Magia Record Story Tokime Tribe Tale
Summary
The following is a summary by bigscarythings.
Part 1
The event opens with the Tokime squad cleaning up Suitoku Temple as part of the end-of-the-year Japanese tradition where families clean house. One of the big orders of business is sorting through the temple's old, unused antiques and books to donate and sell them as needed. Shizuka expresses some hesitation at getting rid of these old, traditional materials, but the head priest believes it's the right choice - in getting rid of the things we no longer use, those objects have a chance of reaching those who really do need them. While picking through the antiques, Shizuka finds one odd trinket that gives her pause, but quickly sets it aside, since they have much work to do.
Later, Shizuka, Sunao, and Chiharu, in charge of selling the books, arrive at Kako's bookstore and take care of business there. On their way out, they bump into Team Mikazuki, who have a stack of books of their own to sell to the Natsume family. Kako apologizes for everything going so slowly - they have a huge spike in business at the end of the year, what with everyone going out with the old, in with the new. While waiting, Iroha and Shizuka get on to chatting, and realize they'll both be in the shopping district tomorrow, before the trio heads back to the village for New Year's, and agree to meet up before they both part ways for today.
Back at the temple, everything went smoothly - the antiques were picked up, and the temple cleaned up. Shizuka and the head priest thank everyone for their hard work, and the girls settle down to relax.
There, the girls get to discussing the Tokime Tribe's new year's tradition, as mentioned in New Year Shizuka's MGS - basically, the tribe head performs a sacred rite for banishing all the evils contained within a sake cup. According to legend, the cup originated from outside the village as a special tool to entrap calamities, but when they became too great for mortals to handle, the cup was entrusted to a Diviner to purge the evils contained therewithin.
Every few years, when the evils grow too great, to the point where heavy storm clouds gather around the region surrounding the village, the cup must be tapped with a sacred sword as part of the ritual in order to dissipate the calamities, bringing about a glorious sunrise to open the new year. The ritual has been held for centuries, with the Mikoshiba family in charge of things, but with the family dead and gone, the tribe has no idea all the secrets that go into the ritual. This is bad, because if the ritual fails for whatever reason, it's said that great disaster will befall the land.
The girls are worried...but Shizuka and Chiharu's moms among other adults are helping uncover the true tradition, so they just have to wait and see. But later that night...Shizuka is haunted by a horrific nightmare. In it, a terrible storm engulfs the village - buildings and mountains collapse, the river floods, screams and shrieks pierce the air, and Sunao and Chiharu, along with everyone else in the village, are dead.
Shizuka wakes up screaming, her heart pounding even as she tries to settle back to sleep...she tells herself they'll be fine without Mikoshiba...they'll find the proper ritual protocol...but Shizuka, of course, gets no sleep, and Chiharu and Sunao immediately can tell as Shizuka finally comes down for breakfast...much later than she normally wakes up. They know she's in a funk, so they ask her to open up and talk about what happened, but Shizuka fibs by saying she was just excited for their end-of-the-year shopping trip, since it'll be her first time seeing a shopping area all bedazzled for New Year's. More than anything, she can't bring herself to tell Chiharu and Sunao about how they both died...she just can't. As she gets ready to go out, Sunao and Chiharu worry over Shizuka - they know she's stubborn and won't talk about things unless she's forced to...so all they can do is keep a close eye on her.
First things first, they visit Emiri's counseling center, and are immediately greeted by her boisterous cry - the place is packed with megucas! Ren, Rika, Hinano, Sasara and Asuka extend their greetings...as do Temari and Mikura, who were lugged in by Emiri when she spotted them outside on their way to an appointment at Natsume Books. Still, Mikura doesn't mind; she has time to kill. Shortly after all that's established, Team Mikazuki shows up, too, and things get even more bustling. In a lull, Shizuka's dream tears at her again - chewed up in anxiety, Shizuka wonders why she's so stressed about this dream...
She's snapped out of her trance by Iroha, who knows Shizuka isn't doing so good. Shizuka realizes her woes are showing up on her face, so she decides to trickle the truth a little - she had a bad dream about the ritual failing. Iroha asks about what the ritual does, and Shizuka recaps it, with Charu adding that their moms and the other villagers are working their way through old documents.
At the sound of "rituals" and "old documents," Mikura can no longer contain herself, and bursts into the conversation, asking if Shizuka knows what happens if they fail to quell the calamity-containing cup, and if there's any specific legend or message about what happens. Shizuka is surprised that Mikura guesses it dead-on, and Mikura explains it's just archetypical for these sorts of rituals.
