Oriko and Kirika both looked around as the labyrinth disappeared. Karma looked at everything in confusion as Kamihama came back the same way it disappeared. Oriko smiled as she turned to her partner.
"Looks like (Y/n) found the witch," Oriko commented.
"Yeah, but without us!" Kirika nearly yelled out in annoyance.
Oriko giggled at this while Karma looked at the two girls in confusion. The two girls quickly caught onto this as Oriko's green eyes met Karma's golden eyes.
"So, you said you'd explain everything once that entire ordeal was over," Karma said with a straight face," Better start explaining."
"Of course," Oriko said before gesturing towards her home," Please come in. We'll explain everything outside the view of the public."
Karma nodded his head as the three of them entered the house. Kirika was glaring at Karma while holding one of her claws out. It was like she was saying not to hurt Oriko or she would murder him. And Karma did not doubt that she would at all.
..........
"What's a magical girl?" Nagisa asked in complete confusion.
Sana crawled closer to the blue haired boy and Kyubey while Kyubey just looked up at the boy. His white tail bounced around while the two white ribbons coming from it's ears flapped a little in the wind.
"So you're unaware," Kyubey stated," That's quite odd due to the rumors that have been running around lately."
"Rumors?" Nagisa repeated.
"They rumors about the magical girls," Sana replied," I..it's a rumor that states everything Kyubey has told me."
"What do you mean?" Nagisa asked.
"Well, to start off," Kyubey started," Magical girls are as their title states. They are girls with magical powers. However, they aren't born with magical powers."
"How do they get it then?" Nagisa asked.
"I grant them a wish," Kyubey replied," That wish can be whatever they want. Even if it's impossible, I can grant them it. However, in exchange they are given magical powers so they can fight witches."
"Witches?" Nagisa repeated," You mean those creatures that we saw in that place?"
Kyubey shook his head.
"Those we..were just familiars," Sana replied," Th..they serve t..the witch."
"Sana's correct," Kyubey agreed," Witches are far more powerful than those familiars you saw. And no normal person can see them. Witches conceal themselves in their labyrinths and hide from reality so that they could cause mischief. And it is the jobs of the Magical girls to stop them."
Nagisa looked at Kyubey with wide eyes. This was all so new to him and it was taking some time for him to take it in.
"That's...That's very bizarre," Nagisa admitted," It's hard to believe that's even true."
"But you saw the Labyrinth with your own eyes," Kyubey pointed out," So it shouldn't be too hard for you to believe."
"I guess you're right," Nagisa admitted," What exactly does a witch do to cause mischief?"
"Quite a lot of terrible things," Kyubey replied," Murder, suicide, or any types of crime. Ever heard of someone committing suicide without any signs beforehand showing that they were suicidal? It's probably the work of a witch."
Nagisa's eyes grew even wider at this. Kyubey turned around to look at Sana while said girl had a very scared expression on her face.
"I thought it was a good idea to show Sana what a labyrinth was like before she made her wish," Kyubey commented," But it could have ended for the worse for her. If those magical girls didn't kill the witch, you two would probably have died."
Nagisa blinked in confusion. Those magical girls? There were other people in the labyrinth? Who?
"There were other people?" Sana blurted out.
"Of course," Kyubey replied," And they were both very powerful magical girls. Of course, there were a lot more people and magical girls there. These two were just the ones that killed the witch."
"Who were they?" Nagisa asked.
Kyubey looked back over at Nagisa and tilted his head slightly.
"They're some of the most powerful magical girls in Kamihama," Kyubey replied," I made a contract with them so many years ago. However, recently I've gotten out of contact with both of them."
"Why's that?" Nagisa asked.
"Kyubey me..mentioned this be..before," Sana replied," But he..he can't get inside the borders of Kamihama."
"Really?" Nagisa asked.
"It's true," Kyubey said," With this problem, I shouldn't be able to find any way to contact either of them."
Kyubey then looked directly into Nagisa's eyes.
"However, now that I've met you I do have a way," Kyubey said to Nagisa.
