TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Mahou Shoujo Troper Magica ~ Imaizumi City ~

Go To

JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#1276: Apr 18th 2011 at 10:19:04 PM

"I...I'm sorry..." Natsumi buried her face in Akira's shirt, trying to think of anything in the world other than what she had seen that day. "It's... everything that happened..."

She took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together.

"Can...can we please go somewhere else? I..I just want to go home."

Reaction Image Repository
Starbound2 Since: Jan, 2001
Starbound2 Since: Jan, 2001
#1278: Apr 18th 2011 at 10:54:38 PM

"I-I..."

Shizuka's gloved fingers quaked in front of her lips, as her other hand grasped at her chest. That sick feeling in her stomach churned with all the sadness and anger that she felt. She wanted to throw up, but found the willpower to stop herself.

Her body glowed white and she was in the clothing she started with - back when it was supposed to be just an ordinary day. Just friends shopping, hanging out, being carefree together...

"I-I...!" As Shizuka stood, her eyes couldn't face towards Akira, Natsumi, and the bloody remains of Kyubey. She took one step, two steps back away from everything "I-I'm g-going to head home..."

Without another word, the shaky girl turned and ran off into the darkness all alone.

I-it was supposed to be an ordinary day...! S-Sasaki-sempai and I-I, w-we did n-normal things together... fun things... happy things... then we had lunch with Natsumi-san and N... Nanami-san... and w-watched a movie... t-then...

T-then I r-ran off to f-fight the Witch... i-is it my fault then? M-maybe if I s-stayed i-in the theater... N-Nanami-san and Y-yukino-sempai w-wouldn't have died...

Everyone k-keeps dying around me... f-first my parents... t-then my a-apartment... and t-then... W-why does this k-keep happening? E-everyone, b-but I still live... I-I don't understand. T-there's no r-reason f-for me to b-be here... T-there's no r-reason... f-for anyone to have died...

E-even K-kyubey... I-I could've s-stopped N-Natsumi-san, b-but I... h-he may have lied to u-us, but h-he gave us s-strength. The a-ability to f-fight W-Witches... t-the ability to p-protect... B-but now... it's j-just us, i-isn't it? W-we're a-all that's left t-to fight the monsters i-in Imaizumi... N-Natsumi-san... why...

...

Sasaki-sempai... you too... E-even though s-she destroyed o-one of our f-few hopes, y-you still... I-I was t-there too... I w-was crying too...

...s-so...

Why?

Zudak Since: Dec, 1969
#1279: Apr 19th 2011 at 8:33:12 AM

She pressed a button. Her message vanished from her screen, flying unseen into the air.

And halfway across the city, the phone belonging to her sister, a girl named Natsuhi, lit up.

'Witch hunting tonight. It's going to be a dangerous one. Might be back late. Might not be back at all. If I don't come back, you know what to do. Love you, sis. --Yukino'

Natsuhi got a few messages like this every month. Yukino had always returned, bringing back stories of her heroism (not that ahe would ever claim to be a hero) but Natsuhi worried every time. In her mind, she went back to one time when Yukino had returned beaten almost beyond recognition. The night she'd almost died. I just did what was necessary, she'd said. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's glamorous. It's not. It's hard, it's dangerous, it's terrifying, and one day, I'm not going to come back. That's just the nature of it. And then her face had softened, and she'd said: Don't worry about me. I'm doing this because I want to. I'm doing this to protect the people I care about. Every single second I spend with you makes it worth it, Natsuhi. Don't ever forget that I'm happy like this.

"Please come back, Yukino..." Natsuhi said, clutching her phone tightly.

edited 19th Apr '11 2:59:19 PM by Zudak

LORd Too Good For You Since: Aug, 2012
Too Good For You
#1280: Apr 19th 2011 at 2:46:16 PM

Kiyohiko watched the ensuing scene like through a haze. First, the girl called Akira approached him, and told him something; she then moved away and collapsed upon the girl he recognized as Natsumi. The magical girl, Shizuka, tossed something to the white creature, Kyubey; something about it seemed to inflame Natsumi, and she picked it up by the throat, swiftly proceeding into maiming it. A piece of the creature's not-flesh landed on his shoe, and soon thereafter the girl called Shizuka transformed back into her street clothes, running off into the darkness.

