After returning to the Hayashi house with the precious clay tablets from Kazura Youha's grave, I head back to the Hayashi home and head upstairs. To my surprise, Komachi calls out my name, so I enter her room and find Hiyori there with her.

"You called?" I say.

"Yeah," Komachi says. "I just thought you should know that we met another magical girl, Yoshida Tamura. She sought us out specifically and mentioned you and Hiyori by name."

I frown. "How would she know my name? I've never met her… does she have clairvoyance too or something?"

"I don't think that's it, exactly," Komachi says. "She said something strange… that this is the second time she became a magical girl. Apparently, she remembers seeing you and Hiyori fighting against Walpurgisnacht, alongside Mikuni Oriko and two others."

I nod slowly. I've monitored Oriko periodically during this timeline and found that she's still working with Komaki, but I never mentioned this to the quartet.

"Asako Komaki and Kure Kirika, right? That did happen, but I don't understand how she could know…"

Komachi blinks. "Huh? What do you mean, it happened?"

"After you turned into a witch, Hiyori and I joined Oriko against Walpurgisnacht," I explain. "But you wouldn't remember, because time was turned back. No-one should remember except me and the magical girl who turned back time… so how does Miss Yoshida remember?"

"Well… I can't really answer that," Komachi says. "But you can ask her yourself. She gave us her address."

"Y-you're really saying time was turned back?" Hiyori says. "And onee-san turned into a witch?"

I nod. "Yeah, time has been turned back twice now, and both times Elise and Claire died fighting that witch behind the pool. That's why I warned you about her, because I didn't want to go through that again…"

"I see," Komachi says. "This… this is really hard to believe… I did say we trust you, but still…"

"Just for the record, try not to let Kyuubey find out about this," I add. "It'll probably work it out on its own eventually, but it's best for all of us if it takes as long as possible to do so."

"R-right," Hiyori nods. "Actually, I haven't seen Kyuubey all weekend… maybe he's leaving us alone because we know the truth now?"

I shrug. "It's possible, but… I actually wanted to talk to it, so it's a touch inconvenient. Maybe I can summon it with telepathy…"

I have a try at broadcasting a telepathic shout to Kyuubey, and sure enough, it seems like it works. The incubator steps in through the window, and I look at it suspiciously.

"Were you eavesdropping on our conversation just now?"

"Why would you think that, Ashley Taylor?" it asks. "You were the one who summoned me. What can I do for you?"

I take out the grief cubes I removed from the grave and hold them out.

"I was wondering if you'd know what these are," I say.

"Interesting," Kyuubey says, tilting its head. "You are holding something that should not exist in this era… an early prototypical grief seed. Where did you obtain these?"

"They were buried beneath a certain tombstone," I reply.

Hiyori gasps, perhaps realizing what I mean.

"Wait… if they're a prototypical grief seed… does that mean they can purify soul gems?" Komachi asks.

"Of course," Kyuubey says. "However, it appears that these ones have already been spent. I can dispose of them for you, if you wish."

"Yes, thanks," I say.

I flick the cubes at it, and it catches them in the compartment that processes grief seeds.

"So you're saying, those are a type of grief seed," I say.

"Correct," Kyuubey says. "When we first came to this planet, it took some time to refine our theory and technology to the form you now know. Those cube-shaped grief seeds were one of the earliest models. Is that all you required of me?"

I nod. "Yeah… I just wanted to ask what they were, and dispose of them if they were dangerous. You can go now."

It turns and hops out the window, as before passing straight through the glass as if it weren't even there.

"You opened up that tomb!?" Hiyori gasps. "Ashley-chan, you shouldn't've! What if you get cursed!?"

"I don't believe in ghosts," I retort. "Besides, I had to know if there was any truth to that legend."

"And… what did you find?" Komachi asks.

"I was attacked by white giants," I reply. "When I destroyed them, they dropped these."

I pull out the rest of the grief cubes, including the one from Pernelle, and the sisters gasp at the sight.

"W-whoa, so many!?" Hiyori says.

"Each wraith drops several of them," I say. "And there were thirteen wraiths, so yeah, I got quite a few. What I'd like to find out is… how effective are they, compared to conventional grief seeds?"

"If they're a prototype, they're probably less effective, right?" Komachi says.

I shake my head. "Not necessarily. The whole point of the incubators' system is to create witches. A grief seed that's less effective at purifying your soul gem might be seen as a feature. That's why I'd like you to try out these grief cubes and see if they're more effective. Of course, I'll be doing the same, but since there are so many, there's really no reason not to share."

Komachi nods slowly. "We could even give some to Elise and Claire, right?"

"That would be five each," Hiyori says. "If they're at least as good as regular grief seeds, it's almost enough to last us for a month… maybe we could even take a short break from witch hunting."

I hand over five cubes to each of them.

"Sounds good to me," I say. "I'll give Elise and Claire theirs at school tomorrow."

March twenty-eighth, just before six o'clock in the morning. Once again, Kazumi stands in the observation tower overlooking the sea.

"I just don't get it," she mutters. "I'm… not actually a magical girl? I'm not even human? What am I, then?"

Suddenly, a hand lands on her shoulder, and she spins to face the culprit.

"Huh? Wait, it's you!?" Kazumi asks. "Who are you, anyway?"

"My name is Pernelle. Though ye may know me not, Lady Kazumi, I know you well, for ye be the homunculus created by the Pleiades Saints."

Kazumi blinks at her. "W-wait… you know what I am? How do you know that?"

"I am an alchemist," Pernelle replies. "I too have dabbled in the creation of homunculi. It is only natural for me to recognize one when I see one."

"S-so… I'm a… homungous or something?" Kazumi says. "What is that?"

"A homunculus," Pernelle says. "It is an artificial life form created in imitation of a human."

"A homunculus…" Kazumi muses. "Why did I have to be born like this and made to think I was human!? I even have Michiru's memories! Or at least some of them!"

