"Why did you lie to us, Mami-san?" Sayaka asked her senior as she and Madoka met up with her at lunch.

"What do you mean, Miki-san?" Mami asked.

"Last night! You told us that a 「magical girl」 you know would transfer into our class, but we didn't have a new student. We went to the other classes, too, but no new kids were there, either!"

"I didn't lie to you. So then… Follow me." Mami started walking down the hall. Madoka and Sayaka, still not understanding, followed her. "By the way, Kaname-san, is your 「head」 feeling alright? I only ask because I see you rubbing it."

"Huh? Oh!" Madoka moved her hand away from her 「head」. "I'm fine, thanks to your healing, Mami-san! I guess I've been doing that, subconsciously, whenever I think about last night. Wehihihi. ...Huh?"

"Wait, why are we at the 「first year classes」?" Sayaka asked as she and Madoka finally paid attention to where they were being led.

"Mmhm… 「OH NO」!" Mami suddenly shouted. "I left my 「wallet」 at home! Now I won't have time to get to that 「sale」after school at the supermarket! Guess I won't cook dinner, tonight!"

"But you promised!" A voice shouted from class 「1-2」. The three girls walked in and had their attention drawn to a 「redhead」 trying to hide her face behind a 「bubblegum bubble」 before it popped.

Being Sayaka is Suffering (1)

After the 「bubblegum」 was taken care of, the four girls went to the roof for proper introductions.

"Everyone, this is my 「student」 and 「friend」, 「Kyoko Sakura」," Mami said to the other girls. "She also knows about 「Stands」, so feel free to talk about them."

"My name is Madoka Kaname. It's nice to meet you, Kyoko-chan!" Madoka said with a smile. Kyoko-chan must be the 「magical girl student」 Mami-san had a falling out with. It's great to see that they made up!

"I'm Sayaka Miki! Pleasure to meet you!" Sayaka said, enthusiastically.

"Likewise to both of you," Kyoko said, a bit less energetic than the other two.

"So Mami-san, why did you tell us Kyoko would be in our class if she's a 「seventh grader」?"

"I wasn't exactly aware of that," Mami said. "Sakura-san is the same age as you and Kaname-san, after all. What happened, Sakura-san?"

"Um… well…" Kyoko became 「flustered」 and started 「fidgeting」.

"Sakura-sa~n."

"Mmm… fine! I got 「held back」! The three months I was out of school last year made my attendance too poor to move up a year, so they're making me 「repeat」 the 「seventh grade」! I didn't tell you because… I was embarrassed."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Mami said, tenderly gazing into her eyes. "You were dealing with things no one should ever have to. The fact that you're willing to start over like this is nothing but admirable."

"Mami…" Kyoko returned her gaze.

"「Get a room」!" Sayaka exclaimed.

"Hey, shut up!" Kyoko shouted.

"'Shut up'? That's pretty rude. I figured you'd show your 「Senpai」 a bit more respect, Sakura-「kohai」."

"I'm gonna have to ask that you don't say that again, if you know what's good for you."

"That's enough, already."

"!" Sayaka turned to see 「Homura」 standing with them! "Where'd you come from?!"

"That's not necessary to tell," Homura said as she 「flipped her hair」. "Just stop your petty squabble."

"...Fine."

"Whatever," Kyoko said. "...Does anyone else ever come up to this roof?"

When Jotaro Kujo came to Mitakihara, he thought that 「Kyubey」 and 「Witches」 were the only things he had to worry about. When he met up with 「Mami Tomoe」 last night, though, things changed.

"You've reached 「Speedwagon Foundation, Japan」," the machine on the other end of the line said. "If you'd like to make a donation, press 「1」. If you want a 「tour schedule」 for one of our wildlife preserves, press 「2」. If you're calling about 「bizarre phenomena」, press 「3」. Jotaro pressed 「3」. Please answer this question to the best of your abilities. Question: Who always has 「disasters」 in the 「bathroom」?

"「Polnareff」," Jotaro answered.

"Please hold."

"..."

"Hello? Who am I speaking with?"

"「Jotaro Kujo」."

"Ah, Kujo-san. What can I help you with?"

"It's about what I asked you to do, earlier." Jotaro picked up and handled what 「Mami」 had given him: the 「Disc」 containing the 「Stand」 「Wheel of Fortune」.

