For the last three years, in downtown 「Morioh」, residential town of 「S City」 in 「M Prefecture」, there has been a very popular 「health clinic」. This 「health clinic」 is unique in that the doctor treats patients who have medical and surgical needs, but what makes it 「bizarre」 is that every person who enters leaves feeling perfectly fine! Their bodies, metaphorically, shine like 「diamonds」, thus explaining its very appropriate name of 「Diamond Medicines」!

"So, Utsuwara-san, you say it's your back that's hurting you?" This was asked by the 「doctor」 in charge of 「Diamond Medicines」. A man extremely tall for his Asian heritage, he wore a pink 「doctor's uniform」 that had a blue 「heart」 and 「peace sign」 on the front and back, respectively; this was indeed 「bizarre」, but the most 「bizarre」 thing about this man had to be the fact that his hair was styled in a 「pompadour」!

"I thought you already recovered from the injuries the 「earthquake」 left you with, Utsuwara-san."

"The doctors said I did! The only reason I'm not still in the hospital is because I didn't have enough insurance!" The elderly Utsuwara-san spat from his chair. "Every little movement hurts so much! I can't work like this, but if I take a break, I can't pay my mortgage!"

"Yeah, that wouldn't be very 「GREAT」. Let's see what I can do." The doctor walked around Utsuwara-san to face his back. After looking at it for a few seconds, he raised his hand and 「chopped」 Utsuwara-san's back!

"Ah! Whatcha doin', punk?!" Utsuwara-san jumped up from his chair. "You trying to kill me?! My wife said you were 「eccentric」, but this is-?! My back! It's 「fixed」?! How?!"

"Sorry, but my methods are 100% confidential!" The doctor said with a smirk. "Since this was your first visit, I'll be nice and put it on the house, too!"

"Really?! Oh, you're a godsend, boy!" With that, Utsuwara-san ran out of 「Diamond Medicines」.

"Ah~. Helping people always makes me feel refreshed. Like I just put on fresh underwear on New Year's Day."

Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner

But he knew it couldn't last.

Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona

For some California grass.

Get back, get back.

Get back to where you once belonged

"Hello?" The doctor said into his cellphone after finally answering it.

"It's me, 「Josuke」."

"Oh! 「Jotaro」-san! It's been awhile! What's up, man?"

"I need you to do something for me. I can't head out to 「Morioh」, so you'll have to come to me."

"Where are you, 「Jotaro」-san?"

"「Mitakihara Town」."

"「Mitakihara Town」? ...I don't know, 「Jotaro」-san. That's a few hours away, and I still have people who got hurt in the 「Tohoku earthquake」 to take care of. Not only that, but the 「earthquake」 made these weird 「walls」 pop up everywhere, so getting out of town is a big pain, by itself."

"Josuke… The thing I want you to do… it's 「connected」 to what happened to 「Jolyne」."

"?! ...I guess the 「hospital」 can handle things for a bit. I'll come over there, tomorrow."

"Thank you." Jotaro hung up the phone.

"So this is 「connected」 to 「Jolyne」, eh? 「GREAT」."

Being Sayaka is Suffering (2)

Much to Kyoko's surprise, Sayaka was able to use a 「cutlass」 and block her attack!

"Not bad, but you're still ten years too early to think about defeating me!" Not wasting any time, Kyoko made her 「spear」 curve towards Sayaka's torso. Sayaka, however, effortlessly dodged the attack, causing it to fly into a wall!

"Tch. I guess you're pretty fast, then," Kyoko remarked as her 「spear」 retracted.

"I don't know… you tell me." Sayaka reached into her skirt pocket, pulled out five 「100-yen coins」, and tossed them in the air. As the 「coins」 fell, Sayaka swung her blade with lightning speed, and when the 「coins」 fell, they were 「cut」 in 「two」!

"Wow!" Madoka exclaimed. "Sayaka-chan cut 「four」 of those 「coins」 in 「half」!"

