“Sae!” Ayaka ran up towards the taller girl and hugged her.

“Whoa! Hey, what’s up, Umechan?”

“You’re late, baka,” she said jokingly.

All of us just stood and stared at Sae. Something about her seemed familiar, but she was also very beautiful and charming.

“So, you’re…”

Sae looked to us and bowed. “Name’s Miyazawa Sae. Nice to meet you girls.”

“Miyazawa Sae?!”

“You were the male lead in the musical adaption to the *AKB49 manga!”

“That’s right.”

“Holy cow, I love AKB!”

“I wish I could’ve been there to see it live. You looked amazing as Minoru-kun.”

“Why thank you.”

“Hey!” Hayate yelled angrily. “You onee-chan-tachi are ruining my game!”

“A demon worshipper…” Sae closed her fan.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’m going to stop you!”

The puppet changed form with a snap of its fingers. It no longer had Ryouha’s face and it looked more like one of the shadows.

Sae, still holding the closed fan, charged towards the shadow and started fighting it. She was so fluid in her moments, it looked absolutely beautiful to watch. However, it pushed her back and she fell to the ground.

Just when I thought it was going to crush her, a green arrow shot through its chest and wrapped it in a thin thread.

“Eh…” I looked behind and saw Ryouha, holding a bow and arrow in her hands. “Ryouha-tan..!”

She pulled back another arrow and aimed it right at the puppet’s chest. When she shot it, it dispersed into black dust.

The clown doll in Hayate’s hands was destroyed and only the green gem fragment from Ryouha’s ring remained in the black dust.

“No fair! No fair!”

The gem slowly rose up and merged back with Ryouha’s Heart fragment. A green aura surrounded her.

“I hate you. I hate you, onee-chan!”

Hayate was about to attack, but then someone came behind him and covers his mouth. It was a young girl, with pink hair tied in huge pigtails.

“Momo…” Yuko muttered.

“Looks like you girls are gonna be harder to defeat than I thought.”

“Don’t underestimate us.”

“Same here.”

Momo threw a ball of dark energy at Ryouha, but then Sae ran over and pushed her away, both of them falling to the ground.

Momo gritted her teeth. “This isn’t the end of this,” she said before disappearing.

Sae and Ryouha slowly got up, looking at each other.

“You okay?”

“You’re…”

Suddenly, Ryouha held her head, looking as if she felt a sharp pain in her head.

“Ryouha-tan?”

“It’s you..!” Ryouha looked up at Sae. “Miyazawa-san!”

…..

Hayate was crying, hugging his teddy bear. Momo just watched him as she bit her lollipop.

“Stop crying, Hayate.”

“Those onee-chan are unfair! They cheated!”

Momo hated it. She hated when Hayate was like this. It meant she had to carry the burden. But she had a solution. She always knew how to treat him.

“It’s best you forget. Let it go.”

Hayate sniffed. “But—”

Before he could say anything, she transported behind him and covered his eyes.

“Let it go…”

Just then, a *magic circle appeared under Hayate. *Demonic fire surrounded him and engulfed his body with flames, making him scream.

His screams subsided after a few seconds and his head dropped. When the flames went away, Momo uncovered his eyes, which were now glowing purple.

“I’ll make them pay… Hahaha…”

“That’s it. Let that sadness go and create anger in its place.”

…..

“I’m really sorry!” Ryouha had her head bowed low to us, her eyes shut tight. I could see the heavy blush on her face meant she was truly embarrassed.

“Ryouha, you don’t have to apologize.”

“B-but… I completely forgot about you guys… And my duty as a magical girl… And worst of all, I forgot who Miyazawa-san was and even mistook her for a boy!”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Sae said, patting her head. “That happens to me a lot.”

“I really… really am sorry!”

“Don’t worry, Ryouha-tan. You’re back with us now, so it’s okay.”

“Un…”

“So, why is Sae-san here?”

“I called her,” Ayaka said. “Got a call from a certain someone. Said it’s time to initiate Project DIVA one last time.”

“DIVA?”

Sae had a sad look on her face. I wondered if something had happened…

“Sae, I know it’s hard… but you have to think of what she would want.”

“She?”

Sae remained silent.

“How bout you tell all of them? How you became a part of our agency.”

“Ah, it’s been a while since I heard that story.”

All of us just looked at her, waiting for her to answer. She finally sighed and sat down.

“Back then, I was a total loser… I felt so lame because I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to find some way that I could shine and be amazing… Then, I met her.”

“Her?”

“Sayaka.” Yuko answered for her. “Her partner. She was the daughter of *Kaguya-hime, so she was a moon fairy. She came down to Japan because she wanted to see the beauty of Earth.”

“The night I met her was at a festival. She was dancing under the full moon, surrounded by sakura petals. She was so beautiful, like a princess.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“I tried… But, I was so overwhelmed, I couldn’t say or do anything. But, I think we did become friends at that moment.”

“Eh? How?”

“She kissed my forehead and placed a mark on me. That way, she could always find me. After she ran away, I thought I’d never see her again, but then we both joined Akihabara48. She taught me how to use magic, like what you saw before. She was my best friend.”

“What happened to her..?”

“She gave up all of her moon powers to save me. She ended up losing her physical form and her soul was left wandering Earth. I promised that I would find her and be with her again.”

Wow… That’s so sad.

Hearing it made me wonder, does everyone here have a story? Like Yuko, Ayaka… Even Mariko… they all have different stories?

“So, why are they reinitiating DIVA?”

“Kaguya-hime requested.”

“But…”

“Sae, I’ll explain everything later. Girls, me and Sae have to leave for a bit, so Yuko will be watching after you until we get back.”

