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Chapter Text

 "I wish to be confident."

-

"I'm so pathetic." 

Kyubey sighed. His tail waved around him, bending and twisting in odd shapes no tail should be able to do. She just needed a little push to push her over the edge. A little push, that was all. The girl, Naomi Yori, lay curled up on her bed, clutching at her comforter. It was the same as many rooms this Kyubey had seen before. 

He twisted his tail again, blinking his red eyes, and hopped to her bed to settle beside her. He both didn't hate or love being fondled by magical girls. He both didn't hate or love lots of things. 

A wish can bend the fabric of reality, Kyubey said. He blinked his eyes at her again. It can change you.

Naomi craned her head, sniffling, and she grinned through her tears. "In more ways than one."

She was only able to make snarky statements to Kyubey. Somehow, she was scared to at school. Kyubey knew he would never understand humans and didn't feel the need to. He didn't get Naomi. She heard from Yuki Nagata about Magical Girls and the trustworthy source of witches, and now she wanted to make a wish. 

It didn't make sense. 

"You can grant anything?" Naomi asked. 

You have the potential, Kyubey said. 

Naomi ground her teeth. "I want to be confident," she said finally. "I should've been able to tell the girls my ideas, but I was too scared to. I want to be like Yuri in my class, even t-though she's bitchy." 

Kyubey's expression didn't change. His emotions didn't change. He had seen this before. Again and again. Some girls wanted to be like someone else. It never worked out. It always ended in despair. It was only a brief thought, barely more than a gnat. 

He bowed his head once. Is that your wish? 

Naomi nodded once. It was a wavering nod. "I wish to be confident." Kyubey reached out to her chest, scooping out her soul. The gem glowed a lurid red, flashing all around the small room over Naomi's gardening books collection and anime figurines.

Grasp your destiny, Naomi Yori, Kyubey said, waiting until her fingers closed around it. It is yours now. 

He left afterwards. It was nighttime. They would go witch hunting tomorrow, but right then, Kyubey felt another girl in need. 

-

Naomi loved being a magical girl. She loved her confidence. She loved the small cannon she could use and her frilly red outfit. Because of her wish, she could help the confidence of others. 

Kyubey oversaw her growth, sitting on her shoulder as she hung out with her "friends." They weren't truly her friends, she told him. 

She had gained them with her newfound confidence and had left her old friends behind. Sneakily, Naomi would give Kyubey bits of cookie, dusting her shoulders with crumbs. He ate them dutifully, upping his cuteness to dangerous levels. Sometimes he had to leave, but he kept an eye on all the magical girls in his jurisdiction. Then, the next week, he could tell when her soul broke. She was close. 

On the last day of her life, he walked out of the shadows in an alleyway towards Naomi, where she was sprawled on the ground in a pool of blood.

"Kyubey," she breathed out, her fingers twitching. 

You won't be able to fight this witch, Kyubey noted. He stopped, sitting down near her and tilting his head. You are using too much magic.

"I have to, and I will. It killed my friend." She pointed over to a girl sprawled out on the sidewalk. A witch's kiss was pressed against her neck. 

Isn't that one of your old friends? Kyubey blinked. I thought you didn't care about them anymore.

"Shut up!" Naomi licked at her lips. "I need to." 

I will not stop you.

Noami pulled herself to her feet and returned to the witch's maze. She took a deep breath and jumped in. Kyubey sat and waited. He waited, watching the other Magical Girls with millions of other eyes. Finally, he was surprised when the witch's maze fell apart, and Naomi fell out from the sky. 

Her soul gem was black. 

He walked toward her, stopping near her hand. 

The blackness inside swirled and thickened, her body writhing. "T-Take it back. I don't want it! I don't—" 

The soul gem cracked. 

Kyubey's expression didn't change. His work here was done. 

A new witch was born into this world.

Chapter Text

"I wish for one single cheesecake, which my mom will think is the best." 

-

My name is Momoe Nagisa, and I'm ten years old. My Mom became sick one day, super sick. I was so worried, and my Dad took her to the hospital. I went with them. My Dad was always nice like that. He was nice. I don't know what happened to him, but I hope he's okay and isn't too sad Mom and I are both gone. Though, I know otherwise. 

He always felt too much. 

That's what Mom said to me. I hate hospitals. They're blinding white and smell, and they stuck Mom full of tubes and wires and put her in a bed. I was scared of her, but I needed to get over my fear. I didn't want Mom to feel bad, so I went to her bed and rested my hand on hers. 

"Mommy," I said quietly. 

And Mom smiled at me. She was scared too. 

I started to cry. 

When we went home, Dad got takeout for dinner. I wasn't too hungry, but I didn't want Dad to worry about me so I ate the food. 

In bed, I cried and dreamed a memory. Mom and I have a major sweet tooth. I love candy. Mom likes cheesecake. She'd make her blueberry cheesecake, and we'd sit outside in the sun and eat it together. It was the last time I saw Mom truly smile. 

When I woke up, my pillow was wet from my tears, so I dried my face. That was when I met Kyubey and made my wish. 

I didn't want Mom to worry, and I wanted to see her smile again. So, I wished for a cheesecake. The next time we went to the hospital, I took it in a container. Mom ate it with me. She didn't smile. 

Mom withered away into nothing. 

I begged Kyubey between fighting wishes, but he said he couldn't give me another wish. Even when she died and I cried and cried, Kyubey repeated what he said. I don't remember much after that, only that it hurt so much, running around in my head. I should've made a different wish. I know that now. It was my fault Mom was dead, and I would live with that choice until...

I think I see a piece of cheese in my maze. 

Chapter Text

"I wish to be able to protect my parents." 

-

"I'm fine. Honestly, I'm fine." 

"Can I come in then?" 

Kou shook her head. "No, please don't. Please." The door opened a crack, and she pushed her foot against it to stop him from coming in, holding the letter loosely in one hand. "Don't come in." 

"You've hardly touched your dinner. Is it something to do with the letter?"

"No, no..." She swallowed thickly. "I'm just not hungry." 

Dad sighed. "Let us know if you change your mind." His slippered feet padded away, and he called downstairs to Mom: "she's not hungry—" 

Mom said something, but Kou was already closing the door. She sagged against it, eyes straying to her new setup. She was doing a stream or had been, but Dad had knocked on her door and said she had a letter... 

Angry emojis filled her screen. 

Where is she? 

Did she leave? 

I paid money for this? 

Kou picked at the letter with a nail, pulling it open. Five photos fluttered out, landing on the ground. She picked them up. 

One showed her sitting at a cafe, sipping a drink. 

Another one showed her at a train station. Yet another showed her walking on the street. The last one was the worst. It showed her walking into her house. 

He knew where she lived. 

Kou forced herself to keep going, reaching the letter. The writing was surprisingly neat but big and blocky, reading: I know where you live. You can't stop this. We are meant to be together. 

She sagged on the floor. The angry emojis seemed to glare at her from her computer screen. She quickly typed out a message saying she had a family emergency and closed the window before any more people could type out angry messages. 

It didn't feel real. 

Her eyes went to the computer. Would He know that she knew? Would He know she was going to go to the police? 

He seemed to know everything about her, piecing together her life from details she left online. Being an internet celebrity used to be fun. She got into it via singing, and her YouTube channel had blown up when she did a cover of an English song in Japanese. But a week ago, her agent gave her a letter. She hadn't set up any meetups with fans, but she hoped he wasn't there. 

