Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Toyokawa Shoko looked at her with disappointment.

"You said that yourself, just a few dozen seconds ago."

"..."

Xiangzi's lips were trembling. She picked up the hunting rifle and, with trembling hands, slowly pointed the muzzle at herself.

But, but how could such a thing be possible—

boom!

The gun went off accidentally, firing the bullet before Xiangzi could even point it at himself.

Startled by the loud gunfire, Xiangzi fell to the ground with a thud, his hunting rifle slipping from his hand and landing on the floor with a clatter.

The second time.

She failed a second time when faced with real death.

Toyokawa Shoko, who didn't have the courage to shatter the Soul Gem back then, still doesn't dare to now.

She hung her head listlessly, her blue hair soaked by the rain, clinging to her cheeks like seaweed.

Why......

Why did it turn out like this...? How could I not even have this much courage...?

You have nothing left, don't you? Even the lamp was fake. You've already lost everything, you have no reason to stay in this world anymore, so why are you still...?

Xiangzi looked at his hands in confusion, at his weak, powerless hands.

Why are you still so determined to survive?

why!

"Shut up! Are you still deceiving yourself even now?! You know why, you've always known why!"

Toyokawa Shoko's angry roar, filled with disappointment and frustration, echoed in his ears.

......I know?

I am... aware of why?

Xiangzi's pupils dilated.

Through the shattered pupils, through that small hole, into the pitch-black world behind, into Xiangzi's body.

The pitch-black world was connected by memories that looked like still images, and these static scenes began to move.

It swept past the dilated pupils with a swish, a swish, a swish.

The darkness between the images is dispelled by still images that flash by at a rate of 24 frames per second, transforming into vivid illusions, magnifying the bits and pieces of the past in memory.

"Xiao Mu, do you want to celebrate Halloween with us?"

"Chuhua, can you sing Greensleeves?"

"Lamp, how about trying to form a band with me?"

"I—want—to—be—a—human—to—be—to—be—also—!"

"What is this? Wow—! It sprayed out a drink! Mumu, did you see that?!"

"Because those are lyrics you wrote, it would definitely be better if the author sang them himself."

"I understand... Spring Shadow, that's our song."

......

Oh right... I know that.

What I want is to go back to those carefree days, back to those days when I could still walk innocently and brightly in the sunshine.

The golden pupils regained focus, reflecting the plaster-white hands.

The ground beneath my feet seemed incredibly small, and the tall buildings around me were only waist-high.

The pine forest, the soul gem, the triggers that dared not be pulled—all have become so insignificant that they are no longer visible.

Xiangzi squinted.

The mere act of squinting is enough to stir up a gust of air.

What? So I'd been doing this all along without even realizing it...

Has she turned into a witch?

Isn't it already completely too late...?

【Isn't it already completely too late?!】

The enormous, pure white humanoid figure covered its eyes and let out a silent yet violent wail. A shockwave emanated from the humanoid figure and spread outwards.

diffusion.

Until it swept across the entire reed plain.

The magic of the reeds enveloped the reed plains. The witch wept bitterly, and her tears turned into rain, falling on the city. With each raindrop that hit the ground, a ripple was created, and a part of the world was changed. The witch used dreams as raw materials to reshape a city.

Reshape it into the most beautiful city in your dreams.

then.

The weeping witch fell down.

She fell to the ground, and the earth wept with her.

Within those bright golden eyes, which were much larger than a person, Xiangzi curled up into a tiny ball, huddled in the pitch-black world.

"There's no going back..." Xiangzi sobbed softly.

The beautiful past, even the time when we were human, is gone forever.

She even missed the chance to kill herself before reaching her end.

how so......

Toyokawa Shoko squatted down beside her and poked her waist with her finger.

Are you here to laugh at me...?

Xiangzi responded in a hoarse voice.

"It's not that you can't go back at all. There's still a way to go back, although you can only go back to when you were still a human being."