Pernelle shrugs. "I beg your pardon, but I cannot answer your question," she says. "Only the Pleiades Saints can speak of their own motivations."

"So, what are you doing here?" Kazumi asks.

"Ye wish to know why I am here?" Pernelle says. "The answer is simple. I came to investigate a magical spell placed upon this city, and stayed to observe the Pleiades Saints' experiment."

"A… a spell?" Kazumi blinks. "What kind of spell?"

"I believe you should query Lady Misaki on that matter," Pernelle says. "I am merely observing. When the experiment ends, if she yet survives, I will offer to take on Lady Nico as my pupil. But that is enough about me. Have ye no questions about yourself?"

"R-right, you called me a homunculus," Kazumi says. "That means I'm less than human, right?"

"A homunculus is neither more nor less than human," Pernelle says. "It is an entirely different kind of being, similar to a human, yet also different. Ye are superior to humans in many ways, however."

"But I assume I'm inferior in other ways," Kazumi says. "Like… why was I able to absorb all my clones?"

"I presume that ye refer to the other twelve failed homunculi created by the Pleiades Saints," Pernelle says. "Ye say that ye absorbed them? Now that is quite intriguing indeed… tell me more forthwith!" After Kazumi explains, Pernelle nods. "I understand. This is but a hypothesis, but I believe it occurred because the homunculi were all made of the same genetic material. On account of the similarity, when their blood mixed together, the homunculus cells lost the ability to distinguish between the bodies. In essence, they forgot that they were thirteen separate existences. The homunculus regeneration then took effect, morphing the multiple damaged bodies into a single complete one."

"So you're saying it's because they were me?" Kazumi says.

"That is not entirely accurate," Pernelle says. "But I believe it to be a reasonable simplification."

"But I don't seem to have any of their memories…"

Pernelle shrugs. "Memories are stored in the brain. Your brain was undamaged, so no brain cells were taken from the others. Their will was most probably weakened by the time they spent in storage. If their will had been stronger, they might have resisted the merge."

"So basically… I'm a monster," Kazumi says flatly.

"The definition of 'monster' is highly subjective," Pernelle says. "By my standards, ye are no monster. But if ye truly feel that ye are, then I cannot contradict you."

Kazumi nods slowly. "I see… thanks for the chat, Miss Pernelle," she says. "Somehow, it has made me feel a bit better." Then she frowns a little, and a tear appears in her eye. "But even so…" She trails off with a sigh.

"Thought it was not my intention, I am happy that I could improve your spirits, even just a little," Pernelle says. "Now I shall return to my lab. Perhaps we may meet again… especially if time is turned back once more."

As Pernelle turns to leave, she passes by Misako, who blinks at Kazumi.

"Miss Kazumi? What are you doing out here? You'll catch a cold… can I give you a lift somewhere?"

"Miss Ishijima…" Kazumi says, tearing up even more. "I just found out my whole life is a lie… I don't have anything of my own!" She starts sobbing. "No memories, no home, no friends, nothing! Am I even a real person? I don't know what to think!"

"B-but what about those two girls from the bomb incident?" Misako asks, startled. "The two young ladies who you seemed to be friendly with…"

"They're… they're not my friends!" Kazumi sobs. "They're Kazusa Michiru's friends! I'm just a substitute!"

"Th-then what about Miss Shiina and Miss Taylor?" Misako suggests.

"Ehh… but I only just met them today," Kazumi sobs. "Or I guess it's yesterday now…"

Then her sobs turn to a bloodcurdling wail, startling Misako just as she was about to pat Kazumi on her head in an attempt to comfort her..

"W-what's wrong!?" Misako asks.

"I'm hungry!" Kazumi wails. "I haven't eaten since yesterday morning!"

"That's… not good," Misako sighs. "Tell you what… come with me, and I'll see if I can find you a proper meal… okay?"

"O-okay…" Kazumi sobs.

She helps Kazumi into her car and drives off. After a few minutes, she spots the sign for Café Lepa Macha and takes Kazumi there. After the girl falls asleep, her conversation with Mr Tachibana is almost identical to the previous timeline.

After school on Monday, I head to the eastern ward of Mitakihara to seek out the mysterious magical girl who somehow remembers the previous timeline. The address leads me to a small run-down apartment building, uncomfortably close to the city's industrial sector. The wind farm in the river is audible from here, a constant but irregular fwip-fwip that, while not immediately unpleasant, grates on the ear after a few minutes. At least there are no smokestacks – the burning of fossil fuels had apparently been globally banned around twenty years ago.

The apartment in question apparently has a balcony on the top floor. I gaze up at it for a moment, determining which is the correct balcony, then leap up onto the balcony and tap on the window. A scurrying noise is heard from within, and after a moment, a girl appears and slides the door open. I blink at her in surprise, for she's the spitting image of Homura, right down to the twin-braids hairstyle. If someone told me they were identical twins, I wouldn't question them for a second.

"B-blonde… y-you must be… Ashley Taylor… r-right?" the girl gasps.

"Yeah…" I say.

"I… I wasn't expecting…" the girl trails off. "Um! I'm… Y-yoshida T-t-tamura!"

"Is now a bad time?" I ask.

"N-n-no! It's f-fine!"

"Do you live here alone?"

She shakes her head frantically. "M-my p-parents c-come home late… s-so I'm usually alone… and I d-don't have any friends, and even my m-m-magical g-girl power is pretty weak and useless… you see?"

"You said… this is the second time you became a magical girl, right?" I ask.

Tamura nods. "Yeah! Last time, I somehow m-managed to survive six weeks on a single grief seed… and then… I saw you and the others fighting a t-t-t-terrible witch…"

"Is that like… a memory? You remember all of that happening"

Tamura shakes her head. "N-no, it's more like… a dream? Or… a vision? Um… I can see things… things that could have happened… i-it's usually not something as grand as that, though."

"So, it's not a memory," I muse. "You didn't directly experience that other timeline."

Tamura nods. "Yeah…"

"Do you know someone named Akemi Homura?" I ask.

