Chapter 2: First Meeting

"This is it, Kyubey! It took us three days, but we've finally managed to track down this witch!" Mami Tomoe's Soul Gem was glowing so brightly, it shocked her that the normal people around her were unable to see it. "I'm surprised it's in such a public place," she thought, looking at the street festival that surrounded her. All of Mitakihara was excited for the opening of the concert hall, and on a sunny Saturday afternoon like this one, the townspeople weren't above exploiting the tourists that had come from all over the world for the same event.

"It's probably grown so desperate for human energy, it will risk anything. It's not unheard of," Kyubey remarked. "Or, more dangerously, it's grown so powerful it's become reckless." Mami could see him perched on top of a booth selling flavored rice balls. Maybe I'll get one once I wrap up this witch hunt. As she approached a bicycle shop that neighbored one of the city's many alleyways, her Soul Gem began to vibrate. It's definitely here.

Ducking behind the shop, she held out her Soul Gem and watched the entrance to the witch's labyrinth appear. The witch's symbol was a scarlet circle with rectangles on the top and bottom, and the entrance shone golden. Stepping through, she found herself inside a gruesome parody of the festival she had just left. Instead of laughter and the chatter of pedestrians, crying and screams of pain rang through the air. The dirt path she was standing on wove throughout the booths, which appeared to be manned by the tortured souls of people who had been absorbed into the labyrinth. Mami could just see the door that would take her to the witch at the end.

Transforming, she summoned a shield of rifles and began running down the path. Almost immediately, familiars who had taken the forms of grotesque festival-goers fell on her from all sides. She bound the smaller ones with her golden ribbons, while the larger ones were shot instantly. This is definitely the second kind of witch Kyubey mentioned. The path constantly swerved and twisted; all that was preventing her from becoming hopelessly lost was the light from her Soul Gem.

After about ten minutes of fighting off familiars, she reached the entrance to the witch's chamber. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door, steeling herself for what she could tell would be one of the most hostile witches she had ever faced. Summoning up a new round of rifles in a golden blast, she was pulled into the central part of the labyrinth, which seemed to be a parody of a traditional Shinto shrine. The witch was startlingly humanoid, although its appearance wouldn't have deceived any magical girl who knew what they were doing. Its garb resembled that of a miko's, although instead of arms, the witch had what appeared to be tree branches. Her head was that of a straw doll's. A harsh rattling sound filled the air, and Mami could smell something burning.

Aiming her first rifle, she muttered, "Okay, let's wrap this up quickly!"


"Alright everyone, great job! Go get a few hours of rest before the opening tonight!" Michiru Kaioh put her violin in its case, sat up, and stretched. It had been a long, grueling dress rehearsal, even without the lead pianist constantly attempting to hit on her. Thank goodness Haruka wasn't here to see that. She laughed, heading off to her dressing room.

As she was brushing her hair, she noticed a faint glow coming from her bag, which was sitting in the corner. If that's Haruka calling, she got here awfully early. It's almost a three-hour drive from Tokyo! But no, it wasn't her phone. Her mirror hadn't shone like this since the battle against Mistress Nine. What could be so powerful as to set it off like this?

Waving her hand over the surface, she saw a girl who appeared to be Usagi's age, only instead of odango buns, her hair was in tight curls. In a flash of golden light, five rifles appeared around her, and she pointed her finger towards...what was that? It looked like a youma, but it had an unearthly quality to it, something that screamed wrong. Michiru stared, frozen in horror. Since the picture was so clear, this was obviously happening nearby, maybe even right outside the concert hall. She found herself unconsciously reaching for the henshin stick she always kept in her bag.

Bolting out of the building, she held the mirror close to her heart, feeling it resonate with the magic patterns as she raced down the street. As she neared a shop selling bicycles, the atmosphere grew charged with that imminent sense of danger she knew too well. Ducking behind the building, she saw what looked to be a golden portal with a scarlet seal in the middle. She sighed, knowing what she had to do.

"Neptune Crystal Power, Make Up!"


Mami had known the battle would be difficult, but she seemed to have made absolutely no progress since she had fired the first shot. The witch was flailing her arms in a side-to-side pattern, knocking any attacks Mami attempted to the side. The only reason Mami hadn't been killed long ago was because she had weaved a shield out of her ribbons, which was currently suspended in front of her. She had circled the witch three times in an attempt to find a weak spot. She didn't want to risk using Tiro Finale just yet. If it missed, she would certainly be done for.

