Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

She's definitely a romantic at heart, but not to the point of forgetting her duties just to marry Mayumi Haga.

However, my body has reached a point where it can no longer bear the strain, and I must end all of this immediately.

Arisu Akari's guess was completely wrong, but Tono Nozomi didn't want everyone to know about his physical condition, so he just went along with it and admitted it.

Anyway, the label of "love-obsessed" is already stuck on my head, so this excuse shouldn't be too out of place, right? Hitomi Tono pondered.

She snapped out of her elfin dizziness, rubbing her face to forcefully pull her thoughts back.

My gaze unconsciously fell on a small jar on the shelf in my room.

The camera followed Hitomi Tono's gaze and landed inside the glass jar, where a small piece of bone could be clearly seen.

The finger bone, belonging to a human, has a jade-like luster and is placed quietly in a place that Hitomi Tono can see every time she looks up while doing her homework.

Side Story: 08. The Widow Magical Girl

One second the audience finally understood why Hitomi Tono insisted on leaving the team, and the next second they fell into an eerie silence.

A few seconds later, the comments section went a little crazy.

【...What is this? I'm asking you what this is?!】【What magical girl would keep this thing in her room?!】

Amid the audience's commotion, the production team, seemingly enjoying the spectacle, thoughtfully labeled the finger bone with "the first joint of Mayumi Haga's left index finger."

【....?】【Although it's not strictly speaking aimed at children, isn't this a bit too extreme?】

[No, this is the first time I've seen something so eerie. Is this character named Mayumi Haga really still alive?] [Wait a minute.] A viewer in the live chat offered their opinion: [If Hitomi's partner has passed away, then considering her previous request to leave the team and her current spirit transformation, could it be...] This viewer paused, seemingly typing slowly, and after a while, continued amidst the impatient waiting of other viewers: [Is it possible that Hitomi wants to follow the dead, which is why the other teammates who know the inside story are acting so strangely?]

Thinking about it this way, it seems that there are many things to consider in Arisu Akari's attitude, and Tono Hitomi's character design has also undergone a subtle change.

A young woman who has lost her lover and become somewhat mentally unstable... and she's also a magical girl with a bouncy body. Is this still a children's magical girl world of love and hope?

[This wind doesn't seem right, does it?] [But the official emphasis has always been on the concept of a different kind of work. Maybe it's because the previous stories lacked excitement, and this time they want to make a breakthrough in the area of ​​lesbian relationships.] [Yukari Hachiya: ? Is that so?] Yukari Hachiya, who was mixed in with these discussion comments, couldn't help but start to doubt her previous impression of Mayumi Haga.

Come to think of it, Mayumi-neechan does occasionally seem to have that somewhat lonely expression, giving off a distant vibe, as if she might leave at any moment...

Could it be that the Mayumi Haga that I summoned back then was already separated from the person I cared about by death?

!

For a child who rarely encountered the concept of "fake medicine," seeing such a long and seemingly reasonable analysis had a considerable impact on her.

Is it really as these people say...? No, it's not like that at all.

While the idea of ​​fake medicine may seem plausible, it is ultimately just an analysis and speculation about the original animation and has not been officially certified; it can only be used as a reference.

Moreover, in a world of magical girls aimed at children, such a cruel farewell would not occur.

However, this did not stop the bloodthirsty viewers from chatting enthusiastically in the live chat.

Some speculate that Hitomi Tono's transformation into a spirit might be due to the accident that resulted in her failing to save Mayumi Haga back then.

The finger bones of Haga Mayumi might be the last legacy left to Tono Hitomi; they're so polished they're practically glowing.

Some people even started writing long essays in the anime's comment section, deeply imagining Hitomi Tohno's mental journey during the period after Mayumi Haga's death.

[I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, and even when I did fall asleep, I kept dreaming of my deceased lover's face.] [A character who dies in a children's world must have died an extraordinary death; it might have left Hitomi with a deep psychological scar, causing her to become slightly mentally unstable.] [Her teammates knew about Hitomi's mental state and wanted to comfort her, but the one who tied the knot must untie it; they were powerless to do so and could only watch Hitomi's spirit slide into the abyss.] [Damn it!]

I don't want to watch magical girl stuff like that!

Give me back the sweet, girly friendship I love!

