Chapter 4

Part 3: Distance Between Hearts

Kyouko: Ahh--hh.............That was dumb. Getting myself all worked up like that...

Rena: It's not a lot, but we do know some things about Rumors.

Kyouko: (...I wonder if I should've...siezed the opportunity and made use of that "let's help each other out" spirit of theirs...) ...Anyway...What should I do?

Iroha: Ah, yes, thank you very much.

Kyouko: (...Didn't they say her name was "Iroha" or something...?)

Tsuruno's Dad: Unfortunately, Tsuruno's not here today. She went out with Yachiyo-chan.

Kyouko: (Those people that might be her friends aren't at that restaurant today...There's no mistake, this area's where they're active but...I don't want to wander around here, only to pass them by without noticing for no reason...Assuming that they're going to come back here...then they'll definitely pass by the...)

--Sankyou Ward: Mizunori Shopping District Station--

Kyouko: Tch...This is annoying...! (...Another 2 hours...I'll wait a bit longer and if it doesn't seem like they're gonna come...I guess I'll switch over to looking for that "monster") ....................!

Tsuruno: Anyway, let's hurry up and go! We don't have much time left, right!?

Yachiyo: True. Tsuruno, I don't mind if it's only part of the way. Please guide us there.

Tsuruno: Aye-ye sir-!

Iroha: You're right...Right now...we need to go...

Kyouko: (They're here...And on top of that, "she's" here too...Just like I thought, she was a friend of that Yachiyo girl...) ...Hmph, it's a good thing I didn't carelessly end up becoming their acquaintance. ...Now, lead me to that goal too.

Iroha: Whahyaaa, b, bat!? Kyaaaah! Don't come this way!

Tsuruno: Waaaaaaah!! It hit me on the head! Grossss!

Kyouko: (Geez...To think it'd be holed up in a secluded place like this. Even though there's no time left to be wasting crying like that...!) ---!?

Black-Feather: Who's there...

Kyouko: I thought that we finally ran into the monster when a weird guy showed up in front of them. Since I couldn't carelessly show myself, I hid in the shadows and listened to what they said. They kept talking about "Magius' objective" and the "release of magical girls" and other tedious stuff that I didn't understand at all.

A "curse that binds magical girls", you say? ...Well. They did talk about some stuff that got me a bit interested but...For now, there was no way I was going to keep listening to an unrealistic conversation like that. If you feel like getting in my way, then I won't hold back and I'll crush you...!

Kyouko: What are you wasting your time here for!?

Black Feather: Gu...

Kyouko: Do you really have the time to waste listening to the enemy's oh so valuable views? There's only... oh...exactly an hour left...

Yachiyo: You're...Sakura-san!

Yachiyo: Sakura-san, let's work together here.

Kyouko: Normally, I want to say no but in a situation like this I guess I have no choice. I'll leave one of 'em to you!

Kyouko: (I got them to lead me this far. That's enough. All that's left is to look for an opening...and get the jump on them or something...!)

Tsukasa: We can't let it end like this...

Tsukuyo: We can't afford to fail the task that the Magius' Three have assigned to us...

Kyouko: Aaaah? ...Tsk...!

Kyouko: We easily took care of those weird guys from earlier, but...some other weird guys blocked our path again. I thought that we could just blow them away and take 'em out quickly like the guys from before, but...

Iroha: I think you shouldn't do any more than this. Your soul gems...don't have any magical energy left in them...

Tsukuyo: Fufufufu... That's just perfect...

Yachiyo: Your soul gems are tainted and that's perfect... do you mean...? You...could it be...

Tsukuyo: You are all very fortunate.

Tsukasa: After all, you get to witness with your very own eyes,

Tsukuyo: the "proof that Kamihama is the place where you can be freed"

Kyouko: After saying that the taint in their soul gems was a fortunate thing, they produced a mysterious "something" from their bodies.

Kyouko: What...the...!? ...Hey, hey...what in the world...What the hell is going on here...!?

Yachiyo: We were saved by that thing when you brought it out last time, but when we're on the receiving end it's really rough, isn't it...

Kyouko: You brought that thing out too?

Iroha: Y, Yes...

Mami: ...Sakura-san, you...have you seen a witch that takes on the appearance of a human before?

Kyouko: I get it...The humanoid Witch that Mami was talking about, that was you...Sheesh, she only understood that it's dangerous...

Tsukuyo: Now, if you want to pass you will need to look forward to risking your lives.

Kyouko: Tsk...! So they went through the trouble of having it countdown the minutes too...!? It's really getting bad.

Kyouko: If rumors actually, actually do become reality, then there's only 30 minutes left until misery comes falling down on me. Now's not the time for me to hesitate, not when I haven't even seen the monster itself yet.

Iroha: Ah, yes, thank you very much.

Kyouko: Mind giving me one too?

Felicia: Give me another glass!

Kyouko: The ones who drank the water and got involved with this rumor were the three of us, after all. We decided to leave these guys I don't know really get to their friends, and the three of us victims went ahead towards where the origin of this "Rumor" was.

Kyouko: I thought about going ahead and defeating the Rumor on my own, but it's seriously starting to look like we'll need to work together, the 3 of us, or we'll all be defeated together...

