The Matter of Becoming a Magical Girl

Efnir slowly spoke, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

"Yukina, please calm down and listen to me."

"..."

Yukina did not answer. She merely lowered her gaze in dejection.

Efnir clenched her fists, then loosened them.

"Your brother is fine."

Yukina's shoulders jolted. She raised her eyes and stared at Efnir in disbelief.

Her pale lips trembled.

"I know you have a lot you want to say."

Efnir reached out and pressed a finger against Yukina's lips.

"Likewise, I have many questions to ask you."

Yukina stared blankly at Efnir.

"But before that, there is something I need to confirm with you. Afterward, I'll tell you the rest."

Efnir looked at her as well, her gaze unfathomably deep.

"You... should have a Beacon."

"A... Beacon...?"

Yukina froze slightly.

Beacon.

Efnir had been repeating that word ever since earlier.

"You may not fully understand the situation yet... and that isn't your fault. The first Synchronization has a certain effect on the mind, and sometimes it really can leave your thoughts in disarray... So I'll put it simply—you are now 'Fifina.' You should have a hairpin on you, a Butterfly Hairpin."

Butterfly Hairpin.

Yukina had already encountered or heard mention of that hairpin more times today than she could count.

Yukina instinctively opened her palm.

There was nothing there...

"No need to look for it. It's hidden inside your body. You'll never find it like that—you need to take it out from within yourself."

Efnir looked directly at Yukina.

"How... do I do that...?"

"Focus your attention and empty your mind. You'll see it easily."

Yukina gently closed her eyes.

"Take a deep breath."

A deep breath.

"Cast aside distracting thoughts. Imagine a sea of stars... You will see a shooting star..."

Efnir's voice gradually became ethereal, and everything before Yukina turned pitch-black.

As though she were flying on the wind, her vision was soon flooded with light. Yukina appeared beneath an empty, deep-blue starry sky.

A watery blue butterfly appeared at her side at some point, fluttering gracefully and scattering falling starlight. The butterfly was like a faint light piercing the depths of the sea—swaying, cold, and irresistibly captivating.

"Reach out to it. Try calling to it."

Butterfly—

Yukina instinctively raised her hand. Drawn as though by sweet nectar, the butterfly landed on her fingertip. Its wings trembled slightly before slowly folding together.

Light as a drop of water, carrying a trace of moistness, Yukina gazed at the butterfly as a faint gleam flowed through her eyes.

She was drawn in by the butterfly, as though falling into a whirlpool in the deep sea... sinking downward.

"Don't keep staring at it."

Suddenly, Efnir's voice broke into her mind.

"Open your eyes..."

"...?!"

Yukina abruptly opened her eyes and found herself still kneeling where she was, one hand half-raised. Her vision seemed veiled by a gray gauze, and all five senses had become dulled, as though pixelated.

The Butterfly Hairpin lay quietly in her hand.

She panted lightly, recalling the scenes she had just witnessed. At last, she also vaguely noticed the changes in her body and fell into a daze.

Efnir knelt before her, staring at her blankly.

"What exactly was that...?"

Yukina raised her eyes, about to ask, when a soft, faint fragrance suddenly washed over her. By the time she realized what was happening, Efnir had already pulled her into an embrace.

"Yukina..."

"Miss Efnir... are you crying?"

"No."

Though she hurriedly denied it, Yukina could not see Efnir's face in this position. Yet the warm, damp sensation against her shoulder and the quiet choked sobs could not deceive her.

"What you needed to do is already done... it's already... enough..."

"Then... my brother...?"

"She's fine..."

Yukina froze slightly, as though something had lodged in her throat.

That was good... That was truly wonderful.

It was like encountering summer bellflowers in winter and gathering fortune into her arms.

"Yukina..."

Efnir held Yukina tightly.

Slowly, softly, Efnir's voice drifted down like a feather.

"Why do you... keep talking about your brother, over and over...?"