Nagisa tilted his head to the side curiously. He had absolutely no idea what Kyubey meant by that. But it didn't take long for it to click in his mind. The girl with the hammer and Naginata. What Maehara and Isogai told him about their trip to Kamihama. Those things started to make more sense.
"Wait," Nagisa whispered," You want me to bring you to (Y/n), don't you?"
Kyubey nodded his head while Sana looked at Nagisa with admiration. She wasn't the smartest person in the world, that she was well aware of. So seeing Nagisa figuring this out on his own was something she thought was cool.
"Correct!" Kyubey beamed.
"Why didn't you go up to her during school?" Nagisa asked," (Y/n) goes to school outside of Kamihama."
"I am well aware of that," Kyubey said," However, I don't exactly have the best relationship with (Y/n)."
"Why's that?" Nagisa asked.
At this point, Nagisa wanted to get as much information as he could out of Kyubey. The fact that (Y/n) was hiding this must have held a great burden on her. So he wanted to do what he could for his friend to help take the burden off of her shoulders.
"Because she lost three very important people and blames it on me," Kyubey replied," Although she puts the same amount of blame on herself as she puts on me."
Nagisa's eyes widened at this. He hadn't exactly expected that out of everything. Although it does make Nagisa wonder how exactly (Y/n) was affected by these deaths. If she hates Kyubey enough for Kyubey to need someone (Y/n) cares about to be around, then that should mean at least some of her is still affected by it. Or at least Nagisa assumed so. He sure hoped (Y/n) cared about him. If she doesn't, he might lock himself in his room for a few hours and cry.
"Oh," Nagisa finally uttered out," I don't know what to say about that."
"I'll give you some time to think about that," Kyubey said before turning to face Sana," But in the mean time, have you finally made your decision Sana?"
Sana's eyes widened in surprise for a second before nodding her head.
"Yes," Sana replied," I've chosen to accept the contract!"
"Really?" Nagisa asked in surprise.
"Excellent choice," Kyubey said," Now, what will your wish be?"
Nagisa looked over at the green haired girl. The job of a magical girl seemed really hard, not to mention no one will know about you. At least that's what Nagisa had figured. So whatever wish Sana had must be worth all the fighting.
Sana took a deep breath before blurting out her wish. And her wish surprised Nagisa.
"Please make me invisible!" She yelled.
..........
Yachiyo glared at Isogai from across the room as she poured the three of them some tea. (Y/n) had wanted to bombard him with questions, but two things kept her from doing so. The first one being that she had been taught not to before. Wait for everyone to be prepared before asking anything and don't overwhelm the person you're asking. The other thing was that she knew Isogai had just been through a lot. And she didn't want to scare him.
Once Yachiyo finally sat down, she started talking.
"Alright," she said," How do you know anything about magical girls?"
Isogai wasn't exactly prepared to answer Yachiyo's question. In truth, he gambled a bit with blurting out what he did. Now he had no idea how to respond to Yachiyo's question.
"He could have easily heard about us from that rumor," (Y/n) defended.
"That rumor stated nothing about magical girls being a bad thing," Yachiyo argued.
"He never said it was a bad thing," (Y/n) argued.
"He didn't have to, his tone said everything," Yachiyo argued.
This wasn't something that was unexpected from (Y/n). Yachiyo knew from the start that (Y/n) didn't want her to start antagonizing Isogai just because of how he found out. That and (Y/n) probably doesn't want Yachiyo to get involved with him. And it's not like Yachiyo blamed her. (Y/n) was very protective of friends around her age. Or at least ones that she trusted.
"I'll answer your questions once you answer mine," Isogai replied," The reason I know is quite complicated, so I don't exactly know how to put it yet."
That was a lie and Isogai knew it. However, he couldn't risk letting either of them know why. Not now at least.
"Alright, I'll give you some time to think," Yachiyo said," Can you at least give us what you know about magical girls?"
"Alright," Isogai replied," I know that you can wish whatever you want, but in exchange you need to fight witches. I also know that witches cause a lot of pain and suffering in this world. However, I haven't seen a witch before nor have I ever seen a magical girl in action. So seeing you two in action was quite fascinating."
