Futuristic Mahou Shoujo Grand Bout - Road of the Ascended

[Idea]

• Coded
• Phone Version
• Semi-Coded

• 
  
  “Welcome to the tea party!” I cursed the fact I had to say that every time the transformation finished. A wink, a courtesy raising of the dress, a little smile… It made it look like I was enjoying it or something. I always figured sis kept saying her transformation line for showmanship (or maybe she was just being playful), but now I felt a need to apologize. That would need to come later, since I didn’t want to have to owe an even bigger apology to the magical girl taking all of Kowagata’s questions. She was always reclusive and hesitant, but once she got started she dug deep…
  
  I contemplated whether to open the window shutter back again, but since I would have to transform back later and I didn’t want people knowing “Cydestory” lived here, I turned around and headed back to the living room.
  
  ………………..
  
  Kowagata seemed a little startled as her flow was interrupted by the need to repeat a question, as if she’d just realized how much she had bombarded Niobii with. She waved her hands (and frying pan) in front of herself.
  
  “O-oh, of course, sorry that was a lot to track w-wasn’t it, haha..ha…ha…. I just meant that, well, you know some magical girls have some kind of new form. Ah, I don’t mean ascended, uhm…More uhm, temporary power up and stuff….” Her back hunched forward a little bit, deeper than when her gaze lowered after the magical boy's answer. “I was wandering if all magical girls can do it. It’s probably just some magical girl’s ability but some people say you all can do it so, like, you know, what I mean is, I want to know who’s right. If-If I’m being a bother, you can end this conversation right away! I-I would understand it. I mean, you’re probably busy and stuff. You’re not really that young, right? I mean, you conduct yourself with too much awareness of your surroundings for a child, too properly. Ligerbum even said you’re like an overworked office worker in a company mascot costume, hehe.”
  
  Kowagata finally smiled a little, though the smile was twisted and the chuckle just as muffled as the rest of her way of speaking.
  
  “Sorry to make you wait!” I rushed in shortly after, but as I hurried to pull up the chair, I lost my balance and tripped on my own boots, and the chair fell right alongside me. Falling like that stung a little, but it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as I would’ve thought and it was gone in an instant. Was this due to being a magical girl? But if it was why didn’t it protect me completely from something like a fall?
  
  “Oooh. I’m a little confused, but that did look a little impressive, I admit..” Kowagata nodded.
  
  “Huh? Sorry you had to see a sight like that. I’m so embarrassed…” I wanted to bury my face in my hands, but I had to resist to avoid wasting everyone’s time and the chair wasn’t gonna put itself back in place either.
  
  “Still part of the act? Nobody falls that gracefully on accident you know.” This time Kowagata smirked. She seemed quite proud of herself.
  
  Might as well play along and spare us both the embarrassment.
  
  “Oh, you’ve got me hahaha…” I rubbed the back of my head and sat on the chair, moving the snacks I’d left on the table for Ima/Niobii slightly to the side… Kowagata chuckled a little more before her “gotcha” feeling subsided and timidness resumed.
  
  “W-well, since you’re here now and I already asked Niobii a lot of questions, I’ve got some for you too, Cydestory! Nobody’s I know seems to have heard of you, are you actually a new magical girl? Have you ever fought a monster? How come you and Niobii know each other? You’re even in the Grand Bout together. How do you fight? Are those gauntlets your weapon? People say you seem like a punching type because of them, but there are so many crying that you are too lady-like to be throwing around punches.”
  
  Too “lady-like”... it was like getting a gentle massage from a cheese autograter.
  
  “I know Niobii because I’m uh… friends with s- with Virtuosa. But I only just became a magical girl, so I never fought before…” Come to think of it, I would have to fight, wouldn’t I? I guess the pain would be reduced like it was earlier, but hurting other people, people who had been protecting everyone like my sister did, it didn’t sit very well with me. But…
  
  I glanced at Niobii.
  
  “Eh? Even though you’re going to participate in the Grand Bout? Really? Never before?”
  
  I shook my head. Kowagata leaned her back against her chair.
  
  “I wish I had that kind of courage…” Then, after a moment, her eyes widened, and she practically threw herself at the camera. “WAIT! Doesn’t that mean nobody knows what you can do? OOOH! If you learn anything about how you fight before the bout, do tell me you ok? Imagine if I had a scoop like that! They’d be begging for any info! Hoo!”
  
  She threw her arms up and spun a bit from side to side in clear excitement.
  
  “You can tell Kagami I promise I’ll keep helping you out, so do me that favor ok?” I could only look to Niobii for her thoughts. “Speaking of which, is he still not back yet?”
  
  “He’s just, you know, taking care of his sister.”
  
  “Ah, is that so? I guess even magical girls really need to be taken care of when they get hurt. It happened a lot less than you would think too.”
  
  Was Kowagata suspicious of something?
  
  “Well, you see, she uh… she’s got the runs today! So uh, someone needs to help her get somewhere so there’s no mess and stuff you see.” Sorry sis, I couldn’t think of anything else!
  
  Even Kowagata seemed a little taken aback by that.
  
  “Oh, is that so. I guess that sounds tough. B-back on topic, so you really never fought a monster before?”
  
  “Yeah, never!” It wasn’t the best thing to admit, but I still smiled because it was better than her pressing me on anything from before.
  
  There was a moment of silence as Kowagata looked down, put down the frying pan, and reached out for her sunglasses. Her gaze fell on us both.
  
  “Is the war with the monsters… really over?”
  
  “The ascended said so, didn’t they?”
  
  “Many of those ascended haven’t been seen in ages. They say there’s no more monsters to fight. That the only ones still around are those that surrendered to coexist with humanity. That there’s no way it’ll all happen again. But magical girls are still getting training. Still coordinating with people high up. They are still…” Kowagata caught herself, bit her lip, and looked down again. “Ah, no. I guess I shouldn’t ask stuff like that. I don’t wanna get in trouble hahaha… Thank you very much for today! I’ll be cheering you on during the Grand Bout! When did it start again? Maybe I’ll have to check out that maid cafe rumors say you are going to be working in soon first haha…”
  
  

  .​

  

  
  

  | Cydestory |
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
• 

  
  

  | Cydestory |
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  .​

  
  
  
  “Welcome to the tea party!” I cursed the fact I had to say that every time the transformation finished. A wink, a courtesy raising of the dress, a little smile… It made it look like I was enjoying it or something. I always figured sis kept saying her transformation line for showmanship (or maybe she was just being playful), but now I felt a need to apologize. That would need to come later, since I didn’t want to have to owe an even bigger apology to the magical girl taking all of Kowagata’s questions. She was always reclusive and hesitant, but once she got started she dug deep…
  
  I contemplated whether to open the window shutter back again, but since I would have to transform back later and I didn’t want people knowing “Cydestory” lived here, I turned around and headed back to the living room.
  
  ………………..
  
  Kowagata seemed a little startled as her flow was interrupted by the need to repeat a question, as if she’d just realized how much she had bombarded Niobii with. She waved her hands (and frying pan) in front of herself.
  
  “O-oh, of course, sorry that was a lot to track w-wasn’t it, haha..ha…ha…. I just meant that, well, you know some magical girls have some kind of new form. Ah, I don’t mean ascended, uhm…More uhm, temporary power up and stuff….” Her back hunched forward a little bit, deeper than when her gaze lowered after the magical boy's answer. “I was wandering if all magical girls can do it. It’s probably just some magical girl’s ability but some people say you all can do it so, like, you know, what I mean is, I want to know who’s right. If-If I’m being a bother, you can end this conversation right away! I-I would understand it. I mean, you’re probably busy and stuff. You’re not really that young, right? I mean, you conduct yourself with too much awareness of your surroundings for a child, too properly. Ligerbum even said you’re like an overworked office worker in a company mascot costume, hehe.”
  
  Kowagata finally smiled a little, though the smile was twisted and the chuckle just as muffled as the rest of her way of speaking.
  
  “Sorry to make you wait!” I rushed in shortly after, but as I hurried to pull up the chair, I lost my balance and tripped on my own boots, and the chair fell right alongside me. Falling like that stung a little, but it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as I would’ve thought and it was gone in an instant. Was this due to being a magical girl? But if it was why didn’t it protect me completely from something like a fall?
  
  “Oooh. I’m a little confused, but that did look a little impressive, I admit..” Kowagata nodded.
  
  “Huh? Sorry you had to see a sight like that. I’m so embarrassed…” I wanted to bury my face in my hands, but I had to resist to avoid wasting everyone’s time and the chair wasn’t gonna put itself back in place either.
  
  “Still part of the act? Nobody falls that gracefully on accident you know.” This time Kowagata smirked. She seemed quite proud of herself.
  
  Might as well play along and spare us both the embarrassment.
  
  “Oh, you’ve got me hahaha…” I rubbed the back of my head and sat on the chair, moving the snacks I’d left on the table for Ima/Niobii slightly to the side… Kowagata chuckled a little more before her “gotcha” feeling subsided and timidness resumed.
  