"'「Four」'?" Sayaka looked down and saw that, to her surprise, 「one」 「coin」 hadn't been 「cut」! "God dammit! ...Well, you get the picture. Less talky, more slicey!" Sayaka charged at Kyoko with her 「cutlass」.

"Yeah, you got 「speed」, Sayaka, but when it comes to 「power」, I've gotcha beat!" As Sayaka swung down at Kyoko, Kyoko immediately parried with her own weapon. But Sayaka! She materialized a second 「cutlass」 into her free hand and swung it, as well!

"What?!" Kyoko barely had time to jump back, earning a cut across her cheek. "You can make two 「swords」?"

"I can make more than that." Sayaka grabbed her cape and wrapped it around her body. After in unfurled, a circle of 「cutlasses」 was around her! Before Kyoko could react to this, Sayaka threw a 「cutlass」 at her, the blade cutting her arm!

"...!"

"Just gonna stand there, then?" Sayaka asked as a new 「cutlass」 took the discarded one's place. "Fine with me!" Sayaka, with lightning speed, started hurling her blades at Kyoko, a new one taking a thrown one's place nearly instantaneously!

"HORAHORAHORAHORAHORAHORAHORAHORAHORAHORAHORAHORAHORAAAAA!" Kyoko did her best to block the onslaught, even switching her 「spear」 to its 「chain-linked form」 for more coverage, but there were too many and they flew too fast for some not to cut her.

Dammit! This isn't working! I'm gonna have to take it up a notch… Kyoko knocked away the 「cutlasses」 coming at her, threw her 「spear」 to the ground, and put her hands together as Sayaka threw more blades at her.

"I remember that 「pose」..." Mami started, "Sakura-san's moving to finish this!"

"「Latticework Barrier」!" A 「circle」 of 「red chains」 appeared in-between the fighting 「magical girls」. The 「cutlasses」 effortlessly passed through, but when they did, the 「chains」 became attached to the hilts of them! With a flick of her wrist, Kyoko sent the blades, now under her control, flying right back at Sayaka!

"As if!" Even with her own attack sent back at her, Sayaka didn't falter as she weaved through the flying chains and got in front of Kyoko! "HORAHORA!" Quickly getting a 「cutlass」 in her hands, Sayaka released a powerful 「slash」 across Kyoko's chest!

"...Wait. That felt weird. Like it was some sort of 「fake」." This thought was confirmed to be accurate a split second later when the Kyoko 「in front of her」 vanished and a Kyoko 「hidden behind the first」 ran up and kicked Sayaka in her 「stomach」! "What?!"

"Secret Technique #1: 「Rosso Fantasma」! Right now, I can only get myself to make one at a time…" Mami and Kyoko each shared a look that Madoka found to be odd, "but that's good enough!" Kyoko picked up her 「spear」, tied it around Sayaka, and threw her through the still active 「Latticework Barrier」, covering her in 「chains」 that gave Kyoko the ability to slam her against the wall, repeatedly!

"I told you you were ten years, too early!" Sayaka was lifted high into the air and slammed into the ground!

"..."

"Alright, that's enough, now." Kyoko snapped her fingers, causing all of the 「chains」 to vanish.

? What is this? Homura asked herself. Sayaka Miki… her body is covered in wounds, and they're barely healing. That doesn't make sense. The nature of her wish makes her 「healing」 much more powerful than ours, so it shouldn't be taking this long. Unless…

"Sakura-san!"

"?" Mami's sudden shout caught Homura's attention and brought her back to the scene of the fight where Sayaka had somehow knocked Kyoko to the ground and gotten on top of her.

"Did you think I was done?!" Sayaka shouted. "There's no way in hell that I'm losing to you!" Sayaka summoned another 「cutlass」 and swung at Kyoko! Kyoko was able to defend with her 「spear」, but with their current positions, Sayaka had the advantage and would break through, soon enough!

