"W-What was that?"

At this very moment, she did not believe her ears. Did Kyubey really just say that?

'Akemi Yuri is a Witch.'

Again in that high-pitched tone that did not fit the situation at all. Mami continued to stare at this catlike being in front of her in disbelief for a full fifteen seconds before she got a hold of herself. Then her eyes filled with tears.

"How could you say something like that!", the girl snapped at the creature. Clearly this was just an attempt to break the trust she had found for Yuri.

With two quick, crunching steps, she walked over the fragments of the plate she dropped earlier and got a hold of Kyubey's waist, lifting him up until he was at eye-level with her. Even now, his expression did not change and that unnerved her a lot. Before she got the chance to continue defending her... friend though, the creature spoke again: 'There is a simple way to find out whether I am telling the truth or not.'

"You... Huh?"

The sharp retort died in her throat and she became attentive again while calming down a bit. She needed to understand just why he would even claim something like that, so she listened to what Kyubey told her next. 'From what I deduced, this Witch is a prodigy at hiding, which is why neither you nor me could sense her aura before. However, by reviewing her behaviour of the past weeks, I noticed that Akemi Yuri carefully avoided physical contact with me and every Magical Girl at all times.'

She had an idea about what he was getting at but apparently, he was far from finished. No, it seemed more as if he wanted to give her a moment to think this through. That was why Mami nodded slightly and put him down. "So? What of it? Maybe she is just shy?"

She was far from convinced that this nice girl she found to be such a great person was in truth an abyssal creature that preyed on human souls.

The response was given in an instant: 'I doubt that. She has no problem with touching Madoka who is not a Magical Girl. Additionally, we can use Sayaka as an example; before she made her contract, there was a slight amount of casual contact but it was reduced to zero once I made her a Magical Girl.'

It sounded so logical but at the same time, Mami did not want to believe that this meant her newfound friend to be a Witch. She did not want to believe this...

'Anyway', another statement had her perk up again, 'this indicates that the flesh of her body is muting her aura so it can not be perceived on the outside for as long as she does not use any magic, thus my misinterpretation of her not having any potential.

What I was getting at', he closed with a slight tilt of his head, 'is that if you touch her skin with your Soul Gem, it will react to her being a Witch and start glowing. On the off-chance that it will not, my theory will be falsified.'

Once he was finished, the room became quiet. Nothing but the blonde's breathing could be heard while she pondered everything that she had just been told. How strange, she noticed. A few weeks ago, she would have never doubted if Kyubey had claimed anyone to be a Witch. She would have just gone and killed them without a second thought.

This was Homura's and Yuri's influence, Mami realised. Those two had given her a lead example on staying calm and trying to understand the situation before acting. In a situation like this, she could not just rely on her own impression anymore. Especially when this was about a friend of hers. She could not be a Witch.

"Alright, I will do it. But once I proved that you are wrong, you will apologise to Yuri-san."

For a moment, determined yellow clashed with piercing red, then Kyubey nodded. 'Of course I will.'

She nodded as well and turned around... only to have the crunching noises under her feet remind her of something she should take care of first, so she left her slippers in the kitchen's doorframe and went to get a broom from the closet.

.

.

.

Once the shards of the plate had been removed both from the ground and her shoes, the Magical Girl sat down on the couch and took a deep breath. Cleaning gave her some time to think this through, so she managed to calm down by now.

I should call first.

At least she hoped that Yuri was at home, otherwise she might need to call her sister. On that note, she still wondered just why the younger twin did not have her own cellphone.

There were more important matters to attend though, so she pursued the thought no further. Instead, she pulled out her cellphone and snapped it open, quickly scanning the register for the number of the Akemi-residence. It did not take long to find, especially because there were about seven other numbers in here, one being Homura's cellphone, another one the school and so on... looking at that reminded her just what this situation was. Mami did not like it, not at all. This very one person that seemed to have an actual interest in her feelings, someone she would like to call her friend... a Witch?

No, this just could not be.

But then again, Kyubey definitely never lied to her face, not counting the parts he left out on purpose. So when he made this claim... she needed to know for certain.

With a sigh, a button was pressed and it started ringing.

Please be home, please be at home...

The call was answered after it rung for the third time, though not by the voice she hoped for: "This is the Akemi-residence."

"S-Sakura-san?"