"Yes, of course. We contacted the 「Florida」 branch and asked them to look into it. Several days ago, 「Enrico Pucci」 did, indeed, quit his job at 「Green Dolphin Street Prison」, but they couldn't find any record of him leaving the country."

"..." 「Enrico Pucci」. Jotaro read about him in 「OVER HEAVEN」. The man was 「DIO」's best friend; he cared for him so much that he made him stay out of 「Egypt」 22 years ago to ensure his survival. 「OVER HEAVEN」 also mentioned him having a 「Stand」 called 「Whitesnake」 that had the power to turn 「Stands」 into 「Discs」. When 「Mami」 gave him 「Wheel of Fortune」's 「Stand Disc」, he knew that 「one thing」:

"No, he's here. Some 「Stands」 have similar abilities to one another, but an ability as unique as 「Whitesnake」's couldn't be replicated. You said that 「Green Dolphin Street Prison」 didn't have any photos on file, right? 「Pucci」 must want to cover his tracks as much as possible. He probably left with a fake passport for the same reason."

"That's a possibility. We'll keep looking, nonetheless, Kujo-san."

We know he's in this town, but we don't know where and we don't know what he looks like. It's 「Kira」, all over again. 「Yare yare daze」.

"But… while I still have you, Kujo-san, there's something else I'd like to discuss."

"What is it?"

"It's about the 「dead little girl」 from the 「Witch's Barrier」."

"What about her?"

"Well, after four days of careful analysis, we've discovered that while the girl shows no signs of 「life」, she isn't actually dead."

"? How is that?"

"Her body is still warm to a certain degree, and 「rigor mortis」 has yet to set in."

"But you still can't truly call her alive. Why do you think that is?"

"We've come up with a theory for that, as well. Do you remember how our studies of 「Grief Seeds」 revealed that they emit an energy similar to 「Jean Pierre Polnareff」?"

「Polnareff」... One of the only surviving members of the 「Stardust Crusaders」, 「Jean Pierre Polnareff」 was killed ten years ago by a man named 「Diavolo」, though he is still around because of his soul being trapped inside of a turtle by the name of 「Coco Jumbo」. "Yeah, I remember."

"Up until now, we had no idea what to make of this, but thanks to this girl, we've come to the conclusion that the reason they have similar energy readings is that… 「Grief Seeds」 house human 「souls」!

"?! So then… that girl…"

"Yes, Kujo-san. The reason for her current state is because her 「soul」 has been extracted from her body."

"..." Now that Jotaro thought about it, that would make sense. When his grandfather, Polnareff, and 「Kakyoin」 had their 「souls」 extracted by the 「D'Arby Brothers」, they were also put in states of lifelessness, so it wasn't an impossible thing. That wasn't incredibly important, though. What truly mattered were the 「possibilities」 that just opened up.

"Kujo-san?"

"I'm still here. I was just thinking. Thank you for telling me all of this, but now… I need to call someone."

"Might I ask who?"

"A person... who is 「not crash」."

Even though her face rarely showcased emotion, right now, Homura Akemi was very 「happy」. Madoka had no interest in forming a 「contract」, Mami was 「alive」, Sayaka and Kyoko seemed to not 「hate」 each other right off the bat, and now they were out hunting 「Witches」 like a real, functional team. This was truly the best 「situation」 she could ask for.

"We're here," Mami said as the five of them approached an empty alley. As soon as they stepped foot in it, the entire space turned green and giant 「crayons」 rained from the sky.

"Mami-san," Sayaka started, "I know I'm new at this, but this 「Barrier」 doesn't feel like a regular 「Barrier」."

"Good eye, Miki-san. This 「Barrier」 was most likely formed by a 「familiar」, not a 「Witch」."

"Better not have been," Kyoko mumbled under her breath as she bit into some 「taiyaki」. The five of them descended down the stairs, looking for their target to be. Then… it 「appeared」! Bearing the appearance of a crude crayon drawing of a girl in an airplane, it was the 「familiar」 of the 「Scribbling Witch」, 「Anja」!

"Buun! Buuun! Buuuuuun!" was what 「Anja」 cried as it zipped around its 「Barrier」.

"Don't worry, guys! 「Super Magical Girl Sayaka」 has this one!" Sayaka shouted as she 「transformed」. Sayaka summoned a 「cutlass」 to her hand and threw her arm back to launch it at the 「familiar」, but before she could let go, Kyoko, also 「transformed」, made her 「spear」 coil around Sayaka's weapon!

