Puella Magi American Sensei
05
"And with that, today's lesson is over. Please read the next chapter by tomorrow, there will be a quiz, you've been warned! Enjoy the rest of your day, if you can with that hanging over your heads. Mwa ha ha."
Madoka watched as their English sensei left the class with faux malicious laughter trailing after him. A smile pulled at her lips as she watched him go. He's having a lot of fun teaching the class. Even if he does enjoy bullying us, that meanie!
Not that sensei was actually bullying them. He just liked to mess with them. Madoka thought it was nice to have a teacher that tried to make lessons fun. Much better than rote memorization.
He was nice. Friendly. Something about him just made her want to trust him. That was why she decided to see him at lunch time, to talk about things. Maybe he can help explain these weird dreams I've been having.
She called the class to attention as the next sensei came in and sat back down, beginning to take notes on the lesson. Idly, her mind wandered to her missing classmate. I wonder why Homura-chan is out. I hope she's not sick! I'll take her assignments to her after school.
Soon enough, lunch time came and Madoka picked up her bento and left her desk. "We eating outside today?" Sayaka asked as she moved to join her.
Turning to Sayaka, she gave her friend a smile. "Sorry! I need to go see White-sensei about some things."
"It's fine, it's fine! Want me to come with?"
"Ahh, no. It's, it's private. Sorry!"
"Oh ho~! Someone has a crush~!"
"N-no! That is, I don't, arg!" Madoka fled, leaving a laughing Sayaka behind as her cheeks flamed red.
Okay, so maybe it's a little crush! But that's normal, right?! It's fine!
Madoka made her way to the teachers' office and looked around, spotting her teacher sitting nearest the door, chatting with her homeroom teacher, Ms. Saotome. Knocking on the door frame drew their attention to her. "I don't mean to interrupt, but… can I talk to White-sensei?"
Her two teachers looked at teach other before Ms. Saotome shrugged. "That's fine, Madoka-chan. I'll… catch up with you later, John?"
"Sounds great." As soon as her homeroom teacher left, he gestured towards the chair she had abandoned. "Have a seat. What's up, Madoka-chan?"
Ee! Sensei called me -chan!
Containing her happiness, she sat down across from him with a smile. Seeing his bento open, she went ahead and opened her own. "Well, you said we could talk to you about anything, right sensei? Even if it's not related to school?" She asked, before popping a piece of fried chicken in her mouth. "Mm."
"I did. Is something the matter?"
"Umm… I wouldn't say anything is wrong, really. Just strange." When he made a 'go on' gesture because his mouth was full, she continued. "I've been having these weird dreams recently…"
Sensei paused briefly. For just a moment, he looked super serious, before relaxing again and offering her a smile. Swallowing and washing his bite down, he asked, "What sorts of dreams?"
"Well… we're there. And Homura-chan." Sensei frowned at that and she hurried to continue. "And everything is weird. The buildings are floating and turning at crazy angles. There's some huge thing off in the distance, and Homura-chan is fighting against it. And then she falls and you say something, I do something, then I wake up. And there's… some kind of weird stuffed animal thing there, but it's alive?"
Sensei sighed at that. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he tossed it in the trash and sipped at his drink. Finally, he set down the cup. "That sounds kind of scary. It can't be easy, having nightmares every night. How do you feel?"
"Like… Homura-chan is in trouble and needs my help. She's so quiet and doesn't talk to anyone but me, and only when I approach her first. She eats lunch alone. I don't think she has any friends, sensei. What should I do?"
Sensei chuckled at that. "Of course your first worry would be for her and not yourself. We'll get to Homura in a minute. I asked how you feel, Madoka. Not how you feel about Homura. Are you tired? Sad? Angry?"
Madoka hummed as she chewed a mouthful of food. After a moment, she swallowed and admitted, "A little tired. Kind of sad, when I first wake up. I'm kind of starting to dread going to bed. And sometimes…" she paused, before shaking her head. "No, never mind."
"Come on, just tell me. I'm not going I judge you for whatever it is. Whatever you tell me will stay between us."
Madoka bit her lip before nodding. "Sometimes, I think I wake up in the middle of the night and see the weird stuffed animal thing staring at me from outside my window. Then, Homura-chan comes and takes it away. Or… sometimes, it's Homura-chan staring through my window."
Sensei's lips curved up into a teasing smile. "So you think Homura has a crush on you and she's secretly watching you through your bedroom windows?"