Before Yukina could process Efnir's words, Efnir suddenly clutched her tighter—stubbornly and forcefully, almost squeezing the breath from her.

"Miss Efnir...?"

"Can't you think a little more about yourself?"

The girl in her arms suddenly spoke, swallowing back faint sobs.

Yukina was stunned.

"Your brother is safe, very, very safe..."

Efnir buried her head against Yukina's chest and continued loudly. Her voice fell into Yukina's heart like raindrops, while a gentle breeze brushed over her.

"Someone who ignored her little sister's safety and only did whatever she wanted... She... never even considered how you felt..."

"That's not true... my brother..."

"Someone like her is absolutely terrible... She doesn't deserve to be your brother at all..."

Yukina wanted to argue, but Efnir loudly cut her off at once.

"But even so... she really is worried about you. More than anyone, she can't stop worrying about you... If you were ever in danger, she would save you no matter the cost. If there is anyone in this world who wants you to be happy more than anyone else, it must be your brother... so..."

Like the tender, sorrowful wind of a summer night, the sobbing by her ear was faint and clear.

"So... please don't blame her..."

Why was she saying such things...? Yukina still did not quite understand.

She had suddenly tried to kill her.

Then suddenly come to embrace her.

But Yukina could not reject Efnir's warmth. Hesitantly, she reached out, slid her arm around Efnir's waist, and held the girl in her arms.

Efnir was a head shorter than her. Though Efnir was the one hugging her, it felt as though she were the one being leaned on.

Agents all walked a road from which there was absolutely no salvation. Endless battles were like a nightmare with no end in sight.

Day after day.

The casualty rate among agents was a terrifying figure. If she had to choose between "ordinary people" and "agents," Efnir would stand without hesitation on the side of the agents, then push Yukina toward the other side.

That was how Efnir protected Yukina.

Her way.

But at this moment, Yukina had entered her world.

"Efnir..."

Shinomiyami Nami's voice came through the earpiece, hesitant. At a time like this, she probably did not know what to say either.

"I'm sorry... If I had stayed by Yukina's side the whole time..."

Perhaps none of this would have happened.

To Shinomiyami Nami, there were simply too many things she could not understand, too many things that felt strange. Why could Yukina undergo Synchronization? There had clearly been no relevant record of her in the database of potential candidates.

It was incomprehensible.

Besides that, there were many other things that could not help but concern her.

"This has nothing to do with you, so don't worry about it too much."

Efnir spoke softly, her throat hoarse as though she had swallowed sand.

"But please keep this a secret for me."

"Huh? But... if headquarters asks about Yukina..."

"I'll handle headquarters. They won't question you about anything, so you can rest assured. Please pretend you did not see anything that happened just now. Now... delete the records immediately."

There was an unreadable note in Efnir's voice. On the other end of the earpiece, Shinomiyami Nami fell silent.

Only after a long while did Shinomiyami Nami's voice come through.

"I've... deleted them..."

"Thank you."

Shinomiyami Nami did not answer again.

Efnir turned her face slightly and looked at Yukina's milk-pale neck.

"I'm sorry, Yukina. There are some things I still can't explain to you properly. You only need to know that I... will absolutely protect you. That's enough."

"I-I'll believe you, of course..."

"That's good... Then I'll take this hairpin for now."

"Huh?"

Only then did Yukina realize that the hairpin in her hand had disappeared at some point.

"It doesn't suit you. At least, not yet."

Efnir murmured softly, burying her face against Yukina's shoulder so Yukina could not see the tear tracks on her face.

Yukina held Efnir, feeling the girl in her arms gradually calm down. Listening to Efnir's words, she could not understand them at all for the moment, nor did she know whether she ought to say anything.

After calming down, she also vaguely sensed the subtle changes in her body, as well as the blue-crystal-like bow she had been holding when she had first regained consciousness.

She still had no idea what had happened.

Yukina recalled the "Fifina" and "Beacon" Efnir had mentioned again and again, as well as the serious expression on Efnir's face then.