Kazumi Magica Extra: Dream-Colored Spoon

Translation courtesy of DeepL.

Translation

A shard of the vase that had shattered at her feet struck Yuuri Asuka on the cheek. Without changing her expression, she looks at the person who threw the vase at her - her best friend, Airi Anri, who is lying on a hospital bed. Her friend, which had been given only three months to live, was so thin and withered that it was hard to believe that she was still a junior high school student. "My life is not over," Yuuri replies to Airi, her back shaking, "It's not over at all."

"Don't tell me to live the rest of my life to the fullest."

"It's up to you."

Yuuri's eyes meet with Airi's as she looks back at her for the first time.

"If you want to live, I will do whatever I can to help you. If you want to live, I will do everything in my power to help you, but if you want to give up on life, then I will not help you."

"Help me, Yuuri."

Yuuri's words were interrupted by Airi's tearful voice.

"I don't want to die. I want to live more. I want to eat many delicious foods with you."

She then took off the spoon pendant from around her neck and placed it on Airi.

The spoon sparkled in rainbow colors. It was a harbinger of good things to come. A dream-colored amulet. "Keep it with you until I return."

When asked where she was going, Yuuri turned around in her hospital bed and said, "It's a secret"-she flicked her tongue mischievously.

When he went down the hallway, a dark-faced doctor and nurse came out from a room a little further down the hall. It was the room of a little girl named Miyuki-chan. Through the door, the sobs of her older sister, who is about the same age as Yuuri, came out.

She looked fine until yesterday, but now she is crying. She looked fine until yesterday. ...... Yuuri bit her lip in disbelief and thought that she had to save Airi as soon as possible.

It was two years ago that Airi became an irreplaceable best friend to Yuuri. It all started two years ago when they were preparing for the school festival.

The class decided to hold a café, and Yuuri, who loved cooking, was put in charge of the menu. As the class was tasting the dishes she had prepared the night before, one of the female students suddenly said, "I don't feel well," and started to do the dishes.

She dropped her plate, saying, "I don't feel well."

As if in response to the student who complained that she had gotten sick from eating Yuuri's dish, the other students began to feel strange, and the tasting was cancelled. The tasting was cancelled. Yuuri threw away all of her dishes in the garbage bucket.

The next day, she stopped going to school and locked herself in her room.

A few days later. A few days later, on a rainy Sunday, Airi visited Asuka's house. She sat down and leaned against the door of Yuuri's room, ignoring Yuuri's repeated pleas to go home.

In the afternoon, when the rain stopped, Airi continued to sit down. The setting sun was just beginning to stain Airi's dozing cheeks.

A small voice asked, "Did you go home?" Airi jumped out of bed at the sound of a small voice saying, "Are you home?" The door was slightly open, and Yuuri's face was peeking out.

"Why did you come ...... for me?"

"The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you're looking for. I haven't eaten anything since this morning. If you don't mind, could you make me something?"

"Are you serious? I'm not going to do that."

"I ate it. I ate your cooking. I ate everything you threw away."

"Why did you eat ...... what I threw away?"

"Because it was delicious! Everyone was fussing about it, but it wasn't damaged or anything. It didn't hurt my stomach. And ...... that girl who got sick the first time was lying."

When she saw that the boy was pleased with Yuuri's cooking, she pretended to be a glutton. She told Yuuri the "truth of the matter" that her classmates were in a state of mass hysteria and started to make a fuss because of her acting too much.

The boy was so excited that his classmates became hysterical and started to make a fuss, Airi told Yuuri.

"I'm glad to hear that,......, but why did you go to such lengths?"

"The first thing to do is to make sure that you have a good idea of what you're looking for. I'm sure you've seen me wash my hands very carefully before serving food and during home economics class. Even between the nails. The plates were so shiny that there was not a fingerprint on them."

I thought she was going to be a cook in the future. I thought she was going to be a cook in the future. How could someone like that possibly get a stomach ache from the food she cooks?

