One month later, in the world of Madoka Magica.
"Good morning, Big Brother Su Mo!"
A cheerful blue-haired girl, carrying a small school bag in one hand and holding her skirt with the other, leaped onto the balcony of Su Mo's room in a manner impossible for an ordinary middle school girl.
"Madoka and Homura-san should be awake by now! The sun's already high in the sky, you can't keep clinging to Big Brother Su Mo like this!" Madoka's childhood friend, Sayaka Miki, shouted, half-envious.
As one of Madoka's best friends, Sayaka, like Madoka's parents, had her memories altered to believe that Su Mo and Madoka had always been close.
Therefore, in Sayaka's memory, her relationship with Su Mo, her childhood friend's big brother, was also quite special. Over the past month, that bond had grown even tighter.
Suddenly discovering a beautiful and mysterious transfer student, suddenly meeting Kyubey, and suddenly being drawn into the world of magical girls.
For Sayaka, the experiences of the past month had been as fantastical as a shounen or shoujo manga.
Although Madoka and Homura were worried at first, with Su Mo's tacit approval, they didn't stop Sayaka from wishing to become a magical girl.
They simply informed her in advance about the special nature of magical girls and the importance of her Soul Gem.
Given Sayaka's personality, although she hesitated at first, she didn't back down. Especially after learning that Su Mo was also on the side of the magical girls, she made up her mind.
She had finally encountered a wondrous magical world, and finally had a chance to get closer to Su Mo.
In this timeline, Sayaka seemed to have a secret crush on Su Mo, her childhood big brother. For the sake of her love, the girl boldly took a step forward and, like Homura, chose to become a magical girl.
Unlike in the original story, with the company of Madoka and the others, and having made a wish related to Su Mo, it was nearly impossible for Sayaka to fall into despair due to psychological weakness.
Kyubey, who had originally been suspected of maliciously guiding magical girls, was also busy with other matters during this time and, under an agreement with Su Mo, had temporarily suspended its usual modus operandi.
Therefore, this month had been a very happy one for Sayaka.
She had an excuse to fight and adventure alongside her dearest friend Madoka and the man she liked most, Su Mo.
She could even use her own magical girl powers to protect Big Brother Su Mo. The two joys combined made it feel like a dream.
Her only regret was that she couldn't live at Su Mo's house like Madoka and Homura. Thus, she could only wake up early every morning to call them.
"Good morning, Sayaka. I hope you'll use the front door next time!"
The balcony door quickly opened, and as usual, Sayaka saw Su Mo.
"Hehe, next time for sure!" she chirped, happily bouncing to his side, her eyes sparkling.
Just then, the long, straight-haired girl, having just finished rinsing her mouth, walked out of the room and gave Sayaka a cold glance. "You say that every time, but you never follow the rules once."
"What's the big deal? It's not like I saw anything I wasn't supposed to see," Sayaka said nonchalantly, a hint of regret in her tone.
Oblivious as she was, she didn't notice Homura's expression stiffen for a moment. Only after realizing Sayaka had spoken unintentionally did Homura relax.
"If you had, you might not have seen tomorrow's sun," Homura retorted sarcastically.
Perhaps due to their personalities, while her relationship with Sayaka wasn't exactly bad, they didn't always get along peacefully.
"Hmph!" Sayaka snorted dismissively at her words, then muttered, "You're just flaunting the fact that you're Big Brother Su Mo's daughter. Otherwise, you wouldn't even have the chance to be with him... Besides, it's not like you're sleeping with Big Brother Su Mo alone. Madoka's there too. Even if you wanted to, what could you do?"
She was very envious of Homura and Madoka's situation, but she wasn't worried about them making a move on Su Mo. If it were Madoka, based on how well she knew her, the girl definitely wouldn't be able to hide it.
If it were Homura, with Madoka there to stop her, she would never succeed.
So, even if they get to sleep in the same bed as Big Brother Su Mo, the real advantage is still on my side!
As Sayaka was thinking this, she suddenly noticed a small detail.
She pointed to the corner of her own cheek and taunted Homura, "Hey, you have a bit of white foam there. You're a big girl now, and you still can't wipe your toothpaste foam clean? How embarrassing! And you call yourself a middle schooler?"
After her rhetorical question, she stepped closer, her eyes a little puzzled. "Huh, this white foam doesn't seem like toothpaste. It looks a bit like congee... Have you had breakfast already?"
Hearing Sayaka's question, Homura abruptly took a step back, a startled look in her eyes.
After sniffing the air and noticing Sayaka's curious gaze, she stuck out her tongue and licked the white foam away, swallowing the familiar taste. "It's nothing. You saw wrong. It's just toothpaste," she replied, her tone calm and stiff.
