Azalea 9

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Ayame Part 7
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Ayame: One day, I got a message from Kako. She said “I want to meet you at the usual park”. I was wondering if we were going to play with Felicia again but then she said to “bring Hazuki-san with you”…
Even without my instincts, I knew… that something had to be up…

Hazuki: So…you have something you need to tell not only Ayame, but me too?
Kako: Yes…
Ayame: So… wh, what do you have to say…?
Kako: …First, there’s this incident that’s happening in Kamihama…let’s explain from there… Felicia-san, if you please…
Felicia: Leave it to me!
Ayame: Felicia, you know about this too? What’s this incident…
Felicia: Well, yeah! I’m a mercenary so I hear all sorts of stuff.
Hazuki: …So, what’s it about?
Felicia: Y’see, lately there’s been a lot of magical girls collapsing.
Hazuki: Collapse…?
Felicia: Uhh… what do you call it? It’s…uh…
Kako: Fainting…
Felicia: Yeah! That! Fainting! They say that after you finish fighting a witch or a familiar or something…you suddenly fall with a bam!
Ayame: So…why is that…?
Felicia: They say that no one knows why they collapse. The girls weren’t defeated in a barrier so it can’t be a witch or anything. Actually, seems like there isn’t a reaction. So, well, that’s not it. …As a result, the most suspicious ones are…
Hazuki: …Magical girls…
Felicia: Bingo!
Kako: They say that “someone is using their magic to make other girls faint”…
Ayame: …Eh~? Why would someone do something like that? Even if you defeat a magical girl, there’s no point!
Kako: …There’s some speculation like this floating around. “They’re defeating magical girls in order to get rid of the competition…”
Hazuki: …Then, the magical girls that were attacked are…
Kako: Still sleeping…according to the rumor. The only thing is, there aren’t any victims close to me so I can’t verify whether the rumor was true or not…
Felicia: But anyway, that rumor’s got everyone freaking out. That, or they’re super cautious and paranoid and on the edge…
Kako: They say that there’s a lot fewer people actively hunting witches…
Felicia: Thanks to that, I don’t have any work either and…ahhh-, it drives me nuts—!
Hazuki: …I see…so that’s why they think that it’s “to decrease competition”…
Kako: Yes…So, what paradoxically came out were speculations of “the culprit has to be a magical girl”…
Ayame: So? So? Who’s the one going around doing things like that? When I find them I’ll…grrr—!
Kako: This is the most important part, though this is also just a rumor…they say that “the magical girls who we’ve started seeing around Kamihama lately are suspicious”…
Hazuki: …Uwaah~… I see where this is going...
Ayame: Eh! Tell me tell me! What does she mean?
Hazuki: In other words… some people are saying that we’re the ones doing this…
Ayame: …Eh—! Why! There’s no way!
Kako: I, I know that! Ayame-san, you girls wouldn’t do something like… Right? Felicia-san!
Felicia: …Well, there’s no way in hell that Ayame would do something that clever. She’d probably just sneak up from behind, get close and whack! you over the head.
Ayame: Uu…! Ah…nu…ku…!
Kako: A, Ayame-san, your face is turning red…!
Hazuki: She wants to object, but since she’s not the culprit, it looks like her words got stuck…But well, it’s like Ayame says. We wouldn’t do something like that. …Of course, Konoha too.
Kako: Of course!
Hazuki: …But, a rumor like that can’t start from nothing. Aside from our ties to Tokiwa Nanaka, we don’t have any other connections with other magical girls… That being said, they might be watching us from somewhere…If you take that into account, the origin of the rumor is just from a number of magical girls…
Felicia: ...It’s gotta be Nanaka!
Kako: Felicia-san…!
Ayame: Whaaat! Really!?
Felicia: I wouldn’t put it past her! I think so, anyway!
Kako: N, No! There’s no way!
Felicia: What makes you say that!
Kako: It’s because…!

