Hello Fanfiction readers! It is I, Ashbel Longhart, finally back to bring you, people, another chapter of my Ryuki story! Man, it has been so long since I've done this story. According to the data, I haven't touched this story in...over a year. Oof, damn. Well, better fix that then. Cue disclaimer!

(Disclaimer: I do not own Puella Magi Madoka Magica or Kamen Rider Ryuki. They both belong to their respective owners. Any songs or anything familiar also belongs to their respective owners. I just own this story and my OC's. Please enjoy.)

Anyway, since it's been so long since I've done this story, let's do a recap. Last time, Oriko made her appearance alongside Ken aka KR Gai asking to talk with Takeru, leaving Mami to go to the meeting with the Hohzuki group. Meanwhile, Haru is still dealing with the fact that he's killed a man and he's taking it hard. For those complaining about how Haru hasn't been much of the main character, have no fear for it is time to put the spotlight back on him! He's been getting the short end of the stick lately, but I want people to understand that this Haru is different from the Haru's I have in my other stories. His past is a bit different from Wizard and Faiz Haru, not only that but he's also much younger as well. I do hope you all can understand.

But I digress, it's time to get back to doing what I do best! It's been a while, but I'll try not to disappoint. In any case, let's ride! If you do not fight, then you won't survive!

Wish 14: Never Forget/The Cold Truth

(Last Time)

"We were all taking this Rider War too lightly. We knew that Riders would come to try and kill us, but for it to actually happen..."

"Right now, we have other matters to talk about. Such as the group of Magical Girls Takeru-kun, Seikatsu-san, and I ran into yesterday."

"Gokigenyou(Good evening), Tomoe Mami and Uranaishi Takeru."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"So, shall we get this meeting underway?"

"The reason I wanted to talk about your ability to 'predict' the future is because I too can predict the future."

"He used powers we've never seen before and called himself a 'Kamen Rider'. Just what is a 'Kamen Rider'? We know there's more than one if you're other friends are any proof."

STRIKE VENT

"Please, wait! I don't want to fight you!"

"Too bad, 'cause I do."

"The fate that awaits you in the future is a fate no one should bear. Which is why I shall now save you."

"Save me?"

"Yes. Compared to what awaits you in the future, death is nothing but an act of mercy."

(Now)

"Tadaima(I'm home)," Suzune called out as she entered the building.

"Ah!"

"Hm?" As the door closed behind her, Suzune saw the one person she had tried to avoid all day.

"Uh, okairi(Welcome back)?" Haru said awkwardly, scratching his left cheek with his left hand as he sat with the owner, Yunagi, at the table who was wapping bandages around his right hand.

"Oh? Welcome back, Suzune," Yunagi said, pausing in her work to greet the girl.

Suzune nodded before she looked over at Haru, specifically at the bandages. Seeing this, Yunagi explained as she continued where she left off.

"Yamamoto-san here fell off his scooter. It's nothing too bad, just a few scrapes."

"I'm really sorry about the scooter," Haru apologized, hanging his head down a little.

"Oh don't worry about it," The woman said, finishing up. "Your life is much more important than that old thing."

"My life..." Haru frowns to himself as he looks down.

Seeing this, Yunagi grows concerned for the boy before an idea pops into her head.

"Yamamoto-san, why don't you stay over for dinner tonight?"

"Eh?" Both Haru and Suzune said at the same time, the former looking up at the woman as what she said had snapped him out from his thoughts.

"The scooter still needs to be fixed so I'd hate to have you walk all the way back home during the night."

"Oh no, that's fine, really. I can get back home on my own," Haru said, trying to turn down the woman's offer.

"Please, I insist. It's usually just me and Suzune here, so having more company around would be great."

"I already brought something for dinner though," Haru said, pointing over to a nearby bag on the table.

"You can give those to your friends, then. You said so yourself how you were sharing a room with other people," Yunagi said. "Besides, it's not like I'm asking you to stay the night."

"Well..."

*ring!*

Suddenly, the hanging doorbell rings, causing everyone to turn to see who had arrived at this hour.

"Haru-kun!"

"Eh!? Madoka-chan!?" Indeed, it was none other than the pinkette herself standing by the door.

"I finally found you," Madoka said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Madoka-chan, what are you doing here?" Haru asks as both Yunagi and Suzune look between the two in confusion.

"Friend of yours?" Yunai asks, pointing over to Madoka.

"Uh, yes," Haru nodded.

"That's good then," Yunagi said, standing up with a smile as she walks over to Madoka. "Why don't you join us for dinner, ojou-chan?"

"Eh?" Madoka replied in confusion, wondering what she had just walked into.

"Suzune," Yunagi then turns to the silver-haired girl. "I'm gonna make a quick run to the store. Keep our guests' company while I'm gone."

"Huh?" Speaking for the first time since coming back, Suzune exclaims in confusion.

"Well then, I'll be back shortly!" And with that, the woman took off, leaving the three alone.

"Wait a minute!" Haru exclaims, but the woman was already gone. "I didn't even agree with you yet..."

Soon after Yunagi leaves does silence descend upon the three, having no idea what to say in this situation.

...

...

...

...

...

"H-Hello..." Madoka breaks the silence, greeting Suzune as this was their first time meeting.

As for Suzune herself, she sighed in exasperation. Had she know this would have happened, she'd have gone hunting.

(Insert: Connect by ClariS)

(Kawashita yakusoku wasurenai yo me) The song starts with the camera rising up to show two figures, a boy and a girl as they were surrounded by glistening mirrors.

(Wo toji tashikameru) The boy and girl turned out to be none other than Haru Yamamoto and Madoka Kaname back to back.

(Oshiyoseta yami furiharatte susumu yo) Madoka's hair shadowed over her eyes as she looked like she was trying to hold back tears while Haru tightly but gently held one of her hands in comfort while the other hand was holding onto Ryuki's Deck Box. In the mirrors, their reflections differ from themselves as Madoka's reflections showed her in her Magical Girl outfit while Haru's reflection was that of Kamen Rider Ryuki. Suddenly, the mirrors shatter into pieces as the title appeared.

(Itsu ni nattara nakushita mirai wo) Haru along with Renji, Alex, and Takeru all wake up to start the day, still a bit groggy but got up nonetheless.

(Watashi koko de mata miru koto dekiru no?) The four boys brushed their teeth side by side before the scene fast forwards to them finishing putting on their school uniform before rushing out the door.

(Afuredashita fuan no kage wo) The boys are seen running as fast as they can as to not be late for school when Haru notices something up ahead. Up ahead, Madoka along with Sayaka and Hitomi were seen smiling at the approaching group.

(Nando demo saite kono sekai ayun de kou) The four slowed down to a stop and walked with the girls to school. Not too far from them, Mami is seen walking by herself to school, Kyoko was nearby eating as always, and Homura was walking from a distance, looking at the group, but more specifically, Madoka. While the rest of the group talked with one another, Haru and Madoka glanced at one another smiling.

(Tomedonaku kizamareta) The scene changes to show Madoka with Kyoko and Mami to her right and Sayaka and Homura to her left all transforming into their Magical Girl outfits before they go to fight a Witch.

(Toki ha ima hajimari tsuge) Haru and the boys try to run up to them but are stopped by mirrors. They bang on the mirrors to get the girls, but they didn't hear or notice them as they were too busy fighting.

(Kawaranai omoi wo nose) The boys bang and bang on the mirrors stopping them before Haru had enough and punched the thing, surprised to see that he had formed a crack. He continues to punch and punch the mirror in front of him, forming cracks as the others followed his lead, getting the same results.

(Tozasareta tobira akeyou) They throw punch after punch before finally, they all throw one single punch that brakes the mirrors right in front of them before they dash through as when they passed, they all had transformed; Ryuki for Haru, Knight for Renji, Zolda for Alex, and Raia for Takeru.

(Mezameta kokoro ha hashiridashita mirai wo egaku tame) Just when Sayaka was about to get hit, Knight swoops in and saves her just in time, holding Sayaka in a bridal position as his Contract Monster, Darkwing providing him wings to fly. Mami jumps back to avoid an attack when a whip wraps around her waist and pulls her to safety as the culprit was none other than Raia who caught her in his arms while they rode on his Contract Monster, Evildiver. An arm was about to grab Kyoko when it was shot. Looking behind her, Kyoko saw that it was Zolda who had shot the arm as his Contract Monster, Magnugiga stood behind him.

(Muzukashii michi de tachidomatte mo sora ha) Multiple hands went to grab both Madoka and Homura when suddenly flames burned the hands away as appearing from the flame were both Ryuki and Ryuga as the red Rider stood in front of Madoka protectively while the black Rider did the same for Homura as both Riders had their Contract Monsters, Dragreder and Dragblacker float next to them, ready for battle.

(Kirei na aosa de itsumo mattete kureru) All the Riders prepare to execute their Final Vents while the girls prepare to use their strongest attacks on the Witch.

(Dakara kowakunai) Suddenly, in Haru's eyes, he sees the shadow images of the other Riders participating in the Rider War before he jumps up with Dragreder coiling around him.

(Mou nani ga atte mo kujikenai) In quick shots, all the Riders unleash their Final Vents with the girls unleash their great attacks before the scene changes to a puddle where all five Rider Decks laid on as the reflection showed the girls' Soul Gems. Ryuga's reflected Homura's, Raia's reflected Mami's, Zolda reflected Kyoko's, Knight reflected Sayaka's, and Ryuki's reflected Madoka's as the song comes to an end.

(Park)

*beep...beep...beep...*

*The Number You Are Calling Is Currently—*

With a sigh, Mami ends the call and puts away her phone.

"No luck?" Mami looks up to Renji who also had his phone out. With them were Alex, Kyoko, and Yuma, the former currently on the phone himself. It had been over an hour since the meeting ended and they separated with the Hohzuki group, giving them time to decide what they wanted to do with their offer. For the time being, numbers were exchanged, but only between the boys as none of the girls were quite that trustful of them yet, even after all they told them. That was to be expected since they were still strangers to them. Right now, Mami had taken the group back to where she had left Takeru and Sayaka with Oriko and have been trying to call them ever since.

The blond Magical Girl shook her head before asking, "What about you?"

"I couldn't reach either Takeru or Sayaka-san," Renji said, putting away his phone before he and Mami turn towards Alex who was on his phone for a few seconds before ending the call and turning towards everyone.

