Chapter Text
[YACHIYO]
If someone years later were to ask Yachiyo how this whole mess started, she would tell them that it was Homura Akemi’s fault.
That fateful afternoon was a chilly one. Up above, gray clouds had begun to gather, blocking out the sun and casting a long shadow over Shinsei Ward. Yachiyo did her best to ignore them. There were only two things on her mind: Finding a Witch and making dinner plans.
“I’m not really in the mood for Walnuts,” Yachiyo said over the phone as she walked down the sidewalk. “What other options do we have?”
“How about Banbanzai?” Mifuyu asked on the other end. “It’s been a while since we ate there.”
Yachiyo thought it over. “Maybe another time. Tsuruno will be working this evening, and I was hoping we could just have it be the two of us…” In her free hand, she held out her Soul Gem, its blue light shining brightly as she scanned the area.
“I… I see.” Yachiyo imagined Mifuyu’s face turning light pink as she spoke. Between modeling, university, and helping with the Kamihama Magia Union, her schedule was pretty packed. Even right now, she was supposed to meet her manager at a photographer’s studio nearby, for another photoshoot. After that, she was free for the night. Freedom like that was rare, and she wanted to spend as much of it with Mifuyu as possible. Especially now that the two of them were officially dating.
“I guess we’re back to square one again.” Mifuyu sighed over the phone. “Sorry, Yacchan.”
“It’s okay. Anywhere with you is fine,” Yachiyo said reassuringly. She had to admit, it felt a little unreal that they were a couple now. Every morning Yachiyo had to remind herself that she wasn’t imagining things; Mifuyu and her were dating now. It was as much a fact as the existence of energy-harvesting aliens called Incubators. But in the end, she was thankful to have Mifuyu by her side and at Mikazuki again. It certainly beat being alone.
As Yachiyo neared an alleyway, she sensed the Witch’s presence even more. “I’m almost on top of it,” she said.
“Yacchan?” Mifuyu’s voice brought her back to their conversation. Yachiyo gripped the phone.
“That Witch I was looking for, before you called. I’m close to it. I’ll call you back when I destroy it.”
“Okay… be careful.” Yachiyo could sense the worry in Mifuyu’s voice. As soon as she hung up, she entered the dark alley.
Old boxes and debris littered the place, along with a trash receptacle. It was dark, she could barely make out anything in this light.
To the average citizen of Kamihama, there wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary about a dirty alleyway. Certainly nothing there to attract the attention of a young woman like Yachiyo Nanami. But the average citizen didn’t know about the darkness underneath the skyscrapers of metal and glass, the inhuman horrors called Witches that plagued humanity, about the Magical Girls tasked with fighting back the chaos, the price they paid for having a wish granted.
However, just as soon as she neared the source, the magic faded. “What the–?” Yachiyo looked around. Another type of magic appeared in its place–a Magical Girl.
Unsure of what was happening, Yachiyo transformed. Her blue blouse and black dress pants vanished in a flash of light, replaced instead with a blue evening dress with stars adorning the hem, and some light armor on her shoulders and chest. Her blue heels turned into open-toed shoes, and her hands gained gauntlets, one of which held a sharp halberd. A ceremonial headdress that consisted of blue jewels and a sheer fabric rested on her head, her long, blue hair complementing it greatly.
Yachiyo gripped her halberd as she approached where the entrance to the Witch’s Labyrinth was supposed to be. The entrance had vanished, and in its place was a Magical Girl kneeling on one knee, right hand curled into a fist resting on the ground to help support herself. Yachiyo could see the purple glow of a Soul Gem on the girl’s left hand. It was a little murky. But what caught her immediate attention was the round shield on the Magical Girl’s left arm.
She had seen that shield before, and knew immediately who it was.
“Homura Akemi?” she asked, her voice too low for Homura to hear. As she looked on, Homura took the Grief Seed she had just acquired and used it to purify her Soul Gem, until it glowed a bright purple again.
When that was done, Homura turned around, startled at the sight of Yachiyo. Yachiyo, too, was equally startled, because immediately she realized something was off.
It was Homura Akemi. And yet it didn’t seem like it was. Overall it looked like her, but as they say, the devil was in the details. She didn’t have the cherry red glasses Yachiyo commonly associated her with. Her raven hair was not in its usual twin braids; instead, they were loose and flowing behind her back.
