Aozaki Touko…
Hearing that long-unmentioned name again, Aoko was clearly in no good mood.
So all the way back from the outskirts to the Kuonji Residence, she kept her silence, her brow tightly knit.
Alice, for her part, found the boy’s earlier line in the forest—that his Future Sight had told him so—a little strange, but she chalked it up to nothing more than a slip of the tongue.
More than that, though, it was the substance of what he’d said that concerned her.
She’d assumed it was just some reckless outsider magus who didn’t know any better, but if it was the Aozaki Touko she knew, then the nature of the matter became something rather different.
As for Ryōgi Minato, he was still turning over what the danmaku had told him earlier, his mind running back to those three puppets in the forest.
There was no doubt the three had appeared there bearing hostility.
And it was precisely that which left the boy confused—because he knew Aoko and Aozaki Touko were sisters, and he couldn’t quite understand why two people who were family would be at odds to such a degree.
With a premonition that getting Araya Souren’s whereabouts out of Aozaki Touko might prove harder than he’d imagined, the boy cradled his blade, a trace of trouble surfacing on his small face.
Each carrying their own separate thoughts, the three returned to the mansion this way.
The moment she stepped into the living room, Aoko pulled off the white coat with some irritation and dropped onto the sofa, anxiety threading her voice.
“To think she really did come back…”
“Aoko, we can’t be certain yet.
Even the future that Future Sight glimpses isn’t necessarily fixed.”
It was rare for Alice to speak up and console her housemate, but in truth she understood as well that tonight’s affair was most likely Touko’s doing.
The other magi all knew Misaki Town was Aozaki territory and generally wouldn’t come making trouble here on purpose.
Only that one acquaintance of hers would want to seize everything in this place by destroying Misaki Town’s leyline nodes.
“It’s fine, Alice.
I know my dear big sister’s temper well enough.
That person’s definitely thinking, ‘Even a lazybones like Aoko can inherit the Fifth Magic—what a joke of a new era this is,’ and means to take back what should have been hers to inherit.”
Aoko pursed her lips, a certain discontent settling between her brows.
“It doesn’t matter.
Even if it’s Touko, as long as the leyline nodes are kept from being destroyed, there’s nothing she can do to Misaki Town’s leylines.”
Understanding though she did that this was the Aozaki sisters “quarreling,” for Alice—stationed here in Misaki Town—a portion of the duty of overseeing the leylines fell to her as well, and naturally she wouldn’t sit by and let an old friend wreak havoc in the shadows.
“Mm…”
Aoko nodded.
She knew that fretting over it like this wouldn’t change a thing, so she simply chose to let it all go.
“Don’t worry, Alice.
What was given to me is already mine, and no matter how much that person wants to snatch it back, I won’t be handing it over!”
Setting down the freshly steeped black tea on the living room table, Minato had heard the two of them talking, and now, a little curious, he looked at Aoko and asked:
“Are you and Aozaki Touko-san not on good terms?”
“Ah, uh, something like that…”
Unsure how to explain the relationship between herself and Touko, Aoko’s words went vague.
After thinking it over, she slowly went on.
“Honestly, things between us used to be pretty ordinary.
But after that person up and left on her own back then, I suppose they changed.”
Perhaps this was simply the yoke of being born into a magus family.
Deep down, Aoko vaguely understood that she did harbor some resentment toward Touko.
If Touko had inherited the family crest back then, Aoko would never have needed to step into “this side of the world.” But that hadn’t been Touko’s to decide—it had been their grandfather’s will—and so she knew it was just “misplaced blame.”
Still, one thing was one thing, and another was another.
Right now, her elder sister had clearly returned bearing hostility.
And Aoko had already taken up the Aozaki family’s responsibilities, so for the moment she set aside her personal “grudge” and treated the matter as “work.”
Unable to make much sense of the tangled relationship between the sisters, Minato didn’t press further—asking more would have come off as rude.
He only found it odd that, since the other party’s puppets had already appeared in Misaki Town, didn’t that mean this Aozaki Touko had truly returned here?