"Anything?" Renji asks and much to everyone's displeasure, Alex shakes his head.

"No dice."

"Dammit!" Renji curses, frustrated.

"So you have no way of finding that Oriko chick," Kyoko said, clicking her tongue. "Well, this was a waste of time. Come on Yuma, we're leaving."

"Hold it," Alex interjects, slightly glaring at the girl. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Heading home. I followed you guys because I thought I'd finally get a shot at the one who goaded Yuma into becoming a Magical Girl, but seeing as you've lost track of her I'm not gonna waste my time standing around here."

"We still need to look for Takeru-kun and Miku-san," Mami said.

"And I should care, why?" Kyoko shot back, hands in her pockets as she raises an eyebrow at her former mentor. "Your friends aren't my friends. I have no reason to help them."

"That may be, but don't forget that as of right now, both Takeru-kun and Miki-san are with Oriko, meaning sticking with us is your best chance at finding her," Mami said, throwing out the fact sticking with them was Kyoko's best chance at encountering the white Magical Girl as of this moment.

"...tch! As crafty as always," Kyoko said, begrudgingly admitting that what Mami said was true.

"So what do we do now?" Renji asks before suggesting, "Should we split up?"

"I think that would be our best bet at this moment," Mami said before she manifested her Soul Gem. "Our Soul Gem can react to Mirror Monsters the same way it reacts to Witches. If they're fighting, our Soul Gems can let us know if they're close by or not."

"And we can also have our Contract Monsters scout out for us and report back if they find them before us," Alex added in.

"Sounds like a plan," Renji said, turning to a nearby reflection and sent off his Contract Monster, Darkwing, away with Alex doing the same with his Magnagiga. Turning back to the group, he then asks, "So, how should we split...?" The Rider trails off from there when he and Mami see that Yuma had grabbed the hands of both Alex and Kyoko, and didn't seem to be letting go anytime soon.

"...I think we already have our groups," Mami said with an amused smile. Kyoko, seeing the smile, chose not to retort.

"Yuma will help too!" Yuma said, looking determined to help and be useful to the group, specifically to Alex and Kyoko.

"And we appreciate the help," Alex said, giving the girl a smile before looking back up at Renji and Mami. "We'll contact you if we find them."

"Same," Renji said as he and Mami split up from the group, going one direction while the others took another.

"I hope Takeru-kun and Miki-san are okay..." Mami said, distressed. She made the decision to leave those two with the mysterious Oriko and now...

"Hey," Renji spoke up, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm worried about them too, but I'm sure they're fine. I've been helping Sayaka-san hone her sword skills and she's also got Takeru with her to back her up."

"True, but still..."

"Is this Oriko girl that dangerous?" Renji asks, still seeing the uncertainty in the Magical Girl's eyes.

"You weren't there when I met her," Mami said, clenching her Soul Gem tightly. "Her eyes...they were dangerous. I don't know how much experience Takeru-kun has in fighting, but Miki-san is still new to all this. I just can't help, but worry..."

Renji's mouth forms a thin line as he looks up at the approaching night sky, his feelings matching Mami's. But right now, he could only hope either his Contract Monster or Alex's group find any sign of them. As much as he wanted to trust his friends, his gut was telling him that they were in trouble.

(Mirror World)

*CLANG-CLANG-SPARK!*

"Gah!" Letting out a cry of pain, Takeru rolled on the ground, coming to a stop when he slammed against a building wall. Pushing himself up, the stingray-themed Rider looked up Ken aka Kamen Rider Gai walking menacingly towards him, wielding his Metal Horn gauntlet.

"Get up," The rhino-themed Rider demanded, walking up and grabbing Takeru by the collar of his armor, lifting him up to his feet.

"Please, wait! I said I don't want to fight you!" Takeru pleaded, grabbing the enemy Rider's arm as he was pushed against the wall.

"And I said earlier that I don't care!" Releasing his hold on Takeru, Ken quickly backhanded him across the face before lifting up his Metal Horn arm and punched Takeru with enough forth to send him through the wall. Walking inside, the two Riders found themselves in a parking garage.

"Shit! He's gonna kill me at this rate!" Gritting through the pain, Takeru pushes himself up to his knees before reaching towards his Advent Deck.

"Oh? Finally in the mood to fight me now?" Ken asked as he too reached down to his Advent Deck.

"Not like you're leaving me with many choices," Takeru bitterly said as he drew a card. He really didn't want to fight the Rider in front of him, not after seeing how Haru ended up after his fight with Scissors, but he really didn't have a choice in the matter. It was either fight back or die by Ken's hands.

In this Rider War where one does not survive if they don't fight, the choice was obvious.

SWING VENT

Loading the card into his Evil Visor, Takeru held out his hand as his Contract Monster, Evildiver, flew in from the hole Ken had made when he punched him, delivering him the Evil Whip. But just as he was about to wrap his fingers around the weapon...

CONFINE VENT

It faded into nothing, making Takeru grab nothing but air.

"Nani(What)!?" Takeru looked at his empty hand in surprise before looking up at the perpetrator, Ken, whose hand was over his Metal Visor.

"Don't think it'll be that easy," Ken said as he ran up to Takeru and punched down with his Metal Horn.

Takeru quickly reacted and rolled to the side, just barely dodging the gauntlet modeled after Ken's Contract Monster. Getting up to his feet, the stingray-themed Rider quickly drew another card and inserted it into his Visor.

SHOOT VENT

Takeru extended his hand out, waiting for his Evil Crossbow to fly into his hands...

CONFINE VENT

Only for him to grasp thin air once again.

"Not again!" Takeru exclaimed, looking at his empty hand before looking up to see Ken attacking again with his Metal Horn. He quickly ducked under the attack, moving past the rhino-themed Rider before delivering a back kick to the enemy Rider's back, making Ken stumble forward. Regaining his balance, he turned around towards Takeru, smirking under his helmet.

"That's more like it," Cracking his neck, Ken brandished his gauntlet and charged towards the Rider who raised his hands up in defense.

FREEZE VENT

Suddenly, a blast of icy wind struck the charging Gai, freezing the Rider in place.

"Nani!?" Ken gritted through his teeth, trying to break free.

"Ice?" Takeru said, confused before looking towards where the blast of ice came from and gasped, "Kagamine-san!?"

Indeed, it was the tiger-themed Rider, Kagamine Shou, one hand wielding his Dest Visor while the other was extended out towards Ken.

"Uranaishi-san, this way!" Shou said before he ran over to a random car and jumped through the front window.

Sparing a glance back at Ken who was beginning to break free, Takeru quickly followed after Shou, jumping through the same window and exiting the Mirror World.

"rrrRAGH!" With a cry, Ken finally broke free from his ice bindings, shaking off a few icicles still on him before he looked around to find himself all alone.

"Tch!" Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Ken turned and left, planning to return to Oriko. By now the white Magical Girl should already be done dealing with the blue-haired, Magical Girl.

(Real World)

A strange noise that seemed to be a combination of crying winds and glass breaking was heard before from the front window of a random car appeared Kamen Riders Tiger and Raia. The second the two had confirmed that they had returned to the real world, their armors shattered like glass, revealing both Shou and Takeru, the latter of which soon fell to his knees. Seeing this, Shou goes and helps Takeru up.

"You okay?" Shou asked.

"I'm fine," Takeru insisted, holding his chest. The Rider that was Ken struck hard. "Thanks for the save."

"I was just passing by the area when I saw you fighting that guy," Shou said before asking, "Who was he? He's obviously a Rider, but no one I've ever met."

"His name is Ken, didn't get his last name, calls himself Gai," Takeru said. "I was fighting a Mirror Monster and defeated it when he suddenly attacked me."

"Well, we are in a war with each other after all," Shou said, bringing up the fact that all Riders were at war with one another.

"I know, which leads me to ask..." Takeru suddenly steps away from Shou, creating some distance between them as he looked suspiciously at him. "Why did you save me? I remember you telling Haru and I that you're also fighting in this war. So why?" In this battle royal where there could only be one winner, saving a Rider is seen as strange. And yet this person in front of him went and saved him anyway.

A conflicted look appears on Shou's face as he looks down, trying to think of what he wanted to say. Finally, after gathering his nerves, he spoke.

"...I talk a big game. I've been a Rider for a good year, but all I've ever done is hunt down wild Mirror Monsters. I still can't bring myself to kill another Rider, a person."

"That's not how it seemed to Alex," Takeru said.

"Seikatsu-san?" Shou raised an eyebrow, wondering why Takeru had brought up his friend.

"Green Rider, uses a gun, ring any bells?" Takeru said and Shou's eyes widen in recognition.

"You mean—!"

"That was him," Takeru confirmed. "He told the others and me how you tried to kill Amano-san. He also mentioned how you seemed to enjoy how much pain she was in."

"That's...I..." Shou tried to defend himself, but he could not form the right words. Seeing the troubled look on his fellow classmates face, Takeru sighs as he lowers his guard.

"Look, you're a good guy, I've seen the way you interact with other people," The memory of where he and Haru had tailed Shou and saw his interaction with the Hohzuki group came to mind. "However, the fact of the manner is that you can't be fully trusted." Takeru then took out from his pocket an American coin, a quarter to be exact, and held it up.

"You are like this coin here. So far, you've only shown one side of you, the side everyone knows about while hiding your other side from the world."

Shou doesn't say anything to deny Takeru's claim, confirming what the Rider had said to be true. Instead, he responds by saying, "It's complicated."

"Perhaps," Takeru said as he goes and flicks the coin up before catching it soon after without looking as he trusts his enclosed fist towards Shou. "The way I see it, you have two paths before you: One of good fortune, and one of destruction. Which path awaits you depends on your actions and the choices you make."

"Is that another one of your fortunate tellings?" Shou asks.

"It is," Takeru said, turning his hand and opening it to reveal that the quarter had landed on, "Heads: The path of good fortune. Let's hope it stays that way."

"Does that mean you still trust me?"

"For now," Takeru said as he puts away his coin and turns to leave. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go find a friend of mine."

Shou nods in understanding as Takeru goes and runs off. But just as Takeru was about to exit the parking garage, he stops and turns back to Shou.

"I'll see you at school, Kagamine-san." And with that, he ran off before hearing Shou's reply.

Shou blinks in surprise at Takeru, taking a moment to process his words before he smiles. Said smile soon turns to a frown as he takes out his Advent Deck and looks at it, thinking about Takeru's previous words to him.

