absolute dominion over her own dimensional space; otherwise, how could she possibly retrieve her precious, limited-edition figurines from it at a momentâs notice? After her arduous, self-imposed training, she hadnât gained any new, overwhelming power, not really. But she had gained something far more valuable: a newfound stability of heart, an unshakeable, powerful courage to face anything.
Until, that is, she saw Magical Girl Black, nestled like a small, trusting, and ridiculously cute little bird, in Ren Akiyamaâs strong, protective arms, a peaceful, blissfully serene smile on her sleeping face.
â?â
In that single reality-shattering instant, the profound, hard-won tranquility she had just achieved shattered into a million tiny, jagged, and furiously jealous pieces. She could, once again, no longer resist the crushing, relentless force of the water. With a yelp of pure, unadulterated rage, she was unceremoniously swept away by the waterfall and plunged, once again, into the churning, icy pool below. She scrambled frantically, sputtering and fuming, to the shore, and then, with a furious, feral roar that was pure, unfiltered teenage jealousy, she activated her magic and unceremoniously, with extreme prejudice, dumped the two of them, the two cuddling traitors, out of her dimensional space and onto the damp, unforgiving riverbank with a wet thud.
In that single, solitary, almost reality-shattering instant, the profound, hard-won tranquility she had just achieved shattered into a million tiny, jagged, and furiously jealous pieces. She could, once again, no longer resist the crushing, relentless force of the water. With a yelp of pure, unadulterated rage, she was unceremoniously swept away by the waterfall and plunged, once again, into the churning, icy pool below. She scrambled frantically, sputtering and fuming, to the shore, and then, with a furious, almost feral roar that was pure, unfiltered teenage jealousy, she activated her magic and unceremoniously, and with extreme prejudice, dumped the two of them, the two cuddling traitors, out of her dimensional space and onto the damp, unforgiving riverbank with a wet, unceremonious thud.
âMmm~ Oww~ that hurts~â a soft, sleepy, and surprisingly, almost illegally girly voice sounded. She opened her eyes in a daze, rubbing them cutely, her vision gradually, slowly focusing. And then she saw Hana, standing over her, her arms crossed, her foot tapping impatiently, radiating an aura of pure, concentrated, and frankly quite terrifying righteous fury. The memories of what had happened, the battle, the power, the embrace, the... began to resurface in her mind with an alarming, horrifying clarity. Hee expression, in that moment, shifted a good three or five times in a matter of secondsâfrom sleepy confusion, to dawning comprehension, to abject terror, to feigned innocence, and finally, with a monumental effort of will, settling on the usual, somewhat cold, aloof, and hopefully not-at-all-guilty-looking face of the one and only Magical Girl Black. âAh. Hana. You can rest easy now. Weâre fine. Perfectly fine. Nothing to worry about at all. Iâve⌠successfully dealt with the corrupted power of Magical Girl Crystal. Yes. All handled.â She coughed awkwardly. âRight now, if they were to, hypothetically, update the real-time data in the âMagical Girl Brawlâ game, I bet not even Strawberry Sweetheartâs ridiculously high stats would be as high as mine. So, you see, it all worked out for the best.â
âIs that so?! Thatâs amazing! Then shouldnât you hurry up and get the organization to update your data immediately?! Contact the officials at âMagical Girl Brawlâ and demand a new, even more overpowered SSR card andâwait, no! Thatâs not the point!â Hana almost got sidetracked by her gacha-addled brain. She glared at them, her eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. âWhat were you two doing in my private dimensional space all this time?! Cuddling?!â
Just then, Ren also slowly, and with a rather convincing groan, began to wake up. He looked at Hana and then at Black with a masterfully confused, innocent expression. âDoingâŚ? What were we doingâŚ?â he mumbled, as if trying to recall a distant, foggy dream. âWe were⌠we were fighting with all our might against Crystalâs overwhelming power, and then⌠and then we were just completely exhausted⌠I⌠I donât really remember what happened after that, to be honest. Itâs all a blur. I just remember that the final impact, when Crystalâs power finally exploded⌠that concussive force was truly terrifying. I honestly thought I was going to be completely erased from existence.â He was a very, very good actor.
