"Today really didn't go too bad." Kirika mused to herself as she left the school building and began walking home. "The teachers weren't even that annoying!" She had been planning on skipping today, with how stressful the past couple of days had been for her, but for some reason, she had decided to go to school anyways. Sure, she got there an hour late this time, but it was the thought that counted, wasn't it? Maybe it was the sense of responsibility that Oriko was giving her that made her try to go? She stopped for a second, but then shook her head ever so slightly. It couldn't be. If it was a sense of responsibility, wouldn't she stop being such a lazy bum? Really, everything she had done in school the past couple of days was basically the bare minimum for being a useful member of society, and she was managing to fail even at that. But no. She shook her head to herself again, this time a bit harder. For some odd reason, the girl of her dreams thought that she was worthwhile, even after seeing what she was really like, at her absolute worst. Kirika didn't know everything that happened because of her in those visions of Oriko's, but what she did know of them painted a bad picture, and she could fill in the blanks of why she might make the wish that Oriko described. She nodded resolutely. Betraying that trust was the last thing she could do.
Kirika continued walking along, this time with a bit more pep in her step. She figured out what she had to do, and now the only thing she could try for was to actually do it. All around her were other students who had also finished with school for the day. If they could do well in school, then why couldn't she? She smiled. After a moment, though, she froze. Instead of the street she had been walking down, it was like she was in a giant's toy room. All around her were children's toys that looked like they came from someone who was completely and utterly deranged- massive blocks emblazoned with runes that were almost but not quite letters, dismembered body parts of what looked to be a teddy bear, giant crayons drawing colors that couldn't exist in the real world. Kirika let out a shiver. She thought the shadowy Witch's barrier was scary, but this one was way worse. At least in the other barrier, she didn't have to see the horrific violations of reality.
As she glanced around her, looking for a way that she could possibly get out, or at least hide from the familiars that would surely be coming soon, she heard a voice coming from around the corner. "-are we, Sayaka? How did we get lost so badly?" The voice said.
Kirika groaned internally, her panic momentarily forgotten. She was pretty sure that voice was someone in her class, although she couldn't recall their name. But she couldn't just do nothing while people without any knowledge of Witches were stuck here. She slowly crept around the corner, being sure to keep an eye out for any familiars wandering around, and sure enough, she saw two girls holding onto each other, one with pink hair and one with blue, both dressed in the same Mitakihara school uniform. "Psssst!" She hissed low at them, and at their sudden start, she waved them over. They looked a bit confused when they saw her, but nevertheless, they came over to her at her wave.
"Hey, you're that weirdo delinquent kid from our class, aren't you!?" The blue-haired girl burst out as they got closer. "W-where the hell are we?!" Her voice wavered, but she glared at Kirika as she spoke. The girl's pink-haired companion nudged her, frowning slightly, but she appeared to just shrug her off.
Kirika blinked. The hell was this girl's problem? "Hey," Kirika snapped back at the girl. "What the hell are you shouting at me for? You think I wanna be here right now? You're insane if you do."
"Yeah? W-well, what do you want me to do about it?! The blue-haired girl shouted. "Because I sure as hell have no idea about where we are! You know about it, so tell us what's going on, shrimp!"
Kirika bristled, about to shout something back, but then she saw something appear out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't be sure, since she hadn't seen that many, but it definitely looked like a Witch's familiar- a technicolor paper cutout shaped like a little girl, flying around in a paper airplane with the same rainbow palette. It didn't seem to be going towards them yet, but it was flying around the barrier aimlessly, and it would surely run into them sooner or later if they didn't get out of the way. "Shhh!" She said in a low voice, instead of shouting back. The blue-haired girl seemed to be about to say something back, but Kirika jabbed her thumb in the direction of the familiar, and her eyes widened. "D'you want that thing to kill you!? I haven't seen those kinda things murder anyone yet, and I promise you, I don't want to! So maybe shut the hell up!"
For a wonder, she actually did, and when Kirika motioned the pair to follow her, they did, going with her to hide behind one of the big blocks. The blue-haired girl still seemed furious, but this time, the pink-haired girl spoke up first. "Um…" She said tremulously. "You're… Kure-san, right? Could you please tell us what's going on out there?"
Huh. Someone in her class actually remembered her name? She blinked. "Uhh… well, it's kinda hard to explain, I only found out about most of this stuff a couple of days ago…" She said slowly. "But yeah, lemme try. Basically, we're in a Witch's barrier, which are basically like, uh…" Kirika frowned. Now that she thought about it, would they really take her seriously if she started going on about magical girls and whatnot? But no, wasn't the barrier proof enough of whatever weirdness she could come up with? She glanced around once more to make sure the familiar wasn't coming any closer. Luckily, it was still just continuing its wandering, occasionally stopping to look at some part of the barrier. "Well, Witches are basically like… fallen magical girls, I guess? I'm not really sure, I got most of the explanation from a magical girl I know- one of the people who are actually able to fight Witches- but I dunno all of it myself, and Kyubey, the little rat-thing who makes magical girls, is really confusing about it, and…" She trailed off as she realized that the two girls were just looking at her with confused expressions on their faces. She sighed. "Alright, look, it's basically like a magical girl show, but really really depressing. Sounds good?"
"You are not very skilled at explaining things, Kirika Kure." Kirika started, then relaxed as she saw that it was Kyubey, sneaking up on her from around a corner. "And I am not 'confusing'. In fact, I always answer all questions as asked. It is you humans who are the confusing ones." Its tail swished from side to side. The other two girls looked at the strange little creature in confusion.
