Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Mu's grades were not bad, but none of them were outstanding; her piano skills were not bad either, but compared to Xiangzi next door, who could be called a "genius," she paled in comparison; her obedience was described by teachers and adults as a lack of assertiveness; her quietness was described as introverted and withdrawn.

In contrast to Mutsu, the children in the Toyokawa family next door underwent a completely different change.

From a young age, Xiangzi was reluctant to listen to adults, but he persevered in whatever he decided to learn, even if it meant crying and shouting. He excelled in everything he learned and displayed astonishing talent in each subject. His inherent rebelliousness was masked after attending etiquette classes for several years. His mischievousness and disobedience transformed into confidence and initiative, and his penchant for leading trouble became a sign of his own opinions and leadership qualities.

The poised and confident Xiangzi quickly became the focus of everyone's attention. After starting elementary school, the title of "someone else's child" quickly shifted from Mu to Xiangzi.

During his six years of elementary school, the only thing Mu could be considered good at was playing the electric guitar, which he learned by chance.

By chance, Mutsu saw a band called "Dragon Power" on TV and asked Minami what the sound like a rushing torrent was in her song. That was the first time Mutsu had shown active interest in something.

But learning electric guitar wasn't entirely her own idea; in the end, it was Senmina who made the final decision.

Since she couldn't beat others in piano anyway, she might as well switch tracks. Mu was not the kind of person who would make a big fuss about giving up. Since she had started learning, she would definitely stick to it. Of course, she couldn't neglect piano either.

Being multi-talented is a basic requirement for wealthy families when it comes to their children.

So, during her elementary school years, Mu began learning the electric guitar.

Mu and Xiangzi became "sisters" during their time in elementary school.

During those years, the two families had a lot of business dealings, and the two girls spent more time alone together because of these business dealings. In addition, they both went to school in Tsukinomori, and the frequency of them appearing in public together became quite high. The nickname "sisters" emerged during this period.

Xiangzi has always been a very opinionated person. She took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility of being the "older sister," while Mu, as the "younger sister," only needed to listen to her older sister.

And so, the ordinary days continued until the year I was in my third year of junior high school, when everything changed dramatically.

Xiangzi's mother fell ill and was hospitalized. After that, the two families suddenly lost contact. Mu rarely saw Xiangzi outside of school and knew very little about his family's situation.

Mu returned to living alone, just like before.

Going to school, coming home, attending training classes, and practicing guitar at home.

They lived a monotonous and mechanical life arranged by their family.

until......

One day, Xiangzi said to He Mu.

"Mumu, I've become a magical girl."

============

Mu snapped out of her reverie.

Looking up, surrounded by dense trees, Mu suddenly remembered what Su Shi had said at noon. Belatedly, he took out his phone, intending to send a message to Xiangzi to remind him.

But as soon as I took out my phone and my finger landed on the first letter, I paused for a moment for no apparent reason.

Mu, stop being a puppet.

Xiangzi's words suddenly came to mind. Mu hesitated for a moment before typing a string of the same letters into the message bar.

After realizing what had happened, Mu deleted the characters that had been accidentally touched, retyped the complete sentence, and then clicked send.

【睦】：Su Shi went to Yuqiu.

【祥】：(Types)

[Xiang]: I saw her.

Mu breathed a sigh of relief, sent another message to Xiangzi to let him know that he was already in the pine forest, and then put his phone away.

With eyes as bright as Xiangzi's, Mu's golden pupils slowly dilated as he gazed at the damp earth.

==========

After Xiangzi, Mu also became a magical girl.

She couldn't think of any wish to become a magical girl; it was simply an invitation.

"Your sister has already become a magical girl, do you want to join her?" the white doll said. "She'll be happy to have another ally."

Mutsumi followed Kyubey's advice and made a wish that could be considered insignificant, thus becoming a magical girl.

Contrary to his expectations, when Xiangzi found out, he didn't show much joy. Instead, his expression turned sorrowful, and he turned away, muttering to himself:

"Mu really is like a puppet, doing whatever others tell her to do."

Xiangzi spoke very softly, probably because he didn't want Mu to hear him.

But Mu heard it clearly.

puppet......

So, in Xiang's eyes, I've always been a puppet?

Shoko looked at Mu with complicated eyes, pretending that she hadn't said those words, and began Mu's life as a magical girl. Mu pretended not to hear Shoko's words, continued to be the obedient puppet, joined Crychic, and became a member of the team that Shoko had hoped for.

For Xiangzi, Crychic was a dreamlike place, possessing everything he desired: reliable teammates, soulmates, shared goals, and a positive atmosphere. Therefore, it was also a dreamlike place for Mu.

Mu's guitar, which she had always kept as a hobby, also came in handy at Crychic—they were going to perform on stage as a magical girl band.

The founders of the Reed Plains Magical Girl Gathering have some rather demanding requirements for music. Hard-level witch battles must be booked in advance on the performance schedule through live reservations, which many newcomers find daunting.

Fortunately, playing instruments is not a difficult thing for magical girls. After becoming magical girls, their physical abilities are enhanced to an abnormal state. Their control over their muscles and their thinking speed allow them to quickly pick up any instrument. Even if they don't know any music theory, playing along with the sheet music is enough to meet the minimum requirements for a live performance.

But none of that has anything to do with Crychic.

As a team personally assembled by Xiangzi, this team, built around Takamatsu Touka, has found truly talented individuals in both magical girl abilities and musical skills.

