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“Witches?”
Mami stared at Kyubei. She was vaguely aware of the cool night air around her, curling through the park like talons. A pleasant midsummer’s night best spent listening to the cicadas chirping on the back porch.
It had no business bearing witness to such a nightmarish revelation.
“That’s right.” Kyubei’s robotic voice seemed to mock her. “When a magical girl’s soul gem is fully corrupted, they become a witch. A mahou shoujo grows up into a mahou. It’s only fitting, isn’t it?”
Mami barely heard him. Her mind was whirling like a hurricane. Witches. Magical girls became witches. The monsters she had been fighting all along were once girls just like her. And one day, she was doomed to follow in their footsteps. Already dead on her feet.
“You lied to us,” Mami whispered.
“Lie? I never told you anything that wasn’t true.”
“SHUT UP!”
Mami summoned a gun and aimed it straight at Kyubei. “You tricked me!” she howled. “I trusted you!”
“There’s no point in shooting me.” Kyubei remained unruffled. “I have more copies than you can kill.”
Blam. Kyubei’s body hit the ground, lifeless. Mami fired another shot into him, then another, then another, until there was nothing left of the wretched creature but a fluffy white rag stained red with blood.
“See?”
Another Kyubei hopped smartly atop a nearby alley wall. “I would’ve happily told you if you asked. There’s no sense in blaming me for your own lack of curiosity.”
Mami’s hands shook in helpless rage. The gun fell to the ground and vanished into the ether. Her chest heaved with unvoiced sobs. “What about the others?” she choked out.
“Madoka and Sayaka, you mean?”
“I convinced them to join me.” Mami clutched her chest. “I made them become magical girls. And now…”
Kyubei’s expression didn’t waver. “Naturally, they will become witches too.”
Mami’s stomach heaved; she clapped a hand over her mouth. But the bile came up all the same. She coughed violently, feeling it burn her throat like acid. No. No no no no no no.
Ever since she became a magical girl, she’d longed for someone to fight by her side. When she’d met Madoka and Sayaka, it was like the heavens had opened up before her. Finally, there were others she could rely on. Finally, she wouldn’t have to be alone.
I’ve killed them.
“You have to save them!” She staggered over until she was standing below Kyubei atop the wall. “You have to change them back!”
“That’s impossible.”
“Please!” She slammed her fists on the wall. “There has to be a way! There has to!”
Her shoulders heaved. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her balance. Please…
“Hmmmm.” Kyubei remained as still as a statue. “I suppose there might be a solution.”
Mami looked up desperately, but the creature wasn’t done. “You’ll have to make a sacrifice, though. Something that will make up for losing the potential energy of their witch transformations.”
“I’ll do it! Whatever it is, I’ll do it!”
Kyubei stared back at her. Its unblinking eyes seemed to pierce her heart like a javelin. “And here I thought you disliked rushing into things.”
“That doesn’t matter!” Mami clutched her chest. “If I can save them…”
Then I don’t care what happens to me.
Kyubei tilted its head to the side. “Alright, then. Just don’t start complaining when I give you what you wish for again.”
The furry enigma hopped off the wall and landed gracefully at Mami’s feet. “Here’s what’s going to happen…”
* * *
“Mami-san?”
Mami looked up from her tea. “Is something wrong, Madoka?”
“It’s just…” Madoka nervously glanced to the side. “It feels like you’re… different lately.”
“Different?”
“Yeah. Like there’s something you’re not telling us.”
Mami’s hand trembled for a moment. Then, she steadied her nerves. “What would I need to hide?” she purred pleasantly. “I’m perfectly fine.”
She sipped her tea. It was piping hot, just the way she liked it. For some reason, though, she barely felt the heat as it went down her throat. It might as well have been ice cold.
Madoka’s eyes bore into her. Mami tried to avoid flinching away. Her kouhai’s kind, worried gaze might as well be plunging barbed daggers into her heart every second it remained earnestly fixed on her.
“Mami-san?”
“Yes?”
Madoka breathed deeply. “If something ever is wrong… promise me you’ll tell us about it.”
Mami dug her nails into her palms. Stop it.
“We’re always relying on you. So I want you to rely on us a little too.” Madoka smiled. “Okay?”
Stop being so…
Mami forced a smile across her face. “Well, look at you, being all responsible.” She tousled Madoka’s hair playfully. “I almost feel like your mom.”
“Eeek!” Madoka giggled and tried to pull away. “Mami-san, that’s embarrassing!”
Mami closed her eyes. That’s right, Madoka. Laugh with your heart intact.
The ice in her throat crept another inch forward.
You never need to know.
* * *
“Tiro Finale!”
Mami’s strike blew the witch apart. Its dying shriek mingled with the gun’s explosion. Sayaka covered her ears. “God, they’re so loud!” she complained.
“Go, Mami-san!” Madoka cheered, undaunted by the chilling cacophony.
Mami landed on both feet. She swayed for a moment before recovering her balance. It was odd; normally, Madoka’s praise would make her heart swell with joy. Lately, though, it barely touched her at all.
Within seconds, the labyrinth blinked out of existence, and they were back in the real world once more. Mami checked her soul gem; it was still darker than it should be. Every strike seemed to take twice as much energy as usual recently.
“Everything okay?” Sayaka called.
Mami hurriedly stowed her soul gem away. “Of course!” she called back. She picked up the grief seed and tossed it over to the girls. “Here, you need this more than I do.”
