Work Text:
Side A
May 1, 2016
What should have been a peaceful Sunday morning like any other instead started off poorly and then became exponentially worse.
Over the last few days, the area surrounding Mitakihara City had been warned that there would be a massive thunderstorm in the area. That wouldn't have been a problem for Azusa Mifuyu in normal circumstances, but she wasn't in Kamihama this week. As luck would have it, however, this week she was visiting an upscale traditional kimono store in Kazamino, which was just to the east of Mitakihara, under an hour on the bus, only a little more than a half hour away by commuter train.
Speaking of commuter train, it wasn't running. The authorities had shut it down on Thursday, the afternoon of her arrival. All thoughts of proceeding with her plans to find a nice wedding kimono quickly took a back seat to the realization that this storm was going to be far worse than the forecasters had originally predicted. Mitakihara was ordered to evacuate late on Friday, but conditions deteriorated so quickly that by Saturday it was replaced with a shelter-in-place order, as it was too late to evacuate the city. Anyone who was still in the city was trapped there.
Kazamino was flooded with people escaping Mitakihara. Mifuyu had been lucky to find a place to stay. She was in a towering skyscraper of a hotel, which wouldn't have been her first choice, or even her second, but now she was just hoping she could make it through this weekend and find her way back to Kamihama as soon as she was able.
Unable to sleep, she looked out the balcony window of her 55th floor hotel room and watched the storm descend on Mitakihara. There was something very.... wrong about this. She couldn't quite place it. It was bad on a step above an ordinary thunderstorm. And it was already very bad. There was no meaningful distinction between day and night anymore-- it was all dark, all the time now.
On Sunday morning, however, the world turned from merely distressing to totally upside down.
Mifuyu felt a chill go up her spine, seeing the storm clouds forming the distinct shape of a massive witch in the sky, even from this distance. That laughter, that aura of power, even from this distance. This witch was powerful enough to need no barrier, and Mifuyu's soul gem reacted to its presence like a fire alarm.
The date was no coincidence, either.
It was unmistakably Walpurgisnacht.
She glanced at her phone.
Yachiyo. She needed to know. With trembling hands, she gripped her phone as best she could.
She hadn't communicated with Yachiyo in months now. When Kanae had.... died, and Yachiyo withdrew from the world, Mifuyu respected that. But this wasn't just a social call. Surely, this was a good enough reason to break their mutual silence...
If Walpurgisnacht was as bad as she feared... she absolutely needed to get out of here as fast as she could. She knew her magic wasn't what it used to be. There was no way she, herself, could possibly stand against a witch like that.
But maybe if she was in Kamihama, she and Yachiyo and Momoko and Tsuruno and Kanagi--
With shaking hands, she raised her phone to take video. Now she was actually grateful for how high her hotel room was, since it presented an almost totally unobstructed view of the witch. An ordinary person watching this footage would just see a storm, but she could see, and Yachiyo would see (she hoped) the witch.
She had to prop her phone up in both hands and rest her elbows on the still to stop herself from shaking, but she did it. She also took photos, and sent them quickly to Kanagi and Momoko, with whom she still at least had occasional communication, so they were higher on her list of regular contacts. She prefaced her texts with alarm emojis, instructed them to watch the news, and sent along her photos and video.
Now was not the time to feel awkward about cold calling like this.
Thanks to awful reception in the area, uploading the video took a lot longer than she expected. Still, it was worth it. She needed Momoko and Kanagi to see the threat in full, needed them to be on the alert. Kamihama was over twice as far away from Mitakihara as Kazamino was (over an hour on the high speed rail) but unless no one or nothing stopped Walpurgisnacht in Mitakihara, there was nothing stopping it from continuing on to find another population center for its familiars to feast on.
In the distance, while her phone uploaded the video to Kanagi, she watched the gears of the witch move as it picked up.... Mifuyu peered, wishing she had a good pair of binoculars. From here they looked like tiny sticks, but up close were those... skyscrapers?
Mifuyu shuddered to think of anyone still inside those.
And now, for Yacchan--
"Mifuyu-san! Where are you?"
Momoko replied first, though.