Iroha: Eh, "going ahead"...You mean, you were thinking about doing something like that!?

Kyouko: Rumors aren't the same thing as witches, right? It's not guaranteed that everyone will turn out okay like when a witch is defeated.

Felicia: You got a point!

Kyouko: Right? But right now, if we waste time thinking about that kind of stuff, the time limit will be here before we know it.

Iroha: Then...

Kyouko: Yeah, now that it's come down to this...

Kyouko: You see, I couldn't stand the thought of people getting ahead of me, leaving me as the only one to draw the short end of the stick. I thought about seizing the chance to get the jump on them, and defeating the Rumor first, but...now's not the time or the place to say those kinds of things. Here, instead of having the three of us die in vain, the smartest option is to gamble on the chance that I'll be one of the winners and for us all to go at it with all our strength.

Kyouko: No matter who gets saved, I won't bear any grudges!

Kyouko: It's already counting down the seconds! Hurry and finish it off already!

Felicia: Iroha, shoot that thing!

Kyouko: We don't have any time left, we'll have to finish this off in one hit!

Kyouko: ...Well, I guess we barely made it.

Kyouko: We somehow managed to defeat it, but that thing they call a "Rumor" was a thing that caused an unbelievable amount of trouble, even with three people. And they're saying there's more of them like that? Seems like what Mami said was true. This Kamihama is an extremely bizarre and unbelievable city.

Iroha: Um, before you go there's one favor I'd like to ask of you...

Kyouko: What's the favor?

Iroha: If you happen to meet with Tomoe-san, could you clear up the...misunderstanding for me, please...?

Kyouko: Ohh, you're talking about that Doppel thing, right? I don't know if and where I can meet up with Mami but if I do run into her, I'll make sure to tell her that she's over-thinking it.

Kyouko: You're already going home?

Mami: Sakura-san? What's wrong?

Kyouko: Nothing. I just happened to be heading home too.

Mami: Is that so?

Kyouko: That's right...since I happened to run into you, I'll tell you something. That humanoid witch thing you were talking about the other day?

Mami: ----!?

Kyouko: That's not a witch or anything, it's something that you can let out if your soul gem gets tainted..."a projection of feelings"...or they said something like that. Anyway...that's not a witch. I just wanted to tell you that. Later.

Mami: Wait...! ...Who'd you hear that from?

Kyouko: No one, it's just something I saw and heard myself.

Mami: -----!? You...! went to Kamihama...!?

Kyouko: Yeah, that's right.

Mami: Whyy...!? I told you not to get involved so many times...!

Kyouko: Haah? Did you think I'd honestly do as you say?

Mami: ...!

Kyouko: Advice is advice...and I'll gladly accept that information. But you know, I'm free to decide what to do after hearing it, aren't I?

Mami: ...I can't just stand back... and let you recklessly put yourself at risk. I'm glad you were able to safely make it back home, but otherwise...

Kyouko: What? Are you trying to order me around again? What are you after? Why are you trying to bind me?

Mami: ...Because I'm worried about you. If I can protect you...It's because I want to protect you.

Kyouko: ..........

Mami: I don't know what you're thinking, but...to me, you're...even if it was just for a moment...you were my friend, who went through some good times and bad times with me, that's why.

Kyouko: ...!

Yachiyo: I, don't want to give up on Mifuyu after all... Since she's my best friend, the person I shared good times and bad times with as a magical girl for the past seven years...

Kyouko: Because we were so close that we shared good times and bad times together? Because we've known each other for a long time? Because we're best friends, because we're family...

None of that matters. None of it...is something you can rely on at all.

Kyouko's Dad: "You're...a witch that manipulates other people's hearts...!"

Kyouko: People change. Human hearts easily break if even one gear falls out of place.

Kyouko: ...I changed...

Mami: Eh...?

Kyouko: I'm not...the person I used to be. I'm not some stupidly honest, kouhai magical girl drunk on a stupid sense of justice...desperate to protect everyone's happiness...!

Mami: ...................

Kyouko: Regardless, you still think...that you want to protect me? ...Bullshit...

Mami: ...........I do. That it might be possible to once again, one day...walk on the same path...with the same feelings...I...won't give up on you, after all.

Girl A: Hey--, why don't we go to the store together some other time?

Girl B: Sounds good~~!

Kyouko: ................

Yachiyo: Is it because of what happened...one year ago...?

Mifuyu: That's right... It's as if it changed you, Yacchan...

Yachiyo: But I didn't end up like you.

Mifuyu: That's simply an issue of our basic human nature. Back then, I thought that no matter what it takes, I want to save them. It's in my nature to think that way... Since you're my best friend, I think you'll understand...

Kyouko: (...What if Mami ended up in the same situation as me? What if my fate and Mami's switched places?)

Kyouko: ...No, even if that happened, she'd probably walk down the same road. I destroyed my family as a result of my conceited wish to make everyone happy. In other words, I had the qualities of becoming alone. It's a matter of differences in basic human nature. My path and hers wouldn't cross. We might've been walking down the same road together for a while, but in the end, we're destined to part. Just like I thought, my nature is to be alone and that fits me.