About Becoming a Magical Girl

Yukina stared blankly at the ground, then raised her head again and looked toward Efnir.

Efnir was speaking with a doctor. The faint, serene smile visible in her profile did not waste the softness of that face in the slightest. Though she looked like a black-haired girl completely unlike the silver-haired girl, the doctor showed no surprise or astonishment.

Yukina pursed her lips and looked away.

Perhaps to the people working here, what Efnir had kept hidden from her was not a secret at all... Only she did not know. Only she had always been left out. She wanted to complain, yet could not say a word.

Because Efnir had only wanted to protect her, while she had done nothing but make one-sided demands. Efnir had clearly made unimaginable efforts, yet Yukina had misunderstood her all this time. At this point, asking for anything more would be shameless and excessive.

But the more she thought that way, the worse she felt.

What Yukina wanted was not this kind of one-sided relationship, but to need and be needed, to rely on and be relied upon. That was what she wanted.

"Brother..."

Murmuring softly, Yukina bent down and buried her face in her arms.

When Efnir had confessed all of that to her, she had been lost and panicked, almost running away just like that.

Because she could not face the version of herself she hated.

But she had wanted even less to leave Efnir all alone, so in the end, she had not taken that step.

Or perhaps... deep down, she had already accepted all of it. Setting everything else aside, when it came solely to "my brother becoming a beautiful girl idol," she had not actually found it frightening. There was even a strange thrill stirring in her heart.

Thinking about it that way, she really had no backbone.

Yukina lamented that for no reason and buried her face even deeper.

The air remained uncomfortably quiet, carrying a faint chill. The smell of medicine was unpleasant.

She was so hungry, so tired.

She had been tense since morning, busy with Fan Club matters. She had finally met Efnir, only for the Erosion Disaster to strike right afterward. With one thing after another, she had eaten only a slice of toast. Her body had long since reached its limit, crying out in protest.

She wanted to go home, gorge herself on a meal, sleep deeply, then wake up and discover it had all been a dream.

Yukina sighed softly and curled up against her arms. Before long, she fell into a deep sleep.

Yukina had a dream.

In the dream, there were only her and Efnir.

"Miss Efnir... Um... actually, I... I feel about you..."

What exactly had she said...?

But Yukina knew that she had carefully revealed an important feeling. As if possessed, she had confessed to Efnir just like that.

A breeze swept through, lifting Efnir's silver hair. She turned her face, her bottomless gaze meeting Yukina's. Yukina waited nervously and expectantly for an answer, only to see Efnir's eyes lower, revealing a sorrowful, disappointed look...

No, don't be like that...

A dreadful premonition suddenly spread through her, wrenching her heart tight.

"I'm sorry..."

Efnir said softly.

"I always thought... we were siblings..."

The moment those words fell, the silver-haired girl overlapped with the image of her brother.

"Eek!?"

Yukina jolted awake in fright. She opened her eyes, and the glaring lights made them sting. The sudden urge to cry left her unable to breathe. Instinctively, she tried to sit up, curling at the waist, only to suddenly notice Efnir's profile right beside her.

"Did you have a nightmare...?"

Efnir looked at Yukina worriedly, lips pressed together. Hesitantly, she reached out and gently wiped the tears at Yukina's eyes with the corner of her sleeve.

Yukina's eyes widened as she blankly watched Efnir's movements. Feeling the warm, soft touch transmitted from Efnir's smooth thigh, her mind went buzz—and froze.

Efnir was currently black-haired, with deep eyes and an inherently melancholy, profound air about her. She was far removed from the silver-haired girl active onstage in Yukina's memories, yet she drew Yukina's gaze just as she always had.

—and Yukina was currently curled up on her side on the lounge bench, with her head resting on Efnir's lap.

Her cheeks gradually heated up as Yukina blinked fixedly.

The look in Efnir's eyes before her... slowly overlapped with the girl from her dream.

She hated this...

She really hated it.

Why had she dreamed something like that...?

All this time, her feelings for her brother and for Efnir should have been two entirely different things. Yet they had suddenly been forcibly twisted together, like a tangled ball of thread that could not be sorted out. She did not know what she should do or how she should face these two people who were completely identical.

The oppressive air clogged her breathing, and before she knew it, tears spilled from the corners of her eyes again.

"Yukina, are you all right?"

"I'm fine..."

Yukina pushed Efnir's arm away and sat up in a panic.

Her gaze flicked toward Efnir's thigh. She wore a short skirt and thigh-high socks, leaving a small stretch of her beautiful thigh exposed, reddened from being used as a pillow.

Even though she was like this.

"If you're feeling unwell, tell me."

Efnir's tone was gentle, her gaze full of deep concern and care for Yukina.

Yukina raised her eyes slightly and looked at the girl before her—Efnir, Yanase Naoto. This girl had roughly kneaded together two utterly unrelated yet immensely important people in Yukina's life, twisting Yukina's heart out of shape as well.