"Is that all?" Yachiyo asked.
"No," Isogai replied," The last thing I know is that there's a darker truth to being a magical girl, but I don't know what it its."
(Y/n)'s eyes widened while Yachiyo just glared at Isogai. She wasn't liking this at all. Isogai was going to learn everything about magical girls whether (Y/n) liked it or not. Yachiyo was going to let him know everything. (Y/n) knew that, but she didn't know why.
Isogai looked over at (Y/n). Her smile wasn't there and it hadn't been since they entered the house. And her eyes were so hard to look at now. He had once thought that something about (Y/n)'s eyes made him warm. But now it hurt far too much. Her eyes were tired and held pain. And Isogai wanted to know why. It didn't take a genius that it had to do with being a magical girl.
"I see," Yachiyo said," And I'm guessing that you want to know what the darker truth is."
"Yes," Isogai said.
"Very well then," Yachiyo said," I'll tell you everything."
"Wait Yachiyo," (Y/n) nearly yelled," I don't think that's a good idea."
"And why do you say that?" Yachiyo asked," Is it that you think someone is listening in on us?"
(Y/n) stayed quiet as she looked away from Yachiyo, telling them that Yachiyo was right. Not that (Y/n) actually thought that. Both girls knew why (Y/n) was doing this.
"You're just paranoid," Yachiyo commented.
Yachiyo then held out her hand. A bright blue light lit up the room and was soon replaced with her soul gem. Isogai looked at the soul gem in aw as Yachiyo showed it to him.
"This is the source of all of our power," Yachiyo started," Although I'm sure you already know that."
Isogai nodded his head. Yachiyo then handed her soul gem to (Y/n).
"Why's it called a soul gem?" Isogai asked.
"I'm about to show you," Yachiyo stated before looking at (Y/n)," (Y/n), you know what to do."
(Y/n) looked down at Yachiyo's soul gem and then back up at her.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Yachiyo nodded her head. (Y/n) looked down at the soul gem again before hesitantly grabbing it. She then stood up and bolted out of the house. Isogai looked at (Y/n) in surprise, but then he realized why. A few minutes later, Yachiyo's body went limp. Isogai shot up in panic and ran over to Yachiyo's body. He checked to see what happened before his eyes widened. There wasn't a pulse. Yachiyo was dead.
(Y/n) quickly ran through the door with Yachiyo's soul gem. Once she was in the room, (Y/n) stopped running. The panicked looked in Isogai's eyes was enough to hurt her. She didn't like seeing him this way. Especially knowing that everything else will make it worse.
"What happened to her?!" Isogai nearly yelled out.
(Y/n) looked at him sadly before walking back over to Yachiyo. She stood next to Isogai, who was looking at her with fear visible in his eyes, before placing the soul gem on top of Yachiyo's dead body. Yachiyo groaned and sat back up. Isogai looked at her in surprise while (Y/n) gave Yachiyo her soul gem back.
"Thank you," Yachiyo said.
(Y/n) nodded her head sadly before sitting down next to Yachiyo once more. Isogai looked at Yachiyo with wide eyes as he took a step back.
"What just happened?" he asked.
"You just saw what a soul gem actually is," Yachiyo stated," It's as the name states. A soul gem is our soul."
Isogai collapsed back down on his chair while the fear continued to come. He really should have expected that. The name had given away what it really was. But still, he couldn't help but be afraid. Not for himself. But for (Y/n) and Yachiyo.
"Why?" he whispered," Why does that have to happen?"
"So we can survive," Yachiyo stated.
That answer surprised Isogai, but Yachiyo didn't give him time to comprehend it.
"As long as our life force is in these gems, we should be fine in battle," Yachiyo stated," Our bodies can be so damaged that death should have welcomed us, but as long as our soul gems are okay then we're okay."
"I see," Isogai whispered," I guess that would be effective in battle."
"However," Yachiyo stated," If the soul gem breaks, we're as good as dead."
Isogai's eyes widened, but he wasn't as surprised this time. He kind of figured that out from what they've said so far. But hearing it said from Yachiyo hurt a little.