Tamura tilts her head. "Um… I feel like… I've heard the name somewhere," she says. "Oh! M-maybe she was in the n-next room when I was in the hospital?"

"You were in the hospital?"

Tamura nods. "Y-yeah… until the sixteenth," she says. "I returned to school last Friday…"

That's the exact same timing as Homura, on both counts. The more I talk to her, the more she seems like a clone or replica of Homura, but how is this possible? There's no-one to wish for such a thing, right? And it can't possibly be a side-effect of Homura's wish, right? There are some notable differences, of course… her school uniform doesn't match, her home is far away from Homura's, and the mark on her fingernail is a branching arrow in blue, rather than a purple diamond. Also, her eyes are grey, instead of purple. But then there's her given name, which is taken straight from a Madoka gag manga featuring Homura travelling through increasingly crazy timelines, where everyone gets her name wrong and calls her Tamura instead of Homura.

"This might seem like a strange question," I say. "But can I see your magical girl form?"

"S-sure?" Tamura says hesitantly.

She transforms, and for a moment I think even her magical girl outfit is identical to Homura's… but then I spot the differences. The bows at her neck and on the back of her waist are white, instead of black, and her soul gem is blue instead of purple and situated on the back of the right hand instead of the left hand. She also doesn't have a shield. Instead, she grips a moon-shaped sickle in each hand, though unlike a true sickle the blades appear to be sharpened on both sides. Something about the sickles' shape also makes me think of Homura's shield somehow, but that might just be my wishful thinking. Still, one similarity could be a coincidence, but this pile of similarities surely must have some underlying meaning… if only I could figure out what it is…

"Sorry, I was just curious," I say. "The thing is, you look like you could be Akemi Homura's twin, and it seems that extends even to your magical girl form… it's just a strange coincidence, I guess. By the way… how long have you been a magical girl?"

"I… I see," Tamura says, powering down again. "Um… I just made my contract… yesterday."

"So… what was the real reason you wanted to talk to me?" I ask.

"Um… I just… wanted to make friends?" Tamura says hesitantly.

I blink at her. "But there's another magical girl closer to home," I point out. "Why us and not her?"

Tamura tilts her head. "Eh? Th-there is?"

"You didn't know, huh…" I sigh. "Well, tell you what… have you hunted a witch before?"

Tamura shakes her head.

"Why don't I take you on your first witch hunt, then?" I suggest. "Then we'll probably run into Miss Kohaku, and maybe she'll let you team up with her."

"Th-that… would be nice," Tamura says. "L-last time I wasn't able to fight witches… it was j-just pure luck that I even got a grief seed… but if I could be on a team… then m-maybe… I could contribute something…"

We leave her apartment through the front door, and she takes out her soul gem as we walk. Since this is supposed to be her tutorial, in a way, I decide to let her do the tracking. It seems like she already has a basic understanding of how to track witches. Maybe Kyuubey explained it to her after she made her contract? After about ten minutes of searching through various run-down neighbourhoods, she finally picks up a trail. It's a different method than I usually use to hunt – instead of starting from places where people gather, she's going to places where people might venture to get away from things.

"I f-found something… this way," Tamura says.

She tracks it in silence for another ten minutes, passing by a few curse marks along the way, and finally locates the witch's portal.

"S-so… now what?" Tamura asks. "D-do we… go inside?"

The portal's not flickering, so it doesn't seem like anyone else has found it yet.

"Might as well," I say. "Do you want me to help, or would you prefer to try fighting on your own first?"

"I'm not sure if I can," Tamura says. "B-but I'll try…"

We both transform and step into the labyrinth, which looks as though someone just threw paintballs at a wall until there was no wall remaining visible, then slapped on random objects that were lying around an abandoned factory. We wander through corridors connected at odd angles, where Tamura flails at familiars that resemble multicoloured slimes. After just a few tries, she seems to get the hang of fighting these familiars, but her learning strategy strikes me as a little strange. On her first few attempts, she fails miserably, and I'm forced to step in to save her; but after that it's like she intuitively understands the way they move, getting the better of them easily. Is this her power at work?

Then we reach the witch's chamber, a circular doorway with the witch's name scrawled around the edge. This witch is called Bildchen Gretchen, apparently… not one I've heard of, though it sounds related to Madoka's witch. I doubt that's more than a coincidence though.

"Think you're ready to face an actual witch?" I ask her.

"U-um… I'm not sure," Tamura admits. "P-probably not… but… I d-don't feel like I'll ever be…"

"Well, let's give it a try," I say. "If it looks like you're in real trouble, I'll step in. Sound good?"

Tamura nods, and we enter the main witch's chamber. The witch appears almost immediately, a twenty-foot girl-shaped blob of paint in all different colours, stubbornly not mixing together. She whips out at Tamura and sends her flying back against the far wall. Then Tamura runs in again, swinging those sickles of hers, and is sent flying once more. This process repeats three or four times, but then the witch switches up her tactics, taking a deep breath and spewing out a jet of black ink.

To my surprise, Tamura dodges by leaping into the air, raising her arms above her head and summoning several extra sickles, flinging them at the witch one after another. Each one tears through the witch's body, then returns to her like a boomerang. She then catches them and flings them a second time, and the witch lets out a high-pitched roar and leaps into the air.

That's when Tamura panics. She tries to roll aside, but she's not fast enough, and the witch is about to land squarely upon her. I pull out my sword, ready to cut the witch down, but then a barrage of needles blows the witch's feet clean off, and she twists in midair to face the new threat. I too turn to face the newcomer, a girl in a knee-length red skirt, a pure white shirt, with white stockings and red shoes. She also wears a fox mask on her head, pushed up so her face is visible, and a white cape with pink embroidery that vaguely resembles Japanese cherry blossoms, clasped at her throat by her soul gem, a red oval gemstone.