"W-what are you?! The blue-haired girl was the first to break out of her bewilderment. "A-and who are you?! Are you one of those creepy Witch things!?" She took a moment to give Kirika a glare. "Not that I actually get what a Witch even is…"
"Why, my name is Kyubey! I empower the girls of this world to fight Witches through the power of a contract!" It said, somehow seeming excited while keeping its voice entirely monotone throughout. "All of you have the Potential to become magical girls, and in exchange for taking on the duty of fighting magical girls, I will grant you one wish of your choice!" It stared blankly at the pink-haired girl in particular for a second, its tail continuing to swish.
"Huh…" The blue-haired girl hummed thoughtfully. "So the delinquent over here was actually telling the truth? We're in a 'Witch's Barrier'?"
"B-but wait!" The pink-haired girl had been looking slightly nervous this whole time. "Um, Kure-san said that Witches are 'fallen magical girls'? What did she mean by that? Should I be worried?"
Kyubey tilted its head. "Calling Witches 'fallen magical girls' would not be entirely accurate. Rather, I would describe them as being the result of humanity's curses, the opposition to magical girls. The subconscious negative thoughts of humanity emerging into reality to wreak havoc upon the world." It paused. "It is not helpful to worry too much about the origin of Witches, however. I find that girls who get too involved in such things end up suffering from severe distress."
"Hey, that's not what you said last time!" Kirika said, finally finding an opportunity to voice her discomfort. "You agreed with Oriko when she told me where magical girls came from!"
"I did not 'agree' with her, Kirika Kure. I simply did not contradict her." The little creature stated, continuing to stare blankly. "And besides, Oriko Mikuni is working off of incomplete information. If she was here, I would tell her to look into things further before she makes such sweeping statements. Such actions can be quite problematic." It tilted its head again. "And besides, shouldn't you be more worried about that familiar over there at this moment?"
Kirika snapped back her head from looking at Kyubey, glancing around the block she was hiding behind. She immediately leapt back behind the block as soon as she saw the familiar again- instead of wandering around aimlessly, it was staring straight at the little group. "A-alright, so you're not wrong about something this once, you little hairball." She glanced around desperately. "So there's really no way out this time, huh… Dammit…" Her heart sank. "All that effort from Oriko, for nothing…" She muttered.
Meanwhile, the other two girls looked just as terrified as before, although the blue-haired one tried to hide it. "S-so, there's no way out of this then?" She stuttered.
"I'm sorry." Kyubey said, expression as blank as ever. "The only way for you to get out of this would be for you to make a wish and form a contract with me!"
Kirika stepped forward. "A-alright, I'll do it… so I could make any wish, you said?" At Kyubey's languid nod, she looked down, making glances at the familiar beginning to fly closer. "I wish for…" She took a deep breath, about to continue. "I wish that-"
"Please, stop!" Kirika's eyes widened in shock. Oriko entered the barrier seemingly out of nowhere, and landed right next to the group. She sent out her crystal balls, and with a few small blasts, the familiar was done for. "There is no need to make a wish yet. Let me handle this now, and then you can make an informed decision later." She met Kirika's eyes, and gave her a small smile, the faintest hint of red on her cheeks.
Kirika glanced away from Oriko, a small blush on her face. Honestly, she was sure that she would be able to face her again, but after that conversation they had last night… She wiped her cheek to hide her embarrassment, and then smiled back at Oriko. "Th-thanks, Oriko." She said. "I know you probably wouldn't have wanted me to contract, so uh…" She shut her mouth. "S-sorry, I need to learn how to shut up sometimes, yeah? I meant, I'm glad you're here."
"It's no problem." She smiled. "I hurried over as soon as I realized-" She suddenly froze, looking past Kirika. "Hello there, Homura Akemi." Kirika blinked, then turned around. Behind her was a black-haired girl, looking extremely out of place in the cheery insanity of the barrier. It took a second for Kirika to recognize her, but then she recalled- she was that girl who had looked out of place when she walked into class in the morning!
"Yes, that is me." Homura nodded. She continued staring hard at Oriko, in an almost Kyubey-esque way. "Shall we evacuate everyone, and then return to fight the Witch?"
"Hey! Transfer student! Don't pretend that I'm not here!" The blue-haired girl yelled out. "I didn't realize you were also involved in this creepy magical girl business. Is everyone involved in this creepy or some kinda delinquent or both?! Because it's sure looking like it!"
With great aplomb, Homura completely ignored the girl, continuing to stare at Oriko, whose face was taking on a decidedly pallid cast. "...Yes. That would make sense. It wouldn't do to leave them in the barrier, after all." Through the obvious nerves, a small smirk appeared on her face as she turned to Kirika. Suddenly, she scooped Kirika up, jumping through a small tear in the barrier as she lifted Kirika in a bridal carry. Once they were a couple of blocks away from the barrier, she placed her back down. Kirika flushed as Oriko's smirk widened at her, overtaking the nerves she seemed to have had before. "Forgive me." She said, a soft giggle erasing her lips. "That was uncouth, but it felt appropriate in the moment." Her smirk lessened, although it was still present. "If you would just wait here while I take care of the Witch with Akemi-san?" Kirika gave her the slightest nod, still out of it from being carried like that again. Oriko gave her a smile back, and walked back off towards the other girls, who had to walk, being that they didn't have their own magical girl taxi service.
As the rest of the group approached, the blue-haired girl raised an eyebrow. "You think maybe you wanna keep the public displays of affection down, Kure?"
"Oh, shut up."