Mami had considered the attack she liked to call Rifle Storm, but it always exhausted her magic, and if she was forced to retreat, she didn't have any Grief Seeds left to purify her Soul Gem. Summoning up another quintet of rifles, she pointed at the witch and shouted, "Fire!" A hailstorm of golden magic streaked towards the witch, who held up her arms to deflect the bullets. Wait, Mami realized. She's guarding her face! That must be her weak spot!

She ducked behind one of the trees in the clearing, reorganizing her ribbon shield into an incredibly flimsy-looking staircase. It's better than nothing, she grimaced. She jumped onto the makeshift platform, behind what she hoped was the witch's blind spot. Now or never. Pulling her necktie from her collar, she transformed it into the massive gun with a golden flash. "Tiro-"

Out of nowhere, a rope of prayer beads shot out from the witch's robes and bound themselves around Mami. She plummeted to the ground, her necktie landing too far away to retrieve. The witch's arm was sweeping towards her now, jagged branches ready to impale the yellow magical girl where she lay. Mami braced herself for the end, hoping it would be quick...

"Submarine Violin Tide!" A globe of water rushed past Mami, and beautiful music filled the air, drowning out the screams of the witch as she was engulfed. The witch exploded into thousands of water droplets, and the golden-haired girl felt the beads that had pinned her to the ground vanish. Jumping up, she summoned more rifles, just in case this new magical girl was trying to extend her territory. The newcomer appeared to be a year or two older than Mami, and she carried herself with the confidence of a fellow senior magical girl. She wore what seemed to be a white leotard that was adorned with dark blue bows on the chest and waist, and a two-layered sea green miniskirt . The leotard had a sailor collar the same color as the girl's skirt, and pale green globes acting as shoulder pads. A golden tiara glittered on her forehead, while a dark green choker encircled her neck. Rounding out the ensemble were white, elbow-length gloves with sea green trim and matching knee-high boots. In her right hand was a small mirror. Mami felt as though she had recently seen the girl's face, but she couldn't quite place a name to it.

The labyrinth faded, and the girl looked around, seemingly startled. "Is that it, then?" she said.

Ah, Mami thought. "Kyubey! I think your new girl found her way into Mitakihara!"

The girl looked towards Mami, clearly startled. "Was that you inside my head just now?" Had Kyubey taught this girl absolutely nothing? Even potentials that hadn't made contracts yet used telepathy! Maybe she made the contract in a hurry, like I did. Still, Kyubey was quick to fill me in when I woke up...

Brushing herself off, Mami decided to buy some time until Kyubey could come and sort this mess out. Holding out her hand, she called, "Hello there! My name is Mami Tomoe. You must be newly contracted, but I'm like you. Thanks for helping out with that witch, I thought I was done for!"

The other girl didn't copy the gesture, suspicion now registering in her eyes. "Like me? You must be mistaken. You aren't wearing a sailor fuku, you gave away your civilian identity, I have no clue what you mean by 'contracted', I don't know why you would think that thing was a witch, seeing as it was clearly a new kind of youma, and what on Earth is a Kyubey?"

Now it was Mami's turn to be confused. Is this some insane cosplayer who's trying to take staying in-character to an entirely new level? Remembering how the girl had blasted aside the witch with a single attack, she decided, No, definitely magical girl. So why doesn't she know any of the basic facts?"

"I'm afraid I'm completely blindsided by this as well," Kyubey chimed in, jumping down from a rooftop. The girl jumped back, looking unnerved by the white creature's sudden appearance. "I remember every girl I've ever contracted, and I've never met her in my life." Turning towards the strange magical girl, he added, "Although I'm intrigued by the amount of power within you. I've only met a handful of girls with the sheer amount of magic at their fingertips that you have. You must have made quite the wish."

The girl took a step back, eyeing Kyubey and Mami like they were infected with the plague. "I'm sorry, I think you're mistaken. I've never seen either of you in my entire life." Mami noticed that as the girl said this, her grip on the mirror tightened, and her eyes seemed to be examining Mami from head to toe. She's lying. Or, at least, she isn't telling the whole truth. Alright, I'll play along.

"Well, I'm sorry about this little incident. Again, thank you for helping me. If you hadn't shown up when you did, well, I'd rather not think about what could have happened. Why don't we just part ways and forget that this ever happened?" The girl looked down, then slowly nodded. Mami smiled. "Come on, Kyubey." Detransforming, she walked back out onto the crowded street. As she did so, one of the posters advertising the performer lineup for the opening concert caught her eye. Her eyes found their way to a young woman with sea green hair, clutching a violin. The same woman who had just saved her back in that labyrinth.

Looks like I'll have to cancel tonight's witch hunt.