Toyokawa Shoko seems to have changed a bit, yet she hasn't.

She became a little gentler.

But she remained decisive, opinionated, and focused.

Because no matter how harsh her words were, or how disappointed she seemed, she was always the perfect "Toyokawa Xiangzi" in Xiangzi's eyes, a role model born for Xiangzi...

She lived for Xiangzi.

"...What should we do?"

Xiangzi wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and raised his red eyes.

"As long as you forget that you are a witch, just like the recording you left behind, you can pretend to be human and continue to live on."

"What's the difference between that and being dead...?"

Xiangzi turned his head away, sobbing intermittently.

"I don't want to die, I don't want to forget."

“It’s easy to just forget what happened during this period,” said Shoko Toyokawa.

Xiangzi propped himself up, his gaze meeting that of Fengchuan Xiangzi, before timidly lowering it again.

"But I don't want to... live such a weak life."

"You don't want this, you don't want that, what do you want?" Toyokawa Shoko frowned.

“I want to… become like you, perfect,” Xiangzi whispered.

After all, Toyokawa Shoko was the most perfect version of herself that she had imagined.

Xiangzi also wanted to become that perfect.

Only by becoming perfect can we help her return to those days of the past.

"..."

This time, it was Toyokawa Shoko's turn to remain silent.

She lowered her eyes, as if she was utterly disappointed in the cowardly version of herself before her, yet unable to let go of it.

Who told me to be her appendage?

After Xiangzi became a witch, she also became a familiar.

Within this ever-expanding barrier, she was the largest familiar, even more powerful than the cowardly witch herself in controlling the barrier.

"well......."

Toyokawa Shoko sighed.

"Then let's switch places. You become me, and I become you, to fulfill your wish."

Toyokawa Shoko lifted Shoko's chin, reached out, and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of Shoko's eyes.

"Let me experience your ideas, let me feel what 'perfection' is all about."

She said gently.

Is the perfection that Xiangzi fantasizes about truly perfect?

At least, Toyokawa Shoko, as a character created by the author, doesn't think so.

She also has many flaws.

She is more opinionated, but she is even less tolerant of others' advice.

She is more ambitious, but she doesn't know if she has the ability to match her ambition.

Although she was decisive, she also had regrets.

She regretted replacing the tall pine lamp that she used to lull Xiangzi to sleep.

I feel like a single father now. Those personality traits that Xiangzi saw but didn't see as flaws become glaring thorns when viewed from a mature perspective.

She didn't want Xiangzi to learn all of them, but only after Xiangzi experienced them firsthand did he realize that they weren't such wonderful things.

"I will put your witch form into a dormant state, where only your consciousness can possess me. This period will not be long, at most two months. When you slowly awaken, and that day comes, you will become a true witch, acting according to your instincts."

Beyond the pupils, a pair of wings spread from the witch's back—wings powerful enough to cover the sky.

Angel-like wings slowly closed, enveloping the witch curled up on the ground and transforming her into an egg taller than a skyscraper.

Or rather, it is a cocoon that is changing.

"Whether it's becoming a witch, finding a way back to the past, ending one's own life, or forging a completely new path, whatever the case, let's all think about it carefully during this time."

Toyokawa Shoko took out a cassette player and put a cassette tape with something written on it inside.

Toyokawa Shoko pressed the play button.

"Let me deceive the world for a while."

"Part A-The ManWho Sold The World"

Start playing.

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

The rapidly flashing images in his pupils froze on a close-up of the cassette tape, and Xiangzi's dazed gaze regained focus.

She looked at Oblivionis standing opposite her and recalled what she had done during this time.

Oblivionis's eyes also remained blank for a long time.

Clearly, she had also forgotten what she had done.

But now, they all remembered, remembered everything that had been blurred in their memories.

Oblivionis sighed, as if he were about to vomit up all the memories he had just recalled.