She had to make this quick, and had to speak much more directly than she would have otherwise done. "I'm in Kazamino. Next to Mitakihara. I'm stuck here. Listen, you need to get to the Coordinator's shop and have Yakumo-san send out an alert throughout Kamihama that a Walpurgisnacht--" Mifuyu hesitated to say the word aloud-- "a Walpurgisnacht is in Mitakihara. The entire region should be on the lookout."
"I'm already out the door, heading to the Coordinator's office right now!"
"And.... ask Yakumo-san if there's any magical girl with teleportation magic who can help me get out of here."
"Mifuyu-san! I absolutely will!"
I don't want to die. But Mifuyu didn't say that. Instead she said "thank you" and hung up.
Not ten seconds after that phone call was over, her phone buzzed again. The boss of the east had seen her message.
Once upon a time, they had squabbled over Kamihama's territory. That seemed so long ago now, in the face of a threat that could devastate the entire region.
"Keep me updated as needed," Kanagi said. "I'm headed to the Coordinator's so we can send out a message to everyone to stay safe."
"I will."
"And I don't need to tell you, but I will anyway. Please stay safe."
"I'll... try. I need an evacuation as soon as possible."
"There may be someone.... I'll know once I get to the Coordinator. Take care."
Finally, to inform Yachiyo. She sent the photos first, and then watched the situation while her phone sent the video, not wanting to miss out on any crucial detail they could use to defeat it. Just watching it from a distance made the small hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and she was hoping that Momoko would reply soon, because she absolutely needed to find out if there was any girl with teleportation magic in Kamihama who could evacuate her.
That slight bit of hope kept the young woman looking towards the dark horizon.
So she was perfectly positioned and alert when suddenly there was a flash, a pillar of pink light, that shot right up through the witch.
Mifuyu jolted upright. She glanced down at her phone. Still recording. Good, because Mifuyu at this point could not believe her own two eyes.
What just happened? That was-- was it a magical girl's attack? But how could--
A horrible, angry, witch's laugh reached her ears like a sonic boom. Mifuyu raised her hands on instinct to protect herself from the blast, but kept her phone pointed in the direction of Mitakihara.
Slowly, incredibly, unbelievably, the massive gears of the witch seemed to grind to a halt, and it began to fall out of the sky.
She was slack-jawed. A Walpurgisnacht.... taken out in one hit?
Someone must have contracted on the spot. Someone must have made a wish, specifically to take down this one witch. That was the only possible explanation that occurred to Mifuyu's veteran mind. And even then, that person would have to have an unbelievable amount of karmic weight backing her up. Puella magi couldn't just.... do that, could they?
Something wasn't adding up, but Mifuyu was too dazed to think much about it as she watched the dark skies retreat, the clouds part, the cloud of debris settle. Watched the blue daytime sky come out, like it was an ordinary beautiful Sunday morning.
Her phone buzzed. She quickly stopped the recording and answered. It was Momoko.
"I'm at the Coordinator's office, Mitama is right here with me." She heard a slight shuffle on the other end of the line. "Azusa-san, are you okay?"
"I-- I--" she stammered. "The Walpurgisnacht. It's... gone."
"What?" That was Momoko's voice, in obvious confusion. "It's-- it's a Waplurgisnacht! How is that--"
"I don't know!" Mifuyu replied. "There was a flash of pink light and-- and then it was just gone! The skies cleared, the witch fell out of the sky!"
"It what?"
"I caught it on video! I don't think I can send it to you in the middle of a call though."
"Wait-- Mifuyu-san, this call has video chat capability. Can you show us?"
Mifuyu pressed the button to switch on video and turned the camera towards the clear blue sky over Mitakihara.
"I--" She could see, in turn, Mitama and Momoko sitting together on a sofa, watching. Momoko was shocked, while Mitama was covering her mouth, eyes wide.
"But I saw the videos and photos you sent Momoko," Mitama said. "How is...."
"My best guess is that someone made a wish to destroy the witch," Mifuyu replied. "I saw a pillar of pink light shoot the witch through the gears and destroy it in one shot."
"Izumi-san! We're in here!" Momoko shouted off screen.
Mitama's brow was furrowed as she stroked her chin. "But.... the sheer amount of magical power it would take.... I'm.... worried."