What nonsense are you talking about!

If I don't have "Magical Girl Crimson", where can I find the widowed magical girl series that I'm missing?

This is exactly what I want to see!

Give me more!

I want to see an unpredictable stage for original animation!

[They've all gone mad, it's good that they're a little crazy] Because Mayumi Haga's finger bones were just placed in Hitomi Tono's room, the audience basically accepted the premise that Mayumi Haga was dead.

The vast majority of viewers found it very interesting, after all, this setting is very different from the usual storyline.

Originally, it was quite easy to predict the story of a children's series, but now there are many more surprises.

And it seems the surprise is only getting bigger.

While the audience was caught up in the frenzy of fake medicine, Hitomi Tono finally managed to hide her elf-like tendencies.

She looked a little listless as she sat down at her desk.

She took her homework out of her schoolbag, which she had intended to do.

But feeling frustrated, I couldn't figure out a single problem when I opened my math workbook, so I simply put my pen aside.

There was a desk calendar on the table, so she simply took it down and used the marker next to it to cross out today's date.

Then, she began to count the days in a low voice: "One, two, three... eight, there are still eight days left."

"There are still eight days until the last time I arranged to meet Mayumi."

Human.

In fact, Mayumi Haga would also arrange a time to meet with Hitomi Tono.

After all, unlike their friends in the native world who became exceptionally long-lived and almost eternal after being resurrected, children in the children's world grow up very quickly.

He looks completely different after just a few days.

Even if Mayumi Haga is slow-witted, she knows that she can't completely follow her own pace.

Otherwise, the tragedy of returning to the children's world decades later, only to find that the friends on this side have already reached later stages of their lives, will occur.

She cherished this precious friendship, and since the flow of time was not actually synchronized, Mayumi Haga had more time to run over here.

So, she and Hitomi Tono agreed to come and have a gathering with everyone during every holiday. The gathering is in eight days.

Looking forward to some day next week.

What eight days? Is this foreshadowing?

[Is it the anniversary of Mayumi Haga's death? Or is there something else? Could it be the deadline for handing over the contract to the next magical girl?] Whatever the guess, it smells so good.

The audience has already started celebrating in the live chat.

Side Story: 09. The Tohno Hitomi Capture Plan

Tono Hitomi stared at the finger bones in front of the table for a long time before finally deciding to write a letter to Haga Mayumi.

The finger bone was given to her by Shinju voluntarily. Because it was imbued with the magical power of that world, it was not strictly speaking a human part that needed to be censored. In terms of its attributes, it was a divine bone that could transmit information between the two worlds.

If Hitomi Tono wants to find Mayumi Haga or open a passage to the Alamo world, she can do so through this bone.

Of course, the amount of information that can be transmitted is not very large, and it is difficult to communicate through finger bones in many situations.

Therefore, Mayumi Haga asked Karasuha, who had become a Gem Beast, for help. Karasuha, as a messenger between worlds, could deliver letters for everyone.

Yes, Ravenfeather did not come back to life.

The main reason is that, as a member of the Feather Clan who had already died before the calamity, Raven Feather did not want to be resurrected and have to handle affairs in the Feather Clan's territory again.

It would be better to stay by Haga Mayumi's side.

After becoming a Jewelmon, Ravenfeather already possessed the right to enter the world of children, and with her high mobility, she could easily travel between the two worlds.

For example, she would help send the letters here to Mayumi Haga.

This is equivalent to a personal messenger of a god from another world.

Hitomi Tono placed the letter she had written on the windowsill, leaving only a small crack in the window.

A gentle breeze swept by, and the silhouette of a black raven flashed by before the letter disappeared from view.

[I just glanced at it, it seems to be a letter addressed to Mayumi Haga?] [Speaking of which, wasn't it a crow that came to collect the letter just now? That feels a bit ominous.] [Has Hitomi's cancer progressed to this stage...?] The audience sighed on the surface, but were actually excited.

After all, the crazier and more twisted the show is, the more interesting it becomes.

The subsequent plot developments also matched the audience's expectations.

Especially in episode eight, Hitomi Tono, whose physical condition is unstable, is caught off guard by a strange person hired by her teammates. Because she is in a memory space, she is forced to show memories about Mayumi Haga, her deceased beloved.