She had to deal with it before she went. Sighing, she gathered up all the details she could and ran downstairs. 

"I'm going out," she called out. 

Mom and Dad didn't have a chance to call out to her. She sped as fast as she could down the street. A police station was a few blocks away. Her lungs were burning by the time she made it there. 

"E-Excuse me," she said, walking to the front desk. She spread out the letter and the other things He had sent her, smoothing them with her fingers. 

They were wrinkled. She frowned. 

The woman behind the desk looked up at her and smiled. "What is it, hun?" 

"I'm being stalked," Kou said, voice cracking. 

The woman typed away at something, nodding. "I'll get the police ready so that you can make a report, okay?" 

Kou couldn't say anything else. She thought she might cry. She filled out the report as best she could. She thought that would be that, but she kept getting letters from Him.

A week later, she returned to the police station with the letters in tow and her Dad. 

"Honestly, Kou," Dad said. "You need to stop going online. It's too dangerous." 

"I know, Dad." Kou nodded along. 

The receptionist waved them into a room, and they sat down opposite two detectives. 

"I'm Detective Gin Tamaki," one detective said. "And this is my partner Yuji Kita." 

The other man, Yuji, bowed roughly, picking at his teeth with a fingernail. He was older than Gin, but his eyes were sharp. 

"What do you do, Arima-san?" Gin asked, taking out a manila folder. He flipped it open. It showed a few photographs and a bunch of writing Kou couldn't read upside down. 

Kou opened her mouth, but Dad interrupted before she could say another word: "she's an internet celebrity." 

"Ah." Gin nodded. "Perhaps it would help if you left social media. Then you wouldn't have to deal with stalkers." 

"He-he knows where I live. Even if I quit social media—" Kou licked her lips, her fingernails digging crescent moons into her palms. "Isn't there anything you could do?" 

"Not yet," Gin said. "What you can do right now is quit social media." 

"Yeah, we'll do that," Dad said. "Let's go, Kou. Thank you so much." 

Kou opened and closed her mouth. "It's not going to help...."

"You don't know that," Dad snapped as they exited the police station. The wind was brisk, frenzy blowing her hair around her head. "I told you you shouldn't go on social media so much, but you never listen." 

"I'm sorry, Dad."

Dad stopped on the top step, smiling at her. "It's worth a try, isn't it?" 

She stared hard at Dad, hating she couldn't make him understand how the Internet worked. 

- 

"Kou Arima," he whispered. 

He thought of her at work. He had a photo of her from her first stream in his purse. He touched it when he was in a meeting. He kept it underneath his pillow while he slept, and when his fingers blurred across his computer keyboard on his favourite forum, he kept it in his T-Shirt's front pocket. His username was KouKoufan69. 

He knew the other usernames, like he knew his parents' names or his siblings' names. They were his closest friends, his closest confidants. 

He would chat until the early morning hours, regretting it and surviving solely on coffee when he went to work. It was a stroke of luck finding her address. He had matched up a view out her bedroom window to a street name. 

And now he could watch her whenever he wanted. 

"We belong together," he told himself. He needed her to understand that. And now she was taking a leave of absence from the Internet. 

He hated her. She needed to know that. 

She needed to know many things about him like he knew everything about her. He knew her favourite colours —she always wore blue or pink, she was such a cutie—he knew her favourite kind of soap. It was strawberry. He knew her favourite food. She liked hamburg steak, like a cute little kid. 

And one day, when he was watching her house, he was pulled aside by the police. They gave him the warning to leave her alone. 

He loved her for it. 

"I love you, and I love you." He touched his fingers to the lips of the photograph. The person stared back at him, smiling. 

She wanted him so badly. She just didn't know it yet. She was a confused little woman. 

-

Kou loved her friends. She talked to them online a lot. It was where she had met most of her friends; online. Sometimes they played video games together, but usually, they would share things. 

"Hey, why haven't you been online lately?" Sakura, her BFF, asked.

The others chorused agreement. 

"I need a break," Kou explained. 

The hums showed they weren't happy. 

"People online have short memories," another friend said. "You should do something soon, or your fame will fade." 

Kou nodded. "Hey, has anyone tried that new café?" 

"I did. It was delicious!" exclaimed Sakura. 

"OMG!" 

"I know, right." 

"What did you get?" 

Kou stifled a sigh, resting her head on her hands. A bang echoed downstairs, and she lifted her head. 

"My parents are home," she said. "I'll talk later." 

"Byeeee," her friends chorused. 

"Tell us when you're streaming again," Sakura added. 

Kou closed the website and walked out of her room. "Dad? Did you pick up dinner?" No answer. 

She walked into the living room. Someone was there. Someone she didn't know. He was in a grey hoodie. He turned around, facing her. It was... a guy. Just an average guy with brown hair and brown eyes. 

"Kou-chan," he said. "It's me." 

Kou staggered back. She had left her cell phone upstairs. Blood ran out from her face. She couldn't move. 

The guy walked closer to her, running a finger down her chin. His hands were rough. "Why haven't you been on the Internet lately? I missed you so much." 

"Please leave me alone," Kou whispered. 

"What?" He blinked at her, narrowing his eyes. His fingers dug into her arms, and she winced. 

"Kidding," she said, and he loosened his fingers. "I just don't know your name." 

"Shou Asai. I want to kiss you. I'm going to kiss you." 

"Shou..." she breathed out. 

He grinned at her, clearly pleased she had used no honorifics and had used his first name.

"Can I go freshen up in the bathroom?" Kou asked. 

"Duh," Shou said. "Just don't talk too long. Don't keep me waiting." His eyes flashed dangerously, and he sprawled on the couch, scooping up a fashion magazine. It was one of her Mom's. 

"R-Right..." Kou turned around, her eyes blurring, and forced herself to walk casually upstairs. Her smile was a mask on her face. 

She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She mustn't. 

She sped upstairs, tiptoeing into her room and locating her phone. She picked it up and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and sitting on the toilet. Who cared if her pants got slightly wet? 

Carefully, she dialled 119 and lifted it to her ear. 

"Police, what's your emergency," the operator said. 

"There's a man inside my house. Shou Asai, I think I'm in danger and—" Footsteps. She lifted her head. 

Shou stood in the doorway, frowning. He aimed a gun at her, and he shook his head slowly. 

"What is it, dear?" the operator asked. 

Shou smiled, narrowing his eyes, mouthing something. 

Kou was shaking so much she couldn't pay attention. "I... was just playing a prank." 

The operator's voice went chilly. "Playing around with 119 isn't a joke. If I see that you're calling us again, the consequences will be more severe." 

"Thank you, thank you." Even not seeing the operator, Kou bowed a few times. Shou smirked. Kou hung up, holding her cell loosely. 

Shou pressed the gun into her chest, grabbed the phone and flung it into the toilet. He flushed it, and her cell disappeared. 

"Now we can be alone," he said. 

"Please don't hurt me!" 

"Well, you went against me." He clicked the trigger. "Fortunately, I'm in a good mood. Clothes off. Now." 

"P-Please don't do this." 

"Shut the fuck up!" He slammed his fist against the wall near her head. She jumped. "Stop begging. Just keep quiet, bitch." 

Kou pressed her lips shut. 

Get it over quickly. 

