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The inferno raged around Iroha as she watched the city crumble around her. She was determined to save the city and its people, though she wasn’t even sure if she could save her friends. She looked towards her wounded comrades. She saw the brave girl who always tried to act strong for those around her and watched as she gritted her bloody teeth into a forced smile. She saw the proud girl who lived on the streets that had trust issues but was able to slowly open up to Iroha and accepted her help. She saw the feeble girl who had no one to care for her before Iroha took her hand and showed her the light. She saw the other girls that had also helped her along the way. Above all, though, she saw the resilient girl, the one who had been fighting for years and never gave up her ideals. Though they were at odds with each other at first, even she placed her trust and faith in Iroha in the pursuit of her sister and the vanquishing of the Magius.
The Magius, a group with noble intentions but unacceptable morals. Iroha had to admit, they could do a lot of good with their end goal, but the path to get there was bloody. Iroha refused to accept this path and believed that there could surely be another answer to save magical girls without bloodshed. It was her hope that allowed her to make a promise to those that believed in her that she would find a way to save them from their fate, no matter what. If that was the case, though, why did it hurt so bad to look the friends that trusted her in the eyes and say that everything would somehow work itself out? She wished she could ignore the nagging voice in the back of her head that voice called her idealistic and naïve. Even as she was preparing to destroy the Magius, what would come after that? Could she, in good conscience, destroy the Doppel system that has saved the lives of her and her friends countless times? In beating the Magius today, she may have to eventually face off against a friend of hers. That was a very real possibility, but she knew that she had to follow her heart above all else.
Ahead of her were her opponents, two of which were dear friends to her once. Behind them was the rampaging Eve. Injured from the grueling battle so far, despair was beginning to creep into the back of her mind but she knew she’d be as good as dead if she let her doubts take hold of her. She pleaded to Touka and Nemu to remember something, anything about their past. They hesitated for the briefest of seconds but quickly reaffirmed themselves and continued their assault on Iroha’s wounded group. Tears were welling in Iroha’s eyes as she collapsed to the road below. It was a mixture of pain, frustration, and betrayal. What could she do to make them remember their fond days together? Where they all chatted in the hospital, making stories, reading Nemu’s books, listening to Touka’s high-level lectures on space that she couldn’t keep up with, and planning with Ui and the rest on where to go once they successfully recovered. That’s right, they were all going to go explore Kamihama together. Together. Iroha heard that word over and over in her head as she pounded her fist into the ground and stood up. As she rose, however, she saw a twinkle in her left eye.
Gazing upwards, Iroha looked upon the monster’s necklace. There was a large ruby jewel in the center. As she examined closer, her eyes shot open. There she was, the preserved form of her sister Ui. She knew the Eve had some connection with her sister and she finally found her after all these months. Iroha shouted towards her as she rushed forward before she was blocked by her old friend Touka.
Iroha screamed at unimaginable levels as she begged Touka to let her past. Touka couldn’t remember a thing and this was unacceptable to her. She was a genius, surely Iroha was mistaken. Certainly, the doubts and cracks within Touka’s mind were brought about by Iroha’s persistent insanity and lunatic delusions. As Touka’s expression wavered, her pride shone through. If she could finally just get rid of this meddlesome pest then she’d never be questioned again. After this inner turmoil, Touka resolved to end Iroha as quickly as possible as she prepared an attack. In that moment, some of Iroha’s caring friends rushed over to lend their aid. Touka could hear the blue one shout to Iroha, commanding her to keep moving and reach the mysterious girl. The green enemy and Nemu focused their efforts on Iroha as well but, once again, Iroha’s bonds with her friends proved unbreakable as they provided her the support to allow her to continue her pursuit.
Rushing past all of the Magius' defenses, Iroha had reached the jewel that housed the girl. Iroha began to launch a barrage of attacks towards the crystal in a desperate attempt to free her. Touka began to panic as she had never felt this unsure in her life. Everything about Iroha and this girl made no sense whatsoever and yet they somehow seemed to provide the answers to the blank spots within Touka’s mind, as illogical as that was. Touka’s head started pounding from this paradoxical enigma and she became furious. Flying over towards Iroha, she stood opposite from her. Raising her hand, she prepared a potent fireball that would surely finish off the critically-wounded Iroha. Touka muttered a half-hearted taunt but continued to hold the blast in her hand. Touka’s mind was racing as she questioned herself, demanding answers from her own mind as to why she refused to attack.
Meanwhile, Iroha had been paying no attention to Touka’s ravings as she was solely devoted to chipping away at her sister’s casing. She then fired off a blast and successfully managed to create a small opening in the gem. She continued her assault but realized, in horror, that the break she had created was beginning to regenerate. Her sister was right there and yet continued to elude her. As she looked around, she saw her friends on the road below fighting Nemu and the green foe, she saw the fire continuing to spread. She looked to her west and could see fires in the direction of her home, Mikazuki Villa. It was then that she looked over at Touka, who was hyperventilating and had gone wide-eyed as she simply stared at Iroha with an almost-innocent expression, still holding the attack. Everyone was sacrificing everything for her. Her friends went through all this just to help Iroha but she worried it would all be for naught so close to the finish line. It was then that the little white creature that had followed her on her adventures leaped up the monster and dashed through the opening Iroha created. As it reached Ui, a flash of light filled Iroha’s vision as she, Touka, and Nemu began to receive a rapid series of images hurled into their heads.
