Oriko Magica Noisy Citrine: Chapter 2

The chapter opens with Erika wandering about, remembering talking to her parents. Disaffected by her aloof stepfather, she refers to him as that instead of "dad" around her mom, who scolds her and calls her useless. Running away, she encounters a witch who amplifies her despair and drags her in. Kirika runs into the barrier, finding herself falling - something that's not happened to her before. Arriving at the core, she sees the witch getting ready to kill Erika. Seeing her, Kirika opens up and saves her before taking a look at the witch only to see that this witch is, in fact, HUGE. Not intimidated, Kirika attacks it all out only to find that the creature is intriguingly strong. Her claws are not able to pierce its exterior. She realizes fairly quick that its toughness is dangerous to her - she attacks with quick, intense flurries of weak attacks. Now at a moment of pause in the battle, Erika, under the witch's spell, asks Kirika why she saved her - stupid bothersome kids like her only deserve to die. She asks if she hates her, and we skip back to when Erika had to leave town. Both of them are upset about this, but agree to do what they can. Kirika spots Erika shoplifting and Erika, in a panic, flees and leaves her behind. The cops arrest and blame Kirika for the theft - this is the betrayal that broke Kirika's faith in humanity at large. Kirika realizes that Erika didn't do it out of spite, and only out of fear and desperation, something she can now relate to. We jump back to the present, where Erika continues to insist she should die, with Kirika telling her not to be so stupid. Erika throws herself off the platform she's on and too the floor. Kirika can't catch up, and begins to panic - she thought if she were someone else, she could do anything, but she was wrong. Deciding then that this person isn't good either, Kirika affirms that "she will keep changing", and that she's "changed now" for her. She catches up to Erika and saves her, and realizes that if her claws were strong enough to not break when hitting the witch, then it wasn't an issue of weapon strength but HER strength. Using all of the power she can muster for a single swipe, Kirika splits the witch in two down the middle. Erika, astonished, asks just what she is and Kirika responds with "Nothing much, just a magical girl!" We skip ahead to sometime in the future, where Oriko and Kirika are having tea together. Kirika is reading a letter form Erika, and says that she seems to be doing well with her parents. Oriko inquires just how much Erika means to Kirika, who objects that no one means more to her then 'someone.' Oriko asks who, and while Kirika panics she makes it obvious that its her (Oriko realizing this as well but forcing her to admit it). The story ends with Kirika about to finally say it.