No, that wasn't quite right. Kiyohiko's body was the one watching; Kiyohiko himself was already gone. In his body there was still a brain, but no longer a mind.

Kiyohiko's body gazed sluggishly around. There were now other people walking on street, making sure to steer far clear of the trio, regarding them with frightened stares all the while. Windows had been opened in some of the neighboring houses, wherefrom more wide eyepairs favored them with attention. Kiyohiko's body reacted and began to hastily limp away, its brain still in the middle of reasserting control over its numbed limbs. The limping movement eventually turned into a firm sprint, and Kiyohiko's body rapidly disappeared from the sight of the collapsed girls.

The body came to a stop some fifteen minutes later in a narrow alleyway, breathing heavily but still maintaining an upright posture. It looked once around itself to confirm that it was alone, and reached into its pocket, flipping a fancy cell phone open. Slowly, mechanically, its fingers — stiff from the cold evening air — sought out its kana keys, and over several minutes Kiyohiko's body composed a short message:

Natsuhi,

your sister is dead.

I am sorry.

I don't really intend for Kiyohiko to remain forever like this, but I still don't know how to wake him up from his reverie. I don't really want to go with an easy cliché like physical or emotional shock.

Please be gentle with me.
Zudak Since: Dec, 1969
#1281: Apr 19th 2011 at 3:07:04 PM

Natsuhi's phone buzzed in her hand, snapping her out of her reverie. Oh, thank goodness.

She flipped the phone open, expecting a message from her sister, and found Kiyohiko's message there instead.

So terse. Of course. Kiyohiko was never one to waste words. He probably didn't even know what to do anymore.

Now that Yukino was dead.

Yukino was dead.

After that odd initial moment of detachment and shock, the realization sunk in. It had finally happened. This time, her sister wasn't coming back.

Natsuhi sank to her knees, bent over her bed, buried her face in the sheets, and began to cry.


A few minutes later (they'd seemed like hours to Natsuhi) Kiyohiko's phone received a reply from Natsuhi. All it said was:

Where are you right now?

edited 19th Apr '11 3:08:15 PM by Zudak

LORd Too Good For You Since: Aug, 2012
Too Good For You
#1282: Apr 19th 2011 at 3:59:52 PM

Kiyohiko's body had remained motionless ever since sending its message, instinct having ran out of instructions for it to perform. The cell phone that had already entered power save mode was still loosely clenched in its hand when it came back to life with light and noise. Slowly, his body raised its head and lifted its right thumb, the finger seekind out the center accept key of the phone. The default wallpaper gave way to a brief stream of kana, and Kiyohiko's brain was rudely forced to remember how to interpret the written word again.

Where...are...you...right...now...

Where are you right now.

The boy looked around; the neighborhood was completely unfamiliar, but thankfully, there was a town block indicator nearby. It read Imaizumi-ku, Meieki 4-chōme, 5-banchi. Sluggishly, the boy's body typed its response. It hit send, and the cold induced a sudden violent shiver in its body, causing it to collapse leaning against the wall of the alleway.

lol addresses. Zudak can decide where exactly that is, though the numbers do indicate it's a ways off from the center of Imaizumi.

Please be gentle with me.
Starbound2 Since: Jan, 2001
#1283: Apr 20th 2011 at 4:43:12 PM

(takes the initiative to post)

The gate to the Sasaki residence gave way as Shizuka gave it a push. The frail girl took gasps of air, her body tired from more than just the run back home, as she stumbled forward to the front door. There was one flash of light, followed moments later by a second as she retrieved her things.

Shizuka's hand slipped into her purse, mindlessly trying to retrieve her keys when her fingers slipped around the smooth, sleek and familiar shape of her cell phone. Flipping it open, she stood there for a moment before beginning to write a short text to Akira.

Sasaki-sempai, I made it home safely

She selected Akira from her address list and was ready to hit send when a stray thought came to her mind:

Sasaki-sempai is with Natsumi-san right now.

