Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

This immediately made the girl's heart...slowly sink.

"Huh...? So everyone's here?"

The voice came from behind them.

Yan Ming and Akemi Homura turned around together and saw a familiar pink figure standing behind them.

"Hey~! Xiaoyan! Senior Yanming!"

It seems that Xiaoyuan has found their appearance...

At this point, there's no way to continue the conversation, right?

At this moment, Yan Ming noticed that Homura Akemi seemed to be staring at him with a very deep gaze.

"…What’s wrong with you?"

"nothing."

The girl murmured softly, her expression becoming somewhat complicated for some reason, and then turned away.

The two of them, in a state of surprise, greeted Xiaoyuan.

Volume 6, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Chapter 281 Sayaka's Preparation Time

Because they saw Madoka, Yan Ming and Akemi Homura followed her.

"oops…"

There were several other people where Xiaoyuan was.

These people were all dressed in casual clothes: one woman, one man, and a boy younger than Xiaoyuan.

"Could these two be the classmates that Xiaoyuan has been talking about all along?"

"They've been talking about it...?"

"Mom! That's very rude of you to say that!"

Xiao Yuan said shyly to her mother, and Xiao Yuan's mother, Kaname Junko, looked at the two people in front of her.

Homura Akemi is actually alright, but Yan Ming…

When I saw this person.

A sense of surprise unconsciously crept into Kaname's heart, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"I see... These two are Xiaoyuan's friends."

After carefully examining the two of them, Kaname Junko's expression changed to a smile.

"I've been hearing her mention Xiaoyan and Senior Yanming a lot lately... I think it must be you two, right?"

"You...have you recognized us already?"

"No, not at all. After all, this is our first time meeting, so it's just something I guessed."

So the group greeted each other and got to know each other's names.

"I see... Then it shouldn't be a problem for Auntie to call you Yan Mingjun and Xiao Yan, right?"

"It doesn't matter what I'm called."

"…Me too."

The two compromised simply like that, and then, together with Kaname Junko, they easily integrated into Madoka's family circle.

However, as Yan Ming walked with them, he noticed that Akemi Homura, who was beside him, seemed a little nervous.

"What's wrong? When did you start getting nervous about things like this?"

"No...it's not nervousness."

Homura Akemi still spoke in a somewhat complicated tone.

"I'm just a little unsure how to face Xiaoyuan's mother."

"Haven't you met her before? In all those reincarnations?"

"...It's because of reincarnation."

After hearing what Homura Akemi said, Yan Ming understood her situation.

"Is it because you failed to protect Madoka in your many previous reincarnations, causing her to become a witch, that you don't know how to face her?"

Logically speaking, Homura Akemi has seen Madoka's parents many times in countless reincarnations, and should already know how to get along with them.

But this time it was completely different.

The magical girl and witch story, and the Witch's Night story, have all come to an end. For Homura Akemi, this is no longer a mechanical cycle.

After experiencing so much, these burdens naturally fell on her shoulders.

Even though no one thinks she did anything wrong, and no one blames her, she still finds it hard to let go of the fact that she did it.

Yan Ming was aware of this feeling.

and so…

Do you remember what you thought of me?

He looked at Homura Akemi and stated his words directly.

"You told me, 'You saved everyone in the world, so you should be proud of it,' and that applies to you as well."

"I... how could that be? These are completely different things—"

"No, Homura Akemi... remember that."

Interrupting Homura Akemi's attempt to refute him, Yan Ming stared directly at her and said, word by word.

"You've always been the one trying to protect Madoka Kaname, trying to save her, and protecting her destiny. I'm just someone who happened to appear and help you later. But the one who truly wants to save Madoka the most and tries the hardest to save her has always been you."

"Since you think I should be proud of saving everyone on Earth... then you should be too. You should also be proud of your efforts to protect Madoka. You have enough face to face her parents."

As Yan Ming spoke, Homura Akemi seemed to see countless images of herself saving Madoka during her reincarnations.

