Several days had passed in relative quiet. Or, what passed for relative quiet in Mitakihara’s new normal. 3:38 AM, right outside the only room rented in this roadside inn. Hanako Sasaki stood outside of it, hesitating for a moment. She knew what Kiwako (and by proxy, Cecilia, as Hanako eventually learned) had told her. Beyond this door, Hanako’s friends were waiting, though they had no way of knowing that Hanako would be there. Kiwako had proposed that Hanako withhold the full truth from them, but Hanako thought otherwise. She had been missing for a month, and owed it to them, to Koharu, to be as open and transparent as possible. 

Hanako had a month to prepare, at least, and she had anticipated a fair deal of questions Koharu would throw at her. She was as ready as she was going to get. With a deep breath, Hanako opened the door to the room, and upon seeing her friends in the room, visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief, giving them all a warm smile.

Hanako: Everyone…!

Shinju: (She stands up suddenly, jostling the table they’re all sitting at) What the– Hanako! Where did you come from? 

Hanako: Tokyo, if we’re being both technical and literal. It’s where I’ve been staying since I left Mitakihara. (she can’t help but smile at the initial reaction)

Koharu: … Tokyo? You made it out, you—Wait, what are you doing here? How were you able to find us? How did you know we were here? Do you even know what’s happening in Mitakihara? What the—

Yosuke: Easy, senpai. Though I do wonder why you’re waltzing in here all of a sudden. We’re not exactly here on holiday.

Hanako: (Ah… never change, Koharu~) Ah, um… I’m not sure we’ve met, have we? I’m Hanako, and… I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about me. To answer those questions, in order. Yes, Tokyo. I’m here because I finally found the right time to help out again. I knew you were here because I was given information through my mentor and her associate. …I’m sure the name Cecilia rings a bell, Koharu. And, I’m well aware of what is happening in Mitakihara. After meeting with my mentor, I saw that horrible video… I wanted to return right away! But Kiwa-chan was insistent that I see my training through to its conclusion, lest I become a liability. Yasu agreed with her, too. I needed to become strong enough to face this threat, both physically, and mentally.

Shinju: Yasu was with you? We were wondering where she got off to…

Hanako: Mhm! I wanted to return to my apartment to use as a hideout, knowing it would have been abandoned. But my mentor convinced me of my original plan, so we met and stayed with Yasu at her place in Tokyo.

Yosuke: … Your… mentor? … Training? (he turns to Koharu) … You never told me she was, like, a kung fu master. Or is she, like, y’know…?

Koharu: (she raises an eyebrow at Yosuke, before staring at Hanako) … You’ve changed, Hanako.

Hanako: Ehe~ I told you, didn’t I, Koharu? I would return when I could face myself. I… I truly can, now. I know who I am, and I am okay with myself. Now, I can help you all properly. …On the right side, this time. On your side. All of you.

Yosuke: (he looks at Hanako, then at Koharu, then back at Hanako) … Well, eh, congratulations on, err, being okay with yourself. Or whatever, eh—

Koharu: Shut up.

Yosuke: Hey, I dunno what’s going on with you, but it’s kinda weird that she’s just barging in here talking like she’s fallen in with some kinda cult after she bailed on you and left the city even when it was placed under quarantine and—

Koharu: And what?

Hanako: Technically, I fell out of a cult—

Yosuke: Y-y-y-y-y-y’know, the whole stuff with the lunatics who’re trying to kill you and Hayama and all these other people and Hayama turning into a friggin’ magical girl like this is some kind of anime and then we get teleported all the way to east Jesus nowhere and I think I deserve at least some kind of explanation about any of th—

Hanako: Ah, he knows? Well, I can also—

Koharu: You never asked.

Yosuke: W-What do you mean?

Koharu: You never asked. Didn’t even seem phased at all when we ended up here. Acted like you had everything under control. Didn’t even ask Shinju about anything that’d happened. Weren’t you the one who suggested we’d try getting back to the city as fast as possible? You think I hadn’t noticed? Why didn’t you ever ask what was going on? Why’re you only starting to freak out now?

Yosuke: Uh, we had more pressing matters to deal with, didn’t we? I-I had to make sure you were all safe, didn’t I? I-I had to keep my composure, because—

Koharu: Because?

Yosuke: Well, I’m a guy, right? A man. I-I gotta—

Koharu: Forget I asked.

Hanako: Erm… your boyfriend is a strange one, Koharu.

Yosuke: (he blurts out, expecting Koharu to blurt out the same) W-What?! No! 