I shouldn't disturb her.

She's probably more concerned with her than me right now.

"..."

Shizuka quickly hit cancel and left the message unsent, deleting it shortly after. Going through the various functions of her phone, she found her way into the photo album. Opening it up, it automatically displayed the last image that was taken: everyone smiling together at the park.

...this picture isn't true anymore.

A prompt asked Shizuka if she wished to delete the picture.

There's no one left who's smiling.

A shaky finger hovered in the air for just a moment; then, without any change in Shizuka's dulled expression, it pressed down and hit "Yes."

edited 20th Apr '11 4:47:46 PM by Starbound2

Zudak Since: Dec, 1969
#1284: Apr 20th 2011 at 4:54:02 PM

A reply showed up on Kiyohiko's phone not even a minute after he sent his message.

I know a good restaurant near where you are. Meet me there. It won't be hard to find.

And then another address.

Starbound2 Since: Jan, 2001
#1285: Apr 20th 2011 at 5:18:51 PM

Shizuka's hands trembled with her keys as she tried to open the door. All she wanted to do was get inside, collapse into bed, and let her mind give way to her dreams. However, her shaking fingers and shaken state made her forget and lose track of which keys she had used. Struggling to find the right keys, she rang the doorbell repeatedly as she used the same ones over and over again.

LORd Too Good For You Since: Aug, 2012
Too Good For You
#1286: Apr 20th 2011 at 5:46:46 PM

Kiyohiko looked at the message, parsing the address on its last line one kana at a time. He looked out of the alleyway; a billboard atop a nearby building seemed to advertise just the restaurant the text on his phone was talking about. The boy slouched inside and collapsed into the nearest chair available; a waitress approached him and said something, to which he responded with something. It seemed to satisfy the girl, and she left him alone.

And then, he waited.

Dropped the pretentious Cartesian dualism because it was getting painful to write, Kiyohiko's still not quite right in the head. And though I went ahead and made this post, I actually gotta get to sleep now; sorry if I got your hopes up Zudactyl.

edited 20th Apr '11 5:47:25 PM by LORd

Please be gentle with me.
RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#1287: Apr 20th 2011 at 9:03:15 PM

After Shizuka had tried the same key four, or maybe five, times in a row, the door suddenly swung open, filling the yard with warm yellow light. Saya stood there wrapped in a towel, her hair dripping undried on the floor; she looked slightly annoyed. "What on earth are you trying to sel - Shizuka-chan?" she interrupted herself, her hand almost automatically drawing back to her mouth. She seemed to instantly understand that something had happened, since she hurriedly put a comforting hand on Shizuka's shoulder and drew her in to both the house and a soggy hug. "Shizuka-chan, what's wrong?" she asked quietly, stroking the girl's back gently. "A pretty girl like you shouldn't cry..."


Akira exhaled a shaky breath, patting Natsumi's back comfortingly. "Yeah, let's go," she said, not looking at Kyubey's remains. "We can go back to —" back to the park? Where the photo had been taken not an hour ago, with all of them smiling? "—We can go back to the coffeeshop and sit down. Think about something else."

Natsumi nodded weakly, and after a few moments she took Akira's hand and stood. Akira walked close by the other girl — close, but not touching. They had seen too much — too much blood and pain and death — to keep thinking that love was all it took to save the world.

edited 20th Apr '11 9:21:12 PM by RedSavant

It's been fun.
Zudak Since: Dec, 1969
#1288: Apr 20th 2011 at 9:07:35 PM

Not too many minutes later, Natsuhi rode up on her bicycle and entered the restaurant. She'd taken a little time to compose herself, but her eyes were still a little red from crying. She slid into the seat across from Kiyohiko and stared at the table, unwilling to meet his glassy-eyed stare. Now that she found herself there, in front of him, she found she had no idea what to say.

Starbound2 Since: Jan, 2001
#1289: Apr 20th 2011 at 9:16:56 PM

Sasaki family x Shizuka

More droplets of water began soak themselves into Saya's towel and Shizuka let herself tear up again, essentially collapsing into the mother's comforting arms.