"You, you said you wouldn't laugh!"
"No I didn't. I said I wouldn't judge. Huge difference." Reaching out, he patted Madoka on her bare thigh, just above her knee. There was nothing untoward about it, just a friendly pat, and yet… Madoka could feel a ghostly imprint of where his hand had been, large and warm on her skin. It's made her heart go all doki-doki and her tummy flip-flop, and… she felt very warm and a bit wet, down there.
Touch me more, sensei!
"Well, tell you what. Homura is out for today. Why don't you gather up the stuff she needs to do today's work and take it to her? I need to speak with her anyway for a home visit, so if you want, I could take you. We can tell her about your dreams and I'll help you make friends with her. How's that sound?"
Madoka considered it for just a moment before nodding. "Mm! Where should I meet you, sensei?"
"Come find me here."
"Right! I'll see you then!"
With that, Madoka collected her bento and left. She spent the rest of the day distracted, her knee bouncing in nervous, excited energy at the thought of going with sensei to see Homura.
It's almost like a date!
"Hey, what's up with you? You're acting weird," Sayaka asked quietly, during their last period.
"It's nothing! I just need to see sensei after school."
Sayaka frowned at that. "…Should I go with you?"
"Hm? No thanks, Sayaka-chan. It's fine. I'm going to go take Homura-chan her classwork and copies of my notes for today and Sensei is supposed to do a home visit anyway, so he said he'd take me."
The bluenette considered her for several moments before slowly nodding. "Alright. Tell me what happens tomorrow."
"Alright," Madoka nodded, then quickly went silent as their sensei for the last period turned around and shot them a stern look.
Finally, finally, after what felt like forever, the tone signaling the end of school for the day rang. Madoka was out of her seat and out the door as fast as her legs could carry her. She rushed, but didn't run, through the halls and down to the teachers' shared office. Opening the door, she found it was empty. So, she dropped into White-sensei's chair and waited. Patiently. With her leg bouncing up and down the entire time. Then she remembered she needed to copy her notes, so she quickly borrowed the copier, ran off copies of everything, then returned to her seat.
Eventually, she heard her sensei approach, along with her homeroom teacher. They stopped as they found Madoka waiting for them. "Oh right. Kazuko-chan, I've got that home visit to do for Akemi-san today. Madoka-chan here wanted to go deliver her friend's homework. Wanna come with? It's a nice day. I can let the top down…"
Saotome Kazuko sighed forlornly. "I really, really wish I could. That sounds great, and I really want to ride in a convertible… It'd be nice to be able to take a trip to the sea like that. But no. Sadly, I have papers to grade. I don't see how you do it, John."
"Magic," the man grinned, wagging his eyebrows. "Unlimited Paper Works."
The woman snorted softly, before rolling her eyes. "Uh huh. Maybe I should get you to do mine, too." She sighed again and shook her head. "Don't let me keep you."
"Alright. See you tomorrow," he said, before turning his eyes to Madoka. "You ready?"
"Mm!"
"Let's go."
Madoka followed her English sensei down the stairs and around to the employee parking lot. Her eyes went wide at the sight of a convertible car in glossy black. It looked old, but Madoka didn't know anything about cars—beyond that the lettering on it was in English and the steering wheel was on the wrong side.
Her sensei climbed in and Madoka hurried to follow, putting her bag in the back seat. When sensei started the car, Madoka gasped quietly. Something about the sound of the engine, the way it rumbled, the vibration through the car settled in her belly and made it do flips, left her feeling hot and tingly. Thankfully, sensei didn't notice as he turned on the old fashioned knob and button radio, tuned to a station playing J-pop older than her, and pulled out onto the highway. And then, Madoka's entire world reduced down to the wind through her hair and over her body, and the feel of the rumbling engine as he drove them through traffic. Every time he accelerated and the engine revved, Madoka had to bite back the embarrassing sounds that threatened to escape her mouth.
By the time he finally pulled to a stop and put the car in park, Madoka felt like she should have swirly eyes. Her panties were soaked through and she was worried she had left a mess on the leather seat, but thankfully, that wasn't the case when they got out and she discretely checked. Picking up her bag, she followed sensei up to the home. It was a brick building situated on a corner, with a big, sturdy-looking wooden door under an archway.