Mifuyu nodded. "Yes, you understand my worry? Someone who used that much magic in one blast--"
There was a dark look in Mitama's eyes. "I don't know how many grief seeds it would take to keep someon--"
She didn't hear the rest. A massive sonic boom hit the tower and knocked her off her feet. Her phone went flying, the glass all shattered.
She lay there for a while, the distant sound of sirens and car alarms little more than white noise in her dazed ears.
When Mifuyu slowly came to, she blinked. There was... sound. She followed the sound. It was her phone, alerting her to the network going down. Thankfully the case had done its job and protected her phone. But there was still glass everywhere, and her hotel room was a mess.
She looked out the window, and immediately regretted her choice.
The city of Mitakihara was.... right back to apocalypse, but a totally different kind than it had previously been in. The blue skies were gone, replaced with dark clouds against an angry yellow sky. There was.... a vast shadow there, sucking up all the light. But where Walpurgisnacht was a witch that came through the sky and hung upside down laughing, this was.... reaching up towards the heavens, as if in supplication.
Just looking at it sucked the hope right out of Mifuyu.
That thing.... was pure evil.
She stayed there for a while, watching it. The witch reached towards the heavens, but where Walpurgisnacht had howled with laughter (which sounded like the howling of a gale or a storm), this one was silent.
A silent wall of advancing death. That was the shadow as it spread slowly across the landscape. She could see it growing steadily on the horizon, eclipsing skyscrapers, sucking everything into its horrid shadow.
So....
That was the end, then.
Mifuyu stared into the abyss and knew it was coming for her.
Her life seemed to slow down. Everything suddenly felt so.... meaningless. What was the point of it all? Really. Why was she here? A wedding kimono? How pointless. Everything was pointless. Even if she had not been here in Kazamino, on this day, that horrible shadow would still be coming for her, for her family, for Mizuna, for Kamihama, for everyone in it, for Kanagi, for Momoko, for Tsuruno, for--
Her world spun.
Yachiyo. She had to call Yachiyo.
Taking a breath, she tore her gaze away from the shadow on the horizon and brought up Yachiyo's contact information and made a video call.
Signal was too weak. She wanted to cry. Now, of all times! That was when she needed to call her! Oh why, why had she waited so long? It wasn't as if she hadn't known she was doomed, as a magical girl, who would someday become a witch, but--
Something about the immediacy of what was right outside her window--
Mifuyu felt tears come down her face.
Right when she needed to hear Yacchan's voice....
She tried again. And again. No result. She wiped her eyes, wiped her nose.
Her phone buzzed, and her heart skipped a beat, but it wasn't Yachiyo. It was Momoko, again, this time just an ordinary call.
"Momoko-san," she said as soon as she accepted the call.
"MIfuyu-san! I think the signal is weak, we tried to video call you but we couldn't get through."
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice cracking.
"Sorry for what?"
"Sorry for everything." Mifuyu choked back a sob. "I'm sorry I let the team fall apart after Mel... I'm so sorry. I wish I had been a better friend...."
"Mifuyu-san...." Momoko paused for a moment. "Please. Don't give up. Izumi-san went to find someone who can help. Hang in there, okay?"
"The shadow is getting closer."
"It-- it is?"
"It's growing." Mifuyu looked out of her balcony window. With the glass all destroyed, it wasn't so much a window anymore as it was simply a wide open door, lashed by the wind and the storm that were now coming from the clear direction of Mitakihara and the dark shadow in its center, still reaching up towards the heavens.
"I.... if I had to guess with what I know about magical girls, that's the witch from the magical girl who killed Walpurgisnacht. And it's not going to stop, Momoko." She choked on her sob again. "It's not going to stop here, it's going to keep going. It'll get to you too."
"How fast is it moving?" Momoko asked in a low voice.
"I can't tell from here. But, Momoko... I'm really glad I met you. You were a good friend. A better friend than I deserved..."
"Please don't give up." Was Momoko's voice also shaking on the line? "There might be someone who can teleport to you and get you out, if we can find her--"
"Please don't.... give me that kind of hope. I-I can't deal with it." Mifuyu clenched her fist to stop the shaking. "I need to.... to call Yacchan. And then my family, but I need to talk to Yacchan one more time."
"She's not in Kamihama, though."
"What?"