'I need to get this part of me under control.' Shou thought to himself, gripping his Deck tightly before he turns and walks away. There was still one more thing he needed to do and it involved a certain silver-haired Magical Girl.

Back with Takeru, he was running with all his might as he tried to recognize any landmarks around the area that could give him a clue of how to get back to the restaurant he had left with Ken. He had already sent his Contract Monster to go look for any signs of Sayaka in case she and Oriko had already left the restaurant.

'Sayaka-san, please be safe!' Takeru thought as he ran, worry filling him as he searched for the blue-haired girl. His worries only grew when his vision started swimming and his surroundings changed. He was getting a vision.

Blood. A blackened Soul Gem. And lastly, Sayaka's shadow was in the shape of some sort of giant mermaid. Soon after receiving these images did the vision come to an end.

'What...what was all that?' Takeru thought to himself, confused but certain of one thing. These visions were related to Sayaka and that just made Takeru run even harder in order to find her. Because if there was one thing he hated about his visions and predictions...

It's that they always came true.

(With Sayaka)

Okay, it was official, she did not like this Oriko girl one bit!

(BGM: Magia by Kalafina)

*WHOOSH!*

Quickly ducking down, the blue-haired Magical Girl just barely dodged Oriko's vine-patterned spheres as one flew over her head with the speed of a bullet. Getting back up to her feet, Sayaka looks around, seeing nothing but trees around her. It didn't help that it was dark due to night overtaking the day as the only source of light the blue-haired girl had was the moon up above.

Suddenly, she sees something glint to her left before...

*WHOOSH-SMASH!*

By the skin of her teeth, Sayaka managed to dodge another metal ball that crashes into the ground next to her. Coming out with just a small cut on her left cheek which quickly healed in no time thanks to her magic, she quickly jumps back and hides behind a tree for cover.

"Please don't make this as hard as it has to be, Miki-san," The voice of Oriko is heard nearby as footsteps can be heard getting closer and closer. "I promise you that I will make this as painless as I possibly can."

'Like I can believe that!' Sayaka exclaims in her mind as she peeks out from her cover and spots from the corner of her eye Oriko's form as her dress seemingly glows from under the moonlight. As much as it peeved her to admit it, the white Magical Girl was beautiful. Broken female pride aside, Sayaka noted that Oriko currently had three of those metal spheres floating around her.

Noticing that the white Magical Girl has yet to spot her, Sayaka took a chance and ran out from her hiding place, throwing her sword at the enemy Magical Girl who spotted her instantly. With a single hand gesture, Oriko directed one of her spheres to intercept the incoming blade, knocking it away all the while not even looking. This didn't faze Sayaka as in the time Oriko had deflected her thrown sword the blue-haired Magical Girl closed the distance between them, now armed with two swords.

"I got you!" Sayaka declared, swing both her swords at Oriko only for them to be knocked back by two of Oriko's spheres.

"Mitsuketa(Found you)," Oriko said, smiling as she finally turned towards Sayaka. With a few hand gestures, Oriko's metal spheres gather back to her before they fire off what could only be described as lasers.

"Shit!" Cursing, Sayaka quickly puts up her guard, deflecting two out of the three beams as the third one grazes her shoulder. Jumping back a few times, Sayaka takes off running again.

"It's no use running, Miki-san," Oriko said as she calmly walks after the bluenette. "I know where exactly you'll be no matter how far you run."

As if to prove her point, a new fourth sphere suddenly appears from Sayaka's left, slamming right into her face with enough force to knock the girl off her feet as she falls down on her back, dropping her swords in the process as she held her cheek on instinct.

"Ow...!" Sayaka groans in pain before her magic quickly heals the damage, erasing the pain in mere seconds. Shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness, Sayaka goes and grabs one of her dropped swords before getting back up, turning to Oriko who had already caught up.

With another gesture, Oriko sends her metal spheres out again, attacking Sayaka who does her best to dodge the speeding balls, moving left and right and sometimes even jumping just to avoid getting hit as she rolls on the ground before getting up to her knees quickly. With a burst of magic, Sayaka speeds up towards Oriko, sword pulled back to be swung...

*BOOM-SLAM!*

Sayaka's eyes widen in pain before she coughs up saliva mixed with blood as from under the ground, another metal sphere bursts up and slams right into Sayaka's gut, striking a little too close to her Soul Gem. With a snap coming from Oriko, a second metal sphere was shot forward and slammed right into Sayaka's face, making her flip in midair before crashing back down to the ground where the bluenette proceeded to squirm in pain as she held her nose and gut.

Oriko does nothing, simply calling back her metal spheres as she waits for Sayaka to get back up which doesn't take long as almost a minute later, Oriko skipped back to avoid a sword swing. As always since the beginning of this fight, Oriko smiled.

"I must say, your healing abilities as quite impressive. Those last two attacks should have messed up your insides and broken your nose, and yet they're already healed."

True to Oriko's words, Sayaka was fine, aside from a bleeding nose, and already back on her feet, holding her sword in front of her as she placed a hand on her stomach. Seeing as she had no problems breathing, her insides were already healed.

"I've never met many Magical Girls who specialize in healing magic, but I believe you would come out on top if placed in a competition."

"Geez, I'm so flattered," Sayaka sarcastically said. "And what happened to making this painless?"

"I promised I would make your death as painless as possible, so long as you stop this pointless struggle," Oriko said. "Believe me when I say that this is for your own good."

"You're trying to kill me!" Sayaka exclaims angrily. "How is that good for me!?"

"As I said before, what awaits you in the future is a fate worse than death," Oriko said, stepping forward which makes Sayaka step back. "Which is why killing you now is a mercy I am granting you."

"And like I said, what the hell are you talking about!?" Sayaka said, remembering what she had been told before this entire fight started.

You poor, poor girl. I'm sorry to say this but the one you love, Kamijo Kyousuke, will not return your feelings.

In any case, your friend will one day confess her feelings for the one you love and he will return those feelings.

'She said that Hitomi...that she would confess to Kyosuke...and he would return her feelings,' Sayaka thought, her chest tightening at the thought of the boy she's had a crush on for years going out with one of her best friends. It wasn't like Hitomi and Kyosuke were strangers to each other, but since when have they gotten so close to each other without her noticing?

"Are you still thinking about it?" Oriko spoke up, speaking as if she had just read Sayaka's mind. "Over the fact that the one you deeply love instead loves your friend and not you?"

"S-Shut up!" In anger, Sayaka starts attacking Oriko, swinging her sword at the white Magical Girl who simply dodges her swings with the minimalist amount of movement.

"I suggest you do not dwell on such thoughts, it'll only accelerate you to your doom much faster," Oriko said as she kept dodging Sayaka's swings.

"I said: Shut Up!" Gripping her sword with both hands, Sayaka swings downward, once again missing Oriko as her sword strikes the ground, throwing dirt everywhere. Slashing away the dirt in the air, the bluenette glares at the ash-blond haired girl who remains unfazed.

"Are you perhaps having trouble believing what I told you? Haven't I already proven that my powers of clairvoyance are true?" Oriko asks.

"As if I could believe what you just told me!" Sayaka exclaims in anger. "And besides, what does Hitomi going out with Kyosuke have anything to do with my supposed fate?"

"The relationship between your friends plays a major part in your future," Oriko said. "I'd tell you if I wanted to, but I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Handle what?" Sayaka said as she goes in to attack again, sword pulled back to swing.

*snap!*

*Bzzzzz!*

Only for a beam from one of Oriko's spheres to knock the sword out of her hands. With another snap of her fingers, Oriko had all five of her spheres fire beams at Sayaka who was unable to dodge anything of them due to being so close. The bluenette felt her shoulders, ankles, and gut gets pierced through by the beams of light as the damage was finally too much for Sayaka and she coughs up blood, falling flat on her face right in front of Oriko.

(BGM End)

Sayaka coughs up blood again, trying to push herself back up, but could not muster up the strength, even as her magic quickly got to work healing her.

"Even with your generation abilities, I believe you won't be getting back up anytime soon," Oriko said with confidence, kneeling down to the girl in front of her.

Sayaka wanted to curse, to say something, but she still didn't have the energy for that yet, so she settled for glaring at the girl who still remained unfazed.

"Glare at me all you want, it won't change what's about to happen," Oriko said, emphasizing her point when her metal spheres gather around her. "Still though, as much as I hate to admit it, having these bodies is quite convenient. If you weren't a Magical Girl, the wounds I gave you would have killed just about any normal person."

"The hell are...you talking about...?" Sayaka gritted out, having recovered enough to finally speak.

"Oh? You don't know? Not surprising since you're still new to being a Magical Girl," Oriko said. "In that case, I suppose before I kill you, you should at least know."

"Know what?" Sayaka asks, feeling uneasy.

"The truth about us Magical Girls," Oriko said before pointing to gem worn on her collar, her Soul Gem. "Tell me, did you know what our Soul Gems are actually our literal souls?"

"...huh?" Sayaka blinks in confusion.

"I didn't stutter," Oriko said, continuing her explanation. "When a girl makes a contract to become a Magical Girl, their souls are taken from their body and turned into the jewels which you know as a Soul Gem. In short, Soul Gems are the literal souls of Magical Girls, hence the name."

Confusion soon turns into disbelief as Sayaka stares up at Oriko. "W-What? What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that a Magical Girl's life is tied to their Soul Gem," Oriko said, tapping her own Soul Gem to use as an example. "Magical Girls live separate lives from their physical bodies. So long as your Soul Gem continues to shine, any damage done to that body of yours will recover in due time. If you're still having trouble getting up, you could simply cut off your sense of pain."

"W-Wait a minute!" Sayaka shouted, interrupting Oriko as her body recovers enough for her to get up to her knees. "Do you even realize what you're saying?"

"You don't believe me? Understandable. Just about anyone would react the same way as you," Oriko said, standing back up. "But believe me when I say that what I have told you is one hundred percent true."

"Bullshit!" Sayaka curses loudly. "If what you're saying is true, then..." With disbelieving eyes filled with horror, Sayaka looks down at her hands. "Then...just what the hell is this body?"

"If I may be so blunt," Oriko began, putting her hands behind her back. "The body of a Magical Girl is no different from a corpse. Our Soul Gems are basically preserving them."

*THOOM!*

It was as if something weighing a ton had just dropped down at Sayaka once she heard those words, looking down at her body as her hands begin to shake uncontrollably.