White-sensei pressed the bell and the familiar pin-pon! sound echoed faintly from inside. A moment later, the door opened, revealing Akemi Homura wearing a frilly black dress.
She looks… so fancy! Mature.
But for just a moment, as sensei looked upon her wearing that dress, he looked… worried. It cleared an instant later and he smiled. "Good afternoon, Akemi-san. Can we come in?"
"Of course, sensei," she nodded and held the door open for them.
Madoka stepped forward when sensei put his hand in the middle of her back and gently pushed, urging her inside. For a moment, her skin tingled and something felt strange… and then, she was inside, the door closing and Homura-chan bolting it behind them. Madoka made to take off her shoes, but Homura waved her off. "There's no need for that," she assured, then turned and walked down a short hall, her low heels clacking on the black and white marble floor as she went. "Please, follow me sensei, Madoka."
"…Homura-chan?" Madoka asked in confusion, but followed along behind Homura and sensei. As she walked, something else felt strange. Like she was walking an oddly long time… It took her a moment, but she recalled the size of the building from outside. Unless Homura-chan's home takes up the entire block, then… it's almost like it's bigger on the inside?
After a short, but longer than expected, walk they were led to a room. Madoka blinked as she looked around, finding it to be a mostly empty white space of a room. On the floor, couches, lounge chairs, and foot stools were arranged around a table all in the shape of a clock. Above them hung suspended a large clock mechanism, and the shadow of a large clock pendulum swung back and forth in time on every wall, ticking away audibly.
Sitting on one of the couches was a blonde girl wearing the same uniform as Madoka—she thought she recognized the girl as a third year. She smiled, setting her tea cup down before standing and moving over to greet them. "Hello, sensei!" she beamed, then hugged the man. Madoka's eyes went a bit wide when the girl immediately turned and hugged her next, pulling Madoka's face nearly into her large chest. "It's nice to meet you, Madoka-chan! I'm Tomoe Mami, your senpai. I'm a third year in our school."
"O-oh. Kaname Madoka, nice to meet you," Madoka quickly regained her footing, shaking her head. Pulling her backpack off, she opened it up and began digging out the printouts. "I brought youe homework, the work for the day, and the notes Homura-chan."
"Thank you. You can leave them on the table," Homura said, before taking a seat. "Would… would you like some tea?"
"Um!" Madoka nodded, beaming a smile at the other girl. She noticed that the table held a tea setting—a pot, four cups, several plates and forks, and a small cake. "Did you make this?"
"I did," Mami, giggled, taking up a knife and starting to cut the cake into slices. Madoka drooled as the scent of warm chocolate reached her nose. "Would you like a piece?"
"Yes, please!"
Sensei sat down beside Mami, leaving the space beside Homura open. Accepting a plate and a cup of tea, he gestured to the spot beside Homura. "Why don't you sit down?"
Seeing all the serious looks on everyone's faces, Madoka set her bag down nervously and took a seat beside Homura. "What's going on? Why do you all look like you're about to say something bad?"
Sensei looked to Homura, who bit her lip and looked away. Nodding, he reached out and patted Mami on her bare thigh, causing the girl to smile and nod at the silent communication. "Madoka-chan, you don't need to be afraid. It's nothing bad, per se. Just serious. What we're about to tell you can't leave this room. You have to promise not to tell anyone. Not your parents, not your brother, not your friends or anyone at school. Not even Miki-san. Okay? Can you promise me that?"
"I, I don't know? What if it's something I should tell—"
"Madoka," sensei interrupted her, gently. Looking at her as he set his tea cup down, he said, "It's something you shouldn't tell anyone who doesn't know. We'll explain why, but you have to promise."
Biting her bottom lip, Madoka looked at Homura, who simply nodded—a look of silent pleading on her face. "Alright. I promise, sensei."
"Thank you," he said, before picking up his plate and cutting off a piece of cake with his fork.
Mami continued, setting her plate down and standing up. Holding out her hands, there was a flash of light and a yellow and gold egg shaped jewel just appeared there. And then, as if that weren't enough, a moment later Mami's clothes flashed with the same golden light and were replaced by a strange (but cute!) new outfit. Madoka stared for just a moment, before asking, "Whaaaa—?!"
Okay, so it wasn't the most articulate question in the world. And she was super embarrassed when sensei laughed at her, that jerk! Even Homura hid a smile behind her teacup. Don't think I didn't see you, Homura-chan!
