Kazumi Magica Chapter 20: Incubator
Continuing from last chapter, Umika and Kaoru successfully cleanse Kazumi's Soul Gem with the Grief Seed from Saki's witch. Kanna says that they want Kazumi to live and be one of the Hyades, but Kazumi tells her to shut up and that she's going to save her friends. Kazumi uses a spell to create multiples of herself, attacking the remaining witches protecting Kanna. She quickly defeats all of them except for the Souju's witch, which is much more difficult. Umika and Kaoru regret letting this happen to her, and say they wanted her to experience lots of fun things instead.
Umika has a flashback explaining why the Pleiades did not appear until chapter 3. Umika and Kaoru did not tell Saki or the others they had found Kazumi because they wanted to be sure she wasn't another failure that would end up hurting Saki's feelings. They tell Saki that Kazumi seems stable and doesn't show any abnormalities, but she can cook the same way Michiru did. They suspect she might be their first success.
Another flashback, which goes further back, shows Saki holding a witch in place while Umika collects data on it using Ex File. She then has Saki destroy it without explanation. Soon after, Umika is on the computer, doing some sort of research. She discovers a way to bring Michiru back from the dead, using a witch's heart, a Cuore Maleficus. She leaves the choice of whether to go through with it up to the Pleiades. Saki agrees to the idea, telling the others that Michiru had saved them more than once by getting their Soul Gems cleaned first to keep them from becoming witches. Umika repeats that it will be their way of fighting the magical girl system, but it will also be their way of battling "them", despite breaking a law of nature. Unfortunately, they kept failing.
The story returns to the present, where Kazumi destroys the Souju sisters' witch, finally wounding Kanna. Another flashback begins when Kaoru asks Umika if she remembers when they decided to create Kazumi. The Pleiades wondered what Kazumi would be like, and Umika said she would be a blank slate, but she would certainly be as radiant and good as Michiru. Mirai wonders if she will look like Michiru as well, but decides that she will win Saki over anyway with her own charm and make Kazumi her apprentice. She made a special teddy bear with a cat charm necklace displaying Kazumi's name for the occasion. Satomi plans to give Toto the cat to Kazumi, as she has begun to like humans despite scratching Satomi's hands all over. Umika plans to let Kazumi read her next novel first, and Kaoru wants to give her an All-Japan soccer uniform. Niko says she'll take them all to America and watch the Pleiades Star Cluster with them at the Grand Canyon, and maybe she'll finally tell them her story. Saki says she wants to give Michiru's earrings to Kazumi, not to make her more like the original, but to give her Michiru's wishes so that the earrings will become Kazumi's alone.
Back in the present, Umika begins to sink into despair, saying she wanted to be with Kazumi until the end, but they were going to end up leaving her alone. She is shaken out of it as Saki's Grief Seed begins to make a new witch, and a barrier with Umika's magic circle above the city shatters, and Umika and Kaoru suddenly remember the one thing that can eat Grief Seeds. The things they called fairies, actually Incubators, are the "them" Umika will never forgive. The two girls scream, "Come out, Kyubey!" Kyubey appears, saying, "Long time no see, Pleiades."