"...you're lying," Sayaka whispers at first before yelling, "YOU'RE LYING!"

"I'm not lying," Oriko replies back immediately. "If you want confirmation, simply ask Kyubey. He's the one who turned you into a Magical Girl, after all. And despite what he is, he never lies."

"Kyubey..." Sayaka mutters the creature's name, thinking back to the day she made her wish to the unknown creature.

'Did...did it know all along?' Sayaka thought to herself. She wanted to deny what Oriko had said, but her tone made it hard to believe that she was lying. Not only that, but she brought up the fact that Kyubey was the one who made it possible for girls to become Magical Girls. If she wanted answers, she would have to ask it.

"...Why tell me all this?" Sayaka looks at Oriko uncertainly. "If what you're saying is true, then why haven't you gone for my Soul Gem? Weren't you trying to kill me?"

"Oh, I've been trying, truly. It's just that you're very lucky," Oriko said, looking down at Sayaka's bellybutton, right where her Soul Gem was located at. Throughout this entire fight, she had been trying to hit the blue gem only to instead strike the girl's gut. With how small her weapons were plus the fact that Sayaka was quite speedy, it made it hard for Oriko to actually get an accurate target on the gem.

"Now then, I believe it is time I put an end to all of this," Oriko declared, raising her hand as her spheres started glowing. "Your Soul Gem has gotten quite muddy. Best I kill you now before you become a Witch."

Seeing that the girl was about to attack, Sayaka quickly gets up to her feet and was about to summon another sword to defend herself until she realized what Oriko had just said.

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"Sorry, but the time for talk is over," Oriko declared as with a wave of her hand, all five of her spheres fired off laser beams at Sayaka who could only raise her arms up in defense.

But then...

*BOOM!*

(Yunagi Newspaper)

Sitting at a dining table big enough to seat a small family of four, three out of the four seats were occupied as silence hung over the room as the occupants, Haru, Madoka, and Suzune all remained silent, keeping mostly to themselves.

Madoka fidgets in her seat nervously, looking between her crush, who she was sitting next to, and the supposed grey Magical Girl killer, sitting right across from her. It had been some time since Yunagi had left to buy food for dinner yet she had yet to return.

"What is taking her so long...?" Madoka heard Suzune mutter to herself. The girl had tried to make something herself only to see that there was barely anything in the fridge to eat, let alone cook. So for the time being, she had been writing down on a piece of paper. From where she was at, all Madoka could make out was a name.

"Madoka-chan," Finally, the silence was broken as Haru spoke up, addressing the pinkette.

"Y-Yes!?" Madoka jumped, surprised at suddenly being addressed by Haru.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home?" Haru asked, pointing out that by this time, the girl should be at home eating dinner there, not here.

"Well...I've been looking for you," Madoka said.

"For me?" Haru pointed at himself. "Why?"

"I was worried," Madoka said, her expression matching her words. "After what happened with...I was just wondering how you were doing."

Haru frowns at the unspoken part, knowing what Madoka was trying to say. Coughing to himself, he tries to put on a smile.

"I'm fine, there's nothing you need to worry about."

"No," Instantly, Madoka denied Haru's words, looking worriedly at the Rider as she stated, "You're not fine."

At Madoka's words, the fake smile Haru was putting on drops in seconds as he looks down, looking ashamed.

"Haru-kun..." Madoka places a hand on the Rider's shoulder, trying to provide comfort.

"I...I ran into his mother," Haru said, confusing Madoka until he explains clearly. "Scissor's mom, I met her when I was out shopping."

"His mother?" Madoka said, a bit surprised. Thinking back to the battle between Haru and Scissors, the late crab-themed Rider had mentioned his mother during the fight.

"She...She was sick, like really sick," Just the sight of the woman coughing up blood-filled Haru with even more shame as he just left without even helping.

"So the reason he became a Rider and fought you was because of..." Madoka said, beginning to see just what the late Scissors had been fighting for.

"It was to get money for his sick mother," Haru finished for Madoka as he looked down at his hands. "But now, because of me, that woman..."

"So I was right to assume," Suddenly, joining the conversation, Suzune spoke up, having been silently listening until now. Looking straight at Haru, she asked, "You killed someone, didn't you?"

The Rider flinches, not speaking to deny the girl's claim for they were true. But Madoka stood up, speaking up for Haru.

"It was an accident! Haru-kun didn't mean to—"

"But someone still died by his hands, right? There's no use sugarcoating it," Suzune interrupted, her expression passive and cold. Madoka flinches, intimidated by this expression directed right at her, though a small part of her couldn't help, but point out how it reminded her of Homura.

Seeing that the pinkette was going to talk back, Suzune turns back to Haru and asked, "His name."

"Huh?" Haru looks up at the girl, confused by her question.

"His name, the person you killed. Was his name really Scissors?"

"N-No, it was an alias. I never learned his real name."

"Is that so?" Suzune said, nonchalant as she unties her hair, removing a charm that kept her hair together.

"...how?"

"Hm?" In the process of opening up the charm, Suzune looks up at Madoka.

"How can you be so...nonchalant about this?" Madoka asked. "Someone is dead. Doesn't that bother you?"

Suzune blinks a few times at her, glancing over at Haru before back at Madoka and spoke.

"You're his friend, right?" Suzune gestures to Haru. "Then you should know who and what I am."

"I do," Madoka said. "And no matter how much I think about it, I can't wrap my head around it. Why? Why do you kill Magical Girls? What's the point of it? Aren't Magical Girls supposed to fight against Witches in order to protect people?"

"Naive," Suzune said almost instantly. "Magical Girls aren't as grand as you make them out to be."

"What do you mean?" Madoka asks. Did it have something to do with competing for Grief Seeds? Mami mentioned many times how Magical Girls got into fights over them, but the girl couldn't see why they couldn't be just shared instead of hogging over them.

Suzune opens her mouth to speak, but doesn't get the chance to talk as suddenly...

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNG!*

All around the room, no, the entire building a ringing noise could be heard by all but Madoka who looks on in confusion when both Haru and Suzune sat up in surprise.

"What is this ringing noise?" Suzune thinks out loud, looking around for the source.

"You can hear it too?" Haru asks, surprised.

"Of course," Suzune said. The ringing was coming from everywhere in the building, yet it sounded like it was right next to her ears. How could she not hear it?

"What are you talking about?" Madoka asked, looking between the two in confusion.

"You can't hear it?" Suzune asked.

"Hear what?" Madoka responded back before realizing just what was happening. "Wait, don't tell me..."

'Madoka-chan can't hear it, but Amano-san can?' Haru thought, trying to figure out why that is. Was it perhaps that one time where she was dragged into the Mirror World by Shou?

*RIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNG!*

Haru was brought out of his thoughts when the ringing became louder. Looking around, Haru finally found the source, a window which had been behind him. The Rider goes to grab his Advent Deck from his back pocket when he stops. In his head, his mind goes back to Scissor's violent death before it wanders to the incident with the late Rider's mother and how sick she was to the point she was coughing up blood.

'Because of me, that mother will no longer see her son. Because of me, she might even die from her condition,' Haru thought, hands falling to his side and doing nothing. In his mind, the memory of Scissors' and his mother was soon replaced with a much older memory. One where he was younger and he stood before a set of graves, surrounded by relatives that didn't even want him.

'Do I...even have the right to continue on like this? To continue...living?'

As Haru thought all this, from the window, came Haru's Contract Monster, Dragreder, appearing as if coming out from underwater. It stares hungrily at Haru who was too lost in thought to notice the Monster. Ever since the fight with Scissors, the red dragon had not been fed and it was hungry. Seeing as its contractor was not doing anything to feed it, then it might as well end their contract now. Sights set on Haru, Dragreder opened its jaw and moved in for the kill.

"NO!"

Dragreder, just inches away from eating and devouring its contractor, stops. Standing in the way of the Mirror Monster was Madoka, her back turned to the dragon as the girl was hugging Haru close to her, protecting the Rider.

"Madoka-chan..." Haru looked down at the pinkette, having been snapped out of his stupor when the girl had gone and hugged him protectively. Glancing up, Haru sees his Contract Monster closing its jaw and backs up a bit, looking at the two. For some reason, it seems as if Madoka's presence calmed down Dragreder. But why?

*SLASH!*

"ROAR~!"

In the time it took to blink, Suzune, now garbed in her Magical Girl outfit, moved in and swung her orange blade at the Mirror Monster, striking it across the jaw and making it roar in pain. Recovering, Dragreder glared at the grey Magical Girl who raises her sword up in response. Growling, the Mirror Monster spares one last glance at Haru and Madoka...before it decides to pull back, returning to the Mirror World.

Silence soon took over the room as no one made no attempt to move, waiting to see if Dragreder would come back, but the red dragon never came back. Once they confirmed this did everyone finally relax.

"What," Suzune turns to Madoka who was tending to Haru. "Was that?"

Turning away from her crush to answer Suzune, Madoka said, "That was Dragreder, Haru-kun's Contract Monster."

"Contract Monster?" Suzune repeated the name, confused but took note of the 'Contract' part of the name.

Madoka doesn't say any more than that. Instead, she turned back to Haru, looking him all over.

"Haru-kun, are you alright?"

"Madoka-chan..." Haru looks at the pinkette before he lowers his head in shame. "I...do I...have the right...?"

"Huh?" Madoka looked at the Rider in confusion, not knowing what he was trying to say until he explained further.

"Do I have the right...to be alive right now?"

"What are you saying?" Madoka asked, appalled that the young teen could even say such a thing.

"Because of me...someone's dead," Haru said, talking about Scissors. "His mother...she has no one to look after her now. Because of me, she's all alone and could even die to her sickness. I...I just..."

"Haru-kun..." Madoka looks at Haru worriedly. What was she to say to him? She wanted to say that he did have the right, but such words might do more harm than good due to the Rider's condition. But she didn't want Haru thinking that he was better off dead, no one was.

"Of course you have the right," Suzune suddenly said, getting Haru and Madoka to turn to her, surprised.

"What?" Haru asks, confused.

"The right to live, to be alive, you have that right," Suzune said, canceling her transformation. "From what I can gather from your talk, you and this Scissors person fought one another. That's when you killed him, right?"

"As I said, it was an accident!" Madoka said, defending Haru. "Haru-kun never wanted to fight in the first place! He was just trying to help me because I got caught."