Koharu: (she does not, in fact, blurt out the same)… Since when do we talk about… that kind of stuff?

Yosuke: W-Wait, senpai! A-Are we… that kind of stuff?

Koharu: (she glares at him) You’d know.

Hanako: (Hanako giggles, covering her mouth with her fingertips) …Ah. Right. Back to the point. We should return to Mitakihara as soon as possible. There, we can rendezvous with my mentor and face the threat together. Koharu… I really am sorry for leaving the way I did. And… and for everything that happened before all this. But I am here now. I can face both this threat in front of us, and my actions from before.

Shinju: (She sits back down heavily) You don’t have to make it up to us or anything. Or at least not me. Honestly, getting out of town was probably a good idea. I might too if… Niko wasn’t still…

Hanako: Shinju, that’s incredibly kind of you, but if I cannot face my mistakes directly, I will never learn from them. As for getting out of town, you three are the only ones who made it out, no? Everyone else is still trapped in Mitakihara. We need to get back, both for their sake, as well as reclaiming our home.

Koharu: City’s been put under quarantine. Only scheduled deliveries still make it in. Video wasn’t lying. Shinju’s sister’s the only one keeping the peace.

Yosuke: Then where was she when those circus freaks kidnapped us in broad daylight?

Shinju: Getting attacked by another circus freak, apparently. Just one person can’t cover the whole city at once, really…

Koharu: Stop asking questions. This is serious.

Yosuke: Oh, easy for you to say! There’s clearly something going on here. You people are neck deep into all of the weird stuff that’s been happening lately, aren’t you? So, you can look for excuses to shoo me out of the room when you wanna talk about all that for the rest of our trip together, or you can tell me what I deserve to know as a member of this club, don’t you think?

Hanako: (she calmly looks at Yosuke, a neutral expression on her face) That’s all well and good. But given what you already know, do you want to know more about this world of ours? This isn’t some huddled group of whispers and giggles. Our work… the life that Shinju and I lead, and Koharu is involved with, by proxy, is incredibly dangerous. People get hurt. People die. Is that truly what you want to involve yourself with?

Shinju: Since I’d probably ask too, if I was in your position: it isn’t gonna be possible for you to get cool shounen powers with the situation like this, if that’s what you’re hoping for. It might be a girl-only thing, too. At least, I’ve never seen them take boys… 

Koharu: We are not doing this.

Yosuke: Don’t you trust me? What the hell, senpai? What the hell happened “people deserve to know the truth”, huh? I don’t care that you’re keeping secrets from me, but I do care you’ve been keeping secrets from everyone else, especially when that whole whatever is now reducing our city to rubble!

Koharu: (she snarls) SHUT UP! (panting after her outburst, she keeps her eyes fixated on the table in front of her) Shut up. Shut up. Why are you here? Why are you here? Just get out. Get out. Get out! Get out! GET OUT!

Hanako: Ko…haru? (Hanako timidly reaches a hand out towards Koharu)

Yosuke: (he stands up, defensively holding up his hands) Okay, okay… I’ll… I’ll go get everyone something to drink, okay? But, eh, I… I think after that, I really think it’s best if I at least get to know why people are trying to kill us, r-right? (continuing to hold up his hands, he backs away towards the door, nodding towards Hanako and Shinju before stepping out)

Koharu: (she continues to stare down at the table, breathing heavily)

Shinju: (She stands up slowly, careful to speak softly and not to make too much noise) A-are you okay, man? Anything we can do?

Koharu: (she hisses between her teeth) Why is he here?

Hanako: (she sits down at the table, next to Koharu) I meant to ask, but who is he, anyway? He’s in the Newspaper Club, right? But… I can’t recall meeting him before this.

Koharu: Transfer student. Joined when you were gone. Insisted. That teacher from the Bureau let him in. Nothing I could do. Now he just… hangs around. Don’t know why they took him too, when they took me. Might think he knows.

Shinju: I’m kinda surprised they went after you, even. Even if you know, you’re not a Puella or anything… if it was just to lure out me and Niko, I guess, but… 

Koharu: Scorched earth. (she gently sways back and forth, trying to control her breathing) It’s scorched earth.

Hanako: Koharu’s right. From what we could gather, they seem to be going for a scorched earth approach. (she looks at Koharu, speaking calmly, yet without a hint of condescension in her voice) …Are you okay, Koharu?

Koharu: I’ll be fine. You can’t afford to waste time on me. (she exhales again) Just tell me everything.