Chiharu remembers that the other day, Shizuka said that the Tokime region will be doomed if they fail the ritual, and asks if that was what Shizuka saw in her dream...and Shizuka admits yes. Those stories have been told to her since she was a little girl, and the villagers fervently believe in this legend; she's had nightmares about it for years.
Chiharu and Sunao reassure her, saying they'll help her succeed, and that the village will survive beyond Mikoshiba's reign, and that they can protect the village themselves. Iroha encourages Shizuka to not keep her fears to herself, but in her thoughts, Shizuka reaffirms that she can't tell Charu and Sunao about what became of them...and besides, it's just a dream...but was it really that dream alone that made her so anxious...?
The girls leave the counseling center, with meeting Natsuki as their next item on the agenda. Since they have time before they meet her, they decide to do some shopping together, but Sunao warns Shizuka not to get lost. Shizuka insists she'll be fine, but Shizuka being Shizuka, she's shortly separated from her wives, and can't begin to break through the crowd to find them. She tries to get a hold of herself, but all this stress and anxiety can't be denied anymore, and she starts to break down in tears. In that moment, though, Natsuki, who was just on her way to their meeting spot, finds Shizuka, and eagerly goes to greet her...only to see Shizuka in pieces.
She helps Shizuka sit and calm down. Once Shizuka is in a slightly better place, she says she's fine now, but Natsuki doesn't buy a word of it. She says she'll hear out Shizuka, but then realizes that might be massively overstepping, given that Shizuka can't even speak to Charu or Sunao about it...but Shizuka notes to herself that she can't. And since it's Natsuki...she finally starts to open up, explaining all the gory details of her dream.
After hearing it all, Natsuki understands Shizuka's plight and anxiety. Shizuka loathes herself for thinking this way; she doesn't understand why she feels so weak after that dream. But Natsuki suspects that it wasn't the dream that's caused this - this must be something that's been building up. Upon thinking about it, Shizuka realizes this is true - breaking free from Mikoshiba was the right but difficult thing, and the village must change and adapt. But, as Natsuki points out, even if we know on a rational level that we must change, we can't help but be anxious about it and resist it, since it means we have to give up the things we're used to. Since Shizuka thinks as the leader, she has to be the strongest out of everyone, but can't seem to manage that, her anxiety has been slowly building...and maybe it all came to a head in the form of this dream.
Shizuka still chides herself for being anxious at a time like this, but Natsuki says otherwise. She explains her backstory, how she used to be an avid baseball player before she became a cheerleader - but it wasn't by choice at first. Her middle school forbade girls from joining sports, and she hated it at first... Then, even after adapting by becoming a cheerleader, she was still anxious about whether she would still be considered a true teammate by her old friends. She thinks change is scary, and anxiety is inevitable, but rather than denying it, we should admit it, face it, and figure out how to overcome it.
Shizuka opens up some more - with all the changes going on, the people in the village have been very stressed and anxious, and she had no way of assuaging their concerns. If she can't get things in control, she'll hurt her loved ones even more than they are already, which terrifies her...but Natsuki is certain that Shizuka will succeed. After all, Natsuki did it herself - she had friends to support her and incorporate her as part of the baseball team, just as Shizuka has friends who believe in her and support her. Shizuka thinks of Charu, Sunao, Chiharu's mom and Shizuka's mom, and the villagers...and finally accepts that she is, and it's okay to be anxious and scared.
Natsuki rallies Shizuka up into her signature cheer, and Shizuka finally smiles. That fixed, they go to find Charu and Sunao, who have been worried sick, and thank Natsuki for helping Shizuka return to normal.
Their day done, the three Tokime girls return to the village - after being gone for so long, they've grown unused to the freezing winter climate. Shizuka's mom greets them, noting Shizuka's high spirits, and Shizuka recaps her on recent events; her mom is happy that they're on track for the ritual. Shizuka's mom invites them inside, noting that she turned up the heat since she knew the girls would have lost their cold weather adaptation after being in Kamihama for so long; Chiharu's mom says she made the right choice.
The moms have finished deciphering Mikoshiba's documents, and are as set for the ritual as they can be. Shizuka's mom and Shizuka start rehearsing for the ritual, which goes off without a hitch; in the end, Shizuka will tap the cup, her mom will raise it to the sky, and the sun will rise, marking the purging of calamities and evils. Everyone is enthused, certain that the ritual will be a success.