"Hey, what are you doing, Kyoko?!"

"That's my line!" Kyoko shouted.

"Buun Buuuuun!" As they argued, 「Anja」 began to retreat.

"..." Homura, not having any of that, pulled out a 「gun」 from somewhere and shot 「Anja」 full of holes, killing it, easily.

"I was trying to avoid that, Homura!" Kyoko yelled as the 「Barrier」 dissolved. "You know that 「familiars」 don't drop 「Grief Seeds」, so killing them is just a waste of time!"

"So what?!" Sayaka asked as she made her 「cutlass」 vanish to get out of Kyoko's snare. "We should let 「familiars」 kill innocent people just so they can become 「Witches」 and drop 「Grief Seeds」?!"

"Of course! If we try to act like good samaritans, we'll just 「bite the dust」!"

"I can't believe you!" Sayaka turned towards Mami. "Did you really teach her such crazy ideals?!"

"Huh? No!" Mami responded. "I don't approve of Sakura-san's methods, either!"

"But you said it was okay for me to do things like this!" Kyoko interjected.

"Yes… I did say that, but…"

"Well?!" The two girls said in unison.

"Um… Please don't put me in the middle of this!" Mami stomped her feet and walked a little away from them.

"...Look, Sayaka," Kyoko started, "I know that the way I do things isn't really as heroic as you'd like them to be, but this isn't a job where you can be 「selfless」. That kind of thinking is dangerous, so you gotta stop it."

"Well, you know what I think?" Sayaka asked. "I think the only reason you're saying this crap is because you failed to protect 「someone」, so now you're acting all cynical and jaded to cover up your own failure!"

"..."

"Don't worry about me, though, Kyoko-「kohai」. I'm not going to just let people die, so I'm not going to end up being an asshole, like you."

"...You know, Sayaka…" Kyoko scowled as she 「tilted her head」. "You're pissing me off!"

"Am I? Let's go, then!"

"「GOOD」!"

"No, Sayaka-chan!" Madoka cried, grabbing her friend's arm. "You shouldn't fight with her! Just apologize and-"

"Let go of me!" Sayaka swung her arm and threw Madoka backwards, Homura catching her before she fell. "I don't need you telling me what to do!" At that moment, what appeared to be a 「wall」 of 「chains」 appeared, separating Sayaka and Kyoko from the rest of the girls.

"But Sayaka-chan!"

"Just leave them be," Homura said as she let go of Madoka.

"I agree with Akemi-san," Mami said. "Those two are just being stupid, right now, so after blowing off some steam, they'll make up. If it gets too serious, though, then we'll intervene."

"O… Okay…" Madoka said, submitting to Mami's reasoning. Homura, however, had different reasons for wanting the fight to happen.

Sayaka Miki's 「downfall」 always starts with this fight, Homura thought to herself. However, this 「timeline」 is incredibly different from the others. Like Mami Tomoe said, those two don't really 「hate」 each other; this is just a stupid fight. If at the end of it, Sayaka Miki can make up with Kyoko Sakura, then there's still 「hope」 for her. But if she can't…

"「One chance」!" Kyoko shouted. "I'm giving you 「one chance」 to apologize! If you do, then I won't kick your ass! It's a good deal; you should take it and run."

"..." It really was a good deal. Sayaka was the one who escalated things to this degree, so she should just 「apologize」. If 「certain things」 weren't getting Sayaka on edge, she might have done it. However, this brash, angry Sayaka discarded that option and gave only this as a response:

"Huh~? You say you wanna 「beat my bum」? I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff!" Mami and Madoka got red in the face at Sayaka's extremely lewd comment.

"...Hehehehehe…"

"Hahahahaha."

"Hehehehehehehe."

"Hahahahahahahaha."

"Hehehehehehehehehehehehe."

"Wahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"Ehhehehehehehehehehehehehehe!"

"Wa~hahahahahahahahaha!"

"Gyahahahahahaha! ...You fucking asshole!" Kyoko shot her 「spear」 right at Sayaka's 「neck」!

TO BE CONTINUED

Anja, the Scribbling Witch's minion: Out of function/RETIRE

Anja, the Scribbling Witch's minion

Destructive Power: E

Speed: A

Range: B

Durability: C

Precision: D

Developmental Potential: A

Having A Ball: Anja can turn humans into balls. Any human transformed will only revert back after bouncing an amount of times equal to the total number of lies he or she has told in life.