As the witch lands, regenerating her legs just in time, the new girl hefts her four-foot blowpipe, putting it to her lips and firing a second volley of needles. The needles tear through Bildchen's body, leaving her as little more than a head, and I decide to extend my sword for a finishing blow. Then the girl turns to me.

"Miss Taylor, I thought you promised not to interfere in the industrial district," she says sternly.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kohaku," I say. "But I was invited by that one, and I was helping her to learn the job."

As the labyrinth collapses, Kohaku Koharu turns and walks over to Tamura, leaning forward to peer down at her sprawled on the ground. If Tamura stood up, I think they'd be about the same height…

"Hmm… you're new?"

"Y-yes ma'am…"

"And you live near here?"

"Y-yes ma'am!"

Koharu straightens up.

"Pleasure to meet you," she says. "I'm Kohaku Koharu. Who are you and what can you do?"

"U-um… I'm… I'm Yoshida T-tamura," she stammers. "I can see things that could've happened but didn't…"

"That doesn't sound very useful," Koharu muses. "So you're that kind, huh? Haven't met a weakling like you in months now…"

"I think her power is more useful than it sounds," I point out. "I've been watching her fight through this labyrinth, and I noticed something. At first, Miss Yoshida was useless even against these weak familiars, and I had to save her several times… but she very quickly adapted to their movements. Similarly, against this witch, it looked like she was able to predict her jet attack. Don't forget… something that could have happened in the past is also potentially something that could happen again in the future."

"Y-yeah, I saw that attack before she did it!" Tamura says, nodding vigorously.

"I see… well, I'm not gonna babysit you, Miss Yoshida," Koharu says. "But I suppose it can't hurt for you to accompany me now and then on witch hunts, if you want to."

"Th-thank you!" Tamura says, jumping to her feet and bowing. "I'm very grateful! I'll be in your care from now on!"

"Th-that's not what I said…" Koharu protests.

I chuckle. "What's wrong? You'll be helping out a cute little junior, right?"

Koharu shoots me a glare. "I'm not like you and Miss Tomoe," she snaps. "I have enough trouble just getting enough grief seeds for myself! I can't afford to team up on a regular basis! And my territory has expanded recently, too!"

She turns back to Tamura with a sigh.

"As long as you understand that this is a very temporary arrangement… fine. You can work with me for a little while. If I left you to die just because you're weak, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"I think you're overthinking the matter, Miss Kohaku," I say. "With the two of you, you should be able to hunt more efficiently… assuming Miss Yoshida is able to learn to fight effectively, of course. You can probably get even more grief seeds together than you could alone."

"I don't know about that," Koharu says. "But it doesn't matter right now… just this once, Miss Yoshida, I'll let you have the grief seed. It won't happen again, understood? You need to earn your own grief seeds from now on."

"Y-yes ma'am!" Tamura says. "Th-thank you very much, ma'am!"

Koharu grabs the grief seed and gives it to Tamura, then turns to look at me.

"I assume you have no intention of treading on my territory, Miss Taylor?"

I shake my head. "I was here solely to meet Miss Yoshida," I say. "And that led into taking her on her first witch hunt. I have no intention of making a habit of hunting around here… there are enough witches closer to home as it is."

"Alright then."

Koharu suddenly smiles.

"In that case, why don't the three of us grab dinner together before you head back?" she says.

"Sure," I nod.

"I'd l-love to!" Tamura says eagerly.

April third. Kazumi is eating breakfast at Café Lepa Macha, where she's been staying ever since Misako brought her there for a meal. She's eating slowly, lost in thought and half spaced out, but then someone enters the café, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Good morning, Kazumi-chan!"

Remi waves, and Kazumi blinks at her. She has her sister with her as well, but Fumiko is not with them.

"H-huh? What are you doing here?" she asks.

"Well, a certain mutual friend suggested we stop by," Remi says. "Is that a problem? Did you want to be alone?"

Kazumi shakes her head. "No… to be honest, I was thinking of looking for you too," she says.

Souichirou comes out from the back, attracted by the jingling of the bell, and gapes at Remi.

"I can't believe it…" he says.

Remi looks at him, head tilted. "Do we know each other, mister?"

"N-no, I'm sorry," Souichirou says. "Someone I know just showed me a photo and said some things that were pretty hard to believe… never mind that. What can I get for you?"

"I'll have a small latte," Remi says. "And can you add a little butter?"

"Sure," Souichirou says. "And how about you?"

Moe blinks. "O-oh, um… green tea… I guess? With milk?"

"Gotcha, it'll be right up," Souichirou says.

After taking the money from Remi, he gets to work at the coffee machine while the Shiina sisters join Kazumi at her table.

"You put butter in your coffee, Remi-chan?" Kazumi asks.

Remi nods. "I got the idea from an old manga… I actually hated it at first, coffee I mean, but eventually it grew on me. The butter definitely makes it better, and adding lots of sugar helps, too. So, um… how are you feeling, Kazumi-chan? Miss Taylor said you got into a fight with the Pleiades Saints…"

"Y-yeah… they've been lying to me from the start," Kazumi says with a sigh.

"That… that seriously sucks," Remi says.

"Say… can you tell me about you two?" Kazumi asks. "How you came to be… Moe-chan's wish and all that…"

Remi looks at her sister, who blinks in surprise.

"H-huh? You want me to…?"

"It's your story, isn't it?" Remi says. "Who better to tell it?"

"W-well… I'm not sure, onee-chan," Moe says.

"You don't want to tell her?" Remi asks. "If you'd rather not talk about it, then that's fine… I won't push you."

Moe casts her eyes down and falls silent. It's during this awkward space that Souichirou comes up with their drinks, setting them in front of the girls before returning to whatever he was doing in the back room.

"I'll tell you," Moe says. "B-but you have to promise… not to interrupt me… okay?"

Kazumi nods. "Alright… I'll be the best listener ever, okay?"

Moe nods and begins to give her own personal account of the events that lead to her joining up with Hijiri for revenge against the Pleiades Saints. It turns out that Remi's version of events from the previous timeline is surprisingly close, but there are several notable differences.