Just what was... oh, right. The redhead was staying with the Akemis for the weekend.

"Mami? Oh, great. What's the matter, I'm busy."

Now she was left to wonder just what this girl would busy herself with, seeing just how carefree and aloof she was at this point. But then again, fighting with her was something she did not want to do, especially when she decided on being more lenient towards her behaviour. "Um... is A... Yuri-san at home? I hoped to get to talk to her."

She stopped herself before calling the girl's last name, seeing that that could also mean Homura. However, Kyoko's heavy sigh had her bells ringing and she sat a bit more straight and at attention. "Did something happen?"

"Wellll... she is here, buuut... she's down with a fever."

"..."

Yuri had gotten sick. Most likely from last night. And here she was, sleeping the day away without any worries in the world. Just how selfish could one person be?, she mentally chided herself at once but even when she was done with that, she was still unable to say anything yet.

On the other hand, it was just a matter of seconds for her speechlessness to fade as concern took over and her expression became more determined. "I see. I'm coming over, then."

"Uh, what? You don't need to, y'know?"

Was that hesitation? It was definitely some surprise in the other girl's voice right now, but the blonde paid no real attention to it or what it could mean. Instead, a slight smile crept onto her face. "Yes, I have to. I might be responsible for that fever so I should at least pay her a visit. Besides... I doubt that you remember how to treat someone who is down with a cold."

"Oi, watch what you're saying!"

At that, she simply chuckled and rose to her feet. "Anyway, I will be there as fast as possible."

Now it was Kyoko that was quiet for a few moments before she sighed again. "Fine... besides, how should you be responsible for Yuri's cold? Had one yourself and gave her a smooch? Or..."

At this point, she simply hung up and shook her head. Just when did this girl start to become this suggestive?

. . .

Slowly, the redhead put the phone back to where it stood before and returned to the bedroom where the Witch currently was.

Really, this situation was strange. Not only did Yuri almost collapse as they walked through the mall, a quick check showed her that the girl's forehead was burning hot. Just how did she manage to both not notice stay on her feet up to this point?

Must be the determination...

And this was something that this being had a lot of, Kyoko knew that.

When she returned to her temporary charge, she had to suppress another sigh. The Witch had told her not to call Homura, although that was Kyoko's first idea. Apparently, dating certain pinkettes was more important than Yuri's health.

Damn stubborn idiot...

And now it was time to kill Yuri's mood even more.

"Bad news, sunshine."

She slumped down next to the bed with those words and took another bite out of the burger she had been eating before the phone demanded attention. In front of her, the blanket shifted slightly as a head was turned her way and darkened purple eyes demanded her to continue, although the slightly intimidating effect was nullified by a piece of cloth to fall in front of her face from her forehead. Kyoko smirked and leaned back. She did what she could for her, even though Mami was right about her not knowing how to nurse someone. On the other hend, there was no way she would go all mother hen over anyone, even if it was someone she could respect such as Yuri... or Lilly, she remembered. the names sounded alike, so that might be why the Witch chose this one as her alias.

However, back to the topic at hand.

"Mami's just called. She's coming over and from the tone she had, there's no stopping her."

A muffled groan could be heard from under the cloth before it was pushed away and landed on the floor. The human-shaped Witch sat up slowly and blinked a few times, her cheeks a bit redder than usual -or maybe it was just visible because she was so pale- and... rolled out of bed.

Not stood up, not slide to the corner, no. She simply fell back down and rolled over until she fell to the ground with a rather ugly noise. The action also startled the redhead for a moment. "What the... the hell are you doing?"

"What does it... look like?", the annoyed reply was spat back immediately, although interrupted by a cough.

Well, they at least knew that even Witches could get sick. On the other hand, it was spreading rather fast... or did she catch it earlier already?

With another groan, the raven-haired girl lifted herself up until she sat on her legs and took a few deep breaths, all the while interrupted by more coughing.

Somehow, the redhead even pitied her a bit for the condition she was in right now. From what she saw of Lilly before, that Witch had quite some pride. To be reduced to something like this must be a major blow to her self-confidence.

Her thoughts were interrupted the moment she noticed that her temporary charge was no longer in front of but walking around her. "Oi! Where're you going?!"

"Kitchen. Water."

After telling her this, Yuri stopped for a moment and looked down, then sighed and continued. "Need to clean myself, too."