Mu is one of them, but it only goes as far as "one of them".

For Xiangzi, she was still that puppet-like "little sister" who was always at his beck and call.

For Xiangzi, this relationship was not that of true sisters.

For Xiangzi...

What about Mu?

What should she do when Xiangzi, who has been in control, stops taking action?

If Ye Mu chooses to stop thinking and let the status quo continue.

For her, things are probably fine as they are now.

There's nothing wrong with continuing to play house, continuing to be seen as a sister by others, and continuing to amuse yourself in the cage called Crychic, is there?

Playing in a band might actually be quite fun.

No?

Maybe...

If the current situation can continue, it might really be the best for Mutsu.

But magical girl was a lie from the very beginning, and the truth will always come out eventually.

"I'm telling you this so that you won't have anything to do with me anymore."

On the night Xiangzi was resurrected, before the tragic state of her home was discovered and before she left Crychic, the first person Xiangzi found was Mu, and she said the above words.

"Mu, stop being a puppet."

At that time, Xiang had obvious bloodstains on his shoulders, heavy dark circles around his eyes, and his hair was a mess like a chicken coop. He looked as disheveled as if he had just crawled out of a garbage dump.

I hope you can live according to your own ideas.

Even so, Xiang still used all his strength and said.

=========

"Act according to your own ideas..."

When Mu came to her senses, she found herself back in CiRCLE, which she had passed through earlier, after leaving the pine forest.

She remembered that Xiang seemed to have encountered some trouble and would be arriving later, so she was asked to wait there.

Mu stood straight at the entrance of CiRCLE for a while, and soon Xiangzi's figure appeared at the edge of his field of vision.

〢散I〒I2@究贰踆祥子 walked over aggressively, about to say something.

“Whatever Xiang plans to do, I will agree,” Mu said first.

“Once you start, there’s no turning back.” Xiangzi frowned, seemingly very dissatisfied with Mu’s hasty reply.

Live according to your own ideas.

Mu has always been very clear about what she thinks.

"I want to always follow Yi Ni and Er Ba Zai Xiang behind her," that was her wish back then.

Because of this wish, Mutsu's magic and weapons are the "threads" that connect the two.

Mu never imagined that one day her wish would actually come in handy.

This wish led Xiangzi to avoid severing ties with everyone he knew in the past, and to bear all the pressure alone.

This wish led Xiangzi to subconsciously regard Mutsu as someone she could completely trust, and she told Mutsu all the truths about magical girls at once.

This wish led Xiangzi to regard Mu as his other half, as the last person in the world he could unconditionally rely on.

“I know,” Mu said softly. “I’ve always known, because… Xiang feels like he’s about to break down.”

Auspiciousness must not be damaged.

Xiang is not alone.

No matter what awaits us ahead, I will always stand behind Xiang.

Because this is my wish.

NEXT TO YOU

Beside you.

==

P.S.: I've been experiencing writer's block lately, plus I haven't been feeling well, so my updates have become a bit inconsistent. I'll try to get back on track as soon as possible; before this, I was consistently posting 4kbps daily.

The Tale of Nirvana: Keeping to Your True Self: Chapter 112 The Library of Memories

I feel like it's about to break?

Upon hearing this, Xiangzi instinctively clenched his fist.

Is this a sign of disrespect towards me...?

A feeling of irritability rose from the bottom of my heart, and the nameless anger that had been bottled up inside me finally came out through my throat.

“Sometimes you really are so aloof, Mu,” Xiangzi said in a low voice, turning his head away.

The moment Mu heard Xiangzi's whisper, his pupils shrank sharply, and he lowered his head listlessly like a dog that knew it had done something wrong.

Sure enough, I said something wrong again.

In Xiangzi's eyes, Mu's appearance made her feel as if a hand had grabbed her heart, held it in its palm, and could be trampled at will, even making her feel like she couldn't breathe.

"Ah...it's happening again..." Xiangzi rubbed his temples with a headache and habitually took out his medicine from his pocket.

Xiangzi turned around and waved to Mu.

"gone."

Mu lowered her head and obediently walked to Xiangzi's side.

Xiangzi turned his eyes to the side, his eyes reflecting Mu's blank face.

She didn't know how long this state of uncontrollably saying hurtful things would continue. All she could do was control her emotions so that they wouldn't affect her life or the people around her.

Xiangzi looked away and continued walking forward, his gaze fixed on the small medicine bottle in his hand.

She was supposed to go for a follow-up appointment last weekend, but the Kabukicho incident disrupted her plans. She doesn't have much medication left, so she has to use it sparingly.

But it wasn't entirely without good news. To be honest, Xiangzi didn't know if it was good news or not—Toyokawa Xiangzi, the other self she had imagined, seemed to have disappeared without a trace after taking over her body on Sunday morning and carrying out a brutal massacre.

Xiangzi saved her from the process of struggling with herself, which made her feel a little more at ease, but she wasn't sure if Toyokawa Xiangzi had some new trick up her sleeve to disappear.

Putting the medicine bottle back in his pocket, Xiangzi temporarily put aside his other personal problem.

Since Toyokawa Shoko isn't coming out, Shoko should cherish this free time and finish everything he needs to do.

He led Mu to the pine forest, took Mu's hand, closed his eyes, and brought her into the barrier.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the dim, yellowish sun at dusk. Without saying a word, Xiangzi walked down the stairs, turned the corner, and walked with practiced ease toward the tram stop below the square.