Yachiyo had never been to America before. But for once, the timing worked out. And the opportunity to be in US Vogue was an offer she couldn't really refuse. She was on her way to the top.
A shame no one was with her here in San Francisco, but it wasn't that big a deal, in the end. She left her phone turned off in her purse; it was of only limited usefulness without an American SIM card, anyway. If there was wifi in the cafes and gorgeous restaurants that she and the other models were shuttled to, that was nice.
More importantly, Yachiyo didn't really have anyone that she was in frequent communication with. So she used her phone as a camera at most.
She also didn't have to worry about magical girl duties much, it seemed. She did hunt in the late night, just skimming off the top since she knew it was bad form for tourists to take too many local grief seeds. But the multiple glimpses she'd gotten of a puella magi who fought with a teddy bear reassured her that this city was under watchful eyes.
Which was very good, because she was busy. It was the third day of back to back work. The magazine was shooting an entire segment on East Asian and American fusion fashion, featuring the work of Asian-American designers, so she had been taken to various sites of importance in San Francisco and, after over an hour of makeup at a time, asked to put on clothes and satisfy the artistic eye of some excellent but demanding photographers.
It was worth it, considering her future, but it was also exhausting to do this for days on end after being on a long flight.
Thankfully, this was the last day. Even better, to end the shoot, she and the other models were taken to a gorgeous upscale restaurant, featuring Asian American fusion cuisine, primarily Chinese. It was almost 5 in the afternoon, but Yachiyo was perfectly happy to eat whenever she could find the time, without much dedication to a rigid schedule of meals.
She wondered, while reading the menu and looking at the dishes available, if Tsuruno would....
No, best not to think about her too much.
Still, Tsuruno and Yachiyo were still on speaking terms, if very infrequent. She would at least take a photo of her meal and send it to her at some point. She knew Tsuruno would like that.
As usual, she mostly tuned out the other models, who were more talkative and extroverted than her anyway. At least, right up until she felt one of them touch her shoulder.
"Nanami-san, where are you from in Japan?" she asked in American accented Japanese.
"I'm from Kamihama," she replied.
"Is that near where that is?" the other young model asked, nodding towards something.
Yachiyo hadn't even noticed that the other women at the table had fallen silent, murmuring as they watched the widescreen TV mounted on the wall. It was actually tuned to NHK right now, so she could understand what was happening just fine.
And what was happening...
Her eyes widened.
The biggest witch she had ever seen. But the narration was referring to it as a rapidly spreading megastorm of some kind. It was almost 9am on Sunday in Japan, so the sky should have been bright blue, but it was a foreboding black and dark yellow instead. And then there was the witch in the center, like a living shadow, reaching up towards the sky.
As a longtime puella magi, she knew that every May 1st, there was an uptick in the chance of the occurrence of a Walpurgisnacht. And it looked like one had finally come.
"Oh no..... my parents! They're in Mitakihara!"
One of the other models covered her mouth suddenly. The two women on either side of her put their hands on her shoulders to comfort her.
Yachiyo was still stunned for a moment longer, looking at the giant witch on screen. A witch that size.... was even bigger than she had ever imagined a Walpurgisnacht to be like. What could possibly stand against something like that? What would honestly stop it from simply growing forever?
How.... how much distance between it and Kamihama?
Yachiyo immediately turned on her phone.
"Hey, does this place have wifi?"
The other model, the one who asked her where she was from, nodded and showed her in the menu where the password was written down.
"Thank you. My friends.... live around there." She actually did know of some veteran magical girls there, not friends, but who would certainly now be engaging in battle with that witch-- if for no other reason, fighting for their lives.
While her phone was still turning on, she watched the screen, eyes never wavering. The news anchor related that initial reports said that the storm was expanding with no sign of letting up, and Yachiyo suddenly found herself fearing the worst.
Was it possible that it would simply keep expanding, absorbing territory and the entire city? And then.... moving on to the next one? And the next one?
Mitakihara was just a little over an hour away from Kamihama by train. How much longer?
Her phone was on. She connected it to the wifi in the restaurant, and almost immediately, her heart sank-- her phone buzzed, and a dozen plus messages poured in. Most of her messages were from Mitama. Kanagi had also tried to call her, but obviously Yachiyo had missed those calls and so Kanagi had instead messaged her by text and audio messages. Even Momoko had messaged her, and Tsuruno too, worried about her, and even--
Mifuyu.