When Moe was saved by Fumiko in the labyrinth, she had asked her friend about the dangers of being a magical girl, but hadn't asked to accompany her. Remi in the previous timeline had also greatly exaggerated how careful Moe was in choosing her wish. The only question she asked of Kyuubey was what would happen if she asked for someone to come back to life when they were actually still alive somewhere. It seems she hadn't thought to ask if there was a chance of nothing happening. The last and most notable inaccuracy from Remi's account is that Hijiri had never shown up in person when Moe witnessed the Pleiades Saints kidnapping Fumiko – instead, Hijiri had contacted her via LINE just after the event, and it was only about a week later that Moe actually met her in person and realized that she was like a twin of Nico. This makes a lot of sense too, as it seems to fit better with the way Hijiri prefers to operate, from the shadows.

"So that's what happened, huh," Remi says. "I'm sorry… I should've paid more attention to how you were feeling, Moe-chan. I've failed as an older sister."

"N-no… it's… it's not your fault, onee-chan," Moe protests. "Miss Hijiri lied to me… and it was the Pleiades Saints who started the whole thing…"

"Even so, I should've been able to help you through it," Remi says.

At that moment, the door opens again, this time to admit Yuuri and Airi. Once again, the jingling brings Souichirou out from the back.

"Huh? Oh! It's Mr Tachibana!" Yuuri exclaims. "What are you doing here? What happened to Bistro Tachibana?"

"Eh?" Souichirou blinks. "Oh! You're the ones who got the bucket of parfait a couple of months back… along with a third girl… who was here alone a few days ago, actually…"

Airi nods. "Yeah, that was Ashley-chan… but she lives out of town, so we don't see much of her. The visit a few days ago is the first one since around Valentine's Day."

"I see… well, about Bistro Tachibana, I was conned out of the lease and forced to shut down," Souichirou explains.

"Oh… that's too bad," Yuuri says.

"Yeah! Who would do such a thing!?" Airi complains.

"It could be worse," Souichirou says. "The manager of this place had recently quit, and since I knew the owner, I got the job immediately. I'd have to say I'm pretty lucky, considering the circumstances. But enough about me… what can I get you girls?"

"Would you happen to have the bucket of parfait still?" Yuuri asks.

"You're in luck!" he says. "I just put it back on the menu recently."

"Let's have that then, Yuuri-chan!" Airi says eagerly. "It was so delicious last time!"

"So two buckets of parfait, then?" Souichirou confirms.

"Yes, please," Yuuri says.

He takes their money and disappears into the back, and the two girls head over to sit with Kazumi and the Shiina sisters.

"I didn't expect to run into all of you here," Yuuri says. "How are things going for you, Kazumi-chan? I heard you got into a fight with the Pleiades Saints…"

"W-why does everyone already know about that…" Kazumi mutters.

Yuuri shrugs. "I think Ashley-chan's power is just to know everything," she says.

"That's not funny!" Kazumi protests.

"Yeah, that's a bit much, Miss Asuka," Remi says.

Yuuri sighs. "Sorry… but she does have some ability to see things that she normally wouldn't be able to… clairvoyance, I think she called it? Anyway, she was worried about you, apparently."

"So she somehow saw what happened, is that it?" Kazumi sighs. "Fine… it's not like I was trying to keep it a secret… it's okay."

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, then we won't push you, Kazumi-chan," Airi says.

"I was wondering," Kazumi says. "What was that favour that Miss Pernelle mentioned just before she disappeared?"

"Oh, that?" Yuuri says. "It was nothing special. She just wanted our help taking down an exceptionally powerful witch. She popped out of nowhere, addressed us by name, and asked for assistance… then when we said we had a prior engagement with Ashley-chan, she offered to come along."

"She did that to me too, the next morning," Kazumi says. "She seemed to know a lot about me, almost like she'd been watching me for quite awhile…"

"But she's certainly strong," Yuuri says. "That witch would've given Airi-chan and I a hard time if she wasn't there. She seems to have a lot of different abilities… she can conjure up barriers at the blink of an eye, teleport across the battlefield, transform random objects littering the labyrinth into lethal weapons, and even cause explosions. Oh, she also healed me once or twice, too."

"And we must've used four or five grief seeds over the course of the battle," Airi adds. "It felt like she had an inexhaustible supply of them. I never saw her use any on herself, though…"

"Yeah, beating the witch without those grief seeds would've been really tough," Yuuri says. "I probably would've been a little less reckless though…"

"Are you suggesting she doesn't even need grief seeds?" Remi asks. "Did her soul gem get corrupted?"

Yuuri shrugs. "I have no idea. I couldn't figure out where her soul gem is when transformed. I can't believe she'd be able to fight without grief seeds though…"

"M-maybe she's just really efficient!" Moe suggests. "Like me… I lasted more than a month without using one… maybe she's similar."

"That's impressive," Yuuri says.

"Yeah, we usually need to use one almost every day," Airi says.

"Well, I wasn't fighting every day," Moe admits. "But I fought alongside onee-chan several times a week…"

"So, how long have you two been magical girls?" Yuuri asks.

"Just over a month," Moe says.

"For me… about two and a half years," Remi says. "But I made my contract with Kyuubey around ten years ago."

Yuuri and Airi blink at her.

"Huh? How does that work?" Yuuri asks.

"Well, I died and came back to life," Remi says.

"Is that even possible!?"Airi gasps.

"It's possible if it's a wish!" Moe says.

"So… your wish brought her back to life?" Yuuri says. "That really is a miracle…"

Kazumi sighs. "Ignoring Moe-chan's earlier activities, the four of you seem a lot more like proper magical girls, compared to the Pleiades Saints…"

Yuuri sighs. "I can still hardly believe that a group led by Miss Kazusa could do such a thing though… I wish I could talk to her about it…"

Kazumi blinks at her. "Huh? Didn't you know? They're not led by Michiru-chan… she's been dead for a long time. The leader is Saki-chan now…"

Yuuri stares at her. "Wait, what? Are you quite sure!?"