Yes, Kyoko noticed that one as well; Lilly's pyjamas were soaked with sweat and apparently, she did not feel well with that herself, either. However, the Magical Girl doubted that she could do that herself while being sick.

On the other hand, there was no one else around that would do it. There was a certain line to how familiar she acted with that girl she still only knew for less than two weeks. Something like that was for family, old friends and lovers. And neither of those applied to her.

This did not stop her to follow the Witch into the kitchen, though. She walked around with a glass she just got out of the cupboard and went for the sink, simply filling it and downing the liquid in one go. Well, someone who was sweating like that must be really thirsty, too.

Once she was done drinking, Lilly put the glass down and sighed heavily before mumbling something and heading back to the bedroom, right past Kyoko. "Tired... wanna sleep..."

And with that, she was back into the slightly warmer room, simply slumping down on her bed and rolling around until she was at least partly under her blanket again. The procedure in itself made the redhead snicker as it looked ridiculous and the glare she was given did nothing to stop her. However, she did so on her own accord a bit later while sitting down next to the bed just like before. "What was that about cleaning yourself? Can't stand up anymore?"

It was meant as a tease, but the other girl did not take the bait... however, she started to move around under her blanket, all the while fixing it in place so that it covered more and more of her body.

"You should really think about what you say, Sakura Kyoko", a low voice told her with something like a growl, but the latter could also be because of a sore throat.

The redhead had been looking for what to eat next, so she was not actually paying attention when something wet flew right into her face.

"What the...?!"

"There is a very easy way to accomplish that."

Once she got it off of her and looked at it... she realised that this was Yuri's top. And once she realised that, the trousers hit her face and she could hear a devious chuckle while her cheeks became red.

"Did you just strip?!"

She was used to a lot, but this was a definite first even for her. Just what was this girl thinking? It was embarassing to be naked around others!

Quickly, Kyoko threw the discarded clothes aside as to not have to touch them anymore. Neither was she comfortable doing that, nor was it pleasant to touch the soaked fabric. Then she exchanged a glance with the raven-haired girl that was looking at her from beneath her blanket, a bare foot peeking out from the other side. "You... just what the hell's wrong with you?"

The response was as simple as it was smug: "I'm a Witch."

It had the redhead sighing and turning away. "Whatever."

Slowly, she calmed down again and decided to leave the room. "Tell me when you're decent, then I think about coming back in here."

No reply but she did not expect one, either. Just what was Yuri thinking and why...

Unfortunately, the doorbell reminded her of another problem she completely forgot about for the last few minutes. Crap, Mami.

She doubted that the sick Witch was in any condition to fight or even flee, so right now she was at the blonde's mercy when she was found out. Kyoko could guess how that would end. However, not opening the door was not an option lest the other Magical Girl could either open it with magic or blast it apart if she wanted.

The only thing the redhead could do right now was to walk over there with a heavy sigh and open up a bit to look out, confirming that it was indeed the blond girl standing there. Then she closed the door again before she got a word out, undid the chain and let her in. "You're fast."

"I... guess so. Good afternoon, Sakura-san."

"Yo."

Once Mami was inside, the door was closed and Kyoko took a step aside to give her some space. Better be careful about what to do or she might provoke an argument. And right now, this was the least thing she needed, having a fallout with one of the most powerful Magical Girls she knew in the home of another powerful one while said girl's sick Witch was one room away from them.

Besides, there was nothing to gain from teasing the blonde, so she did not even bother.

"So... um... where is Yuri-san?"

That had her sigh again and point at the door to the bedroom. "Over there, but you should prepare yourself first. That girl's nuts... or hallucinating."

Surprisingly, that got a concerned frown out of the other veteran before she sent her an inquisitive stare. "Could you elaborate, Sakura-san?"

Of course she wanted to know more. Kyoko slumped down o the couch in the adjacent living room while a yellow gaze followed her. "I left when she stopped wearing her pyjamas, y'know?"

The implication of what that meant -that Yuri was naked in there- hit home and Mami blushed while the redhead simply smirked at her embarassment. "I think I understand what you mean, then. Nonetheless, I should check up on her."

"Suit yourself, I'm out here."

As she said that, she put a candy bar out of her pocket and started to reduce it to nothing.

. . .