"How did you do that?!" Madoka yelled, jumping out of her seat and hurrying over to inspect Mami's new outfit. "It's so cute!"
"Hehe! But wait, there's more~" Mami giggled, before turning to Homura as Madoka pulled this way and that at her outfit, feeling the material and inspecting individual pieces. "Homura-chan, why don't you show her yours?"
"Eh?! Homura-chan can change too?!"
Homura sent Madoka a smile. Standing up, she twirled, sending her black dress fluttering. Before she was halfway through her twirl, purple light flashed over her body and the dress was replaced by a black, gray, and purple outfit.
"Ee! So cute!" Madoka quickly dropped Mami's skirt from between her fingers and rushed over to fawn over Homura, who blushed under the attention. "And it looks so… mature!"
"Doesn't it, though?" Mami asked with a chuckle.
"So, what is it? How did you do it? What was that egg thing?"
Homura held out her hand and summoned her own egg-shaped jewel thing—this one having a purple jewel in the middle. "It's called a soul gem. This is me."
Madoka stared at the soul gem as Homura took her hands and placed it into them. "This is yours? It's pretty~"
"No," Homura shook her head. "It is me. The name 'soul gem' is quite literal. This is my soul."
"Weh?!" Madoka startled, fumbling the soul gem, which slipped from her fingers and fell to the stone floor below…
Madoka didn't even see Homura move. One second the soul gem was falling, looking to shatter on the floor, the next, it was in her hand and she was in a slightly different position. "Don't worry, they won't break that easily. But… please don't drop me."
"Eep! I'm sorry, Homura-chan! I didn't mean to drop you, I was just so surprised—!"
"Shh, shh. It's okay," Mami assured the younger girl, laying her hands on Madoka's shoulders and pulling her into a hug from behind. "No harm done."
Madoka almost swallowed her tongue when Homura tossed her soul gem to sensei, who nearly fumbled his tea catching it. "Warn me next time you do that," he grumbled.
"I trust you," Homura shrugged as she sat back down on the couch.
Or, should she say that her body sat down? But if her soul was being held by sensei, how was Homura's body moving? Madoka was confused.
"Come now, sit down," Mami eased Madoka down directly beside Homura, their thighs touching. Madoka noticed that Homura felt very warm against her bare skin. Then, Mami sat on her other side, and Madoka found herself sandwiched between them.
"As for how we did it, the answer may sound silly, but it's true: magic!"
"Like, really real magic?"
"Really real," Mami nodded, her blonde curls bouncing as she did. "It can do all sorts of things. Every magical girl has an innate magical skill," Mami held up her hands and conjured a cat's cradle between them made of golden ribbon, "but she can also learn to use it for other things, even things seemingly unrelated to her original skill." With that, the ribbon disappeared and she summoned what looked like a musket, before letting that disappear as well.
"That's what we are, by the way. Magical girls," Mami supplied.
"How did you become a magical girl?" Madoka asked, excitement running through her. She wanted to be a magical girl too—
"Through tragedy," the blonde answered simply, and Madoka blinked, wondering if she had heard correctly. "My, my parents died in a car wreck, you see. I was badly hurt. A… creature came to me, then." On the walls around them, screens began to appear, showing images of a fuzzy white creature surg red markings, that looked kind of like a cat with things trailing out of its ears.
Madoka gasped as she recognized it, before turning to Homura and taking her appearance in in a new light. Homura looked just like she did in her dreams… or when she thought she was dreaming and seeing Homura outside her bedroom window.
Mami kept going, pulling Madoka's attention back to her. "This creature is called Kyubey, which is short for Incubator. They're aliens, basically. It asked me if I would like to make a wish and become a magical girl, so I agreed. It couldn't bring my parents back, unfortunately."
"I," Homura hesitated, "I was weak. It came to me when I was at my weakest. Not when I was sick, or when I was in the hospital with heart problems. But when… when I watched my friends die. It offered me a wish and I accepted."
"It's a recurring theme," Sensei said quietly, drawing Madoka's attention to him. "They prey on the vulnerable. The desperate. And always girls."
"But… but why?"
"Supposedly, it's to fight entropy. The heat death of the universe. They have an entire system built up to create magical girls out of young girls at their lowest, weakest, and most vulnerable moments. Then incubate these young girls like caterpillars, from the larval form that is a magical girl to the adult form of a witch—or at least what the Incubators believe is the adult form. I have theories but no proof that it can be done differently. Anyway. When a magical girl becomes a witch, the Incubators harvest the excess energy from the transformation. Yes, that's right, they're basically using humans as one part fuel source, one part livestock."