He bent her over and had his way with her. Kou tried to block everything out, but the gun pressing against her head didn't help. So this was what sex was like... It was only when she was sitting on the floor with her clothes strewn around and he was zipping up his pants, that she started to cry. 

"A-Are you going to kill me?" she asked. 

"What do you think?" He pulled his pants up fully, hefting the gun and pressing it against her skull. 

The metal was cold. She closed her eyes and started to pray. 

"Kou! We're home!" shouted her parents, the door slamming open. 

"Please, no." Kou grabbed at his shoes, but he kicked her sharply in the face, and she stumbled back, hitting her head on the side of the toilet. 

By the time she could get to her feet, Shou was gone. She fell to her feet, hugging her knees. She couldn't stop crying. 

She was so pathetic... 

So... 

Do you want to save them, Kou Arima? asked a voice. 

- 

She ran her fingers over her outfit. It was turquoise all over, decorated with patches of white. The skirt was long in the back and shorter in the front. The top was separate from the skirt itself and was a T-shirt with a collar. A black tie fluttered free. A gem glittered on her chest. It was shaped like a single wing. 

Her parents screamed from downstairs. 

You'll have a weapon, said Kyubey, sitting casually on the side of the tub. Then, still trembling, Kou reached deep within her and pulled out a shield. It was a small thing decorated with grooves. She eyed it curiously and ran downstairs. 

She had to do something. 

She stopped in the middle of the room and froze. 

Blood poured out from her Mom, sagging on the floor. Her head was blown to pieces. Shou pressed his gun against his Dad's skull. 

He turned his head, meeting her eyes before his head popped with a bang. Shou turned around, licking his lips. "New cosplay?" 

"I want to change my wish," Kou said quietly. 

It is too late, Kyubey said, having followed her downstairs. He was sitting on the couch. 

Kou didn't glance at him once. It was obvious that he couldn't see him. "Please... my parents are..." Kou didn't dare complete the words. 

It seems you couldn't protect your parents, Kyubey noted. What are you going to do?

Kou opened and closed her mouth. 

"Who are you talking to?" Shou asked. He shrugged, raising his gun and fired. Kou jumped, flying into the air, and hovered near the ceiling. His eyes bugged out, and he fired again. She raised her shield, and the bullet pinged off it. With a flick of her wrist, she threw the shield at him, which slammed against his chest, causing him to drop his gun. 

He tried to fling the shield back, but Kou knew exactly what to do. She closed her fist, still hovering in mid-air, and the shield disappeared in a dozen blue sparkles. 

She came down with a thump, picked up the gun, and aimed it at Shou. "Please—" he began. She fired once, but her aim wasn't accurate, and she fired into his stomach. He gurgled, blood dripping down his lips. 

Kou fired again, blowing out his kneecaps. She pressed down on the trigger, but there were no more bullets. She formed a shield in her hands and brought it down on his head. 

Again and again. And again. She fell to the ground and screamed. 

That was fast, Kyubey said, even as her soul gem cracked and let out the creature within. 

Chapter Text

"I wish that my parents love me." - Elsa Maria

"I wish to be class representative." - Patricia

-

It was her first day as a magical girl, and Mei was about to die. She had barely made her wish and had gotten to be class representative over anyone else, and now here she was on her first witch hunt.

Screwed. 

Her black cloak twirled as she danced across the tarmac, her long sword batting apart bullets. Somewhere Kyubey was watching them, his eyes implacable. He didn't say a word, his smile fixed on his face. Mei danced, pressing her body back to the ground. 

Use your magic, Kyubey said, the first thing he had told since Keiko had spotted her. 

Mei hopped into the air, skirts flaring and showing her soul gem a small hand on the inset of her ankle. 

"Magic," Mei hissed. She danced up the sides of the buildings, summoning another long sword to fling at Keiko chasing her. Keiko laughed, a high-pitched, horrible laugh, a blur of white as she chased after her. 

"I swore I had no idea this was your territory," Mei called back, landing atop the building. 

Kyubey had told her that magical girls didn't share territory earlier. She wasn't even out of breath, but a strand of darkness was streaked across her soul gem, and she avoided looking at it. She summoned another comically long sword to face her adversary: Keiko Momoko. 

Keiko was in her class. They didn't get along, but Mei had no clue that Keiko was also a magical girl. Keiko was in a white dress, her skirts white and layered with black fabric shaped like flower petals. She had her weapon in her hand, a sword gun.

"It's not that," Keiko said, tossing her pigtails. "I'm just so happy to be able to beat you into a pulp!"

"What?" gasped Mei. 

Keiko fired her gun sword, bullets pinging off the blade she had up, and then Keiko ran at her. Fast.

Their blades clanged again and again, glittering in the air. 

What was my magic?

Mei could barely think, the force of each slash making her arms shake. Finally, Keiko brought her leg around, pulling Mei to the ground, and Mei hopped up, doing several backflips backward. She stopped, amazed she could do that, summoning another long sword and running into the fray again.

Slash, slash, slash.

She wasn't tired at all. In fact, she hadn't felt better. And the magic pouring down her arms pushed her body to the max. She didn't tire. She felt like she could've lifted a building if she wanted to. Keiko slashed her across the face, blood pouring out, and shot her in the stomach, bringing Mei to her knees.

But Mei could keep going, lunging upward, stabbing Keiko straight through the gullet. She pushed the sword in deeper, pushing past the horror spreading through her body.

She pulled the sword out with a snick sound, slashing off Keiko's arm and then another arm, and Keiko face-planted on the ground. 

Considering it done, Mei made her long sword disappear, panting. 

Super strength and resolve. Interesting, Kyubey said. 

"I have homework to do," Mei said. "Let's go home." She was about to dismiss her outfit when a sword slashed across her neck, separating her head from her body. Her head went flying, landing a few metres away. Her body slumped, and her magical girl outfit disappeared in a poof.

Keiko sighed, massaging the limbs she had quickly reattached. "Bye, Kyubey." She kicked Mei's body, jumping off the building and to the next roof, and bounded away as fast as possible. 

Kyubey tilted his head at the body. Unfortunately, you do not have enough magic to regrow your head. 

The body twitched its arm, reaching for the head a few metres away.

Her hand dropped to the floor and didn't move. Kyubey stayed and waited as Mei slowly dragged herself across the floor to where her head had landed. It was only a few metres, but it took her twenty minutes. Finally, she grabbed her hand, pushing it onto her neck. She pushed some magic into her neck, healing it as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast. 

Her head still wobbled, and she started crying as she slowly healed herself. 

"I-I," she began. "How am I able to do this?"

Your soul gem wasn't damaged during the fight.

"You didn't help me."

Kyubey only blinked at her, and Mei faced away from him as she slowly healed herself. She still had to hunt for witches that night. Later, she knew, the horror of what had happened would eventually set in. 

Chapter Text

"I wish for people to love my art." 

-

"Why don't you ask one of them?" 

Gin shifted around awkwardly in the chair and pressed his pen against the notepad so hard the tip might break. He shared a look with his partner, Yuji, who was chewing thoughtfully on a toothpick. 

"We're questioning each person in the class," Gin replied. "See if anyone knows anything."

The boy scuffed his shoe on the ground and hugged his chest. "I didn't talk with Kato-san much. Um, she was a gyaru, and we were in different groups. You know. She was kinda mean to me sometimes." 

"Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt her?" 

The boy made a face. "Not really. I hope she's okay, though."

"Well, if you think of anything new, please let us know." Gin gave the boy a card with his and Yuji's names and phone numbers. 