"No! This is enough! We have to stop them!" Madoka shouted.

"You could stop them." Suddenly 「Kyubey」 appeared before them! "If you formed a 「contract」 with me, you'd have more than enough power to make them stop."

"She would?" Mami asked.

"「That won't be necessary」," Homura said with a 「dramatic hair flip」.

"That's right…" Madoka said, putting an arm in front of Homura before she could move forward. "I… I was afraid that this would happen, so when I grabbed Sayaka-chan's arm, before… I put a 「Plus」 sign on it!" 「Connect」 appeared behind Madoka and slammed its right hand high up on a nearby wall, giving it a 「Minus」 sign! Immediately afterwards, Sayaka flew off of Kyoko and became 「fused」 to the wall!

"I've established a 「connection」!" Mami laughed a bit when she said this. "I knew people would laugh~!"

"Wehihihi!" Even 「Connect」 found it funny!

"...This appears to have been a wasted effort on my part," Kyubey remarked, vanishing as suddenly as he appeared.

"Hey! What the hell, Madoka?! Get me down from here!" Sayaka went on to shout various other things of this general nature.

"...Alright, I'm done with this," Kyoko said, standing up and going back into her 「school uniform」. "If you don't wanna calm down, then this is just 「useless」. Let's go home, Mami."

"Huh? O-Okay," Mami said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kaname-san, Akemi-san." After quickly bowing to the girls, Mami ran over to Kyoko and the two left the alley.

...Wait. They're living together? Madoka asked herself.

"I think you should let Sayaka Miki down, now," Homura said to Madoka. "This is getting… 「bizarre」."

"Huh? ...Kyaaa!" When Madoka looked up at Sayaka, she saw that her friend's body had become 「transparent」, making her 「skeleton」 visible! Is this what happens when a 「fused」 person is really low on energy?! Panicking, Madoka deactivated her 「Stand」, causing Sayaka to fall to the ground. "I'm sorry! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Sayaka barked as she stood up and de-transformed, the 「transparency」 of her body vanishing. "Why did you interfere, Madoka?"

"Huh? Because it was getting out of hand and you needed to stop."

"Why? Because I was winning?"

"I just don't want us to fight!"

"Yeah, sure! I bet you were rooting for Kyoko the whole time!"

"That's not-"

"Just stay out of my business, okay?! I have 「magic」, now, so I don't need you, or your 「Stand」 to help me out!" Sayaka pushed Madoka away from her and stormed out of the alley.

"Sayaka… chan…"

...Just as I thought, there's no 「hope」 for Sayaka Miki.

After returning to their shared apartment, Kyoko jumped onto the couch that doubled as her bed while Mami gently sat down next to her; this was immediately followed by Kyoko resting her head on Mami's lap.

"Sakura-san…" Mami started.

"What is it?" Kyoko asked.

"I think you should apologize to Miki-san."

"What?!" Kyoko sat up in surprise. "Why?! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"I know, I know, but Miki-san isn't just going to accept your ideals; she's far too stubborn for that. I've already done it… it's hard to tell what Akemi-san is thinking, but I don't think she minds, and Kaname-san simply wants us all to get along, but if one of is going to be starting fights, then we won't be able to work as a team."

"Yeah, but…"

"You don't truly hate Miki-san, do you?"

"...No."

"Then for the sake of the group, please be the bigger person and apologize. You don't have to mean it; simply saying you're sorry should be good enough for her."

"..."

"Please? For me?" Mami stared at Kyoko with big, adorable, puppy dog eyes. There was no point in arguing.

"...Fine. I'll be the bigger person. Dinner better be good tonight, though!"

"Of course."

The next day at school, things between Madoka and Sayaka were awkward, to say the least. Sayaka continually exuded an antagonistic air, and whenever Madoka tried to talk to her, she didn't listen and sometimes just walked away. Madoka told Hitomi that everything was fine, but Homura knew that was a lie. The current situation was clearly troubling her, so in a move that even she found surprising, Homura asked Madoka to go to their current setting, 「WcDonalds」, after school with her so they could talk about it.