"It doesn't matter how it was started. In a fight to the death, there is no right or wrong, only whoever survives becomes the victor. That's all."

...if you don't fight, you will not survive.

Haru's eyes widen as he recalls the words Zero spoke to all Riders. The guilt and shame inside of him were soon overshadowed by rage as he suddenly rushes up to Suzune, grabs her by the collar of her shirt, and glares straight at her.

"Haru-kun!" Madoka cries out in surprise.

"Is that your excuse!?" Haru shouts right in Suzune's face who is unfazed at Haru's rage. "All the people you killed, all the blood you've spilled, is that how you justify your actions!?"

"I'm not trying to justify anything," Suzune said. "Killing is a sin, plain and simple."

"If you know that, then why? Why do you continue to kill people? How can you so easily take a life like it's nothing!? After all that you've done, how do you continue to live with yourself!?"

Soon after Haru's last outburst does silence descend over the entire room with the only sound being Haru's huffing breath. Madoka looks at the Rider worriedly while Suzune remains silent, looking at the young teen in front of her. As she looked at the boy clearly troubled, she couldn't help, but see...

"...It wasn't easy."

"Huh?" Gathering his breath, Haru looks at the silver-haired girl in confusion.

"It's not as easy as I make it seem, killing someone," Suzune said eyes wandering as if recalling a distant memory. "When I killed my first Magical Girl, all the blood that spilled when I plunged my blade into her, only then did I realize the weight of life. It was heavy, yet very fragile. It completely shook me to the core."

Both Haru and Madoka stare at Suzune, surprised at her words as the former released his hold on her. Fixing her clothes, Suzune walks back to the table and picks up both her charm and the piece of paper she had been writing in earlier.

"Taking another person's life, it is never right. It is a sin. Yet, for the sake of the one who I promised to, I cannot stop. I will bear this sin of mine until the day I die."

Haru looks at Suzune, speechless. The girl's words were confusing to him, and yet he could feel it. A sort of conviction, a firm resolve. Haru couldn't help, but find himself amazed.

Madoka was the same as well, finding herself drawn in by Suzune's words. As she stares at the silver-haired girl, Madoka's eyes wander down to the charm and paper in Suzune's hands and notice a name on the piece of paper.

"Yui...?" Madoka read off, a bit confused as to whose name that was.

"It's the name of a magical girl I killed a few days back," Suzune explained, her words almost erasing the effects of her earlier words as she folds up the piece of paper and placed it into the charm.

"That charm..." Haru pointed out, prompting Suzune to explain.

"The names of those that I've killed, I write them down on a piece of paper and put them in this charm so that I will never forget them. It's that kind of charm," Suzune explained, gripping the charm in her hands slightly. "An...old friend taught me this."

"The names of those you've killed..." Haru said, speaking mostly to himself as he takes in Suzune's words.

Haru couldn't wrap his head around it. This girl goes and kills magical girls left and right, yet she makes the effort to always remember their names. She's made it so she will never forget those she's killed, down to her very first victim. Such a thing...to bear such a thing all by herself...to bear the massive weight of her sins...

"How...?" Haru couldn't help, but ask, getting the girl in question to look at him. "How are you...still standing like this? Doing such a thing, to place such a burden on your shoulders, just why? Why do this to yourself?"

Madoka too wondered this, asking herself the same question. To go and make the effort of remembering every person she's killed, how did the girl known as Amano Suzune continue to live with herself? How does she not go crazy with all the lives on her hands?

Suzune doesn't say anything at first, going back to looking at the charm in her hands before she goes and ties it to her hair, styling it back to her usual ponytail. Once she completed that did she turn back to Haru and answer him.

"I do it to remind myself always. To never forget all the lives I've taken. This is my punishment, my sin to bear."

"But why?" Madoka spoke up, getting the silver-haired girl to turn to her this time. "I don't get it, none of us do. Killing other Magical Girls, there has to be a reason you're doing all this."

"You're better off not knowing. I don't expect either of you, much less anyone, to understand what it is I'm doing," Suzune said before turning back to Haru. "Yamamoto-san, the blood of whoever you killed, they're on your hands now. The sin of taking his life...will you just go on, wallowing in your guilt? Or will you go on living, carrying your sin for the rest of your life?"

"Amano-san..." Haru looks down, processing the girl's words to him, thinking.

"Haru-kun," Madoka spoke up, walking over to the boy's side and grabbing his hand, getting Haru to look at her as she looks back, squeezing his hand as she looks worriedly at him. She wanted to help him, Haru could see it in her eyes. She didn't want him to continue on like this, wallowing in his guilt.

"I...I-!"

*RIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNG!*

Suddenly, another ringing sound alerts Haru and Suzune. But before either of them could react, appearing from a nearby window close to Suzune, Destwilder jumps out, tackle grabs her, and leaps into another window, disappearing just as fast as it appeared.

"Amano-san!" Both Haru and Madoka cry out in alarm as they rush over to the mirror the silver-haired girl had just been tackled into. Quickly, the boy reaches behind and pulls out his Advent Deck and was about to present it to the window when he stops and looks at it.

This small, black box in his hands...ever since he picked up this thing did so many things happen to him. He obtained powers, powers that were quite frightening. Powers that forced him into a war he wanted no part in. Powers that took the life of another. But...

"Haru-kun..." Hearing his name, Haru turns to Madoka who stares worriedly at him. She hasn't stopped looking at him like that ever since coming here.

"...it's alright," He said, giving his crush a reassuring look. Gripping his Deck, he says, "I...I know what I have to do."

Madoka doesn't say anything at first, still worried about the Rider. But as she looks at the boy more closely, she sees the guilt that once clouded them has subsided somewhat. That alone was enough to make her say...

"...I'll be waiting."

Haru smiles thankfully at the pinkette and nods. Turning back to the window, he presents his Advent Deck to it and soon after does the V-Buckle appear around his waist. With renewed conviction, he thrusts his right arm to the side.

"Henshin!"

Madoka watches as Haru's armor materializes on him, transforming him into Ryuki before the Rider goes and jumps into the window to enter the Mirror World, leaving Madoka all alone. But that was okay, for she knew that Haru would return. From the way his eyes looked, Madoka knew that the boy would be alright. So there she waited, confident in the Rider's return. Nevertheless, she prayed for the Rider's safety.

"Haru-kun...please return safely."

(Back with Sayaka)

*BOOM!*

Charred dirt and smoke flew everywhere after Oriko's attack had struck the spot where Sayaka was at. Her aim had been true as her metal spheres had all targetted the Soul Gem on the bluenette's stomach. Even if the girl somehow managed to survive, the Soul Gem would have at least been damaged, making it hard for Sayaka to recover even with the girl's abnormal regeneration abilities. And yet...

"You're quite the fast one, aren't you?" Oriko commented as she turns around.

"Gah!" Sayaka let out a cry of surprise when she is suddenly dropped to the ground. Gathering her bearings back, she pushes herself up and looks up to see none other than— "Akemi-san!?"

Indeed it was the black-haired Magical Girl, her expression as passive as always, yet being so close to her, Sayaka could make out a small glare that was directed right at Oriko.

"Greetings, Akemi Homura-san," Oriko greeted the black-haired Magical Girl, lifting up the hems of her dress and bowing.

"Mikuni Oriko..." Homura said, narrowing her eyes at the white Magical Girl. She wasn't the least bothered, let alone surprised, that the white Magical Girl already knew her name.

"So you already know about me. I'll admit, I'm a bit surprised," Oriko admitted, but her smile did not drop. "You're just as mysterious as my sources have told me. I did not think we would meet like this."

Homura doesn't respond back, remaining silent. Oriko takes this as a sign to continue speaking.

"From what I've been told, you're notably a very cold and distant type of person, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that you would show up like this. Is Miki-san here a friend of—?"

*RATATATATATATATATATATATA!*

Before anyone had any time to react, Homura suddenly pulled out a Howa Type 89 assault rifle seemingly out of nowhere and immediately fired upon Oriko, surprising Sayaka who cried out in surprise and dropped down to the ground and covered her ears. Oriko, meanwhile, had jumped back right before Homura had pulled out the gun, her clairvoyance activating and telling her beforehand about the attack. Even still the speed at which the gun had been pulled out surprised Oriko a little as she had to quickly maneuver her spheres to block any bullets that threatened to harm her, focusing on protecting her Soul Gem as any damage to her body could be healed later—

*BANG!*

Oriko quickly moved her head to the side, her precognition abilities activating again to alert her as she stared wide-eyed as a bullet flew past her head, tearing off a few strands of her hair. Looking behind her, Oriko saw that Homura was now behind her, holding a Desert Eagle handgun in her right hand. Then, just as she blinked her eyes, Homura was gone as Oriko was now surrounded by a group of pipe bombs scattered around her. Having already been alerted of this thanks to her recognition, Oriko was able to move her metal spheres around, knocking away the bombs around her. Crossing her arms, explosions occurred all around Oriko but she managed to escape from the worst of it, coming out only slightly covered in soot while her hat had been knocked off from the shockwaves. Looking up, Oriko was prepared to fight back when she saw Homura having already thrown a flash grenade into the air before grabbing Sayaka. Before Oriko had a chance to fire her spheres, the grenade went off.

*FLASH!*

A bright flash quickly took away her vision as Oriko quickly closed her eyes and moved her arms to shield them from the worst of it. That didn't stop her ears from ringing. Her magic quickly took care of that, though it did take a while as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking until her vision returned to her and her hearing finally came back. With her senses back to normal, Oriko looked around the area and as she already predicted, both Homura and Sayaka were long gone.

"Hm, a pity, but I guess it doesn't matter," Oriko said, de-transforming as she took out a Grief Seed and quickly used it to clean up her Soul Gem, having become quite muddy from the amount of magic she had used.

*bzz-bzz-bzz!*

From her pocket, a buzzing noise can be heard. Taking out her vibrating phone, she looked at who was calling before answer.

"Ken? How was everything on your end?"

[It was okay, but another Rider showed up and he got away.] Ken's voice came through the other line, sounded slightly ticked off. [Hey, Oriko, you wouldn't happen to have already known he would escape, did you?]

"Hmm, maybe?" Oriko said, smiling and speaking teasingly, giggling when she heard a small "tch!" from the other line.

[So, what about you? You take care of the blue-haired chick?]