Before this flashback scene, viewers had already seen the other four magical girls of this generation reconcile after a brief conflict and decide to work together to get Hitomi Tohno to tell the truth.

To be honest, the people in the children's world are still simple and straightforward. After resolving their small misunderstandings, they decided to cooperate.

Aya Hanaya is a major contributor to this part of the plot, after all, she is a canine that has finally started to take action, and her mobility and directness are both top-notch.

A minor conflict between Yu Kagura and Akari Arisu?

solve!

Yuri Takajo's little troubles as the heir to the Takajo family? Solved! Although the latter troubles are slightly more complicated and involve family relationships, they are still happily resolved in a children's-oriented atmosphere.

So all that's left is Tono Hitomi's part.

During this period of time, Hitomi Tono has not contacted them and has never shown up in the activity room on her own initiative.

Fortunately, after several years of getting along, the magical girls have become quite familiar with this generation of monsters, so there's no need for all of them to be on duty.

The magical girl's work has entered a period of leisure. In fact, everyone knows that they can pass the baton to the next child. After the mediation in the previous plot, they have gradually come to terms with the change of identity.

However, the group still felt they needed to find out more about their important partner, Hitomi Tono.

"At first, he was able to suppress the prankster magical girl Crimson with the rules, but he found that the speed at which the other party grew as a human was really terrifying."

The current prankster can probably only hold off Hitomi Tono for less than three minutes.

Moreover, even if the rules for the prank space are set.

It's also unlikely to have any effect on Hitomi Tono.

The opponent has already grown to a level completely different from me... I'll probably fail in an instant.

While eating the strawberry sundaes that the magical girls had bought for him with their pocket money, the prankster tried his best to explain his concerns.

It wasn't because he was afraid of the magical girl Crimson, but because he was no match for her at all. Even if he were offered a reward, he could only guarantee to do his best and dared not guarantee 100% success.

"We do know about this."

“Takajo Yuri said.”

The magical girls actually made far more preparations than the pranksters could see.

Out of concern for Hitomi Tono, everyone naturally brought along all the helpers they could find.

"Hugs, I'm late. -- Everyone's here."

After cautiously pushing open a crack in the door, the violet eyes nervously surveyed the activity room and found that everyone was there except for herself.

She was quite embarrassed, her ears turning red: "I finished my part-time job a little late today..." Despite being a high-level monster who was almost human, Little Bear's personality was still excessively soft.

She greeted the mischievous prankster in the house: "Hello, Miss Anna, it's been a while."

"Although there had been some minor friction before, the mischievous Anna was, after all, a good friend of her brother, the Abyss Gentleman, and an elder to Little Bear, so the relationship between the two monsters improved considerably afterward."

They not only exchange greeting cards and visit each other during holidays, but also keep in touch frequently on ordinary days.

Upon seeing the little bear, the mischievous man's eyes lit up with understanding: "So it was you I was looking for... then there shouldn't be any problem."

"Not only that."

"As she spoke, the little bear took out a rainbow-colored soap bubble from her pocket and carefully protected the fragile soap bubble with her magic.

"And there's the Memory Corridor... This is a one-time use item, which I also got from the Memory Monster."

"The prankster provides the space, while the bear is responsible for driving the memory corridor to trap Hitomi Tono inside, and then providing stable magic to flip through her memories. - It will definitely be able to reliably find out the reason for Hitomi Tono's recent abnormality."

"Great, now all we need to do is get Tono out of the room."

Yusu Juri said excitedly.

"But she's been avoiding us lately... - Takajo, do you know where she lives?" Takajo Yuri: "...I don't know."

"She never went to or from school with Hitomi Tono...after all, they lived in completely different directions."

The group looked at each other, and finally, Koko raised his hand: "I don't know where Hitomi lives, but I do know Mayumi's family... They're neighbors, right?"

"

Bonus Chapter 10. The Great Search for Memory (Actually a review of the romantic storyline)

Little Bear was also surprised that these people, who had been teaming up for so long, didn't even know where Tono Hitomi's house was.

But thinking back carefully, everyone usually meets in the activity room now, but before that, when Terasaki Ayasa was still in Miracle City and not traveling with Sugiyama Rika, they met at the Anbo Clinic.