"Madoka, we've already finished our meals and have been sitting here in silence," Homura said. "Do you not want to talk about it?"

"N-No! I do!" Madoka blurted out. "It's just… I never expected that you would ask to have a meal with me."

"It's merely a convenient setting for us to discuss things."

"Oh…" That made Madoka feel a little sad.

"Now, then, can you please tell me what's wrong?"

"Well… I think Sayaka-chan is mad at me for having a 「Stand」."

"? You do?"

"After Kujo-san and I saved Mami-san, and after she saved me from that 「Box Witch」, the way she talked about me having a 「Stand」 sounded very 「bitter」, like the thought, alone, was annoying her. And then the way she yelled at me, yesterday…"

"I don't think Sayaka Miki is mad at you, Madoka. Rather, I think she's 「jealous」 of you."

"「Jealous」? Of 「me」? Why? There's nothing about me that could make people jealous."

"That's not true…" Homura meant this in more ways than one. "You were both there on the day we met Jotaro-san, yet the 「Arrow fragment」 only hit you, only made you able to fight. Even though she has now become a 「magical girl」, those feelings didn't completely vanish; in fact, they're now stronger because her power constantly needs to be recharged while your power can be used seemingly indefinitely."

"So Sayaka-chan's jealous that I can do things she can't?"

"That's just my opinion."

"Then… what should I do, Homura-chan? I don't want Sayaka-chan to hate me, but I can't just not use my 「Stand」, at this point."

"...You should give up on Sayaka Miki."

"?! What?!" Madoka was taken incredibly aback by this.

"I've seen 「magical girls」 like her, ones that can't control their emotions, before. 「Human」 emotions are simply a distraction in battle that can easily cost you your life; Mami-san is a prime example."

"..."

"But what goes hand-in-hand with 「human」 emotions is a refusal to abandon them. Now that Sayaka has been absorbed by her feelings of 「jealousy」, there's hardly any chance of her getting back to being the friend you once knew. If you want to save yourself heartache, you should forget about her."

"I can't do that! Sayaka-chan's my best friend, so I can't just-"

Holy Diver

You've been down too long in the midnight sea

Oh what's becoming of me

"...Sorry. That's mine," Homura said as she took her phone out of her bag to answer it.

That's an… interesting ringtone…

"Hello? ...Yes. ...Alright. Madoka, it's for you."

"What?" Madoka reluctantly took Homura's phone and put it to her ear. "H-Hello?"

"Sorry if I scared you, Madoka. I don't have your number, but I figured you wouldn't be too far from Homura."

"? This voice… 「Kujo」-san? Um… how can I help you?"

"My 「uncle」 is coming into town, today."

"Your 「uncle」?"

"Yeah. He's never been here before, so he'll probably get lost. If you see him, give him directions to my hotel. His name's 「Josuke Higashikata」, he's nearly as tall as me, and he has a 「pompadour」."

「Pompadour」? "Okay, I'll try to keep an eye out for him… but… does he really have such a silly hairstyle?"

"...「Yare yare daze」. One more thing, Madoka:

Sayaka stood in front of 「Kyosuke」's house, listening to his beautiful 「violin」. She wanted to press the buzzer and come in so badly, but she couldn't summon the nerve.

"Hey." What Sayaka definitely didn't need right now was Kyoko.

"What do you want, Kyoko?"

"I…" Kyoko feverishly bit into her 「churro」. "I just wanna say I'm sorry, for yesterday. Can we just forget about it?"

"..." Sayaka just gave Kyoko a look in, response.

Well this is going well. "Who's house is this?"

"Just a friend of mine…"

"Why don't you go in?"

"...He doesn't want me around. 「Kyosuke」... He got released from the hospital, today, but he didn't even tell me. I thought we were friends, so how could he…"

"..."