The boy took it and rushed out of the room. 

"That was useless," Gin said once the door had clicked shut. "That was the last kid, right?"

Yuji skimmed his list, flipping through the names, and nodded once. Every single kid had either said Ayako Kato was slightly snooty or she was nice to them. It all depended on the kids' social standing. None of the kids knew anything. 

"Let's head back to the station," Gin said, picking up the materials.

He put his notes back into his bag and pulled it up onto his shoulder. Yuji did the same, and they headed toward the door. But Yuji stopped, raising a finger to his lips. He pointed outside, opening the door a crack. They had interviewed everyone in Ayako's class and had told the teachers to talk to their classes. No one had come forward with any new info. 

But this time-

Some voices came from outside: three girls. 

"Do you think Ayako ran away with her boyfriend?" one asked. 

"He was in University, right? He was sooo cute, though." 

"Ayako broke up with him? Remember?" 

"Her loss." 

Bingo. 

Gin entered the hall, and the teens stopped talking immediately. Their faces turned pale, and they glanced at one another. 

"Is there something you girls want to tell me about Kato-san?" Gin asked. The girls whispered, nudging one of them forward. 

"Hi, I'm Yuki Nagata," she said nervously. "Um, I can talk with you for a bit. If you want."

"We have to talk to all three of you. So we'll talk with you first, Nagata-san." Yuki followed them into the empty classroom, stopping once to spit some gum into the waste basket near the door.

Yuki was a gyaru like the others, with dyed blonde hair and painted blue nails. But, unlike her friends, she only wore one piece of jewelry: the silver ring on her middle finger. She even had a small golden pattern stamped on her nail. Plus, she was also breaking several different uniform guidelines, including but not limited to having a shorter skirt. She sat down. 

Gin and Yuji sat down too. 

"Yuki Nagata," Gin repeated. 

Yuki swallowed and nodded nervously. 

"Why didn't you tell us Kato-san has a boyfriend?"

"They recently broke up. I think they were fighting a lot or something, but I never met him. She mentioned him occasionally. He was studying history at University." 

"Okay," Gin said. He shared a look with Yuji. "I think you know something else, that there's something you're not telling us." 

"Kato-san's parents just want her to come home," Yuji added in his gruff voice. It sounded like he had gurgled with a bunch of gravel. "If there's anything you can tell us, anything at all, we need to know." 

Yuki bit her lip so hard it started to bleed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She dabbed at her lip with a pink handkerchief, wincing. 

"So there is something?" Gin asked. "Try us." 

Yuki stared at a desk at the back of the room as if something was actually there. "We were magical girls together, but she just wanted people to love her art. So, she stopped caring about fighting. She only cared about her art... but that's all I know." 

"This isn't a game, Yuki Nagata-san." 

Yuki blinked. "I know. I was just kidding. I'm sorry, I don't know anything."

"You were joking?" Yuji snorted. "You shouldn't joke with detectives. A girl's life is on the line."

"I'm sorry," Yuki repeated, and she said nothing else. 

Gin and Yuji tried to get her to talk, but her eyes filled with tears, and her lip trembled, so they let her go. Her two other friends weren't hiding anything either. While Gin was cleaning up and thinking about where he and Yuji should go for lunch, sharp, crowing laughter came from the hallway. 

He hated teenagers. 

- 

"Any news?" Akayo's Mother set down some cookies and tea on the table. 

Yuji grabbed a cookie right away. He always had a sweet tooth, whereas Gin went for the tea. It was Darjeeling tea, his favourite. 

"Not yet," Gin said, pausing when Yuji crammed several cookies into his mouth. He rolled his eyes and sipped his tea. "We're going to go over her room again to see if we missed anything last time." 

Yuji said something, crumbs dusting his lap. 

"Please excuse my partner," Gin said to Ayako's Mother. 

"No, no, it's quite alright," Ayako's Mother said, setting the cookies down. "Ayako used to eat my cookies like that." She picked up her teacup, a tear dripping down the end of her nose to land in her tea with a plink. 

Gin frowned. "We're doing everything we can to find her."

"I know..." She trailed off, sniffling. She had worry lines around her eyes, and her hair was a mess of dark red tangles. A chopstick even poked out of her messy bun as if she had forgotten it there. She took a sip of her tea and said nothing else. Her eyes were dead inside. 

"Yuji," Gin said, getting up. "Let's go search her room." 

Yuji grabbed one last cookie, saying: "wonderful cookies," and they headed into Ayako's room. 

Her room was off from the living room itself and was untouched since the day she suddenly hadn't come home. 

It was primarily pink and light red, with stuffed animals perched on shelves and fluffy pillows taking up most of the bed. The walls were taken up by photographs of Ayako and her friends in silly poses. 

Several paintings were also pasted to the walls, here and there. They were self-portraits.

In them, Ayako was thin, with a brilliant smile and green eyes. Her hair was blonde and reached her waist. It was also very long and wavy. She wore a strange outfit consisting of overalls, but somehow she made them look like a billion yen. She also had a flowing red top underneath it and thigh-high boots. 

Another painting showed her outfit from different angles. Between her shoulder blades was a very strange jewel. It was shaped like a winning cup of some kind and looked to be stuck to her skin.

Another painting showed her holding a spear. 

Chapter Text

The IT department at the station had hacked Ayako's phone and found a contact she had recently deleted, a man named Keiichi Soga. Keiichi Soga lived deep on the fringes of Mitakihara City, where the buildings were rougher and older. Gin and Yuji had to walk over a bridge to get to his apartment building and past a dozen layered fountains. 

The apartment building was very tall, with bits sticking out of the top. Its glass mirrors caught the sun, flashing across rows of shining cars. Keiichi lived on the first floor. Yuji knocked on the door, and they waited until the door slowly creaked open and a face stuck out. 

The man was drop-dead gorgeous, with a striking face with high, prominent cheekbones, and long lashes. He could've been a model if it wasn't for his ratty and oversized suit. 

"Hi," he said, flashing a blinding white smile. "How can I help you?"

"I'm detective Gin Tamaki," Gin said, both detectives flashing their badges. "And this is my partner Yuji Kita. You're Keiichi Soga, correct? Could we come in to ask you some questions?" 

Keiichi frowned, his adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "I don't know anyone by that name." 

"You're lying," Yuji said gruffly. "You were arrested three years ago for reckless driving. We have your name and ID on file." 

Blood ran from Keiichi's face. "Can you hold on for one minute? I need to get ready." 

"Of course," Gin said. 

Keiichi slammed the door in their faces. 

"He's suspicious, isn't he?" Gin asked out loud. 

"He might just be nervous around cops," Yuji said. "I was before I became a detective." 

"When was that, old man?" 

Yuji grinned, stroking his greying hair. "My wife says I'm a silver fox." 

Banging came from inside the apartment, including a window sliding open. 

"Shit, we've got a runner," Gin said. 

"I'll go around," Yuji said. "You go in." He took out his gun and ran around the side of the apartment building. 

Gin ran at the apartment door, and the flimsy thing crumpled quickly, and he burst into the messy apartment. He almost tripped over the stacks of newspapers tied with wire on the floor -who even read newspapers anymore- and stacks of dirty dishes not secured with wire. The window was wide open. He took out his gun and ambled through the apartment. An earthy scent reached his nostrils. 