Black, catching her cue, also began to ârecallâ the events with a pained expression. âYes, thatâs right! I thought I was a goner for sure too. But in the end, somehow, we managed to hold on, to endure it. At that time, the only thing in my mind was resisting Crystalâs corrupted power⌠What happened after that, I⌠I donât seem to remember either. Itâs all⌠very fuzzy.â
Looking at their two perfectly synchronized, and frankly quite suspicious expressions of feigned amnesia, Hana was⌠well, she wasnât entirely convinced. But⌠in other words, after they had both fought off the terrifying power of Crystal with all their might, they had both fallen into a state of complete unconsciousness from the sheer strain, and had then, totally with absolutely no romantic intent whatsoever, accidentally ended up holding each other for comfort? It seemed⌠plausible. Barely.
âDid⌠did we do something weird in there?â Black asked, her timing perfect, her expression the picture of innocent, amnesiac confusion.
Faced with Blackâs direct and probably entirely feigned question, Hana was suddenly at a loss for words. She couldnât possibly, not in a million years, say, âWell, actually, I looked into my private space and saw you two cuddling like a pair of love-struck teenagers, and I got so furiously, unreasonably jealous that I, in a fit of pure rage, unceremoniously dumped you both out onto the cold, hard ground!ââthere was absolutely no way Hana Tanaka could ever, ever say something so incredibly embarrassing out loud. She would rather die. So, she had no choice but to change the subject. Immediately.
âSpeaking of which!â she said, her voice a little too loud, a little too cheerful, âdid you really, truly master Crystalâs legendary power, then?! Thatâs amazing!â
âWell, to say I âmasteredâ it isnât quite accurate,â Black said, going along with the change of topic with a profound sense of relief. âItâs more like I⌠digested and absorbed it. And it feels very, very strange. This digestion process, itâs as if there was some kind of significant power loss along the way. At most, Iâd say I only managed to absorb maybe twenty or thirty percent of its total, original power. I donât know if the rest of it just⌠dissipated into the void or what. I⌠really canât remember what happened at that time, during the final moments.â Black also, for good measure, looked a little confused and disappointed. âYou know, I thought for sure that after all that, Iâd get a cool new transformation form out of the deal. But in the end, it was just a raw power-up. Well,â she sighed, âthatâs fine too, I guess. Iâll take what I can get.â
She thought for a moment, then, with a shrug, she dismissed the entire, life-altering matter from her mind. âSpeaking of which, Strawberry Sweetheart said she was going to retire, right? Iâm planning to go and see for myself just how a magical girl officially goes about âretiring.â There seem to be some deep, dark mysteries surrounding this whole âgenerational changeâ of magical girls that I really need to understand. Do you two want to come along? It might be educational.â
Hana looked down at her own completely water-soaked, probably ruined clothes. Now that the immediate crisis had passed, a profound, almost bone-deep sense of utter exhaustion washed over her. âYou guys⌠you guys go ahead⌠I⌠I think I really, really need to rest for a bit. Maybe for a week. Or a month.â
âCan you get back home on your own, Hana-chan?â Ren asked, his voice filled with genuine concern.
âMy stamina is completely drained, but my mana is⌠mostly okay, I think,â she mumbled. âI can probably manage to teleport myself back home. Donât worry about me.â
âAlright then. In that case, Ren and I will go find Strawberry Sweetheart,â Black declared, her usual authoritative tone returning.
After Hana, with a final, weary wave, opened a small, shimmering portal and disappeared, Ren and Magical Girl Black finally, collectively, let out a huge, shuddering sigh of relief.