That night, however...Shizuka has another dream. This time, she takes the place of a girl named Hatsu Tokime, an ancient heiress to the Tokime Tribe, speaking to her best friend, a Diviner named Suwe. Hatsu has discovered that this whole calamity cup thing is a sham - the Mikoshiba from centuries ago had deceived Suwe into contracting with Kyubey to create the cup, which only the Mikoshiba family knows how purify, thus ensuring the Mikoshibas would survive for centuries more. Suwe is in denial, insisting that Mikoshiba, who had raised her, would NEVER trick her, and after fighting with Hatsu about it, Hatsu agrees to drop the issue. But she decides she'll fix everything by contracting with Kyubey in secret, without Mikoshiba forcing a wish on her... The dream ends with faded voices, and Hatsu begging Shizuka to "restore the sword's brilliance."
Shizuka snaps awake once more. She thinks over all this alarming info - the calamity cup doesn't seal evil, but summons it; and the Mikoshiba family has be corrupt for hundreds of years. All this might be only a dream...but she decides she needs to make sure for herself. She sneaks out to the site of the ritual, and calls for Kyubey, who immediately appears. She questions him, and he confirms that Suwe made a wish to create this disaster cup, and that Hatsu made a sort of wish to counter Suwe's - to create a sword that will drive away the calamity cup's evils. It's the same sword used in the ritual...and Shizuka is heartbroken, realizing that Hatsu played into Mikoshiba's plan all along.
Still, given that Hatsu's wish came true, why hasn't the cup been destroyed? Basically, the Mikoshiba family took the sword from Hatsu, and arranged to have a piece broken away and hidden. That bit of the sword seems to forewarn which year the disasters will culminate, which the Mikoshibas have been using to know when to carry out the ritual. Kyubey offers that they can set things right by simply finding the broken piece and reattaching it to the sword.
It's a simple solution...but not easy. Nobody knows where that piece of the sword is, given it wasn't among Mikoshiba's belongings. Shizuka digests all this heartbreaking news, and laments how unfair it is...the only thing she can do for her ancestors is...she can't bear to say it. It would be destroying centuries of tradition. But Natsuki's words come back to her, and she finds her mettle - yes, she must end this ritual to ensure Hatsu and Suwe's sacrifices weren't in vain. She needs to destroy the Calamity-Calling Cup and break this tradition forever.
Part 2
Shizuka returns home and explains what she's learned to Charu and Sunao, that the Mikoshiba family had plotted the Daybreak Ceremony to boost and cement their authority within the tribe. Shizuka now wants to destroy the calamity cup to honor the magical girls who came before her. Chiharu and Sunao, disgusted by the Mikoshiba family's action, agree completely. Chiharu suggests they try breaking the cup themselves, but alas, Shizuka says if it were possible, it would have already been done. Shizuka is that certain only the sword can do it, but it's missing a part and lacks the shine it had at the end of her dream, when she was told to restore its brilliance. They need to find the missing part of the sword, but that's hard when even Kyubey doesn't know where it is...but Shizuka has an idea: They need to go back to Kamihama, a plan that throws off Charu and Sunao.
When prompted for an explanation, Shizuka says they have no options left in the village. Meanwhile, with so many magical girls in Kamihama, there's bound to be one who can fix swords. She asks Charu and Sunao for their help in this, and they agree, no questions asked...which might have been getting ahead of themselves, since Shizuka explains her plan requires them stealing the sword!
At their initial bewilderment, Shizuka says while she knows it's wrong, they have no time to convince the villagers to get it restored. The villagers have all been born and raised with the importance of this ceremony held paramount, and many are distressed over Mikoshiba's death leaving the tribe afloat without a paddle. To change anything, especially by taking the sword out of the village, will break the villagers' fraying trust. Shizuka knows, however, that the tribe must adapt and move forward...but they need solid evidence to prove to the tribe that it's possible to do so. They need to destroy this ritual.
After hearing that, Charu and Sunao agree to the plan. They will stay in the village and keep the adults distracted while Shizuka goes to Kamihama with the sword and seeks help. Via telepathy (since they're in Shizuka's house), she asks that they not inform their parents of the plan, either. Sunao worries over Shizuka going alone, but Shizuka says she won't be - she'll have Iroha and many friends there.
As they enact the plan and go to the storage area, however, the first man they see is a stringently traditional old man; fortunately, Sunao swiftly moves to chat with him and distract him. Chiharu gets spotted by an old lady, who asks what they're up to; Charu, stammering, says it's hide and seek, and the lady smiles, gently chiding them to play somewhere else. Charu and Sunao realize far more people pass through this area than they'd realized, and warn Shizuka to sneak out of the storeroom via a window - and by the end of it all, Shizuka manages to slip out of the village unseen, sword in hand.