  “W-well, since you’re here now and I already asked Niobii a lot of questions, I’ve got some for you too, Cydestory! Nobody’s I know seems to have heard of you, are you actually a new magical girl? Have you ever fought a monster? How come you and Niobii know each other? You’re even in the Grand Bout together. How do you fight? Are those gauntlets your weapon? People say you seem like a punching type because of them, but there are so many crying that you are too lady-like to be throwing around punches.”
  
  Too “lady-like”... it was like getting a gentle massage from a cheese autograter.
  
  “I know Niobii because I’m uh… friends with s- with Virtuosa. But I only just became a magical girl, so I never fought before…” Come to think of it, I would have to fight, wouldn’t I? I guess the pain would be reduced like it was earlier, but hurting other people, people who had been protecting everyone like my sister did, it didn’t sit very well with me. But…
  
  I glanced at Niobii.
  
  “Eh? Even though you’re going to participate in the Grand Bout? Really? Never before?”
  
  I shook my head. Kowagata leaned her back against her chair.
  
  “I wish I had that kind of courage…” Then, after a moment, her eyes widened, and she practically threw herself at the camera. “WAIT! Doesn’t that mean nobody knows what you can do? OOOH! If you learn anything about how you fight before the bout, do tell me you ok? Imagine if I had a scoop like that! They’d be begging for any info! Hoo!”
  
  She threw her arms up and spun a bit from side to side in clear excitement.
  
  “You can tell Kagami I promise I’ll keep helping you out, so do me that favor ok?” I could only look to Niobii for her thoughts. “Speaking of which, is he still not back yet?”
  
  “He’s just, you know, taking care of his sister.”
  
  “Ah, is that so? I guess even magical girls really need to be taken care of when they get hurt. It happened a lot less than you would think too.”
  
  Was Kowagata suspicious of something?
  
  “Well, you see, she uh… she’s got the runs today! So uh, someone needs to help her get somewhere so there’s no mess and stuff you see.” Sorry sis, I couldn’t think of anything else!
  
  Even Kowagata seemed a little taken aback by that.
  
  “Oh, is that so. I guess that sounds tough. B-back on topic, so you really never fought a monster before?”
  
  “Yeah, never!” It wasn’t the best thing to admit, but I still smiled because it was better than her pressing me on anything from before.
  
  There was a moment of silence as Kowagata looked down, put down the frying pan, and reached out for her sunglasses. Her gaze fell on us both.
  
  “Is the war with the monsters… really over?”
  
  “The ascended said so, didn’t they?”
  
  “Many of those ascended haven’t been seen in ages. They say there’s no more monsters to fight. That the only ones still around are those that surrendered to coexist with humanity. That there’s no way it’ll all happen again. But magical girls are still getting training. Still coordinating with people high up. They are still…” Kowagata caught herself, bit her lip, and looked down again. “Ah, no. I guess I shouldn’t ask stuff like that. I don’t wanna get in trouble hahaha… Thank you very much for today! I’ll be cheering you on during the Grand Bout! When did it start again? Maybe I’ll have to check out that maid cafe rumors say you are going to be working in soon first haha…”
  
  
  
• 

  
  | Cydestory |​
  
  “Welcome to the tea party!” I cursed the fact I had to say that every time the transformation finished. A wink, a courtesy raising of the dress, a little smile… It made it look like I was enjoying it or something. I always figured sis kept saying her transformation line for showmanship (or maybe she was just being playful), but now I felt a need to apologize. That would need to come later, since I didn’t want to have to owe an even bigger apology to the magical girl taking all of Kowagata’s questions. She was always reclusive and hesitant, but once she got started she dug deep…
  
  I contemplated whether to open the window shutter back again, but since I would have to transform back later and I didn’t want people knowing “Cydestory” lived here, I turned around and headed back to the living room.
  
  ………………..
  
  Kowagata seemed a little startled as her flow was interrupted by the need to repeat a question, as if she’d just realized how much she had bombarded Niobii with. She waved her hands (and frying pan) in front of herself.
  
  “O-oh, of course, sorry that was a lot to track w-wasn’t it, haha..ha…ha…. I just meant that, well, you know some magical girls have some kind of new form. Ah, I don’t mean ascended, uhm…More uhm, temporary power up and stuff….” Her back hunched forward a little bit, deeper than when her gaze lowered after the magical boy's answer. “I was wandering if all magical girls can do it. It’s probably just some magical girl’s ability but some people say you all can do it so, like, you know, what I mean is, I want to know who’s right. If-If I’m being a bother, you can end this conversation right away! I-I would understand it. I mean, you’re probably busy and stuff. You’re not really that young, right? I mean, you conduct yourself with too much awareness of your surroundings for a child, too properly. Ligerbum even said you’re like an overworked office worker in a company mascot costume, hehe.”
  
  Kowagata finally smiled a little, though the smile was twisted and the chuckle just as muffled as the rest of her way of speaking.
  
  “Sorry to make you wait!” I rushed in shortly after, but as I hurried to pull up the chair, I lost my balance and tripped on my own boots, and the chair fell right alongside me. Falling like that stung a little, but it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as I would’ve thought and it was gone in an instant. Was this due to being a magical girl? But if it was why didn’t it protect me completely from something like a fall?
  
  “Oooh. I’m a little confused, but that did look a little impressive, I admit..” Kowagata nodded.
  
  “Huh? Sorry you had to see a sight like that. I’m so embarrassed…” I wanted to bury my face in my hands, but I had to resist to avoid wasting everyone’s time and the chair wasn’t gonna put itself back in place either.
  
  “Still part of the act? Nobody falls that gracefully on accident you know.” This time Kowagata smirked. She seemed quite proud of herself.
  
  Might as well play along and spare us both the embarrassment.
  
  “Oh, you’ve got me hahaha…” I rubbed the back of my head and sat on the chair, moving the snacks I’d left on the table for Ima/Niobii slightly to the side… Kowagata chuckled a little more before her “gotcha” feeling subsided and timidness resumed.
  
  “W-well, since you’re here now and I already asked Niobii a lot of questions, I’ve got some for you too, Cydestory! Nobody’s I know seems to have heard of you, are you actually a new magical girl? Have you ever fought a monster? How come you and Niobii know each other? You’re even in the Grand Bout together. How do you fight? Are those gauntlets your weapon? People say you seem like a punching type because of them, but there are so many crying that you are too lady-like to be throwing around punches.”
  
  Too “lady-like”... it was like getting a gentle massage from a cheese autograter.
  
  “I know Niobii because I’m uh… friends with s- with Virtuosa. But I only just became a magical girl, so I never fought before…” Come to think of it, I would have to fight, wouldn’t I? I guess the pain would be reduced like it was earlier, but hurting other people, people who had been protecting everyone like my sister did, it didn’t sit very well with me. But…
  
  I glanced at Niobii.
  
  “Eh? Even though you’re going to participate in the Grand Bout? Really? Never before?”
  
  I shook my head. Kowagata leaned her back against her chair.
  
  “I wish I had that kind of courage…” Then, after a moment, her eyes widened, and she practically threw herself at the camera. “WAIT! Doesn’t that mean nobody knows what you can do? OOOH! If you learn anything about how you fight before the bout, do tell me you ok? Imagine if I had a scoop like that! They’d be begging for any info! Hoo!”
  
  She threw her arms up and spun a bit from side to side in clear excitement.
  
  “You can tell Kagami I promise I’ll keep helping you out, so do me that favor ok?” I could only look to Niobii for her thoughts. “Speaking of which, is he still not back yet?”
  
  “He’s just, you know, taking care of his sister.”
  
  “Ah, is that so? I guess even magical girls really need to be taken care of when they get hurt. It happened a lot less than you would think too.”
  
  Was Kowagata suspicious of something?
  
  “Well, you see, she uh… she’s got the runs today! So uh, someone needs to help her get somewhere so there’s no mess and stuff you see.” Sorry sis, I couldn’t think of anything else!
  
  Even Kowagata seemed a little taken aback by that.
  
  “Oh, is that so. I guess that sounds tough. B-back on topic, so you really never fought a monster before?”
  
  “Yeah, never!” It wasn’t the best thing to admit, but I still smiled because it was better than her pressing me on anything from before.
  
  There was a moment of silence as Kowagata looked down, put down the frying pan, and reached out for her sunglasses. Her gaze fell on us both.
  
  “Is the war with the monsters… really over?”
  
  “The ascended said so, didn’t they?”
  
  “Many of those ascended haven’t been seen in ages. They say there’s no more monsters to fight. That the only ones still around are those that surrendered to coexist with humanity. That there’s no way it’ll all happen again. But magical girls are still getting training. Still coordinating with people high up. They are still…” Kowagata caught herself, bit her lip, and looked down again. “Ah, no. I guess I shouldn’t ask stuff like that. I don’t wanna get in trouble hahaha… Thank you very much for today! I’ll be cheering you on during the Grand Bout! When did it start again? Maybe I’ll have to check out that maid cafe rumors say you are going to be working in soon first haha…”
  
  

Tau

 

[Tau]

Niobii smiled politely, trying her best to pay more attention this time. She appreciated the self-awareness, even if it was… subtle.

"F-Finally, someone who notices!" Niobii exclaimed with a little cheer, elated at being recognized as mature for a change. "You know, it’s really hard sometimes when everyone treats you like a little kid, even though you’re… well, okay, I’m not that old I guess, but I’m not a kid, you know?" Niobii paused a brief moment before answering the previous question.