Black, her brief moment of relief over, gritted her teeth and turned to glare daggers at Ren. âYou little brat,â she hissed, her voice a low, dangerous growl. âYou kissed me at the end, didnât you? You actually, really kissed me.â
ââŚWell, itâs not like we had any other viable options at the time, did we, sir?â Ren said with a helpless, apologetic shrug. âAs long as the final result was a positive one, thatâs all that really matters, right? Just⌠just think of it as being unexpectedly, and perhaps a little slobberingly, licked by a large, overly friendly pig. An unavoidable, if slightly traumatic, unfortunate accident. I didnât want to kiss you, you know. Not really. Do you have any earthly idea how deeply guilty I felt when I had to face Hana after that? The mental gymnastics I had to perform?â
Magical Girl Black suddenly felt a little⌠ashamed. After all, Ren had only done it, had only performed that heroic, if deeply questionable act, to help her control Crystalâs overwhelming, corrupted power. And, to be perfectly honest, that sudden and frankly quite shocking kiss had indeed caused a subtle, but absolutely crucial change in the raging power within herâŚÂ Magical girls really are strange, almost ridiculously illogical creatures! Their biology makes no sense!
However, although she had strategically, and with no small amount of self-preservation instinct, concealed some of the moreâŚÂ intimate⌠details of the process from Hana, she truly did have some serious, pressing questions about the generational change of magical girls and intended to consult with the now-retired Strawberry Sweetheart. As for Hana⌠well, Dad is so, so sorry, my girl. Iâll find a way to make it up to you later! I promise!
In the end, it was the one and only Akari Natsume, now in her cute, civilian school uniform, who met with Black and Ren.
âSo, are you really, truly, no-kidding planning to retire, then?â Black asked, getting straight to the point.
Akari nodded, a cheerful, almost carefree smile on her face. âIn fact, Iâve already officially, and with much relief, retired~ Camellia-san has already been reassigned to a new, and probably much less stressful, post. The person standing before you now is just a genuine, ordinary, sixteen-year-old high school beauty! The one and only Akari Natsume!â She struck a cute, idol-esque pose.
âWhat kind of person just casually, and with a straight face, calls herself a âbeautyâ!â Ren said, rolling his eyes.
Akari immediately pouted, her cheeks puffing out adorably. âSenpai! Are you trying to imply that Iâm not a beauty? How rude!â
âWell, no, thatâs not what I meant, butâŚâ
Akari smiled sweetly, her good mood instantly restored. âA beautiful girl has to have the self-awareness of a beautiful girl, you know~ If a beautiful girl goes around saying sheâs not a beautiful girl, wouldnât that be incredibly, almost insultingly pretentious? To frankly, confidently admit oneâs own overwhelming cuteness is a virtue, you know~â
That kind of logic, that kind of unshakable self-confidence⌠probably only Akari Natsume, the legendary Strawberry Sweetheart, who had experienced countless great storms and terrifying waves, could possibly say such a thing with a completely straight face. Even when she wasnât the magical girl Strawberry Sweetheart anymore, she was still her same, infuriatingly, almost blindingly cheerful self.
âSo,â Akari continued, her expression turning a little more serious, âthe two of you came all this way to find me about⌠the matter of the generational change, right?â She had, with her usual sharp intuition, clearly already guessed their purpose for being here.
Black nodded. âYes. I want to know what the so-called âgenerational changeâ of magical girls really, truly means. From the Gem Generation, to your Dessert Generation, and now to this so-called Color Generation. You were the very first of the Dessert Generation, and I am, apparently, the first of the Color Generation. But my birth, my awakening, was completely different from yours, wasnât it? I didnât inherit your power, or anyone elseâs for that matter.â
Akari listened patiently to Blackâs words, a thoughtful expression on her face. She then said, âWell, thatâs precisely why I said youâre such an anomaly, Black-san! Looking at all the magical girls from throughout recorded history, you are a very, very abnormal, almost unprecedented existence~ To be perfectly frank, Magical Girl Red should have, by all rights, been the first official magical girl of this new generation. After all,â she added, a hint of deep, secret knowledge in her voice, âit was Red who actually inherited a Prima Materia and thus officially started the era.â
âA Prima Materia?â Black echoed, a confused look on her face.