She sat up immediately.
"I-I'm sorry, I need to find someplace quiet where I can take these calls."
The storm continued on the TV screen as the translator and one of the restaurant workers guided her to a semi-closed booth in the back. They also took the other model from Mitakihara with them, who was now crying. She went to the restroom.
Yachiyo quickly caught up on the reports of what was going on back home, and she felt her blood run colder with each line.
She figured that catching up with Kanagi's messages would be the best first option, since Kanagi was often very direct and straightforward in her messages. And she was right.
"There is a suspected Walpurgisnacht in Mitakihara."
"Reports from the ground indicate that the worst case scenario has occurred. It's an enormous Walpurgisnacht. I am going now to Yakumo-san's office to confirm."
"Azuza-san is in Kazamino."
"Azusa-san is the one informing myself, Togame-san, and Yakumo-san via her video messages."
"Azusa-san now says that the Walpurgisnacht is.... gone?"
"Sudden explosion on the end of her line. We lost contact. I don't know what happened, but I fear the worst. We need to get her out of there."
"I'm headed to Sankyō Ward. There's a magical girl there who I've heard has a teleportation ability. I've never spoken to her, but I've spoken to her friend and now I need to find her."
Nothing after that. Yachiyo quickly moved on to Mitama's messages.
"Yachiyo-san! Mifuyu-san is in Kazamino and she says that there's a Walpurgisnacht in Mitakihara right next door. Incoming video."
The video had automatically downloaded on the fast wifi network in the restaurant, and Yachiyo pressed play.
If her blood had been feeling cold, this froze it altogether. That monster in the distance was, unmistakably.... something on the level of a Walpurgisnacht. As a veteran she knew there was always at least a slight possibility there would be one on May 1st, but...
Well, no one expected lightning to strike them. But statistically, there was always a small chance of being hit.
And now it was Mitakihara's turn.
"Mifuyu-san sent me this video. She's fine right now but Kanagi says she's going to try to get her out of there."
"Mifuyu-san now says that the Walpurgisnacht is... gone? But isn't that impossible? No magical girl can make a wish to defeat a Walpurgisnacht in a single hit. No ordinary magical girl, anyway."
"There was an explosion where Mifuyu-san is. She says that the Walpurgisnacht is gone, but now it's basically been replaced by..... something worse."
Then there were photos, as well as links to photos on social media from weather drones in the area. They all showed a horrifying, growing, pulsing shadow with arms stretching up towards the sky. Yachiyo shuddered.
There had been a Walpurgisnacht in Mitakihara. Someone had contracted to destroy it, and in an unusual occurrence, her karmic weight had been great enough to defeat it quickly, but then her soul gem had contaminated completely on the spot, and now this monster....
Yachiyo suddenly felt the weight of all those implications hit her like a ton of bricks, and she had to lean back against the wall.
A Walpurgisnacht could hit with the energy equivalent of a natural disaster like a hurricane or an earthquake. They had been mistaken for those by humans, in fact. The sheer amount of energy it takes to destroy one of those in a single hit is staggering. And someone who has that kind of karmic weight and power-- She would undoubtedly be the strongest puella magi on Earth.
And without immediate use of multiple grief seeds, there would be nothing left for her but to become the most evil witch ever. Something that staggeringly powerful was a wave that couldn't be resisted, couldn't be turned back, couldn't be defeated, couldn't be stopped from spreading over the entire region, possibly the country--
And Mifuyu was in Kazamino, where she could see all this happen.
She and Yachiyo had fought side by side for so long. They were both hardened puella magi veterans, who had seen more battles than almost any other magical girls lived to see, escaping death by the skin of their teeth on countless occasions, and now Mifuyu was suddenly doomed to death by numbers. She wasn't dumb. She would know that the witch was coming for her, and it would only be a matter of hours, minutes, seconds.
Perhaps there was no safe distance from this witch. Perhaps even here--
Yachiyo quickly checked the time in Japan. It was past 9:30 am on Sunday. The storm had appeared at 8am, had cleared up about a half hour later, and then five minutes after that had been replaced by the greatest catastrophe on the planet.