Hanako: I’m an open book, Koharu. Ask me anything. I will give you a straight answer, if it is something I can answer. {Shinju, keep an eye on the door. Give me a signal if he returns.}

Shinju: (She nods, shifting her seat closer to the door)

Koharu: What happened to you? Where have you been?

Hanako: …As you know, I left after Aoi and Walpurgisnacht’s defeat. I needed to find myself. I needed to… reconcile my role in her actions. I left town, headed to… God knows where. On the road leading out of Mitakihara, I was encountered by another Puella. A girl named Kiwako Kobayashi. She, um… she insists on being called “Kiwa-chan” by the way, for when you meet her. She wanted to bring me back to her home, but I wanted to meet with Yasu in Tokyo instead. She trained me in combat, and Kiwa-chan trained me mentally. It’s a method that brought me inner peace. But, I have no delusion of running from what I’ve done, Koharu. I… I hope you can believe me.

Koharu: Why go to Yasu now? Does she have anything left to tell you? Are we sure this… Kiwako is an ally? Could be with these Balancers. What made you think you could trust her?

Hanako: Yasu is the only Puella I know outside of Mitakihara. I… didn’t want to be alone, and I wanted to get stronger. It took some time to trust Kiwa-chan, and I am not so foolish to trust anyone I’ve just met wholesale after what happened with Aoi. I do not think she is with the Balancers. She’s aligned heavily with the Oracle, Cecilia Ambrosi. Cecilia claims that Kyubey is her true enemy. Her information, relayed through Kiwa-chan, has been accurate so far. It led me to you, after all, and I can vouch personally for the power Kiwa-chan taught to me. When we return to Mitakihara, I intend to give this option to Shinju and Yasu as well.

Koharu: You think she sought you out on purpose?

Hanako: She’s working with Cecilia. There’s not a doubt in my mind that she sought me out on purpose.

Koharu: We’re getting roped into her plan against the creature, then.

Hanako: Most definitely so, yes. But if these Balancers are working for Kyubey, then our fight was inevitable either way. This way, at least, we can gain something from it. …That is how I see it, anyway.

Koharu: And Yasu? She in on this? She prepared to come back to Mitakihara? Fight… what I can only assume are the most deranged of your kin? Even when she’s not a target? Least not for now?

Shinju: Don’t call those people “our kin,” please.

Hanako: Yes, completely. She’s still on our side. If she wasn’t, she would have turned me away the moment I arrived in Tokyo.

Koharu: Not about whose side she’s on. This is survival. Not asking her to join our cause. But to put her life on the line. Unconditionally. Can’t blame her if she said no. It’s… not a reasonable decision to make.

Hanako: Ah. Well… she seems certain enough. Goodness, I must have asked her at least a dozen times… The only thing she seemed apprehensive about was returning to Mitakihara itself. The fight, however? She seemed ready and willing enough. Kiwa-chan was upfront about the stakes when we arrived.

Shinju: So, um… is this Kiwako around somewhere, or is she coming by later? 

Hanako: Ah, she’s just now arrived in Mitakihara. She is linking up with Yui and the others, to impart the knowledge she gave to me, regarding that power she discovered in Kamihama City. That’s where she lives, by the way. Apparently, a lot has happened there, recently… 

Koharu: I don’t remember reading anything in the news.

Hanako: Most Puella incidents don’t make it into the newspapers, unfortunately.

Koharu: But the collateral damage does.

Hanako: I don’t have the full story, unfortunately. But I’ve overheard Kiwa-chan talking about it here and there. There was no damage to Kamihama. It wasn’t a battle, or any sort of destruction, but… it was like the city vanished, somehow, and simultaneously did not.

Koharu: … I’ll have to look into it.

Hanako: Please, do. Kiwa-chan told me she doesn’t like to talk about it, because it’s part of a personal, painful history, or something like that. But I would like to know how an entire city vanishes and doesn’t at the same time. It doesn’t add up… Ah, but perhaps this mystery is best left for when we’re free from the Balancers.

Koharu: Can you defeat them? Not even that college girl seemed to stand much of a chance.

Hanako: All of them? On my own? Goodness, no. Together, Shinju, Yasu and I might be able to stop one of them, if we’re incredibly lucky. No, no. The plan was to unite with the other Puellae in Mitakihara and present a unified front. Though… from what I can tell, it seems that everyone has tried that, already…

Koharu: Yes, you might have— Even Takahata showed up. (she looks to the side, mournfully) I heard they… They killed Fueki. And the teleporting girl. I’m sorry. I know you were close.