Kazumi nods. "Yeah… because that's the reason I exist," she says.

"What do you mean by that?" Yuuri asks.

Before Kazumi can answer, Souichirou emerges with two buckets of parfait, setting them down on the table in front of each of the two high school girls.

"Enjoy!" he says.

With that, he returns to the back room, and Yuuri and Airi begin to dig in. After a few bites, Yuuri repeats her question.

"So yeah," she says. "You're saying you exist because Miss Kazusa is dead? What does that mean?"

"Well… it seems I'm not really a magical girl," Kazumi says. "And I'm not an ordinary human either… I don't really know what I am… half witch, half magical girl, half human, half homunculus… or something like that…"

"Homunculus…" Yuuri muses. "You're saying you're an artificially created being?"

Kazumi blinks and nods. "So you know what a homunculus is?" she asks. "I didn't know until Pernelle told me…"

Yuuri nods. "It's something that you see now and then in manga," she says. "For example, Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Not the manga I read, I guess," Remi says. "Because I had no idea what it was… never heard of that manga."

"That's not too surprising," Yuuri admits. "It must be, oh, around fifty years old now? But we had it around the house because apparently Dad's a fan, so of course I read the whole thing."

"And you're saying you're part witch, Kazumi-chan?" Airi says. "That sounds… kinda dangerous…"

"I don't think I'm dangerous, but who knows," Kazumi says. "Apparently my heart is made out of witch flesh or something? I don't really understand the details… and my magic comes from a modified grief seed."

Yuuri blinks. "Wait… could it be… the Pleiades Saints created you as a substitute for Miss Kazusa after she died? So… that's Miss Kazusa's grief seed? And that's also why you look exactly like Miss Kazusa?"

Kazumi nods. "W-wow… I didn't expect you to actually guess it," she says. "That's exactly right… I'm just a substitute for Miss Kazusa… but I'm not her, right?"

Yuuri nods. "Yeah… you don't act anything like her," she says. "No… that's not quite true. There are some similarities… but not to the point that I could mistake you for the same person."

"What was she like?" Kazumi asks.

"Hmm, well… I think I would say that she was very kind, but a bit of a prankster," Yuuri muses. "I actually met her before I even became a magical girl… she saved me from a witch, but she forced me to work for it… it was oddly satisfying, honestly. That might be part of why she was able to convince me to contract so easily."

"So that's what she was like," Kazumi muses. "So yeah… I'm just a substitute to them, and I don't know what to do… what I want to do…"

"I can tell you have a lot going on," Remi sighs. "And there's not a thing I can do about it… I don't understand one bit. I'm sorry, Kazumi-chan… all I can really do here is lend an ear."

"Maybe that's enough though," Yuuri says. "Sometimes just talking about something helps you put things in perspective, right Airi-chan?"

Airi nods. "Yeah, totally!"

Kazumi nods. "Yeah… I'm glad we had this chat," she says. "It's helped me to figure out some things… thanks, everyone!"

April fourth. In order to cover more ground, Mami's team splits into two to hunt for signs of witches. Mami and Sayaka head for the hospital district, while Madoka and Homura search closer to the school. The former two are passing by the hospital itself when Sayaka suddenly spots it.

"H-hey, Miss Tomoe, isn't that…?"

She points at a grief seed embedded in the hospital wall, and Mami gasps.

"Oh no! It's a grief seed! And it looks like it's about to hatch!"

"W-we've got to tell the others!" Sayaka says. "I'll message Madoka…"

She whips out her phone to contact Madoka, then watches the screen intently as if that would make Madoka respond faster. About two minutes pass before the ping indicates her response.

"She's on her way, but they're pretty far away," Sayaka laments. "Let's hope they get here in time…"

"At least there's plenty of time," Mami says. "I've seen this happen a couple of times before… the witch takes awhile to properly wake up even once the labyrinth forms. If we don't transform, we may be able to get to the centre without even fighting."

Even as she says that, it happens. The grief seed glows and begins to hatch, a portal appearing that resembles a girl with candy for a head. The labyrinth swallows up the two of them, a landscape made out of cake and other confectionaries. Familiars scurry about everywhere, moving stuff around as if they're actually building the labyrinth. They ignore Mami and Sayaka entirely, offering no resistance as the two of them make their way through the corridors.

Just as Mami suggested, without resistance from the familiars, they reach the door to the central chamber in record time, which looks like someone pasted an ad for donuts over it. The witch's name, Charlotte, is written in at least three different places. Mami quietly pushes it open and heads inside with Sayaka, but the only thing inside is the grief seed, still glowing and pulsing. On the far wall are more witch runes, spelling out a sentence in German: "Wo ist die Käse?"

"It seems the witch hasn't fully hatched yet," Mami says. "Now all we need to do is wait."

"Then the others still have time to catch up," Sayaka says.

"Well, in the worst case, we can fight this one alone," Mami shrugs.

"Y-yeah…"

"But yes, there's still time for them to get here and support us."

Several minutes later, their faces change, with Sayaka's in particular lighting up with relief. They must've gotten telepathic contact from Madoka and Homura, probably indicating that they're close.

Madoka and Homura run up to the hospital and look around wildly, Kyuubey riding on Madoka's shoulder. There's no sign of the grief seed anymore, although there's still a visible crack on the hospital wall where it used to be. They stop for a moment, probably communicating with Mami, then reveal the portal and step inside without transforming. Perhaps Mami warned them not to. Homura clings nervously to Madoka's hand as they follow what appears to be a straight pathway.

Then after a minute or two the labyrinth suddenly starts to shift, and the familiars turn towards the two of them. Madoka looks around, startled, as they're surrounded by a ring of ball-like Pyotr familiars, with a spiral pattern on them that's possibly meant to resemble a strawberry.

"L-looks like she's started to notice us," Homura says.

"Guess it's time to get serious," Madoka replies.

