..

There was no thud, no cracking of bones, or splattering of meat against the concrete. Strangely, what I did hear was the sound of fabric being unraveled.

I opened my eyes. There was no sticky warm blood, no body to send to the morgue.

Instead, the unconscious woman descended slowly in my arms, suspended by a web of yellow ribbon.

I gently laid her on the grass. The woman's breast heaved up and down slowly. As a precaution, I checked her vitals the same way they taught in health class. Putting my finger on her wrist, I counted the beats. She was going to be fine.

I exhaled in relief.

"Good job!," Kyubey pounced onto my shoulder, "You were able to transform after all!"

Transform? Now that you mention it…

I looked at my hands.

I don't recall ever putting on gloves. In fact…

I looked lower.

What am I wearing?!

My school uniform was nowhere to be seen. And in it's place, I was wearing some sort of extravagant cosplay.

"Why don't you take a closer look, Mami?" he leaped down from my shoulder and ran over to the glass window.

I stood up and approached the dusty glass. The blouse was the color of fresh cream, and was held together by a golden ribbon. Suspended by my shoulders, the chocolate corset had leather straps that fastened to my belly. The ruffled skirt was a dirty yellow and widened the appearance of my hips. My regular tights changed into elegant pinstriped thigh highs; my white pumps replaced by black and gold knee-high cowboy boots. My hair was adorned by a flower shaped hair clip, with what I could assume was my soul gem in the center. On my head, was a puffy mocha beret adorned by a milky white feather.

"Is this to your liking?" asked Kyubey.

I twirled around in front of the mirror, being sure to take in every detail of my new form. It was a most flattering outfit. The design itself was very western, and was reminiscent of European musketeers. The dress emanated an aura that was not only graceful, but powerful. Was this who I was inside? Could someone as plain and useless like me be as beautiful and strong as the girl looking back at me? In this dress, nothing seemed out of my reach and anything was possible. The feeling was almost intoxicating. So, in summary, if you are asking if I like the dress...

"Yes," I replied with a smile, "I love it."

I looked down at the soul that I had just saved. She would be fine for the time being.

It made my blood boil at first, the thought of wasting a life by throwing it off a building. It was only through a magic wish that I was still breathing. How dare she casually discard something so precious?

I furrowed my brow in disgust. She was only a stranger to me, but I resented this woman more than I should have.

Looking at the woman's face, I noticed her swollen eyes and damp cheeks. To even consider something this awful, she must have been through so much pain.

My heart started to soften for her. What could make death an appealing option?
"Just as I thought," Kyubey interrupted my thoughts, "a Witch's Kiss."

He directed to the marking on her neck. It was ornate and intricate, like a fancy tattoo. Did this imprint lead her to this place?

"This mark made her jump off the building?" I asked.

Kyubey replied with a nod, "Yes, and no."

That helps.

"A witch's magic does bring out latent negative feelings from their victims. But it cannot amplify what is not there. Every human has some hidden sorrow they keep hidden away." he explained while grooming himself.

He paused, "You would know, wouldn't you, Mami Tomoe?"

I made a small gasp. My mind drifted towards my mother and my father.

So jumping off the building was at least partly her desire.

What made your heart anguish, Miss? Was it a broken heart? Or perhaps the stress of the adult world?

Kyubey hopped over to the entrance. "There's evil magic coming from inside."

Evil Magic? How could that be?

"Didn't the witch leave?"

"Yes, but there is some residual magic. Some of the witch's familiars must have been left behind." Kyubey blinked.

"What are those? Familiars, I mean."

"Familiars are lesser to witches and are tasked with maintaining and defending witch barriers."

Thought so.

"People would be hurt if we left them alone then."

"Yes, that is true Mami,"

Of course.

He looked over to me, "I'm guessing you're going inside?"

Do I really have a choice?

"I don't really want to," I gulped, "but it's as you said, it's something I have to do."

The inside was as dirty and decrepit as you would expect from an abandoned building. The floor was littered with broken glass and rubble. I walked slowly, the sound of crunching resonated from under my boots and reverberated across the hall. The air was cold and static, devoid of any life. I climbed the rusty stairs up to the next floor. I wandered through the large empty halls, terrified of what might crawl from the shadows.