"Ahhhh~! Why am I talking to you about this?! I'm going home!" Sayaka turned away from Kyoko and headed off towards her house...

"You used your 「wish」 on him, didn't you?" only to stop after that question.

"Y-Yeah… That was it…" Sayaka responded, nervously.

"「OH GOD」. I thought you were naive, before, but now this?!"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying! You're not supposed to use magic for 「others」! Only for 「yourself」! If you try and be selfless, it'll only end badly!"

"Hey…"

"I mean, really, if this was how you wanted to use 「magic」, it would've been better if you'd gotten a 「Stand」, like Madoka."

"!"

She mocks you, a voice somewhat similar to Sayaka's said in her head. They all mock you. They mock you because you don't have a 「Stand」.

"Sc… Screw you!"

"Excuse me?!"

"What gives you the right to talk to me like this?! Because you beat me, yesterday?!"

"No, because I- …" Kyoko wasn't in the mood to tell her backstory, especially without her 「puppets」. She really was trying to be nice, but everything Sayaka said was just pissing her off.

"Yeah, that's why. I whooped your ass, so you gotta listen to what I have to say. If you don't like it, then let's have a rematch and try and change that."

"Fine by me!"

Kyoko and Sayaka faced each other atop an 「overpass」, each girl holding their 「Soul Gem」 in preparation for battle.

"Sayaka-chan!"

"Sakura-san!" There were apparently going to be delays as two familiar girls appeared on Sayaka's side of the 「overpass」.

"Madoka?"

"Mami?" Kyubey had told the two girls that Kyoko and Sayaka were going to fight again, so they got over there as fast as they could. "...To be fair, Mami, I did apologize to her about what happened, yesterday; this fight, right here... it's about something else."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Mami said.

"Please don't fight, you two!" Madoka pleaded.

"I told you to stay out of my business, Madoka!" Sayaka shouted. "This is my fight, so just go away!"

"But-"

"Excuse me!" Now someone was coming in from Kyoko's side. "I'm trying to find the 「Mitakihara Grand Hotel」. Can one of you help me find it?"

? Wait a second… that man… The man had plenty of noteworthy details: his 「pink clothes」, his incredible height, and, most noticeably, his 「pompadour」! Madoka put it all together! That's 「Josuke Higashikata」-san! ...He's Kujo-san's 「uncle」? He doesn't look old enough for that...

"We're kinda in the middle of something, here!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"Come on, I just need directions! I've never been here, before!"

"I don't care! Why don't you and your 「greasy-ass hair」 go bother somebody else?!"

"..."

Oh no! Kyoko's comment made Madoka remember the last thing 「Jotaro」 told her about 「Josuke Higashikata」!

"If you value your life, do not, and I mean DO NOT make fun of his 「hair」."

"What?"

"Josuke's a real friendly guy who wouldn't hurt a fly, but when you make fun of his 「hair」, he loses all manner of reason and goes 「berserk」. When that happens, even I have trouble against him."

"What?!"

"Again, I can't stretch this enough. DO NOT make fun of his 「hair」."

That ship had sailed.

"You bitch! 「What the fuck did you say about my hair?!」"

"Whoa! Take a chill pill, man! Rela-?!" There was a 「fist」 in Kyoko's face; it impacted with such force that she was sent flying! This wasn't Josuke's 「fist」, though. It appeared out of nowhere and belonged to a 「pink」 man with 「blue」 armor! This was Josuke's 「Stand」, 「Crazy Diamond」!

"Ow! Motherfucker! I think you broke my nose!" Kyoko shouted at Josuke as she got up(Sayaka laughed at this, a bit). "But if you're a 「Stand」 user, I don't have to… where's my 「Soul Gem」? ..." Kyoko ran to the side of the 「overpass」 and confirmed what she dreaded: her 「Soul Gem」 had fallen out of her hands and over the side! It landed on the back of a truck and was now speeding away! "Crap! Now what do I…" Then, for what appeared to be no reason, Kyoko fell to the ground.