"What are you ......?"

"I want to be a detective in the future. Do you know what it is? Do you know 'Gourmet Detective Neko Uluru'? A detective needs a friend who is a chef. So, this case was a great opportunity for me."

To make friends with Yuuri.

Airi stuck out her tongue mischievously and shrugged her shoulders.

"Now, cook me dinner!"

Airi pulled a bewildered Yuuri out of the room.

The pendant of a spoon that had been given to her as a child by her favorite cook, Slice Akiyama, on his TV show, glittered on her chest. It was a sparkle of seven colors, just like a rainbow in the sky.

At that moment, Airi became Yuuri's best friend.

With the memory of Airi in his heart, Yuuri wandered the city at night. Yuuri had only one "wish" in mind, but it was really a small wish. It was only one, small wish.

A few days ago, when she wandered into a strange world near the hospital and was attacked by the master of that world, a monster called a witch, a girl appeared like the wind and saved him, defeating the witch like a storm.

Maybe it was a dream. But if it was not a dream, her magic might be able to save Airi. Yuuri put her trust in the miracle of magic. And then...

"Chao! We meet again!"

The magical girl in the big black hat and cape remembered Yuuri. But when she heard Yuuri's wish, she replied, "I can't use magic to cure illness."

A white cat-like fairy who spoke human language appeared at the feet of the Puella Magi, who smiled at Yuuri as he lost his strength.

"You have the power to save your best friend's life," it said.

"I have that kind of power ......?"

"I'm sure."

That night, Asuka Yuuri became a magical girl with a prayer for her friends in her heart.

Original text

魔法少女かずみ☆マギカ番外編 ～ユメイロスプーン～

作平松正樹

足元で砕けた花瓶の破片が飛鳥ユウリの頬に当たった。彼女は表 情ひとつ変えず、花瓶を投げた相手――病院のベッドに伏せる親友、 杏里あいりを見据えている。余命三ヶ月と宣告されたあいりの手首 は、同じ中学生とは思えないほどに細く、枯れていた。 『終わったの、私の人生」と背中を震わせるあいりに、「終わってな んかない』とユウリは即答する。

