The past forty minutes or so were in nearly perfect silence. Perfect, and uncomfortable. Only broken by the occasional crunch and nibbling from cookies, only one participant in the room partaking. At one point, Kiwako had stood to make more, a task soon taken over by her twin friends as the host returned to the room, sitting sheepishly and awkwardly on the couch. Hanako’s gaze was downward, and she hadn’t kept track of Yuzuki’s, something which furthered her guilt. Finally, after a while, she could no longer stand the silence.

Hanako: So… um… Kiwa-chan? What’s up with Cecilia? I-I mean… the eye patch?

Kiwako: She, um… she got injured.

Yuzuki: By a balancer? Why so much mystery around it? 

Kiwako: (Her voice is far too low. Far too quiet.) …It wasn’t a Balancer.

Yuzuki: What, then? 

Kiwako: (Her hands grip into the fabric of her little red gown) …Yui shot her eye out. Using her soul magic, I mean. …After Firestarter killed herself, Yui… she snapped.

Yuzuki: Wha–!! (Remembering herself, Yuzuki quiets down) Are you serious!? 

Kiwako: (She nods slowly, solemnly) Yui, she… she felt like Cecilia was lying to her. About saving Shiori, undoing her wish. That Cece-chan accepted Shiori’s death from the start as an acceptable cost to defeating the Balancers as a whole. …That Cecilia’s planning had gone too far, especially since she did it all by herself, rather than talking to anyone, except when she needed to. …F-For the record, I only learned all this after I brought Cece-chan back to Kamihama. If I knew the plan, I woulda said something. …I still don’t know if Yui was right or wrong when it comes to Cece-chan’s motives.

Yuzuki: Jesus. (Yuzuki sinks back into her chair) I didn’t even know Shiori died by suicide. I figured Yui and them must have done it themselves. 

Kiwako: …Yui would never have killed Shiori. It’s not who Yui is. She doesn’t… she doesn’t kill people. That’s the path Yui decided to follow. Her plan was, using her Magia, to try and undo Shiori’s wish… to put her soul back in her body. Permanently. But Shiori, she took her own way out. …That’s what Cece-chan told me about that day, anyway. If you didn’t know, then… that means that’s one more thing Yui-chan’s bottling up.

Yuzuki: (Yuzuki shakes her head) Why was that “Firestarter” girl worth any of this…? Did everyone else miss the part where she murdered the mayor on TV? 

Kiwako: Shiori was someone Yui cared for quite a bit before the Firestarter business. …Kyubey tricked her into the work when her father manipulated her to help his campaign, and then went back on his promises.

Hanako: …Y-Yasuda-san? Wait, no, that’s… that awful mayoral candidate backed by the Sixth Bureau was… Firestarter’s father?

Kiwako: …Masato Yasuda was the kindling that started the fire. And then, Satomi Yasuda became the Firestarter. (Meeting Hanako’s confused expression, she elaborates) Shiori wasn’t her real name. She was born Satomi Yasuda. (She then glanced sheepishly back at Yuzuki) …I got all this from the Birds. 

Yuzuki: Okay… and she killed herself, rather than stop being Kyubey’s pawn in all this? 

Kiwako: Yes. Perhaps she saw the plan Yui had in store as another form of manipulation, rather than liberation.

Yuzuki: I don’t know if we could expect that to work even if Yui pulled it off… not every enemy we let off is gonna sit quietly and do community service for the rest of their days like Aoi’s been doing. Kyubey would come back for her before too long, I think, and if she wanted to kill everyone before, she probably still would… 

Hanako: …Someone who did something as horrible as she did as a Balancer, no less. We all saw that video…

Kiwako: Oh, I understand, believe me. I just, um… I guess I wanted to paint a picture about it, since it’s why Yui shot out Cece-chan’s eye using that special bullet. Cece-chan, she… can’t see anymore right now. Not in her special way, not the way she used to. It hurts her to do it, even to try. And she spaces out quite a lot these days. Ah, um… she was also in a coma, which is scary, ‘cause I didn’t think Puellae Magi could fall into a coma. I thought she died, but her Soul Gem was still shining…

Yuzuki: What the hell. Why does Yui even have a power like that…? 

Kiwako: Ah, um… apparently, she wasn’t sure it would even work. But she was… she really wanted to save Shiori—

Hanako: I think she meant the permanent injury, Kiwa-chan.

Kiwako: Oh, um… well, she’s always been able to do stuff like that, right? When you and Yui turned off Chie-chan’s transformation that one time? Right, Yuzu-chan?

Yuzuki: That’s not a permanent injury. What’s this about getting shot with a special bullet? I haven’t seen Yui have a gun with her Puella powers, just those staves… 

Kiwako: Hmm… didn’t you hear her do weird countdowns, or say a number before shooting someone once or twice? Apparently, she was experimenting with what her weapon or powers could do.

Yuzuki: … Oh, right, I think she pulled a gun when we were up against that Worldeater guy. Just for a second. 

Kiwako: She apparently made and fired six such bullets. I’m still not sure how she did it, exactly, but they were made for the Balancers. But after Shiori’s death, Yui used that last bullet on Cecilia.

Yuzuki: (She takes a moment, apparently counting the Balancers off on her fingers) Did any of these bullets get used on a Balancer? 

Kiwako: According to what the Birds told me, mixed with what Cece-chan was telling me… yes. The other five were either used on a Balancer, or aimed that way.

Yuzuki: Oh, huh… (She turns to Hanako) Did the one you all fought outside of town have some permanent injury too? 

Hanako: Nothing… notable, no. But she was rather hardy. As if she never felt any pain at all. …More accurate a statement than I realize, since that seemed to be her wish.

Yuzuki: (She sighs) So Cecilia’s here until you figure out some way to fix what Yui’s done, is that it? 

Kiwako: Cece-chan’s here because she is my friend. (Her reply is instant, and in a bit more of her usual cadence) I wanted her away from Yui-chan so she could heal in peace.

Hanako: …And that’s the only reason?

Hanako’s voice is laced with scrutiny, her eyes finally meeting Kiwako’s. The smaller girl doesn’t even flinch, starting to sway a little on the couch. Hanako doesn’t back down, though braces herself for a misdirection that doesn’t come. Kiwako’s eyes and tone are far too genuine and honest, and her answer lacks any of her usual playfulness.

Kiwako: Yep. That’s the only reason.

Hanako: …I see.

Kiwako: You don’t believe me, Lily-chan?

Hanako: …Mostly.

Kiwako: (She smiles) Good enough!