Nanaka: The rumor that the trio is causing girls to faint…? ...That's probably incorrect. If you meet them once, you’ll understand. They’re not so inept that they would have to resort to such roundabout tactics like that. ...More importantly, I sense that there’s a plot to have them take the fall… Someone’s plot…

Kako: ...That’s what she said!
Felicia: …Hmm, I don’t know!
Kako: Geez~, Felicia-san…
Hazuki: Hoh…so she’s given us another decent evaluation…
Kako: …So, I’m concerned about what Nanaka-san said too.
Hazuki: ...Someone’s trying to turn us into the culprits…
Ayame: W, Wh, Who is it! Why would they!
Kako: …That’s…I have no idea…
Felicia: For starters, we don’t know anyone who can make people fall asleep either.
Hazuki: …Well, for now let’s put aside who the culprit is...The problem is we’re being blamed for it, right?
Kako: That’s true…
Hazuki: If this rumor spreads, it’ll become a huge pain in the ass...we’ll become targets for people wanting revenge too.
Ayame: Gumumumumuu…!
Why—! Even though we didn’t do anything!
Hazuki: …Anyway, thanks Kako-chan.
Kako: No, not at all!
Hazuki: And Felicia-chan, you too.
Felicia: No problem! Ayame! Make sure to send that stupid rumor flying, got it!?
Ayame: Oh yeah! Leave it to me!
Hazuki: Now then… (Next I need to figure out… how to explain this to Konoha…).
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Hazuki 10
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Hazuki: The serial magical-girls-fainting case...and the rumor that we were the ones who did it... I said that the source of the information was from negotiating with Tokiwa Nanaka (it's not completely a lie)...Anyway, I put it into Konoha's ears. And when I did, her reaction was calm.

Konoha: ...Is that so. ...It's the same no matter where we go...
Hazuki: Eh?
Konoha: ...Nothing. We don't need to announce our innocence, right? I refuse to let a completely unfounded rumor dictate what I should do. ...Anyway, for now let's keep an eye on the situation.
Hazuki: Yeah...
Konoha: ...This is an unpleasant series of events. ...First the visions, now...
Hazuki: ...Well, yeah...
Konoha: ...Hey, doesn't this make you think that these two things are...?
Hazuki: ...Could it be that they're...connected...is that it? Well, I understand how you feel but we don't have any proof, so...
Konoha: You're right. It could be that these things aren't connected at all. For starters, we're not even sure if these visions are a result of magic or not...But you know...I just feel like it is. These two things...
Hazuki: ...you have a hunch that they're connected?
Konoha: No... it's just a little chill down my spine...

Hazuki: Konoha has a point. Shouting out to everyone that "you're wrong!"...yeah...it's just, it's true that a lot of trouble was raining down on us. And that, as you might expect, led to some trouble in reality...