「残された人生を精一杯生きろ、なんて言わないでね」

「それはあんた次第だよ」

初めて振り返ったあいりとユウリの目が合う。

「あんたが生きたいと思うなら、アタシはどんな手を使ってでもあん たを助ける。でも、あんたが生きることを捨てるっていうなら――」

「助けてユウリ」

ユウリの言葉を、あいりの涙声が遮った。

「私、死にたくない。もっと生きていたい。ユウリと一緒においしい ものたくさん食べたい」

ユウリは、その言葉が聞きたかったんだ、と心の中でつぶやくと、 首から下げていた『スプーンのペンダント』を外して、あいりにか けた。

スプーンは虹色にきらめいている。いいことがある前触れだった。 「夢色のお守り。アタシが戻るまで、持ってて」

どこへ行くのと問われたユウリは病室のベッドで振り返り、「ナイ ショ」――いたずらっぽく、ベーッと舌を見せた

廊下にでると、少し先の部屋から、暗い顔の医師とナースが出て きた。みゆきちゃんという小さな女の子の部屋。ドアの隙間からユ ウリと同じ年頃の姉のすすり泣きがこぼ

れてくる。昨日まで元気そ うだったのに……ユウリは信じられない思いと共に、あいりを一刻 も早く救わねばと、唇を噛んだ。

ユウリにとってのあいりが、かけがえのない親友になったのは、二 年前。文化祭の準備がきっかけだった。

クラスでカフェをやることになり、料理好きだったユウリが、メ ニュー担当となった。前の夜から寝ずに作った料理を、クラスで試 食していたとき、突然、一人の女生徒が

「気分が悪い」と言って、 皿を落とした。

ユウリの料理を食べて具合が悪くなったと訴える女生徒に呼応す るように、他の生徒たちの様子もおかしくなり、試食会は中止。自 分の料理をゴミバケツに全て捨てたユウ

リは、翌日から学校に行か なくなり、部屋に閉じこもった。

数日後。雨の日曜日、飛鳥家を訪れたのはあいりだった。 「帰って」と繰り返すユウリを無視して、あいりはユウリの部屋のド アにもたれかかって座り込んだ。

午後になり、雨が上がっても、あいりは座り続けていた。 夕日が、居眠りしていたあいりの頬を染め始めた頃。

「帰ったの？」という小さな声で、あいりは飛び起きた。すると、ド アが少しだけ開いて、ユウリの顔がのぞいていた。

「どうして……アタシのために……」

「だって」と言いかけたあいりのお腹が、グウゥーッと大きく鳴った。

「ははっ……お腹空いちゃった。朝から何も食べてないんだ。良かっ たら、何か作ってくれないかな？」

「本気なの？アタシの料理を食べて、みんなは……」

「違うよ。私、食べたもん。ユウリちゃんの料理。あなたが捨てたの も、全部食べちゃった」

「捨てたのを……食べた？」

「だって、美味しかったんだもん！みんなは騒いでたけど、傷んで なんかなかった。お腹も痛くならなかった。それに……最初に気分 が悪くなったあのコ、ウソついてたんだよ」

好きな男の子が、ユウリの料理を食べて喜んだのを見て、彼女は 食当たりのフリをした。あまりの演技に、クラスメイトたちは集団 ヒステリー状態になって、騒いでしまっ

たのだと、あいりは『事件 の真相』をユウリに告げた。

「そうだったんだ……良かった……でも、なんで、そこまで」

「こう見えても私、観察力あるんだよ。ユウリちゃん、料理配る前も、 家庭科の授業のときも、すごく丁寧に手を洗ってたよね。ツメの間 もしっかり。お料理のお皿も指紋

ひとつないくらいピカピカだった。 将来、コックさん目指してるって思った。そんな人が作る料理でお 腹が壊れるハズない」

「あんたって……」

「私、将来は探偵になりたいんだ。知ってる？『グルメ探偵ネコ・ ウルル』って？探偵には、料理人の友だちが不可欠なの。だから、 今回の事件は私にとって、大チャンス

だったの――ユウリちゃんと 友だちになるための」

あいりはいたずらっぽくベーッと舌を出し、肩をすくめた。

「さあ、晩ごはん、作って！」

きょとんとするユウリをあいりは部屋から引っ張り出した

子供の頃、憧れの料理人、スライス秋山の番組に出演してもらっ たスプーンのペンダントが、ユウリの胸元で輝いた。空にかかった 虹と同じ、七色のきらめきだった。

この瞬間、あいりはユウリの最高のともだちになった。

あいりとの思い出を胸に、ユウリは夜の街をさまよった。ユウリ には、ひとつだけ『アテ』があった。だが、それは本当に小さな希 望だった。

何日か前、病院の近くで妙な世界に迷い込み、その世界の主―― 魔女と呼ばれる化物に襲われたとき、一人の少女が風のように現れ、 嵐のように魔女を倒して救ってくれたのだ。

夢だったのかもしれない。でも、もし夢でなければ、彼女の魔法 ならあいりを救えるかもしれない。ユウリは魔法という奇跡に懸け た。そして――

「チャオ！また会ったね！」

大きな黒い帽子にマント姿の魔法少女は、ユウリを覚えていた。 けれど、ユウリの願いを聞いた彼女は、「わたしには病気を治す魔 法は使えないんだ」と答える。

力を落としたユウリに「でもね」と微笑みかけた魔法少女の足元に、 人の言葉を話す白いネコのような妖精が現れた。

「ユウリ、キミは親友の命を救うだけの力を秘めている」

「アタシに、そんな力が……？」

「うん。だから……ボクと契約して、魔法少女になってよ」 その夜、飛鳥ユウリは魔法少女となった。

友への祈りを胸に