In that instant, the four’s minds were one. Iroha watched herself being observed by the hospitalized trio, she saw them consulting with Kyubey, she saw them cry in agony knowing Iroha was fated to not only die young, but become a plague upon society, she saw them develop a plan to save all magical girls, and above all to save Iroha herself, she saw Ui suffer from a misstep in the plan, she saw Touka and Nemu’s devotion to the cause no matter what sacrifices had to be made, that even as they forgot why they were the Magius, that they were still putting everything on the line to save all magical girls from their cruel fate. From her closet friends putting their lives on the line, to making a cult, to making sacrifices in cold blood, to setting the whole city on fire, all of that was done for her?
Nemu stopped fighting and rushed over to Iroha, who was still on the Eve’s necklace. Touka followed and they each grabbed an arm of hers as they all tearfully re-united. They weren’t going to let this end in tragedy and Nemu, Iroha, and Touka all used the remainder of their strength to shatter Ui’s prison entirely. Iroha scooped her out and jumped to the road below while Nemu and Touka followed. Behind them, the Eve slumped over, devoid of any life. The three of them surrounded Ui and hugged her closely, praying that she would open her eyes. Around them, Iroha’s fellow magical girls were simply watching this display in amazement, even the green enemy.
With energy Iroha didn’t know she had left, she poured her last drops of magic towards healing Ui. With that, Ui’s eyelids slowly opened as she looked upon her sister and friends, completely oblivious to her several-month-long coma. Iroha fell to the ground in relief that it was all finally over, that her sister had finally been rescued.
But that wasn’t her complete goal, was it?
No, she was to destroy the Magius. The Magius. The organization that started off as three friends making a group for Iroha to head to save all magical girls across the world. The voice in the back of Iroha’s head came back to life and was louder than ever. Why? Why destroy the Magius? This is the only way for her to save all her friends. If she gives this up, she wouldn’t only be indirectly killing every magical girl, she would be throwing away the efforts of her dear friends. Ui, Touka, Nemu, all they wanted was to protect Iroha. The voice got louder as Iroha’s face slowly developed from an expression of anguish into a small, peaceful smile. She knew that there would be sacrifice if she took this path, but also knew there would be much greater sacrifice if she didn’t. She took out the cherry blossom branch and admired it. The branch was in full bloom and was emanating feelings of friendship, happiness, and love. All the while, the white on Iroha’s outfit slowly darkened towards a black color to match that of her sister’s. She’d never felt closer to anyone before, she’d never felt so special before, and it was the flames around her that served as a testament of their love towards her.
Iroha is a very fortunate girl. She’s surrounded by her sister, she’s surrounded by her truest of friends from the hospital, she’s even surrounded by lots of magical girls from Kamihama. She’s also surrounded by her housemates that served as some of her dearest friends. She loves them all so much. She could never bare to lose them, she wanted to do everything she could to save them. No matter what it takes, no matter if this entire city has to burn down, she had to take responsibility for the trust the Magius, and her friends, placed in her. She did promise she’d find a way to save them as she loves them all and shouldn’t you be willing to do anything for those you care about? Iroha couldn’t be happier as she walked towards her friend in blue while her black cloak blows in the wind. Around her, the magical girls who had recently been fiercely battling were entirely motionless. Iroha reached out her hand towards her friend.
Iroha was saddened when the blue one backed away in horror, though wasn’t entirely surprised. The other magical girls around her began murmuring to each other with worried expressions. After all, they put their trust in Iroha and wondered if they should still continue to support her. The blue one called for everyone to come towards her. Some did, such as the orange and purple one, though none of them had faces that showed that they had the conviction for what would come next. Iroha could hear the friends that stood opposite of her desperately proclaim that they’d break her free of her brainwashing when, in reality, Iroha had never felt more authentic and resolute in her beliefs. Others simply stood where they were, unsure of what side to pick. A few walked over to the Leader of the Magius, having placed their faith in her as the dark-winged angel of salvation. Iroha saw the flute sisters greatly struggling to make a decision. They had supported the Magius’ ideals for so long before they put their trust in Iroha to leave it all behind and now Iroha was the very one asking for them to come back. The art-loving green one, who had recently been Iroha’s enemy, had a wicked face of amusement on her face as she strutted behind Iroha.
Looking across the road, Iroha saw one of her closet friends standing against her. This must be the sacrifice that the Magius was built upon. All she wanted was for everyone to be saved, but she wondered if this price was too high. That is when she looked behind her and saw the friends of her past. She saw her sister Ui, she saw her friends Nemu and Touka, and she saw many others who had similarly placed their faith in her. Iroha knew it was her duty to save them, just like she promised. Iroha thought that, after they successfully secure a future for all magical girls, she wanted to walk around Kamihama with her three truest friends just like they planned to all that time ago. Maybe they could even go have a picnic with the Eternal Sakura. Anything was possible, as long as they did it together. Remembering who she was fighting for, her passion was reignited as she stood tall.
On this day, magical girls would have to fight their own friends, the very fate the Magius wished to avoid. Following their hearts, both sides raised their weapons.
Around them, the city was ablaze and soon the fire shall be quenched. A great amount of history was lost here. They say that here there was once a house known as Mikazuki Villa and yet all that proves it ever existed are memories.