"Unfortunately, she also received some unexpected help and got away," Oriko said as she started walking. "But it's fine. It doesn't matter if she lives for a few more days or not, she'll still die in the end. It's just a matter of whether it's before or after she becomes a Witch."

With those last grim words, Oriko proceeded to head home for the night. There was still much to be done, after all.

(With Homura and Sayaka)

Running down and through an alleyway, both Homura and Sayaka, both de-transformed, ran for their lives, more so for the latter than the former. Finally, after about an hour of running, the two came to a stop, slightly tired.

Looking not just behind, but around them, Homura surveyed the area before she finally relaxed somewhat, turning to Sayaka who was leaning on her knees as she gathered back her breath.

"It doesn't seem like she followed us. We should fine."

"That's good to hear..." Sayaka said, taking a few more moments to gather back her energy before she stood up properly and faced Homura. "Um...thanks for saving me, I guess."

"It's nothing," Homura said, waving off the bluenette's thanks. "I just happened to be nearby when I saw what happened."

"Right..." Sayaka said, not sure whether to believe the black-haired girl or not. While it wasn't constant, Mami has made sure to warn Sayaka about Homura, telling her that it was best to avoid the mysterious Magical Girl unless she was around. Of course, the bluenette can somewhat understand considering her first meeting with Kyubey involved her best friend and her best friend's crush being attacked by the girl in front of her.

"Here," Snapping out from her thoughts, Sayaka blinks and looks down to see Homura offering her a Grief Seed.

"Huh?" Sayaka can't help but look at the girl in confusion.

"Your Soul Gem, it's gotten quite muddy. Best you clean it up now," Homura said, gesturing to Sayaka's hand where she held her Soul Gem.

Looking down, Sayaka opened her hands and saw what Homura was saying to be true as the gem had gotten a bit dark.

"Oh, hehe, right. I guess I did use a lot of magic in that fight," Saya laughed awkwardly, not wanting to mention how most of her magic went to mostly healing any damage Oriko dealt her. Her healing abilities were strong, but that didn't mean it didn't come at a cost. Thanking the black-haired girl again, Sayaka took the Grief Seed and immediately used it, cleaning off any impurities from her Gem.

When a girl makes a contract to become a Magical Girl, their souls are taken from their body and turned into the jewels which you know as a Soul Gem. In short, Soul Gems are the literal souls of Magical Girls, hence the name.

Sayaka freezes up as she recalls the words Oriko had spoken to her during their fight. This, of course, didn't go unnoticed by Homura.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some crazy thing that Oriko chick told me," Sayaka said, trying to laugh it off.

"What did she say to you?" Homura asked rather quickly, not buying Sayaka's act.

Finding herself unnerved by how Homura was acting, Sayaka found herself answering the girl's question.

"Oh, just some crazy thing about how Soul Gems are our literal souls and how our bodies are basically zombies or whatever. Crazy, right?" Sayaka laughs again, trying to play it off in order to hide how she really felt. But as she laughed, she quickly took notice of one thing.

Homura was not laughing. Her expression was, as always, passive.

"I see," She said. "So she told you that."

"Y-Yeah..." Sayaka said. "Sounds absurd, right? I mean, look at us, we're completely fine. And I certainly don't have a craving for brains or anything—"

"It's true."

"...come again?"

"Our Soule Gems," Homura held up hers as an example. "They are our literal souls manifested. The bodies we have right now are no different from corpses with our Soul Gems being the only thing that's preserving them."

Sayaka looked at the girl in surprise, the fake smile she had been trying to keep up slowly falling down as she took in Homura's words. Her tone betrayed no lies, yet even still the bluenette could hardly believe it.

"That...That can't be...! That can't be true!" Sayaka exclaims in both anger and confusion, panicking as she gestures to her body. "Look at us! We're not as pale as ghosts, I still get hungry and sleepy, and I can feel my heart beating in my chest!"

"As I said, our Soul Gems preserve our bodies. It's because we have our Soul Gems that you still feel that way as if nothings' changed."

"Nothing has changed!" Sayaka shouted out loudly, still refusing to believe what Homura was saying to her. "I can get tired, I can still sleep, and I can still bleed like any other person!"

"You're in denial, understandable," Homura said as she soon starts to walk away.

"Where the heck are you going?" Sayaka asks in a not-so-polite tone.

"Home," Homura answers. "I'm done for the night. I got someone waiting at home for me, no doubt he's already finished making dinner." Homura then turns back to Sayaka, the two entering a sort of stare down.

"It doesn't matter if you refuse to believe the truth or not, what matters is keeping Madoka safe from harm. Since I cannot always be by Madoka's side, it's your job to look after her."

"Tch! You don't have to tell me what I already know," Sayaka said. "You know, I didn't know how to feel about you since Madoka is always trying to see the good in you, but I'm starting to understand why Mami-san doesn't like you very much."

It was almost impossible to tell if Sayaka's words had any effect on the black-haired girl. Running her hands through her air and flipping it rather dramatically, Homura turns away from Sayaka, but not before saying...

"Miki Sayaka-san, you are an important person to Madoka, so don't go dying or else you will make her sad."

"Like I said, don't tell me what I already know!" Sayaka exclaims but raises an eyebrow in confusion. She wasn't sure or not, but she could have sworn the black-haired Magical Girl sounded...worried for her.

"Oyasumi(Goodnight), I'll see you in school tomorrow," Homura said before she finally left, leaving Sayaka by herself.

Now all alone, Sayaka stood there, looking at where Homura had just left as the words she had been told kept echoing in her head, replaying like a broken recorder. Try as she might in getting the words out of her head, there was one thing Oriko had said to her that she could not forget.

Your Soul Gem has gotten quite muddy. Best I kill you now before you become a Witch.

"Just...what the hell was she talking about?" Sayaka asked to no one but herself, confused at Oriko's words to her. But confusing as they are, it brought a question to Sayaka's head, a question she hadn't once thought about till now.

Just how were Witches even born?

(Mirror World)

With a grunt, Suzune rolls on the ground, transformed once again as she rolls to her knees, holding up her sword as she looks up at her attacker, one she recognizes immediately.

"You again."

"Bet you thought you've seen the last of me since our last encounter," One Kagamine Shou, now Kamen Rider Tiger, dragged his Dest Visor ax across the ground, glaring behind his helmet as he walks towards the silver-haired Magical Girl. "Unfortunately for you, I don't give up that easily."

"Tch!" Suzune clicked her tongue, slightly annoyed at the fact that the Rider had somehow tracked her down and was now forced to fight him again. Although compared to last time, the tiger-themed Rider appeared much calmer than before.

"We were interrupted last time, but this time..." Picking up his ax, Shou raises up his Visor and swings it down. "I'm finishing what I started!"

Moving quickly, Suzune rolls out of the way, escaping with only a few strands of her hair cut off. Getting up to her feet Suzune shoots herself towards Shou, sword already swinging towards the Rider's neck but was stopped by the shaft of his ax. Pushing the sword away from him, Shou uses the end of his Visor to strike Suzune's gut, making the girl stumble back as the Rider goes to draw a card from his deck and waste no time inserting it into his Visor.

FREEZE VENT

Holding his ax Visor with one hand, Shou thrusts his free hand towards Suzune and fires a blast of icy wind. In an instant, the girl's legs were frozen and bounded in ice. Wielding his ax with both hands again, Shou charges towards the grey Magical Girl and swings right at the girl's midsection, intending on chopping Suzune in two. The ax struck true, but to the Rider's surprise, Suzune's body disperses into flames. Before Shou had time to cry out in surprise, a torrent of flames struck him, blasting the tiger-themed Rider and sending him flying as he rolls on the ground, his suit and armor slightly charred. Looking up, he sees Suzune with her right hand stretched out towards him with the ember of flames flickering from her palm.

"I can understand why you're angry at me," Suzune said, lowering her hand and readying her sword. "But for the sake of the one who I promised to, I cannot and will not be stopped."

With those words, Suzune dashes towards the downed Rider, flames coating her sword as she intended to finish this fight once and for all.

*THOOM!*

Suzune's eyes widen in surprise as she seemingly trips and falls to her knees, the flames on her sword dispersing as Suzune's body shakes from what appears to be exhaustion.

"What...?" Suzune grunted, confused as to why she was feeling so tired when she was just fine moments ago. Looking down, she found her answer as her Soul Gem, which took the form of a necklace that hung around her neck, was almost completely black in color.

'What's going on? I couldn't have used that much magic already!' Suzune thought, confused as to why her Soul Gem was so muddy.

Seeing the Magical Girl condition, Shou took his chance and sent out another blast of cold wind. Seeing the attack, Suzune tried to get away, but could only raise her arms up in defense as her entire body was covered in ice, immobilizing her. With that done, Shou gets back up, drawing another card.

"As much as I want to see you suffer for what you've done, I'm not going to play around anymore. I'm ending this now," Shou said, pushing down his urges as he inserts the card he drew into his Dest Visor.

FINAL VENT

With that confirmation, Shou's Contract Monster, Destwilder, suddenly appears from seemingly nowhere and tackles Suzune to the ground. It then grabs her and proceeds to roughly drag her across the ground towards Shou who was already equipped with the Dest Claws, preparing to execute his Crystal Break.

'S-Shit!' Suzune curses in her mind, trying to move but her body was still too frozen. And with how her Soul Gem was, she could not use her fire magic to escape. There was nothing she could do.

"This is for Chisato!" Shou declares, about to thrust his claws forward just as his Contract Monster brings Suzune close enough.

*ROAR~!*

*SHOOM!*

Suddenly, from the side, a fireball comes flying in towards the Rider and Magical Girl, landing right in between them and exploding, sending the Rider and his Contract Monster flying back as well as Suzune who was set free in the process. Both sides fall to the ground, slightly smoking as Shou was the first to get up.

"Who's there!?" Shou shouted in anger, looking to see who was it this time that was getting in the way.

"That's enough, Kagamine-san!" A voice called out, drawing everyone's attention to see who had arrived.

"Yamamoto-san?" Shou said, surprised.

Suzune, from where she was at, slowly pushed herself up and saw that it was indeed the red, dragon-themed Rider as circling around him was his Contract Monster, Dragreder.

"This fights ends now!" Haru said, walking up and standing right in between both sides, looking left and right at both of them. "Kagamine-san, can't you see how tired Amano-san is? It's over, you've won."

"Over?" From under his mask, Shou looked at his classmate as if he were dumb or crazy. "Do you think this is some spar? It's not over until that bitch pays for what she's done!"