Her Magical Girl outfit was like Yachiyo remembered it: She wore a white, long-sleeved blouse with a purple, sailor-style collar. Underneath was a long-sleeved, black undershirt which had a high collar around Homura’s neck. She had a purple, frilly miniskirt over black stockings on her legs, topped off with black heeled shoes. Her purple Soul Gem was on her left hand, next to the shield she usually carried with her.
The look in her eyes was different, however. Yachiyo had seen Homura quite a few times before, such as when she had fought alongside her and the others to stop Walpurgisnacht a few months ago. But she never recalled Homura looking so… so grim. She had an almost distant look in her eyes; Yachiyo couldn’t help but wonder if she looked like that to other people.
“Homura Akemi… it is you.” Yachiyo immediately put her weapon down. Homura was a friend, after all. “What are you doing here in Kamihama? When did you arrive? What happened to your glasses?”
The look of surprise on Homura’s face vanished, replaced with a glare and a mouth locked in a firm line. She turned aside. “It’s none of your concern.” Her voice sounded colder than Yachiyo remembered Homura ever sounding.
Homura looked at the rooftop of the nearest building, preparing to jump. Yachiyo rushed forward, grabbing her arm.
Homura tensed up, turning to her.
“Homura, what’s going on?” Yachiyo asked. “Why are you back in Kamihama?” As she spoke, she noticed Homura’s shield. Instead of the dull, gray color it had been, it now looked like polished silver, with intricate, purple lines forming a labyrinthine pattern around it.
Homura opened her mouth to say something, then stopped. She took a moment to reconsider her words. “I’m hunting.”
Yachiyo tilted her head. “Hunting? Is it a Witch?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be gone as soon as it's over.”
“Until what’s over?” Yachiyo tried to think about what Homura could be talking about. Was there another threat in Kamihama?
Homura yanked her arm away from Yachiyo. “I already wasted time hunting this Witch to get its Grief Seed. I need to go now. But you…” She looked at Yachiyo. “... You’re in danger.”
Now it was Yachiyo’s turn to tense up. “Danger from what?”
Homura looked at her Soul Gem. “I’ll explain later if I run into you again!” She leaped onto the rooftop and turned once more back to Yachiyo. Yachiyo craned her neck to look at her.
“Homura?!”
“Don’t be alone, stay with your friends!” She vanished from Yachiyo’s view right after saying that.
Alone in the alley, Yachiyo turned Homura’s words over in her mind. What was she in danger from…?
***
The camera clicked again, followed by a flash of bright light.
“Let’s try that again, Nanami-san,” the photographer said. Yachiyo just nodded absentmindedly. Despite what was happening, she couldn’t get her encounter with Homura out of her head. What did she mean when she said Yachiyo was in danger?
Another photo was taken. “Nanami-san, is everything alright?”
Yachiyo was so lost in thought she didn’t even hear the question. It wasn’t until her manager appeared that she came back to the present.
“Yachiyo, are you okay?” Her manager had a concerned look on her face.
“Oh, um, I’m alright.” Yachiyo did her best to look like she was. She didn’t mean for the shoot to drag on like this; especially since she wanted to meet up with Mifuyu later. And the swimsuit that she was modeling was rather cute. It was a bikini designed to look like it had been made from purple flowers arranged to form swimwear. It was a nice design, even if it made it obvious how small her chest was (which she hated, but she had to remain professional).
Her manager didn’t seem convinced by her answer. “Are you sure? You seem preoccupied.”
Yachiyo thought it over. “Actually, is it okay if I take a break? I need to… contact someone.”
Her manager still seemed lost, but agreed to it. Once she was alone, Yachiyo dialed Madoka Kaname’s number. Instead of an answer, it went straight to voicemail.
“Madoka,” Yachiyo said when the voicemail began recording. “I ran into Homura while out today. Do you have any idea why she’s in Kamihama? Please call me back when you are able to.”
As soon as she hung up, she went back to continue the photoshoot. Now that she had been able to leave a message for Madoka, Yachiyo was able to resume something closer to her usual confidence when it came to posing for the camera. She did her best to ignore the nagging thoughts in her head. Everything recently had been going better than they had a year ago; why would they take a turn for the worse now?
“So, how are things with you and Azusa-san?” her manager asked when they were finally done.
Yachiyo had finished changing back into her regular clothes and was putting her shoes back on. “It’s going well,” she said. “We’re actually going out to eat later this evening.”
“Ooh, a date.” Her manager smiled. “It’s great to see you two happy. I’d say it’s had a positive effect on you, too.”
Yachiyo blushed. “You do?”