She is naked in there...

The thought was banned from her mind the moment it appeared and Mami took a deep breath, looking back at Kyoko who paid her no mind. The other girl seemed to be content where she was. But on the other hand, a sick person should not be left alone, not even with such strange behaviour on their part.

Therefore, she knocked getnly and opened the door a little bit. "Yuri-san? It is me, Mami. Are you decent?"

The response... both had relief and dread fill her: "Come in."

Her voice was raspy and she really sounded as if she was sick... although she did not respond to the question the blonde asked her which made her feel somewhat awkwardly as she pondered what to do now.

In the end, Mami stood in front of the door for another full twenty seconds before she made up her mind, took a deep breath and pushed it open.

The sight that greeted her was... not surprising at all; she saw a bed on the opposite side of the room and very sparse other furniture. There was a desk as well but it was devoid of materials except for a few magazines. However, the blonde's gaze was almost immediately fixated on the head that was looking at her from under a big blanket, purple eyes somewhat dull, hair unkempt and skin even more pale than usual.

Oh my...

This was a bit worse than she had expected, to be honest. Was her fever really this high?

Once the other girl saw her closing in, she blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes for a reason unknown to her. However, she did not seem actually happy to see her... but not unhappy, either. That was... if she blamed Yuri's groaning onto the sickness.

"Goodness, I am really sorry..."

She took a seat right next to the bed, bowing her head in an apologeptic manner. This was definitely because of her, it had to be. Just why was she such a crybaby that she needed attention in the midst of night? Now even one of those very few people that actually cared about her had become sick because of her selfishness...

However, the younger girl did not answer, prompting Mami to look up and see her with her eyes closed and breathing a bit less heavy than just before.

Did she fall asleep just like that?

Then... would now be a good chance? Even when she was worried, Mami did not forget just what her reason to come here in the first place was. It did not even mean that much, just a simple touch of her Soul Gem to get the reassurance she needed right now. Even when this girl... no, she definitely could not be a Witch. Never before had she seen any of these creatures in human form and even if this was a precedent... she just did not want to believe it.

But the doubts kept lingering in her mind and she wanted to get rid of them.

That was why Mami slowly got to her feet again and walked over to the head of the bed with as few noises as possible lest she woke up the sick girl. There was no need for Yuri to get worked up over something like this.

Just a moment longer and...

As she took her Soul Gem from her finger and started to reach out for the pale forehead however, Yuri opened her eyes and turned her head slightly, her gaze piercing Mami's own. So she had not been asleep after all... the blonde had been found out.

The surprise paralysed her arms for a while, they did not move at all and simply kept hovering in the air half the way towards the younger girl's face. However, her gaze changed from somewhat... angry, maybe... until it became more and more akin to a deer in headlights. But... why did it? Why was she afraid of her all of a... no...

This can not be...

There had to be another explanation than that. Maybe she was hallucinating? Or maybe this was something her body did on her own, seeing that at least her voice was steady when she spoke: "What are you doing?"

"Um..."

The arm retreated quickly and Mami raised her hands in a pleading motion. "Please let me explain, it is not..."

She stopped herself as she processed what exactly Yuri said. No accusation, nothing... just a simple question. Her plea to be heard out was completely unnecessary because this girl would listen to her anyway, so she took a deep breath and calmed down before continuing: "Kyubey... he told me that you... that you..."

But before she managed to get it out, another groan had her stop and return her gaze towards the sick girl that was sitting up and held the blanket to her body... however, Mami noticed the week grip and could also see her back... clad in a purple top. So the girl got dressed again after Kyoko left her side... but nonetheless, it was definiteley no good for her to sit up at this point. "Y-Yuri-san... you should lay down, everything is fine."

"Pff."

The dismissive snort somewhat surprised her as the younger girl fell back down and sighed shortly after, her eyes never leaving Mami's figure. Somehow, this gaze scared her as she could not read it, not at all.

"Kyubey told you... that I'm a Witch?"

The question had her freeze and stare down at the girl with wide eyes. "Y...Yes. How do you..."

"How I know? Because I'm not stupid..."

She stopped to cough a few times while the blonde looked down on her. So weak, so helpless... but even now, she seemed to have control... or was that just her imagination?

