Magia Record Story The Flower That Blooms in a Hollow Heart
The following is a summary posted on 4chan's /pmmm/ general courtesy of Ika.
Part One
Yuuna Kaharu has invited Chika Aoba, Hotori Yuuki, Rion Yuuki, and Yukika Nanase to a thank you dinner. She invited Hotori because she's a fellow council member, Rion because she has the hots for her sister, Yukika because she saved her from a witch and Chika because she guided her out of the mountains when she got lost there after the Labyrinth from said witch collapsed.
Kaharu wants to form a team, and her objective is to find the Kimochi gems. She heard about them at the Adjusters and believes them to be sacred stones that will grant the power to guide people to the path to salvation. She believes the saint she admires possess one of those gems. She wants to become like the saint and save people, and for that she wishes to obtain a Kimochi gem. The group accepts except for Chika. She hesitates because she knows what the Kimochi gems really are. She consults with Shizuka Tokime after this reunion and asks to keep an eye on Kaharu and the others. She fears they will get into troubles if they look around for the Kimochi.
They start their investigation in the middle of the city (of note, Kaharu arrived in her limousine and Yukika arrived earlier, but a granny fell in front of her so she took her to the hospital). Kaharu's grand strategy is to look for magical girls and ask them about the bracelets and the Kimochi gems. Before Yukika can voice her concerns, Rion suggest splitting and takes Hotori with her. Yukika is about to go with them but Rion says that that wouldn't be splitting. Chika turns her head and before she knows it Kaharu is gone. Kaharu's already bumped into Shigure Miyabi and Hagumu Azumi and without any greeting whatsoever she jumps right into questioning them
They remain silent as Yukika and Chika cath up to them. She finally greets them properly and Shigure asks if she's opposing them. Yukika asks if the matter of the Kimochi is a delicate matter and Hagumu is surprised they're asking about them without knowing anything at all. Yukika asks to discuss the matter with Hagumu. Hotori contacts Kaharu by telepathy asking for help, she rushes over and Chika follows her. At a game center, Rion is picking up a fight with Ranka Chizu since Ranka had made Hotori flinch, while Ao Kasane is trying to defuse the situation. Ranka says asking about the Kimochi is like calling a bloodbath. Chika and Kaharu arrive and Chika explains their side. Turns out Ranka glared at Hotori because she asked them about the gems. They explain that they didn't know anything about the gems and Kaharu asks Ranka to forgive them. Thankfully, Ranka doesn't feel like fighting anymore.
As Yukika arrives, Ao contacts her through telepathy and asks her to stall Hikaru who should be coming soon, because if she were to see what's happening a fight breaking out wouldn't be out of the question. They depart the game center after an attempt by Kaharu to ask Ranka for info fails, Shigure and Hagumu are now following them throughout the day and doing a pretty bad job at hiding it.
They're now at the riverbank, and Kaharu attempts to question Kanagi Izumi, who is passing by, but Chika asks her to stop this dangerous investigation method, as there are many groups looking for the gems. They talk a bit about the poisonous flowers and nature they had talked about when she had guided her in the mountains. Kaharu hopes they can talk about nature again.
The twins and Yukika drop by Mitama Yakumo's to ask about the Kimochi gems and bracelets, which Yukika points out they should have done from the beginning. Mifuyu Azusa also happens to be there and she explains their relationship to the automatic purification system (it's the first time Yukika hears about it). The group is now at a restaurant to call it a day to the operation. Yukika suggests staying as a group for the next investigation for safety's sake as other groups are looking for the gems. Kaharu doesn't want to put her friends in danger, but admits she will still look for them even of she has to do it alone.
Chika is troubled by Kaharu's determination. Kaharu can tell even if Chika doesn't say anything. Kaharu changes her mind, she decides that they should hang out the next day. Before leaving she talks with the waitress. They leave and Hagumu and Shigure are about to give chase. However, they realize the prices of their order are huge. The waitress reassures them that the debt is taken care of, Kaharu paid for the meals of everyone at the restaurant. Both cry as they were not only discovered but they don't understand what is the message that Kaharu is trying to send them.
The next day, Kaharu has taken them to an amusement park so they can relax. When Chika says they don't have tickets. Kaharu tells her not to worry, as they will be using her celebrity pass, which Rion states allows them to get on the rides without having to stand in line (Yukika thought the pass was an urban legend).
Kaharu is happy that Chika is relaxed as she doesn't like seeing her friend worried like that. Hearing this, Chika calls everyone and confesses she's been spying on them for the Tokime clan and apologizes for it, since she doesn't want to lie to her friends anymore. However, they don't mind at all and are happy to be friends with her. As they go back home, Kaharu wishes to resume the search the next day and Yukika ask about the saint Kaharu admires so much. She explains that before she became a magical girl she was saved from a witch by someone that descended from the heavens with a gentle smile. She still vividly remembers the scene, her pure white bell and the muskets she used to defeat the witch. She notes that the crown in her magical girl outfit is to resemble her. Kaharu doesn't know what the saint was, but she's sure she obtained her power using the Kimochi gems, and that if she obtains them she will come closer to her. All the this talk about the saint has made her too excited and she asks to be excused to fix her make-up.