The two of them transform, and between Homura's gunfire and Madoka's bow, the familiars are taken out in seconds. They hurry forward towards the centre, shooting down familiars as they go, and then they come to the same door Mami saw, smashing it open.

"You're just in time!" Mami says. "She's hatching!"

Mami and Sayaka have also transformed and are fighting off a gaggle of the Polina type familiar, which resembles a nurse whose head looks almost exactly like the other familiar type.

Then the grief seed finally hatches open and Charlotte herself appears in her first form, a tiny child-like doll in an outfit similar to Little Red Riding Hood, with a mask-like face and either hair or a headpiece that looks like a hard candy wrapper. She sits atop a chair towering about ten feet over their heads, with a similarly tall table and another chair opposite upon which sits some sort of unmoving doll.

"She looks weak," Mami says. "This should be a cinch!"

Everyone except Sayaka immediately opens fire on the witch, and then Mami performs her ultimate attack.

"Tiro Finale!"

It's over before Sayaka even has a chance to do anything… except it's not. As Mami turns in triumph to face her three pupils, a look of horror spreads across their faces. Charlotte's second form emerges out of the first form's mouth, a clown-like face on the end of a dark serpentine form with ears like feathers. It rears up into the air, and as Mami sees that look of horror, her triumphant face fades and she turns to look, but she's too late to do anything.

That's when someone else jumps into the fray. Just as Charlotte is about to chomp down on Mami's head, a spear flies out of nowhere, impaling her and throwing her back, pinning her to the wall. She struggles to get free.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Kyouko shouts. "Spacing out in the middle of battle! It's not over until it's over, you dummy!"

"M-miss Sakura!?" Mami gasps. "Y-you saved me!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sayaka snaps.

"Huh? I was hunting witches, you idiot!" Kyouko shouts back. "How was I supposed to know all you idiots were already here?"

"You could've noticed the flickering of the portal," Mami points out.

"Yeah, well, maybe I was a little worried too," Kyouko admits. "Just a little, you understand!"

"Well, enough about that," Mami says, turning to the pinned Charlotte. "What do we do about her now?"

"U-um… I have an idea," Homura says. "If I use my bombs…"

"W-what did we say about bombs!?" Sayaka snaps. "I don't want things blowing up in my face!"

"B-but if I throw them down her throat," Homura says. "Then… wouldn't it be fine?"

"Eh… I'm not sure…" Sayaka says. "At least it wouldn't explode in my face… probably…"

"Let's do it like this," Mami says. "Miss Kaname and I will shoot her. Miss Miki and Miss Sakura can stand ready to drive her back if she comes for us. And Miss Akemi can be the bait and throw bombs down her throat. Does that sound okay?"

"W-who said you could give me orders!?" Kyouko protests.

"Well, if you have a better idea, let me hear it," Mami says. "But be quick about it, because it looks like she's about to break free!"

"N-no… I guess it's fine," Kyouko grumbles.

Charlotte frees herself from the pinning spear, and Homura runs out into the middle of the room, attracting her attention. Madoka and Mami fire at her as she chomps down on Homura… but Homura's no longer there. She stands up a short distance away.

"C-come at me!" Homura says. "Over here!"

Charlotte chomps on her again, and once more Homura appears nearby to urge her on. She seems to be ignoring Mami's and Madoka's missiles entirely, and it's not clear whether they're even doing any damage. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't.

The third time Charlotte chomps on Homura, there's an explosion, and for a moment she seems to be stunned. Then she tries again, receiving another similar explosion. On her fifth try, the explosion is many times greater, blowing her apart from within, leaving Homura looking relieved and elated as she lands directly on the doll that was on the other chair, squishing it with a soft squeak. Homura leans on that table for a moment to catch her breath.

"You did it, Homura-chan!" Madoka says. "You defeated the witch, all by yourself!"

"I-it wasn't all by myself!" Homura protests. "I had all of you backing me up…"

"But you did most of the work," Sayaka says. "Dammit… I didn't even get to do anything at all…"

Mami retrieves the grief seed as the labyrinth collapses, and everyone powers down.

"You did wonderfully, Miss Akemi," she says. Then she turns to Kyouko. "Miss Sakura… why don't you come back and join the team? I'd love to fight alongside you again."

Sayaka blinks. "W-wait… you know this chick?"

Mami nods. "Didn't I tell you? She used to be my partner."

"Th-that was a long time ago," Kyouko protests. "I fight solo now."

"But you showed up here because you were worried about us, right?" Mami says. "If you want to join the team, I'll welcome you with open arms."

"W-well… I dunno," Kyouko says. "Um… I'll think about it… I guess."

"Well, I suppose that's all I can ask for," Mami says. "Come on, everyone… let's celebrate this victory with some tea and cake! Will you be coming too, Miss Sakura?"

"Th-there's no way I'd turn down free food!" Kyouko says. "I'm coming!"

Seeing that encounter with Charlotte reminds me about something that has confused me for awhile now. There was one seeming inconsistency in the timelines that I hadn't been able to work out. In the last two timelines, I saw Nagisa turn into Charlotte early in the loop, on the second day, and she was defeated the same day by Mami and Madoka after killing the Sleepwalking Spectre. This time however, she shows up nearly three weeks later, spawning from a grief seed.

Clearly Nagisa didn't survive for those extra three weeks, for two reasons. Firstly, I've been unable to scry on her in all that time, but in addition, if she had survived, then Mami and Sayaka would've just witnessed her turning into a witch, rather than just seeing a grief seed hatch.

So what does that mean, exactly? Charlotte must've still spawned on the seventeenth, I think, but then perhaps something happened where she got defeated and her grief seed was left laying around unattended. But how would that happen? I don't think there are any magical girls in the area who are malicious enough to deliberately leave a grief seed laying around, so does that mean it was an accident? If… if the girl who defeated Charlotte did so at the cost of her own life… yes… that could explain it, couldn't it?