Shizuka's first stop in Kamihama is Mitama's. Mitama tells her that while she herself can't help (her Coordination doesn’t seem to extend to physical objects, even if magical - just souls), there's bound to be someone who can. Natsuki happens to pop in at first, and then Tsuruno, who is here to help Shizuka on Mikazuki's behalf. Shizuka recaps the situation to them, and Tsuruno agrees to act as tour guide (Mitama just had a good feeling she'd be best suited for this role), and Natsuki asks to join, too, even though this is out of her wheelhouse. Shizuka eagerly accepts their help. And with that, Tsuruno knows when it comes to swords, there's one go-to girl...
...And that's Sayuki (and Mayu and Ria), of course! Situation explained, Shizuka presents Sayuki the sword, and Sayuki goes fangirl mode, explaining it's an ancient Yamato sword, a very rare artifact, and gushes in some technical detail. After Ria reins her in, Sayuki immediately cottons onto the fact that this was a sword conjured by a magical girl's wish. Shizuka asks if it can be fixed, but Sayuki notes the significant amount of rust, and Mayu, given her knowledge of art restoration, estimates it'd take several months to have a professional restore it. Tsuruno, however, thinks priority one should be getting the missing part back; Shizuka kicks herself for not getting a description of the part from Kyubey...but then remembers her dream, and describes the missing part as a sigil of a stylized sun. So their next stop is to find a magical girl who can find objects, and Ria knows just who. They're all raring to go, but Sayuki's alarm goes off, telling her it's time for a concert, so as much as she wants to see a sword restored to its former glory, she'll have to miss out.
Ria takes them to Natsume Books, where Mikura is. She and Temari are doing temp work here for the end of the year to organize and clean the inventory, and she's the one with the handy power; Kako graciously lets her join the other girls. Mikura notes her power isn't an active one, but passive; she just so happens to find artifacts while going about her life. Temari says there's nothing to it, then - they'll just have to search for the sigil normally and see if Mikura's magic kicks in along the way.
They go to the library first, where they get a clue to go to the Mizuna art museum; though it's closed, Mayu pulls strings to get them inside. They apologize to the director for the intrusion, but he says it's fine, as he happened to be working today due to a scheduled meeting with an antiques dealer, who wanted a certain object appraised...yes, it's the missing part they're looking for!
Shizuka recognizes it from the antiques pile from Suitoku, the object she was curious about after speaking with the head priest. After learning this object was (seemingly) mistakenly mixed into the haul, he dealer says he’ll return it to the temple free of charge. Shizuka, however, asks to buy it at a fair price - to herself, she realizes that if Mikoshiba had bequeathed the sigil to the temple’s head priest, then it means the head priest may not be as trustworthy as they all thought...and besides, she can't just go accepting his property without permission!
The dealer thinks it's fair that the artifact be returned to its rightful family, and asks that he get recompensed for what he paid - 100,000 yen(!) (approximately $864), which Shizuka just doesn't have. Mayu suggests they ask one of the Tokime mothers to help, but Shizuka doesn't want to risk anyone finding out what they're up to. Between all of them, they still don't have enough money (everyone's generous offer flusters her), which means they need a job, fast...and it just so happens that Sayuki's concert is having an emergency recruitment for concert staff!
Alas, the job is only open to high schoolers and up, but Ria, Mayu, and Tsuruno roll up their sleeves and do it, with Shizuka and Natsuki, as middle schoolers, cheering them on and serving tea to them and the other part-timers. The concert goes off with great success, and Shizuka lauds her friends for their hard work, but states she feels very guilty since she's the one who ought to be doing the hardest work. Tsuruno shrugs it off, saying them's the breaks, then counts up their money...it's a generous amount (everyone assumes the manager was compensating them for Shizuka and Natsuki's help, too), but altogether, they're still 30,000 yen short.
They wrack their brains for how they can get their hands on such a huge sum so quickly, but in that moment...they just so happen spot a flyer for a New Year's lottery draw, the grand prize just so happening to be a 30,000 yen gift certificate for any store in the shopping district - including the antique shop! Tsuruno joins in and instantly wins, of course. This is where everyone learns what Tsuruno's magic does, and they all realize this is why Mitama wanted thought Tsuruno was the best option for the task!
Now they just need an adult on their behalf to sit in on the deal. It can't be the priest...so Shizuka cracks and finally contacts her mom to confess everything. Charu's mom agrees to help with the exchange, and the deal goes smoothly. Afterwards, she explains that Shizuka's mom has a message for her daughter, so Shizuka calls right away, and gets chewed out for keeping this a secret...but her mom agrees that Shizuka pulled the best move she had. At first, she praises Shizuka for accomplishing this on her lonesome, but after Shizuka explains she had a lot of help, her mom asks Shizuka to thank them all in really mushy terms, which flusters Shizuka. That done, the whole gang goes to Mitama's for the much-hyped sword restoration proceedings - Shizuka explains she's doing this in Mitama's specifically because doing it outside would be too conspicuous.