"Anyway, a lot of Natura magical girls have different forms. but I don’t know of any shared super-transformations. I think the only ones who could answer that for sure are the ascended, but they’re kind of an ivory tower. They don’t actually tell us anything about ‘ascended business,’ so you probably know as much as I do."

Niobii relaxed a bit as Cydestory finally showed up, in an… interesting way. She was about to ask if she was okay, before reminding herself that, transformed, there was no doubt Cy was fine. "The twirl was a nice touch," Niobii chuckled. "Are you practicing a clumsy maid routine for tomorrow? I bet it would be pretty popular, as long as you don’t spill the food."

As the snacks were moved, Niobii took a small handful and began munching on some crackers as Cy took over for the most part. She had to admit, Kowagata asked some great questions. Some, even, that Niobii herself was prepared to ask today!

"Well, it’d be ideal if she had some more experience, but on the other hand, that also means no one knows what she’s capable of! She’s like the secret weapon of the team!" Niobii chuckled. Sure, part of it was just cope, but there was some legitimacy to it. And the more complicated her abilities were, the more of an advantage it could be. Some of the well-funded contestants even had analyst teams specifically for working out strengths and weaknesses, so with any luck, Cy could counter that advantage nicely.

"Well, it kinda starts in three days, but that’s just the preliminary round, no one cares much about that. The exciting stuff starts next week. Oh, although Cy, we definitely need to practice to make sure we pass. Most of the tests are so easy, I’m pretty sure I can finish most of them on my own, but we it wouldn’t hurt to have some wiggle room." Niobii waved at the screen. "It was interesting talking to you, Kowagata-san. Take care."

After the projections gave way to the natural light of the room, Niobii remained standing there, making no move to transform. "Sooo… have you played with your powers yet?" she asked, excitement plainly visible all over her. "Pfft, silly question, of course you have, it’s been at least a whole day! What kind of scientia abilities did you get? Oohh, and of course, what’re the unique ones, actually yes, start with those, I’m dying to hear! Oh, and actually—"

Niobii pressed a finger to her cheek as another thought came to mind, "How much do you know about me? I mean, I have an official card and wiki page and everything, but I guess not everyone is that into magical girls. So do you know how my hammer works? And about Essential Territory? And do you know I can do this~" As Niobii emphasized the last word, her body suddenly flashed, and in the blink of an eye, she was face-to-face with Cydestory. Her gauntlet gently booped Cy on the nose, before she landed on the floor and hopped back again.

Talking with Niobii now, it felt as if she’d lit up in a way she hadn’t when she’d first entered. Her passion for magical girl culture was evident in every word from her mouth, and every sparkle in her eye.

Idea​

 

[Idea]

• Coded
• Phone Version
• Semi-Coded

• 
  
  Niobii too? I did find myself blushing a bit as I climbed back onto my chair after my display of clumsiness. Kowagata’s gaze seemed conflicted between myself and Niobii, or knowing her between myself and whatever Niobii had been talking about with Kowagata. If anything the mystery was why Kowagata was even tempted to look at me when she’d already gotten past the ‘startled’ stage.
  
  “Please don’t tease me Niobii” … is what I would have said were it not for the reminder about the maid cafe. That was tomorrow too? I hadn't even had time to get everything organized, how was I supposed to start practicing for the Grand out AND dealing with the maid cafe thing on such a short amount of time?
  
  Actually, forget the short amount of time. How in the world was I supposed to ‘practice’ for the Grand Bout AT ALL?!
  
  My body stiffened on that chair in the eternal struggle against my own nervousness and the scenarios running through my head. How did magical girls ever train at all? I occasionally saw my sister mumbling some stuff, but it was hard to say if she was saying anything magical or just practicing cheeky lines. I guess she fired some paint stuff into the trees before? But she usually practiced away from the house just in case she accidentally damaged stuff, so I was never really there to see it. Aaaah, it felt like my legs wouldn’t stand up from that chair no matter how much I internally wanted to run. It was a struggle to lift my arms in front of me as I deflected Kowagata’s words. I had to force a chuckle… a giggle?... alongside Niobii calling me the “secret weapon of the team”.
  
  Was I going to change into a tracksuit after transforming and run up and down flights of stairs? Did the magical girls have some kind of facility with robots they trained against? Was I supposed to track down some kind of accident and help rescue people there? Fight Niobii? Stand in front of a mirror and do poses?
  
  “I-I’m sure we’ll figure out how to work together, we still have …three… days…”
  …
  
  

  

  
  
  THREE DAYS?!
  
  THE TWO OF US ONLY HAD THREE DAYS LEFT?!
  
  “P-preliminary round…?”
  
  THE REST OF IT WAS A WEEK AFTER?!
  
  “Wait… Uh… Niobii… fun stuff?”
  
  I waved together with Niobii as Kowagata left. Come to think of it, the whole incident about being late and setting up the interview had taken some time, didn’t it… is that where all the time to prepare had left to?
  
  “Haha…haha…ha…” The laughter sounded so forced, but it was the kind of laughter of defeat that just comes naturally. I - I was so screwed. When was the last time I got into a fight of any kind? Or played a part other than ‘tree’ or ‘background villager’? I guess I did know the names of a few magical girls. And I did watch some fights on streams because I was worried about my sister. I also technically lived with a magical girl. Chit-chat and watching videos totally counted as practical experience, didn’t they?
  
  Niobii had stopped too, it looked like. Maybe she was nervous about this as well. I mean, it made sense. She was so looking forward to this, it was her dream. It’d be more worrying if she wasn’t nervous about it at all. I just hoped I wouldn’t be a burden.
  
  I just hoped I wouldn’t be too much of a burden.
  
  “Niobi? Are-”
  
  I had to face away, eyes almost closing due to the radiance of her starry gaze when she turned to me asking whether I had tried out my powers yet, not even letting me deny it before she’d already decided that I did regardless of there having been not a single instance of that.
  
  “Ah, no, actually I, well, you see, uhm, well, uhm, I.” Let hand: In front of me. Right hand: Rubbing the back of my hair. Gaze: Fixated anywhere that wasn’t Niobii’s. “I mean it’s not like haha, you know, I was tired and all, and for a while it didn’t even seem like we’d be participating, and there’s Shiori, and there were the groceries and cleaning up, and it’s not like I know all that much about all this transforming stuff, and you know got a trustworthy party I - GAH!”
  
  With a sudden flash of light and Niobii appearing out of the…well, not blue but white and sudden nonetheless, I was falling back and reacted just fast enough to grab onto the table, which nearly threw said table along with me.
  
  I panted a bit and managed to compose myself. My gaze still turned downward and two of my fingers twiddled together.
  
  “I, I guess I’ve got some strength? Hahaha…” It was probably just the normal amount for magical girls though. “Uhm, say, Niobii what if I -hypothetically- what if I had never tried out my powers or anything? Like -very hypothetically - what if I didn’t realy transform normally so I never tried learning them… even after we joined… So I never practiced… and I didn’t even know I was supposed to… Just hypothetical, all of it, of course.``
  
  “I-I do know how you hammer works though! I think… If I remember right, it uhm, it has these moves, like the Shatter one that destroys stuff, or the one where it turns into different materials, and the Beta Bomb that creates even more explosions, but smaller ones than the first. You can also teleport… I guess you just showed me that, so it probably doesn’t count as knowledge, hahaha… uhm what else, sometimes you seem to get stronger… and you’re really good at jumping…. And you’re cute and stuff…. Did- did I get it right?”
  
  I finally managed to stand up.
  
  “Look, I’ll try, ok? There’s gotta be some kinda way, uhm, if I close my eyes and focus…Huh?”
  
  To my surprise, it wasn’t totally pointless. I didn’t instantly figure it out or anything, but I could feel some kind of sensation coming out of me.
  
  “I feel something all around me. It’s like a signal of some kind. Just going everywhere…” I looked to Niobii. “Huh? For some reason it’s not getting to you. Just you. I also feel weird in my hands. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. There’s, like, some kind of urge to touch something. I don’t get it at all. AH DAMN IT!” I shook my arms in frustration, then waved them up on the air. “Why can’t I just have a damn manual or something? Someone just give me the rule book already!”
  
  As if some kind of deity or genie was listening, a cloud of pink smoke popped into existence and a tome appeared on top of me, dropping straight onto my face.
  
  “Ow…” It didn’t hurt all that much. But it still bothered my nose. I slid the book off my face. It was some kind of weird symbols on it I somehow understood. “Decorum Codex? What is that supposed to mean?”
  
  <Inquiry Identified: Decorum Codex. >
  
  “Wha-what was that?”
  
  <Reality Code O-63: Common Scientia ability. Particular details vary between magical girls. Magical girl [Cydestory] possesses Decorum Codex Variant. Able to impose rules within Decorum Codex. By placing the magical circles above the book onto certain locations.>
  
  “It’s… talking to me in my head?”
  
  I looked down at the book. There were some symbols floating above it. I picked one up, unsure if Niobii could even see them, and placed it on the ground. It was the symbol corresponding to the first rule ‘When someone greets you, you shall greet them back’. I slowly stood back up.
  
  “H-hi Niobii.”
  
