Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

If it weren't for protecting her, I wouldn't have walked so slowly.

Chu Hua was practically radiating resentment, as if the words above were written all over her body.

If I hadn't been leading the way for her, I wouldn't have fallen down with her.

Mio was also surrounded by a similar black aura.

In this awkward and strange atmosphere, only one person—a ghost—no, a spirit behind them, watched the two of them with great interest.

Finally, after Chu Hua cleared out a group of familiars blocking her way, Xiangzi leaned close to her ear and whispered a question.

Why did you two break off your friendship?

The Lost Tale: A Young Man's Spirit: Chapter 241 The Beginning of a Fairy Tale

"Why did you two break off your friendship?" Xiangzi asked curiously.

Upon hearing this, several large question marks appeared above Chu Hua's head.

"?"

Chu Hua's eyes seemed to say, "Don't you have any self-awareness at all?"

Still there.

After all, Xiangzi had seen Chu Hua's fragmented memories and had talked to Mio alone, so he knew what role he was playing in all of this.

"I still have some self-awareness, so don't look at me like that," Xiangzi sighed. "Actually, what I want to ask is what happened between you two."

"...Does Xiao Xiang really want to hear this?" Chu Hua turned her head, half-closing her eyes. "This is like reopening my wounds."

"I don't really want to," Xiangzi said, turning his head away. "If you don't want to, then forget it."

"It's alright, this scar was meant to be reopened by Xiao Xiang anyway." Chu Hua smiled gently. "So it's alright."

"..."

It means that Chu Hua will tell you sooner or later, it's just a matter of sooner or later.

She really trusts herself.

Xiangzi thought about it, nodded, and said okay.

Chu Hua smiled knowingly.

“Xiao Xiang,” she asked, “how do you think fairy tales usually begin?”

==========

How do fairy tales usually begin?

Long, long ago, in a faraway place, a paradise far removed from all the hustle and bustle of the world.

There is a stunning sea of ​​flowers in this idyllic paradise.

On the flat ground atop the cliff, layers of an unnamed, bluish-green flower grow. Clusters of flowers are scattered throughout the flat ground, emitting a faint glow in the night. When the wind blows, the dreamlike bluish-green blossoms are covered in a shower of tiny, glowing petals.

Two girls who grew up together love to play in a sea of ​​flowers.

In this land far removed from the hustle and bustle of the world, they were each other's only friends.

One day, as usual, they were playing in the sea of ​​flowers on the cliff by the sea.

"Alas my love, you do me wrong~To cast me off discourteously~"

The night is always so peaceful and pleasant.

A girl with long golden hair stood in the center of a sea of ​​flowers, draped in a veil called Night, as if she were standing in the center of a stage, under the spotlight.

“For I have loved you all so long~Delighting in your company~”

The ethereal voice was carried in all directions by the wind, and the whole world seemed to quiet down, with the rustling of flowers in the wind becoming the accompaniment to the song.

Finally, the song ended.

A burst of enthusiastic clapping rang out beside the girl.

"Does it sound good?" the blonde girl asked nervously.

She was asking the dark-haired girl sitting next to her.

"It sounds beautiful." The black-haired girl said with a smile, "Chuhua, you are completely different when you sing, like a fairy."

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Chu Hua's anxious expression vanished, and her eyes narrowed into crescents. "So, what am I usually like, Mio?"

She raised her two restless paws, grinned wickedly, and walked step by step toward Mio.

"It's...it's like this right now!" Mio's eyes widened as she slowly shuffled her bottom back. "You...you...don't come any closer!"

"Ouch!"

"don't want--!"

"Is this what I'm usually like? Mio, do you prefer me singing or like this?" Chu Hua pounced on Mio like a lecherous old man, his restless hands roaming all over her body.

"Don't laugh—scratching me there—! Let me go, hahahahahahahahaha—!"

"I don't want it~"

"Ah—! Don't touch there!"

"Hehehe, little girl, just give in to me~"

"That's enough!"

......

"Whew! That feels great!"

"Waaaaah, I'm not clean anymore..."

"Don't say such depressing things."

"Who do you think it's because of?!"

Mio wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, rolled over, and lay down in the sea of ​​flowers, looking at the night sky.

The bright moon shines in the sky, its full light as clear as a jade disc placed on a plate of crystal-clear ice.