He tried to open a door where the scent came from but couldn't open it. He kicked that door down as well, aiming his gun around. Nobody was in there. A mattress was festering on the floor, plus dozens of pots of weed. No wonder the guy ran. 

"Gin!" shouted Yuji. 

Gin ran out of the room and leapt out the window. Yuji was handcuffing Keiichi, pushing him against the concrete. 

"I'm innocent!" Keiichi shouted, spitting gravel out of his mouth. 

"Why did you run then?" Yuji asked. "Stop your squirming." He managed to handcuff the guy and dragged him to his feet. 

"The guy has weed growing in his bedroom," Gin said. 

Yuji clucked his tongue. "I see. To the station with you." 

"I'll call it in," Gin said. 

Keiichi started complaining again, but Gin ignored it and called it in. It was a long ride in the car back to the station, especially with Keiichi complaining the entire way. They took him into the interrogation room; by then, he was blubbering and crying. 

"It's just weed," he repeated over and over. "Just weed." 

"It's funny," Gin said. "We were just going to ask you some questions about something unrelated to your drug use, but your running means you'll be in jail for a long time." 

Yuji slid across a photograph of Ayako Kato. "Do you know this girl?" 

"I've never seen her in my life," Keiichi answered. 

"You're lying again," Yuji said. "You were in Ayako's recently deleted contacts." 

"Fine, fine... We dated." Keiichi shifted his hands, but the handcuffs didn't have a lot of give and rattled against the metal table. 

"Did you break up with her?" Gin asked. 

"No, she broke up with me." 

Gin blinked, surprised. 

"She said she wanted to date someone else," Keiichi continued. "She said I wasn't good enough for her. She needed someone who appreciated her art. Is she okay?" His expression was sincere. He didn't know about her going missing, but it would still require searching his apartment. 

They had plenty of time. 

Keiichi was going to be in jail for quite a while. 

-

Gin flipped through the paperwork. He was the only one still working, still going over paperwork, still going over cases. Ayako's case was in the forefront of his mind. He flipped through the report about Keiichi's apartment. Nothing but weed. No sign of Ayako. The guy was telling the truth. 

He closed the file and moved on to the students. There was nothing there either. The teenagers were just dumb and scared. Plus, Yuki Nagata -Akayo's friend- hadn't mentioned anything else about magical girls. 

Gin remembered Ayako's parents, and a lump rose in his throat. He still wished he could help, but people always went missing. Ayako was just one of many. He set aside the file and took off his reading glasses. 

"You going home soon?" a voice asked. 

It was a coworker standing in the doorway. 

"I will in a bit," Gin said, fiddling with his glasses. 

"Don't stay out too late," she said, waving, and disappearing down the hall. Gin pinched the bridge of his nose and gathered the files to put them away. It was time for him to go home. 

He had to feed his cat, Wasabi.

Chapter Text

"I wish for friends who don't dislike me." 

-

"Hi, Mom," Suzume said. "It's been a while." 

She steered the car into the parking lot and pulled it to a stop. It was a quiet parking lot, and she peered around while she waited. 

No one was around. 

She rifled around the drawer, pulling out her lipstick and a bottle of vodka. "Work is the same," Suzume said, taking a swig. She hoped her Mom couldn't tell that she was drinking. Then again, Moms could always tell. Fuck her, in her opinion. 

She was an adult now. 

"I'm still single, and no, I don't want to be set up again," Suzume continued. She flexed her wrist, the ring around her finger reforming into her soul gem. 

It was a blotchy pink. 

"I haven't seen my friends in a while," she said. Of course, they were the ones she had initially made her wish for, but hell, that was so long ago it hardly mattered. They didn't like her for her; they only liked her because she wished them to. So, fuck them. "Anyway, I hope Chiyo's okay and all that."

Her soul gem flickered. There was a witch nearby. 

"Bye." She hung up. 

-

She breathed in the chilling air, pushing away the tiredness that clung to her brain. The witch wasn't far from the parking lot, the entrance to its maze nestled between two parked cars. 

Water burbled out of a pipe, and it was there, underneath the pipe, that a grief seed was stuck. She took a longer swig of vodka and rested the bottle near one of the car wheels. "Stay," she said to it sternly. 

She transformed into her magical girl outfit in a burst of pinkish light. It consisted of a lacy pink dress if it could even be called that. It was so short her white underwear could be seen. She had a black belt around her waist with a golden buckle. She was wearing a bolero jacket with long, fluttering sleeves. Her soul gem was pressed near her throat and shaped like two filled-in chain links. 

You're in no state to hunt a witch, Kyubey's voice said. 

Speak of the devil. 

Suzume drew out her shuriken and threw one in Kyubey's direction. 

His red eyes glowed, and he nonchalantly stepped out of its way.

The shuriken clanged against the parking lot and disappeared in a poof of pink. What the hell are you doing here? she thought at him. Suzume swallowed thickly, trying not to lose her early dinner of hotdogs and beer. 

I have your best interests in mind, Suzume Sato.

No, you don't! You just want me to turn into a witch. Well, that ain't happening!

I will be back when you come to your senses. He turned around and walked back into the shadows, his white tail the last thing before disappearing. 

Suzume bared her teeth and stepped toward the witch's maze. She was engulfed in colour, and it took her a little while to take it all in. 

It was a forest made of what looked like bits of magazine clipping. Each of the leaves was different pieces of green; here, there was a clipping of a green motorcycle and an image of a stylish coat. The tree trunk was made up of the same things. The black sky was the only thing not made out of magazine clippings. Suzume started to walk, her boots crunching on the ground. 

Dimly, she wondered what a forest meant to the magical girl this witch used to be, but she couldn't think on it long: the familiars were appearing. 

They had the heads of foxes and the back ends of rabbits. They kept snapping at their rabbit feet and bared their teeth when they spotted her. Three of them. 

Suzume reached for her shuriken and flung one after the other. One familiar was speared and disappeared in a poof of smoke, and the other two ran toward her as fast as possible. 

She ducked, and they zipped over her bread, turning around to face her. Suzume reached inward, grabbing a bit of magic to dust over herself. It didn't take. Before, she could hypnotize anyone. Now, she only had her shuriken. That was enough for her. 

She didn't bother throwing the shuriken, swiping at the remaining two with the sharp tip. It cut grooves into their bodies, and they snapped their jaws at her. 

One landed on her, and she fell onto the floor, and its sharp teeth pressed near her throat. She kicked upward, and the thing went flying, up and up into the inky blackness, and her shuriken flew true, sticking into its throat. 

The last familiar, she threw the shuriken at its head, and it poofed away as well. She dusted herself off and started to run through the forest. Along the way, she came across many more familiars, all striding through the trees, all a mixture of animals. The trees parted, and she knew- the witch knew she was there. 

Something giggled in her ear, and she spiralled around, but nothing was there. The landscape rippled, and there was the witch on her throne. She was shaped like a giant clock with arms sticking out of it. The witch was resting on a stone monument. She dodged bolts of light the witch shot at her and the familiars, but she was tiring. She pushed herself onward. 

Light burned in her vision, and she dodged and jumped high into the air. Ten shurikens were ready between her fingers. 

She threw them, one after another, at the witch and twitched her fingers. They exploded in bright white light, and she landed near the base of the witch's monument. When the light cleared, the witch was still unharmed. 

"Seriously!" shouted Suzume. 