  

  .​

  

  
  

  | Cydestory |
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
• 

  
  

  | Cydestory |
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  .​

  
  
  
  Niobii too? I did find myself blushing a bit as I climbed back onto my chair after my display of clumsiness. Kowagata’s gaze seemed conflicted between myself and Niobii, or knowing her between myself and whatever Niobii had been talking about with Kowagata. If anything the mystery was why Kowagata was even tempted to look at me when she’d already gotten past the ‘startled’ stage.
  
  “Please don’t tease me Niobii” … is what I would have said were it not for the reminder about the maid cafe. That was tomorrow too? I hadn't even had time to get everything organized, how was I supposed to start practicing for the Grand out AND dealing with the maid cafe thing on such a short amount of time?
  
  Actually, forget the short amount of time. How in the world was I supposed to ‘practice’ for the Grand Bout AT ALL?!
  
  My body stiffened on that chair in the eternal struggle against my own nervousness and the scenarios running through my head. How did magical girls ever train at all? I occasionally saw my sister mumbling some stuff, but it was hard to say if she was saying anything magical or just practicing cheeky lines. I guess she fired some paint stuff into the trees before? But she usually practiced away from the house just in case she accidentally damaged stuff, so I was never really there to see it. Aaaah, it felt like my legs wouldn’t stand up from that chair no matter how much I internally wanted to run. It was a struggle to lift my arms in front of me as I deflected Kowagata’s words. I had to force a chuckle… a giggle?... alongside Niobii calling me the “secret weapon of the team”.
  
  Was I going to change into a tracksuit after transforming and run up and down flights of stairs? Did the magical girls have some kind of facility with robots they trained against? Was I supposed to track down some kind of accident and help rescue people there? Fight Niobii? Stand in front of a mirror and do poses?
  
  “I-I’m sure we’ll figure out how to work together, we still have …three… days…”
  …
  
  

  

  
  
  THREE DAYS?!
  
  THE TWO OF US ONLY HAD THREE DAYS LEFT?!
  
  “P-preliminary round…?”
  
  THE REST OF IT WAS A WEEK AFTER?!
  
  “Wait… Uh… Niobii… fun stuff?”
  
  I waved together with Niobii as Kowagata left. Come to think of it, the whole incident about being late and setting up the interview had taken some time, didn’t it… is that where all the time to prepare had left to?
  
  “Haha…haha…ha…” The laughter sounded so forced, but it was the kind of laughter of defeat that just comes naturally. I - I was so screwed. When was the last time I got into a fight of any kind? Or played a part other than ‘tree’ or ‘background villager’? I guess I did know the names of a few magical girls. And I did watch some fights on streams because I was worried about my sister. I also technically lived with a magical girl. Chit-chat and watching videos totally counted as practical experience, didn’t they?
  
  Niobii had stopped too, it looked like. Maybe she was nervous about this as well. I mean, it made sense. She was so looking forward to this, it was her dream. It’d be more worrying if she wasn’t nervous about it at all. I just hoped I wouldn’t be a burden.
  
  I just hoped I wouldn’t be too much of a burden.
  
  “Niobi? Are-”
  
  I had to face away, eyes almost closing due to the radiance of her starry gaze when she turned to me asking whether I had tried out my powers yet, not even letting me deny it before she’d already decided that I did regardless of there having been not a single instance of that.
  
  “Ah, no, actually I, well, you see, uhm, well, uhm, I.” Let hand: In front of me. Right hand: Rubbing the back of my hair. Gaze: Fixated anywhere that wasn’t Niobii’s. “I mean it’s not like haha, you know, I was tired and all, and for a while it didn’t even seem like we’d be participating, and there’s Shiori, and there were the groceries and cleaning up, and it’s not like I know all that much about all this transforming stuff, and you know got a trustworthy party I - GAH!”
  
  With a sudden flash of light and Niobii appearing out of the…well, not blue but white and sudden nonetheless, I was falling back and reacted just fast enough to grab onto the table, which nearly threw said table along with me.
  
  I panted a bit and managed to compose myself. My gaze still turned downward and two of my fingers twiddled together.
  
  “I, I guess I’ve got some strength? Hahaha…” It was probably just the normal amount for magical girls though. “Uhm, say, Niobii what if I -hypothetically- what if I had never tried out my powers or anything? Like -very hypothetically - what if I didn’t realy transform normally so I never tried learning them… even after we joined… So I never practiced… and I didn’t even know I was supposed to… Just hypothetical, all of it, of course.``
  
  “I-I do know how you hammer works though! I think… If I remember right, it uhm, it has these moves, like the Shatter one that destroys stuff, or the one where it turns into different materials, and the Beta Bomb that creates even more explosions, but smaller ones than the first. You can also teleport… I guess you just showed me that, so it probably doesn’t count as knowledge, hahaha… uhm what else, sometimes you seem to get stronger… and you’re really good at jumping…. And you’re cute and stuff…. Did- did I get it right?”
  
  I finally managed to stand up.
  
  “Look, I’ll try, ok? There’s gotta be some kinda way, uhm, if I close my eyes and focus…Huh?”
  
  To my surprise, it wasn’t totally pointless. I didn’t instantly figure it out or anything, but I could feel some kind of sensation coming out of me.
  
  “I feel something all around me. It’s like a signal of some kind. Just going everywhere…” I looked to Niobii. “Huh? For some reason it’s not getting to you. Just you. I also feel weird in my hands. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. There’s, like, some kind of urge to touch something. I don’t get it at all. AH DAMN IT!” I shook my arms in frustration, then waved them up on the air. “Why can’t I just have a damn manual or something? Someone just give me the rule book already!”
  
  As if some kind of deity or genie was listening, a cloud of pink smoke popped into existence and a tome appeared on top of me, dropping straight onto my face.
  
  “Ow…” It didn’t hurt all that much. But it still bothered my nose. I slid the book off my face. It was some kind of weird symbols on it I somehow understood. “Decorum Codex? What is that supposed to mean?”
  
  <Inquiry Identified: Decorum Codex. >
  
  “Wha-what was that?”
  
  <Reality Code O-63: Common Scientia ability. Particular details vary between magical girls. Magical girl [Cydestory] possesses Decorum Codex Variant. Able to impose rules within Decorum Codex. By placing the magical circles above the book onto certain locations.>
  
  “It’s… talking to me in my head?”
  
  I looked down at the book. There were some symbols floating above it. I picked one up, unsure if Niobii could even see them, and placed it on the ground. It was the symbol corresponding to the first rule ‘When someone greets you, you shall greet them back’. I slowly stood back up.
  
  “H-hi Niobii.”
  
  
  
• 

  
  | Cydestory |​
  
  Niobii too? I did find myself blushing a bit as I climbed back onto my chair after my display of clumsiness. Kowagata’s gaze seemed conflicted between myself and Niobii, or knowing her between myself and whatever Niobii had been talking about with Kowagata. If anything the mystery was why Kowagata was even tempted to look at me when she’d already gotten past the ‘startled’ stage.
  
  “Please don’t tease me Niobii” … is what I would have said were it not for the reminder about the maid cafe. That was tomorrow too? I hadn't even had time to get everything organized, how was I supposed to start practicing for the Grand out AND dealing with the maid cafe thing on such a short amount of time?
  
  Actually, forget the short amount of time. How in the world was I supposed to ‘practice’ for the Grand Bout AT ALL?!
  
  My body stiffened on that chair in the eternal struggle against my own nervousness and the scenarios running through my head. How did magical girls ever train at all? I occasionally saw my sister mumbling some stuff, but it was hard to say if she was saying anything magical or just practicing cheeky lines. I guess she fired some paint stuff into the trees before? But she usually practiced away from the house just in case she accidentally damaged stuff, so I was never really there to see it. Aaaah, it felt like my legs wouldn’t stand up from that chair no matter how much I internally wanted to run. It was a struggle to lift my arms in front of me as I deflected Kowagata’s words. I had to force a chuckle… a giggle?... alongside Niobii calling me the “secret weapon of the team”.
  
  Was I going to change into a tracksuit after transforming and run up and down flights of stairs? Did the magical girls have some kind of facility with robots they trained against? Was I supposed to track down some kind of accident and help rescue people there? Fight Niobii? Stand in front of a mirror and do poses?
  
  “I-I’m sure we’ll figure out how to work together, we still have …three… days…”
  …
  
  
  
  
  
  THREE DAYS?!
  
  THE TWO OF US ONLY HAD THREE DAYS LEFT?!
  
  “P-preliminary round…?”
  
  THE REST OF IT WAS A WEEK AFTER?!
  
  “Wait… Uh… Niobii… fun stuff?”
  
  I waved together with Niobii as Kowagata left. Come to think of it, the whole incident about being late and setting up the interview had taken some time, didn’t it… is that where all the time to prepare had left to?
  
  “Haha…haha…ha…” The laughter sounded so forced, but it was the kind of laughter of defeat that just comes naturally. I - I was so screwed. When was the last time I got into a fight of any kind? Or played a part other than ‘tree’ or ‘background villager’? I guess I did know the names of a few magical girls. And I did watch some fights on streams because I was worried about my sister. I also technically lived with a magical girl. Chit-chat and watching videos totally counted as practical experience, didn’t they?
  