Madoka frowned. “Are you sure?”
“It’ll take more than that to drain me,” Mami lied. She turned her gaze away. “Let’s do one more sweep of downtown and call it a night, okay?”
“Okay!”
Mami set off once more, trying to ignore the clammy feeling in her hands.
* * *
“You’re progressing quickly. I’m impressed.”
Mami leaned against her bookshelf. “That doesn’t make me happy.”
“You should be.” Kyubei pranced a little, almost like it was excited. “You’ll fulfil your part of our promise before too much longer.”
Mami opened her mouth to respond, but no words came to mind. What was she even supposed to say? What point was there in getting angry now?
Why is it so goddamn cold?
“The other girls don’t know, do they?” Kyubei asked.
Mami shook her head. “And they’ll never have to. So don’t you dare-”
“Hey, it’s not like I care.” Kyubei’s unblinking eyes glimmered in the moonlight. “it’s your choice, after all.”
That’s right. It was her choice. There was no reason to complain about anything. All she had to do was accept it.
She rubbed her hands together for warmth. “I’m done talking to you. Please leave.”
“Alright.”
As Kyubei stepped into the shadows, though, it turned back one last time. “I’d say you’ve got about a week left. Don’t waste it.”
And then it was gone, leaving Mami shivering in a sixty-degree evening.
* * *
“Why won’t you talk to us?”
Mami glanced back at Madoka. “What do you mean?”
“Mami-san, please.” Madoka’s voice cracked in fear. “You’ve barely talked to us the past few days. Every time we see you, you just get more and more distant. It’s like you’re… fading away.”
Tears began to drip from her eyes. “You promised, didn’t you?” she begged. “You promised you’d tell me if something was wrong. “So why…”
The tears overtook her. She buried her face in her hands and cried, her voice echoing throughout the empty street.
Mami stared at her curiously. Something was unusual, but she couldn’t quite tell what. Madoka was her friend, wasn’t she? It wasn’t surprising that she would be worried about her. So why…
“You really don’t need to worry.” Mami turned away. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“That’s a lie, Mami-san! I know it’s a lie!”
“I’ll see you on patrol tonight,” Mami said, already walking away. “Make sure you rest up.”
“Mami-san!”
As Madoka’s pleading voice faded into the distance. Mami finally put her finger on what was unusual. Normally, when a friend is worried enough about you to cry, you’d feel something for them in turn. That was only natural if you cared about someone.
And yet, she’d felt absolutely nothing.
* * *
“Can you feel it?”
Another spike of pain lanced through Mami. She gasped and rolled into a ball. “Yes,” she choked out.
“It can be painful at first. But the transformation won’t take long. So don’t worry.”
Mami sucked in a breath. Every nerve in her body was screaming out in agony. It was like she was burning from the inside out, and yet the fire was so hot it looped back around to being freezing. A scorching cold rushing through her veins, melting her body into bubbling ice crystals that blew away in the breeze.
“You’re doing very well.” Kyubei’s voice took on an almost comforting tone. “I look forward to when it’s finished.”
The creature hopped atop the alley wall. “Oh, and don’t worry about your friends. I’ll uphold my end of the bargain. They’ll go back to their normal lives, just like you wanted.”
That’s right. Everything was going to be alright now. The other girls would be free
Free… why did I want to save them so badly, I wonder?
Another spasm. She could barely feel her legs anymore. Everything was growing cold and numb and empty. Dimly, she wondered what the point of all this had been. Wanting to help people. Wanting to save people. How curious those notions seemed now.
What was I fighting for?
“MAMI-SAN!”
Mami looked up.
Madoka sprinted to her side and fell to her knees. “Mami-san!” she wailed. “I knew something was wrong! Why didn’t you tell me?”
Mami stared back at her, unblinking. The girl’s face was streaked with horror. In the distance, she could see Sayaka running to join them. What was left of her heart twisted in regret.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “If only I wasn’t so weak…”
“Don’t talk like that!” Madoka grasped her hand. “Just tell us how to save you!”
“It’s okay. You’re safe now.” Mami’s vision grew darker.
“Mami-san! Mami-san, stay with me!”
Mami closed her eyes. It was too much effort to keep talking. She couldn’t even feel Madoka holding her hand anymore. The last shred of warmth in her body sputtered like a dying candle.
She’d done what she needed to do. Nothing else mattered.
Finally… I can give up.
“MAMI-SAN!”
Mami barely even heard her. But a smile crept across her face all the same. Thank you.
The ice closed over her heart.
I really…
Everything went dark.
…loved you both.
* * *
“Are you okay?”
Mami opened her eyes.
A girl was kneeling beside her. “Poor little thing,” she murmured. “You look so cold.”
Cold. That’s right; she was cold. Cold and numb and empty. It was a comforting feeling.
“Don’t worry,” she chirped, sitting up. “I’m perfectly fine.”
The girl jumped back in shock. “You can talk?” she gasped?
Mami examined the girl. Judging by her uniform, she was a junior high student. Probably around thirteen years old. She was alone; none of her friends were around. Maybe she didn’t have any.
A perfect candidate.
“Hi, there!” Mami stood upright on her four new legs. “My name’s Mami. What’s yours?”
“Um…” The girl fidgeted. “I’m Rei.”
“Nice to meet you, Rei!” Mami’s unblinking eyes bore into the girl. “I’d like you to make a contract with me… and become a magical girl!”