"We're getting close," the magic cat assured. Having Kyubey sitting on my shoulder helped ease the tension, but not enough to alleviate the goosebumps forming on my limbs.

The scenery started to change gradually. The rectangular halls became squares, rhombuses and trapezoids. The messy floor became disconcertingly neat. The walls seemed to breathe, narrowing and widening without any sense of flow.

When I looked back to mark my progress, I found that the path behind me was identical to the one in front of me. There was no trace of the derelict, yet concrete structure from before.

There was no turning back.

As I continued, my surroundings grew more surreal. The path began to twist and shift, almost as if reality itself was shifting. The walls were now adorned with antique windows and faceless portraits with moustaches. Thorny roses bloomed from the floor cracks while painted butterflies danced in the air. Along surfaces there messages inscribed in an unfamiliar runic alphabet. Perhaps these were messages from the witch herself.

It was then that I began to doubt my own sanity. Was this a dream? Or is it a nightmare?

I came across a room filled with strange creatures. They resembled dwarfs with tiny moustaches. With a head of cotton and trousers made of butterfly wings, they tended to the blood red roses. They toiled joyously to a constant rhythm, trimming the thorns and watering the roots.

"Be careful Mami," Kyubey's voice rang inside of my head, "There are too many familiars here for you to handle."
These things were the familiars? They seemed too involved in their own work to hurt a fly. I guess dangerous things can be deceptively cute too.

I tiptoed across the room, careful to keep my steps as quiet as possible. Every stride felt like an eternity. The room itself was a wide, vacant chamber with no hiding places. The familiars continued to trim the roses.

I took a step. The sound of scissors echoed, getting stronger and distorted with every snip. Snip. Snip.

I took another step. The grinding of metal against metal started to invade my ears, and eventually, my mind. Snip. Snip.

I took another. The snipping increased, becoming more rapid and maddening. Snip. Snip.

Another. It would not stop. Snip. Snip.

Another. It would not relent. Snip. Snip.

It would not subside Snip. Snip.

It would continue. Snip. Snip.

Until. Snip. Snip.

It. Snip.

Consumed. Snip.

ME. Snip. Snip.

WHOLE. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip

It was then that I had finally reached the end of the room. I had reached the stairs leading into the next corridor. My stomach churned, and my vision wavered. Leaning against the wall, I held my pounding head.

"A witch's magic has negative effects on human physical and mental health," Kyubey disclosed, "as a magical girl, you naturally resist these ailments."

That was me being resistant? What if I wasn't a magical girl just then?

"Give it a few more runs, and all of this will feel normal."

"Ah... of course.."

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what normal is at this point.

After collecting myself, I climbed the painted stairs. Everything in this place resembled an art museum come to life. The colors swirled and melded together. They were in both in constant harmony, and in constant dissonance with each other.

As I ascended to the top of the stairs I came across another familiar. This one was a grotesque wad of flesh and fur. It hovered with the help of it's mismatched butterfly wings.

"Mami wait-!"

I froze in place. But it was too late, my footsteps had drawn the familiar's attention. The creature halted its patrol and opened its eyes. It had almost six eyes on it's moustached face, each a different size and shape, all of them glaring at me. It blinked several of it's eyes in surprise, before ringing an alarm. Though it had no bell, the flying monster made a loud chime.

"It's alerting the others!" Kyubey exclaimed. "Run!"

He didn't have to tell me that twice. I turned and darted in the other direction.

Upon entering the previous room, I encountered the gardening familiars again.

But they were not tending to the flowers.

They stood and faced my direction, motionless.

The minions must have heard the alarm and were going to investigate the cause.

That cause was standing in front of them, dressed in a pretty gold dress, and was about to pee herself.

The familiars hunched over, and drew their scissors. It was then that I could see their true faces

The eye sockets were ink black and void of any feeling. Their mouth twisted into a crazed grin that was mostly hidden by their moustaches.

These beings knew no sympathy, nor any remorse for what they were about to do. They quickly closed in on me, clipping their scissors hysterically.