  Niobii had stopped too, it looked like. Maybe she was nervous about this as well. I mean, it made sense. She was so looking forward to this, it was her dream. It’d be more worrying if she wasn’t nervous about it at all. I just hoped I wouldn’t be a burden.
  
  I just hoped I wouldn’t be too much of a burden.
  
  “Niobi? Are-”
  
  I had to face away, eyes almost closing due to the radiance of her starry gaze when she turned to me asking whether I had tried out my powers yet, not even letting me deny it before she’d already decided that I did regardless of there having been not a single instance of that.
  
  “Ah, no, actually I, well, you see, uhm, well, uhm, I.” Let hand: In front of me. Right hand: Rubbing the back of my hair. Gaze: Fixated anywhere that wasn’t Niobii’s. “I mean it’s not like haha, you know, I was tired and all, and for a while it didn’t even seem like we’d be participating, and there’s Shiori, and there were the groceries and cleaning up, and it’s not like I know all that much about all this transforming stuff, and you know got a trustworthy party I - GAH!”
  
  With a sudden flash of light and Niobii appearing out of the…well, not blue but white and sudden nonetheless, I was falling back and reacted just fast enough to grab onto the table, which nearly threw said table along with me.
  
  I panted a bit and managed to compose myself. My gaze still turned downward and two of my fingers twiddled together.
  
  “I, I guess I’ve got some strength? Hahaha…” It was probably just the normal amount for magical girls though. “Uhm, say, Niobii what if I -hypothetically- what if I had never tried out my powers or anything? Like -very hypothetically - what if I didn’t realy transform normally so I never tried learning them… even after we joined… So I never practiced… and I didn’t even know I was supposed to… Just hypothetical, all of it, of course.``
  
  “I-I do know how you hammer works though! I think… If I remember right, it uhm, it has these moves, like the Shatter one that destroys stuff, or the one where it turns into different materials, and the Beta Bomb that creates even more explosions, but smaller ones than the first. You can also teleport… I guess you just showed me that, so it probably doesn’t count as knowledge, hahaha… uhm what else, sometimes you seem to get stronger… and you’re really good at jumping…. And you’re cute and stuff…. Did- did I get it right?”
  
  I finally managed to stand up.
  
  “Look, I’ll try, ok? There’s gotta be some kinda way, uhm, if I close my eyes and focus…Huh?”
  
  To my surprise, it wasn’t totally pointless. I didn’t instantly figure it out or anything, but I could feel some kind of sensation coming out of me.
  
  “I feel something all around me. It’s like a signal of some kind. Just going everywhere…” I looked to Niobii. “Huh? For some reason it’s not getting to you. Just you. I also feel weird in my hands. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. There’s, like, some kind of urge to touch something. I don’t get it at all. AH DAMN IT!” I shook my arms in frustration, then waved them up on the air. “Why can’t I just have a damn manual or something? Someone just give me the rule book already!”
  
  As if some kind of deity or genie was listening, a cloud of pink smoke popped into existence and a tome appeared on top of me, dropping straight onto my face.
  
  “Ow…” It didn’t hurt all that much. But it still bothered my nose. I slid the book off my face. It was some kind of weird symbols on it I somehow understood. “Decorum Codex? What is that supposed to mean?”
  
  <Inquiry Identified: Decorum Codex. >
  
  “Wha-what was that?”
  
  <Reality Code O-63: Common Scientia ability. Particular details vary between magical girls. Magical girl [Cydestory] possesses Decorum Codex Variant. Able to impose rules within Decorum Codex. By placing the magical circles above the book onto certain locations.>
  
  “It’s… talking to me in my head?”
  
  I looked down at the book. There were some symbols floating above it. I picked one up, unsure if Niobii could even see them, and placed it on the ground. It was the symbol corresponding to the first rule ‘When someone greets you, you shall greet them back’. I slowly stood back up.
  
  “H-hi Niobii.”
  
  

Tau

 

[Tau]

Cydestory’s obvious discomfort went largely unnoticed, thanks in large part to a certain ability that wished to portray her as calm and collected. Try as it might, though, Niobii was resistant enough to notice a certain gleam in Cy’s skin. "You look kind of hot, maybe you should get a glass of water or something…?" she suggested offhandedly, though the more interesting conversation quickly told hold.

"’Quite engaging,’ indeed," Niobii appeared to quote words which had never been spoken. "I’ll show you some videos of what to expect later. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen the show, but as much as they like to mix things up, there’s definitely a formula to things! I can tell. The preliminary rounds are mostly just minigame-type-things to make sure we have interesting skills."

Niobii frowned slightly as her partner sidestepped the topic of powers, and the grew even more worried when she speaking about ‘hypotheticals.’ No, no, she wasn’t that stupid. "Wait, so you’re telling me… you had a superpower dropped into your lap, and you didn’t even want to try it out!? That’s so… unthinkable! You weren’t even curious!? It could be anything, you know! You could have super speed, or you could transform into a unicorn, or… anything!"

Niobii sighed. "Well I’m glad you’re familiar with me, at least. I guess you would be, since I fought with Virtue. Although, it’s Terra Bomb. Beta Bomb is Trojan’s ability," she groaned, though it felt like it was less the mistake bothering her, and more Cydestory’s inexperience. She quickly confirmed this was the case. "Honestly, how are we going to train you in just three days!? Plus, Scientia magical girls are usually super complicated. Knowing my luck, it’ll take you a month just to learn all your skills!"

The attempt did little to ease Niobii’s growing panic, though she appreciated the effort. What did help, however, was the strange, giant tome that lovingly smacked its owner in the face. "Wait, is that… a ReCo!?" Niobii started to perk up. "If you have a ReCo, that must mean you’re an Essentia like I am! And if you’re a Scientia as well, then… yes, this is perfect! You’re type is usually amazing at getting information!" Throwing her hands in the air, Niobii clapped a few times out of sheer delight.

She tilted her head at the book telepathy comment. "Oh, really? What’s it saying? I’ve never actually seen one up close before." She watched curiously as Cy made some strange air-gestures, not unlike some of those new "invisible VR" devices being sold nowadays. "Careful. Some abilities can be pretty dangerous…" she spoke, offering a solemn side-glance at her own hammer.

…

"Hi, Cydestory— wha… woah, my lips moved on their own. Hmm. So it’s a mimic ability?" Niobii harbored a guess, finger to her cheek. She shook her head, "We need to test this more. Try punching forward. Oh, and let’s try the range too! Keep saying hello, I’ll step back until it stops. Eee~! Testing brand new magical girl abilities is so exciting~! Isn’t this fun~?"

Idea​

 

[Idea]

• Coded
• Phone Version
• Semi-Coded

• I nodded at her suggestion about the videos. I suppose that was one advantage we had at least, a true fan girl in our midst. Like Kowagata’s…. Acquaintances, Niobii would surely know a thing or two most people wouldn’t catch about the Grand Bout.
  
  “Wh-why would I want to turn into a unicorn? I’m a guy, remember?” The feeling in my hand after I stood up and placed it on my chest in the act of gesturing towards myself seemed to want to tell a different story, but we both knew the truth. I guess it was weird to not even try superpowers, but these weren’t really…. I guess you could look at them that way, but…. Well…. AAAAH! They weren’t exactly the kind of superpowers I would want! Not to mention that it made no sense for someone like me to get superpowers in the first place. But least of all these.
  
  The rest of the bearing down on me just left my mouth shut, and I felt my limbs retreating in front of me, it felt like my whole body was instinctively shrinking as my cheeks flushed. It felt even more humiliating that Niobii - who at least looked and sounded like a kid - was the one tearing me a new one.
  
  It was a relief when the book appeared and Niobii guessed, as would soon be confirmed, that it was a “ReCo”, or was that voice in my head would put it, “Reality Code” or “Index Decorum”. I couldn’t help think Niobii was amazing with how much she figured out just by a glance.
  
  “We are?” I raised the book in front of me, glancing. “Hmmm… I never really got the impression I was. You know so much about magical girls though, Niobii. I wonder if you even need me to be able to know stuff.”
  
  Hmm, wait. Didn’t we already know I was an essentia magical girl? Since we had called ourselves Team Fullessentia and all…. Or was back then just a guess? So much had happened (was happening), it was hard to remember. I should just focus on the important part now.
  
  Then I noticed the name on the book, and it started talking to me. I tried out what it had instructed, and now Niobii was even more excited. There was a glimmer in her eyes, like before. She was definitely amazing, but it was also easy to see the part of her that convinced people she was a little kid on the inside too.
  
  I nodded along and threw a punch in the air like she suggested, but not really responding to the question about it being fun. The magic didn’t really seem to do anything towards making Niobii mimic me. Time for the next test.
  
  “Hi Niobii.” I repeated after letting her stand a little back.
  
  “Hi Niobii.” Again, when she stepped a little further back.
  
  “Hi Niobii.”
  
  It was only after she’d left the living room entirely that she was no longer returning the greeting. It seemed it was only the greeting part that the magic made her repeat, but nothing else.
  
  What if I said or did something else, but as part of the greeting? I waited until Niobii was back inside the range to try it.
  