More bolts of light shot toward her, and the clock witch started to move into the air. It turned faster and faster, a burst of light coming off it, and it took all of Suzume's energy to keep dodging the light. She threw shuriken after shuriken, but each one either missed or embedded itself in the witch, and the witch would pick it away with one of its hands. 

"Come on! Come on!" 

She threw four more, and light burned her vision. 

The clock face was an inch from her, and a hand reached out to grab her. It stretched and writhed, gripping her feet tight and bringing her down on the ground. Suzume hit the ground. Hard. 

She couldn't breathe. Something in her snapped, and she screamed, trying to grab ahold of the witch. She kicked and wriggled like a worm on a hook, but the witch brought her down. Again and again. And again. Blood dribbled from her lips, scrapes covered her entire body, and she was being beaten to a mash. 

The witch held her up again. Suzume blinked blearily. Her eyesight was turning dark. She reached for any magic or shuriken, but she couldn't draw up the energy. She couldn't make herself care. It would be so easy to close her eyes and die... 

She fell the few feet to the ground. 

A scream filled her ears. 

It was the witch. 

Along with laughter that didn't come from the witch.

Suzume blinked and yawned, rolling on the ground. Her bones scraped against one another painfully. Her mouth tasted metallic. Her magical girl outfit fell apart around her, and she was back in her usual work clothes: a black skirt and top. And then she was on the cold concrete instead of in the witch's labyrinth. She raised her head. 

A blur of black coalesced into a magical girl: strapless white dress, black dripping parts. Her outfit was flowy; a strapless white dress with black parts along the skirt shaped like droplets. Her blonde hair was done up in twin tails. Her silvery weapon shone. 

She knelt, picking up the grief seed. It wobbled upright in her hand. 

"M-Mine," Suzume gasped, and she reached out a hand. "Give it to me." The magical girl walked toward her, tapping her gun sword on the ground. Her weapon disappeared in a poof of white sparkles. 

The girl tutted. "Be glad I rescued you. Other magical girls wouldn't be so kind." She popped back into her regular clothes, a familiar school uniform. The girl went to the same school as Chiyo. 

Suzume inwardly cringed. 

Someone much younger than she had rescued her. 

Whatever. 

Suzume ground her teeth and got to her feet. Every single atom in her body burned with pain. She fought against it, amazed that she was standing upright. 

The magical girl blinked at her, slightly amazed. "Fine, I'll give you only a little." 

"That's all I need," Suzume said. 

The girl pressed the grief seed against her soul gem and used up most of it before tossing it to Suzume. The girl transformed again and hopped over the buildings while Suzume used up the remaining power in the grief seed. It cleared some of her brain fog, but she still had a headache. 

Suzume scanned the area for Kyubey, but he was nowhere to be found, so she tucked it into her pocket. When she got home, she noticed the door to her apartment was unlocked. She walked inside and stopped in the hallway. 

"Mom!" she called out. 

"There you are, dear." Mom came walking out of the kitchen. She smiled at Suzume, taking her bag from her and leading her into the kitchen, the source of some delicious smells. "You look awful. Have you been sleeping and eating enough?" 

"I'm fine." Suzume sat down at the short table she had in her living room. It was a traditional Japanese table. Mom had gotten it for her. "It's work..." She yawned and shook her head, trying to organize her thoughts. 

"I have a new potential husband for you. I have his photograph in my bag." 

"No, Mom." 

"Please give him a chance."

Suzume walked off to her room in a huff, slamming her bedroom door behind her. She slumped onto her bed, rubbing her eyes and sighing. Sometimes, she just wanted to fly away and never come back. Recreate herself somehow. 

The door creaked open, and bitter words were on her lips- but it was Chiyo, her youngest cousin. Chiyo lived with her since her family sucked so much. 

She was still dressed in her school uniform. She was going to the school Suzume used to go to. Her hair was long and a dark brown. She wiped her hands on her pants and hovered around the door. 

"You can come in if you want. I'm not mad at you, I'm only mad at Mom," Suzume said. Chiyo walked into her room but still hung out near the door. 

"How's school?" Suzume asked. 

"It's fine," Chiyo said." Are you sure you're okay?" 

"Do I really look that bad?" 

Chiyo opened and closed her mouth, and reached into her small purse. She sat down next to Suzume and took out a small compact. She popped it open and let Suzume stare into the small mirror. Suzume let out a gasp. 

She had bags under her eyes, the worst ones she had ever seen, and her skin was pasty. She might as well be Death himself. 

"Ah," Suzume could only say. 

Chiyo returned her mirror compact to her bag and said: "You can lean against me if you want." 

Suzume leaned her head on Chiyo's shoulder while Chiyo stroked her hair. "There, there," Chiyo whispered. 

"Thanks," Suzume said. 

Mom called out that dinner was ready, so they both headed into the kitchen. She had ladled ramen into three bowls and had decorated each one with sliced pork, half a boiled egg, seaweed and some scallions. Chiyo sat down and stared up at her expectantly. 

Suzume's stomach churned, and she pushed past her Mom to the bathroom and threw up into the toilet. She flushed the toilet, not even staring at the contents, and washed her hands in the sink. She walked back into the kitchen, trying to act as if nothing had happened, and sat down at the table with her two guests. 

They clapped their hands together before digging in. Suzume coiled up some noodles and slurped them up. Her stomach roiled at the new food, but there was nothing else she could throw up.

And she was better already, with actual food instead of alcohol and shitty hot meals from the vending machines near her apartment. 

"I need to come over and cook more often," Mom said. "You only had beer in your fridge." 

"I'm just fine. I eat at work." 

"Don't be like your cousin," Mom told Chiyo. 

"Hey! Rude!" 

Chiyo looked between them both and giggled. The ramen was delicious, as always, and Suzume ate it all. 

It wasn't lost on Mom, who smirked at her, but she blatantly ignored her. Around nine o'clock, Suzume gathered the dishes and washed them in the sink. Chiyo began to dry the dishes and put them away in their usual spots. Mom grabbed her bag and laid out a few photos on the table. They were of a man dressed in a grey suit. He had a tie on and a serious expression on his face. 

Each photograph was from a different angle. 

"Isn't he handsome?" Mom asked. "He's a potential canditate I found." 

Suzume let the bowl she held fall into the sink with a clang, and she flicked suds across the counter. Chiyo quickly wiped them up with her dish rag. 

"Mom, if you mention anything related to marriage ever again, I'm kicking you out." 

Mom ignored her, moving the photographs around. "He has a good job and will be able to care for you so you can quit yours." 

"Guys," Chiyo said. "Um... can we talk about something else?" 

"Great idea, Chiyo," Suzume said. 

Mom rolled her eyes. "You're not getting any younger, you know. You should listen to me."

Suzume walked to the door and opened it. Outside was dark and cold. She motioned to the door and looked square at Mom. She didn't say another word. There was nothing she could say. 

"I only want what's best for—" Mom began. 

"No," Suzume interrupted. She tapped her foot and pulled the door open even wider. Mom narrowed her eyes, but Suzume didn't back down. 

"Well?" Suzume said, and with that, Mom gathered the photographs and her bag and walked the distance to the door. 

It took forever, her slippers squeaking on the linoleum, the few movements needed to put on her outdoor shoes, but then she was outside in the cold. 

"Dear-" Mom started. 

Suzume didn't give Mom a chance, slamming and locking the door shut. She reminded herself that she would have to change the locks, turning around and pressing her back against the door, just in case. Mom didn't try to get back in.