“I do. Even your modeling has improved; I was looking over some of your recent photos, and there’s definitely a lot more energy in them than the previous year alone.”
“I… I see.” Yachiyo smiled happily at that. It was true that Mifuyu being with her again had helped, but it was more than that. She was finally able to freely befriend and talk to others again, no longer worried that it might result in them dying for her like she had feared. And having more girls around Mikazuki was a nice change of pace. It reminded her of happier times when her grandmother had let it be a boarding house. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Her manager nodded. “Oh, that reminds me, that one photographer called again and asked if you would reconsider his offer…”
Yachiyo rolled her eyes. “Tell him I’m still not interested,” she said. “I don’t do that kind of modeling… it’d be embarrassing for me.”
“Understood.”
Now that she was in her second year of university, a lot more people seemed to be noticing that Yachiyo was an adult. This wasn’t so bad, but now and then she’d get offers to model out of her usual subject matter. It was flattering in a way, but she couldn’t bear the thought of her friends seeing her like that, accident or not. As for Mifuyu… well, if it was in private, then maybe.
“Well, that’s all for today. Have fun on your date, Yachiyo.”
“Thank you.”
Yachiyo had just exited the studio and parted from her manager when her phone vibrated. She answered immediately.
“Hello?”
“Yachiyo-san.” Madoka Kaname’s voice came from the other side. Immediately Yachiyo gripped the phone. “Sorry I got back to you late; we were hunting a Witch.”
“Madoka,” she said. “You got my message?”
“I did…” There seemed to be worry in Madoka’s voice. “Yachiyo-san, are you sure you saw Homura-chan earlier?”
“As clear as day. Well, as clear as today was, anyway.” Yachiyo looked up; it was still cloudy. She’d have to dress warm for later. “Why?”
“But that can’t be, because Homura-chan has been here with me in Mitakihara all day!”
Yachiyo felt like a pile of bricks had been dropped on her. “What? Really?”
As if to answer, Homura’s timid voice came through. “H-Hi, Yachiyo-san…!”
A million thoughts whirled in Yachiyo’s head. “But if you’re in Mitakihara, then who…?” she trailed off. Something really felt wrong.
“Yachiyo-san?” Madoka asked.
Yachiyo frowned. “I know what I saw; it looked just like Homura.”
“I… I see.” Madoka seemed to be thinking it over. “Maybe Homura-chan and I should stop by Kamihama later to see if anything is up. We don’t have school tomorrow, after all.”
“That might be a good idea. You can stay at Mikazuki.” Since Mikazuki was formerly a boarding house, there was no doubt in Yachiyo’s mind that they could fit Madoka and Homura in along with the others.
“Perfect,” Madoka said. “We’ll be there in a few hours.”
“Okay; see you then.” Yachiyo hung up. She felt like she had just seen a ghost.
If Homura was with Madoka all day, then who was that other Homura I ran into…?
***
The clouds still hung over the city, and a breeze had picked up. Yachiyo hugged herself, shivering. She definitely needed to have a coat later. To the west she could already see the sun beginning to set, the orange light peeking through the few breaks of cloud.
Despite looking forward to the evening, Yachiyo was still spooked over her meeting earlier. And now she was wondering where that Homura she had run into went off to. What was she doing, at this moment? Should Yachiyo have gone after her to make sure things were as she said they were?
Yachiyo shook her head. Maybe it wasn’t really Homura, she thought to herself. Maybe it was just Rena Minami, up to her usual shapeshifting. Yeah, maybe that was it. Maybe she wasn’t wearing glasses because Rena herself didn’t need them. The more Yachiyo thought about this, the more it made sense.
Her sense of comfort was interrupted by a purple fireball smashing on the sidewalk in front of her.
Yachiyo jumped back. “What the hell?!”
The smoke cleared, revealing an impact crater the size of a car. A groan followed it, then a figure sitting up. The long, black, wavy hair immediately clued Yachiyo in to who it was.
“Homura…?” She ran up to her. “Homura… er, or whoever you are… are you okay?!”
Homura turned; she recognized Yachiyo, and became more alert. “You! Stay back, it’s not like a normal F–!”
Another figure landed a few meters away from the two of them. Its gait was like a zombie, or a puppet manipulated by a child who had an idea of movement, but no grasp for the subtleties of it. It looked at Homura with piercing eyes, then at Yachiyo, its head tilted in fascination. Its hair was a bright pink, in two pigtails.
Yachiyo reeled back as she recognized the figure’s face. “Madoka?”
Instead of answering, Madoka lunged at them.