"I'll admit, some of us are better off that way," (Y/n) commented," But a lot of us aren't."
"What do you mean?" Isogai asked.
"You saw us using that grief seed earlier, correct?" Yachiyo asked.
Isogai nodded his head.
"During battle our soul gems will darken do to us using our magic," Yachiyo explained," By using the grief seed, our soul gems will brighten up again."
Yachiyo looked straight into Isogai's eyes as he hesitated to ask something. He knew this might be the thing that hurts the girls the most, but he needed to ask.
"What happens when your soul gem completely darkens?" he asked.
Tension rose in the room as (Y/n) looked away from the two of them. A dark shadow covered her eyes as a grim expression appeared on her face.
"We become witches," Yachiyo replied.
Those three words filled Isogai with complete dread. It was like all the joy had been taken away from him in a matter of seconds. And he couldn't do anything about it. He didn't want to know more anymore. But he had to know more. He had to know this last thing.
"How... did you guys figure this out?" he whispered.
Those words made (Y/n) break. Tears started to threaten to leave her eyes as she stood up. Isogai looked up at her while she left the room. Once she was at the stairway, (Y/n) stopped.
"I think I need some time alone," she whispered.
It hurt to hear the cracking in (Y/n)'s voice. For both Isogai and Yachiyo. But Yachiyo knew she couldn't do anything about it. She wasn't that close with (Y/n) anymore to do that.
Isogai looked over at Yachiyo, who nodded her head. He then shot up and followed (Y/n) upstairs. Once he was upstairs, Isogai realized he had no idea where (Y/n) went. Although it didn't take him long. One of the rooms had a nameplate with (Y/n)'s name on the door. Isogai quickly opened the door and looked inside.
(Y/n) was sitting in the corner of her room with a picture frame in her hands. On her left and right were shrines. One had a picture of a blond haired girl with purple eyes. She seemed slightly older than Isogai and (Y/n). The other shrine had a picture of a green haired girl and green eyes. There were tarot cards on her shrine with the Death card facing up.
Isogai slowly walked over to (Y/n) as tears poured out of her eyes. She looked so scared and weak. It scared Isogai. Even though (Y/n) had always had a weak appearance, she held herself with some sort of confidence that made her seem strong. A lot of the girls from class had admired that. But that was completely gone now.
"Why are you here?" (Y/n) asked.
"I wanted to comfort you," Isogai replied as he sat down next to (Y/n).
"Why?" (Y/n) asked," I'm basically a zombie who has murdered so many other magical girls. You shouldn't care about me anymore."
"(Y/n), we've met assassins that all of us like," Isogai said" And you aren't a murderer."
"Yes I am," (Y/n) argued," All of those witches I've killed were magical girls who were suffering. And one day I'll be suffering just like them."
Isogai's eyes widened slightly at what (Y/n) said.
"Isn't there a way to stop this?" Isogai asked.
(Y/n) laughed a little in a somewhat insane way. This scared Isogai a little as (Y/n) lifted her head up and looked at Isogai.
"If only," (Y/n) replied," I tried for so many years to try and find a way out of this. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing."
"There must be a way," Isogai argued," There has to be a way to get you out of this mess."
"Well there isn't!" (Y/n) yelled.
Isogai's widened in surprise. This was the first time he had seen (Y/n) ever lash out at someone. But why did it have to be him of all people.
"I've completely given up on ever finding a way out," (Y/n) whispered," I will never have a happy future. If I'm lucky I'll live as long as Yachiyo has. But in the end I'll just suffer like the rest of them."
(Y/n)'s body started shaking as more tears poured out of her eyes. At this point, Isogai had heard everything he needed to. He wrapped his arms around (Y/n)'s body and pulled her into a hug.
"I will find a way," Isogai whispered as (Y/n) started bawling," No matter what, I will free you from this curse."
.......
Karma's eyes were wide as he looked at Oriko. Oriko was sitting across from him with a teacup in her hand. Kirika was standing at the edge of the room by a window. Her eyes were on the world outside, but she was listening to everything that was happening.
"Hard to believe, isn't it," Oriko asked.