Shizuka slots in the missing part, and the sword erupts in gorgeous light, as though it can literally cut down evil. The girls ooh and aah over it...and then realize there is absolutely no way they can smuggle this shining sword back to the village without the villagers and the whole world seeing (and dismantling the sword would likely risk them losing the part again). But they've got one more trick up their sleeve: Ria's concealment magic!
Once home, Shizuka gets the sword snuck back into its rightful place. She overhears conversations among the villagers, stressing over the ritual and whether it'll go wrong without Mikoshiba...the whole village is on edge. She gets stressed again, but thinks back to her conversation with Natsuki, and feels assured in her goal - she will show everyone there's nothing to fear. All that's left now is to destroy the cup. Shizuka holds one last meeting with her friends and the Tokime moms, explaining that since her goal to end the ceremony for good, she'd like Charu, Sunao, and the moms to prevent the crowd from stopping her if they realize her intent. They agree, with Chiharu's mom nervous about being in the hotseat all of a sudden; Shizuka's mom encourages her, saying she can't lose to Charu and Shizuka.
On New Year's Day, per usual, the skies are profoundly overcast. The villagers are worried sick, while a transformed Charu and Sunao, and the Tokimoms take up their position (Chiharu remarks that Sunao is likely going to be the one to calm the crowd down if things get crazy). Shizuka and her mom start enacting the ritual. The sword is in its rusted form for now, with Shizuka having hidden the sigil; once everything is all set, she slots the sigil in place, causing the sword to shine to many gasps and much alarm from the crowd - the sword isn't supposed to glow, after all! The villagers try to stop the ceremony, saying the head family will draw a curse upon the village, but sure enough, Sunao calms people down, helping them observe how the sword doesn't look evil. While it's unfamiliar, she explains that this is a sacred ritual that needs to be left to the head family to perform, and the villagers settle down.
That settled, Shizuka vows to usher in a new beginning for the tribe, and with one blow, destroys the cup. The villagers are in awe that the cup, said to be indestructible, is broken to bits, and the sunrise pierces the darkness. Shizuka declares to all that this proves the end of Mikoshiba's reign - from now on, their destiny is their own. The crowd cheers, and Charu and Sunao are joyful, with Sunao especially relieved that Mikoshiba's dark pall is gone. The Tokime moms, meanwhile, fret (with smiles) a bit over Shizuka's resolution - it's a heavy one - but it's a good one for New Year's nevertheless. Shizuka says this is a happy new year indeed...and a voice touches her ears, saying thank you. She realizes it's Hatsu, and the sword flashes in response; she smiles knowing Hatsu’s spirit can finally move on.
The story closes after the New Year's holidays, with the Tokimes visiting Mikazuki with a gift of local specialties from the village. Tsuruno asks if the ceremony was successful, and Shizuka confirms, thanking Tsuruno for her help. They decide to go over the whole story over ozoni, or New Year's mochi soup; Iroha worries Shizuka might have had her share already, but Shizuka says she loves ozoni. Sunao explains that ever since Shizuka learned that mochi soup is prepared in different ways across households, she's made a habit of tasting as many different kinds as she can.
The girls enjoy their meal together, with Shizuka telling her story, including her New Year's dream of Hatsu smiling upon her. It affirms that the Mikoshiba of yore had found Hatsu's intent to destroy the cup and intervened. Still, the ritual is over, now, so Shizuka takes it as Hatsu's way of congratulating Shizuka on the new beginning. But that raises a question from Iroha - had anyone else ever dreamed of Hatsu before? They think it over, and realize the dreams must have been triggered by Shizuka handling the sigil back at the temple.
Speaking of which, Shizuka asked the head priest about what was up with him getting the sigil; according to him, it was mixed up with the rest of Mikoshiba's belongings that were given to him. He hadn't intended to sell it. Still, with everyone's help, she was able to get the sigil back, led through all the connections she'd made in Kamihama.
Felicia doesn't quite get what Shizuka means; Shizuka explains in simple terms that perhaps all this was meant to be. Everything comes full circle, but there's one last thing left - to properly thank everyone for their help, Shizuka is going around and inviting all the girls on a hot springs trip to the village! It's the latest tourism thing, and they're free to stay as long as they want and to bring their friends and loved ones. Being told as much, Mikazuki eagerly accepts the offer, and Shizuka is excited to invite Natsuki and the rest of her friends, too, marking the start of a happy new year.