"…Sensei, is that really true?"
The man nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. As for why they're doing it that way, well, what you have to understand is that Incubators aren't human. They don't think like humans. They don't experience emotions like us. They're an alien hivemind, a shared consciousness. They're logical and pragmatic to a fault. They will use the most efficient means available, regardless of what it costs, so long as the benefit outweighs the cost. They have no regard for human lives, emotions, or suffering, beyond calculating in how much is needed to create a witch. They will lie in all the ways one can lie without directly doing so, and I'm not convinced they don't just lie outright."
Madoka looked back and forth between Homura and Mami. "That's terrible! How could they be so cruel?!"
"'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one,'" Homura quoted.
"They don't understand what cruelty feels like, Madoka-chan. So for them, there is no reason not to be cruel if it gets the job she done." Sensei sighed and shook his head. "And again, cruelty is useful to them."
"What… what is a witch?"
"The mature form of a magical girl," Homura answered simply.
Sensei added, "It's what happens when you fill up a magical girl with grief, hurt, pain, loneliness, and all the other negative emotions. Her gem goes dark, then breaks. Her mind, filled with nothing but bad thoughts, breaks and goes crazy. Her now 'corrupted' soul, filled with amplified negativity, escapes into the world, leaving her human body behind. That soul rebuilds a body that normal people can't usually see, what we call a witch.
"Witches feed on 'curses,' that is, more negativity—also human souls. So they make people miserable and then eat them to get more powerful. Magical girls then fight against the witch, grieve their losses, feel anger at being attacked. They burn through mana to destroy the new body, which causes their soul gem to start going dark, pushing them closer to becoming a witch.
"They use grief seeds, that is witch soul gems, to drain the darkness from their gems… but eventually, it always becomes a losing game. Because it's engineered to, intentionally. The Incubators want more witches, because more witches means more energy. Need more magical girls to combat those witches, who then eventually become witches themselves because a single grief seed doesn't drain enough negativity from their soul gems to keep a full team of magical girls working. And the cycle continues, as it has since… oh, about the Stone Age."
Madoka felt herself trembling, fighting back tears as her throat clenched painfully. "Why? Why tell me all of this? Does that mean Homura-chan and Mami-chan are found to become witches?!"
"Shh, it's okay," Mami pulled the smaller girl into a hug as Homura took her hand. "We aren't going to become witches."
"Why not?" Madoka whimpered.
"Sensei protects us from that," Homura answered, her gaze shifting to the man in question.
"As for why we told you… You need to know," Sensei sighed. "The Incubators can sense magical girl potential. You, Madoka, are the strongest magical girl candidate ever, in the history of magical girls. Basically, they can smell you from anywhere in the city just about, and they are desperate to get you to make a wish."
Madoka sniffed herself and sensei laughed. "I don't mean a literal smell. I'm sure you smell fine."
Madoka felt Mami sniff her and giggled, even if it was a little wet still. "Yep, she smells fine."
"Why would they want me to make a wish, sensei?"
"The strongest magical girl will become the strongest witch. They're betting that you'll give them a big jump on their energy collection."
"They're right," Homura murmured. "Every time Madoka becomes a witch, they gain all the energy they need."
"Eh? 'Every time?' But Homura-chan, I haven't even made a wish yet…"
"Homura's power, her innate magic, is time manipulation. I suspect there's more to it and it's more like 'time and space,' because of the way her shield stores things… but that's beside the point. She can time travel. Specifically, she's living a month long loop. She's seen this month happen countless times before. So she has had a long time to learn things about the Incubators, magical girls, witches, and more. She knows what they're after and why, and what will happen if they get it.
"Now, why you need to know. The Incubators will do everything in their power to make sure you make a wish, and then push you into becoming a witch. And I do mean everything. I suspect it's not a coincidence that so many powerful magical girls come from families where one or more parent has died, or they've suffered some other tragedy.
"We're telling you this because, while it may look pretty, exciting, and fun, it's not. You may be tempted to do it to help people, and for a while you might even do just that, but in the end you'll harm more people than you help if you become a witch. If you make a wish, if you become a witch, everyone dies. Period. Full stop. Everyone. Everyone in Mitakihara. Everyone in Japan. Everyone in the world. Dead."
