About Becoming a Magical Girl Chapter 35

42, Identical

Everyone had their own secrets. An agent's identity was sensitive, and some agents kept theirs completely confidential out of concern for the safety of their families and loved ones. Shinomiyami Nami would not rudely pry into Efnir's reasons.

These were not things suitable to discuss with Yukina.

Shinomiyami Nami had served as Efnir's combat operative for quite some time. She had more or less grown accustomed to Efnir's side as "Yanase Naoto," yet Efnir had suddenly taken the initiative to reveal her disguise. That instead made Shinomiyami Nami a little worried.

Obviously, Efnir's sudden confession to Yukina had to be because of what happened today.

Regarding Efnir, regarding Yukina, many gears had already been set in motion and could no longer be stopped. So Efnir wanted to seize the initiative.

Efnir had gone to see the Commander just now because of the series of events that had happened today.

Efnir usually seemed a little airheaded, but if her principles and bottom line were touched, no one could talk her out of anything. At times like that, she was always aggressive and overwhelmingly imposing, leaving no room for compromise... Shinomiyami Nami, who had stayed by Efnir's side all this time, knew that all too well.

Just thinking that the rigid Commander might even get beaten up by an enraged Efnir made Shinomiyami Nami uneasy.

"Is something wrong, Miss Shinomiyami? You don't look very well."

"Ah, it's nothing."

Pulled back from her thoughts, Shinomiyami Nami let out a long sigh.

Efnir had told her not to interfere in this matter, so there was no use sighing here now. Efnir's only assignment for her was to take good care of Yukina.

Shinomiyami Nami simply cleared her mind all at once.

She looked at Yukina.

"Sorry, I was thinking about work just now... Well, let's talk about your sister. I was wondering why she suddenly called you over to the hospital, but now it all makes sense..."

Shinomiyami Nami smiled.

"But speaking of which, did your sister properly explain things to you herself?"

"I guess she did... sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Yeah..."

Yukina thought about it, unsure how to answer.

"Actually, I'm not really sure what counts as her telling me... There are still so many things I want to know, so many that I can't even list them one by one. In the end, I have no confidence at all in how much I really know about her... My sister used to be that kind of person. She never talked to me about herself. By the time I wanted to understand her, I realized I knew nothing about her at all."

Yukina gave an awkward smile and looked at Shinomiyami Nami.

"Compared to me, Miss Shinomiyami probably understands my sister far more deeply... After all, you fought together, comrades who entrusted your backs to each other... Unlike me, who knew nothing and was only protected, my position alone put me on the side that could never understand my sister..."

Why did she suddenly throw the subject back this way? Shinomiyami Nami tilted her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

And she wanted her to talk to Yukina about Efnir?

They were sisters who had lived together for more than a decade. Even if a rift had formed between them because of certain things, she, an outsider, had no right to pass judgment.

"It isn't really like that."

"It is."

Shinomiyami Nami knowingly shook her head, trying to avoid the question, but Yukina stood up with unusual certainty.

"There must be. The sister I see, and the Efnir Miss Shinomiyami sees... To me, my sister is a very important person, and so is Efnir. But being suddenly told that they are actually the same person... has made it hard to simply accept. I want to understand them. That is why I am here, so no matter how much it is, I want to know the realest version of my sister."

Yukina had been thinking the entire way here. At that time, when she had asked Efnir to save her brother, what exactly had Efnir been feeling...

Why had she worn that expression?

How much of what Efnir had said to her had carried some other meaning?

Those careless details and forgotten words now surfaced in her mind once more, repeating endlessly.

Since then, over the past year or so, how much of what Efnir had said to her had been said as Efnir, and how much had been said as her sister?

Those tangled balls of thread began to be picked up again in her heart, and Yukina's thoughts were once more filled with surging memories.

Perhaps, for Efnir, nothing had ever changed... The only person who had truly changed was Yukina herself.

She couldn't understand...

Yukina couldn't help wondering whether this sort of thing had happened countless times before, whether Efnir had also tried again and again to convey something to her during all the time she had overlooked.

But in the end, she had selfishly cast it all aside, preoccupied with only her own affairs. Her sister's feelings, her sister's thoughts, what the world looked like through her sister's eyes, how many things had she overlooked? There were still so, so many things she wanted to know no matter what.

Yukina looked earnestly at Shinomiyami Nami.

"The distance between my sister and me had always been gradually growing, and that made me uneasy. But now, that unease has not lessened in the slightest... I have always misunderstood my sister... But... maybe this sounds strange, but whenever I see her, I think of the promise she made to me when we were children. I clearly know why she did everything she did, her difficulties, the things she could not say, yet in the end I still got angry at her on my own..."

There was not a shred of falsehood in these feelings, whether toward her sister or toward Efnir.

Yukina had no doubt that her sister had hidden so many things from her and gradually distanced herself in order to protect her.

But now those two feelings had suddenly become tangled together, and Yukina could no longer distinguish them.

"Am I... really so unpleasant?"

Yukina pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze.

"I hate this version of myself too... I probably still can't sort out my feelings enough to face my sister, so I thought of you just now. Miss Shinomiyami, you must be someone my sister can trust. The things you said to me before... have stayed on my mind... And Miss Canary, she also told me many things. I think I really do want to know more about my sister. Not just as a fan and supporter, and not just as her younger sister. Could you tell me more? About my sister, and also about Miss Efnir as you see her."

Shinomiyami Nami looked at Yukina. After a long while, she suddenly gave a meaningful smile.