How much time did Mifuyu--
Fingers shaking from fear, she pressed on their latest conversation.
Mifuyu had sent her some audio messages.
Her voice was trembling. Yachiyo knew then that Mifuyu had pieced together everything she had just done.
"Yacchan.... I.... I'm in Kazamino. There was a Walpurgisnacht in Mitakihara. Someone beat it, I don't know who, but then she turned into a witch and now.... the witch is coming. It's bigger, stronger than the Walpurgisnacht... I can see it from my hotel here. It... radiates evil, even from this distance. My connection is shaky and I can't video call, but I wanted you to hear my voice."
That was it for that one. On to the next. Trembling fingers pressed play.
"Yacchan.... it's coming. It's spreading. It's like a black wave, coming in all directions. Kanagi said she would try to get me out. I don't think she can get here in time. I...." Mifuyu took a shuddering breath. "I'm not going to let it take me. I don't..... not like Mel. I can't. I can't."
"It feels very weird to hold your own life in the palm of your hand and know that it's better than.... joining that."
Yachiyo barely noticed that a restaurant worker brought her a glass of water and a box of tissues. In fact, she hadn't noticed until that point that there were tears in her eyes.
"I did my best... as a puella magi... and I'm so glad I got to know you, and Momoko, and Tsuruno, and Mel and Kanae... I guess I'm going to see them soon, huh..."
"I'm sorry.... you once wrote that you didn't think someone would want to receive a letter from a dead person. But here I am..."
"I know you have my will. I'm sorry I don't have yours with me right now. I want to see your handwriting. I want to hear your words and your voice one last time. Yacchan.... I'm sorry...."
Yachiyo did have Mifuyu's will with her. She always did. Mifuyu knew that.
"My connection is getting worse... the wave is getting closer. I have.... so much I want to tell you. I'm sorry... Yacchan."
That was the final message, sent fifteen minutes ago.
Yachiyo quickly looked at a map of where Kazamino was in relation to Mitakihara, and where Mifuyu's hotel was compared to the wave of darkness. So close. And the news alerts still came in, telling her that the storm, as humans saw it, was right on the edge of the city.
She wanted to scream, to cry. She balled up her fists. This had come out of nowhere. She had thought--
They had all thought--
"More.... time."
But there wasn't more time.
Keeping in mind that communications in the area were down, she realized that there was no way she could message Mifuyu back. By the time her audio message could make it and download onto Mifuyu's own phone, the wave of darkness would be right there.
There was no way for her to comfort Mifuyu, her best friend of seven years, no way to be with her even over the phone at the end, no way for her to do anything about anything.
Yachiyo was seething with impotent sorrow and rage. Tears rolled down her face, tears she hadn't cried in a long time, tears she hadn't expected to cry. Knowing that this wave of darkness was upon Mifuyu, knowing that it would soon be coming for Kanagi, for Mitama, for Momoko, for Tsuruno, for everyone else she had ever cared about in Kamihama.
And lurking in the back of her mind, the possibility that it would come for her too.
Not even a wish to survive could possibly protect her from a planetary catastrophe like that witch.
Slowly, she gathered herself. She wiped her eyes with the tissues on her table, and took a breath.
It was a futile action, she knew that very well, but she still had to do it, for the sake of her own conscience. For the friend she had broken off communications with who reached out to her now, for the woman waiting with a silent phone in one hand and her soul gem in the other, watching doomsday approaching.
For Mifuyu who wanted to hear her voice.
Yachiyo pressed the audio recording function and began. "Mifuyu...."
When she was done, the message from her phone was transmitted to Japan, to the Mitakihara region, towards Kazamino, but it never made it to its destination. It was destroyed en route, devoured by the wave of darkness that had already obliterated the message's intended recipient.
Within hours, their mutual friends had also all been swallowed up by the darkness.
And several days later, the sender of the message was also gone, her words and sentiments lost to the void.
Side B (hidden track)
May 2, 2017
"... I love you," Yachiyo said as she put her hand on Mifuyu's cheek, gazing into her eyes as they were eating dinner in a restaurant in the Castro district of San Francisco.
Mifuyu felt the metal of the engagement ring on Yachiyo's finger touching her cheek, and smiled.