Tokyo: Magical Girl Shatters My Dream of Going Public

Xuecun was stunned.

She hadn't expected it to be for this reason.

"That...Bai Hua," she asked hesitantly, "is also surnamed Xuecun?"

Kurokawa shook his head: "No. I only know her name is 'Baihua'."

His gaze seemed to pass over the rising steam, as if looking into a very distant place.

"As for her full name, appearance, and features... I don't remember any of them."

He paused, his voice very soft.

"All I remember is that she had a... very distinctive mark on her abdomen."

"So, when I heard that you were also called 'Bai Hua', I wondered... could you be her?"

Everything he said was true.

Only the most crucial part has been omitted.

That "Baihua" is a magical girl.

Upon hearing this, Xuecun subconsciously asked, "Is this person... important to you?"

"It's very important." Kurokawa's answer was without the slightest hesitation, even carrying a certain weight. "In a sense... she is my goal, the goal I strive for in my life."

Yukimura was even more confused: "If she's really that important... why don't you remember what she looks like?"

Kurokawa twitched the corners of his mouth, a faint smile, even somewhat desolate.

"Because... that happened a very, very long time ago."

He wasn't lying.

For him, that was indeed the "future" fifteen years from now.

So he didn't say things like "a long, long time ago" or "a long, long time later".

They just used this vague adjective for a very long time.

Xuecun unconsciously touched the back of his neck again.

calm.

No exception.

He was telling the truth.

Logic quickly connected and filled in the gaps in her mind.

A plausible story gradually took shape.

The "Hakuka" that Kurokawa mentioned might be his childhood sweetheart.

We were separated for some reason and have not heard from each other since.

He only remembered the other person's name and the birthmark on their abdomen, and had been searching for them for years.

That's why he lost his composure when he heard the same name, and that's why he was so concerned about her abdomen.

Everything... makes sense now.

She felt somewhat dazed as the warm spring water enveloped her.

Xuecun paused, then asked softly, "Then... could you tell me more about Bai Hua? You and she... must have a good relationship?"

Kurokawa remained silent for a moment.

The hot spring water murmured softly, and moonlight fell on the water's surface, shattering into shimmering silver flakes.

He let out a long, slow sigh.

Xuecun realized he had asked something he shouldn't have, and quickly lowered his head: "I'm sorry, I asked a silly question... You always remember me, so we must have a very good relationship..."

"No."

Kurokawa interrupted her, shaking his head with great regret.

"To be honest, my relationship with her... was terrible."

Yukimura looked up at him, puzzled.

Kurokawa continued, speaking slowly, as if carefully choosing each word:

"It's so bad...it's irreconcilable."

"In fact, Bai Hua and I are companions within the same 'framework'."

He was searching for the right words.

"At least from a macro perspective, we are aligned in direction. But our philosophies are completely different, which is why we have always been at odds."

"I couldn't convince her, and she couldn't convince me."

His gaze fell on the reflection in the water, and his voice lowered.

"Later... we had a conflict. I lost."

"A complete and utter defeat."

Xuecun was confused, but he vaguely grasped the key points.

Ideological differences!

This kind of thing happens often, and she frequently has conflicts with other teachers at the school.

Although it always ends with her apologizing...

She tried to comfort her: "Perhaps... if you sit down and have a good talk, you can understand each other?"

Kurokawa shook his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"If it could be resolved through dialogue, I...wouldn't be in this state now."

He raised his head and looked at Xuecun, his eyes filled with a heaviness that Xuecun could not understand.

"That's a matter of stance. An absolutely irreconcilable stance."

"I can understand her position, but that doesn't mean I agree with it."

"We are all fighting for our ideals. In my opinion, the greatest respect for her... is to defeat her, along with everything she has, in the way I insist on."

Xuecun tried hard to process what these words had to say.

She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "So...do you dislike her? Or rather, hate her?"

Kurokawa shook his head, his smile this time less desolate and more complex.

"No. In fact... I used to look up to her."

"I think she is both strong and beautiful."

"Until... I witnessed firsthand the chaos caused by her ideology."

His voice lowered.

"That's why we... decided to take a different path from hers."

Kurokawa was not lying.

For him, who has been reborn, his greatest enemy is the twelve magical girls who once destroyed the company.

Bai Hua, who is in charge of this, must be his biggest enemy.

But it's different from the personal grudge against [Sakura].

The conflict between him and Bai Hua is deeper and more fundamental.

It's a conflict about who should wield power and how order should be established.

He wanted power to be in the hands of humans, not to be entrusted with the fate of a magical girl of unknown origin.

Bai Hua, on the other hand, wants to pour resources and energy into the magical girl group.