"Little Yukina... You're quite forceful now. You're completely different from when we first met. As expected... you sisters really are alike. Not just me... everyone probably thinks so too."

Shinomiyami Nami gestured for Yukina to look around.

"Do they...?"

Yukina shifted her gaze to the side and only then noticed the curious looks directed their way.

It was quiet here, so even though Yukina had not spoken loudly, the people nearby could still more or less hear her. In an instant, Yukina's face turned red.

She awkwardly looked away and sat back down stiffly.

"S-sorry... I just went on talking by myself... Please don't make fun of me, Miss Shinomiyami..."

"Why would I make fun of you?"

Shinomiyami Nami leaned forward, propped up her chin, and smiled.

"But Little Yukina looks so cute that I might not be able to resist teasing you a little."

Shinomiyami Nami held a coffee spoon in her hand, idly moving it around in her empty coffee cup, then suddenly sighed again.

"Efnir too. Looking at it this way, didn't she end up telling you nothing at all? It may not be appropriate for me to say this, but honestly, your sister must be feeling exactly the same way you are right now. Hesitating in place, uneasy because of you. In that respect, you sisters truly are identical."

"Um... Is that so...?"

Yukina smiled somewhat bashfully, not quite understanding what Shinomiyami Nami meant.

The two fell into a brief silence. Yukina lowered her gaze and looked at the dirty shoes beneath the table.

Were she and her sister really alike...?

43, Commotion

"Yes, alike."

Shinomiyami Nami shifted her gaze, letting it rest on the bottom of her empty cup as she looked somewhere far away through the flickering lights.

Only after a long while did she speak softly.

"Little Yukina is a wonderful younger sister. You have always been thinking about your sister, and you're beautiful and brave... Being suddenly told something like this must have been hard on you too... But please, Yukina, don't blame your sister because of it. You have always been the most important person to her. No matter what choice she made, everything she did was for you."

Shinomiyami Nami put down the coffee spoon and sighed. Just as she was about to continue, the phone on the table suddenly lit up and began vibrating.

Seeing the number displayed on the screen, Shinomiyami Nami frowned slightly and looked at Yukina.

"Sorry, I need to excuse myself for a moment. Could you wait here for me for a little while?"

"It's fine. Miss Shinomiyami must have work of her own to do. I'll stay here. I won't go anywhere."

Shinomiyami Nami stood up, smiled, then quickly headed off to the side as she answered the call.

Yukina watched Shinomiyami Nami disappear around the corner before withdrawing her gaze. She looked at the plate in front of her, which had been picked clean, then took out her phone with its shattered screen and looked it over again and again.

Her sister had bought her this phone a long time ago. At the time, Xijing City had only recently reestablished civilian communications within the city. Then her sister had taken her hand and said, "From now on, we'll be able to hear each other's voices anytime," as she gave her this precious gift.

She had always treasured this phone.

But today, just like her state of mind, it had been broken.

What exactly was going on...?

So many things had happened that she would not even have been surprised if it all turned out to be a dream and nothing had happened when she woke up.

Just as Yukina's thoughts were wandering, Shinomiyami Nami returned. Yukina raised her eyes, about to greet her, when she suddenly noticed a fleeting trace of caution and seriousness beneath Shinomiyami Nami's usual smile.

"Sorry, Yukina. This may be sudden, but we don't have time to keep chatting now."

Shinomiyami Nami spoke in a low voice.

"Huh?"

"...I'll explain the details later. Please come with me now."

Sensing the subtle shift in the atmosphere, Yukina pressed her lips together, stood up, and followed Shinomiyami Nami.

Shinomiyami Nami walked neither too quickly nor too slowly. Yukina followed at her side, and the two of them chatted as usual as they headed to the elevator. Shinomiyami Nami quickly pressed several buttons on the control panel before the elevator doors slowly closed.

"Phew..."

Shinomiyami Nami relaxed slightly.

"Miss Shinomiyami, what happened?"

Yukina looked at Shinomiyami Nami and couldn't help asking.

Shinomiyami Nami's gaze held both hesitation and unease. She crouched slightly to meet Yukina's eyes.

"It concerns your sister."

The elevator descended, and a dull vibration came from beneath their feet. Yukina stared blankly at the tips of her shoes.

A strange tension spread through the air.

Yukina clenched the hem of her clothes, unease weighing heavily in her heart.

It was here again, this awful feeling. It had been the same when she was with her "brother" before. Although she had been dissatisfied by how hot and cold he could be, whenever he came home with injuries on his face, her heart would still tighten uncontrollably.

This contradictory yet undeniably real feeling...

Shinomiyami Nami kept her eyes fixed on the display panel, counting the changing numbers. She looked somewhat tense.

Yukina cautiously tried asking.

"Um... Miss Shinomiyami, what exactly happened to my sister?"

Shinomiyami Nami looked over and hesitated before speaking.

"She... is 'Ephnel' right now..."

"Ephnel...?"

"Yes, the genuine Ephnel, not Miss Yanase... Right now, she is acting in her capacity as an 'agent,' here at headquarters."

Shinomiyami Nami gave a somewhat awkward tug of her lips as she explained.

"Just now, our department suddenly detected the appearance of 'Ephnel's' wavelength. Its location was inside headquarters. Everyone was alarmed, thinking some kind of accident had happened, but after checking, we found that it was your sister... However... before we could relax, someone immediately reported that while confirming the situation through surveillance footage, they discovered that your sister had gone to the Commander's office in full Synchronization gear."

Yukina listened to Shinomiyami Nami's words with a bewildered expression, still unable to process them.