"I won't let you kill her," Haru said, standing right in front of the Magical Girl protectively, surprising both sides.

"What are you...?" Suzune looks up at the dragon-themed Rider, confused as to why he was doing this.

"You...!" Shou, meanwhile, was gritting his teeth and glaring at the red Rider. "Do you even realize who you're trying to protect!?"

"I do," Haru said, glancing behind at Suzune. "I know what Amano-san has done, the people she's killed."

"If you know then why are you getting in my way?" Shou asked, still confused with the Rider's action. "If we let her go, she's just going to continue killing even more people!"

'If I let her go, she's just going to go after the others!' Shou thought to himself, thinking about the Hohzuki girls. He wasn't just doing this to get revenge for Chisato, he was doing this for the others as well. He didn't want to lose any more friends, not when he had the power to do something!

"You're right, she won't stop," Haru said, agreeing with the tiger Rider. "I don't know why she does it, why Amano-san is so determined to kill Magical Girls, but I'll tell you this: Should Amano-san try to kill another person...I'll stop her!"

Both the tiger Rider and the grey Magical Girl blinked at the dragon Rider in surprise and a bit of confusion.

"You'll...stop her?" Shou said.

"Yes!" Haru exclaims with a nod, clenching a fist. "I'll stop her!"

"You'll stop her," Shou repeated. "So, what? Are you going to be the one to kill her?"

Hearing that, Suzune tries to get up, using her sword as leverage only to freeze at Haru's next words.

"No!" Haru shouted, surprising both sides again. "I won't kill Amano-san!"

Haru's clenched fists start to shake as he raises them up and looks at them, imagining the blood that was not there. Blood that he never meant to spill, but still caused it. The images of Scissors getting devoured by his own Contract Monster, and the mother coughing up blood on the road. In both cases, he just stood there and watched. He did nothing when he could have done something instead. But no, he just stood there like the idiot he was.

"Never again," Haru said mostly to himself before he looks up, waving his hand in front of him. "I'll stop Amano-san, no matter what, but I won't kill her! All this talk of death and killing, the killing of Magical Girls and this damn Rider War, it stops now!"

"What are you saying?" Both Shou and Suzune stare at the Rider, confused at his words.

"I'm saying I won't allow anymore killing!" Haru exclaims loudly, pointing straight at Shou. "I won't allow you to kill Amano-san!" He then turns around and points at Suzune who jumps a little in surprise. "And I won't allow you to kill any more Magical Girls, your reasons be damned!"

"You hear me!?" Haru looks back and forth between the two as he practically shouts to the entire world as if declaring his intent for everyone to hear, "AS LONG AS I STILL LIVE, I WON'T ALLOW ANY MORE DEATHS!"

Both sides now stare at the gasping Rider in shock, stunned by his declaration.

"...naive," Suzune was the first to speak as she pushes herself up to her feet. "You think you can stop every person from dying? Impossible."

"I don't care if it's impossible," Haru said, turning to the silver-haired girl. "I don't care if what I say sounds naive to you. I just...don't want any more people dying. I hate it."

"And what if you are unable to stop someone from dying? What then?" Suzune asks as if challenging the Rider.

"I know it's impossible to save everyone," Haru said. "Which is why I'll make sure to remember them."

"Hm?" Suzune raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Their faces. Their names," Haru said. "I'll make sure to remember those I was unable to save. Always."

"You..." Suzune looks at the Rider in surprise, realizing what he was doing.

He was copying her. While she would make sure to remember those she's killed, this person would make sure to remember those he couldn't save. He's willingly placing such a heavy burden upon himself...just like she was.

"It may be impossible, but I'll still try. I'll save those who need saving, and stop those who try to take lives. And right now..." Turning around, Haru stands protectively in front of Suzune and faces Shou. "The one I need to stop is you, Kagamine-san!"

"...ridiculous," Shou said, lowering his claws and completely relaxing his stance. "Absolutely ridiculous. Do you know how you sound right now? Geez, I can't even bring up the urge to fight you."

"So you'll stand down?" Haru asked, his tone hopeful.

"For now," Shou said. "I don't want to fight you either, Yamamoto-san, but that girl behind you is a different matter. I don't care what her reasons are for doing what she does, she still has to pay for her crimes. And since you refuse to do that, it's up to me to deliver her punishment."

"I won't let you," Haru said. "We may be classmates, but I won't let you kill her."

"So you're saying you'll get in my way?"

"Every time."

"..."

"..."

"...then I guess we're done here," Shou said, turning and leaving towards one of the nearby windows. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Yamamoto-san." With those last parting words, the tiger-themed Rider enters the window and exits the Mirror World leaving just Suzune and Haru alone together.

"Fwoo..." Haru breathes out a sigh of relief once Shou was gone, relaxing. "Glad that turned out alright."

"Gh!" Suddenly, Suzune falls to her knees, alerting Haru who quickly runs to her side.

"Amano-san! What's wrong?"

"She's just low on magic."

"Huh-gah!" Haru let out a cry of surprise as when he turned to his left, he fell on his behind when seemingly out of nowhere stood none other than Ryuga.

"What the-!? Where did you come from!?" Haru cried out in surprise, looking around to see just where the black Rider had come from. Even Suzune was surprised by his appearance.

"You're..." Suzune mutters, recognizing the black dragon-themed Rider. Looking between Ryuga and Haru, their armors were so similar that it was uncanny.

"Here," From one of his hands, Ryuga held out a single Greif Seed to the two. "Use this before it's too late."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Haru said, grabbing the Grief Seed from his black counterpart and held it against Suzune's Soul Gem where the black murkiness was soon transferred to the Seed. Once all of it was absorbed, Suzune's condition improved.

"How are you feeling?" Haru asks, helping Suzune to her feet.

Looking down at herself and clenching her hands, she responded with, "Better."

"That's good," Haru smiled under his helmet, glad that the girl was alright.

*ROAR~!*

"Huh?" Looking up, the trio sees up in the air Dragreder circling the group from up above. Quickly realizing what the Contract Monster wanted, Haru threw the Grief Seed up into the air where the dragon caught it in its mouth and soon swallowed it, letting out a cry of satisfaction.

"Hehe, guess I've been holding out on ya," Haru laughed, rubbing the back of his helmet as he smiled apologetically at the dragon.

"Have you finally got your shit together?" Ryuga rudely asked his red counterpart, crossing his arms.

"...yeah," Haru nodded, turning to face the black Rider. "I will...stop this war. The fight between us Riders, I'm going to put an end to it."

"You sure about that?" Ryuga asked. "Every Rider has got something they want that they're willing to risk their life on it. Not counting those friends of yours, you're basically making an enemy of every other Rider in this war, especially Zero since he's the one 'managing' the war."

"I don't care," Haru said. "The only thing this war can bring out is pointless deaths. Which is why, before any more lives are taken, I will put a stop to this."

"...You can only say all that because you have no stake in this fight," Ryuga said, turning around to leave. "But that's fine. Struggle all you want and get stronger. After all, I can't leave Madoka's safety so someone who's got no will to fight."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Haru asked, wondering why the black Rider was bringing up Madoka.

Ryuga did not answer back as he went over to a nearby window and walked through it, exiting the Mirror World and once again leaving just Haru and Suzune alone together.

"Tch! What's with that guy?" Haru grumbled before turning to Suzune and asks, "Can you walk?"

Moving her body to check its condition, the grey Magical Girl nodded her head.

"Then let's get out of here before—"

*Grrrr!*

*Sssss~!*

"...before any wild Mirror Monsters' show up," Haru finished with a sigh, turning around to see two approaching Mirror Monsters both bearing the characteristics of Zebras with only slight differences between them. These zebra-like Mirror Monsters were known as—"

"Zebraskulls," Haru said, identifying the two Mirror Monsters as a Zebraskill Iron and a Zebraskull Bronze specifically. Haru then blinks in confusion.

'Wait, how do I know that?' Haru thought, confused as this should be the first time he's run into these types of Mirror Monsters. He decided to brush it off, for now, focusing on the fact that he had to fight.

"Can you still fight?" Haru asks Suzune.

"I should be fine," Suzune said, clenching and unclenching her hands before she summons fire into said hands.

"Alright, you take the one wearing iron, I'll take the bronze one!" Haru said before the two split up, charging towards their chosen Monsters.

(Real World)

Standing right in front of a window, the hooded form of Ryuga watched as both Haru and Suzune fought the two Mirror Monsters, watching the former more intently.

"How is he?" As if blinking into existence, Homura walks up to Ryuga's side and joins him in watching the fight happening in the mirror.

"He finally got his shit together, much faster than he did last time," Ryuga said, crossing his arms.

"I see," Homura simply said as if the Rider next to her had just passed a hidden message. "How strong is he now?"

"He's not there yet," Ryuga said, keeping his eyes on Haru's fight. "But he's getting there. He's started to become aware. It's simply a matter of time now. And you?"

"I ran into Oriko," Homura said. "She was fighting against Sayaka and told her the truth about Magical Girls."

"So she's already starting to act," Ryuga said, humming to himself while he watched the fight.

Satisfied with what he saw and coming to a decision, Ryuga turns and walks over to his motorcycle, parked and with a set of helmets waiting on the seat. Grabbing both, he handed one to Homura.

"Let's head home, we can discuss further plans over dinner."

Nodding in agreement, Homura gave the mirror one last look before leaving with her partner. There was no need to worry about Haru. After all, he has both Madoka and now Suzune by his side.

(Back in the Mirror World)

"Hah!"

*SLASH!*

A cry of pain was heard as the Zebraskull Iron stumbled back from a slash across the chest by Suzune. Befoe the Mirror Monster had a chance to recover, Suzune rushes in and delivers two more quick slashes across the chest, sending the zebra-like Monster stumbling back even further before it tripped and fell on its back. Taking this chance, Suzune ignited her sword into flames before she raises up the flaming weapon and brings it down for a finishing blow. To the Magical Girl's surprise, her attack was stopped as the Zebraskull cross its blades together and caught the flaming sword in between them. With a swing of both arms, the Mirror Monster pushes back the Magical Girl and gets back up to its feet. Looking up, the Zebraskull sees Suzune summoning fire into her hands before throwing a fireball the size of a baseball. Suzune's plan was to stun the monster and then move in to finish off the beast. Unfortunately, that was not what happened.