Hanako: (her eyes widen a fair bit, and she looks down with a sorrowful expression) Akari… Hotaru…

Koharu: I… don’t know the details. All I know is it managed to lure Takahata out of hiding. This was clearly a plan a long time in the making. It’s… not just Puella Magi. There’s someone else. A young man. Seized control over the Dreamscape from Segawa. We’re not even safe there. He… He took mom and Midori. Not even to get to me. Just because he could.

Hanako: Then this really is scorched earth… but if this man is not magical in any way, then in theory, there are weak links in their organization. Weaknesses we can use to our advantage, and fight back. Niko found your mother in the Dreamscape before. It stands to reason she can do it again, and your sister as well. This all makes me think that they aren’t just trying to wear everyone down physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. They are certainly thorough, if this is even remotely true. But no one and nothing is truly invincible. When we fought with Tomatsu, we proved that, didn’t we?

Koharu: Is it true, though? Shinju told me… that this whole Puella Magi thing… It’s not about fighting evil or saving people. It’s just an elaborate energy harvesting scheme. The powers, they’re just a side effect. Your only purpose… is and always has been to become a Witch. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature… This is what I made you sign up for, Hanako.

Hanako: (a little sigh leaves Hanako’s lips as she casts a sad little smile) Don’t let that bother you, Koharu. You didn’t make me do anything. It’s not like I was going to refuse that offer of Kyubey’s without your guidance. But the rest, it is the truth. Kyubey isn’t some being that cares for good or evil. It doesn’t even understand the concept. Upon becoming a Witch, a girl releases a lot of energy, and the Incubators use that energy to combat universal entropy. I know this now, Koharu, but it does not stop me from fighting. I still use this cursed power. It’s… part of what I learned with Kiwa-chan. I cannot change what has already happened, but I can use this curse as a gift, and prevent more suffering, and on my own terms. The same way I survived living with my depression all these years, I can survive and live with magic, a gift mankind was never meant to wield. But don’t think yourself responsible for my situation, Koharu. It’s not all doom and gloom. For one thing, I can fly, after all. But most importantly… I can fight and keep the people I love safe from harm. That means more to me than anything on the cosmic scale of things.

Koharu: And yet, they want to take that from you. I don’t understand. These… Balancers, they are Puella Magi too. Or most of them are. Why would they help to massacre their own kind? Who could believe so strongly in their own lack of value that they’d enforce that belief onto others, that’s… an oxymoron. It just doesn’t add up.

Hanako: Shinju said it best. They are not our kind. They made the same kind of wishes to the same creatures, but they don’t share our mission of maintaining peace and happiness that we do. It would be like comparing you to a warlord, because you’re both humans, no? Their goal is to keep Kyubey’s deceptive scheme marching forward without resistance. Our goal is to make sure that every Puella Magi, regardless of circumstance at least knows what they are in for, and that they deserve a decent life. Viewed thus, this war between our kind and Kyubey’s hand-picked was always inevitable. The Balancers choose death and destruction to maintain a shadowy status quo. I choose life, and will fight for it until I no longer can.

Shinju: (Shinju sighs and rests her cheek in her hand) I gotta say, it didn’t exactly seem like any of those nutjobs were super passionate about fighting entropy. I’d guess they’re all just combat freaks who are in it for the violence, or Kyubey’s paying them in some other way to follow his orders. I dunno what kind of human being would get all up in a lather over heat death in a jillion billion years.

Hanako: They aren’t? …Could it be that they are all in this for their own, selfish reasons? That’s something else we could use…

Koharu: Shinju’s right. Balancers must know they are pawns. So why do they still serve a creature to whom they are as expandable as anyone else? Either they are truly convinced it will let them avoid their fate, but… the entire premise of this project is that the creature makes no exceptions, so they must be utter morons if they think that. Only other option is it’s a sacrifice they’re willing to make. That… (she gazes ahead, as if realizing just how grim what she is about to say, is) … or they just don’t care.

Hanako: …We make assumptions at our peril, of course. But I would hazard a guess that it’s the latter. They seem to have ulterior motives that they are willing to throw their lives away in order to attain. I base this off of that video. That girl, she… her eyes were empty. Like mine used to be, before I found you all…

Shinju: You didn’t go insane and murder innocent people in really sick ways. I dunno how they did that and don’t feel like they have to check themselves into therapy for the rest of their life. I don’t think you were ever like them, don’t worry.

Hanako: Of course not. That thought never crossed my mind back then, to take the world down with me. Being suicidal and destructive are not mutually exclusive concepts. But… I do understand the feeling of not caring about anything in life anymore. …Intimately. I am not like them, and I never was. But if it is true that their goals are selfish, and Kyubey is a means to an end, then I might understand at least a facet of our enemy’s mindset.

