The Rule of Ending Friendships
Episode 1: Two Best Friends
Iroha had been reminiscing about the memories that she remembered, such as the bedroom that she used to share with Ui, as well as two other girls from the hospital that Ui considered her best friends: Touka and Nemu. Later on, she decides to go to the hospital. She mumbles about her smartphone's map being so complicated, and even tries asking the lil' Kyubey for help at one point.Eventually she makes it to the hospital, but finds that Touka and Nemu weren't at the hospital. She starts to think about how Ui was able to get along with Touka, who was an expert in astrophysics, and Nemu, who was a great writer. Despite this, there were times when Touka and Nemu would be at odds with each other, with Ui always being the one to stop their arguments. Iroha spoke to herself about how they would say "We're not friends anymore." Suddenly she stumbles into Yachiyo, who had just heard what Iroha said.
Yachiyo, insists that she means no harm since the last time they met, before warning Iroha not to say that phrase to a friend she may be arguing with in Kamihama, or she would end up caught in the "Rumor of the Rule of Ending Friendships." Apparently, this "Rumor" was an Urban Legend that involved people being taken away by a monster to clean stairs forever, after taking back what he or she says about not being someone's friend. Iroha writes this claim off as ridiculous, but Yachiyo retorts that she had a book, the Kamihama Rumor Files, which documented potential Rumors in Kamihama. She says that these Rumors were starting to come true and that some people were actually going missing as a result. To her, Rumors were just as anomalous as Iroha's lil' Kyubey. Iroha asks Yachiyo not to hurt it, saying that it hadn't done anything other than restore her memories of Ui. Yachiyo accepts what Iroha says and leaves, asking her again to avoid Rumors.
As Iroha and the Kyubey ponder what Yachiyo said about Rumors, they then hear a loud argument from a nearby park. There Iroha finds Momoko, along with the red-haired Magical Girl Iroha rescued earlier. This girl was arguing with another girl with light blue hair who eventually yells, "We're not friends anymore, Kaede!" Kaede responds similarly with "We're done, Rena," and when Momoko tries to ask them what's wrong, Rena instead tries to flee the scene. Momoko yells for Iroha to catch Rena, and Iroha instinctually transforms, with Rena also transforming in retaliation. Rena manages to get close enough to attack Iroha, taking her by surprise by turning into Iroha herself before escaping. Kaede and Momoko buy Iroha a treat from a store as an apology for getting her caught up in their trouble. Momoko notes that they've met before, and Kaede formally introduces herself as Kaede Akino, since she and Iroha didn't get the chance to do so last time. Momoko claims that Rena and Kaede argue rather frequently, but that Rena usually comes back to apologize. Iroha remembers what Yachiyo said about the Rule of Ending Friendships, and asks Kaede if she really wished to stop being Rena's friend. As soon as Iroha brings up the Rule of Ending Friendships, Momoko gets startled, before Iroha claims that Yachiyo told her about it. Momoko chuckles and insists that Iroha didn't have to take Rumors as seriously as Yachiyo. After all, Rumors are just rumors.
Episode 2: Rumors in Kamihama
At her home, Iroha thinks about how similar Momoko's group is to Ui and her friends, and begins to wonder if they're really alright. Later she visits Mitama to ask her what she knows about Rumors. Mitama suggests if there's a Rumor about her giving discounts to cute girls, which Iroha believes before getting upset about Mitama's joke. Mitama then says that she's heard of the Rule of Ending Friendships. Iroha then explains the situation with Rena and Kaede, and Mitama responds that Momoko isn't likely to believe in Rumors because Yachiyo's the one talking about them. Apparently, they used to be close friends, at least until Momoko started complaining about how selfish and attractive Yachiyo looked.The next day, Momoko and Iroha met up at Mitama's workplace, to discuss how long Rena and Kaede have been apart for. Momoko explains that for some reason, Rena hadn't come back to apologize like she used to, nor has Kaede made any effort to do so herself. Mitama asks if she could help Rena and Kaede, but Momoko refuses, thinking that Mitama would want payment and could even get hurt herself. When Iroha suggests if Rena was afraid of the Rule of Ending Friendships, Momoko again denies that this could be any reason for her to avoid them. Instead, she suggests that they wait a little longer.
Several more days pass, and Momoko gets increasingly impatient before snapping, and declares that she'll get Rena and Kaede to meet again, even if she gets called overprotective for it. Iroha decides that she would be meddling if she tried to help, and asks Mitama to let her know how it goes while Iroha continues looking for Ui. She ponders about where Touka and Nemu could live or where they would go to school, but remembers that they took their classes at the hospital. Then, Iroha senses a Witch and realizes that a Magical Girl is struggling against it. She discovers that it's Kaede again and rushes over to help her fight of the Witch's Familiars.
Kaede admits that she was deliberately avoiding Momoko until Rena would apologize. Iroha suggests that Kaede apologize first, but Kaede insists that she wouldn't be able to catch Rena before she runs away. Kaede gets frustrated about not having a better alternative and storms off, and Iroha decides to go back to Momoko and ask if she can help her and Kaede find Rena. Momoko gladly accepts Iroha's offer, saying that she would gladly help her find Ui in return.
