Upon receiving the shocking news of Rui’s demise, Shinju and Hanako are equally surprised to hear Koharu reveal that she already knows who killed Rui. Having noticed that Rui makes no qualms about using her powers in public places, she deduces one of Rui’s victims must have been forced to wish for the power to bend people’s perception, in order to keep Rui’s powers and crimes hidden from those whom they do not concern. As only an ability like that could have bypassed Rui’s psychic control over her subordinates, Koharu concludes that whoever possesses that power must have used it to take the bully out for good. While Koharu suspects Chiemi, Akari and Niko, who’d defied Rui before, Hanako can’t shake the feeling Yasu is involved in some way. After the latter learns of the murder as well, she even contacts Hanako in order to bury the hatchet and apologize for blindly following Rui’s orders. Hanako realizes they are not that different after all — both girls would follow their friends to hell and back, because friends are all they have.

School eventually reopens following the discovery of Rui’s body and thanks to Hanako’s mother using her attorney skills and influence to clear Koharu’s name once and for all, the Newspaper Club has been reinstated anew, now counting Hanako and Shinju among its members and having been appointed a new supervisor — the school’s newly hired guidance counselor, Yuna Sakurauchi. During the club’s first meeting, Koharu reveals that the day she discovered Rui’s body, the policemen who arrived to investigate and put the school on lockdown were not dressed like regular policemen. Knowing that similarly-dressed enforcers had been spotted after some of the other mysterious accidents and disasters that have befallen the city, she is beginning to suspect that the government, the police, or the JSDF may be, to a certain degree, aware of the existence of Puella Magi and Witches, and trying to keep this under wraps.

The increased presence of law enforcement in Mitakihara isn’t just noticeable at school, however, as the city begins to enforce a curfew that makes Hanako and Shinju’s nightly Witch hunts even more of a risk than before. When they find Yasu unconscious in an alleyway, claiming to have been shot, they initially believe this to be the work of patrolling policemen, but Yasu suggests an alternative theory — whoever attacked her, must have been trying to finish what they started by killing Rui. This information leads Koharu, Hanako and Shinju to make Chiemi Takahata, who they know fights using a sniper rifle, their prime suspect. Before they can head out to confront her, however, Takahata herself strikes first, tranquillizing Koharu and appearing as if out of thin air to confirm their suspicion. Unimpressed, Hanako mocks Chiemi for tipping her hand prematurely and assures her that she has no intentions to avenge a bully like Rui, as long as Chiemi leaves Yasu alone. Chiemi, however, asserts she will not rest until everyone who benefited from tormenting Akari has been given their proper due.

Chiemi reveals she felt forced to step in as she realized Koharu, in her stubborn dedication to justice, would not allow her to walk away from killing Rui and Yasu, and appeals to Hanako and Shinju to let her finish her job for the greater good. She asks Hanako to convince Koharu that Yasu killed Rui in a squabble over the leadership over the clique, and then staged her own assault to avoid being suspected. Chiemi gives the two 24 hours to both make sure Yasu “faces justice” and dissuade Koharu from pursuing the case any further. but when Hanako and Shinju refuse, a fight breaks out. as she starts losing both the fight and her sanity, Chiemi quickly overexerts herself, causing the negative energy in her Soul Gem to accumulate at an accelerated pace. Shinju tries to warn her, but Chiemi announces her intent to turn into a Witch willingly, and take Hanako and Shinju down with her.

At that moment, however, an unseen figure attacks Chiemi from behind, knocking her out and purifying her Soul Gem with a Grief Seed. The figure, whom Shinju and Hanako recognize as one of Midori’s eccentric college friends, introduces herself as Yui Arashi. Before Yui can explain herself, however, the scene is surrounded by army vehicles and troopers in uniforms similar to the ones worn by the enforcers taking care of the murder scene at school. Joining the armed officers is a woman by the name of Shinobu Nagano, chief of Mitakihara’s Sixth Bureau of the National Police Agency, a secret branch of government intelligence concerned with investigating supernatural phenomena and keeping the existence of Puella Magi and Witches a secret from the public. Yui tells Hanako and Shinju that she has been monitoring them for a while now, at the behest of the Bureau, which claims to be registering Puella Magi activity all over the country and assisting them in their struggles for the greater good. It was the Sixth Bureau that covered up a giant Witch attack four years ago as a natural disaster, and that made Rui’s death look like a suicide. Upset about having been used as a tool by the older Puella Magi and her government backup, Hanako is skeptical, but Yui assures her they can clear the air later, before the Bureau takes its leave, taking Chiemi into custody along with them.

Later that night, Akari recieves a pre-recorded message from Chiemi, in which she reveals the truth about her actions — the night when Rui died, Chiemi and Akari had gone out to confront her. Akari, however, got cold feet, so Chiemi decided to use her powers to hide her from Rui’s perception, and went in alone. When the confrontation turned violent, however, Akari rushed in, brandishing a knife, and repeatedly stabbed Rui in the back. Shocked, Chiemi tranquillized Akari and took her home, only to realize that Akari had lost all memory of her heinous act the next morning. Realizing that Koharu, Hanako and Shinju would find out the truth and work to bring Akari to justice, Chiemi came up with a plan to make herself look like the villain and take the fall for her best friend. Realizing her plan was a success, Chiemi can’t help but laugh, but the realization that she will never see Akari again causes her to break down in tears. Imploring her friend to reach out to Hanako and Shinju so she can do something with the life she has given her, she offers Akari a heartfelt goodbye.

---