[Oh right, in canon I’m pretty sure Touko set up her workshop in the old school building at Misaki High—just no telling if this worldline plays out the same way.]
[Touko got a raw deal tbh.
Grinds for over a decade and inherits absolutely nothing, her whole life up to then just invalidated in one shot.
I’d be bitter too.]
[Nah, I bet they’re actually close—Touko came all the way back just to beat the naivety out of Aoko (smug).]
[What wholesome sisterly love.
They only nearly killed each other, after all.]
[And “Scarred Red” is literally the scar she carries for the rest of her life (smug)]
[You said it.
You just said the forbidden name, didn’t you!]
[(DNA activated) What—eat my Bites the Dust!]
[Wee-woo wee-woo (JoJo ambulance) ~]
[Ahem.
My name is Boliang Boying, and this year I’m… how old again?
(smug)]
Watching the danmaku—which had been earnestly discussing Aozaki Touko a moment ago—suddenly become incomprehensible, Minato blinked in bewilderment, knowing nothing of the complex behavior known as “thread derailment.”
But he’d already gotten the thing he wanted to confirm out of them, and resolved in his heart to slip away the next day and scout out that old school building when he had the chance.
For now, though, he had no intention of telling the other two girls of this decision.
He’d come to understand that Aoko and Aozaki Touko didn’t seem to be on good terms, and if he brought Aoko and Alice along, it might leave all three of them rather unhappy.
In which case, prying out Araya Souren’s whereabouts would only take more effort still.
As for his own safety, Minato wasn’t especially worried.
So long as a blade was in his hand, there was a way to cut his way through any predicament.
A whole evening of vexing affairs had left Aoko tired long ago, but she understood the matter wasn’t over yet.
“Alice, since all of this is that person’s doing, then tomorrow we should keep going after the watchers she’s sent out, shouldn’t we?”
“Mm.
If it really is Touko, then once the other watchers are gone, she’ll most likely show herself.”
Alice nodded, her gaze drifting of its own accord to the boy.
“When that time comes, I’ll ask Touko about that man called Araya Souren for you, Minato.”
“Thank you, Sensei.”
Minato gave his thanks, feeling in his heart that he’d brought her trouble after all, and resolved to find another chance to properly express his gratitude to his teacher.
She had taught him knowledge of magecraft and gone out of her way to help him like this; he committed the kindness to memory.
Aoko, meanwhile, scratched her head in irritation, drew a deep breath, and said with resolve in her eyes:
“Right—the one watcher that’s left, I think it’s over by the amusement park, isn’t it?
Tomorrow, let me be the one to deal with it, Alice.”
The young witch didn’t answer right away.
She studied Aoko’s face for a while before speaking.
“It seems you’ve made up your mind, Aoko.
I can agree to that.
But as a fallback measure, I’ll be going with you.”
As she spoke, Alice looked again at the boy beside her, tilted her head in thought a moment, then added, “Also, Aoko—tomorrow night, Minato will go with you.”
“Alice, are you serious?
Minato’s still just a chi—”
Aoko instinctively moved to object to the suggestion, but halfway through, the memory of tonight’s events suddenly came back to her, and she swallowed the rest of the sentence on the spot.
“That’s right.
Bringing Minato along isn’t so you can protect him—it’s just to let the boy observe a little more, up close.
After all, who’ll be protecting whom is anyone’s guess by then.”
Alice gave a light sigh.
She had never regarded her apprentice by ordinary reasoning, which was why she’d decided to send the two of them out together tomorrow night, while she herself would follow behind as backup, guarding against any accident.
“O-okay, then…”
Aoko said it with a slight sting of defeat, unable to shake the feeling that she might be a touch too useless.
“Please don’t worry, Sensei.
If anything happens, I’ll protect Aoko.”
Minato blinked and said it in earnest, which touched Aoko a little.
Though, if she could, she’d have rather liked their positions reversed.
I wonder… just when will I ever become a magus who can stand on her own…
That fleeting thread of melancholy crossed her heart, and a wisp of confusion lingered in the girl’s eyes.