Episode 3: Momoko's Master Plan
Although Iroha has doubts that Momoko's plan would work, she agrees to wait for Rena to leave her school and catch her while Momoko does the same with Kaede, after which they would lead the two to each other. At first, Iroha argued that she doesn't really know Rena, but Momoko explains that she wouldn't be as aware of Iroha as she would of Momoko. To really get Rena's attention, Momoko suggested telling her that Sayuki Fumino was having an outdoor concert.Iroha gets to the entrance of the school, but it turned out that the student council meeting that Rena was supposed to have got cancelled, so Rena must have already left by then. Thus, Momoko suggests looking for her at the arcade, but Iroha admits that she didn't know where to find one and had never been to one before. Momoko tries to give her a map to the arcade, but promptly leaves when she realizes Iroha has to figure out the map herself. Iroha comments about how unorganized Momoko is.
Iroha finds Rena at the arcade ranting at one of the machines. Iroha tries speaking with her, but Rena remembers seeing her before and asks her to leave if Momoko asked to look for her. Instead, Iroha tells her about Sayuki, which immediately gets Rena's attention. Iroha tells her that there is a secret show at a construction site in Shinsei Ward, and offers to take her there. Rena asks if Iroha brought a "sword" glowstick, but when she said she did, Rena counters that that didn't exist. Rena tells Iroha to go away, when Kaede suddenly shows up.
Rena insists that she isn't going to apologize and be friends with Kaede, but Kaede decides she'll apologize first even if she thinks it's unfair. Rena begins to panic about it, at which point Iroha asks if she's worried about the Rule of Ending Friendships. Rena denies that it's anything but a "dumb rumor," before running away before Kaede could say anything about it. Kaede and Iroha go out to look for her and come across Momoko, who said she got tired of waiting for Iroha and that she was dumb. Her aggressive attitude felt too off, and Iroha realizes that it was Rena disguised as Momoko, while Kaede points out that the real Momoko wouldn't stand with her feet pointing inward either.
Kaede soon apologizes, and asks to fight by Rena's side again. Rena yells that "it" was gonna catch Kaede, and Iroha realizes that Rena really did believe in the Rule of Ending Friendships and was scared for Kaede's safety. Kaede then comforts Rena by telling her that nothing happened to her yet and that Momoko was right to say that "rumors are rumors." Suddenly, a bizarre Labyrinth filled with Japanese Kanji surrounds them, and Iroha notes that it doesn't feel like it belongs to a Witch. They then notice a padlock-shaped "Familiar", which immediately attacks Kaede. More of the monsters begin to appear, and despite Iroha and Rena's efforts, kidnap Kaede. Rena thinks about the details of the Rumor, and runs off. Iroha, on the other hand, decides to stay behind to follow the magic that the monsters left behind, hoping to catch up to Kaede herself.
Episode 4: In Search of Kaede
Eventually, Iroha met up with Momoko and explains the situation to her. Momoko is disturbed that Rena would flee, and Iroha says it would have been natural after seeing the Rule of Ending Friendships come true. Momoko continues to deny that the Rumor was real, saying the monsters were just Familiars with similar behavior. But regardless of what Iroha saw, they both agree that Rena was avoiding Kaede for her safety. They decide to continue following the trail of magic before it fades away too quickly.Soon, the pair lose track of the magic altogether and are forced to make guesses as to where Kaede went. After stopping at a deserted alleyway Iroha suggests that they ask Mitama for help, but Momoko didn't have any Grief Seeds to pay her with.
They then notice Rena, who quickly asks Momoko why she wasn't at the construction site. It turned out Rena had been looking for Momoko herself. Momoko asked why Rena would run away, causing her to ask Iroha what she said to Momoko. Iroha denied saying anything about Rena running away, and Rena rebukes that she was trying to find a way to fix their problem. Iroha asks if Rena went to see Yachiyo, which upsets Rena since she knew Momoko might not like having to hear about her. Momoko insists she'll only follow along with Rena's plan because she trusts her and not Yachiyo. Rena then asks if they could go to the construction site, since not many people will be there. When they arrive, Rena asks Momoko if she would protect her and Kaede no matter what happens next, to which Momoko agreed.
Rena declares that she is going to apologize. She then takes a deep breath, before yelling out to Kaede that she was sorry for saying she was done being her friend. She continues on about the various ways she mistreated her, such as getting her clothes dirty, rejecting the sweets Kaede bought her, and calling her pets gross. After some time, the same Labyrinth as before appears. They find Kaede with the "Familiars," but she spoke in a trance about cleaning stairs. As they began to attack Rena, Momoko is taken about by how different the situation felt from being in a typical Labyrinth, and begins to wonder if they really are dealing with another Witch. As Momoko struggled to reach Rena, Yachiyo suddenly shows up and notes that the Rumor had come true just as she predicted. Momoko fires back that it wasn't real, causing Yachiyo to yell that nothing in Kamihama was normal anymore and that Momoko shouldn't put her teammates in danger just because of how she felt about her. Iroha asks what they should do, and Yachiyo says she'll try to stop Kaede and Rena from reaching the "boss" while the others go find it themselves.