Chika and Yukika confirm that Kaharu has completely misunderstood the purpose of the Kimochi gems. Yukika also tells them that the saint is none other that Mami Tomoe, the saint that fought for the sake of the Wings of Magius, and a normal magical girl. They discuss how to tell Kaharu that her beloved saint was a normal magical girl when Kaharu walks in on them, having heard that the her saint was nothing special and just a normal magical girl. She asks them if this is a joke, when none of them replies she runs away.
Part Two
After finding out that her saint was just a normal magical girl, Kaharu is brooding in her room. She receives messages from her friends telling her they're waiting for her, and how she hasn't even shown herself at the student council, but Kaharu can't find a way to reply back. She feels guilty for dragging everyone into her whim to find the gems, a search that was meaningless, as even if they found them her saint is not a special being. She finds it hard to believe, as she recalls the light that she saw that day. There's no way someone like her is not special, but she doesn't believe her friends are lying. If she misunderstood everything, then how she's lived until now, the shock that changed her life and her throbbing heart for the saint, everything has been nothing than an illusion. At a cafe, the rest of the group are discussing the situation. Rion says that it's not common for Kaharu to fantasize as when she's talking about her saint. Apparently Kaharu studied abroad not too long ago so she's not that well versed in Kamihama's situation. Chika asks if maybe Mami really is special, Yukika tells her that as a saint Mami borrowed power from an Uwasa and that's the Mami that Kaharu met, but that power is now gone. She's now a normal magical girl active in Mitakihara. The name rings a bell, Rion has met Mami. Before she became a magical girl, she got lost in Mitakihara, she wandered into a strange place and was saved by a wonderful onee-san. Thinking about it, it must've been a witch's barrier and that girl a magical girl, said girl called herself Mami. Until now Rio thought it was all a dream, but Hotori remembers that Rion did get lost in Mitakihara once.
Chika asks her about Mami, whom Rion describes as gentle and cool, like a hero from TV, someone akin to an ally of justice. Yukika thinks that she must be a really wonderful person. Chika tells the group she has an idea. Back at Kaharu's home she's finally left her room. She finds her parents who ask her if she's felling better now, as she returned home with a pale face on that day. Kaharu tells them that she was just tired and now she's well. Her dad asks her not to push herself and that she can come to them if she has any problems. Kaharu thinks to herself that she's really blessed to have such kind parents. Her dad proposes that they take a vacation, so they can forget their worries and flap their wings. Chika refuses as her dad is busy at work and she has duties at the student council. In reality Kaharu knows that going to another country won't make her heart skip a beat. No matter the money or the luxury, they will only bring insincere smiles. The only thing that warms her heart is her saint, an existence that surpasses human knowledge, an extraordinary symbol. If she could become like the saint she could fill the emptiness in her heart. But it was all a misunderstanding. She wonders towards what should she live from now on.
Her phone rings, it's a message from Chika. And then another, and another, and another. Her dad says it could be an emergency call, so Kaharu excuses herself to check them. Chika is waiting in front of her house, she wants to talk. She will wait until Kaharu comes out. Kaharu tells her parents that she promised to meet with her friend and leaves the house.
Chika thanks her for coming out and Kaharu apologizes for not answering her messages. Chika asks her if she has eaten breakfast and reprimands her when Kaharu can't recall if she did. Chika brought with her dried persimmons she made herself and gives them to Kaharu, she likes them, they're sweet, no matter what Kaharu ate the past few days everything was insipid. Chika asks her if it's because of the shock of the truth about her saint. She nods, but all she feels now is hollow. She doesn't know what to believe in anymore. She asks Chika what should her goal in life be from now on. Chika can't answer such a difficult question, Kaharu apologizes for asking something so weird.
Kaharu thanks Chika for coming, seeing her improved her mood a bit and says her farewells. Chika stops her, she can't answer her question but she can't leave Kaharu in a slump, so she asks her to believe in her and accompany her for a bit. On the train Chika is restless, she's not used to being surrounded by people as she's accustomed to being in nature. The topic jumps to hobbies, Chika's are growing flowers and wood carving. Kaharu doesn't have any, the only thing that has dazed her heart in her whole life is her saint. Chika tells her to not worry, once they reach their destination she will maybe cheer up. Kaharu asks her where are they going, but Chika only asks her to look forward to it, so Kaharu puts her trust in Chika.