However, she just needed to know now, especially when Yuri's behaviour increased her doubts. So she got a hold of her hand, passed the whole distance this time and had her Soul Gem connect to Yuri's forehead. At about the same time, the latter recovered and finished her statement: "To believe that I could fool the rat for much longer."

Mami's mind went blank as she saw and felt. Felt the curse coursing through this girl's body, pulsing within. Her Soul Gem emanated bright, yellow light but she also noticed that it darkened a bit.

No... it can not...

Eldritch power beyond that of any human was within this girl. This girl that had been so kind to her... that cared for her... just... why?

Why was she a Witch? Why was Kyubey right?!

Mami never questioned his judgement before, but this was the very first time... that she had actually hoped for him to be wrong. But he was not.

"Now that you know, what will you do?"

At the question, she slowly lowered her gaze at Yuri. The other girl... no, the Witch had her eyes closed and waited for her response, not moving or doing anything. Yes, what did she want to do?

Her first thought was the most simple: Kill the Witch.

Everything she did so far must have been to manipulate her in some way for whatever reason. She did not care for that as anger about her trust being exploited filled her mind. Slowly, the Soul Gem disconnected and stopped glowing, her hand retreated and she got to her feet. Then Mami took a few steps back and transformed in a flash of light, pointing one of her flintlock rifles at the abyssal creature's head.

No words were spoken but strangely, Yuri made no attempt to defend herself. It was a bit odd and that was why the blonde hesitated to pull the trigger. What was she planning?

A heavy sigh had her eyes narrow and her hands become more stiff, but the Witch simply lifted herself off of the bed, the blanket falling to the side and revealing her slender figure clad in pyjamas. This time however, Mami did not pay attention to it and continued to aim.

"Before I kill you", she found her voice to say the words, "I want to know. Why did you do all of this? What is your plan?"

This was the very first time that she had one of those beings in front of her that could actually answer to her questions. It might be a chance she would never get again, so she needed to ask. Maybe this would give her some insight in what Witches actually were... and some time to get over her reluctance to shoot.

However, the being in front of her did not even seem impressed by the weapon or her angry tone. She slowly got out of bed, thereby losing the rest of her blanket. Now the Witch stood and walked over to her dresser. "Before I answer to your questions, I want to get dressed properly."

This particular demand had the anger overflow. Fooling her, playing with her heart and then being cocky? There were limits to how much Mami would take and she would teach this Witch to test them, so she quickly dispersed a set of ribbons around her and locked her half a meter over the floor. But even that did not impress her in the slightest, not that and neither her reinforcing her order: "Answer me now!"

. . .

Her thoughts were racing but at the same time flooding with fear. She wanted to thrash out, scream, run away... but none of those was possible. Fire was useless, her telekinesis still not ready for combat... and on top of all that, she had a terrible headache.

With the storm of fear raging within her soul and the sickness confusing her even more, she could not even properly open the bond to cry out to Homura... she was alone and helpless. Nowhere to run, not able to run...

Even with the tremendous amount of willpower she inherited from her 'sister', the only thing she could do not to just scream and cry was keeping her body limp.

She did not kill me yet. There is a chance.

There. Is. .

The thought raced through her mind time and time again, becoming louder in her own mental voice. Slowly it drowned out even the fear to the point that she could raise her head and start to look in the blonde's direction. What was Mami seeing in her eyes right now, she might have wondered if she had some small portion of her conciousness left that was not needed to control herself. Like this, she simply stared for a few more seconds. But... there was something else, something in the corner of her eyes. She did not look into the exact direction but made out a glimpse of red by the door... that was in her captor's back.

Help... Kyoko will help. Have to... distract.

Coherent thoughts were still a no-go, apparently. However, she at least managed to understand what she actually wanted to do over the voices screaming at her to just kill, to beg, to do anything at all.

No, she would not beg. Never. Mortal World's Witch would not bow to anyone. Not even for dear life.

. . .

She started to look at her... but the Witch's eyes were dark and dull, the meaning within them escaping her understanding. Her secret was revealed so she might just show her true self.

"I'm waiting."

At her words, the eldritch creature flinched and blinked a few times before actually focussing her gaze on Mami, who was a bit confused by the reaction. Just what was going on in Yuri's head?

"What do you want to hear, then?"