  “Hello Niobii. I am Cydestory, a scientia essencia magical girl. I am 16 years old, it’s nice to meet you.” I swallowed and did a small curtesy, then quickly looked up to see what would happen.
  
  I looked down to the book again after those tests.
  
  “So, the thing in my head earlier sounded kind of like a robot of some kind? It said this “Decorum Codex”, which I think is the name of this book, lets me impose rules in places. I don’t think I get to choose which ones, there’s like some symbols here and I pick from them. It put one that said “When another greets you, you shall greet them back.”, and I think that’s what was happening here. Uhm…” I glanced back to my fellow magical girl. “There are other rules here as well. Do we want to try them out too? We aren’t trying all of them out are we?”
  
  That one was pretty straightforward, but ‘You shall not tread upon the garden’ sounded like some kind of metaphor. Was this even the kind of power with non-literal interpretations? Who made such an interpretation? I guess answering those kinds of questions was probably the purpose of tests like these, but still…
  
  “I should have other abilities too, right? Like the one that spoke in my head. I wonder what that one is called. It’s not like it answers everything I wan-”
  
  <Inquiry received. Ability name: Input Breakdown:Archive. Input variant - Decorum. Will provide standard access to archive information, as well as special access to information pertaining to the [Etiquette] theme. Will convey expectations and customs.>
  
  “Ah. Apparently it’s called the something archive. And I get special access to the etiquette theme? It talked about information a lot, so I guess this is what you were talking about when you say scientia essentia magical girls are good at getting information? Do all magical girls of this… of my type get this archive thing?”
  
  

  .​

  

  
  

  | Cydestory |
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
• 

  
  

  | Cydestory |
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  .​

  
  
  
  I nodded at her suggestion about the videos. I suppose that was one advantage we had at least, a true fan girl in our midst. Like Kowagata’s…. Acquaintances, Niobii would surely know a thing or two most people wouldn’t catch about the Grand Bout.
  
  “Wh-why would I want to turn into a unicorn? I’m a guy, remember?” The feeling in my hand after I stood up and placed it on my chest in the act of gesturing towards myself seemed to want to tell a different story, but we both knew the truth. I guess it was weird to not even try superpowers, but these weren’t really…. I guess you could look at them that way, but…. Well…. AAAAH! They weren’t exactly the kind of superpowers I would want! Not to mention that it made no sense for someone like me to get superpowers in the first place. But least of all these.
  
  The rest of the bearing down on me just left my mouth shut, and I felt my limbs retreating in front of me, it felt like my whole body was instinctively shrinking as my cheeks flushed. It felt even more humiliating that Niobii - who at least looked and sounded like a kid - was the one tearing me a new one.
  
  It was a relief when the book appeared and Niobii guessed, as would soon be confirmed, that it was a “ReCo”, or was that voice in my head would put it, “Reality Code” or “Index Decorum”. I couldn’t help think Niobii was amazing with how much she figured out just by a glance.
  
  “We are?” I raised the book in front of me, glancing. “Hmmm… I never really got the impression I was. You know so much about magical girls though, Niobii. I wonder if you even need me to be able to know stuff.”
  
  Hmm, wait. Didn’t we already know I was an essentia magical girl? Since we had called ourselves Team Fullessentia and all…. Or was back then just a guess? So much had happened (was happening), it was hard to remember. I should just focus on the important part now.
  
  Then I noticed the name on the book, and it started talking to me. I tried out what it had instructed, and now Niobii was even more excited. There was a glimmer in her eyes, like before. She was definitely amazing, but it was also easy to see the part of her that convinced people she was a little kid on the inside too.
  
  I nodded along and threw a punch in the air like she suggested, but not really responding to the question about it being fun. The magic didn’t really seem to do anything towards making Niobii mimic me. Time for the next test.
  
  “Hi Niobii.” I repeated after letting her stand a little back.
  
  “Hi Niobii.” Again, when she stepped a little further back.
  
  “Hi Niobii.”
  
  It was only after she’d left the living room entirely that she was no longer returning the greeting. It seemed it was only the greeting part that the magic made her repeat, but nothing else.
  
  What if I said or did something else, but as part of the greeting? I waited until Niobii was back inside the range to try it.
  
  “Hello Niobii. I am Cydestory, a scientia essencia magical girl. I am 16 years old, it’s nice to meet you.” I swallowed and did a small curtesy, then quickly looked up to see what would happen.
  
  I looked down to the book again after those tests.
  
  “So, the thing in my head earlier sounded kind of like a robot of some kind? It said this “Decorum Codex”, which I think is the name of this book, lets me impose rules in places. I don’t think I get to choose which ones, there’s like some symbols here and I pick from them. It put one that said “When another greets you, you shall greet them back.”, and I think that’s what was happening here. Uhm…” I glanced back to my fellow magical girl. “There are other rules here as well. Do we want to try them out too? We aren’t trying all of them out are we?”
  
  That one was pretty straightforward, but ‘You shall not tread upon the garden’ sounded like some kind of metaphor. Was this even the kind of power with non-literal interpretations? Who made such an interpretation? I guess answering those kinds of questions was probably the purpose of tests like these, but still…
  
  “I should have other abilities too, right? Like the one that spoke in my head. I wonder what that one is called. It’s not like it answers everything I wan-”
  
  <Inquiry received. Ability name: Input Breakdown:Archive. Input variant - Decorum. Will provide standard access to archive information, as well as special access to information pertaining to the [Etiquette] theme. Will convey expectations and customs.>
  
  “Ah. Apparently it’s called the something archive. And I get special access to the etiquette theme? It talked about information a lot, so I guess this is what you were talking about when you say scientia essentia magical girls are good at getting information? Do all magical girls of this… of my type get this archive thing?”
  
  
• 

  
  | Cydestory |​
  
  I nodded at her suggestion about the videos. I suppose that was one advantage we had at least, a true fan girl in our midst. Like Kowagata’s…. Acquaintances, Niobii would surely know a thing or two most people wouldn’t catch about the Grand Bout.
  
  “Wh-why would I want to turn into a unicorn? I’m a guy, remember?” The feeling in my hand after I stood up and placed it on my chest in the act of gesturing towards myself seemed to want to tell a different story, but we both knew the truth. I guess it was weird to not even try superpowers, but these weren’t really…. I guess you could look at them that way, but…. Well…. AAAAH! They weren’t exactly the kind of superpowers I would want! Not to mention that it made no sense for someone like me to get superpowers in the first place. But least of all these.
  
  The rest of the bearing down on me just left my mouth shut, and I felt my limbs retreating in front of me, it felt like my whole body was instinctively shrinking as my cheeks flushed. It felt even more humiliating that Niobii - who at least looked and sounded like a kid - was the one tearing me a new one.
  
  It was a relief when the book appeared and Niobii guessed, as would soon be confirmed, that it was a “ReCo”, or was that voice in my head would put it, “Reality Code” or “Index Decorum”. I couldn’t help think Niobii was amazing with how much she figured out just by a glance.
  
  “We are?” I raised the book in front of me, glancing. “Hmmm… I never really got the impression I was. You know so much about magical girls though, Niobii. I wonder if you even need me to be able to know stuff.”
  
  Hmm, wait. Didn’t we already know I was an essentia magical girl? Since we had called ourselves Team Fullessentia and all…. Or was back then just a guess? So much had happened (was happening), it was hard to remember. I should just focus on the important part now.
  
  Then I noticed the name on the book, and it started talking to me. I tried out what it had instructed, and now Niobii was even more excited. There was a glimmer in her eyes, like before. She was definitely amazing, but it was also easy to see the part of her that convinced people she was a little kid on the inside too.
  
  I nodded along and threw a punch in the air like she suggested, but not really responding to the question about it being fun. The magic didn’t really seem to do anything towards making Niobii mimic me. Time for the next test.
  
  “Hi Niobii.” I repeated after letting her stand a little back.
  
  “Hi Niobii.” Again, when she stepped a little further back.
  
  “Hi Niobii.”
  
  It was only after she’d left the living room entirely that she was no longer returning the greeting. It seemed it was only the greeting part that the magic made her repeat, but nothing else.
  
  What if I said or did something else, but as part of the greeting? I waited until Niobii was back inside the range to try it.
  
  “Hello Niobii. I am Cydestory, a scientia essencia magical girl. I am 16 years old, it’s nice to meet you.” I swallowed and did a small curtesy, then quickly looked up to see what would happen.
  
  I looked down to the book again after those tests.
  
  “So, the thing in my head earlier sounded kind of like a robot of some kind? It said this “Decorum Codex”, which I think is the name of this book, lets me impose rules in places. I don’t think I get to choose which ones, there’s like some symbols here and I pick from them. It put one that said “When another greets you, you shall greet them back.”, and I think that’s what was happening here. Uhm…” I glanced back to my fellow magical girl. “There are other rules here as well. Do we want to try them out too? We aren’t trying all of them out are we?”
  