"S-sasaki-sempai... h-her friends... t-they... th-they're..."

"It's no use lying to my mom. Seriously, don't try it."

W-what do I say then...?

RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#1290: Apr 20th 2011 at 9:44:47 PM

Edited my post. I'm also working on the beginning of the timeskip, though I won't post it until everyone's decided they've done what they want - likely by Friday or so.

Saya's eyes widened slightly behind Shizuka's back, but the sudden iron rigidness in her was gone in an instant. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, Shizuka-chan," she said quietly, hugging the girl closer to her. "Whatever's going on, I can see you're really and truly upset, but I won't make you speak to me. Just tell me one thing." She pulled back slightly, enough that Shizuka could see her face. "Are my daughters both all right?"

It's been fun.
Starbound2 Since: Jan, 2001
#1291: Apr 20th 2011 at 9:51:01 PM

"D-daughters...?"

Shizuka lifted her face for a moment. Looking into Saya's eyes, it clicked.

S-she means... m-me too...

The girl couldn't help but let out a weak, pained laugh.

"Y-yes... w-we're... both alive..."

edited 20th Apr '11 9:51:32 PM by Starbound2

LORd Too Good For You Since: Aug, 2012
Too Good For You
#1292: Apr 21st 2011 at 5:26:25 AM

Kiyohiko raised his eyes when he felt someone sit in the chair opposite to him; it was Yukino's sister. His gaze dropped back on the table.

"...How do you do, Natsuhi", his lips uttered quietly, more out of reflex than by design. The boy sounded decades older than he looked.

Please be gentle with me.
Zudak Since: Dec, 1969
#1293: Apr 21st 2011 at 8:13:01 AM

It's true then.

Not that she had any reason to doubt what Kiyohiko had told her. But seeing his dead, empty expression left no room for doubt. Natsuhi had to fight, hard, to keep herself from starting to cry again.

Be strong. Gotta be strong. Cry when you're alone. He needs you now.

Reaching over the table, she gently placed her hands over Kiyohiko's.

"I'm okay. Considering the circumstances. Do you want some food? Maybe just a little drink? It's on me tonight."

Nietos from within a pile of snow Since: Nov, 2010
#1294: Apr 21st 2011 at 3:15:48 PM

Tsubasa was running and leaping from one building to another, holding her soul gem as a compass in front of her. Her heart was pounding. Even though the break at the park had calmed her, she was now experiencing another adrenaline rush. There was a witch to be found before it would hurt anybody else. She shuddered when she recalled the eerie hospital and its staff with empty eyes... and Shizuka. She had been at a really bad state when she had appeared. That could have been her, too. Tsubasa shuddered again. Being a magical girl would be dangerous. She'd need to be careful not to get herself hurt. If she got hurt badly enough, she couldn't even attend school.

After a good while of running the girl stopped. Her soul gem hadn't shown any sings of the witch. It was quite possible she had been running to a wrong direction. But maybe the others had found something? Tsubasa reached for her mobile phone and pulled it out, taking a look at the screen for any received messages.

There was nothing. The battery was dead.

"Shi— oh... damn", Tsubasa mumbled. No wonder she hadn't noticed anything! Even if Shizuka or Akira had called her, they wouldn't have got through. She kicked the air angrily. Now she wouldn't be of any use! Even if she did find the witch, she couldn't contact the other magical girls. And she certainly wouldn't be able to win the fight on her own - or even leave the barrier relatively unharmed.

"Annoying..." the magical girl grumbled, "annoying..." She tapped the roof with her shoe and frowned. She could always go back, but... it had been a while since she had left. The others were probably already out of the telepathic range of the starting point. Tsubasa stepped to the edge of the roof and looked down. She was quite far from home. She could go back, load the battery and hurry to aid the others, but it would take time. At that point, her parents could even refuse to let her leave the house again. They weren't... happy with the way she was now, but they still wanted her safe... right? Besides, they wouldn't want the neighbours seeing a strange girl sneaking out of their house...