They arrive at Mitakihara and move among the streets to a set destination planned by Chika, and this reminds Kaharu of when she showed her the way out of the mountains, when she took her hand and they talked about plants, trees and flowers as they walked. They had fun without using money, it was strange to her. Chika says you can enjoy nature without spending a single dime, every day is discovery. Their walk is interrupted by a Witch, so they take a detour to defeat it.
Inside the barrier, Kaharu runs ahead despite Chika's warnings. She saw a mother and her daughter and they're heading towards the Witch. They make their way through the familiars but Kaharu is sluggish, her soul gem became tainted because of all the time she was depressed in her room. Kaharu tells her that the people trapped come first. However, they won't make it to them before they get to the Witch. In the nick of time Mami appears and kills the witch with a Tiro Finale. Kaharu recognizes her as the saint, Chika says her name is Mami Tomoe and Kaharu runs away to hide. Chika tells her she doesn't have to hide, but Kaharu says she's covered in dust from the battle and her hair is a mess. She refuses to show herself in such an unkempt state in front of her saint.
Mami remarks the other presences that were inside the barrier are gone. The little girl wakes up and Mami assures her that the strange place she saw was a dream. The girl asks her if she helped her with magic and Mami plays along telling her she's a magical girl. Her mother is still unconscious so Mami tells her she will keep her company until her mom wakes up.
Kaharu is enthralled, she looks different but her beauty is unmistakable. Her wonderful profile, how she's doesn't show tiredness after fighting a witch. Without a doubt, she's a saint. Chika tells her that day and night she fights to protect everyone from the threat of Witches and familiars. Kaharu can tell that her power and gentleness have been polished in battle along with her beauty. She has realized why she's so captivated by her, why she became such a coward at the thought of losing her. It's because she's empty.
Kaharu talks to Chika about how her whole life she's been empty. Even though she's far more blessed than other people, even since she was little she didn't have to put much effort to accomplish anything, her parents were kind so they would buy her anything she wanted, she attended a good school and was blessed with good friends and nice kouhai at the student council. She even meet good friends in Chika and Yukika. But these are all things that she obtained without any hardships or effort, things that she received for being born in prosperity. As a result, her life has nothing worth doing or living for, she only lived to not die. The light of the saint is what reached to her. If she became a magical girl, if she could be like the saint, then the void in her life would be filled, or so she believed.
Chika is worried, but Kaharu knows this is all the result of her carelessness, of not growing by her own power and determination. That's why she took such a shock at the truth, as she felt that she lost her reason to live, so she tried to run away from the truth. She wonders how much of an empty person can she be. Chika assures that's not the case and Kaharu thanks her for her kindness. Kaharu prepares to leave, Chika asks her if she isn't going to talk to Mami. Kaharu won't because she believes she's not qualified to do so, as she arbitrarily placed her ideals on her and as a result despaired. She also feels like she's not deserving of Chika's friendship.
At that moment Yukika, Rion, and Hotori fall to the floor. They'd been spying on their conversation from a corner. Rion tries to pass it off as a coincidence, despite the fact that Kaharu saw them fight over who pushed who, Kaharu doesn't fall for it. Chika admits it was her idea, she asked them to look for Mami. But they lost sight of her and next thing they knew the three of them were inside a barrier.
Kaharu is surprised they went that far for her, she thinks it's a waste because she's an empty person. She thinks it's a waste such wonderful people are standing by a worthless person like her. Rion tells her that it has nothing to do with value, they're friends. Hotori and Yukika agree, being friends has nothing to do with their situation, Kaharu said the same. Kaharu asks them if they're ok with someone empty like her, Rion answers annoyed that if the problem is that she's empty she just needs to fill that void. She hesitates here but Chika assures her that a flower can bloom anywhere. If she's empty now, she just needs to let a new flower bloom.
Kaharu asks them if they will accompany her despite what she made them go through, everyone say yes. Chika is giving her report to Shizuka. The recently formed team has stopped looking for the gems. Shizuka thanks her for her hard work and asks her how she made them stop, so Chika tells her that rather than that they just don't need them anymore. Chika gets a message from Kaharu asking her to drink tea together. Shizuka asks her if she's not planning on leaving them for Kaharu and company. Chika says that of course not, they're just real friends now, she would never betray the Tokime clan. Of course Shizuka was just joking with her.
Back at a cafe, Yukika is patching things up with Shigure and Hagumu. At St Lilliana, Kaharu is in a meeting with Rion and Hotori. Rion asks her if she's still planning on looking for the gems, but Kaharu isn't. Today's meeting is to discuss her new objective, how to better herself in order to get closer to the saint. She doesn't know how, but she will try, even if it's difficult and she fails. Both have nothing against the plan, Hotori even wants to become an ally of justice with her. Kaharu thanks them both for staying with her. She no longer refers to Mami as her saint, but Mami-sama. She will work hard to get to her, so she asks her to look after her.