âThe 'Original Stone,'â Akari explained. âHmmâwhen a magical girl officially retires, she extracts all the magical power from her body and condenses it into a single, crystallized Prima Materiaâthe kind of thing that the Darkmoon Queen so dramatically, and with such poor form, crushed during your last battle. Thatâs what Magical Girl Crystal did, all those years ago. And that thing, that little stone, it allows someone else, someone with a compatible soul, to inherit that power. Youâve probably figured that much out already, right?â
Black nodded slowly. âIndeed. Thatâs how you and the Darkmoon Queen, or rather, Magical Girl Moonstone, were both born, isnât it?â
âExactly! That thing is called a Prima Materia because, for example, if I were to extract my power and condense it into one,â Akari continued, her voice now like a patient teacher explaining a complex subject, âand if someone, somewhere, resonated with my Prima Materia and, as a result, became a magical girl, they wouldnât become another, second-rate Strawberry Sweetheart. Instead, they would become a completely new, special, and unique magical girl, one born according to the shape and desires of their own heart. This form of succession, this passing of the torch, usually appears in the form of a distinct âgeneration.ââ Strawberry Sweetheart explained it all with a surprising clarity. Her gaze then, with a new, intense curiosity, sized up Magical Girl Black. âYour abnormality, Miss Black, lies in the fact that your fundamental nature, your very essence as a magical girl, is exactly the same as that of the original, Magical Girl Crystal. No one officially started this new âColor Generation.â So, logically, no one should have been able to awaken the Esper ability of a Color Generation magical girl. And yet, you, somehow, were just⌠born. Spontaneously. Just like the sudden, inexplicable appearance of the very first magical girl, Crystal, all those years ago. In fact,â she added, as if sharing a juicy piece of gossip, âMagical Girl Red, she became the magical girl she is today because she accidentally, and with no small amount of emotional trauma, resonated with Magical Girl Lapis Lazuliâs long-dormant Prima Materia. Though she herself, poor thing, probably still doesnât know it.â
âWill this... have any kind of negative impact? Me being an anomaly, I mean?â Black asked, a hint of genuine concern in her voice.
Akari spread her hands with a cheerful, carefree shrug. âHonestly? I have absolutely no idea~ Because, you see, Iâve already condensed my own Prima Materia and completely extracted all my power! Iâm just a normal, powerless, and soon-to-be-studying-for-college-entrance-exams young girl now~ Itâs the Color Generationâs time to shine! And based on my own personal, and often quite traumatic experience, Magical Girl Red should become the one to lead this new Color Generation. But, based on the even more ancient, and even more tragic experience of Magical Girl Crystal, you, the anomaly, the new original, should be the one to guide the Color Generation. So, who will ultimately lead this new, chaotic generation⌠well,â she beamed, a mischievous glint in her eye, âthatâs your own problem to figure out now, isnât it~?â
âThe âstrongestâ magical girl is really, truly, unbelievably irresponsible!â Black grumbled, shaking her head in disbelief. âAnd you retired so hastily, too! Werenât you planning to hold some kind of grand, tearful retirement ceremony or something? For your fans?â
Akari laughed, a bright, cheerful sound that seemed to fill the room with light. âAnd give you a chance to challenge me to one last, epic battle? No thank you! I would never procrastinate on something so important! If I told you my specific, official retirement date, Miss Black, you would definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent try to fight me before then, just to test your strength. And I, for one, have absolutely no desire to fight you, Black-san. You hit very, very hard.â
âAre all high school girls this ridiculously, infuriatingly cunning?â Black directed this exasperated question at Ren.
Ren nodded sagely. âYes, sir. In my extensive experience, high school girls are indeed very, very cunning creatures.â
âThen does my dear Senpai like cunning girls, then?â Akari asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she leaned in a little closer to Ren.
ââŚI like girls like Hana,â Ren replied.
Akari gave Ren a long, meaningful, and slightly inscrutable look. âEhhh~ Is that so⌠Well, you know,â she said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, âalthough Iâm not a magical girl anymore, my instincts as a young, perceptive girl seem to be⌠sniffing out a slight, almost imperceptible scent of taboo from you two. Is it just my imagination, I wonder?â
âYes,â Magical Girl Black said instantly, her face a perfect, unreadable poker face, her voice utterly, completely flat. âIt is most definitely your imagination.â
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