Right before the Magical Girl's eyes, the Zebraskull went and stretched its body upward, separating into vertically-stacked segments held together by an invisible force as the fireball flew through one of the openings, leaving the Mirror Monster unharmed as it soon reconnected itself and brandished its forearm blades threateningly.

"I see..." Suzune said to herself, getting an idea of the zebra-like Mirror Monster's abilities.

Going on the attack this time, the Zebraskull charges towards the grey Magical Girl, swinging its forearm blades wildly. Suzune used her size to her advantage, being smaller than the Mirror Monster as she dodged every swing the Zebraskull made, blocking only when she needed to. As if becoming annoyed by the girl's constant dodging, the Zebraskull crossed its arm before swinging both arms out as it went to behead the silver-haired girl.

The blades hit nothing but thin air as Suzune had ducked right before the blades could get near her neck, losing a few strands of her hair in the process. Suzune made a mental note to trim her hair later before focusing back on the fight at hand. Sweeping her legs out, the silver-haired Magical Girl knocked the Mirror Monster off its feet, making it fall on its back for the second time. Spinning back up to her feet, Suzune thrusts her hand at the downed zebra monster and fires off a fireball easily as big as herself, sending the Mirror Monster flying back as it rolled on the ground, smoking and covered in soot. Not done yet, Suzune summons forth more flames except these were shaped like swords, numbering up to five total. Dubbing this move Maien or flame dance, Suzune points towards the Zebraskull who was trying to get back up. Firing off like bullets, the flaming swords struck the Zebraskull and pinned it down to the ground as four of the five swords pinned the Monster down by its arms and legs while the last was stabbed through the chest, preventing the Monster from either stretching like before and, obviously, getting up. Closing her hand into a fist, the fire swords all lit up brightly before they exploded, taking the Mirror Monster with it as, through the smoke, the only thing that remained was a ball of lifeforce, not that Suzune knew that.

Seeing the Monster finally defeated, Suzune breathes out before turning to see how Haru was doing against his Monster.

SWORD VENT

Catching his Drag Saber, Haru locked blades with the Zebraskull, entering into a power struggle that Haru quickly won by moving the Mirror Monster's arms up, practically shoving them aside as it left the Zebraskull open for a punch to the chest which sent the zebra-like Monster stumbling back. Not relenting for a second, Haru practically marched up to the Mirror Monster and delivered a punch to the face and struck it again with a backhand swing. The Zebraskull tried to attack back, swinging its right forearm blade, only for it to be blocked by Haru's Drag Visor, acting as a makeshift shield as Haru swung his saber, striking another hit across the Mirror Monster's chest and sending it back. Recovering, the Zebraskull let out a cry of rage only to be quieted when Haru threw his sword, hitting the Monster right in the face. With the monster stunned, Haru went and drew a card from his Advent Deck and quickly slipped it into his Drag Visor.

STRIKE VENT

Holding his right hand into the air, the Drag Claw fell right into Haru's hand and the Rider pulls his arm back before punching forward, firing off a stream of fire towards the Zebraskull. Seeing the incoming attack, the Mirror Monster, much like its brother from before, stretches its body upward, separating into vertically-stacked segments while still being held together by an invisible force.

When the stream of fire struck the Zebraskull, its body simply bent back as if it were like a spring. Just when it seemed like the Mirror Monster's body would push back, to its surprise as well as Suzune's who was watching, Haru suddenly ran up to the Mirror Monster, jumped up, and struck the zebra Mirror Monster right across the face with a flaming punch with said flames coming from the Drag Claw. Stunned by the unexpected blow, the Zebraskull fell to the ground as its body sprung back whole as Haru landed right above it. the Zebraskull quickly stumbled back up to its feet, disoriented from Haru's last blow which gave the Rider the chance to run up and punch it again with his Drag Claw with flames coming out from the 'mouth.' Haru then proceeded to throw an onslaught of punches, using both his fists as the Zebraskull was soon faced with both normal and flaming punches, both equally as powerful as the other. The Mirror Monster was then sent flying back when Haru spun in place and kicked the zebra Monster so hard, Suzune could have sworn that there was a small shockwave that occurred.

'Strong...' Suzune thought as she watched the Rider fight. She knew that the Rider had powers and abilities similar to Magical Girls, but she didn't think the Rider alone was this powerful. Not once did he give the Mirror Monster a chance to even fight back. Seeing this, she couldn't help, but wonder if all Riders were like this, or was it simply just Haru?

Back to the fight, Haru pulled his arm back again, ready to fire off another stream of fire at the weakened Mirror Monster. However, unlike last time, Dragreder appeared and assisted the Rider as when Haru punched forward and fired flames from his Drag Claw, the dragon Contract Monster fired off its own flames from its mouth, the two combining as the combined flames struck the zebra Mirror Monster and soon, a small explosion confirmed the Monsters death with only a ball of lifeforce being what remained of the wild Monster.

"Phew..." Haru breathed out, relaxing as he lowered his gauntlet before throwing it aside where it soon disappeared into thin air. Looking around, he spotted Suzune and jogged over to her.

"Amano-san, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, as you can see," Suzune said, gesturing over to what remained of the Zebraskull Iron.

Said remains soon floated up into the sky as well as the remains of the Zebraskull Bronze Haru defeated. Both spheres glowed as if something was about to happen, making Suzune go on high alert. But just when something was about to happen, Dragreder flew by and proceeded to devour both balls of lifeforce, letting out a roar of satisfaction as it soon flew off to who knows where.

"...what was that?" Suzune couldn't help, but ask the Rider for an explanation of what she just witnessed.

Haru, for his part, laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his helmet.

"Oh, that? That's just Dragreder feeding on what's basically this world's Grief Seed," Haru explained as best he could. The way he saw it, while Magical Girls needed Greif Seeds to keep their Soul Gems clean, Riders needed to keep feeding their Contract Monsters in order to keep them in check.

If what Haru said made any sense, Suzune made no signs of whether that was true or not as she instead asked the Rider something else.

"Earlier, you said to me...that you'll stop me from killing Magical Girls."

"That I did," Confirmed the Rider. "You said earlier that the reason you're killing Magical Girls is because of a promise you made to someone. And while I have no idea what that promise could be, the fact of the matter is that killing is wrong. You yourself admitted to it."

"That I did," Suzune said, remembering what she had told the Rider before being brought here. Killing is wrong, yet she still continued to do what she did because of her reasons. She would not back down.

"Amano-san, the burden of having taken someone else's life is so...heavy. And yet, you continue to do just that. Can't you see that if you continue on like this, you'll eventually collapse!"

"What I do is none of your business," Suzune said in a matter of fact tone. "If you're so adamant about stopping me, then shouldn't killing me be the best way of preventing me from killing more people?"

"That's the one thing I refuse to do," Haru said. "I promise that I'll stop you no matter what, but I won't kill you. You, Amano-san, are going to answer for your crimes one way or another."

"So you'll just keep getting in my way, no matter what?"

"Every time."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...ridiculous," Suzune said, repeating the same word Shou had spoken before. "I don't get you. Why go out of your way for someone like me?"

"Because, Amano-san, contrary to what many others think, I know that you're not doing this because you want to. You're not just some cold-blooded murderer."

"Oh? You sound quite confident. And just why do you think that?" Suzune asks, slightly curious as to just why Haru sounded so confident at his words.

"You said so yourself, that you always make sure to remember all those you've killed," Haru said, pointing to the charm tied to Suzune's hair. "No ordinary killer would go out of their way to do that. That's all the proof I need."

Suzune's eyes went wide-eyed at Haru's words, surprised that he had remembered that. But then she remembered the words he had spoken earlier.

Their faces. Their names. I'll make sure to remember those I was unable to save. Always.

"Your words, Amano-san, really struck me," Haru said, telling outright that it was because of the silver-haired girl's words that he was back on his feet. "I don't know, but something inside of me is telling me to help you. So that's what I'll do."

"...do what you want," Suzune said as she turns and walks away, heading back to Yunagi Newspaper.

"I will!" Haru said as he jogs on over and walks by Suzune's side.

"What are you doing?" Suzune asks.

"Well, without a Rider, you can't get out of here," Haru motions to the entire world around them, reminding the Magical Girl assassin that they were currently not in the real world, but the Mirror World. And looking around, the only Rider here was the one next to her.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starving!" Haru said, smiling under his helmet. "Come on, we need to get back before Yunagi-san does! No way am I missing out on free food!"

Suzune sighs in exasperation, slightly cursing her boss and caretaker for hiring the person next to her.

As for Haru, he felt like a new man. Sure, he was still upset over the death of Scissors, but he would not allow that to tie him down anymore. He would do what he can, no matter what anyone else said. And as weird as it was considering who it was, it was all thanks to the girl next to him...with the said girl who happened to be an assassin.

And so began the weird relationship between Yamamoto Haru and Amano Suzune, fellow co-workers of Yunagi Newspaper.

And...done! Whoo! Man, that took way longer than it had to be. But I finally managed to get it done! I do hope you all enjoyed today's chapter. By this point, I am on my own as I've diverged quite a bit from the anime and manga's used to support this story, but that won't frighten me. Just means I need to get creative and possibly draw more from the Ryuki side.

Anyway, my feelings about this chapter. It's so-so. The only part I really enjoyed was the fight between Oriko and Sayaka. The poor girl was completely dominated by the former, not to mention she now knows the truth about Magical Girls and has to figure out if what she was told is true or not. For us fans of Puella Magi, we all know the truth. And we all know just how hard everyone, especially the girls, will take the truth. As for Haru in this chapter, I gave him the spotlight as promised while also making him speak of what he plans to do from now on. It was touch and go for me as I had to rewrite the scene quite a bit in order to prevent Haru from sounding like a Gary Stu when I'm really trying to make him sound like Shinji. I know his words kind of contradict the personalities of the other Haru's in my other stories, but as I mentioned in the beginning, Ryuki Haru is much younger than Wizard and Faiz. I know it may seem like a lame excuse, but the thing I'm trying to get across is that Ryuki Haru is a lot more innocent than his other counterparts. The traits that make Haru, Haru are still there, they just haven't 'blossomed' in a sense.

Anyway, I digress. With Haru out of his funk now, expect him to get back into the game from here on out. Of course, with Sayaka now knowing the truth, things are bound to get crazy soon so stay tuned for when they happen. Until then, this has been Ashbel Longhart, signing out. Until the next ride.