Episode 5: An Uwasa Provoked
As the magic emanating from the "Witch" grew stronger, Momoko felt increasingly disturbed that she might actually be facing a Rumor. She and Iroha note for example, that there were no layers in the Labyrinth for the Witch to hide behind. Soon they come face to face with the staircase-shaped creature, which was already starting to brainwash Rena. Momoko ferociously attacks it, only to find that it barely made a dent. Yachiyo then joins them, having been able to put Kaede into a "brief nap." Momoko asks her how they could defeat the monster, but Yachiyo admits that she doesn't the Kamihama Rumor Files don't explain every detail about Rumors, and that they'll have to figure it out themselves. As they began argue, Iroha realizes they're running out of time, as Rena was beginning to mutter about serving the creature.Iroha, Momoko, and Yachiyo try to plan their next attack, when they're suddenly attacked by Kaede. Kaede and Rena tell Momoko she wasn't their leader anymore and that they won't let her and the others attack the staircase monster. Momoko openly regrets not being able to protect them, and Yachiyo calls her out for not attacking them. Momoko counters that they're still her friends so she didn't want to hurt them, to which Yachiyo decides to take them on herself so Momoko wouldn't hurt herself from trying to.
Yachiyo knocks Rena and Kaede unconscious again, and the group resumes their plan. Yachiyo notes that they need to hurry, because both of their Soul Gems were very tainted. Yachiyo believes the monster might be feeding on their magic, and that Kaede might be in even worse shape. Iroha suggests that they work together to attack it, which Yachiyo notes is a contrast to the Rumor's friendship ending nature. Although Momoko and Yachiyo notes that they're rather indifferent to each other, Iroha insists that their desire to protect Rena and Kaede is their strongest connection.
As soon as the Magical Girls destroy the "Witch" and its Labyrinth disappears, they start searching for Rena and Kaede. They found Rena watching over Kaede, wondering why she hadn't waken up. Iroha asks to use her healing magic on Kaede while asking Momoko if she got the Grief Seed from the "Witch." Momoko says that it never dropped one, and tries to go look for another Witch. However, Yachiyo offers one of her own, while lamenting that she had to take care of Momoko again. Kaede soon wakes up, saying she heard Rena's apologies. However, she asks for a more proper apology next time, since Rena went overboard mentioning how she stole fruit from her garden and thought her pets were gross. Before Yachiyo could call it a day and leave, Iroha asks what they really fought, noting that Yachiyo never called it a Witch. Yachiyo says that it was what she calls an "Uwasa." It was neither a Witch nor a Familiar, and existed only to protect its Rumor and its legitimacy. Momoko is disappointed that Yachiyo left so soon, since she wanted to thank her for her help. Rena decides she needs to share responsibility with Momoko for the trouble their team was put through, and wants to share some pudding with her and Kaede. Kaede immediately fawns over how rare the pudding was. Momoko initially turns down Rena's offer, but takes it anyway when Rena says she's offering it to everyone, including Iroha.
Momoko asks Iroha what she can do for her after Iroha helped her and her friends out. Iroha asks if they could help her find hospital records or addresses, to which Momoko replies that that would be too difficult. Kaede then points out that Rena could use her magic to sneak into the hospital. Rena adamantly refuses to try such a risky operation, which Iroha accepts thinking she would feel bad if Rena actually attempted it. Rena eventually decides to try it when Kaede starts complaining that her foot wouldn't be in pain from her being attacked by Yachiyo, and that it wouldn't have happened if Rena hadn't provoked the Rumor. After a long search in the hospital, Rena met up with them at the park. Before Rena could explain the results of her search however, everyone's stomachs started to hurt. It turned out the pudding from earlier had expired due to Rena holding back on her apology for too long. Later on, Iroha would find out that Rena did indeed find records of Touka and Nemu being discharged from the hospital not long after Ui did. However, she found it alarming that there was no information about Ui anywhere.
Meanwhile, a certain blonde-haired Magical Girl wielding ribbons and guns is shown searching the construction site that night, pondering over the strangeness of Kamihama city and the traces of magic that didn't seem to belong to Magical Girls or Witches.
Tropes:
- Eldritch Abomination: Unlike Witches, Uwasa are shown to follow very specific rules, and they never drop Grief Seeds. Nevertheless, most if not all of them are also made out of Alien Geometries and do not hesitate to eliminate Magical Girls who try to attack them.
- Embarrassing Nickname: While Yachiyo and Momoko were arguing during their fight against the Uwasa of the Friendship Ending Staircase, Yachiyo calls her "lil' Momo", with Momoko irritatingly saying that nickname was in the past.
- The Stinger: Mami Tomoe from the original anime is shown in the last scene of the chapter.