That's right... Yan Ming is absolutely right. No one can surpass Homura Akemi in terms of how much she has sacrificed for Madoka, whether from a subjective or objective point of view.

Therefore, she has absolutely no reason to blame herself.

“You’ve done enough. Now that it’s all over, stand tall and face her parents… face them as the most important person to Xiaoyuan.”

Homura Akemi sensed that although the other person's tone was calm, the way they held her hand was very gentle.

"I...in order to protect Xiaoyuan, I treated so many people around me coldly and did many bad things..."

"Then keep these things in mind. Regret is useless. Focus your energy on working towards the future."

Now, the only person who knows about his past is trying to comfort him.

Homura Akemi has a very strong heart and a strong sense of purpose... but she also has a vulnerable side.

Right now, she's like this, trying her best to hold back the tears that are about to spill from her eyes, trying to resolve all the bitterness and hardship she's endured so far.

With Yan Ming's support, he nodded earnestly.

"I will do as you say... Thank you."

"As I said, this is just my duty, there's no need to thank me."

The girl wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

She tried her best to give Yan Ming the most grateful smile she could muster at the moment, and then... turned around and walked towards Xiao Yuan.

—That concludes the matter between them.

Yan Ming stood there, watching Akemi Homura get along well with Madoka and her family, and his heart was filled with warmth.

Although Madoka and Homura are still entangled in immense karma, and given that Yan Ming is currently unable to use the power of Oma Zi-O, the two remain in considerable danger, but—

At least for now, life is peaceful for these girls.

That's enough for him.

"Xiao Yuan..."

At that moment, Homura Akemi thought of something quite important.

"What's wrong, Xiaoyuan?"

"It's nothing serious, I just wanted to ask... where did Sayaka go?"

At this point, Xiaoyuan's parents both looked at her with somewhat puzzled expressions.

"Oh yeah, Madoka, I remember Sayaka was a good friend of yours, right? You were watching the meteor shower today... Didn't you invite her to come along?"

"Ah, this..."

When asked this question, Xiaoyuan showed a somewhat... awkward expression.

"Today, Sayaka is... a little too busy."

————————————————————————

Then, near the hill.

This is also a place where you can see a spectacular meteor shower, but it seems that not many people know about it.

There's a park nearby where pretty little lights twinkle at night, making the scene even more romantic against the backdrop of the meteor shower.

Sayaka... is standing right here.

At the same time, she saw a person slowly walking towards her from not far away.

That was... another person who also had feelings for the boy, Kyosuke Kamijou.

"...They've arrived."

Sayaka took a deep breath.

In her eyes, there is no such thing as confusion.

"We need to make things clear today."

"I told Kyosuke all my feelings."

Volume 6, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Chapter 282 A Happy Ending?

So, what happened next?

Yan Ming didn't know the situation on Sayaka's side, but...

When he returned to school the next day, he learned exactly what had happened.

"Saya... Sayaka?!"

Since they already had a pretty good relationship, Yan Ming arranged to meet Xiao Yuan and the others at the back playground.

As a result, this is what I saw when I arrived at the back playground.

Madoka stood there in shock, while Homura Akemi, though standing to the side, also didn't adopt her usual cold demeanor.

Standing before them was Sayaka Miki.

And... with her, Kyosuke Kamijou.

"You...you and Kyosuke-kun are...?!"

"Well... anyway, that's it."

Sayaka's tone seemed a little reserved, unlike her usual relaxed and carefree manner.

"You, you really were with Kyosuke-kun..."

"Yes, Xiaoyuan."

Sayaka saw no confusion, nor any regret.

She seems to have gotten what she really wanted.

"I have already completely confessed my feelings to Kyosuke-kun."

Sayaka's expression turned even redder as she said those words.

"We met in the nearby park last night, and then..."

"Then you confessed your thoughts to him...and you both understood each other's thoughts, right?"