They started chatting.

What can they talk about? Nothing more than their hopes for the future, or some childish things, since they are, after all, children.

“It’s a full moon today, Hatsuka,” Mio said.

"It's a full moon..." Chu Hua pouted, looking at the big moon. "I can't see the stars."

Chu Hua has never liked nights with a bright moon. The light of the full moon is too bright, obscuring many of the stars. Some stars that were already dim are completely hidden under the moonlight.

“But I like the moon.” Mio blinked, gazing at the sky, her eyes reflecting the full moon. “I like the feeling of being the center of attention, just like the older sisters on TV.”

"You want to be a TV star?" Chu Hua turned her head to the side.

"Yes, I really want to." Mio nodded, placing her palm on her chest. "A big star would definitely be very rich, able to help her family live a good life, and also enjoy being the center of attention."

"Imagine us standing on the stage, with a sea of ​​people below, the front row alone having more people than the entire village combined... that sight..."

"I don't really have any ideas." Chu Hua turned over, her head facing Mio. "But if you want, I can come with you."

"Really?" Mio turned her head, her eyes sparkling.

"We can be together forever if you want," Chu Hua said with a smile. "After all, you are my best and only friend."

“Me too,” Mio said with a smile. “It’s just the two of us on this island who can play together.”

"Hehe, right?" Chu Hua said with a smile.

"Well, since you said that, Chu Hua," Mio held up her little finger, "shake it off? It's a promise, we'll walk together forever."

"Pinky promise, sir." Chu Hua extended her little finger and hooked it with Mio's little finger.

"A pinky promise, a hundred years from now, never to be broken!"

"That way we can stay together forever!"

"Forever is a heavy word; a beautiful story needs corresponding collateral."

Suddenly, a voice came from behind them.

The girls straightened up, but saw no one.

Maybe we just happened to be hallucinating together?

The girls exchanged glances, all thinking the same thing.

but.

--"I'm here."

The sound came from the bushes once again.

A white creature, resembling a toy doll, emerged from the grass.

"I can grant your wishes, but the price is becoming a magical girl. Are you willing?"

The Lost Tale: A Young Man's Spirit: Chapter 242 The End of the Fairy Tale

"Magical girl?" Mio blinked. "The kind from anime?"

"I don't know, but my mom often tells me not to talk to strangers, especially strange-looking creatures."

"I'm not some weird or strange creature, my name is Kyubey."

"Oh, like the little fairies that follow magical girls in anime?"

"Yes, you can think that way."

"It's probably better not to talk to it..." Chu Hua said with a hint of distrust.

Because her mother had just talked to her about this a few days ago.

Chu Hua had no problem with Qiu Bi, but if her mother found out that she was talking to a stranger, she would probably get a scolding.

"It's okay, it looks like a cute skirt. (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the initial statement.)"

"Woo..."

Just as Mio was curiously about asking something more, a gust of wind blew by.

The fluttering petals blocked their view.

When the petals fell, the mysterious white creature had vanished.

"Eh?"

"Gone?"

Chu Hua rubbed her eyes.

Mio walked to the spot where the white creature had been crouching and searched the surrounding bushes, but couldn't find it. It was as if it had just been a hallucination they had both witnessed.

"Could it really be a hallucination?" Chu Hua crossed her arms.

"I don't know," Mio murmured, looking reluctantly at the empty flowers and plants.

In short, none of them paid any attention to the white creature that suddenly appeared and disappeared.

Or perhaps, only Chu Hua is missing.

In short, they still studied together in the planetarium, spent the night together, played together in every corner of the island, and grew up together day by day.

Everything remained unchanged, so beautiful it was like a fairyland, like Neverland in Peter Pan.

However, fairy tales are still stories, and as long as they are stories, there will always be changes. Someone will always break in and disrupt the unchanging, isolated state of the fairy realm.

One day, just like in all fairy tales, the person who disrupted the status quo arrived.

She changed Chu Hua, so that Chu Hua's green sleeves were no longer only accompanied by the wind, and Chu Hua grew wings that allowed her to fly away from here.

Her appearance changed Chu Hua.

That day was the first time Mio and Hatsuka had a fight, all because of that girl who suddenly appeared.

That day also marked the first time the "magic of friendship" began to work.