Tsubasa crossed her arms. She wanted to do something, but returning to the park or home wouldn't help anybody. What else could she do? After pondering for a moment, Tsubasa's face lit up. She had the perfect idea! It would leave her available if she happened to hear any telepathic voices, but it would probably prove useful in the future.

Tsubasa leapt to the next building. She would explore Imaizumi from above to improve her understanting of the area. She would also practice her illusions. The magical girl was most curious about how her own movement would affect them - so far all her training had taken place within her room so there hadn't been much space. If she happened to run into the other girls or the witch while moving around Imaizumi... well, good. If not, she would still get to see the city from another point of view.


After a couple of hours' worth of exploring, Tsubasa returned home. Her parents barely acknowledged her return, so she just headed for her room. She was tired. Even with her new, improved physical performance, she just wanted to crash into her bed and sleep. Leaping around, even with no surprising encounters (well, save for the one where some gang members had seen her jump from one roof to another), was tiring. Tsubasa sat down, sighing. She pulled out her mobile phone and connected it to the charger. She then collapsed on her bed, closing her eyes. The girl smiled sleepily. She was sure her new friends were alright, so she'd just take a short nap before checking her messages... She didn't know how well the rest knew each other, and she was still an outsider, but Tsubasa was sure time would make them very close. She couldn't wait to meet them again. She'd have to apologise for her disappearance today, though. Even if it hadn't probably mattered.

When one imagines other worlds, he ends up changing his own. - Umberto Eco: Baudolino
LORd Too Good For You Since: Aug, 2012
Too Good For You
#1295: Apr 21st 2011 at 4:13:04 PM

Kiyohiko's dry lips twitched at the mention of food, but though his body could recognize that it was weak and famished, the thought of ingesting anything seemed repulsive at the moment.

"No, thank you."

lol shortpost. Still found it in myself to post something tonight even after the Madoka finale.

Please be gentle with me.
RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#1296: Apr 21st 2011 at 4:14:49 PM

No spoilers, but was it worth it?

Bah, was gonna post, but I don't have time. When I get home, then!

-Placeholder

It's been fun.
Starbound2 Since: Jan, 2001
#1297: Apr 21st 2011 at 4:17:52 PM

Shizuka quietly sat at the dining table, bags taking up the chair next to her. Her eyes found their gaze upon her cellphone screen again.

"..."

I-I've probably made Okaasan worry about A-Akira-sempai...

Shizuka's fingers began to type out a message.

Please come home, Sasaki-sempai. Okaasan is worried about you.

Pause.

Your sister is worried about you too.

Send.

Shizuka took a deep breath and continued to sit there quietly, waiting for a response.

edited 21st Apr '11 8:51:49 PM by Starbound2

RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#1298: Apr 21st 2011 at 11:53:47 PM

The sun had almost reached the horizon by that point, and Akira and Natsumi walked along, wrapped in silence as deep as the burgeoning twilight. Certainly there were cars, other people; but none of it seemed to matter. Akira filtered them out like white noise, concentrating on nothing but the few square centimeters of interaction between her feet and the rest of the planet. She was vaguely aware of Natsumi walking a little ahead of her, but the pain that stabbed at her chest when she thought of her was too much to bear, and so she drew her curtain of static back over herself.

A time later, Akira noted her phone buzzing against her hip. She drew it out mechanically, hitting a button to light up the device, and the name on the screen blew the fog away from her mind immediately. "Shi-" she began, looking up at Natsumi, but the other girl seemed not to hear; she looked tired. Faded. Akira closed her mouth, then after a moment flipped her phone over to read the message.

Please come home, Sasaki-sempai. Okaasan is worried about you.

Your sister is worried about you too.

"Akira?"

Akira looked up, surprised, as Natsumi spoke for the first time in an endless while. "N-Natsumi-chan?" she asked, not really understanding why they'd stopped.

"This is my apartment building," Natsumi replied quietly, looking over her shoulder at the windows on the fourth floor. Several were illuminated as if by desklight, and a small smile passed across her lips for a fleeting instant, only to vanish again just as fast. "...Thanks for walking with me," she said after a moment. "I... I'll be okay. Don't worry about me. I just... need to think about things. I'll... see you tomorrow, then..." she finished, turning away.