  That one was pretty straightforward, but ‘You shall not tread upon the garden’ sounded like some kind of metaphor. Was this even the kind of power with non-literal interpretations? Who made such an interpretation? I guess answering those kinds of questions was probably the purpose of tests like these, but still…
  
  “I should have other abilities too, right? Like the one that spoke in my head. I wonder what that one is called. It’s not like it answers everything I wan-”
  
  <Inquiry received. Ability name: Input Breakdown:Archive. Input variant - Decorum. Will provide standard access to archive information, as well as special access to information pertaining to the [Etiquette] theme. Will convey expectations and customs.>
  
  “Ah. Apparently it’s called the something archive. And I get special access to the etiquette theme? It talked about information a lot, so I guess this is what you were talking about when you say scientia essentia magical girls are good at getting information? Do all magical girls of this… of my type get this archive thing?”
  
  

Tau

 

[Tau]

Niobii waved her hand dismissively, "It was just an example. Unicorn, or… what do guys like, a giant robot bull, maybe?" An awkward silence followed. Niobii really didn’t have a clue how to talk to boys, or about boys, given how little she actually did it in a meaningful way. For that brief moment, Cydestory had pierced the veil and reminded her she wasn’t actually talking with another girl. "A-Anyway…" she blushed, turning her eyes away for a moment before restarting the conversation.

"Yes, I definitely need you to know stuff!" she nodded quickly. "There’s only so much I can know, even as a fan. Magical girls love to hold back and reveal their strongest moves only when it counts. Plus, there’s always lots of first-time entries, and the best I can do is guess what common abilities they might have." Niobii stepped forward, placing her gauntlet-clad hand on Cyde’s shoulder. "You’ll be a valuable member of the team, I promise!" she offered up a bright smile in that moment of genuine encouragement.

Testing a new, unique ability truly was the greatest honor, and one Niobii had only been privileged to once before. How could she not be excited? It could be anything! For the same reason, it was also a bit terrifying. This one felt harmless enough, though.

"Hi Cydestory."
"Hi Cydestory."
"Hi Cydestory."

And finally…

"Nope," she confirmed what the silence already had after she’d left the room. "I wonder how—" Niobii trailed off as her partner had a clever idea. "Hello, Cydestory. I am Niobii, a Fantasia Essentia magical girl. I am 9 years old, it’s nice to meet you— I am not!!" she protested loudly, the second the spell wore off. "Honestly…!" Niobii sighed, forehead in her hand. "That’s interesting though, that’s the first time I’ve ever learned how old this body is meant to be." After a slight pause, she erupted again, "Aaagghhh, it’s even younger than I thought!"

Niobii’s mood had turned sour pretty quickly from that point. Just as well, since the curbing of her enthusiasm gave Cydestory a chance to speak for a bit. "Yep, you’re definitely a Scientia…" she chuckled, scratching the side of her head as her partner listed off a whole bunch of complex rules. "I mostly just hit things."

Niobii took a moment to stare at the strange book and ponder the symbols that were supposedly there. "Well, you should know what all of them do, but you’ll probably run out of energy if you overdo it. It might make sense to focus on a few of them and really get to know how they work. You’ll also want a full day of rest before the Grand Bout. That’s about as long as it takes to fully recover, although it varies a bit between magical girls."

And with the final question being asked, Niobii shook her head. "Think of common abilities this way: not every magical girl of a type gets the same common abilities, but every common ability is always owned by the same type. Make sense?" She raised a finger thoughtfully. "So if I know you’re Scientia Essentia, I can make some guesses, but I’ll never really know. Especially since new common abilities are still being found."

Niobii paused, after having spoken quite a bit. She let the silence hang in the air for a few seconds, before speaking again. "Sorry if this is a lot to remember. At this point, people usually…" her voice grew too quiet to hear, until she simply quiet altogether. "I know you’re not the biggest fan of magical girls, but it really means a lot to me that you’re trying so hard for my sake."

Clapping her hands together, Niobii suddenly transformed from extraordinary to plain, though it was incredible to see the girl suddenly grow almost half a meter. A sudden reminder that the excited kid was, in fact, an excited teenager the whole time. "Maybe a break can help? There’s a place with really amazing ice cream close by, if you’d like…?" Ima smiled warmly, for once offering a brief opportunity to get to know each other apart from the world of magical girls.

Idea​

 

[Idea]

• Coded
• Phone Version
• Semi-Coded

• Niobii wasn't the only one flustered after her giant robots quip. As soon as she said it a flash of images crossed my mind as if I was recalling an old movie, pressing a button of some kind on my magical girl outfit, the gold shifting around with mechanical noise and sounds of sliding metal, steam pouring out as it enveloped me in a lion-themed metal suit that then combined with a massive armor that came from an unknown location, striking a pose as the towering fusion of magical girl and mecha was complete.
  
  

  

  
  I chuckled a bit until my eyes met with the robots still helping with keeping everything tidy, and quickly averted my gaze. I guess it would be cool. That she saw through me so easily just left my face covered in red until we both regained some composure and could resume the experimenting.
  
  The results of my surprise were better than I expected. Not only did Niobii return the full greeting back to me, curtsey and all, her body moving of its own volition like in the other attempts, but she even confessed to information that neither wanted to blurt out nor even knew! My hand naturally gravitated to my chin as I started to think about the questions that this discovery could imply: It seemed my power, at least this part of it, would have people reveal even things they didn't and couldn't consciously know. I looked Niobii's up and down. Now that she told me her "age", her looks proportions seemed just about matching a nine year old, so presumably the ability didn't just make something up. But where did it get that information from? It wasn't something Niobii was aware of or acknowledged even now given her reaction after the fact. So it wasn't her psychological or mental age, nor the age of her original form, Ima, it was the age of her current physical form. Would this ability give characteristics of whatever physical form she happened to be in, or was in specific to a magical girl transformation? If some monster or magical girl power turned Niobii into an old woman temporarily would she declare a different age? Or could the magical girl form count as becoming a wholly new person in somehow?
  
  Despite myself, I found I was getting wrapped up in exploring these powers. Maybe Niobii had a point about it being fun, but the moment I acknowledged it I just wanted to move on.
  
  Niobii sure made her powers sound simple, but there was surely more to it than that. Whatever her current appearance or her current age was, she was still sort of kind of a veteran as a magical girl. No doubt if all her power was was hitting things she wouldn't be standing her ground with my sister, she would be one of those unlucky ones who got knocked out the moment a fight with a mildly intimidating monster started, so were usually relegated to dealing with minor minions. Well, it didn't appear such experience helped her decipher my book though, so maybe only I could understand it. I couldn't help a small smirk as a reminded me of one of those secret codes I made with my friends when I was a kid. When I didn't have cares or worries or responsibilities bigger than those...
  
  The smirk fell off, then Niobii added something fairly surprising.
  
  "Energy? I could run out of energy with these? I didn't even realize they needed energy." I felt like someone who left the water heating in a pan and left because he didn't see any changes immediately, only to come back and see the water pouring out all over... Even if I currently couldn't tell, it would be too late to think about it if I suddenly ran out of energy in the middle of the Grand Bout, especially because of my identity. "Got it. I'll try to take a look at these rules when I can and decide which ones to hammer in first!"
  
  I proceeded to ask about my other abilities and got the voice talking in my head, the something archive, and Niobii explained to me about the common abilities. So it was like some kind of lottery where you got some abilities from a certain pool of choices if you had the right type to begin with? One had to wonder if there was any logic to it.
  
  

  

  
  Before I could voice anything like that, I stopped at the sight of the small magical girl's somewhat dejected look. Still, I was about to give a nonchalant reassurance when she added that other thing, which made me look over my shoulder. I sat down slowly and clenched my fists, eyes fixated on the ground.
  
  "Even I... even I have some magical girls I admire." This time it was my voice that turned into a mutter. "Like Virtuosa..."
  
  Why were things turning into a mood like this? No doubt things would get hard, but they were already throwing around apologies.
  
  "That's right." I told myself, raising my gaze again. I just had to the usual thing. I just had to find my role in all this and fulfill it. "Alright, don't mention it! I'm already too wrapped up in this mess to back out anyway. All we can do is see through properly!"
  
  I had to raise my gaze more since I was still sitting and Niobii suddenly evolved into Ima before my eyes and suggested we go pick up some ice cream. I looked over my shoulder again.
  
  "I don't mind, but do they have the option to take some home? I'd feel bad if sis couldn't have any." As I stood up and readied to turn off the transformation, another thought occurred. "Also, is it fine? If we're seen walking around together, I mean. It's not like I can go there in my magical girl form, it would cause a commotion and all sorts of other trouble, but you and I are still supposedly strangers as far as everyone else is concerned, right? Not to mention a guy and a girl just getting ice cream together..."
  
  Maybe I was just getting too self-conscious about it... Guys did have a bad habit of reading more into things than was warranted. But then so did the kind of person who would spread around rumors. But Ima / Niobii did have more experience than me in this sort of stuff, not to mention her love for magical girls, so maybe she was familiar with some of strategy for dealing with this sort of situation?
  
  

  .​

  

  
  

  | Cydestory |
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
• 

  
  

  | Cydestory |
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  .​

  
  Niobii wasn't the only one flustered after her giant robots quip. As soon as she said it a flash of images crossed my mind as if I was recalling an old movie, pressing a button of some kind on my magical girl outfit, the gold shifting around with mechanical noise and sounds of sliding metal, steam pouring out as it enveloped me in a lion-themed metal suit that then combined with a massive armor that came from an unknown location, striking a pose as the towering fusion of magical girl and mecha was complete.
  