"Sakura-san!" Mami shouted as she ran over to Kyoko. Before she could do anything, though, Josuke, now much calmer, already had a hand to her chest and 「Crazy Diamond」's fingers at her wrist.

"She's… She's dead…"

"!"

"Kyo...Kyoko-chan's dead?" Madoka asked in disbelief.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I did, before; I should really consider an anger management class. But I'm a doctor, and she's definitely 「dead」. But it's not because of what I did! All I did was break her nose! It's almost like something just made her stop functioning, all of a sudden!"

"'All of a sudden'?" Mami repeated. "...!" Mami suddenly jumped over the side, transformed, and used her 「ribbons」 to tie herself to a car.

"I didn't expect her to figure it out." Suddenly, 「Homura」 appeared! "「This man」 was also unexpected. Nonetheless, he doesn't seem threatening and Mami Tomoe will surely retrieve Kyoko Sakura's 「Soul Gem」."

"Wait, what does her 「Soul Gem」 have to do with this?!" Sayaka asked.

"I think our "friend" can explain it to you. You can, can't you, 「Kyubey」?"

"Certainly." Out of nowhere, 「Kyubey」 appeared. "The reason Kyoko collapsed was because she got too far away from her 「body」. Though it rarely happens, being more than 「100 meters」 away will make this happen."

"What do you mean?!" Sayaka exclaimed.

"I'm saying that that isn't Kyoko; it's just a 「corpse」 that moves around through the use of magic. Your real bodies are your 「Soul Gems」, the vessel that contains your 「soul」."

"! Wh… What…?" Sayaka's eyes went blank, like someone sucked all the life out of her.

"You've seen how powerful 「Witches」 are. A normal human's body would be destroyed in an instant, but with the 「soul」 being separated like this, your bodies can continually heal and fight for as long as you want. Really, why would you humans care about something like this? Thanks to me, you're 「invincible」, so shouldn't that be a good thing?"

"No!" Madoka shouted. "Sayaka-chan! Mami-san! Kyoko-chan! Homura-chan! You 「lied」 to them all just to get them to fight for you!"

"That's not true, Madoka. Everything I say is the 「truth」, but if you don't ask for all of the important information, what obligation do I have to explain everything? It's not my fault that the idea of a 「wish」 stops girls from thinking about everything."

"Just how many girls have you tricked into this?!"

"I don't understand the concept of a 「trick」, but as for the number of girls I've 「contracted」..." Kyubey 「tilted his head」, "「do you know how many breads you have eaten in your life?」"

"!"

"...Jotaro-san was right. You are an asshole," Josuke said to Kyubey.

"? What did you say? Wait, your name's 「Josuke Higashikata」... ! Those 「kanji」! You're related to 「Jotaro Kujo」, aren't-" Kyubey was cut off by 「Crazy Diamond」 kicking him into the air!

"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARA! DORAAAAAA!" 「Crazy Diamond」 unleashed a barrage of punches onto Kyubey that sent him crashing into the street!

"? I'm alive? I was certain I would be-" Kyubey was cut off by a 「truck」 turning him into 「roadkill」!

"...Nice work," Homura whispered to herself. Right after that, one of Mami's 「ribbons」 latched onto the railing, allowing her to get up. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she ran over to Kyoko and put her 「Soul Gem」 in her hands. A second later, Kyoko's eyes regained their light as she sat up.

"Wh-Where am I?" Kyoko asked. "Why are you here? Where's 「Nappa」? ...Why are you crying, Mami?"

"...「Kyoko」!" Mami's next immediate action was hugging Kyoko so tight that she was afraid the girl would fly away like a 「balloon」 if she let go. "「Kyoko」... 「Kyoko」... 「Kyoko」...!"

TO BE CONTINUED