"It really is," Karma said," Although it does explain a lot."
"You're taking this surprisingly well," Oriko commented.
"I've seen some terrible stuff in my life," Karma said as his smirk came back to his face," Although Witches are some of the worst things I've ever heard of."
Oriko giggled a little as she took a sip of her tea.
"So what are you going to do now?" Oriko asked," You have this information now, so how will you use it? Will you go back to your regular life and pretend none of this is happening, or will you help the magical girls in some way?"
"Well I can't really ignore it," Karma replied as he leaned back," (Y/n) is a good friend of mine and a classmate. Ignoring what she does is like ignoring an injured puppy!"
"In what way is (Y/n) an injured puppy?" Kirika asked in annoyance.
Karma snickered slightly but he didn't reply. To him, the answer was obvious. (Y/n) was emotionally hurt in a way, although he didn't know how or how deep. So seeing that these two couldn't see how hurt (Y/n) is told Karma something. Something very important.
"So, what was your wish?" Karma asked.
Oriko's eyes widened slightly, but it disappeared as she smiled.
"I was expecting this question to come soon," Oriko said," It's honestly quite sad that I had to wish this."
That sentence intrigued Karma a lot. He hadn't really thought much about the wishes girls made due to his understanding of them. Karma had assumed that their wishes were simple and not worth the risk. However, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Kirika suddenly got up from her spot by the window and walked towards the door. She left the house, surprising Karma slightly. A little 'hm' sound came from Oriko as she placed her tea down on the table.
"Kyubey came to me when I was at a very low point in my life," Oriko started," I had just lost something that gave me a purpose in life and everyone had betrayed me. Although, I guess I still had (Y/n) to talk to."
"You were friends with her before becoming a magical girl?" Karma asked in surprise.
"Correct," Oriko replied," Although I had met her after she became a magical girl. She was a good friend of mine for a long time that never cared where I came from. But I guess that's because she had seen so many different types of magical girls at the time."
"I see," Karma," So what was that wish that gave you a purpose? Or something like that."
Oriko's smile disappeared.
"Exactly that," Oriko replied," I wished to have a purpose in this world."
Silence followed after that as Karma took that in. He didn't actually expect her wish to be exactly that. And it that was a sad wish. A really sad wish.
"And unlike most magical girls, I do not regret my wish," Oriko said.
"Why do girls regret their wish?" Karma asked.
"For many different reasons," Oriko replied," To put it simply, sometimes we don't think about what our wish does to the people around us."
"Makes sense," Karma said," So why don't you regret yours?"
The air in the room grew a little tense after Karma asked that. A serious look appeared on Oriko's face. It was odd on her when comparing it to the casual look she usual has on her face. And it felt a little weird to Karma.
"My wish has allowed me to see the future," Oriko replied," And I saw a future where a magical girl will destroy this world with her witch form."
........
Isogai was taking a walk around the area. He was trying to clear his mind from everything that just happened. (Y/n) had just gone to sleep and Yachiyo was preparing to go to bed as well. Of course, Isogai still was going to stay in that empty room again. But after everything that happened, he just needed time to clear his head. Or at least that's what he said.
Isogai suddenly stopped in his tracks. A girl with long green hair was now standing behind him. None of her features really appeared in the dark other than one thing. A glowing green gem in the shape of half an oval. Isogai turned to look at the girl with a serious look.
"So what exactly was your idea to help liberate magical girls?" Isogai asked.
Hey guys! It's ya girl! I know author notes are really annoying, but I kind of wanted to talk about something with you guys. It's nothing serious, I just may or may not have found my new favorite anime! I'm not sure if any of you heard of it since it's not popular in the slightest. But it's a little show called Bokurano: Ours! For those of you interested, it's a show about 15 children piloting a mecha. What makes this show so different though is that it looks more into the stories of the children and less of the mecha battles. There's a reason for that, but that reason is a spoiler. I highly recommend this show for those of you interested in something that will pull on your heart strings a lot. Anyways, that's all I wanted to talk about! Hope you guys like where this story is going!
Sincerely, a random derpy author