Hitomi Shizuki—a true young lady from a wealthy family, and also Sayaka and Madoka's close friend.
Like most friend groups, theirs came in threes, and in every trio there's always one person whose common ground with the other two isn't quite as strong.
That wasn't entirely fair to say. It was just that her family had arranged various lessons for her, so she often had to split off from the other two after school. That was precisely why she hadn't been with Madoka and the others when Homura showed up with Yimi to kill Kyubey.
Today she'd said she had something to discuss with Sayaka and had arranged to meet her privately at a cake shop.
"I've been hiding this from both Madoka and you." Hitomi clasped her hands together and looked at Sayaka with a grave expression. "The truth is, I've admired Kamijo-kun for a very long time."
"I-Is that so?"
It came out of nowhere. Sayaka couldn't think of how to respond.
"I didn't expect it to be you, Hitomi." Sayaka forced a smile. "That Kyosuke—he really doesn't make things easy, does he?"
"Sayaka-san, you and Kamijo-kun are childhood friends, aren't you?" Hitomi had suddenly shifted to a more formal way of addressing her. "I've decided I won't lie to myself anymore. It's the same for you, isn't it, Sayaka? Can you face your own feelings honestly?"
"…"
"Sayaka is an important friend to me. I don't want to make the first move before you, and I don't want to come between you. You've been by his side far longer than I have, so you have every right to get there first."
"Hitomi…"
"I'm going to confess to Kamijo-kun after school tomorrow. I'll give you the entire day. Please make a choice you won't regret."
She rose, gave Sayaka a small bow, and excused herself.
"…"
…
…
Sayaka becoming a Magical Girl was essentially irreversible. Across her many loops, Homura knew this with perfect clarity. And the single greatest catalyst driving Sayaka toward despair was always Hitomi.
Sayaka was shyer than she let on. In one loop she and Mami had been very close—well, in most timelines those two got along quite well.
Even without knowing the true nature of Soul Gems, the knowledge that she'd have to fight Witches regularly and might die at any time convinced her she'd never have a normal chance at romance. So she gave up her opportunity to confess.
After that, Madoka had even confronted Kyosuke in front of both of them, demanding to know how he wasn't suspicious—injuries declared incurable by modern medicine suddenly healing overnight—and told him outright that Sayaka was responsible.
But even then, Sayaka hadn't known how to face the situation and fled. After that… she burned through all her magic.
She and that boy were like two people with no fate between them. Separated by nothing more than a single confession, yet across multiple timelines they rarely managed to end up together.
"What the…"
Her first time encountering a Witch on her own. It happened more suddenly than she'd imagined, but it honestly wasn't as terrifying as she'd expected.
Because she didn't need Grief Seeds, and because her power wasn't rooted in emotion, her sensitivity to Witches wasn't as sharp as Mami's or the others'. Even so, she was still the first Magical Girl to arrive on the scene.
Or rather, this time the Witch had appeared practically right in front of her face.
Mami-senpai had told her that Witches were born from despair. Did that mean she was currently drowning in negative emotions?
Sayaka lowered her gaze toward her old friend inside the barrier.
Hitomi. There was a mark on her neck. Without Kyubey nearby and with no experienced Magical Girl to guide her, Sayaka naturally didn't recognize it—this was the Witch's Kiss, a brand used to lure humans into despair—but she could tell it was nothing good.
Between dance lessons, piano, and even tea ceremony, Hitomi never had time to hang out with friends. She must have been carrying a lot of pent-up stress.
Sayaka blanked for just a moment. Even in that single instant, her own reaction terrified her.
Because she couldn't tell whether that split-second freeze was panic at seeing a friend in danger, or hesitation—an unwillingness to save a romantic rival on the verge of misfortune.
"What are you even thinking? Go save your friend!"
Refusing to give herself time to dwell on it, the girl drew her blade and charged forward.
"Don't you dare touch my friend!"
Her technique was clumsy, but pouring in more magic more than compensated. Even if she dumped all her magic in one burst, a mere ten seconds would regenerate enough to let her fight a while longer—let alone the fact that under normal circumstances, taking down a Witch didn't require anywhere near that kind of power.
She raised her cutlass and cut through the Familiars blocking her path. The blue-haired girl set aside every stray thought and fought.
"Hey, are you stupid?"
That annoying voice again. The redhead who'd bullied Yimi. A regular Magical Girl's tracking ability for Witches was naturally much sharper.
"Look carefully—everything you're attacking is just Familiars, and weak ones that can't even slow you down."
"So what?" Sayaka glared at the girl who'd appeared out of nowhere.
"Only Witches drop Grief Seeds. These Familiars? Just leave them alone. Killing them gets us nothing but wasted effort."
Kyoko sat there with zero intention of helping.
Sayaka clutched Hitomi with one arm. "Because my friend is right here! Grief Seeds—I don't need those things."
Kyoko sat on a ledge, biting into an apple. "A friend, huh… Well, can't argue with that. But with all that anger, don't tell me you're already starting to regret your wish?"
"I won't regret it."
Kyoko propped her chin on her hand. "Huh… Your wish was to save some guy, right? That makes you his savior. Why not just tell him straight up and make him pay you back? Same with the girl you're holding—if you don't say anything, she'll probably never even know you saved her."
"That's…"
Using something like that as leverage—Sayaka couldn't bring herself to do it.
But then, if she said nothing and just kept expecting something… did that mean her real wish wasn't actually to save Kyosuke, but to be rewarded for it?
Sayaka crouched down and clutched her head.
"What's with you, spouting all that twisted logic at people?" She leveled her cutlass at Kyoko.
In the end, she chose to dodge one topic by picking a fight over another.
Kyoko clicked her tongue despite herself and produced her Soul Gem. "Because watching you is like watching my old self. Incredibly stupid."
"If you need to blow off steam with a fight, I can oblige anytime. But does your magic even hold up for more combat?"
"Don't make me sound like some kind of battle maniac… Hey!"
Sayaka shouted and swung her blade past Kyoko's flank.
The Witch's true form had finally appeared—and it was launching a sneak attack on Kyoko.
An attack of this caliber naturally wouldn't escape Kyoko's notice. She'd mocked Mami before and certainly wasn't about to make the same mistake.
But what she hadn't accounted for was Sayaka's strike—and the completely unreserved burst of magic behind it.
The resulting shockwave obliterated the Witch in a single blow and sent Kyoko's Soul Gem flying.
When the Witch's barrier collapsed with its creator's death, her Soul Gem landed squarely on a car.
Kyoko: (._.)