Suzume checked, cracking the door open. Mom was walking down the staircase to the parking lot in front of the building. She got into her car, drove down the dark street and didn't look back for a second. It was a relief. 

Suzume let out a sigh, bolting the door closed and turning around. "I'm going to go to bed. You can stay up later if you want. Good night." 

"Night..." 

Suzume staggered into her bedroom and flopped face-first on her bed. She was exhausted more than she usually would be. 

She didn't even want to change, so she didn't, getting up once to turn off the light. Chiyo was outside her bedroom, but she ignored it, falling into a fitful sleep. She didn't dream. 

-

Wind brushed over Suzume's cheeks. She dug her fingers into her blanket, but it wasn't there. Her blanket was gone, and the air was cooler. She was outside, not inside her warm apartment, and she hadn't forgotten to pay a heating bill again. 

Suzume sat up. 

She was in a witch's labyrinth, which she recognized: a forest made of patchwork magazine clippings. 

"Shit," Suzume said. 

She hadn't disposed of the grief seed. It had rehatched. She kicked a tree, leaves landing in her hair. She picked them out, twirling a waxy leaf around her fingers. The leaf was made out of a clipping of green apples. 

She reached her mind out for Kyubey and shouted at him mentally: WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?! It's your fault for not coming and disposing of the grief seed. 

You didn't want me around, Kyubey said. And now you do. Humans are so confusing. 

"Dispose of the grief seed," Suzume growled. 

Kyubey walked out of the shadows from between two trees. He sat down, like a small cat, his tail twisting and bending. He sighed. Have you learned nothing, Suzume Sato?

Shut up!

You should be more worried about your cousin, Kyubey said. 

Suzume's eyes widened in realization. "You planned this, didn't you?" She turned around, transforming quickly, and ran through the maze, calling for her cousin. A distant answer reached her: "hello!" 

Suzume ran faster, bursting into a clearing. 

Chiyo stood there, blinking and dazed, her eyes settling on Suzume. She stopped calling out, her hands dropping to her sides. Her cheeks turned pink. "You're a magical girl?" 

Suzume skidded to a stop in front of Chiyo, spinning to face the several familiars that had tailed her. They growled and sharpened their claws on the ground, leaving behind deep grooves. She summoned several shurikens until she had as many as she could carry. 

Chiyo, Kyubeys’ voice said. You should transform and fight the familiars. Your older cousin is in no position to help. Look at her soul gem.

Chiyo's eyes darted to Suzume's throat. "Don't worry, I'll save us. Leave it to me! I got this." 

"But-" began Suzume. 

Chiyo transformed in a poof of brown, and she ran forward in a streak of sparkles before disappearing. She appeared behind the familiars, holding a machete in her hands. Her long ball gown flared around her ankles, but that was all Suzume saw before the familiars died. She rested her machete on the ground, not even tired, before she disappeared -teleported- away. 

"Fuck," Suzume said. "She'll get herself killed." 

You will get her killed if you try and go to help her, Kyubey replied. You'll slow her down.

Suzume ground her teeth, flinging a few shurikens at Kyubey. One of them hit him, his body exploding in a mess of white. 

"You planned this," Suzume said. Bile rose in her throat. "Does she know the truth?" 

She would not have become a magical girl if she did, Kyubey's voice came from somewhere else. 

"Why?" Suzume choked out. She pressed her eyes shut, Chiyo's face flashing in her mind. Chiyo's life would be cut short by this, and if she didn't know that magical girls became witches... "Anyone but her. Why did you have to choose her?" 

A new Kyubey stepped out from behind a tree and chewed up his other body quickly, stretching and blinking lazily. She had potential. The maze fell apart around them, signifying that Chiyo had defeated the witch at its centre. They were back in Suzume's room, Kyubey nowhere to be seen. 

"Chiyo," she called out. 

"I'm here," Chiyo said, her voice coming from the kitchen. 

Suzume let her outfit fall, letting out a sigh. Even just wearing it put a drain on her magic. She walked out of her room and into the kitchen, where Chiyo was standing, rolling the grief seed around her fingers. Chiyo was back in her old T-shirt of Suzume's. 

"Here," Chiyo said, tossing the grief seed at Suzume. 

Suzume caught it. "I don't need this." 

"I saw your soul gem." Chiyo smiled at her. "Use it." 

She couldn't argue with that. Suzume used the rest, her soul gem turning less and less blotchy. Finally, her mind was slowly clearing of cobwebs, and for the first time in weeks, she could think clearly. 

Chapter Text

Suzume felt guilty. Any other morning, Chiyo would make breakfast.

But now, Suzume knew she should've been able to protect her cousin. Sometime when she had been out, Chiyo had made a wish, and it was when she had been out late drinking, or at work. She needed to be there for her. 

Suzume tried to make the traditional Japanese breakfast, just like Mom used to make, except she burned the fish so she had to throw it out, and she hated the fermented soybeans her Mom always made, so she had to make things up. She had miso soup, rice, pickled plums, and a salad. 

Chiyo returned from her shower to see Suzume scraping the failed fish into the bin. "You didn't have to make breakfast," Chiyo said. 

"A little treat." Suzume closed the bin, and they both sat down. 

They were quiet while eating until Suzume asked: "what wish did you make?" Chiyo dropped the piece of lettuce she was picking up on the table with a splat. Her cheeks turned red, and she tried to pick it up but kept missing. Suzume picked the lettuce up and popped it into her mouth. 

"Don't eat things off the table," Chiyo giggled. 

"Five-second rule." She grinned. "I need to know." 

"I... It's not important. Trust me." 

Suzume pointed at Chiyo with her chopsticks. "It's something you traded your soul for. That makes it important. So, spill." 

"Traded my soul? What do you mean?" 

Suzume had a choice. She could tell Chiyo right then and there the truth about soul gems and witches, but she took the easy way out. 

"I'm 27, and I've been a magical girl for 14 years," Suzume explained. "It's going to be the same with you." Doubtful. Suzume had never met a magical girl as old as she was, but Chiyo didn't need to know that. "Like me, you'll fight witches for the rest of your life. There are no take backsies. This isn't Sailor Moon or Precure. Got it?"

Chiyo nodded once, but she was still slightly smiling. "Got it." 

The table fell silent, and Suzume shifted around on her knees. "Aha: what was your wish? Did you think I forgot?" 

"I thought you would. But I need to be honest with you, right?" 

"Right." 

Chiyo sucked in a deep breath, her fingers twitching as if she wanted to clean up. "I'll wash up afterwards," Suzume said. 

"O-okay. I used to live with my Dad." 

"You never lived with your Dad. You've always lived with... me." 

Chiyo shook her head. "My wish made it so that I've always lived with you." She wiped her sleeve over her nose and hugged her knees. "In my universe, I lived with my Dad - your Mom's brother - and my Mom. I still knew you and your family but never lived with you. My Mom ran away and left me alone with him. H-His anger was directed at me. Yesterday, he said he was going to kill me, and I had to run away, and I stayed in my room, but I could hear him just pounding away on the door-"

Suzume got up, hurrying around to sit next to her. "I'll kill him." 

"No, you can't." Chiyo was shivering. "You can't... And then, Kyubey came." 

"Hey, I don't need to hear anymore." 