Everything from the dream surfaced in her mind, leaving Yukina restless and confused.

Yukina lowered her gaze, not daring to look at Efnir anymore. She worried that she really would blurt out all the feelings she had buried in her heart, just as she had in the dream.

She moved one step to the side, leaving Efnir's reach.

"Why... are you suddenly being so nice to me again...?"

"Yukina..."

"Why...? You've always been so distant toward me. Why are you suddenly making that expression now...? You've always stayed so far away from me, so why are you suddenly acting so gentle toward me...?"

Yukina's voice was low, like a feather circling down, gently melting into her heart.

The clacking footsteps of passing medical staff lingered in the air as Efnir and Yukina faced each other in silence.

"I'm sorry... It's always been my fault."

Efnir spoke softly, lowering her eyes.

Because Yukina was not her biological younger sister, and for various other reasons, Efnir had never been able to properly face the relationship between herself and her sister.

Efnir had no right to demand or criticize anything about her sister's life from the position of an older brother, so she had deliberately kept her distance all along.

And after that incident, their relationship had completely set off down a road from which there was no return.

Before they knew it, Efnir and Yukina's relationship had become ambiguous and unclear.

At this point, she could not complain about anything, because she herself had caused all of this...

The hospital was quiet, even desolate. The air entering her nose carried the faint smell of disinfectant, while a weak vibration came up through the floor beneath her feet.

There were only Efnir and Yukina in the descending elevator.

They stood one in front of the other, far apart. Efnir lowered her eyes to her phone screen, while Yukina shrank into the corner. The deliberately maintained distance between them made them seem more like complete strangers than siblings.

Efnir silently watched the mirrored display panel, where it reflected her younger sister Yukina's gloomy face. Light poured down from overhead, illuminating Yukina's face and the color of her hair.

Actually, they could stand a little closer.

But they had always kept their distance. If they wanted to return to how things had been long ago, how close would be just right without making the other person uncomfortable?

At some point, she had become unable to measure even the distance between family members' hearts.

This was probably all her fault. Because she could not understand her own feelings, she had been unable to take a step at the fork in the road. Or perhaps she had chosen a path with no outcome, and in the end, hurt the person waiting for her.

From the corner of her eye, Yukina caught Efnir's reflection.

She clenched her palm. The air was stifling, and after she calmed down, a trace of confusion suddenly came over her.

Just now...

She had carelessly said something like that...

But why had she lost control of her emotions? Had she been affected by the emotions in her dream, or had she borrowed the courage from that dream confession to confess in one breath herself?

Even Yukina could not distinguish the reason.

Only after calming down did Yukina belatedly realize how hurtful her words had been.

Efnir, or rather—her brother, Yanase Naoto, had always protected her in places she could not see. In her own way as an older brother, she had fought for Yukina and this city. Every day, she faced the danger of dying, yet even so, she always bravely stepped forward and never gave up. Whether as the strongest Agent, "Efnir," or as this city's spiritual pillar, "Magical Girl Avenil," she kept striving onward.

Yet Yukina had said something so chilling to her.

She was the one who was unforgivable.

Yukina bit her lip.

A Form of Address

"Um..."

If things continued like this, nothing would ever change, so Yukina took the initiative to break the silence.

She gathered all her courage and raised her head. Efnir's back intertwined with the shadow at her feet as Yukina said quietly:

"About what happened just now... I'm sorry..."

"Hm?"

Efnir put away her phone and turned around. There was no ripple visible in her dark eyes.

Yukina swallowed, but the words at her lips got stuck.

Looking at the black-haired girl before her, who wore her brother's face, Yukina felt dazed. Her heart was in turmoil, and she could not calm down at all.

"Yukina?"

"Huh?"

Yukina snapped out of her daze and met Efnir's direct gaze.

She hurriedly lowered her head.

"Yukina didn't do anything wrong, so why are you apologizing...?"

"I suddenly said something so harsh to you... I'm sorry..."

Yukina pursed her lips, choosing her words carefully.

"All this time, you—Brother, you've silently protected me and this city. But I only cared about my own feelings. I let the confusion born from a little helplessness make me blame you and get angry at you. I'm truly very sorry..."

Efnir smiled again, but Yukina did not dare raise her head to look at her.

Footsteps approached. Through the bangs hanging over her face, Yukina saw Efnir's feet enter her field of vision, and the hem of Efnir's clothes came to a stop before her.

She was too nervous to breathe.

"It's all right. I didn't take it to heart... And I should be the one apologizing. I've let myself be selfish all this time and hidden too many things from you."

Her head sank slightly as a hand settled over it, gently stroking her hair.

"As an 'older brother,' someone like me is unqualified. I hope you can give me a chance to start over—as an 'older sister.'"