To this end, she even resorted to force, coercing the nation to release the magical girl who had committed heinous crimes...

But these words were automatically translated into a version that Xuecun could understand.

Kurokawa looks to be in his twenties now.

"A long, long time ago," that must have been when I was in elementary school, right?

"Companions within the same framework" likely refers to those from the same school or the same club.

"Different ideologies" and "issues of stance"—could it be... a dispute between the student council president and the disciplinary committee member?

Bai Hua is the student council president, and Kurokawa is the disciplinary committee member.

The conflict arose because of their different ways of managing their classmates, and they eventually fell out, with Kurokawa even losing...

Um--!

This is the only explanation.

Xuecun quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and even felt a little admiration.

So, is the student council for elementary school students really this complicated?

Kids from big cities are really amazing...

After telling his "story," Kurokawa's gaze returned to Yukimura's face.

Through the hazy mist and fogged glasses, his gaze was unusually serious, without any intention of offending.

"Ms. Yukimura, could you... let me see your abdomen?"

Xuecun's face flushed bright red, all the way down to his ears.

She instinctively hugged herself and shrank back, almost burying her chin in the water.

"No, no!" Her voice tightened. "I have nothing on my stomach! And... and this is the first time we've met!"

Kurokawa did not look away.

He looked into those eyes hidden behind the fogged-up glasses, his tone sincere, even earnest:

"In fact... Bai Hua herself is completely unaware of 'these things' between me and her."

"That mark... is the only way I can recognize her."

"Please. This may be one of the most important requests of my life."

Xuecun was completely dumbfounded.

What does it mean when "the other party has absolutely no idea"?

Could it be... a one-sided crush? Or even a twisted obsession, like a stalker?

wrong.

Combining the previously mentioned "poor relationship" and "conflicting ideologies"...

That's more like... a one-sided "arch-enemy"?

She habitually raised her hand and touched the back of her neck.

The skin felt warm, and water slid over it.

There was no needle-like or unusual sensation.

Her intuition told her that Kurokawa was not lying.

Every word he said was true.

Silence spread through the hot spring pool, with only the gurgling of water.

Under Kurokawa's unwavering gaze, Yukimura finally spoke weakly, his voice barely audible:

"Is it absolutely necessary to watch this?"

Please.

Kurokawa's answer was brief, yet weighty.

A few more seconds passed.

Xuecun took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind.

She lowered her head, her voice so soft it was almost drowned out by the sound of the water:

"...Just... a little while."

Determined.

Under Kurokawa's earnest gaze, Yukimura slowly stood up from the hot spring.

Ripples spread across the water's surface, making a splashing sound.

Kurokawa subconsciously sat up straight, his gaze fixed intently on her waist and abdomen.

Waiting for the secret to be revealed.

In fact, at this point, he was basically certain that this timid teacher was not the magical girl [Baihua].

At least, not yet.

But he couldn't be completely at ease until he saw it with his own eyes.

Xuecun's fingers trembled slightly.

She lowered her head, avoiding Kurokawa's gaze, and slowly untied the towel knot wrapped around her chest.

The soaking wet towel came undone and slipped off, only to be frantically grabbed by her hand.

The light blue two-piece swimsuit was fully exposed.

Xuecun usually wears loose clothing, making his figure indistinct.

The wet swimsuit clung to her skin, outlining her slender yet well-proportioned waist and flat, firm abdomen.

Kurokawa's gaze did not waver.

He looked directly at the location he remembered.

The center of the lower abdomen, above the navel.

Her skin was smooth and slightly red from being soaked in the hot spring water.

There was nothing there.

There is no cross.

There is no mark.

Kurokawa's taut shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly.

He let out a soft breath, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled back into place.

"I'm sorry," he said, his smile softening again, his tone a mixture of apology and relief, "it seems... I was mistaken."

Upon hearing this, Xuecun felt a great sense of relief.

Her tense nerves suddenly relaxed.

But this relaxation—

The already tightly fitted upper part of the swimsuit suddenly experienced an imbalance in pressure.

Snapped!

A slight snapping sound.

"—Snap?"

Kurokawa instinctively uttered a question.

Look downwards—

The thin strap that held the swimsuit to the chest had broken at the knot in the middle.

The light blue fabric then bounced to both sides.

Before his eyes, a snow-white, shimmering halo suddenly magnified.

--oh.

No.

That is not light.

That is……

Great Luck!

"...!"

Xuecun stood frozen in place.

Time seemed to freeze for a second.

then.

Snapped--!

A crisp sound echoed through the air above the hot spring.

Then came the sounds of frantic splashing, the rustling of fabric, and a small, suppressed sob, tinged with a cry.