  

  

  
  I chuckled a bit until my eyes met with the robots still helping with keeping everything tidy, and quickly averted my gaze. I guess it would be cool. That she saw through me so easily just left my face covered in red until we both regained some composure and could resume the experimenting.
  
  The results of my surprise were better than I expected. Not only did Niobii return the full greeting back to me, curtsey and all, her body moving of its own volition like in the other attempts, but she even confessed to information that neither wanted to blurt out nor even knew! My hand naturally gravitated to my chin as I started to think about the questions that this discovery could imply: It seemed my power, at least this part of it, would have people reveal even things they didn't and couldn't consciously know. I looked Niobii's up and down. Now that she told me her "age", her looks proportions seemed just about matching a nine year old, so presumably the ability didn't just make something up. But where did it get that information from? It wasn't something Niobii was aware of or acknowledged even now given her reaction after the fact. So it wasn't her psychological or mental age, nor the age of her original form, Ima, it was the age of her current physical form. Would this ability give characteristics of whatever physical form she happened to be in, or was in specific to a magical girl transformation? If some monster or magical girl power turned Niobii into an old woman temporarily would she declare a different age? Or could the magical girl form count as becoming a wholly new person in somehow?
  
  Despite myself, I found I was getting wrapped up in exploring these powers. Maybe Niobii had a point about it being fun, but the moment I acknowledged it I just wanted to move on.
  
  Niobii sure made her powers sound simple, but there was surely more to it than that. Whatever her current appearance or her current age was, she was still sort of kind of a veteran as a magical girl. No doubt if all her power was was hitting things she wouldn't be standing her ground with my sister, she would be one of those unlucky ones who got knocked out the moment a fight with a mildly intimidating monster started, so were usually relegated to dealing with minor minions. Well, it didn't appear such experience helped her decipher my book though, so maybe only I could understand it. I couldn't help a small smirk as a reminded me of one of those secret codes I made with my friends when I was a kid. When I didn't have cares or worries or responsibilities bigger than those...
  
  The smirk fell off, then Niobii added something fairly surprising.
  
  "Energy? I could run out of energy with these? I didn't even realize they needed energy." I felt like someone who left the water heating in a pan and left because he didn't see any changes immediately, only to come back and see the water pouring out all over... Even if I currently couldn't tell, it would be too late to think about it if I suddenly ran out of energy in the middle of the Grand Bout, especially because of my identity. "Got it. I'll try to take a look at these rules when I can and decide which ones to hammer in first!"
  
  I proceeded to ask about my other abilities and got the voice talking in my head, the something archive, and Niobii explained to me about the common abilities. So it was like some kind of lottery where you got some abilities from a certain pool of choices if you had the right type to begin with? One had to wonder if there was any logic to it.
  
  

  

  
  Before I could voice anything like that, I stopped at the sight of the small magical girl's somewhat dejected look. Still, I was about to give a nonchalant reassurance when she added that other thing, which made me look over my shoulder. I sat down slowly and clenched my fists, eyes fixated on the ground.
  
  "Even I... even I have some magical girls I admire." This time it was my voice that turned into a mutter. "Like Virtuosa..."
  
  Why were things turning into a mood like this? No doubt things would get hard, but they were already throwing around apologies.
  
  "That's right." I told myself, raising my gaze again. I just had to the usual thing. I just had to find my role in all this and fulfill it. "Alright, don't mention it! I'm already too wrapped up in this mess to back out anyway. All we can do is see through properly!"
  
  I had to raise my gaze more since I was still sitting and Niobii suddenly evolved into Ima before my eyes and suggested we go pick up some ice cream. I looked over my shoulder again.
  
  "I don't mind, but do they have the option to take some home? I'd feel bad if sis couldn't have any." As I stood up and readied to turn off the transformation, another thought occurred. "Also, is it fine? If we're seen walking around together, I mean. It's not like I can go there in my magical girl form, it would cause a commotion and all sorts of other trouble, but you and I are still supposedly strangers as far as everyone else is concerned, right? Not to mention a guy and a girl just getting ice cream together..."
  
  Maybe I was just getting too self-conscious about it... Guys did have a bad habit of reading more into things than was warranted. But then so did the kind of person who would spread around rumors. But Ima / Niobii did have more experience than me in this sort of stuff, not to mention her love for magical girls, so maybe she was familiar with some of strategy for dealing with this sort of situation?
  
  
• 

  
  | Cydestory |​
  
  Niobii wasn't the only one flustered after her giant robots quip. As soon as she said it a flash of images crossed my mind as if I was recalling an old movie, pressing a button of some kind on my magical girl outfit, the gold shifting around with mechanical noise and sounds of sliding metal, steam pouring out as it enveloped me in a lion-themed metal suit that then combined with a massive armor that came from an unknown location, striking a pose as the towering fusion of magical girl and mecha was complete.
  
  
  
  
  I chuckled a bit until my eyes met with the robots still helping with keeping everything tidy, and quickly averted my gaze. I guess it would be cool. That she saw through me so easily just left my face covered in red until we both regained some composure and could resume the experimenting.
  
  The results of my surprise were better than I expected. Not only did Niobii return the full greeting back to me, curtsey and all, her body moving of its own volition like in the other attempts, but she even confessed to information that neither wanted to blurt out nor even knew! My hand naturally gravitated to my chin as I started to think about the questions that this discovery could imply: It seemed my power, at least this part of it, would have people reveal even things they didn't and couldn't consciously know. I looked Niobii's up and down. Now that she told me her "age", her looks proportions seemed just about matching a nine year old, so presumably the ability didn't just make something up. But where did it get that information from? It wasn't something Niobii was aware of or acknowledged even now given her reaction after the fact. So it wasn't her psychological or mental age, nor the age of her original form, Ima, it was the age of her current physical form. Would this ability give characteristics of whatever physical form she happened to be in, or was in specific to a magical girl transformation? If some monster or magical girl power turned Niobii into an old woman temporarily would she declare a different age? Or could the magical girl form count as becoming a wholly new person in somehow?
  
  Despite myself, I found I was getting wrapped up in exploring these powers. Maybe Niobii had a point about it being fun, but the moment I acknowledged it I just wanted to move on.
  
  Niobii sure made her powers sound simple, but there was surely more to it than that. Whatever her current appearance or her current age was, she was still sort of kind of a veteran as a magical girl. No doubt if all her power was was hitting things she wouldn't be standing her ground with my sister, she would be one of those unlucky ones who got knocked out the moment a fight with a mildly intimidating monster started, so were usually relegated to dealing with minor minions. Well, it didn't appear such experience helped her decipher my book though, so maybe only I could understand it. I couldn't help a small smirk as a reminded me of one of those secret codes I made with my friends when I was a kid. When I didn't have cares or worries or responsibilities bigger than those...
  
  The smirk fell off, then Niobii added something fairly surprising.
  
  "Energy? I could run out of energy with these? I didn't even realize they needed energy." I felt like someone who left the water heating in a pan and left because he didn't see any changes immediately, only to come back and see the water pouring out all over... Even if I currently couldn't tell, it would be too late to think about it if I suddenly ran out of energy in the middle of the Grand Bout, especially because of my identity. "Got it. I'll try to take a look at these rules when I can and decide which ones to hammer in first!"
  
  I proceeded to ask about my other abilities and got the voice talking in my head, the something archive, and Niobii explained to me about the common abilities. So it was like some kind of lottery where you got some abilities from a certain pool of choices if you had the right type to begin with? One had to wonder if there was any logic to it.
  
  
  
  
  Before I could voice anything like that, I stopped at the sight of the small magical girl's somewhat dejected look. Still, I was about to give a nonchalant reassurance when she added that other thing, which made me look over my shoulder. I sat down slowly and clenched my fists, eyes fixated on the ground.
  
  "Even I... even I have some magical girls I admire." This time it was my voice that turned into a mutter. "Like Virtuosa..."
  
  Why were things turning into a mood like this? No doubt things would get hard, but they were already throwing around apologies.
  
  "That's right." I told myself, raising my gaze again. I just had to the usual thing. I just had to find my role in all this and fulfill it. "Alright, don't mention it! I'm already too wrapped up in this mess to back out anyway. All we can do is see through properly!"
  
  I had to raise my gaze more since I was still sitting and Niobii suddenly evolved into Ima before my eyes and suggested we go pick up some ice cream. I looked over my shoulder again.
  
  "I don't mind, but do they have the option to take some home? I'd feel bad if sis couldn't have any." As I stood up and readied to turn off the transformation, another thought occurred. "Also, is it fine? If we're seen walking around together, I mean. It's not like I can go there in my magical girl form, it would cause a commotion and all sorts of other trouble, but you and I are still supposedly strangers as far as everyone else is concerned, right? Not to mention a guy and a girl just getting ice cream together..."
  
  Maybe I was just getting too self-conscious about it... Guys did have a bad habit of reading more into things than was warranted. But then so did the kind of person who would spread around rumors. But Ima / Niobii did have more experience than me in this sort of stuff, not to mention her love for magical girls, so maybe she was familiar with some of strategy for dealing with this sort of situation?
  
  
  

Tau