Shinju: Let’s see… (She counts them off on her fingers) That loud, screechy girl who can’t speak English seemed like, well… the bloodthirsty freak type… same with the punk girl who was all “burn the world.” Who knows what’s going on with the quiet Chinese girl. That weird fop who’s fighting with Niko for the Dreamscape though, I think he probably has something else going on. He’s not even a Puella.

Hanako: …Is one of them called “Moonlover” by chance?

Shinju: That’s the… ffffirst one, I think. The European one. 

Koharu: They all use callsigns.

Shinju: How’d you know? 

Hanako: Ah, well… Kiwa-chan told me the name like five seconds before we parted company. She said it was breaking one of Cecilia’s rules, but she told me very specifically, “Beware the Moonlover.” I’m not concerned if she can speak English or not, though. I can’t, at all… If she is bloodthirsty, it doesn’t matter if she can speak Japanese, either. There will be some… rather difficult fighting ahead of us, I think.

Koharu: That girl in the video. We know her. She is the daughter of that politician who worked together with the Bureau.

Hanako: …That loud girl we saw at The Bends that night? The one Yui knew?

Koharu: (she nods)

Hanako: Mmgh… I thought she was obnoxious, sure, but I did not think she was a cold-blooded killer…

Koharu: She was open about her motives. Resentment can push people over the edge.

Hanako: I somehow doubt we could talk her down from this ledge…

Koharu: We don’t know her. Her grudges lie elsewhere.

Hanako: Yet, she stands with them, and thus, against us. If she joins them in their fight with us…

Koharu: Will you kill her?

Shinju: I don’t like to say it, but I don’t know if knocking them out and giving them a talking-to is gonna work this time. 

Hanako:  If the choice is their lives or mine… Shinju’s… Ueno-chan’s… Yasu’s… (Hanako looks Koharu dead in the eyes) If the choice is between their lives, or yours, Koharu? I would kill them all without a second thought. If it came to it, of course, and there was no other way out.

Koharu: Hm. (she jumps up slightly when the door to the room slides open again, revealing Yosuke carrying a pile of bottles and cans)

Yosuke: Not a lot of options, I’m afraid, but we’ll have to make do. Glad they even have vending machines out in the sticks like this.

Hanako: (without any external reaction at his presence, Hanako turns with a tiny smile) Ah, I’m not particular, given the circumstances. Thank you, um… Goodness, this is embarrassing, but I don’t think I got your name earlier.

Yosuke: Oh, ehm, I’m Nishioka, you know. Yosuke Nishioka? Senpai — err, Shirahara-senpai — never told you about me?

Hanako: Well… erm… there had always been more pressing matters, when last Koharu and I spoke.

Yosuke: H-Haven’t you guys been texting? (he utters an exasperated sigh, putting down the drinks on the table) You’re killing me here, senpai…

Koharu: You’ll survive.

Yosuke: Well, in any case, I’m happy for you that you get to hang out with your real friends again—Ow! (he winces as Koharu throws a small can at his chest) What, it’s true, isn’t it?

Koharu: Your favourite.

Yosuke: (he takes a better look at the can) Oh. Yeah. Huh. (he opens the can, holding it out for a toast) Well then, to reunion?

Hanako: (she takes a bottle and smiles) To reunion~

Shinju: Yeah, to reunion.

Koharu: (she standoffishly taps her drink against the others’) Mmmh.

Yosuke: Oh, hold on a second! (he puts down his drink, pulls out his camera — an old Polaroid — and aims it at the three girls, who are still awkwardly holding up their toast) Say cheese! (the camera clicks and after a few seconds of whirring, a picture rolls out. Taking it between his fingers, Yosuke shakes the photograph until the image is revealed) Not bad, if I do say so myself.

Hanako: Oh, you’re a photographer? That explains how you got into the Newspaper Club. (Hanako smiles, idly gazing at the photograph) This will bring back the fondest of memories… I-I hope.

Yosuke: Yeah… You can really see how much the three of you trust each other. Too bad I didn’t have my actual camera on me when we got sent here. (he gazes at the photograph) Can’t exactly use this one as your phone wallpaper. Ah well, better than nothing. I’ll send you girls a high-res scan once we make it back home.

Hanako: Thank you. I cannot speak for the others, but I’ll certainly treasure it. (her smile fades) …I apologize for intruding at such an awkward time of night. You all must be tired, right?

Koharu: Better head out early tomorrow. (she gets up, sighing)