“Umechan…”

“We’ll be okay, Yuko.” Sae said, hugging the shorter girl reassuringly. “It was nice meeting all of you.”

We all said our goodbyes before they dismissed themselves and left.

“So, Yuko… That Sayaka girl, she was special to Sae, right?”

“More than anything.”

“Really?”

“…They were lovers.”

“Eh..?”

“The two of them loved each other more than anyone. Sae was so heartbroken when Sayaka died. She even almost tried to commit suicide.”

“How did you stop her?”

“We have connections with the *Senate, who formerly served the queen during her reign. They’re the ones who were able to keep her Heart fragments intact for us.”

“And what did they do to Sae?”

“Mariko asked them to erase her memories of Sayaka.”

“No way…”

“But, just now, Sae knew who she was and remembered how they first met and everything.”

“Does that mean she regained her lost memories?”

“The Senate has a rule where they’re forbidden to completely erase memories. So, in case something happens, they instead lock them away with a seal until the time comes.”

“And the seal on Sae’s memories was taken off?”

“Not only that, but it was by Sae herself.”

“Maji?!”

“That just proves how much Sae truly and deeply loved Sayaka. She wouldn’t let herself forget her promise with her, so the seal was removed by her strong emotions.”

Meru was tearing up. “That’s so sweet~. What an amazing love story!”

“Now, don’t cry, Meru-chan.”

“But~…”

I giggled seeing how cute she was reacting to the situation.

“Well, anyways, I’ll be in charge of you girls for the time being. But for now, there’s one more person I should introduce to you girls.”

“Eh?”

“The most important person in our agency.”

…..

“Oi, Bakamina!” Yuko slammed open the door to a small office. A young woman stuck her head out.

“Yuko, what’s up?”

“I think it’s time you officially met these girls.”

“Ah, Tentomu chu, right?” When she walked out, I was surprised to see how short the girl was. However, she was so cute, even for her age. “Nice to finally meet you girls.”

“You’re… Takamina!”

“Yup.”

“So, you’re the manager?”

“Only over in this division, but I look after the other groups so nothing happens. Although, sometimes I wish I can go back to being a singer, but right now, I have to focus on my part at the agency.”

“And you’re doing a VERY good job, Bakamina!!!” Yuko grabbed the shorter girl and noogied her head.

“You never change, huh, squirrel?”

“Look who’s talking, chibi!”

“Yuuchan~” Another woman came in, pouting her lips. “Stop fighting with Takamina.”

“Sorry, Nyan-nyan~”

“Nyan-nyan?”

“KYAAA!!! You’re Kojima Haruna!!!”

“Ufufu.” Kojima Haruna, a model. I’m not surprised the girls know her. She’s really famous.

“Hey, are you related to her, Mako-chan? You do have the same last name.”

“No, actually, we’re not.”

“That would be nice, though.”

“Nyan-nyan~” Yuko jumped up and hugged her. “I wub you~”

“Uh-oh, not again.” Takamina sighed.

“I’ll take care of this.” Another young woman with short hair walked past me and separated Yuko from Haruna. “Alright, you cheeky little squirrel, that’s enough loving for one day.”

“Mou~ you’re mean, Miichan.”

“Hahaha.”

“You’re…”

“Minegishi Minami!” The girl introduced herself. “Nice to meet you, girls.”

“Miichan here is your representative. Think of her as your own personal manager.”

“Shiku-yoro!”

All of us laughed at her little joke. Miichan was known for her comedic aura; I even remember her imitating Ayame Gouriki on a variety show.

“Well, it looks like everything’s settled now.”

“Yup, and now, it’s quitting time.”

“See you girls in the morning!”

“Bye bye!”

…..

Yuko was walking home from work, finally reaching her apartment. She leaned up against the wall, holding her chest and coughing.

When she looked at her hand, she saw blood.

“No…”

She walked over to the kitchen and popped in a few pills, calming her breathing. She drank some water and slowly sat down on her bed, looking at her clock.

“There’s no time…”

…..

In another place, Kyoya was observing his notes, focusing on one page, one that had a picture of Yuko.

“Oshima Yuko. Time is catching up to you.”

He put away his notebook and slid one of the books on his shelves. A secret door slid opened and revealed a young girl sleeping inside a crystal case.

Just then, a figure wearing a black robe came in. Kyoya looked and smiled at the hooded figure.

“Did you retrieve the soul?”

“Yes.” The figure’s voice sounded distorted, as if by a voice modifier.

It handed Kyoya a small blue crystal, which seemed to resemble one of the Siamese twins.

“Well done.” He said with a smile, taking the gem. He turned back to the girl sleeping inside the crystal coffin, dawning a beautiful white dress. “Prepare the altar.”

“Yes, sir.” The figure bowed and walked off.

Kyoya whispered a few spells under his breath, and with a burst of energy, he was able to break the crystal with incredible force.

The girl slowly fell out of the coffin and into his arms. His smile grew more.

“It’s time for your awakening, my princess.”

============================

Footnotes

*1. AKB49 ~Renai Kinshi Jourei~ - A manga that is based off the group AKB48. The story talks about Minoru, a high-school student who cross-dresses as a girl to help fulfill his crush, Hiroko’s, dream of becoming an idol. However, in both the manga and musical adaption, no actual AKB members “exist”.

*2. Magic circle - Alternate version of the pentagram.

*3. Demon fire - Purple fire; fire infused with powerful black magic. It is burning hot to humans, but cannot burn Akuma or demonic beings in Hell.

*4. Kaguya - The Goddess of the moon.

*5. The Senate - An organization that was created to serve Muse under her reign. They are all powerful sorcerers, and known as “Shadow people”, as their existence is hidden to humans. They are capable of erasing people’s memories, sealing them away until “the time of awakening” comes.