Konoha: ...Who are you?
Ayame: W, Who are you--!
Yachiyo: I'm Nanami Yachiyo.
Konoha: Nanami...
Hazuki: ...Oh, Nanami Yachiyo's...! Remember? I told you about her the other day...
Konoha: ...the magical girl who's said to be the oldest in Kamihama...?
Hazuki: Yeah, that! ...Right?
Yachiyo: ...That's true...I have been doing this for a long time...but, if you say I'm the "oldest", it's a little...you know? It kind of creates an image of someone who's really old or something...
Ayame: ...Eh-- Then how old are you?
Yachiyo: ...How old do I look?
Ayame: Ehh--? Let's see~...mmm, uhh~...
Konoha: Ayame. ...Leave the guessing for later.
Ayame: Ota--y...
Konoha: ...But she's probably older than me.
Yachiyo: ...My, on what grounds do you...
Konoha: What do you want from us?
Yachiyo: ...That's right. I wanted to have a little talk about this incident where magical girls are collapsing due to unknown causes.
Konoha: ...Is that so...
Hazuki: (...Here it is...trouble's...)
Ayame: I, It's not us!
Hazuki: Hey~, Ayame. If you're too hasty, you'll just make it seem like we really are the culprits.
Ayame: B, B, But!
Yachiyo: Allow me to state my business first.
Konoha: ...Go ahead.
Yachiyo: ...A lot of things really do happen in Kamihama...For example, magical girls will even challenge other magical girls to a fight. In the past, there has even been a girl called the "Dueling Girl". Her name is Yui Tsuruno, but that girl would lunge at anyone...The only thing is, she would challenge people upfront. It's fundamentally different from this case...Aside from that, there have been familiars disguising themselves as magical girls and luring them into fighting one another...At any rate, there's been cases of magical girls getting attacked before.
Hazuki: ...Is that so?
Yachiyo: ...But...this time is the first case I've heard of where girls collapse without being assaulted. ...And just the other day...one of my friends became a victim...
Hazuki: ...! ...My, my, that's...
Yachiyo: Her name is Togame Momoko. She's a girl who's gotten hit by a familiar's surprise attack in the past, so... ever since then, she's never let her guard down...And yet she collapsed...
Ayame: Th, Then does that mean she's still sleeping...?
Yachiyo: ...Fortunately, she's alright. She just lost consciousness for a few minutes.
Hazuki: ...That's good.
Yachiyo: However, a girl friends with Momoko became really upset...and says that you're the culprits, just like the rumor said...
Konoha: ...That's unfortunate...I'll be frank, but we didn't do it.
Yachiyo: ........Probably.
Hazuki: Eh?
Konoha: ...What makes you say that?
Yachiyo: ...I was also there at the scene where Momoko was attacked.
Hazuki: .....Did you see? What the culprit looked like...
Yachiyo: ...No. But I realized it wasn't you girls earlier, the minute we met...
Hazuki: ...Even though we've...just met...?
Yachiyo: After all, the magical energy pattern I felt back then is completely different.
Konoha: ...That's what you meant...
Yachiyo: I was able to confirm that, so I've had enough. I'm sorry for suddenly...
Hazuki: ...Ahh--, no, no! We're just glad that with this, we won't be the suspected so...right? Konoha, Ayame.
Konoha: ...Well, true.
Ayame: Y, Yeah! ...I'm sooo relieved~...
Yachiyo: No hard feelings, okay...?
Konoha: ...Not really, you're fine.
Yachiyo: ...Thank you. ...Anyway, I'll be leaving.
Hazuki: ...Whew...For now, our names have been cleared...I guess?
Ayame: Yeah! Well, duh, of course! We're not the culprits after all! It's not right that we're the suspects! Right, Konoha!
Konoha: ...That's right. ...It's as Ayame says. It's everything around us that's wrong...

Hazuki: At the time, I didn't realize...that Konoha was thinking something like that...

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Konoha 11
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Konoha: The following day, after Nanami Yachiyo appeared in front of us...I decided to tell Hazuki and Ayame my thoughts...

Hazuki: ...What's this all of a sudden? Saying that we're going to have a conversation as a group.
Ayame: What's wrong, Konoha?
Konoha: There was something I conclusively decided after what happened with Nanami Yachiyo yesterday... so I wanted to consult you two.
Hazuki: Conclusively...?
Konoha: Let's leave Kamihama City.
Ayame: Eh...!?
Hazuki: Leave...!?
Konoha: We will get by, with just the three of us...that is the single most important thing.
Hazuki: ....That's...true...
Ayame: Y, yeah...
Konoha: But Kamihama is far too disruptive as far as we're concerned...The Tokiwa Nanaka incident...and this fainting incident too...
Hazuki: Yesterday, Nanami Yachiyo said that our names are cleared...
Ayame: T, That's right! That's what she said!
Konoha: But see, Ayame. ...Is that true?
Ayame: ...Did...she lie...?
Konoha: I can't accept that it's all true...Besides, I have this feeling that some other disturbance will take place as a result of that person...What do you think?
Hazuki: .....It's true that something like that could happen...
Ayame: R, Really...!?
Hazuki: I can't deny the possibility...
Konoha: I want to avoid any further meddling from our surroundings. The simplest way to take care of that is...for us to leave. Let's regroup and reset our lives in a new city. ...Okay?

[You're given two choices.
a) Look toward Ayame
b) Look toward Hazuki

I'll be going with a, leading to Ayame 8.]

Konoha: ...Ayame, what do you think?
Ayame: M, Me...? I...