A more observant person might have noticed, behind that cold and indifferent expression, Homura's ears burning red, and the look in her eyes as she glanced at Su Mo, a look sweeter than honey.
Unfortunately, Sayaka was not an observant person.
"Oh, I see!" With no intention of investigating further, she turned her head and, in one motion, whipped the covers off the bed. "Madoka, get up! You're the only one still sleeping in!"
"Mmm~ Sayaka?"
Seeing Madoka rubbing her sleepy eyes, looking like she had slept very soundly, even the rough-around-the-edges Sayaka couldn't help but feel a sliver of doubt.
With Madoka in such a lazy state, could she really be relied upon to defend against Homura's advances on Su Mo?
From the looks of it, even if Homura did something outrageous to Big Brother Su Mo in the middle of the night right in front of Madoka, Madoka probably wouldn't even notice.
---||---
Amidst the playful bickering, the group had breakfast at Madoka's house and left with her under the watchful eye of her father.
"Uncle Tomohisa's cooking is as delicious as ever! Madoka, are we going on a witch hunt today like we always do?" Sayaka asked, her hands behind her head as she hummed a tune, inquiring about the day's schedule.
Under Su Mo's guidance, Sayaka's strength as a newcomer had grown rapidly over the past month. She had defeated several witches and quickly reached a level comparable to Mami.
Thus, her enthusiasm was still high, and she was looking forward to the witch hunt.
"Let me see..." Hearing this, Madoka immediately took a notebook out of her school bag. Her memory wasn't the best, so she wrote down many of her plans.
"Rose Witch, defeated. Dark Witch, defeated. Box Witch, defeated. Graffiti Witch, defeated. Birdcage Witch, defeated. Also the Dog Witch, Art Witch, Class Rep Witch..."
Flipping through the pages of her defeat log, even Madoka felt a sense of accomplishment.
With Su Mo around, these witches were, of course, not dealt with by being simply eliminated as before. Instead, after being defeated by the magical girls, they were recorded by Su Mo into the Avesta, the Scripture of Evil.
Their sanity was restored, and they were transformed into beings like Nagisa Momoe. This method could also be considered a form of salvation for the witches.
Now, the little white-haired Nagisa Momoe had become a small leader among the witches, leading the others on Su Mo's behalf.
Of course, to prevent the witches from continuing to spread despair to the outside world, even after regaining their sanity, they usually lived within the mythological scripture of the Avesta, the evil side, created by Su Mo.
The notebook was quickly flipped to the last page. "It seems like all the witches in Mitakihara have been defeated. There's only one left..."
At this point, Madoka suddenly stopped walking, standing still on the side of the street.
"Oof!" Sayaka, not paying attention, bumped into Madoka's back. After a small cry, she looked at her best friend in confusion. "Madoka, why did you stop talking?"
"Sayaka, we might not be able to go to school today," Madoka said with utmost seriousness.
"Eh? A good girl like you wants to skip school?" Sayaka was shocked.
Madoka had always insisted on fulfilling her duty as a student while also fighting evil witches. How could a well-behaved child like her take the initiative to break the rules?
"Mhm." To Sayaka's greater surprise, Madoka didn't explain this time, but simply nodded firmly. "This time, the enemy is not the small fry we've been dealing with... Besides, Big Brother Su Mo said the plan will be executed today!"
Hearing this, Sayaka was confused. "What are you talking about? Weren't those ferocious witches from before ones that even Mami-senpai said were hard to deal with? How did they become 'small fry'? Who is this new enemy? And what plan? Don't tell me you guys have been planning some special adventure behind my back?"
Having not yet touched upon the truth of the world, she was completely in the dark.
Seeing her expression, Madoka shook her head. "I'll explain the plan to you later, Sayaka. As for our enemy this time, according to Big Brother Su Mo's prediction, it should be arriving soon."
"What?!"
Sayaka was about to ask more when an unusual magical fluctuation came from the city center.
An overwhelming aura of despair radiated from near the school, covering the entire city. It was a terrifying pressure that far surpassed that of a single witch, enough to make even a top-tier magical girl like Sayaka tremble. It was as if the entire sky had been dyed black, and the colors of the city had faded to a grayish white.
"Wh-What is that...?" Sayaka swallowed hard, feeling her legs go a little weak.
"Walpurgisnacht."
Su Mo's voice suddenly appeared by her ear, giving Sayaka a bit of courage back. "It is a stage device that gathers the strongest witches from all ages. It is a countdown to the destruction of human civilization, and the strongest enemy that magical girls are fated to face."
"...Finally, the day has come."
Looking at the figure that had driven her to despair nearly a hundred times, at the nemesis she had failed to defeat a hundred times, Homura gritted her teeth. Her dark eyes flickered with the same flame as Su Mo's.
The time of reckoning had finally arrived!