The Different Story: Episode 3
Episode 3 begins with Kyoko eating dinner with Mami at her place. Mami asks if Kyoko is feeling well due to the fact that she has been looking rather down lately. Kyoko answers that she is fine and for Mami not to worry about her. Mami assumes something has happened to Kyoko, and Kyoko asks her if she ever had any arguments with someone she was close to because she was a magical girl. Mami frowns and thinks of the time when she became a magical girl: while she never had any arguments with anyone, she has seen herself and her classmates grow a part due to her magical girl duties, leaving her with no time for fun. But she doesn't regret living this way as now she has a friend that understands that life. Kyoko asks about what Mami had said before, that if someone is killed by a witch then there will be people sad by it and asks if it can work the opposite way as well. She goes on and says that just because they save someone who was cursed doesn't necessarily means they're going to get a happy ending. Mami doesn't understand what she means, so Kyoko brings up the following scenario: Say someone is driven crazy by a witch's curse tries to commit suicide in their ravings and if one of their neighbors happens to witness it, what would happen? She adds that even if a magical girl steps in to prevent it, would the witness ever look at them the same way again? Or would they always look at the victim with suspicion and assume they were insane? Kyoko wonders that if it doesn't have a happy ending, then would getting killed by a witch and having people mourn you like normal or continuing to live while having someone you love avoid you for the rest of your life is better. She ends it saying that if it's just going to cause grief for everyone then wouldn't it be better to not save someone to begin with? Mami asks who she is talking about, but Kyoko doesn't answer, leading to Mami to ask if her family was attacked by a witch. Kyoko states it's nothing like that, but it's merely a hypothetical story. She states that like how Mami wasn't able to talk to anyone about her magical girl status, Kyoko says it's hard to make a normal person who's never heard of witches understand as to what they go through on a daily basis. Mami states that they can't say what they do is the right thing in all situations for everyone, but if they didn't it would result in even more loss and grief. She answers that she can't really agree that they shouldn't save people with that excuse without knowing the result in the end. Kyoko is silent, but Mami gives her a smile and tells her not to push her self too hard and if ever needs someone to listen, she'll be there for her.
The scene cuts to Kyoko passing through the hallway of her family's house, catching sight of several of her father's followers outside. Kyoko turns away from them and enters her father's room to let him know she's home. Kyoko looks around to find there are more liquor bottles in the room than before and tells her father they'll hurt his health. Her father says nothing, so Kyoko goes on and tells him that she went out and defeated another witch today, saving someone who was about to commit suicide. She tries to cheer him up saying that all those seed of discontent and sadness that he wanted to banish is being removed by magical girls like her and that it can't be a bad thing at all. She states that she (still) loves his sermons and was happy that people started to listen to him, and that what made her happy was seeing him smile even in all the despair in the world. Before Kyoko can go on, her father interrupts her and asks if it was all just an illusion she made. He states that all those people who heard him wasn't because they believed anything, but it was a witch used it's power to bewitch them (in context, he sees both magical girls and witches as the same thing). He then asks if she was going to kill those people as a result that came from her contract with Kyubey (which he refers to as "a daughter of a church selling her soul to the devil"). Kyoko argues that she has told him before that the witches and magical girls are two different things and that she would never kill anyone and that she's not a witch. Kyoko's father responds saying that from the start, Kyoko didn't listen to anything he said and that his words were simply nonsense that couldn't help anyone. He assumes it to be correct, as he doesn't have the power to save anyone. He adds that it isn't Kyoko's fault, but his and that he must take responsibility for it. Kyoko doesn't understand what he's saying and says he's wrong about all that. Her father snaps at her as to what wrong is; that with the power she has gained she's been fighting witches rather than listening to what he has to say, and states that he'd rather be an impotent failure. He asks Kyoko what she thinks she's doing right now, (her) saying that the world can save itself without him. He claims it to be the devil's talk to get at his believers, and that Kyoko is happily repeating his (devil's) words and never noticing it. He exclaims that if he can't call Kyoko a witch, what can he call her. Kyoko stares at him, speechless and horrified before walking away, leaving her father alone to drink again.