"Natsumi-chan, wait," Akira called suddenly, reaching after her. She stopped herself from going as far as grabbing the other girl's wrist, and she dropped her arm suddenly as Natsumi turned back around. "Natsumi-...san," she began finally, her heart clenching as the other girl's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "I... don't think you should spend time with me anymore," she continued, looking anywhere but at the girl in front of her. "I've been... such a fool. Letting you hunt with me... letting you put yourself in danger," she whispered, closing her eyes against their sudden sting. Nanami's broken body and empty eyes flashed across the inside of her head, and she let out a sob. "I'll never let that happen to you," she cried suddenly, her eyes shooting open to meet Natsumi's. "And so... I just want to say... thank you so much. For everything you've done for me, and everything you've been to me. I don't want..." she choked, and her tears spilled down her face. "Don't talk to me in school, Natsumi-san. I won't answer you." She seemed to think about something for a moment, then took a step forward and hugged Natsumi hard, tightly enough that it almost hurt. "I wished I could meet you, Natsumi," she whispered fiercely, hot liquid dripping onto Natsumi's shoulder. "Now I wish you'd never known me."

She turned on her heel and ran away.

It's been fun.
JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#1299: Apr 22nd 2011 at 9:06:06 AM

Natsumi vainly tried to sputter out some words. Something, anything. But by the time she managed to force any sound through her lips, Akira was already gone.

How can this be happening? Wasn't losing Nanami and Yukino bad enough? Akira survived, and now I have to lose her too? How can I not talk to her? I don't care if it's dangerous or scary. I'd rather be in danger with her than....than this...

She slowly turned back to her apartment, using ever last bit of willpower to walk up the stairs without exploding into tears.

The kitchen was still empty. Torako still hadn't returned. Natsumi tossed her bag onto the table and fumbled her way around the kitchen, trying to get herself a glass of water.

"Don't talk to me."

The words bounced around in her head as she tried to keep the glass from shaking long enough to take a sip.

I..I can't do that. I don't care. I have to talk to her. I can't just end it like this. I can't.

As she tried to get her eyes to focus, she caught a glimpse of the contents of her bag, which were spilled across the kitchen table. Her gaze stopped on the black and white checker scarf.

A stifled scream escaped her lips as she slammed the glass on the counter, sending shattered pieced everywhere. Ignoring the blood that was now dripping from her hand, she rushed through the apartment and threw herself onto her bed, curling into ball underneath the sheets.

Akira, I don't care about the danger. I don't care if knowing you causes me trouble, or pain. It can't be worse than this. It can't be worse than knowing that you're still there, but I can't talk to you. I can't imagine anything worse than seeing every day, and never being able to say "good morning", or ask how you did on your test, or say anything at all. I'd give anything to be able to just meet you again, without any of this magic, without the witches, without the danger...If I could have just one thing, I'd want you. If I could have just one...

Natsumi broke out in a cold sweat as she remembered the day that everything had begun. Kyubey had offered her anything. Anything she could wish for.

I...I...I ruined everything! I could have wished for all of us to start over! I could have brought back Nanami and Yukino. I could have made Akira happy...

In her ears, she could still hear echoes of the sounds she had made when she had thrown Kyubey against the wall, when she had crushed his head, when she had been so intent on destroying him

What..what have I done? I..I could have saved us all. I'm such an idiot!

edited 22nd Apr '11 9:07:13 AM by JapaneseTeeth

Reaction Image Repository
Zudak Since: Dec, 1969
#1300: Apr 22nd 2011 at 9:43:59 AM

"Okay..." Natsuhi didn't feel much like eating anything either. She was silent for a little while, but kept her hands on Kiyohiko's.

"...look. I'm not going to say something sappy like, 'she'd want you to be happy.' Losing somebody you care about hurts. But I just want you to know, that when you're ready to talk... if you want a shoulder to cry on... I'm here for you, Kiyohiko. So... let's help each other grieve her as best we can, okay?"


Total posts: 1,433
Top