Chiyo shook her head, her black hair hiding her face. "It's okay, I want to tell you everything. And Kyubey came while he was trying to break down my door, and Kyubey said I could change it, so I wished that I never lived with my Dad. That I lived with you... Because because..." Her cheeks turned red, and she stared at Suzume like a gaping fish. "Because I love you," she finished. 

"Ooooh," Suzume said. Things fit together in her head. How Chiyo blushed when she was around, how she tried to get close to her, and her backstory fit too, especially her wish. 

Suzume had never given it a second thought that Chiyo lived with her, even though it didn't make any sense. It just was. "Oooh." She slammed her fist on the table. 

Chiyo waited, her eyelashes fresh with tears. 

"Hey," Suzume said. "It's okay. I'm just angry at your Dad." 

"A-And I love you," Chiyo whispered as if Suzume needed reminding of that key detail.

Suzume knew she should say anything, but nothing came to mind. Nobody had ever loved her, not really. So many men had told her they loved her body and then thrown her out on the curb before she could say, how do you do? But here, Chiyo really liked her, yet she couldn't return her feelings. 

"I'm sorry," Suzume said. 

"Is it because I'm a girl?" 

"No, no. I will always love you as a younger sister, but we can't be together. We're cousins, and I'm much too old for you. Besides, one day you'll find a girl who isn't me."

Chiyo tore off towards her room, and the door slammed behind her. 

"Chiyo!" Suzume called out, but Chiyo didn't answer. She got up, walked to the bedroom door and gave it a sharp knock. "I’m sorry, Chiyo..." 

Crying came from behind the door. Suzume bit her lip. She was torn between wanting to comfort Chiyo so she wouldn't become a witch or leaving her alone, and she couldn't leave her alone. 

"I'm coming in," Suzume said and opened the door. 

Chiyo was sprawled on her bed, trembling. "Go... away."

"I can't do that. I'm sorry. It'll hurt a lot. For a while. But you'll get over it."

Chiyo said nothing. 

"It's Saturday." Suzume gritted her teeth. "We should also go witch hunting." 

Watery, red-rimmed eyes met hers. "F-Fine." 

Chiyo dragged herself to her feet, and Suzume backed away as she walked into the living room and grabbed her shoes. Suzume pulled on her boots, and they stepped out into the watery sunlight.

It was still early in the day, but people were around since it was a Saturday and a chance to take it easy. Suzume took out her soul gem, explaining how to find witches to Chiyo. Chiyo barely listened. 

Plus, Suzume swore she could see the glittering eyes of Kyubey on a park bench, but when she looked closely, there was nothing there. They walked, Suzume waiting until her soul gem pulsated and glowed. A witch. 

"Sato-san!" called out a voice, and someone was running toward them, so Suzume quickly stuffed her hand and soul gem into her pocket, turning her soul gem into ring form. It was a very familiar girl from yesterday, the black and grey magical girl, except she was dressed in a light red sweater and jeans. 

"Keiko-san," Chiyo said. "What are you doing here?" 

The girl came to a screeching halt. "I came here to do some shopping. I saw you, and I was going to ask about our group project—" She trailed off, having seen Suzume.

The girls' eyes flicked back and forth. "Who's this?" 

"This is my cousin, Suzume Sato," said Chiyo, and she motioned to the girl, "and this is Keiko Momoko." 

"We've met," Suzume said coolly. "I didn't know one of your classmates was a Magical Girl."

Chiyo gasped. "You're a Magical Girl?" 

Keiko rolled her eyes, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her sweater. "Yes. What are you doing out?" 

"Witch hunting," Suzume answered. 

Keiko grinned. "I had to rescue your cousin yesterday. Are you sure you're okay to be going 'witch hunting?'" 

"We'll be fine," Chiyo said, her cheeks tinting pink. "I'm here to protect Suzume, after all."

Suzume let out a long groan, facepalming. 

Keiko kept on grinning, looping her arms with Chiyo. "The more, the merrier, right?" 

-

Suzume sat on a bench in the park while Chiyo and Keiko went inside the witches labyrinth.

Although Chiyo had promised to share the grief seed with her, Keiko said she would kill the witch herself. And now here she was. Useless. 

You're learning, Kyubey said, walking up to sit beside her. You'd just hold them back.

"Shut up." Suzume wished she had her vodka. Vodka made everything better. Her stomach knotted, and she pressed her eyes shut. She had taken Chiyo witch hunting, and now it was like she was the newbie. She should be the magical girl senpai, not the other way around. 

You know I'm right, Kyubey said. 

Suzume stood up, stretching. It was still morning. She took her wallet out of her pocket and flipped through. She had no money to speak of, but that would change. 

"Kyubey," she said. "I want you to know I will hold on as long as fucking possible out of spite. For Chiyo." 

Eventually, you'll turn into a witch. I'll be waiting.

"Eventually, but not today." 

Chapter Text

"I wish to --------"

-

Come on in, said the witch to the other witches. Come on in, and let's dance and share our stories. 

She 

       sat 

             with 

                      her 

                             pale 

                                      face, her doll-like face, and the other witches came, and she absorbed them all when they arrived. 

All their whispers absorbed into her. 

The whispers of: 

"I hate my parents." 

"Nobody understands me." 

"I want to die." 

"I'm so scared." 

"I don't want to die." 

"I want to lose more." 

And so many memories, she hardly remembered who she was anymore.

Who was She? 

She knew her name. She knew it like the blackness on her soul. 

Walpurgisnacht. 

Who was she before? 

Sometimes she caught glimpses as she spun around and around, glimpses. 

Who knew if they were her memories or the others as she turned in a never ending dance. 

"I'm scared," she said, one day so long ago, she didn't remember. 

Her Mother was braiding her hair, but sometimes her Mother would tug her hair. "No, you're not." 

Her lip would tremble, and Mother would continue to braid her hair, tugging out the tangles so much they hurt. 

"I don't want to go to school," she whispered. Mother never heard. 

Another memory would bubble up, another one filled with hatred, and around and around, she would spin. She needed another yellow elephant and a yellow flag, and it was a celebration of her death. 

She was sitting in the school bathroom, wiping her face. 

A gaggle of girls came into the washroom, twittering and laughing wildly, and she went so still on the toilet seat she almost became part of it. 

The girls spoke. "Geez, is such a weirdo. ’s so weird." 

Spin, spin, spin. 

Another memory. Was it hers? 

She was crying so hard she couldn't breathe. 

Another one: 

A slap across her face. 

They never ended. 

She kept welcoming more witches in. 

In the end, a magical girl tried to fight her. So many magical girls had tried. They had all failed. But, in the end, one magical girl did beat her. The magical girl brought salvation and tore her apart. 

-----

Hana Ito finished dancing. Her shoes were digging into her feet and rubbed raw.

She bowed on the stage, wiping at her face as she did so. The clapping was subdued, even with her dance instructor clapping loud enough for everyone. She bowed anyway, not meeting the eyes of her Mother. She turned around, walking off the stage and into the wings, wiping at her face. 

She didn't listen to her Mother on the way home as they walked. 

When she got home, she staggered upstairs, turning her ring into its gem form. She almost didn't move to the tub.

She almost didn't, but even as she held up the gem, she knew it was almost black. There was a little knife she had found, and she pressed the tip of the blade to the gem, and before she could Do It, she looked up. 

There was a girl. Her hair was pure pink, her eyes were kind, and she reached out for Hana. And Hana smiled as her journey finally came to an end.