Only this City is Different Part One

Chapter 2
Part 1: The Disappearance of a Cog

Mami: "Kamihama City" ...I'm familiar with the name but...not only have I never been there before, but I didn't even know what kind of city it was either. But, now that I think about it... it might have been inevitable that we magical girls arrived in that city.

- Mitakihara, Outskirts -

Witch: !()@*$!@$!@*()!?
Mami: Prepare yourself!! It seems like you've been running away and quietly hiding yourself but...your luck ran out as soon as I found you! I won't let you get away...! (I will definitely...put an end to this!) Take this!!
Witch: !!)(@*$!@?!
Mami: My, my. It seems you're a tougher enemy than I thought. But, that's enough. Playtime is over... This is my last shot...! Take this...! Tiro Finale!!!!
Witch: !@)($*!@!
Mami: .... Whew... For the most part, I guess it went as planned. I'm just glad it ended without much trouble. The grief seed is... ---!!
Witch: !)@($*!@*!
Mami: (I didn't finish it off!?)
Witch: !@()$*!@()!
Mami: Over here!?
Witch: qli()*@(!@s!
Mami: (Oh no..!! My rear guard is...! This is bad...!!)
Witch: !!@)($!*@!s
Mami: --!!

Mami: --!! --!?
Witch: !@(&$*!@ qli xxx.....
Mami: ...! Who...!? Sakura-san!
Kyouko: Oh, so it was you.

Kyouko: To have your guard down like that for even a second. That's not like you, Mami.
Mami: Yes... that didn't go very well. I just took a short break, but for something like this to happen... I need to start training myself once again, starting with the basics.
Kyouko: Nah, you don't have to go that far. Mami, you're really stoic, huh. ...Actually, what're you doing in a place like this? I didn't even think I'd run into you outside of Mitakihara.
Mami: Same here. It's unusual to see you outside of Kazamino.
Kyouko: It's not like I'm here because I wanted to either y'know. I was just wandering around, trying to hunt witches...then I ended up in a place like this. When I came this far, I thought I'd finally found my prey then...well, it was taken by you though.
Mami: My, you don't have to word it like that... if it's the grief seed you're after, then I'll give it to you, if you want?
Kyouko: As if. I don't need it. I haven't fallen so low that I need to eat and live off of handouts. If there's something I want, then I'll obtain it with my own hands.
Mami: My. Aren't you the one who's self-disciplining yourself too much? Even though you're the one who finished it off.
Kyouko: My one shot was just something extra. By the time I got there, the witch was done for the most part. Without a doubt, that's yours. You know how much I hate it when people try to take pity on me, right? You shouldn't argue so much and just use it.
Mami: If you've said that much, I guess it can't be helped. In that case, I'll gladly take this.
Kyouko: Yeah, that's for the best.

Mami: ...Hey, that thing you mentioned before.
Kyouko: Hm?
Mami: You said that you were looking for witches and ended up coming out all the way over here...Does that mean...that the witches in Kazamino have disappeared?
Kyouko: Ah well... I don't think the number's completely 0 but...at the very least, I...haven't run into any witches in Kazamino.
Mami: Is that so..
Kyouko: ...Well,  doesn't look like this city's really any different but...I feel like that witch from earlier was the first and the last.
Mami: Seems that way...Then this city is also...just like Mitakihara...
Kyouko: Mitakihara? You mean there's no witches in Mitakihara either?
Mami: Well... Just as you were saying...it isn't as though there isn't a single witch there but...even so, lately the number of witches have clearly gone down...
Kyouko: Sheesh, well isn't this inconvenient. If there isn't anything we can hunt, then we're done for. So even magical girls can be open for business, but have no customers huh?
Mami: (It would be nice if we could joke about the matter and leave it at that but... Our only problem isn't the exhaustion of our magical energy's supply sources... There's no way I wouldn't find it strange...that all of a sudden the witches would disappear from sight like this. Is this a phenomenon that's only taking place in Mitakihara...Kazamino...and the surrounding towns? Or is it...)
Kyouko: ........... Are you thinking hard about something by yourself again? If something happens and you find yourself in trouble, I'll lend you a hand. Besides, unless we start getting some grief seeds, we're both in trouble so...As far as this situation with the lack of witches goes... If I find out something, then I'll let you know.
Mami: True... (True... Whether this is simply a coincidence or something... Or perhaps...there's some reason behind this......It seems like we'll need to look into the lack of witches...)


Mami: (Same thing today... It seems like things will end with me wasting my magical energy...)

In order to determine if the witches suddenly disappeared in only Mitakihara and Kazamino...and the surrounding towns...
I tried visiting the various outer suburbs. But no matter which town I went to, the situation wasn't that different from Mitakihara's.

(Same here... There's no magical energy reaction... Could it be... that witches have disappeared from the entire world...?)
Can't be, something like that...

???: It's unusual to see you looking for witches outside of your territory.
Mami: ...! Kyuubey
Kyuubey: Hey. So your own territory isn't enough for you?
Mami: Not at all. I can get more grief seeds than I need just from guarding my own territory...so it isn't as though I won't be able to get by but... Recently, I haven't even been able to obtain enough for "what I need" within my own territory...
That's why I'm going to outer towns like this.
Kyuubey: Just like I thought...so there really are fewer witches.
Mami: Just like you thought?
Kyuubey: Yeah. You see, other magical girls have been saying the same thing.
Mami: Other... Do you mean that there's fewer witches in other cities too?
Kyuubey: Seems like...every city's that way... I still haven't gotten information from all cities yet either but...at the very least, even in a city far away from your territory...from Mitakihara, there's definitely fewer witches.
Mami: Even in a city...far from Mitakihara...
Kyuubey: Well... The amount of magical energy you spend in order to maintain your bodies is extremely small. There are many magical girls celebrating this as the best thing that could happen and they're taking a break, but...it seems like magical girls really dedicated to their job like you are venturing out of their territories too.
Mami: The amount of magical energy I lose might be a very small amount, but it's not like I'm gaining any back...Besides, it would be a disgrace if I couldn't fight back at a crucial time.
Kyuubey: Yeah, I think as a magical girl, you're absolutely right.
Mami: How ironic... We have magic in order to defeat witches and yet... we can only obtain magical energy from witches...
Kyuubey: By defeating witches, you obtain grief seeds...and, using the magical energy from them, you defeat even more witches. The magical girl system is a very logical, cyclical system.
Mami: Cyclical system, you say... But if one of the cogs in that system--the witches--really are missing... Kyuubey? ....