Come to think of it, there was another girl who I've been unable to scry on since then – the Sleepwalking Spectre went off the radar at about the same time. She was killed by Charlotte in previous timelines too, so it seems reasonable to supposed that happened in this timeline. If she was able to bring Charlotte down in a last-ditch attack… perhaps by detonating her soul gem… that might explain what I'm seeing.

I'm not sure if that's how it came about, but assuming Charlotte's grief seed was left lying around, it does make sense that it might slowly accumulate grief from the people in the hospital. I don't think there's anything in the franchise that outright states grief seeds can accumulate grief from the environment, but it wouldn't surprise me. Then the only other open question would be… if Charlotte's grief seed was laying around at the hospital for three weeks, how is it that Mami and her team never spotted it before now? After all, they patrol the area regularly from what I can tell. How could the grief seed have gone unnoticed for that long?

After pondering that for a little while, I decide to set it aside and see what's going on in Hohzuki as well. I check up on each of the main four, but they don't seem to have anything interesting going on at the moment – they're just in the middle of a random witch fight. Then I check up on Honoka, who's fighting a witch that seems familiar.

April fourth. Honoka is fighting against a crowd of familiars that look like spheres with several short, fat tentacles sticking out in all directions. She blinks from place to place, cutting them down in pairs, progressing through the labyrinth. There are banners stretched arbitrarily across the space, with "Keep Out" emblazoned on them in witch runes.

Then she reaches the entrance to the main chamber, charging through to find a witch that resembles a larger version of its familiars, but with several layers and a skull-like face. The tentacles of the actual witch are far longer and slimmer, too, and qualify as actual tentacles. She dodges a tentacle attack with her teleportation, then raises her daggers to counter a second one, slicing right through the tentacle. After repeating this process several times, however, it seems like she hasn't made any progress at all.

"Ugh," she mutters. "How can I get close…?"

The witch responds by letting out a mocking wail.

"Guess I'll have to get flashy!" she says. "How about this?"

She blinks forward, right next to the witch's main body, and slashes at it with her daggers, letting out a yell of exertion. Then she hops back, out of range.

"Huh? It didn't work…"

Indeed, the wounds she had just inflicted on the witch were already visibly closing up.

"Th-that can't be… if I don't finish it with a single attack before it can regenerate, I'm finished!"

She crosses her daggers to charge up a blink burst, but before she can let it loose, someone else jumps into the fray. A girl with long silver hair in a flowing light grey jacket darts through the tentacles, slashing the witch with a strange-looking sword and then finishing it off with a torrent of powerful flames.

"W-wow," Honoka gasps, briefly relaxing her charging pose. "That was amazing… fire magic… huh?"

Suddenly she blinks, her eyes narrowing slightly as she remembers something.

"Wait… silver hair… fire magic…"

Then she takes a ready stance again, daggers crossed, and resumes charging her blink burst.

"Um… th-thanks for… saving me?" she says hesitantly. "That fire magic was pretty cool…"

When the other girl doesn't respond immediately, she colours a little and quickly tries to take back her comment. By this time, the witch's labyrinth has already collapsed.

"Ah… d-did I say something weird?"

Finally the other girl speaks, putting on a winning smile. This gets Honoka to relax a little and uncross her blades, although the glow surrounding her blades indicates that the charged magic is still prepared for activation.

"No, that's fine," the other girl says. "Why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Suzune… how about you?"

"Um… right!" Honoka says. "M-my name is Kanami!"

"Kanami… that's a nice name," Suzune says.

Honoka relaxes a little more.

"Y-you think so? Th-thanks… i-it's n-nice to m-meet you?"

The smile fades from Suzune's face, and Honoka tenses up slightly.

"Yes," Suzune says.

Then she swings her sword, aiming for Honoka's throat… but Honoka raises and crosses her daggers just in time, blocking the swing… and then she vanishes, reappearing on the roof of a nearby building.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap she's really gonna kill me…" Honoka mutters.

Startled by her disappearance, Suzune looks around for her, locating her a couple of seconds later and leaping into the air to target her once more… but then she vanishes again, reappearing on another roof across the next street. Honoka takes a second to glance back at her pursuer, who continues to follow her, leaping across the street to the next roof, but then Honoka vanishes again.

This time she appears in an alley next to the building she was on, and immediately after materializing, she dives behind a dumpster where she's not visible from the roof. Suzune looks around for her for a minute or two, but then eventually gives up and leaves.

Emerging from behind the dumpster, Honoka lets out a sigh of relief.

"Th-that was a close call," she mutters. "I've gotta remember to thank Ashley-chan for the warning when I see her next…"

After peeking out onto the main street and making sure that Suzune wasn't actually waiting for her to emerge, Honoka powers down and heads off, though she continues to look around cautiously, just in case.

Magical Girl Corner

Whenever a new magical girl is introduced, I'll include a brief profile of her here. Some details may be redacted, or contain minor spoilers. You have been warned! The numeric ranking values are on a scale of 1 to 10.

Yoshida Tamura
吉田たむら

Age: 14
Eye Colour: Grey
Hair Colour: Black
Origins: Mitakihara, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Blue two-pronged branching arrow
Soul Gem: Diamond blue gem on the back of her right hand
Element: Darkness
Weapon: Moon sickle
Powers: To see what might have been
Wish: redacted

Speed: 2
Magical Stamina: 10
Offensive Power: 3
Defensive Power: 2
Initial Power Usability: 4
Learned Powers: 1

Kohaku Koharu
琥珀小春

Age: 16
Eye Colour: Brown
Hair Colour: Orange
Origins: Mitakihara, Shinriku Prefecture, Japan
Symbol: Green cloud
Soul Gem: Red oval gemstone at her throat
Element: Forest
Weapon: Blowpipe
Powers: Poison, electricity
Wish: "I wish for everyone who called me ugly to become even uglier than me."

Speed: 4
Magical Stamina: 6
Offensive Power: 8
Defensive Power: 3
Initial Power Usability: 5
Learned Powers: 2