Madoka closed her eyes as she sobbed. A moment later, she found herself in a three way hug with Mami and Homura. There was a sound from across the room and a moment later, she felt another presence. Looking through teary eyes, she saw sensei kneeling in front of her. Taking her hand in his, he looked intimate her eyes. "Madoka, you have to promise us. No matter what. No matter what happens, who gets hurt, or anything else, that you won't make a wish. It's not going to be easy, and it's going to hurt, but you can't do it, because there's almost no way to undo the hurt you would do when you became a witch."
Madoka let out a little hiccupping sob. "I, I promise."
I sighed as Homura came back to the car and slipped into the front seat. Starting the car, I pulled away from Madoka's house. We were a few blocks away when Mami spoke up from the back.
"Do you think she'll listen?"
""No.""
Homura and I looked at each other and briefly smiled. Then, the girl continued. "Madoka is too kindhearted and she's clever. If she thinks there's a way to prevent becoming a witch, she'll take it. Even if it means destroying her own soul gem, or… or having someone else do it."
Mami sucked in a quiet breath. "Oh."
And then the blonde was in the front seat with us and pushing Homura over, until Homura was basically in her lap. She hugged the dark haired girl tightly. "I'm sorry."
Homura was quiet for a moment, before muttering, "…This is better than what usually happens when you find out. You've killed most of the others countless times."
"I'm sorry. I won't hurt you this time."
Reaching out, I turned on the radio and set it to a classic American rock station, a rarity in Japan. I was quiet as I drove, giving the two some illusion of privacy as they talked quietly.
Eventually however, Homura reached out and turned the radio down. "I've discovered the identities of the other magical girls in Hohzuki. I believe I'm getting close to Hinata as well."
"You got a plan for dealing with her?"
"Yes. Three. If I can find her in the open, I can take or destroy her soul gem. If not, I believe I can lure her out. Failing that, I think I can force her to expose herself if her plan stops being viable."
"Alright. Use your best discretion, but be careful. Mami, any updates on Kyoko?"
The blonde shook her head. "No, sensei. But… I think the best way to approach her may be directly. I know where to find her. Should we go now?"
I considered that for a moment. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a red and gold soul gem. Mami and Homura both stared at it. Homura reached out and took it from me.
"This is Kyoko's…"
"You gave me a grief seed yesterday. I fell asleep with it in my hands. It felt almost empty of grief this morning and I felt it change in my pocket today after lunch. I kind of want to experiment with it to see what happens if I keep holding onto it. If it would be possible to reform a body if I'm constantly purifying it. In the other hand, I kind of want to give it to Kyoko and see what happens. Could be a hell of a show of proof that we're not full of shit, being handed your own soul gem."
"… I've never tried either of those, sensei," Homura admitted.
"I suggest speaking to Kyoko directly first. We need to get a move on the Pleiades, right? She could be our key to them."
Homura sighed and nodded. "She's right. We'll have to experiment later. Maybe in another loop."
I sent her a look. "What makes you think this isn't the last loop?"
Homura smiled. "I love your optimism, but you always say that, sensei. Whatever you're waiting on, it hasn't come yet."
Considering the girl for a moment, I nodded. "Do you want to save Madoka or destroy the Incubators' system? I can only do one."
"Save Madoka."
"Okay. Then we keep waiting."
Mami frowned and asked, "Sensei, why are those mutually exclusive? Why can't we both save Madoka and destroy the system?"
"Because of Madoka's wish," Homura supplied. "It's the only variable that makes sense. Madoka herself and what she wishes for."
"Yup."
"You know the wish that will break the system."
I nodded. "Yep. But if she makes it, it'll put Madoka further out of your reach than she is now. Right now, you have a chance of resolving it yourself. We have a plan. We gather a bunch of magical girls together and beat Walpurgis. If Madoka takes it into her own hands and makes the right wish, that's it. No more chances. You have to live with it. And it's Madoka, so she'll make her wish without even a second's consideration for herself. So. Save Madoka or sacrifice Madoka."
"Save her, sensei."
I nodded. "Then we keep to the plan. All else fails, I can have her make the right wish at the end."
"What is the wish?" Mami asked, and I shook my head.
"Sorry. I can't let that one go."
Mami sent me a smile, before reaching out and laying a hand atop mine on the gear shifter. "Okay, sensei."