The next scene is Mami defeating a witch with her Tiro Finale and retrieving its grief seed, taking note that Kyoko hasn't met up with her today either. She wonders if she's alright and that Kyoko isn't like the other magical girls. Mami flashes back, and the scene is now Mami and a different unnamed magical girl, where Mami is trying to convince her that the witches' familiars also attack people and that they should also be targeting them. The other magical girl is distrustful of Mami's words, for if they also hunt down stray familiars they might run out of grief seeds completely and it'll be her fault. The other magical girl (a few others are shown in the flash back to be different ones) states that its because the familiars grow up that they have enough witches to hunt at all, and that they should be turning their backs to let them kill a few people or so so they become full witches, as it's not very easy to find witches. Another magical girl in the flashback adds on, skeptical of Mami's ambition to save every person she can. Mami wipes away a tear as she remembers this, and asks Kyubey if what she's doing is odd. Kyubey answers that he can't say for sure, but he says that people like Mami are less common amongst magical girls. He tells her not to let it get her down as it's the path she's decided to take. Mami recalls Kyoko asking to be her disciple and was her ideal in every way before Kyubey snaps her out of her thoughts asking what's wrong. Mami says it's nothing and suggests for them to go home for dinner. Mami is back at her house in the next scene, wondering what has happened to Kyoko. She doesn't know if she can make it any better, but thinks there's maybe something she can do, like taking a short break to refresh themselves and have some cake or cook something together. Mami sneezes and notes that it has gotten cold recently and thinks that maybe they should have some warm food together.
It's the next day, and Mami finds that Kyoko is absent again from their meeting place, saddening her as she thinks about the fun times she's had with Kyoko and her words of encouragement. Mami turns to Kyubey and asks if he knows anything about Kyoko. Kyubey looks at her in confusion, but Mami says to forget about it and goes to hunt down another witch alone. In the next scene, it's snowing in Mitakihara as Mami walks down the road hunting for more witches. As she passes by a broadcasting tower, it covers a news report that last night a fire broke out in the town of Kazamino that burned a building to the ground. It states that firefighters recovered three bodies from the house fire, who are revealed to be members of Kyoko's family, startling Mami.
The scene cuts to Kyoko and Kyubey together as he asks if she's going to fight any witches today. He states that she hasn't purified her soul gem in quite awhile and that she has to get a grief seed soon or else she won't be able to fight anymore. Kyoko states she doesn't need the power anymore. She believes she was a fool to believe in miracles as hers destroyed her family. She states that if her power can't help her protect what's important to her, then what good is to having it anymore. Kyoko thinks about what her dad said to her and wonders if he was right to see magical girls and witches as the same thing. Kyoko then asks Kyubey if she were to stop hunting witches if she would just die like everyone else. Kyubey doesn't answer her, and Kyoko states that she was kidding as he already knows that.
The next scene begins with Kyoko fighting a large, queen-like witch and its star-like familiars in a icy barrier. Kyoko finds herself being unable to fight the witch like she used to as that has never happened before. As she starts to think why she can't use her magic right, the witch hits her in the back with the familiars knocking her off course, but Kyoko retaliates and destroys the familiars with her spear, but due to her injuries she is unable to block the witch's next attack and is sent flying across the room. Kyoko tries to recover but finds herself too weak to break free from the witch's ice attack and finds herself stuck frozen to the ground and left wide open. Kyoko closes her eyes and remembers about her father being excommunicated from the church, her and her family sharing what food they have left amongst themselves, and a memory of her father taking her mother and Momo away from Kyoko. Kyoko asks where they're going and to not leave her alone, her begging until it is answered with a voice telling her she already knows where they're going. Kyoko snaps out of her thoughts and uses her magic to create a barrier to protect herself and summons several spears to defeat the witch. Kyoko falls to the ground, exhausted after using that attack, and Kyubey notes that Kyoko being unable to use her magic anymore could cause problems. Kyoko asks why, and Kyubey answers it's because she said she didn't need it anymore. Kyubey informs her that the power that was born from her wish was "fascination", and that subconsciously, she has rejected her own wish as the attributes of magic that a magical girl has are directly connected to their wish. He states that if her powers don't come back, she'll be at a massive disadvantage in any future battles she takes. Kyoko laughs to herself as it's her own fault for being in this mess. She states that she really can't be saved as the whole reason she became a magical girl was to protect her father and her family, and now this is the end result of her wish as now she can't even protect herself. As Kyoko holds up her tainted soul gem, the witch's grief seed falls down from above and purifies it as Kyoko lies on the ground and the barrier fades away. Mami happens upon finding the witch's barrier gone and finds Kyoko down in the snow. She quickly runs to her side and hugs her, telling her it's cold outside and that she's injured. As Mami heals her up, she tells Kyoko that she's so happy to see her as she hadn't see her in awhile, worried about what had happened to her. Kyoko tells Mami she's sorry and adds that she can't fight with her anymore. Mami apologizes and blames herself for not finding Kyoko earlier, and restates that she's just so happy that she's still alive. The chapter ends with Kyoko breaking down into tears, crying that it's all her fault that her family has died.