Her voice was low and raspy as she continued to stare her in the eyes... no, she did not. Her gaze was slightly off, directed at the blonde's forehead instead. She took note of that and raised her rifle a bit higher, right at the Witch's head. "How about the truth for a change?"

Now there was a slight change in Yuri's behaviour, a small, angry frown found its way onto her face and remained there, her hands were clenched to fists around the ribbons that held her firmly in place. However, the Witch kept calm. "I highly doubt..."

A coughing fit interrupted her, the spasms of her body involuntarily tightening the grip of the ribbons around the slender figure to the point that she winced at the strain that was put on her body. Somehow, this was a pitiful sight even to her who knew what this thing actually was. With that in mind, she had the ribbons loosen up a small bit, allowing the being of curses to breath more freely. Her action brought her a surprised stare, but the Witch did not comment on it and neither did she want her to.

"That you would believe the truth, I wanted to say. As it stands... I might be wrong."

A long-stretched sigh escaped Yuri as she returned her expression to stoic. Up until now, there was not much difference to her regular behaviour, the strange tone most likely originating from her sickness. However... she was really different to how she behaved when they met for the first time. Now that she thought about it, there were situations where Akemi Yuri acted strange over trivial matters before... had that been her mask cracking in the beginning?

But on the other hand... why the sudden change in her beliefs?

"What would make you reconsider all of a sudden?"

The answer to that came slowly, but it had her eyes widen nonetheless: "You... have changed. My words reached and changed you. Had I revealed myself to you two weeks ago, you'd have just shot me, no questions asked. But right now, I'm still alive. Not just that, you even displayed leniency in face of my current condition. Maybe you changed enough to take the truth, for that was my goal; to strengthen your understanding, your ability to question what's around you..."

In that very moment, someone grabbed her from behind, arms sliding around her own and pulling them upwards while another body pressed into her back. There was so much force that even her rather strong body could not stand against it for more than a split-second. She was trapped in this grip with only her legs free to move. But there was only one person that could...

"Wha... Sakura-san?! What are you doing?!"

Thrashing out was hopeless but she tried it anyway. Wiggled around in these far too strong arms and winced as Kyoko pulled her arms even further, almost making her joints snap. "Stop it! That girl is a Witch, we have to..."

"I know."

Huh?

She... knew? Knew that this person in front of them was a Witch?

"But why?! Why are you helping her?!"

Her voice became louder and tears trickled down her cheeks as the blonde mustered up all of her strength to break free... but to no avail. The other veteran merely grunted and kept her in this tight grasp without that much of an effort. All the while, the Witch in front of them was watching with a blank expression while still bound up.

Her attempts to free herself tired her out and after struggling some more, the Magical Girl stopped and slumped back, returning the stare from those purple eyes as wetness flooded down her face. She just could not stop to cry for even when she decided to try and make up with the pragmatic redhead behind her, this girl was once again betraying her...

"Oi, how long d'you want to hang up there?"

The sudden call barely surprised Mami as she pondered what to do. Yes, she could just strangle Yuri as she was still covered in ribbons... but in that case, Kyoko might just kill her.

The Witch on her part sighed and... started to cry. No, not exactly. Tears flew down her face but she did not sob or anything like that. A slight nod was sent at the girl behind her before a raspy voice replied: "I will not forget what you did for me today... thank you."

Did this mean that those tears were... out of relief? So she had been afraid? But why did she not say anything at all?

Before Mami could find an answer to those questions, the being in front of her took a deep breath, held it for a moment and let loose a gust of purple flames upon exhaling, covering the ribbons her face was directed at.

She could feel it again... now it became clear that this was indeed a Witch. Her Soul Gem started to shine once more as her ribbons caught fire and were consumed in a matter of seconds. Strangely though, nothing else was damaged from the flames.

So this is it... I will die now... I trusted you...

More tears came as her face contorted into a broken expression. There was nothing she could do anymore, no way to free herself. She had been tricked since the very beginning.

The captor had become the captive...

As the Witch hit the ground with her feet, the last remains of her ribbons fell to the ground around her, still lit in purple and ceasing to exist even before they reached the floor. The strange lighting covered her body in shadows as she remained standing where she landed, warily eyed by the blonde. Why did she not just finish her off?

Then their gazes met again, yellow so full with disappointment and purple filled with ice.

"Now", Yuri declared as she rubbed her wrists, "we will have a real talk."